Chapter 7 Tempt My Anger

As a professional, Louisa couldn't cancel her agreement with the photographer because of gossip and her fight with Dean in the lobby. Even though her heart burned to the top of her lungs and wanted to break every bone of the man who ordered the order, Louisa was forced to draw a line in her lips before her colleagues. Ignoring Dean's attention, he was observing her without blinking while folding his arms across his chest, radiating arrogance in this room.

Tch! How a jerk he is, Lou!

Hundreds of flashes captured Louisa's facial expression, wearing a white satin dress cut long enough on the left thigh, revealing pale white skin. At the same time, the chest was shallow, as if the area was almost spilling out, plus spaghetti strap decorations to show off her bare back. Louisa's honey-brown hair was left loose, deliberately made into beautiful waves to add volume to her small face. She posed as directed, carrying a bouquet of fresh red tulips that matched the lipstick smeared on her lips.

A naughty idea came into her head when she met Dean's eyes; Louisa put her right leg on a wooden chair without a back, jutting out her hips so that the curve of her waist was like waves of water. Of course, the cut of the dress that Louisa was wearing on the left opened more comprehensively, showing off her long legs, almost exposing her groin. She grinned when Dean's eyes darkened to the point that the man loosened the tie.

"Fantastic, Ms. Bahr! I like your style," praised the photographer, who was met with a sharp glare from Dean as if he wanted to crush the man's head with one firm grip.

Louisa laughed in her heart, knowing that Dean definitely wouldn't like what she was doing now and provoking emotions through other people's flattery through their beautiful body shape. Moreover, the photographer called a male model in the same fashion when Louisa was asked to change her costume. Now Louisa was wearing cream-colored piping trousers and a blazer without underwear, showing a glimpse of her bust line when she raised one arm to embrace her partner's neck. Then they changed styles, where Louisa stood taller than the male model, so the bald man obeyed the photographer in posing as if he was nuzzling Louisa's neck.

"Fuck!" Dean grumbled softly, increasingly frustrated until Cory turned away when several colleagues called him regarding the news that the crazy couple had received. "Tell Louisa to meet me after the photo session, Cory!"

"Who is that, Cory? Mr. Cross?" asked someone from the From the End film production team. "Seriously, he's with Louisa?"

Cory rolled his eyes, snickering in annoyance at why his boss couldn't understand the situation and instead made things worse. He saw Dean's traces, then turned his gaze towards Louisa and implied that their feud was not really over.

"No, he... Mr. Adams wants to offer cooperation," answered Cory, starting to get good at stringing together lies.

"No. I remember how deep Mr. Cross's voice is. Damn! That sexy bastard is dating Louisa. He knows which women are rising in popularity, hahaha..."

"That's it, I'm called Louisa. Sorry, I said the news wasn't true. Bye," said Cory, hanging up the phone and then exhaling roughly, brushing the strands of hair falling to his forehead. This is how it feels like Cory's energy has been drained trying to clarify gossip when Louisa chooses to close comments on social media accounts.

Cory was too lazy to convey Dean's message to Louisa when the photo session and interview ended. Even though he wanted to take the girl to the bar to unwind after a day of babbling, Louisa checked her cell phone as they rushed to the car park. Her eyes widened as she watched Dean's message telling her to come to the agency himself.

Dean: Come to my office without your manager!

If time could be stopped or there was a teleportation power that could prevent her from meeting Dean, Louisa would do this so she wouldn't have to meet that damn human. She doesn't know what fault Louisa has makes Dean easily provoked by anger. Oh! Was it because of the photo session earlier? So, he's blindly jealous because her partner stole kisses on her neck? The corners of her lips lifted, making Cory, turning on the steering wheel, look strangely.

"I feel that here you are also provoking that man's anger," guessed Cory, pointing at Louisa's nose with a long, black-painted finger.

"He started it," answered Louisa casually. "A bastard like him needs to be taught a lesson sometime."

"Then? We're going to meet him?" Cory pressed the pedal, driving slowly out of the parking area. "I can wait for you at the bar."

"No. For what? You said we were going to a bar?"

Cory burst out laughing at Louisa's bold thoughts. "Hell yeah, Baby! You're a fucking crazy girl!"

"Thanks to you too, darling!" Louisa shouted, turning on the music of her favorite singer, Tinashe. They sang across streets bathed in lights and clubs, ready to welcome them to the peak of nighttime enjoyment.

Playing with fire, if I burn, you do

If I hurt, you won't let it go

Stacked my deck like I ain't gon' lose

Like a victim, forget it

So you better stay up, players

Yeah, you better keep up, player

Cause tonight is a game-changer

So you better stay up, players

###

The corner of Dean's eye glanced at the clock on his left hand when it was six in the afternoon. He tapped his fingers on the table, leaving the laptop screen on while his thoughts drifted to the stubborn one. The man knew Louisa would not come so quickly after their debate at the Pacific Design Center. It was considered embarrassing because it attracted people's attention-increasing the lump of emotion inside Dean into something that could explode and become uncontrollable. His eyes darkened even more, and he wasn't sure if he could think straight if he met that girl.

Dean didn't like Louisa's cunning way of responding to his actions, and of course, as a dominant man, he had to fight back. It's a shame that the photo shoot area isn't Dean's place to argue about his dislike of men who don't know themselves and whose foreheads touch every inch of Louisa's body. Without permission. Did the damn man not read that the girl was Dean's lover?

Is it wrong if Dean forbids it? After all, the two of them have mutually agreed, right? We both give each other benefits instead of triggering problems after problems like this. He felt that Troy was right to end the relationship unilaterally because Louisa's character was too childish.

The ringing of the cell phone interrupted Dean's thoughts. Immediately, his left hand grabbed the object and received a call from his assistant. "Do you know where he is?"

"Avalon Hollywood," answered Juliaan Reese.

Dean immediately turned off the phone, closed the laptop screen, and put it in his briefcase. Like winning the lottery, his heart, which was as hot as the desert, immediately blossomed and managed to find Louisa's location. Dean will fight back if the girl challenges and does not hesitate to drag her out of the club.

Damn! Dean cursed to himself. Instead of meeting at the office as ordered, she had fun at the nightclub with Cory. Dean's mind was immediately filled with images of Louisa seducing and carrying out flirtatious actions towards the love-hungry men there, giving kisses without hesitation. Dean's hair immediately stood up, unable to imagine Louisa making out with another man. No! It had to be him. Louisa was his and no one else's. Does the world still not know who he is?

Or is Louisa too dense?

Dean's long legs rushed out of the CEO's room when the hallway seemed quiet except for the lights illuminating the Cross-agency building. The glass walls of this tall building make it look like an elongated box that radiates vibrancy amidst the sparkling city life of San Diego. On the floor Dean was standing on, no people were passing by except for a janitor who was busy mopping the floor while listening to music through headphones. So, only the sound of shiny black loafers clicking on the floor echoed how quiet the fifth floor where Dean worked was.

His head turned to observe the stretch of Downtown at night briefly; the streets seemed filled with cars that would spend the rest of the day at entertainment venues. Meanwhile, the sky appears to support the nightlife without any interruption. No snow was falling, only the remnants of the cold that enveloped us. However, this did not stop them from seeking inner satisfaction amidst the hustle and bustle of the crowd.

He walked back into the elevator and pressed the letters GF (ground floor) connected to the basement. Loosen the tie that feels like it's strangling your neck. Dean seemed to need more air to clear up how messy his thoughts were. Why? Just those words running through Dean's brain. Why didn't Louisa obey his orders like other women? Why does she have to be so stupid?

As soon as the iron box door reached the bottom floor of the Cross-Agency building, Dean accelerated his steps, impatient to immediately forcibly pull Louisa out of Avalon Hollywood. If necessary, he wanted to lock Louisa up so he could read layer after layer of a woman's mind that he didn't understand. Long before he had a relationship with her, Dean understood what was in a woman's head and desires, so it was easier to control him under his authority. Unfortunately, that rule doesn't seem to apply to Louisa. Dissident girl fucking sexy and teasing himself from time to time.

Including outright rejection when news of their relationship spread widely. Other women would brag about being side by side with the leader of Cross even though, in the end, they were dumped and forgotten. Sometimes, Dean feels God has finally sent him a worthy opponent.

Dean's shiny black Audi drove fast through the road, occasionally honking the horn. Imaginations about Louisa being among men and dancing a striptease increasingly filled Dean's mind, and remembering that just this afternoon, during the photo shoot, everyone in the studio was focused on the slit in the dress, which almost showed her groin. Invite any man to enjoy and frolic there. Who wouldn't swallow saliva when they saw Louisa's sexy body in that satin dress? Soft skin that waits impatiently to be touched; a long neck decorated with a gold necklace as if asking to be given wet red traces until the chest is noticeable. To hell with the fashion designers who succeeded in producing spring edition dresses. He swore he would never allow Louisa to wear it in front of other people for the rest of his life.

"We'll see if you can fight me again, Lou," Dean hissed, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.