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Events like this are enough for Adalena to want to run away and watch her entire empire burn to ash. She hated the false niceness, the forced smiles, and high pitched squeals that came from house wives and celebrities who couldn't get caught dead in a pair of Walmart brand shoes.
Most of all, she hated how much she missed Adriano and his company. He often joins her at these parties, taking her mind off her pretentious surroundings.
The event is an auction of numerous paintings and art pieces, many of which belong in an archive somewhere nobody has access to it. She'd been mainly focused on the African showpieces that the collectors pillaged from a village in South Africa.
She already bought them and told her assistant to ship them back to where they belong.
Sitting on the couch surrounded by — surprise surprise — more pretentious people, she sips her champagne, her mind overrun with thoughts on her future. Everything she holds in her hands and everything she can't.
At least not if she waits any longer.
Glancing down at her hands, she imagines herself holding a life in between them. Gulping the tears away, she looks back up in time for a figure to lower himself down beside her.
"For a woman as beautiful as you, I'm surprised you're sitting here alone." The man's tone indicates one of lust, his voice deep as he leans into her, yet keeps a respectful distance.
He's attractive, Adalena won't lie. His brown hair is slicked back and hazel eyes are piercing as he stares at her. He wears a designer suit, his scent of cologne overwhelming, though it seems he's compensating for something else.
Especially when he speaks again, not allowing her time to respond to his greeting. "You must be Adalena Washington. I've heard a lot about you."
She knows. She knows because she's the founder of a Fortune 100 company, an advocate for Black women around the world, a great role model and influence for the children she often visits during her free time. She knows because she knows herself and what is a result of her success.
She sips from her flute and narrows her eyes behind the glass before revealing it, "You've heard about me?"
He nods, "I was hoping that would be enough fuel for you to allow me to take you out for dinner sometime."
Adalena is quick to decline the offer. "I don't do dates."
And he's quick to respond, "I know. This isn't a date. This is me bringing a beautiful woman out for food."
"No." She deadpans.
The man smirks, "You're playing hard to get."
"No," she sips her champagne, emptying it and stands, brushing a manicured hand over her velvet slip, "I am hard to get, love."
With that, she turns away and heads into the crowd of pretension. Greeting colleagues turns into her downing another glass of champagne and making her escape to the empty balcony.
The Las Vegas skyline is something Adalena was always obsessed with. That's why she moved here — she enjoyed the nightlife, the opportunities, the people. There was no surprise that she'd set up shop to grow her base a couple of years ago, but Adriano following right behind her was enough to set her heart alight.
While he hurt her feelings yesterday, she still wanted to see him and hug him and feel one of his kisses. And he was right. She can't commit to a relationship, how would she commit to a child that she'd grow and bring into the world. How will she feel at the end of nine months when she's holding her baby in her arms?
"Pretty, isn't it?" His voice makes her bite her lip, trying to keep her joy from bubbling out. She should be mad at him but when his deep voice filters out of his mouth again, she can't help but cast her gaze down, "This view reminds me of Paris."
Though she can't see him considering her back is turned to him, she knows where he's going with this.
"We took a three day trip out there to relieve some of your stress and we fucked every chance we could get." He says and Adalena has to release a sigh of contemplation. She can feel him step close to her, his body heat rolling onto her back as he touches her revealed skin. "In the bedroom, in the restaurant, on the balcony..." His voice is low as he whispers into her ear. She finds herself leaning back into him but pulls herself up.
"Why are you here, Adriano?" She questions, eyes closing in thought.
He kisses her neck, "For you." A pause. "I apologize for overstepping yesterday. It wasn't my place."
She says nothing for a moment before she nods, "It wasn't."
Adriano tilts his head, eyes burning into the side of her face. She resists the urge to shiver under his intense stare.
"You have always taken my breath away, Lena. You have always been honest, not always open, but honest." He says, "I will be patient. I will wait until you're comfortable enough to tell me where having a baby is coming from. I don't care if you still want it at the end of the day — I'll be here regardless. I just want to know that we aren't doing it for a fucked up reason."
She finally looks at him, ignoring how handsome he looks, "You're patronizing me."
"I'm supporting you." He deadpans, "And keeping your head on your shoulders. Just like you do for me."
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