30 - aftermath

Amina

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I felt sick to my stomach seeing Dominic on stage like that. I had never seen him so horrified and helpless.

This was all my fault, I should've never asked him. The whole thing was a setup.

I searched around frantically for Dominic. After leaving the stage I wasn't able to follow him thanks to the crowd and he wasn't answering his phone either.

I ran out to the garden in the back of the building, where I found Dominic sitting on a bench next to a beautiful stone fountain. I let out a sigh of relief that I had finally found him.

"Dominic." I say gently as I approach him. He looks up at me and sighs. "I'm so sorry."

He shakes his head as I sit beside him. "You have nothing to apologize for. I should've known better."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have-"

He shakes his head, "Stop it. What's done is done."

"Are you okay?" I ask.

He sighs, resting his head in his hands. "No." I move closer to him, urging him to rest his head on my shoulder. "Now everyone will know. And any peace I did have will be gone. I'll probably now have to deal with paparazzi too." He scoffs, "Me? And paparazzi? Doesn't that sound ridiculous?" He groans, sitting up again. "And taking over a company? What the fuck is his plan? I can't run a company? I can barely take care of a pet let alone run a multinational company!"

"You won't be running it now. Maybe you won't be running it at all. Who knows why he decided to announce that? It could be a public image gimmick?"

He groans, "He's probably trying to shape up his image. He's been trying to do it for so long. Always trying to get me to attend something and introducing me to pointless people. So when he finally got me here he decided to go big." He groans again, "This sucks."

"Can't you just not play along? Maybe say something to the press?"

He shakes his head quickly, "That will turn ugly. Anything I say he will quickly turn it around. I'm not risking it."

I sigh, "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. I'll be okay." He looks down at the time. "It's already after midnight. We should go."

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?"

He chuckles, "I'm angry, not drunk."

"Driving distressed could be dangerous and it's very late. I can drive us back?"

He chuckles sarcastically, "Over my dead body. If it's that much of a bother we could leave in the morning and grab a hotel for the night."

"Hotel? I don't even have any clothes for the night besides my gown."

"I have clean clothes in my gym bag. It could be fun. Give us a break before dealing with what's to come at home."

I was hesitant, but I nodded regardless, "Okay. Let's do it."

He stands up from his seat on the bench before reaching his hand out for me to take. He assists me to my feet before leading us back inside the venue to make our way outside.

As we walked toward the exit someone called Dominic's name from behind us. I turn around to see Julius Ashford, the newest tech mogul in the industry walking toward us.

Now that right there was a man. He was tall, had dark skin, and piercing brown eyes. His beard was beautifully crafted and his physique could be seen even through his perfectly tailored suit.

"Do I know you?" Dominic asks, unpleased that he is being spoken to.

Julius chuckles, "My apologies. Julius Ashford, I saw what your dad pulled tonight and wanted to check in on you?"

"Why?" Dominic asks rudely. I gently shove him, and he sighs. "Thank you."

Julius smirks at me, noticing what I did. "I know how overbearing fathers can be, especially if you grew up in the spotlight." He hands Dominic a business card. "If you want to rant, or just want advice."

Dominic takes it skeptically, "Probably not. But thanks."

Julius nods before looking down at me. "And you are?"

I smile, "Amina Bassey. Nice to meet you, Mr. Ashford, I love your apps."

He chuckles, "Thank you, Amina. It was a pleasure meeting you both. Have a good night, and good luck Dominic."

"Good luck to you too." Dominic replies sarcastically.

Julius walks away and Dominic rolls his eyes. I didn't blame him though, he was having a bad night, and I expected him to be hostile. The valet pulled up Dominic's car and we got in before making our way to the nearest hotel.

The drive to the hotel was quiet, as I was battling with my guilty thoughts. I felt horrible and couldn't help but feel solely responsible for all of this.

"We're here." He says snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see the large hotel we were parked in front of. We got out of the car and once again Dominic handed a valet his keys, this time without a threat. I guess he was too upset to worry about his car.

The hotel lobby was a large space decorated in modern sleek white and beige colors. White chandeliers hung from the ceiling and grey and black furniture decorated the lobby.

"Welcome to the White Lotus. What's the reservation under?" The hotel receptionist asks as we approach the counter.

"We don't have a reservation. Do you have any rooms available for the night?" Dominic asks.

"Of course, let me check for you. Will you be needing one bed or two?"

Dominic looks over at me as I look up at him. "Two." He replies.

She smiles, "Sure thing!" She types away at the computer. "Okay, I do have a room on the third floor. Will that be okay?"

He nods, sliding her his credit card. "That's fine."

She takes the credit card and his ID before looking over it. She looks at him and back at the ID, "Dominic Taylor, are you by chance related to Joesph Taylor? I know he's holding an event nearby."

Dominic frowns, "No, do you have a room or not?" He asks impatiently. I squeeze his hand gently from under the counter trying to keep him calm.

The woman nods, "My apologies." Before handing him the room keys, "Room 312, enjoy Mr. Taylor."

He takes the keys before mumbling a thank you and leading me toward the elevator. "You okay?" I ask gently.

"Just fine." He replies as we ride up to the 3rd floor.

"Let me know what the total is so I can send you my half." I say as we exit the elevator.

He furrows his brows in confusion, "For what?"

We approach the hotel room door and he begins to unlock it. The door opens revealing two queen size beds as we requested, along with a tiny kitchen area, TV, and sitting area.

"For all this. Tonight was my idea, the least I could do is pay half."

He chuckles removing his suit jacket, "Don't worry your pretty little head about it. It's on me."

"Dominic, just tell me the price."

"You can buy us dinner if you want to pay for something so bad."

I sigh, "Okay fine." I walk over to the bed area surveying the room when I suddenly start to feel a wave of tiredness crash over my body. "I need to get out of this dress." I groan taking a seat on the bed.

"I would be happy to help you with that." Dominic jokes with a smirk, making me frown at him. He chuckles at my reaction as he begins unbuttoning his shirt.

"Can you give me the gym bag with your clothes in it?" I ask. He nods, tossing the bag to my bed. I mumble thanks as I begin taking off my jewelry and placing it on the table. I look through the bag and find a T-shirt that looks big enough to wear on its own.

I get up from my seat ready to change out of my dress. I sigh when I realize I will need assistance and look to Dominic. He was already partially undressed when he noticed me struggling with my zipper and smirked. "I guess I am getting to help you out of it."

"Don't be a pervert."

He chuckles walking up to me. I move my hair to the side, allowing him access to my back zipper. "You looked beautiful tonight." He whispers as he slowly unzips the zipper. He was close and I could feel his breath against my skin. The dress was fully zipped down, leaving me to hold the dress in place to prevent it from peeling off my body.

I turn to face him, his eyes once again clouded with lust. "Thank you." I whisper, meeting his gaze. I held it for a moment trying to find something other than lust in his eyes, before walking to the bathroom to get changed.

I removed my makeup the best I could without my products and washed my face before throwing on the t-shirt and heading to the bedroom. Dominic was already lying on his bed, shirtless and wearing some basketball shorts.

"Wanna watch a movie?" He asks as I get into my bed.

I shrug, "I don't know if I'm in the mood. You can put one on though."

He chooses a movie as I turn the other way in my bed. I could hear the Avengers talking in the background as I tried to calm the guilt that was weighing heavily on me.

"Amina." Dominic said from behind me after 10 minutes.

"Yes?"

"What's wrong?"

I turn to face him. "Nothing."

"I hope you're not still beating yourself up over tonight. It's not your fault and I'm fine."

I sit up, "How is it not my fault? You never would've gone if it weren't for me."

"I'm a big boy, you didn't force me to do anything." He sighs when he realizes I'm still upset. "Come here." He says patting the bed.

I get up from my spot on the bed and walk over to him, taking a seat on his bed. "I'm not mad at you, at all. And I had a great time with you tonight."

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

He shakes his head, "It's the truth. I like that we got to get dressed up and get out. It was fun. I just like being with you."

I smile softly at him. "I like being with you too."

"Good. Now tell me how it went with Noemi."

I sighed leaning against the headboard of his bed. "She was incredible, to be honest. In one conversation I learned so much from her. She even gave me her business card." I gush.

He smiles, "Good, then tonight wasn't a total fail."

"Mr. Ashford seemed to like you as well."

He frowns, "He felt sorry for me. I don't need his pity."

"Maybe it's not pity?"

"I don't want to talk about this." He sighs, sitting up from his spot on the bed. He picks up the remote, turning up the volume on the TV. I looked up at him as I lay against the headboard. He focused his eyes on the TV, trying to ignore my gaze. "Don't you try to look at me with pity too." He says not looking at me.

"It's not pity Dominic."

He sighs, finally facing me. "What do you want me to do? Cry? What's done is done."

"I just want you to talk to me."

"I am talking to you. What else do you want from me?" He asks in irritation.

"You shut down whenever we get close to really talking about your feelings." He stares ahead not looking at me. I gently place my hand on the side of his face, ushering for him to face me. "Let me in."

"You don't want to be let into this twisted mind of mine." He says, his eyes peering into mine.

"I think I should be the judge of that myself." I reply softly.

He shakes his head, his hand wrapping around my wrist, moving it away from his face and placing it back down. "Goodnight Amina." He says before turning around to face the other way.

———

Poor Dominic. I wonder what's to come next?

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- AuggiePooh-