Chapter Five

Just like every other day, except the times he was tired and badly needed rest or when he was extremely busy, Alexander Clay's driver headed towards Blingz the moment they left the company.

Alex kept himself busy with his iPad, doing some work-related stuff. It helped him pass away time during the ride to the club. Blingz was a very popular club in Chicago, yet very expensive. It was known to accommodate and cater for the likes of Alexander Clay who were the high-class people of the society. The club was also a private one with high security.

When they got to their destination, Alex helped himself out of the car after his driver had opened the door for him, then proceeded into the club. There were quite a lot of people in the club but because of how big it was and how organized everyone and the place was, the club didn't seem crowded. There was also loud music playing in the background.

Alexander could feel seductive eyes on him as he proceeded to "his usual corner" The area he and his friends do have their fun. From the corner of his eyes, he could also see the feminine figures drooling over him and their men throwing him glares. Alex lightly rolled his eyes at their stupidity. It wasn't his fault that he had a great aura and a very sexy body that people couldn't help but drool or feel intimidated when they were around him. Even the strippers on the pole gave him seductive winks.

Alex arrived at his destination and greeted his friends one after the other. It was like a VIP space and the chairs there were arranged in circles, leaving a low height table in the middle. The squared table contained all sorts of expensive alcoholic drinks one could ever think of. Alex's friends; Charles, Nicholas and Leo were all seated. Charles had a girl by his side who by the looks of it was the girl he would be spending the night with. Taking note of her outfit, she was one of the nightclub strippers. Nicholas also had a girl by his side. The blondie looked half decent and one could tell she wasn't a stripper at the club. She probably came to the club to have fun. Alexander Clay and his friends were very popular in Chicago for their status, looks, and playboy ways. Ladies who were crazy about them always try their luck by coming to Blingz club. It was satisfying seeing and watching them from afar and if they were really lucky enough to catch the attention of any of the four friends, they would get to spend the night with them. Leo, on the other hand, was seated alone, occupying himself with drinks.

Alexander left his suit jacket in the car. He had only his shirt and pants on, just like his friends. The first few buttons of his shirt were left unbuttoned. He poured himself a glass of drink, then crashed on the chair beside Leo while Nicholas and Charles had their attention on their girls.

"You look stressed, man! Is Claire giving you problems?" Leo asked Alex.

Alexander Clay took a sip of his drink before he replied to his friend. "I dumped her!"

"Woww!" Leo voiced out after a few seconds of processing what he said.

"What?" Alex arched a brow at Leo's expression.

"Nothing. I'm just surprised that it's finally over between you both. You and her have been together for long so Nicholas, Charles and I thought you really liked her."

"Oh, please!!!!!!" Alex hissed.

"You were whipped by her. I was starting to think you wanted to keep her with you forever."

Alexander took another sip of his drink. "You know I don't do forever. She was just the woman of the moment but she's now a thing of the past so I would appreciate it if you don't mention her name before me again."

"She had high hopes about you. She must have been so crushed." Leo mumbled.

Alex shrugged. "What does she expect from a married man who is known for having a lot of extramarital affairs?"

Leo chuckled. "You sure don't have a heart at all."

Out of the four friends, Alexander and Leo were the only married ones. Leo was the same age as Alex while Charles and Nicholas were a year younger.

"So, what's next for you? Already on the lookout for another babe or you have someone?" Leo asked, connecting his glass of wine to his lips.

Alexander shook his head. "I want to experience how it feels to be single again."

"I hope you last one week," Leo muttered.

"I hope so too but we shall see," Alex responded.

"Don't you think it's time to think straight and focus on family?" Leo said.

"What Family?" Alex asked Leo.

"Natalie, Kaylee and Emily," Leo answered. "Don't you think it's high time you started paying attention to them?"

"What do you mean? They see me almost every day except I'm out of the country."

Leo arched a brow at Alex.

"Fine, they don't see me almost every day because I do arrive home late and leave for work very early in the morning. It's not my fault either. Someone has to run the company and make money for the family."

"That's still not a reasonable excuse," Leo said.

Alex sighed. "It's been a very long day, Leo. Please don't bring up matters that are prone to giving me headaches. Everyone is doing fine. The girls are doing great. Their nannies and their grandparents are making sure of that and as for Natalie, we all know she's having the time of her life so there's no use having this conversation."

"I couldn't care less about Natalie. She's just like you. My heart goes out to Kaylee and Emily. I just feel that it's high time you started taking responsibility for them."

"We shall see about that!" Alexander voiced out, slightly looking around to see if he would find any hot and attractive babe to have fun with, tonight.

................

Once Ellie James arrived at her apartment, She took a shower and did a few other things. And when she was settled, She reached for her phone and dialed Arianna.

"I was about to call you. I've been all over the place all evening. How did it go?" Ari's anxious voice came through.

"Well, Good evening to you too, Arianna Greece." Ellie rolled her eyes.

"She didn't accept the offer, right?" Ellie could hear the hurt in Ari's voice.

"Calm down Miss, You were so confident in your plans this morning. I wonder where that confidence flew to. Anyway, I did my best to convince her. She promised she was going to think about it and would get back to me before the end of tomorrow."

Arianna sighed. "The worry continues! I hope she gives us good news tomorrow."

"I wouldn't worry too much if I were you. She looked pretty convinced about my offer. Perhaps, She needed a little more time to let it sink, which was why she said she was going to give a reply tomorrow. She also confessed Alex doesn't treat her right. Therefore, it only makes sense for her to accept the deal."

"Fingers crossed till tomorrow then. I have no plan B so I hope she corporates."

"She will, my love," Ellie assured. "So how are you?"

"I'm good. I spoke to Mom not quite long. She sent her regards. She said she misses us and that we should come visit her soon."

"Awww, I miss her too. If only her daughter would allow us to take a break from work and go see her." Ellie said.

Ari rolled her eyes from where she was seated, answering her best friend's call. "We will see her when she comes back from Australia. She's going to visit David this weekend and she will be there for some time. I'm hoping I would have been halfway through with my plan before she comes back." 

"Emma hasn't accepted the deal. It's not too late to back out." Ellie said.

"Ellie!!!" Ari groaned. "I need your encouragement now more than ever. I'm already tense enough."

"Like you would even quit if I tell you to. Since you've declared that you will only have your peace when you've gotten your revenge, then you must do what you have to do so we can move on with our lives. Just be very careful!"

"I will. Thanks." Ari said with a small smile.

"I meant it when I said you should be careful. While waiting for Emma to show up at the restaurant, I found myself on my phone, surfing the internet. Alexander Clay had grown sexier over the years. Don't allow his greek body or irresistible charms get to you, He's nothing but an asshole."

"After what he made me go through, the last thing I would ever think of is falling for him. Don't worry, he got nothing on me." Arianna Greece assured.

"If you say so. And by the way, I bumped into Ken." Ellie said.

"Okay?!" Ari said, unsure as to where the conversation was going.

"Be sincere with me, Babe. Why don't you like Ken?"

"What do you mean?" Ari asked.

"He likes you; he's been wanting to go out on a date with you but you are always so quick to come up with excuses. You did just that tonight. Is it because Ken is a cleaner?"

"Come on Ellie. How would you even think that?"

"You take him for granted so it's reasonable for me to think that way."

Ari sighed. "Ken is not a cleaner. Fine, he used to be a cleaner but now He owns a very successful cleaning company and I heard he's planning to go into real estate. It's not like I take him for granted. He likes me but I only like him as a friend. I told him that but he's still not giving up on me. In his defense, I'm not into any relationship so he still got a chance."

"You can always give him a chance and if it doesn't work out, you guys will go your separate ways," Ellie said.

"Yeah, that's where I'm at fault. But really, I'm not interested. I'm not ready for any sort of relationship. I've got other things to dedicate myself to."