radicalducati CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 2
(HIRE A BRIDE)
She licked her lower lip.
“Well, don’t get too full of yourself, I can still say no if I want to.”
His glance shifted to her cleavage; secretly, he compared her full bosom to the girl he had last night.
Apart from her cleavage, her pale flawless face and long blonde hair that complemented her light blue eyes didn’t seem to impress him.
“We have a deal, then,” he said with one eyebrow quirked.
Shelley smiled back and shook her head with a cigar clamped between her teeth.
Antonio clicked his fingers, and the serious-looking man in a black suit standing beside him handed her an envelope.
“It’s interestingly fat.”
She chuckled with excitement.
“100,000 USD will do that to any envelope,” he smiled.
Shelley peeped into the envelope in doubt, but the sight of the thousand-dollar bills cleared every air of doubt. She looked up with a long grin on her face.
Exhaling a cloud of smoke from her mouth, she chuckled softly.
“I didn’t expect less from Antonio Montero himself.”
“Good for you then. All you have to do is come into the room next morning and get into your character.”
“Why not take me with you tonight, Montero? Or am I not good enough for you?”
He stopped, and his eyes moved over her body lustfully as if they were stripping her, seeking to be won over by her sexiness. Shelley massaged her ample breasts, licking her lower lip.
His eyes followed the moist pink of her tongue.
“You are average, even for a one-night stand. I go for the best,” Antonio stated with a mocking smirk on his lips.
“That’s rude. I have dated princes and men richer and more good-looking,” Shelley boasted, trying to hide her annoyance.
“When it comes to sex, not every man is gifted with the ability to maintain standards, so I am not surprised by your honorable mentions,” he smiled.
“You are one spoiled brat,” she sneered, followed by a deep sigh. “What if I do it for free.” Shelley persisted.
A night with Antonio Montero is something she can’t possibly choose to let go; no sane woman could!
“That’s not the issue. I would rather if you say… you want to show appreciation for the contract that I gave you,” he smiled.
“I have never had difficulty in seducing a man, no matter his class, not to mention a womanizer like you,” Shelley confessed and leaned back in her chair.
She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration.
“Giving in for a trial won’t be bad. Meet me in the hostel room, slut. Better make me happy with your skills; I hate boring ladies.”
Shelley’s finely curved mouth shifted into a double-edged, frankly sensual smile.
“What can I say? I am honored.”
A night with Antonio Montero is something she can’t possibly decide to let go; no sane woman could!
Suddenly, the door of the bar opened, and uniformed men entered, creating a scene.
Two women carried an old lady in a wheelchair and approached them.
Antonio was dumbfounded at the same time as he remained stuck to his seat.
“Grandma? How did she find me?”
He whispered.
People in the bar quickly recognized the former beauty queen and the grandmother of Antonio Montero.
They started taking shots, but the security guards were able to stop them and control the situation.
*****
Angela walked into the same bar, uncomfortably.
Being an expensive place, there wasn’t too much of a crowd, but she felt really uncomfortable going to the bar due to the catcalls and dirty stares from men at every corner.
“Welcome, my lady, what can I get you?”
The friendly bartender smiled at her.
Angela needed that; she was a bit at ease finally.
“Thanks, but I’m fine with just water. I will be waiting for someone.”
He nodded and got her a bottle of water.
“Thanks.”
Angela smiled at him, then sighed and checked her date’s number again for the fourth time since she came into the bar, and he was nowhere to be found.
For the first time, she had gotten out of her shell to go on a date.
Although a dating site is not a good idea, she had no choice. Desperate to prove her sister wrong, she had agreed to go on a date with the first man that chatted her up.
He was the one who chose the expensive bar.
After three hours, her phone beeped. It was a message from the man, explaining his change of mind about their date.
Angela smiled sadly to herself as tears rolled down freely.
Kerry was right, after all.
“I need a drink!”
She waved at the bartender.
And from there, she kept on drinking and drinking.
Shots after shots.
“I need another glass, please,” Angela requested, unable to see the blurred-out face of the bartender.
“Are you sure you can handle it? You are already drunk,” the man replied and looked over the other side, unsure why people were gathering around a particular table.
“See, I have the money to pay. Just give me the fucking cocktail!”
She threw bills at him, emptying her purse until no penny was left.
“Please… I have a lot to get off my chest.”
She sobbed.
The bartender shrugged.
She licked the last drop from the glass and heard a female voice call Tony from the back. The name of her date was Antony; she had to check her phone to be certain.
“Antony?”
Angela gasped.
She got up from her seat and started walking toward the table.
She staggered through the throng, drunkenly.
“Hey, watch it!”
Someone pushed her, and she fell dramatically into Antonio’s arms and burst into tears.
All eyes went to her and Antonio, who was tempted to throw her off his body, but since he was in a public space, he had to play a gentleman.
Angela looked up at his blurry face and burst into tears.
“Why… did you call me out here and then dump me? Am I not enough? It’s not fair…”
Antonio, his grandmother, Shelley, and the rest of the onlookers watched her, speechless.
“Who is she?”
Tony’s grandmother asked with a raised brow.
Antonio had no idea what was going on, but he had no other choice.
This is what his grandma wanted, after all—a bride for Antonio.
He went down on his knees.
“I was scared about my grandma's reaction to our secret relationship, but since she is here, Angel, will you marry me?”