Black Lace
Chapter 4
WARNING: Profanities has been used. If you are under 18, please back out now.
Chapter Playlist: Impossible by James Arthur
Better in Time by Leona Lewis
Please read lyrics for both.
"Alana Morrison?" The pretty brunette behind the desk called coolly, jolting Alana out of her thoughts. Letting out a sigh, Alana got up from her seat, stretching a bit to relief herself from the stiffness that had built as she had sat waiting hours after hours for her turn to come. She tried to fix the creases on the dress with her hand but it remained unchanged.
Grimacing at its state, Alana headed towards the office of the Loan Officer. As she walked through the corridor, she noticed the door of the office opening and a lady walking out; presumably the Loan Officer. She was barking away orders to her secretary as she started walking away in the opposite direction, towards the executive elevator.
"Wait!" Alana called out to the older lady, raising a hand to halt her as she ran towards the officer. The older lady turned to look her way but continued walking away, making Alana call her once more.
"Wait! Please, hold up! I need to talk to you!" Alana shouted again as the lady disappeared near the corner. However, her secretary appeared in Alana's path, holding up a hand to stop her.
"I'm sorry, Miss! I can't let you pass!" The young man exclaimed, looking Alana up with uncensored lust. Alana flinched at the way he was looking at her, but she tried not to panic as she spoke.
"Sir, I really need to talk to the lady over there. I've been coming here for the past couple of days just to talk to her about a loan that I had issued few months ago! Please, just let me through!" Alana pleaded, holding her hands together as desperation overwhelmed her.
"I'm afraid, I can't do that. Mrs. Doris is heading to a lunch meeting as we speak." The man informed Alana as his eyes lingered on her chest hungrily. "But, if you give me your number, maybe I can help- Hey! You can't go there!"
Alana had had enough of the stupid man trying to make a pass at her. She followed the trail she saw the officer heading to, only to be met with the sight of elevators.
"Fuck!" Alana cussed, as defeat began to seep its way into her mind. She looked at the number indicating the floor the elevator was heading to and waited for it to stop so that she could note it in her head.
"Miss, you can't be here. I'm gonna have to ask you to-”
"Does this elevator head straight for any executive floor? As in, can you go to the board rooms using the normal elevators?" Alana interrupted the secretary once more, taking him by surprise.
"Y- Yes! Why do you-”
But Alana had sprinted in the opposite direction, heading to the nearest elevator and getting on it as soon as it arrived. She got out of the elevator and broke into a run when it arrived on the floor she had noted. Asking around for directions to the board rooms, Alana finally spotted the loan officer speaking to a group of, what looked like, high officials. Throwing caution to the wind, Alana approached the group and addressed the older lady.
"Mrs. Doris, I really needed to talk to you." Everyone in the group turned at Alana's voice and Alana almost stopped breathing at the sight of the guy she never thought she'd see again. It was Evan, looking all official in his suit and tie, as he stood stunned at the sight of her.
"Alana?" He took a step towards her, guilt etched over his face. Alana however stiffened her entire body and took a couple of steps backward.
"Is this the Alana I've heard so much about, Abbott?" An older looking man with a warm smile asked, drawing Alana and Evan's attention to himself.
"Yes, Mr. Zale!" Evan answered, moving towards her and laying a hand on her lower back. Alana stiffened instantly, flinching away from his touch. However, Evan pulled her back into his arms as he continued. "This is Alana Morrison, my fiancée."
Evan gave her a pleading look to play along with him for now and Alana couldn't bring herself to expose the big cheat that he was. Alana looked towards the older man with his hand extended and plastered a fake smile as she shook his hand.
"How do you do, Sir? Evan has spoken greatly of you!"
Alana paced the floor of Evan's office, waiting for him to finish his stupid meeting so that she could leave. The asshole had locked her in when he had offered her to sit in his office to discuss the loan. Now, after an hour of shouting and kicking the door to be let out, Alana was outraged beyond belief. She would throttle him as soon as he entered the office, Alana swore to herself.
Alana stopped pacing when she heard the key fumbling in the lock. She placed her hands in her hips, tapping her feet in annoyance. The door opened and Evan walked in, alongside Mrs. Doris with smiles on their faces.
"Alana, dear!" Mrs. Doris extended her hand as though they knew each other for years. Funny what connections with the boss could do to change a person's behavior, Alana thought to herself. "You should've just told me you needed to sanction the loan. I'll be right on it. If you just told me who you were, you wouldn't have had to sit in the waiting room all day."
Alana plastered a fake smile as Evan shared a joke with the older lady and bid her goodbye. As he turned back to look at Alana, his smile fell and it was replaced with a deep scowl.
"Where have you been, Ally? Do you have any clue how worried we all were? You moved out of the penthouse! Left behind your cell phone and all your belongings! I didn’t even know you had taken one of the credit cards until I found it missing! Do you have any idea how hard it had been to trace you down through the card?"
"Oh please! Save that shit, Evan!" Alana exclaimed, as she felt her anger build. "If you knew me at all, you would've checked the shop first!"
"Don't you think I did? Only to find out that you had put Miranda in charge until further notice! How would I have known how long you were planning to disappear?" Alana could tell Evan had actually been worried about her, but tried to stifle the guilt that kept rising.
Evan continued, "Alana, I was really worried about you! I kept thinking the worst things!" He tried to come closer and hold her hand, but she pulled away.
"Worried about me? You are the reason I even disappeared Evan! You have no right to worry about me!"
"Don't say that! Please! I love you and want what's best for you!" Evan reproached, his face showing hurt.
"You love me? Want what's best for me?" Alana let out a humorless laugh before placing eyes filled with hatred on Evan. "You can never love or want anything for anyone other than yourself! You are the most selfish son of a bitch I've ever met!"
"Selfish? Is that what you thought of me for the past two and a half years we've been together? After everything I did for you?" Evan asked, emotions playing across his face as he tried to get closer to Alana.
"What you did was cheat on me, Evan! And not just with any random stranger! But with my own sister!" Alana exclaimed, as the tears gathered behind her eyelids and her throat started clogging up.
"Ally, it was a mistake. I told you! I was drunk! I didn't know what I was doing!" Evan tried to explain, desperate to get her back.
"A mistake?" Alana raised an eyebrow at his audacity. "A mistake is something you do only once and that too accidentally, Evan! But doing something over and over again? It's called a choice!"
"Ally I didn-"
"Don't, Evan!" Alana halted him by raising her hand. "Mom told me everything! So, stop lying!"
Evan's face fell completely, as he looked down at the ground. Alana shook her head as his silence confirmed what her mother had said. She picked up her purse and papers, ready to leave. She was almost near the doorway when she was halted by Evan's voice.
"Wait, Ally! I wanna show you something before you leave! Please!"
Alana spun around to protest and tell him to shove whatever it was that he wanted to show her, but she was taken aback by the frames that adorned his desk. He had turned them for her to see and each of them held a picture of them together. Pictures that had been taken within the two years that they had spent together.
Alana slowly walked towards one of the frames and picked it up. A tear trickled down her cheeks as she looked at its content. It was a picture of her and Evan with her family. They all looked so happy.
"Why? Why did you do it, Evan? I thought we were happy."
"We were. We are, Ally. I just. I don't know why I- I'm so sorry!" Evan was behind her, his head resting on her shoulder, rubbing her arms to make her relax as she wept. Alana closed her eyes to try to ease the pain of betrayal but what she saw as she closed her lids completely threw her off.
"Louis!" Alana gasped, unaware of Evan listening and frowning at her.
"Who?" Evan asked, as questions popped in his head. Alana realized that she had said Louis' name out loud and she tried to cover up.
"Nothing! I'd like to leave now, Evan. I have things to do!" Alana couldn't comprehend why Louis even popped up in her head. He was the last person on Alana's thought. Well, apart from when she went to sleep at night and when she woke up all hot and bothered in the morning as she dreamt about him.
"Hold on, baby! Please, Ally! We need to fix this!" Evan tried to stand in her path.
"There's nothing to fix, Evan! We're done! For good! I hope you and Mel have a wonderful life together!" Alana stiffened her spine as she recalled her sister's mocking face as Alana had thrown the ring at Evan and had broken into a run, as Evan had chased her all the way to the lobby.
"Ally, please! I don't want Mel! I want you!"
"That's not what it looked like when you were having a romp in our bed with her!"
"Baby, please! I don't wanna be with her! I fucked up, Ally! Please! Believe me! Who wants to be with a mental meth junkie, anywa-”
Evan was cut off by Alana's hand slashing across his cheek. Alana was literally as her chest rose up and down with hate and anger.
"Don't you dare say that about Mel, you sick motherfucker!" Alana let out between her gritted teeth. "I should've slapped you the day I found you in bed with her but I let it go, thinking that I had been the one with the lacking! But you know what, I'm glad it's over! You are one of the nastiest human beings that I've ever met!"
Alana walked away as she saw Evan gritting his teeth, furious at having been slapped. However, it looked like Evan had something else in mind as he called her once more with a smirk on his face.
"Ally! You're not getting rid of me so easily! I think it's time I showed you something that will make you reconsider your decision."
"So, the bastard had tricked you at the beginning into signing a document which claimed that he was the owner of the shop?" Miranda asked in shock, handing Alana another tissue as she wept her eyeballs out sitting in the small cafe opposite the flower shop.
"Y- Yes!" Alana hiccupped, blowing her nose on the tissue. "What am I gonna do? My life is ruined, M- Miranda!"
"Oh come on now, Ally!" Miranda reassured Alana, even though she herself was shaken by the news. "Everything'll be fine! Look, why don't you try to buy the shop back from him?"
"He won't s- sell it to me, Miranda! Never in a million years! Don't you get it? He's using it as l- leverage for me to get back with him! Besides, how in the world do you expect me to get so much m- money?"
"I don't know. I- Don't you have any rich friends?"
"All my friends are back in N- New York. I knew I shouldn't have f- followed the bastard all the way to L- London!"
"Oh, Ally!" Miranda hugged her friend and employer as Alana wept, wondering how on earth they would get out of such a sticky situation. "Wait!"
Miranda let go off Ally and jumped in her seat as she came up with a brilliant plan. "Louis! Louis Tomlinson can help you!"
"D- Don’t be ridiculous, Miranda!" Alana frowned at Louis' name being mentioned. She had been trying to not think of the blue-eyed devil, who had been popping up in her dreams every night since they slept together. "W- Why in the world would Louis help us? I t- told you he plans on suing us!"
Alana had told Miranda all about Louis' and her exchange three days back, other than the fingering part...and also the offer he had made after letting her know that she would be sued.
"Look, you don't really need to talk to him! Johanna, his mother, happens to be a regular customer in our shop. Plus, she's in good terms with us! If you are able to get a hold of her, maybe you can convince her to, not just give the shop a donation, but also to stop Louis from suing us!" Miranda explained, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.
"Don't be s- stupid, Miranda. It'll never work!" Alana informed, trying to dismiss the idea completely.
"Well, Ally! You'll never until you try!"
Chapter Playlist: Impossible by James Arthur
Better in Time by Leona Lewis
Please read lyrics for both.
"Alana Morrison?" The pretty brunette behind the desk called coolly, jolting Alana out of her thoughts. Letting out a sigh, Alana got up from her seat, stretching a bit to relief herself from the stiffness that had built as she had sat waiting hours after hours for her turn to come. She tried to fix the creases on the dress with her hand but it remained unchanged.
Grimacing at its state, Alana headed towards the office of the Loan Officer. As she walked through the corridor, she noticed the door of the office opening and a lady walking out; presumably the Loan Officer. She was barking away orders to her secretary as she started walking away in the opposite direction, towards the executive elevator.
"Wait!" Alana called out to the older lady, raising a hand to halt her as she ran towards the officer. The older lady turned to look her way but continued walking away, making Alana call her once more.
"Wait! Please, hold up! I need to talk to you!" Alana shouted again as the lady disappeared near the corner. However, her secretary appeared in Alana's path, holding up a hand to stop her.
"I'm sorry, Miss! I can't let you pass!" The young man exclaimed, looking Alana up with uncensored lust. Alana flinched at the way he was looking at her, but she tried not to panic as she spoke.
"Sir, I really need to talk to the lady over there. I've been coming here for the past couple of days just to talk to her about a loan that I had issued few months ago! Please, just let me through!" Alana pleaded, holding her hands together as desperation overwhelmed her.
"I'm afraid, I can't do that. Mrs. Doris is heading to a lunch meeting as we speak." The man informed Alana as his eyes lingered on her chest hungrily. "But, if you give me your number, maybe I can help- Hey! You can't go there!"
Alana had had enough of the stupid man trying to make a pass at her. She followed the trail she saw the officer heading to, only to be met with the sight of elevators.
"Fuck!" Alana cussed, as defeat began to seep its way into her mind. She looked at the number indicating the floor the elevator was heading to and waited for it to stop so that she could note it in her head.
"Miss, you can't be here. I'm gonna have to ask you to-”
"Does this elevator head straight for any executive floor? As in, can you go to the board rooms using the normal elevators?" Alana interrupted the secretary once more, taking him by surprise.
"Y- Yes! Why do you-”
But Alana had sprinted in the opposite direction, heading to the nearest elevator and getting on it as soon as it arrived. She got out of the elevator and broke into a run when it arrived on the floor she had noted. Asking around for directions to the board rooms, Alana finally spotted the loan officer speaking to a group of, what looked like, high officials. Throwing caution to the wind, Alana approached the group and addressed the older lady.
"Mrs. Doris, I really needed to talk to you." Everyone in the group turned at Alana's voice and Alana almost stopped breathing at the sight of the guy she never thought she'd see again. It was Evan, looking all official in his suit and tie, as he stood stunned at the sight of her.
"Alana?" He took a step towards her, guilt etched over his face. Alana however stiffened her entire body and took a couple of steps backward.
"Is this the Alana I've heard so much about, Abbott?" An older looking man with a warm smile asked, drawing Alana and Evan's attention to himself.
"Yes, Mr. Zale!" Evan answered, moving towards her and laying a hand on her lower back. Alana stiffened instantly, flinching away from his touch. However, Evan pulled her back into his arms as he continued. "This is Alana Morrison, my fiancée."
Evan gave her a pleading look to play along with him for now and Alana couldn't bring herself to expose the big cheat that he was. Alana looked towards the older man with his hand extended and plastered a fake smile as she shook his hand.
"How do you do, Sir? Evan has spoken greatly of you!"
Alana paced the floor of Evan's office, waiting for him to finish his stupid meeting so that she could leave. The asshole had locked her in when he had offered her to sit in his office to discuss the loan. Now, after an hour of shouting and kicking the door to be let out, Alana was outraged beyond belief. She would throttle him as soon as he entered the office, Alana swore to herself.
Alana stopped pacing when she heard the key fumbling in the lock. She placed her hands in her hips, tapping her feet in annoyance. The door opened and Evan walked in, alongside Mrs. Doris with smiles on their faces.
"Alana, dear!" Mrs. Doris extended her hand as though they knew each other for years. Funny what connections with the boss could do to change a person's behavior, Alana thought to herself. "You should've just told me you needed to sanction the loan. I'll be right on it. If you just told me who you were, you wouldn't have had to sit in the waiting room all day."
Alana plastered a fake smile as Evan shared a joke with the older lady and bid her goodbye. As he turned back to look at Alana, his smile fell and it was replaced with a deep scowl.
"Where have you been, Ally? Do you have any clue how worried we all were? You moved out of the penthouse! Left behind your cell phone and all your belongings! I didn’t even know you had taken one of the credit cards until I found it missing! Do you have any idea how hard it had been to trace you down through the card?"
"Oh please! Save that shit, Evan!" Alana exclaimed, as she felt her anger build. "If you knew me at all, you would've checked the shop first!"
"Don't you think I did? Only to find out that you had put Miranda in charge until further notice! How would I have known how long you were planning to disappear?" Alana could tell Evan had actually been worried about her, but tried to stifle the guilt that kept rising.
Evan continued, "Alana, I was really worried about you! I kept thinking the worst things!" He tried to come closer and hold her hand, but she pulled away.
"Worried about me? You are the reason I even disappeared Evan! You have no right to worry about me!"
"Don't say that! Please! I love you and want what's best for you!" Evan reproached, his face showing hurt.
"You love me? Want what's best for me?" Alana let out a humorless laugh before placing eyes filled with hatred on Evan. "You can never love or want anything for anyone other than yourself! You are the most selfish son of a bitch I've ever met!"
"Selfish? Is that what you thought of me for the past two and a half years we've been together? After everything I did for you?" Evan asked, emotions playing across his face as he tried to get closer to Alana.
"What you did was cheat on me, Evan! And not just with any random stranger! But with my own sister!" Alana exclaimed, as the tears gathered behind her eyelids and her throat started clogging up.
"Ally, it was a mistake. I told you! I was drunk! I didn't know what I was doing!" Evan tried to explain, desperate to get her back.
"A mistake?" Alana raised an eyebrow at his audacity. "A mistake is something you do only once and that too accidentally, Evan! But doing something over and over again? It's called a choice!"
"Ally I didn-"
"Don't, Evan!" Alana halted him by raising her hand. "Mom told me everything! So, stop lying!"
Evan's face fell completely, as he looked down at the ground. Alana shook her head as his silence confirmed what her mother had said. She picked up her purse and papers, ready to leave. She was almost near the doorway when she was halted by Evan's voice.
"Wait, Ally! I wanna show you something before you leave! Please!"
Alana spun around to protest and tell him to shove whatever it was that he wanted to show her, but she was taken aback by the frames that adorned his desk. He had turned them for her to see and each of them held a picture of them together. Pictures that had been taken within the two years that they had spent together.
Alana slowly walked towards one of the frames and picked it up. A tear trickled down her cheeks as she looked at its content. It was a picture of her and Evan with her family. They all looked so happy.
"Why? Why did you do it, Evan? I thought we were happy."
"We were. We are, Ally. I just. I don't know why I- I'm so sorry!" Evan was behind her, his head resting on her shoulder, rubbing her arms to make her relax as she wept. Alana closed her eyes to try to ease the pain of betrayal but what she saw as she closed her lids completely threw her off.
"Louis!" Alana gasped, unaware of Evan listening and frowning at her.
"Who?" Evan asked, as questions popped in his head. Alana realized that she had said Louis' name out loud and she tried to cover up.
"Nothing! I'd like to leave now, Evan. I have things to do!" Alana couldn't comprehend why Louis even popped up in her head. He was the last person on Alana's thought. Well, apart from when she went to sleep at night and when she woke up all hot and bothered in the morning as she dreamt about him.
"Hold on, baby! Please, Ally! We need to fix this!" Evan tried to stand in her path.
"There's nothing to fix, Evan! We're done! For good! I hope you and Mel have a wonderful life together!" Alana stiffened her spine as she recalled her sister's mocking face as Alana had thrown the ring at Evan and had broken into a run, as Evan had chased her all the way to the lobby.
"Ally, please! I don't want Mel! I want you!"
"That's not what it looked like when you were having a romp in our bed with her!"
"Baby, please! I don't wanna be with her! I fucked up, Ally! Please! Believe me! Who wants to be with a mental meth junkie, anywa-”
Evan was cut off by Alana's hand slashing across his cheek. Alana was literally as her chest rose up and down with hate and anger.
"Don't you dare say that about Mel, you sick motherfucker!" Alana let out between her gritted teeth. "I should've slapped you the day I found you in bed with her but I let it go, thinking that I had been the one with the lacking! But you know what, I'm glad it's over! You are one of the nastiest human beings that I've ever met!"
Alana walked away as she saw Evan gritting his teeth, furious at having been slapped. However, it looked like Evan had something else in mind as he called her once more with a smirk on his face.
"Ally! You're not getting rid of me so easily! I think it's time I showed you something that will make you reconsider your decision."
"So, the bastard had tricked you at the beginning into signing a document which claimed that he was the owner of the shop?" Miranda asked in shock, handing Alana another tissue as she wept her eyeballs out sitting in the small cafe opposite the flower shop.
"Y- Yes!" Alana hiccupped, blowing her nose on the tissue. "What am I gonna do? My life is ruined, M- Miranda!"
"Oh come on now, Ally!" Miranda reassured Alana, even though she herself was shaken by the news. "Everything'll be fine! Look, why don't you try to buy the shop back from him?"
"He won't s- sell it to me, Miranda! Never in a million years! Don't you get it? He's using it as l- leverage for me to get back with him! Besides, how in the world do you expect me to get so much m- money?"
"I don't know. I- Don't you have any rich friends?"
"All my friends are back in N- New York. I knew I shouldn't have f- followed the bastard all the way to L- London!"
"Oh, Ally!" Miranda hugged her friend and employer as Alana wept, wondering how on earth they would get out of such a sticky situation. "Wait!"
Miranda let go off Ally and jumped in her seat as she came up with a brilliant plan. "Louis! Louis Tomlinson can help you!"
"D- Don’t be ridiculous, Miranda!" Alana frowned at Louis' name being mentioned. She had been trying to not think of the blue-eyed devil, who had been popping up in her dreams every night since they slept together. "W- Why in the world would Louis help us? I t- told you he plans on suing us!"
Alana had told Miranda all about Louis' and her exchange three days back, other than the fingering part...and also the offer he had made after letting her know that she would be sued.
"Look, you don't really need to talk to him! Johanna, his mother, happens to be a regular customer in our shop. Plus, she's in good terms with us! If you are able to get a hold of her, maybe you can convince her to, not just give the shop a donation, but also to stop Louis from suing us!" Miranda explained, a satisfied smile playing on her lips.
"Don't be s- stupid, Miranda. It'll never work!" Alana informed, trying to dismiss the idea completely.
"Well, Ally! You'll never until you try!"
Notes
Alana's OutfitA/N: Hello! Thank you for bearing with me! I'm having a tough time and couldn't proof read. Hope you'll forgive me for it. Next chapter is a Louana meet! So.............
Questions: Who's rooting for Louana? What did you think of Evan? What do you think Alana will do next? And, are you liking the story so far? Do you like where the plot is going? Please leave feedbacks!
I'd like to acknowledge those who have voted and commented on every chapter! You guys are purr-fect! ;) Love you guys! And also thank you to those who have subscribed!
I was wondering. Do you think it's possible to get the story on the popular page? I know it isn't the best piece of writing but I want a Louis fanfic to hit the popular pages for a change! I do have a harry/louis love triangle AU fanfic on the popular pages with my other account. But I want a Louis fanfic to stand out! Am I being overly ambitious? I apologize if it is so! Please feel free to tear me down! :P Would love to hear any feedback! Negative or Positive! Love you guys! Thank you once again!
please update soon
9/25/16