"What?"Isabel answered like she wanted to stab him through the phone.
"Interesting getting"Sebastian said.
"Why did you call?"Isabel asked as she ignored him.
"I'm calling because we need to finalize tomorrow's project outline."
"You could have emailed or told your assistant to call me,"Isabel said.
"Whatever, I want the updated draft sent to me tonight."
"Okay, I will do that now."Isabel replied smugly.
"....What?,you are done with it already."Sebastian said with an impressed voice.
"Yes, I'm done,I will send it via email."Isabel said as she cut off the line. She tossed her phone onto the desk and groaned into her hands.
"I hate him." She whispered to herself as she opened up her laptop and sent the email to him.She took her car keys and left for home.
By the time she reached home,the sun had already dipped and her thoughts were full of a knot of frustration humiliation and leftover age.She showered and changed into a short black dress,scraped her hair into a messy bun,put on a dark lipstick,grabbed her keys and drove off, heading to a nightclub. When she reached the club, it was crowded and dimly lit with loud music echoing out.
"Perfect." She said as she slipped inside pushing through bodies and went straight to the bar to order something strong.
"five shots of tequila please." She said as the bartender delivered the shots to her in a span of three minutes. She downed three shots and then the other two. The alcohol burned through her throat before she even thought of pacing herself and within minutes,her head felt heavy and breathing became too difficult for her inside the crowded building. She pushed herself outside the cool night air while steadying herself on the wall as her balance swayed. As she tried to make her way to her car,she heard voices behind her.
"Hey beautiful."
"Alone tonight?"
"Come on,don't be shy." Three men said as they stepped out of a shadowed corner while blocking the alley leading to the parking lot.
"Well, look at you."one of them sneered.
"Pretty and alone."the other one added. Isabel lifted her chin and looked at them. Even being drunk, she could recognize the wrongness in their smile.
"I'm not interested."She said firmly. One of them laughed again.
"You ain't gonna be interested."he said while grabbing Isabel's wrist. Isabel's instinct kicked in as she twisted her wrist and dug her knee into his stomach.The man cursed and staggered back as the second man lunged towards her, Isabel hit him across his face with her elbow but the third one grabbed her from behind,pinning her arms as she struggled.
"Feisty." the man hissed in her ear. She fought harder,twisting,kicking and digging her nails into his body but the man was stronger and her drunken body wasn't cooperating.
"Relax."one of them hissed with his breath sour against her cheek,"just a good time….." Just then a shadow swept across the alley and a hand clamped down on the man's shoulder before he could finish his sentence.The man turned just in time to see Sebastian's fist fly.The punch sent the man to the wall.The second man rushed him but received a brutal kick on the ribs.The third man tried to drag Isabel away but Sebastian ripped him off her like tearing paper and by the time the fight was over, the men were scrambling away and limping into the darkness.
When they were gone, Sebastian finally turned towards Isabel as she was swaying with her breathing erratic and her knees buckling under the weight of alcohol and adrenaline.He reached her just as she lost her balance and caught her effortlessly before she hit the ground. Her head fell against his chest with her eyes fluttering shut as she whispered something soft but too slurred to understand. Sebastian tightened his hold while looking down at her face.
"What were you thinking Isabel?"he muttered under his breath as he shifted her gently in his arms, lifted her with his surprising tenderness and carried her towards his car. He opened the passenger door and settled her in the seat while brushing a loose strand of hair away from her face before he could stop himself. He drove off and took her to his penthouse.
The moment he reached his penthouse,he lifted her in his hands again as she instinctively curled close with her head resting on his shoulder which made him stop walking for half a second, looked down at her and then forced himself to keep moving. When he reached the apartment, he laid her gently on the guest bed, removed her shoes and pulled a blanket over her.For a long moment he stood there watching her as her chest rose and fell from breathing and her lashes almost brushing her cheeks.
"You're trouble,"he whispered quietly with a low and rough voice.
"You're nothing but trouble." He finally stepped away when sleep began to pull her deeper, leaving the room with one last glance at her. He just decided to step out for minutes but she was already saving her from trouble.
In the morning, Isabel woke up to a ceiling she didn't recognize and had a dull, heavy headache pulsing at the back of her head. She frowned at the ceiling and then looked around. The room was too clean, spacious and expensive. Her stomach dropped as she sat up quickly. Where was she? This wasn't her room or Steph's room and not even a hotel.
"Ah…d*mn it."She said as she clutched her temple with t
he room spinned around her. "Which trouble have you gotten yourself into, Isabel?"