“Hey, Ma,” I answered, pointing to a cute dress Cassidy was showing me on her iPad.
“We’re back at the hotel, baby. Your father and I wanted to check in on you.”
“I’m fine, just sitting here with Cassidy and Chauncey.”
“Is that boyfriend of yours around?” she questioned, and I blew out a breath of frustration.
“No, but I want you to have lunch with us this weekend,” I stated.
“I’ll talk to your father and see how he feels about it,” Mom said.
“Thanks, but we know how stubborn your husband can get,” I joked before I reached over and grabbed another piece of rib out of the box.
“Keep me updated, sweetie and we’ll check in later,” Mom said.
“When is your flight back?”
“This weekend, so try not to get caught up with work so we can spend some time together,” Mom suggested.
“Okay. Let me call you when I figure out my plans,” I said and hung up the phone.
I chuckled thinking about my father fussing about his little girl. That man had been my protector forever and now that someone new was in the picture he’d had to step back. I finished eating and checked the time on my phone then strolled to the kitchen to clean up. I started singing the lyrics to the song that Chauncey played when we heard yelling and gunshots.
Pop! Pop!
“OMG!” Cassidy screamed and dropped to the floor. Chauncey followed suit and I ran back to my couch and grabbed my phone to call Joaquin. As soon as I started to dial his number the door burst open and the man that I now knew as Ciro was standing there.
“We meet again, Miss Chambers,” Ciro stated.
“Let them go, it’s me you want,” I pleaded, speed dialing Joaquin’s number. I had him saved as my number one emergency contact.
“Kind of sad your boyfriend left you alone again,” Ciro said.
“What’s sad is a man taking out his revenge on a woman that had nothing to do with your niece,” I spat.
He grinned as he marched into my house with two more men behind him.
“Where’s Edward?” I questioned.
“Your little manager friend is hiding from me,” Ciro said.
“Look, Joaquin is not here.”
“We have some unfinished business, Sofia,” Ciro said as he ran his hand across my cheek.
“What happened to Hugo and Alex?”
“They're fine, unless you come with me now.”
“No,” I said before I head butted him and ran to the kitchen where I grabbed a knife. He was a little dazed, but I was able to put some distance between us. One of his men grabbed Cassidy by the arm and stood her up.
“If you don’t want anything to happen to your little friend,” Ciro threatened through gritted teeth.
“Let them go first,” I responded as I waved the knife back and forth.
“I’m running this show, Miss Chambers,” Ciro said.
I glanced over at Chauncey and one of the guys kicked him in the stomach.
“Stop!” I yelled.
“That’s for disobeying me,” Ciro said.
“You son of a bitch.” I lunged at him and he caught my wrist and twisted my hand making me drop the knife. I clenched my left hand and punched him in the nose and kneed him in the balls.
“You bitch!” Ciro shouted and tried to grab for me again and I picked up his gun.
“I’m only going to say this once. Let my friends go or I’ll kill you.”
“Sofia! Sofia!” I heard Joaquin call out.
“In here!” I replied. He rushed through the door with Gabriella and Gael. It was a full-on standoff in the room. Cassidy and Chauncey were bystanders in the bullshit of my life that came with dating Joaquin.
“Baby put the gun down,” Joaquin said and I shook my head no.
“I want him to leave and take his men with him,” I said as tears fell down my cheeks.
“You have no idea who you're messing with, little girl,” Ciro stated. I shot a little above his head and everyone ducked.
“Get out,” I snapped then pointed the gun right in between his eyes. I grew up in the South; I wasn’t afraid of guns. My father taught me how to protect myself, I just chose not to carry a gun in New York.
“I can handle it from here, sweetheart,” Joaquin stated, before he motioned for them all to leave. They released Chauncey and Cassidy while Gael checked on Hugo outside of the door. Joaquin started to come toward me and I held my hand up to stop him.
“Leave.”
“What?”
“I said leave, Joaquin. This is too much for me.”
“You don’t get to decide that,” Joaquin spat.
“Like hell I don’t, they just burst into my home and tried to kill me and my friends.”
“Sofia, baby, you’re scared, I get that. Leaving me is not an option,” Joaquin said. He tried to come close and I held the gun up. His eyes widened in surprise.
“Sofia,” Gael said.
“No, I want you gone. My life was simple before this bullshit came around.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Then I’ll leave.” I started to walk off and he grabbed my arm stopping me.
“Wait! Wait... Shushhhh.”
“Just go, Joaquin.”
“I’ll give you some space, but we're not through.”
“Take care of Hugo,” I stated and placed Ciro’s gun in his hand. I ran over to Chauncey and Cassidy to make sure they were okay. Gael talked Joaquin into leaving before he blew up even further. I could see in his eyes when everything went blank that he was ready to become this Ghost person. Maybe my parents were right, and I needed to get the police involved, because Ciro didn’t care where I lived and who I was with. All he wanted was to get revenge by any means for his dead niece. Everyone left and an hour later I was soaking in the tub with my eyes closed thinking about how I went from preparing to go out to dinner with my boyfriend on a boat to being kidnapped, shot at, jumped in freezing cold temperatures. Rescued then almost kidnapped again. I could probably write a book about my life at this point. I pulled the plug and stepped out, dried off and removed the wrap from around my hair. I already brushed my teeth before getting in the tub, so I just lotioned up and jumped into bed then checked a few messages.
Joaquin: I’ll give you space for now.
Me: It doesn’t work like that.
Joaquin: Try me.
I let out a harsh breath and turned my light off in my bedroom and sunk deeper under the covers. I wouldn’t let Joaquin’s possessive ways get to me any longer. My mind was made up and I might even start to see other people.
Joaquin: Goodnight beautiful.
…
The next morning I blinked my eyes open slowly, feeling like someone was watching me. I adjusted in the bed, wiped the crust out of my eyes, and looked over to the couch under the window. I got it several months ago so I’d have something for me to sit on and read. I jumped when I saw Joaquin staring back at me, wearing the same clothes from yesterday.
“What are you doing here?” I muttered groggily, sitting up against the headboard.
“I needed to make sure you were safe.”
“No, you're doing the control bullshit again. I’m fine, you can leave now.”
He leaned over, clasping his hands together.
“You know why I pursued you?” Joaquin asked as he stared into my eyes.
I turned my head, not wanting to deal with more stress. I was planning on meeting with Cassidy today at a photo studio to get my life started back up and running.
“Joaquin.”
“I wanted you the moment I saw your smile,” he spoke.
“What do you mean? We only bumped into each other at the restaurant.”
“I stood outside of the door and watched you have lunch with Edward for a few minutes and something made you smile. Your presence stilled me, calmed the noise in my head,” Joaquin stated and stood up slowly.
“I think it’s best we both focus on other things and get space. I need to get my career on track,” I said, pushed the covers back, stood up and made the bed.
“You can have your space, but I want you to have security at all times.”
“That’s not necessary,” I replied as I walked to the bathroom and turned the light on.
“Edward is still involved somehow and Ciro is still missing,” Joaquin responded, standing at the door of the bathroom.
I started to brush my hair up into a bun then tied a scarf around it to keep it from getting wet.
We stared at each other through the mirror.
“I trust you’ll find him, but I’m not stopping my life or career.”
“Sofia,” he groaned and started to come closer. I held my hand up to stop him from getting closer to talk me out of wanting space.
“Cassidy is meeting me at the studio, I can’t do this with you right now,” I told him, and removed my nightshirt, standing naked in front of him as I closed the door in his face.
An hour later I jumped out of the cab and headed inside of the photo studio texting Cassidy to make sure she was here.
“Sofia!” Cassidy called out.
I waved and she came over with the designer of the clothing brand we signed a contract with to become their brand ambassador. With me going back into the studios, and finally getting back into acting, hopefully I could put this nightmare of the past few days behind me.
“Hey Maggie, thanks again for pushing back the shoot,” I said, removing my jacket. She was around my age, maybe a few years older. Shorter in height and with an athletic build, she reminded me of a younger Serena Williams mixed with Jill Scott. Someone that loved working out, but was still laid-back and doesn’t get overly stressed about things.
“When we heard everything that was happening, we wanted to make sure your safety and recovery was first,” Maggie, the owner and designer of Expressive Designs, said.
“Maggie and the team were really supportive and sent flowers to the hospital,” Cassidy remarked. I held my hand up to my heart thanking her for the support.
“What’s the plan for today? Cassidy said you looked at the notes we sent over.”
“Yes we did and I know you recently came out of the hospital so we’ll need to do alterations in the moment,” she replied and we headed to through the lobby of the photography studio that Expressive Designs built for their company. The colors matched the brand with maroon, orange, and black. The front held a wall display with mannequins wearing the latest fashions. There was a huge tv on the wall with the fashion show that debuted the collection. She escorted us back to the makeup area. It brought back memories of the situation with the bomb scare and I felt a little jittery, but I didn’t want to alarm anyone and end the shoot before it started.
“Today is mostly shots of you wearing each outfit as a test look,” Maggie said, showing off the pieces that were hanging on the rack next to us. The photographer was setting up shots with his crew as the makeup artist strolled in from the back employee section with more lights.
“Bridget, you remember Sofia and Cassidy right?” Maggie asked and Bridget held her hand out and we shook.
“I’m a huge fan of yours, Sofia. Are you working on another album?” Bridget asked.
“Most definitely am, my fans have hounded me enough,” I joked as we all laughed in conjunction.
Cassidy stood on the right side of me with her phone and iPad out.
“I forwarded all of your emails to me now. So far, I’ve spoken with your lawyer and accountants,” Cassidy rattled off.
“Can I get some water?” I asked Cassidy and she grabbed a bottle of water from the craft table.
For today’s shoot the setup was a white and gold backdrop with me standing in the front of the Expressive Designs logo.
“I have the first two outfits. A legging one-piece jumper set that we can interchange,” Maggie commented, holding up the two outfits.
“I didn’t need to do too much on you, Sofia. You can get dressed now,” Bridget said.
“Perfect, thanks, Bridget.” I took another sip of water and stood up, grabbed the pantsuit and walked into the dressing room to change.
I slipped on the maroon and black suit with the side belts hanging and large pockets. The wardrobe stylist dropped down to the floor to help me slip on the shoes, then touched up my hair.
“We’re ready for you, Sofia,” Tobias, the photographer, said and I strolled toward the front of the backdrop. Cassidy took shots on her phone for social media.
Tobias motioned for me to put my hands on my waist and turn to the left side, while looking directly into the camera. The flash of the camera went off as the music turned on with Jazzmen Sullivan playing in the background.
“Nice, Sofia, like that, keep going,” Tobias said as he turned the camera sideways then moved in closer toward me.
I squatted down on my knees with my hands on top, looking directly into the camera.
“Stay like that, show you're a badass,” Tobias announced.
“Let me get a photo we can use for your social media header,” Cassidy insisted. She walked next to the photographer to grab the shot.
“Check out what we have so far,” Maggie remarked, standing behind the video monitor.
Bridget strolled over and checked my makeup and passed me a bottle of water. I felt renewed and vibrant with getting things moving in the right direction for my career.
“Cassidy, can you pass my phone please?” I said.
“Sure, here you go,” Cassidy replied. She marched to my purse, lifted my phone out of my purse and brought it to me. I checked for messages and nothing was there from Joaquin so I guessed he got the message that I wanted to be alone and focus on my work.
“Anything major?” Cassidy wondered, taking the phone back.
“Nope, quiet thank goodness. Maggie should I change?” I questioned.
“Yep, do the sports bra and pants,” Maggie responded as she grabbed the pants and shirt for me to change.
I slipped into the dressing room and changed into the next outfit while Tobias set up the next shot. It had more lighting and a short box for me to step up on.
“Sofia, can I get you to put one foot up on the box and turn your body facing the wall?” Tobias asked.
Once I was in the position he requested, I checked to make sure my breasts looked good then smoothed my hand down to make sure all the lint was gone.
“Ready,” I said.
Tobias picked up the camera again and started taking shots. I put my right arm on top of my left, then smiled into the camera.
“Looking good, Sofia,” Tobias said. Bridget stepped into the frame to add gold bronzer to my back. The next four hours went well and everyone decided to go out and have a few drinks together to celebrate. It was me, Maggie, Cassidy, Tobias, and Bridget that jumped into his car and headed to Bar One. I put the hood over my head to keep the photographers from noticing me as the crowd grew bigger.
“Welcome to Bar One. Are you looking for a booth or did you want to sit at the bar?” the hostess stated.
Bar One was the spot that all of Hollywood and the music industry came to hang out. They had it decorated with clear glass throughout the room. Gold lights hung throughout the club. The bar sat in the middle of the entire room with four televisions mounted around and the DJ had his own stage set up in the corner pumping music.
“Booth please,” Maggie said, and the hostess motioned for us to follow her to the back booth in the corner.
“OMG! It’s Sofia Chambers.” A girl wearing next to nothing in a skimpy dress tried to come over for a hug and Tobias blocked her from moving in close.