A SERIOUS TALK

**Rebecca’s story**

Somehow, I had no choice but to take Emily’s hand and walk out of the restaurant. First stop was my car. This man was causing me anxiety, and I barely started the car. It was clear he was following me. I still hadn’t even gotten over the episode in the woods near the set where Dominic was shooting.
Out of fear, I didn’t return home to my apartment but to Dominic’s house. Luckily, he was there. I almost slammed the door when I walked in.
“Rebecca?” He asked worriedly approaching us.
I locked the door, then looked at him with wide eyes.
“I saw him, it was him... he’s following me...” I was breathing heavily and barely keeping my heartbeat in check.
“Who’s following you?” Dominic’s voice though it was of normal intensity. I could barely hear him.
He then rushed to get me a glass of water, because I was hyperventilating. With difficulty, I sat down on the sofa in the living room. After a few deep breaths, I recovered a little. “Okay, you’ve calmed down. Now start telling me who’s following you?” His face, though furrowed with worry, also held a trace somehow of knowing who it was.
I took another deep breath and placed the glass on the table with trembling hands. I still couldn’t explain why I was so afraid of that man. Maybe because he wasn’t human but a beast.
“Zack Barnett is stalking me!” I said instantly, in one breath. Although Dominic was sure about what I said, yet, I noticed the way he got angry. It was as if he tried to hold back until I confirmed it.
“Son of a bich!” And with his fist, he punched the wall in protest. It was hard not to, impossible to refrain. Zack had been his sworn enemy for so long.
“Please don’t get angry. I got out of there as fast as I could, so I don’t think he noticed us.” That’s when I realized Emily was with me. I smiled bitterly and looked at her. “Oh, I am so sorry... Dominic, this is Emily, the author of the bestseller My Wild Alpha and the one I was discussing the location of the book release with. Only we got interrupted...”
Just now I realized this episode was going to affect Emily, because she didn’t know all the details. Maybe Dominic’s reaction scared her a little, too.
“Nice to meet you, Emily” he changed his tone just as he held out his hand. “Let me make some coffee.”
It was so weird pronouncing the name of her book, knowing what Dominic was. Emily probably still thought human wolves were a legend, too.
“So... how long have you two been together?” Emily suddenly asked me, as if wanting to change the subject on purpose. And maybe that was for the best. What was the point of worrying about something that hadn’t happened yet? Besides, Dominic would surely defend me. Right now, Emily won’t know the entire story.
“It’s almost a year since I met Dominic and the circumstances under which it happened have been pretty unfortunate and I’m afraid the man we ran away from had something to do with it.” I let my gaze drop and my thoughts flew to the night when I had to admit things had really gotten out of hand and I was on the verge of losing my life. I didn’t intend to scare her, but my reaction was a momentary one, to maybe even save my life.
“Oh my God, I hope you’re okay now...” Emily reacted to my words almost immediately. I looked up and smiled broadly. She was taking in the situation pretty well.
“Yeah, thanks to him. I’m fine. It was just an unfortunate accident, but it passed. We didn’t even get to talk much at the restaurant. You’re from England, right? How was your flight? Are you staying somewhere? You can stay with us if you...”
“Don’t worry about me, please. The flight was long, tiring but I’m okay now. And yes, I have a place to stay, so thank you for your hospitality.”
Just then Dominic came in with the coffees.
“All right ladies, coffee is served. I suggest we stop talking about the bad stuff and focus a bit on the event to come.” We all agreed, but realized that I no longer had the presentation chart of the salons. I had left it in the restaurant in my rush to get out of there unnoticed.
“Oh my God, I wish I could do that, but I don’t have the folders anymore. It would only take a few minutes to list others from my laptop if I had it,” I excused myself and realized I still had my phone. “Dominic, can I hook my phone to your laptop? I have the files sent to my email address.”
“Of course, baby!” I think it only took a few minutes before I had the event hall sheets in my hands again.
“So those would be the alternatives, Emily. Choose wisely. There are three halls, so three managers I’ve already spoken to. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to see them but just take a virtual tour of them directly on the websites. I’ll send you the links and, in the peace, and quiet of your own home you can do it, then let me know. We have Karma, a relatively large hall with a capacity of two thousand five hundred seats, a stage where you can perform. We can arrange tables and chairs according to the event. Then we have Indigo, a smaller hall, not so tiny, I would say medium, with fifteen hundred seats. It also has a stage and a lectern, and also, they can arrange the tables and chairs as you wish. The last one is The Emperor, a vast hall, overly large, if I may say so. It has five thousand seats, seemingly endless tables and chairs, and two stages. It’s very elegant, unlike the first two. Karma is a bit more rustic and Indigo is the modern but smaller version of the last one”
I went through the presentations of the halls as quickly as I could and it seemed it captivated Emily.
“Wow, you really know how to pick them. I’m going to have a tough job now to choose one myself. I’m going to do as you advised and sign up for a virtual tour of the websites. Then I’ll let you know what I decided. Clearly, it’s going to be very difficult for me.”
“Do you have a favorite before you go on the virtual tour?”
“I think the first one, the rustic one. Karma was the name, right?”
“Exactly. To be honest, I’m leaning towards that one too, but I’ll let you decide. It’s your event and I want you to feel comfortable. I’ve chosen the best ones, but now it’s your turn to make the last call. I’m sure you’ll make an excellent choice.”
“Rebecca?” I had a feeling this time it had nothing to do with my work.
“Yes?”
“Let me tell you, I admire you. And that’s knowing you in just a few hours. You handled the crisis we found ourselves in so well and although I didn’t know who the man was, I felt safe with you. Not to mention your life seems to be beautiful. You have a man next to you who clearly loves you and the way you look at him, you love him too. Who knows, maybe in the future you’ll be the subject of my next book” It was flattering to hear her talk like that, but Emily didn’t know many details of my life. If she had, she would have been scared for sure. I barely accepted them as part of my existence.
“Thank you for your appreciation. I hope this closeness of ours goes beyond the professional level.”
“I’d honestly love to. I would like you to meet my husband, Mike. We haven’t exactly had a peaceful life either, but that’s another story I won’t burden you with,” I recognized the same pain in her eyes that I had when talking about my life. We may have had so much in common.
“Then I propose we meet sometime. Someday after your book release. It will be our pleasure to have you over for dinner. Won’t we, Dominic?” I turned to Dominic, but he was far away, deep in thought. I didn’t even have to guess what exactly he was thinking. “Dominic?” I called out to him again, a little louder this time, so he could hear me.
“Yes, baby... excuse me, my mind was elsewhere”
“I bet it was. I was saying maybe after the book release we could all meet for lunch? Us, Emily and her husband Mike?”
“I certainly wouldn’t think otherwise. Of course, we’ll meet.”
“Then it remains settled. Dominic, can you drive Emily home? I assume you’re staying somewhere you rented?”
“That’s right, but there’s no need to bother. I can take a taxi.”
“No way! New York is not like London. The streets can be very dangerous at this hour.”
“Okay, then if you insist...”
Dominic turned his worried eyes to me.
“Lock the door as soon as we leave and don’t open it to anyone. When I come back, we have some very serious talking to do.”

*