Sway with Me

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Front Page Couple

Sitting in the producers’ office, Isabelle shifted nervously as she stared at several newspapers that lay on top of the desk; they all had different images of her and Cristiano leaving the club the night before.

“I don’t know what to say,” Isabelle said as she ran a hand through her red hair; she was wearing a white drape cami top and black skinny jean paired with black shoe boots.

David frowned as he looked at the dancer, he hadn't been thrilled to see the headlines when he had gotten up that morning; he knew that this could cause problems for the show.

“I’m sorry that it came out this way,” Isabelle said knowing that this could possibly cost her, her job on the show; the sudden sound of a commotion made the group look at the door before Cristiano entered the room, Jorge attempting to stop him without any success.

“You can’t fire Isabelle,” Cristiano said as Jorge attempted to shut him up, Isabelle stared at her boyfriend as he tried to calm his breathing; it was clear that he had rushed to the office and wasn’t about to let his girlfriend lose her job.

“You can fire me, you can find us different partners but I won’t let you fire her,” Cristiano said making the producers stare at him confused, Isabelle looked at her boyfriend wondering what on earth he was thinking.

David cleared his throat as Jorge attempted to get Cristiano out of the office, however the footballer wouldn’t be moved.

“We have no intention of firing Isabelle… you both were already the favourites to win this season and we think this could be a good promotional tool. We already have a massive boost in people watching the replays since this appeared in the papers,” David said with a smile.

Cristiano sat down next to Isabelle as Jorge huffed as his client; he had to admit that he was pleased to see Cristiano finally getting close with someone and not using them to distract himself from losing Penny.

“I’m not losing my job,” Isabelle said softly to be sure that she had heard him right, David nodded his head as he looked between the couple; Cristiano laced his fingers with Isabelle’s as they looked at the producers.

“No you’re not losing your job at least not this season anyway,” David said making Cristiano glare at the producer at what he was implying; the red head swallowed as she realised that they might not renew her contract after this season.

***

Cristiano held Isabelle’s hand as they walked into a restaurant, he drew her close as they ignored the calls that the press gave them; the couple had just left the television studio and Cristiano was far from happy.

“Cris,” Isabelle murmured as she squeezed her boyfriend’s hand, she licked her lips as she looked at her boyfriend; he had wanted to argue with the producers about their underlining threat of termination.

The couple were lead to the table before Cristiano finally turned his attention to Isabelle; the red head kissed him softly.

“They can’t terminate your contract over this,” Cristiano said making the red head sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair as she looked at him; she knew that he wasn’t happy with the threat that David had issued.

“Cris… my contract ends this season, if they don’t resign me then I’ll cope,” Isabelle said making her boyfriend frown at her words; he hated that he had put her into this position; he loved Isabelle and didn't want to cost her, her job on Más que baile.

“Cris, this isn’t like football… if I don’t resign for them then there are other things that I could do,” Isabelle said making her boyfriend frowned; he knew what could happen if she didn't resign for Más que baile, there was a chance she could be moved to another country for a show there.

“I won’t lose you over this Isa,” Cristiano said making the red head stare at him, he looked lost at the thought of losing her; Isabelle took his hand in comfort, she didn't know what had made him like this but it worried her.

“You won’t lose me either way,” Isabelle said as she attempted to reassure him, she licked her lips as she watched him for a moment; she could see that her words weren’t comforting him.

The red head sighed as she laced her fingers with Cristiano’s, she had a feeling that she knew what had brought this on; she didn't know a lot about Penny and hadn't asked her boyfriend about her.

“Cristiano, what is this really about?” Isabelle asked as she watched him concerned, she knew that he was holding something back from her and it was clear that he wasn’t going to let this go; she watched him concerned as he ran a hand through his hair.

“I can’t lose you Isa, I don’t let people get close to me and I’ve let you get so close to me that if you were to go then I don’t know what I would do,” Cristiano said softly as his brown eyes searched hers, he swallowed as he looked away remembering what it had been like when he had lost Penny and how much that had hurt.

“Isabelle,” said a voice making the red head still, Cristiano glared at the man that had interrupted their lunch; the man was with a woman, who looked a little nervous at the sight of the red head.

“Damien, Christina,” Isabelle said as she looked at them, Damien grinned at the red head while his wife bit her lip as if knowing that this was an uncomfortable meeting even if her husband didn't see it.

“It’s good to see you again,” Damien said while Cristiano glared at the man before him, he recognised him as a sports journalist and he could see that Isabelle didn't want to see him. Cristiano squeezed Isabelle’s hand making her look at him.

“I’m sorry… Damien, this is my boyfriend, Cristiano. Cris, this is Damien Santos… my ex-boyfriend,” Isabelle said making the footballer stare at her; he remembered when he had first tried to win her over, he had a feeling that this was the person who had hurt her.

Damien smiled at Cristiano, who glared at him knowing that he had hurt Isabelle in some way; Christina pulled her husband away from the couple offering them a small smile as if knowing that Isabelle didn't want to speak with them.

“What did he do to you?” Cristiano asked as he watched the married couple walk away; he could see that Isabelle was hurting from their appearance as if she hadn't expected to see them ever again. The red head sighed as she looked over at the couple before she looked at Cristiano

“Christina was my best friend… I found out that she was pregnant with Damien’s baby, they’d been seeing each other behind my back for months,” Isabelle revealed softly.

Cristiano glared over at the journalist, he couldn't believe that anyone would want to hurt Isabelle like that; they had only been together for a few weeks and Cristiano knew that he couldn't bear to be without her.

Isabelle shook her head as she remembered getting invited to their wedding and the news that they had named their daughter after her; she had never been able to forgive them for what they had done.

“I’d never do that to you… you mean everything to me,” Cristiano said making Isabelle look at him, he brushed some hair from her face before he kissed her; he would never hurt her like that and knew that he could never lose her like Penny.