The Lesbian Shark

FOUR (ISELEN POV)

I close my eyes, putting the coffee mug on the desk and leaning back on my chair, grimacing. My head hurts because I've been checking complicated charts in my laptop for the last two hours but, luckily, the Japanese deal is almost done, everything went well, I'm going to make a lot of money and didn't need to visit that country. I feel relieved because I won't have free time for the next few months, an unexpected trip could ruin other deals. Fortunately, Chloe has everything sorted out. I'd be lost without my assistant.

High-pitched barks echo somewhere in the house, startling me, and I open my eyes. I feel confused for a second till I remember that Ruby's living here with me and her lovely pets came with her. My new girlfriend... or something like that. My partner in crime, that's for sure. I lean my elbows on the desk, close to my laptop, and look at the garden through the massive window. I can't help smiling when I realize that I managed to get my way again: it looked like a crazy decision at first, but it was a great success in the end.

Everything went well at the party, my plan was perfect and even Caroline believed me despite her initial bewilderment. She's known me for years, in fact, the princess and my mother are good friends and she's seen me grow. It's not normal for me to appear out of the blue with a new partner holding onto my arm and introduce her to the world as my girlfriend immediately. I'm aware of the fact that most people get close to me for their personal interest and women are not an exception, none of them want to know Iselen, they're mesmerized by the Lesbian Shark. I'm always cautious and suspicious when it comes to meet new people out of my business environment and it took years for me to introduce a formal girlfriend to my family. And yet, Elina managed to fool me.

I always assumed that she got close to me out of interest and fell in love with me after getting to know me better, talking about art, the countries we both visited and cakes because we both have a sweet tooth. I thought she'd found the real Iselen hidden behind the businesswoman and she liked what she saw but what she really liked deep inside was my bank account. To be honest, I was not as disappointed as I should be. My ex-wife is a beautiful woman, educated and full of charm but I was aware that she was a bit frivolous and I had married her because it was the right thing to do. It was time to settle down and I had a glamorous wife to come with me to those boring parties. I don't think I really loved her.

I guess Nayla, Caroline and other guests believe that I fell in love with Ruby Rose's pretty face and this is why I'm walking around holding her arm. Well, it wouldn't be strange, I mean, she's a beautiful woman. I'm pretty sure she's driven crazy some girls looking at them with those amazing green eyes. And the speculations in tabloids seem to confirm that assumption. When the pics were posted in Harry Winston's social media accounts and published by some European magazines that follow the activities of the princely house of Monaco, lot of people recognized Ruby's tattoos and noticed that she was sitting next to an elegant but unknown woman, at least, for American tabloids.

A few phone calls were enough for them to find out who I was and Ruby's pretty face is on the front page of every magazine again after she left her ex-fiancée at the altar some days ago. Actually, they don't know much about me, only that I'm wealthy, I turn into gold everything I touch and I'm feared and respected in the finance world. That's more or less what European tabloids know, apart from the names of my parents, some close friends and my ex-wife. Luckily, Elina has never called a journalist to tell them things about our life together, she knows I'm a discreet person and would get very angry if she reveals intimate secrets, I could ruin her life in a hundred different ways.

Anyway, it's obvious that we caused a stir two nights ago in LA and a bunch of paparazzi were waiting at the hotel side door. I knew that would happen and was ready to fix the problem hiring some private bodyguards, former special operators from the army who made a clear corridor for us to reach the car safely. Ruby looked nervous, almost scared, and I put my arm over her shoulders to protect her while those idiots were shouting awful questions at her. They seem to believe that I'm the reason why she left Emmy Baker at the altar. The Australian actress is earning a reputation as a social climber and broke up with the daughter of a successful producer to date a more powerful and wealthier businesswoman.