Controlled By The Billionaire

Sighing with frustration Mel turned over in the bed, and her eyes widened when she realized Tristan was lying beside her.

“Good morning,” Tristan turned to her and smiled a genuine smile.

Mel almost fainted. In the last three weeks Tristan was always up and ready to leave when she woke up, removing himself, and his emotions, far out of reach. Today seemed different somehow and Mel, being a glutton for punishment, couldn’t help but hope that meant something.

“Hey,” Mel rasped in her sleep filled voice.

“Your voice is sexy in the morning.” Tristan leaned over; a smile still planted on his face, and kissed Mel.

Mel looked at him strangely, unable to hide her confusion. Did he change his mind about ending their affair? Then it hit her, why he was so happy. Today was their last day together. Today was the day their deal was up.

*****

The recording of her last two songs was uneventful. Tristan wasn’t there, but he did walk her to the door before he disappeared into his office. That was new and unusual and Mel was having conflicting feelings on the whole thing. Maybe she was reading too much into his behavior and he wasn’t ready to get rid of her. Maybe his feelings towards her were changing. She frowned, maybe she was wishing on a star. Mel stopped singing and snorted, and Rob yelled at her over the intercom. Right, she needed to finish this and stop thinking about Tristan. Taking a deep breath, she finished her recording, relieved for it to be done but she knew there was a long road ahead of her to get the album on the shelves. Mel was full of elation at having finished her recording but also full of dread. She walked out of the room with her head held high and her guitar slung over her back. To delay the inevitable Mel would duck out as quickly as she could; if Tristan couldn’t find her, he couldn’t break up with her.

“Mel, Tristan wants to see you in the conference room across from his office to discuss some upcoming PR events,” the secretary said as Mel headed towards the door to leave for the day.

Mel released a breath, puffing her cheeks as she blew it out. This was it; this was when he let her go. Dread filled her chest, crushing the light mood that was just surrounding her. Mel shrugged, she knew it was coming and she’d accept it because the agreement never asked for him to love her. Nodding that she heard the woman, Mel turned around and stalked back down the hall as if she were walking to the electric chair. Why was it so hard to walk away from Tristan? Mel was afraid to explore the answer to that because then it would mean she had to admit that she was lonely.

“Hey, you wanted to see me?” Mel asked as she walked into the conference room.

Her eyes widened and she looked around in confusion. Tristan wasn’t alone. Rob and Louis were there as well as a lot of the other staff who were helping her to get her album released.

“We all wanted to see you. This is a mini celebration for finishing recording your album. The big party will be after the album’s release.” Tristan handed her a glass of champagne and Mel guzzled it, relieved but still wanting to get the inevitable over with.

“Have something to eat.” Louis came up and took her elbow, leading her to where a table was lined with wraps, sandwiches and vegetables. Mel let him lead her even though his touch did nothing but make her arm feel heavy.

A dark look passed over Tristan’s face as he watched them walk away. Mel noticed how quick he reined it in though when Rob approached him to discuss her final recording. She also noticed the look he gave her as she sat down next to Louis and began to eat. It was as if he were telling her that she belonged to him. But that didn’t make any sense so Mel decided she must be imagining it. She never belonged to Tristan and that wasn’t about to change. It was time for Mel to come to terms with the reality of her situation.