The CEO favorite is a college stripper (BWWM)

Chapter 64: The Disaster

Taleela's POV

I'm scrolling through the internet, and all that fills my news feed are pictures of me and Karanos and headlines talking about our breakup and how it affected our business relationship. Even discussions about the deal being called off.

How the hell did these people know about all this? Did Karanos tell them in a press conference or something?

Shaking my head, I know that Karanos is not that type of person. He's primarily private, apart from the unfortunate pictures taken by the paparazzi and some ladies that want to leech off him.

I lean away from the back seat and tap my driver's shoulder. He turns for a bit. We're almost at the intersection, so I must tell him quickly.

"Can you take the longer route? We're going to enter my apartment from the back," I say. "The paparazzi will be waiting for me,"

"Okay, ma'am." The driver says and immediately swerves into the other intersection that leads to the longer route.

When we get to my apartment, many reporters are standing in front of the building, and knowing fully well that they're waiting for me, the driver turns back. Thankfully, they don't see me and can't see me because the windows of the car are double-tinted. I hope one reporter amongst them hasn't followed me up to this point.

There's a parking lot behind the building, and my driver drives into a parking space. Then he gets out of the car and looks around. Nodding in approval, I am glad that he knows how this works. That's why I had not fired him a long time ago. The other drivers were dumb and didn't know when to do the right thing.

Coming back after seeing nobody, he opens the car door, and I step out, also looking around for any reporter or paparazzi in hiding. There was none, so we quickly hurried to the exit door.

I am safely back in my apartment, and I drop my handbag while I kick off my shoes. I don't know how I feel right now. I fall into the couch behind me and sigh. Everything's going south, and I don't know what to do.

I shed a few tears before deciding that strong women like me take action instead of sitting by and doing nothing but cry and sulk.

So I sit up and rummage about my purse in search of my phone. Taking it out, I immediately place Nikolai on a call.

He picks up after three rings. "Hey, Jemmah. Home already?"

"Yes, I am," I reply, trying to sound normal. "Have you contacted Tobias Makvile?"

"Yes, I have," Nikolai sighed. "He's pleased about it all, and he's inviting us to dinner tonight to celebrate and also celebrate,"

But I am not happy about it. I am not even sure I want him with that contract. But Karanos...

"Tell him I'll be absent from the party. Nikolai, I am not interested in being in public right now. I need to rest,"

"Okay, Jemmah," Nikolai replies. "Uhm, I don't want to say this, but you might want to check what's trending right now,"

"Oh, I've seen it. I and Karanos,"

"No, Jemmah. Just go back online. I shouldn't be asking you to do this, but I want you to take all the news in all at once,"

"Uhm, okay," I say. Nikolai ends the call, and immediately, I check Twitter for trending news only to see...

Oh my God.

My phone drops from my hand, and I feel my world crumble at my feet.

Pictures of me stripping in Greece are everywhere. It's just a picture, but it's trending, and there are many tags. Tags of me being called a whore. Some say I built my empire from the cash I made from stripping—many dirty, nasty words.

I can't take it anymore, so I quickly stand to my feet and stagger to my wine cabinet. A leftover bottle of whiskey is on the table, and I pick it up and open it before taking a swig.

For a long time, I kept drinking from the bottle of whiskey, and I already felt drunk. When my phone rings again, I pick it up, not caring to look at who the caller is.

"Hello," I say in a groggy voice.

"Jemmah!" It's Nikolai. He sounds panicked.

I'm still drunk, but I notice the panic in his voice and immediately try to sit up. "What's it, Nikolai?"

"Are you drunk?" He asks. He's speaking fast. Like he's running somewhere or running from something.

I shake my head and try to sound like I am not drunk. "No, I am not drunk. Why did you call?"

"Tobias Makvile backed down, and we're losing a lot right now.  Lots of our investors are pulling out of our company,"

I don't think I am drunk anymore because I'm sitting up in a panic. "What?!" I scream.

"Are you drunk, Jemmah?" He asks again. "I don't think you should be drinking by this time. But it's okay."

I have no idea what's going on, but I end the call and burst into another batch of tears while I keep taking deep swigs from the whiskey bottle. This bottle was more than halfway full when I picked it up, but now, it's almost finished, and I believe I deserve another one.

But right now, my hand is on Kal's contact information, and I tap on the call icon. I hope he picks up.

—

Kal's POV

I'm pacing in my Dad's office again, and I honestly want to leave. With all the news that has been flying around and the most recent one— photos of Jemmah at the strip club on the internet, I know Jemmah is in the wrong place right now.

I wish I could go to her and comfort her. But she hates me and possibly doesn't want to see me.

"Are you listening to a word I'm saying?" My father barks.

I stop pacing and look at my father, seated behind his desk. He's furious, and that's bad for his health. I remember his doctor telling him not to react so much to things. But he's doing that just now.

"Look, Dad," I say to him. "I have a lot of things to deal with at the moment, and filing a lawsuit isn't one of them. There's a possibility that she'll be back offering us the deal because Tobias already pulled out." I clench my fist at the mention of his name.

We're rivals and have never been on good terms, and Jemmah awarding him a contract makes me feel quite... angry.

But it's all good. He pulled out already, from what I heard. I'm more concerned about Jemmah's well-being, and I need to be out of my father's office and on my way to Italy as soon as possible.

The door barges open to reveal Achilles, who is breathing heavily. "Allegra released photos of Jemmah in the strip club!"

"I always knew she was a whore. She was serving men with her body to build her empire," My father sneers.

Achilles glares at him, and I want to walk over to him and punch a fist into his face. But he's my father, and I will allow him to be stupid.

Without saying anything, I walk out of his office, banging his door shut.

Everyone makes way for me as I walk past. They can see that I am livid and nobody dares stand in the way except they want to be fired.

Barging into my office, I pick up my phone from my desk. Allegra is the first person I call.

"Oh, my darling Kal, you remember my existence today? That's sweet of you," Then her voice turns serious. "What do you want?"

"You fucking released pictures of her after I warned you not to?" I growl. I feel myself shaking in anger, and I try as much as possible not to overreact. Allegra can be a crazy bitch at times.

"Of course I did. What was the need to hide it when I could create something that people would love to talk about? She has a banging body and might get deals from exotic strip clubs. She should be happy."

I don't think I've ever been murderous my whole life. In a day, I have thought about killing two people, and if Allegra is here, I won't hesitate to strangle her to death. I fucking hate her.

"Allegra, I want you to leave the country as soon as you can,"

She laughs. "Why would I do that? Or are you afraid of me suddenly becoming a celebrity after all this? I already amassed over a thousand followers in a night, so—"

"You should leave. Find somewhere to be for the rest of your life. I'm sure you don't want assassins chasing after you. I'm sure you don't want to be running your whole life. I'm sure you don't want the police running after you. You don't."