All I've Never Wanted (13 page)

I was gratified to hear the man let out a loud, pained grunt, but that feeling was immediately replaced by panic once more when someone tackled me to the ground.

“You’re a feisty one,” the person on top of me muttered, yanking me up and carrying me bridal-style back to the parking lot, while two of his colleagues kept a firm grasp on my limbs.

“Who are you?” I yelled. “And where are you taking me? Let me go right now! This is illegal, you know! You could go to jail for this!”

The man holding me sighed and shoved me into the backseat of the Town Car. “Keep a close eye on her,” he warned his colleagues, before getting into the driver’s seat.

“Let me go!” I screamed again, wriggling in the seat.

“Hold still!” The man on my left sounded exasperated. “We’re not going to hurt you. We—ow!” He let out a string of curses. “She
bit
me!”

“There’s more where that came from, asshole!” I yelled, attempting to elbow the other man in the gut.

“Jesus Christ!” He evaded my attack just in time. “Screw this, it’s time to bring out the big guns.”

With that, he slapped a chloroform-soaked cloth over my mouth.

"Stop! What do you...think..." My muffled yells gradually faded away as darkness sank in.

*              *              *

Roman flipped impatiently through the latest issue of
Sports Illustrated,
but was
unable to focus on the words and images in front of him.

What the hell was taking so long?

You would think, with the amount of money he paid them, they could work a little faster.

Note to self: fire old staff and hire new ones.

There was a timid knock on the door.

“Come in,” Roman called out in an irritated voice.

One of the maids walked in, looking a bit scared. “Mr. Fiori, she’s ready.”

“It’s about time,” he muttered, throwing the magazine aside. “Well, what are you waiting for? Bring her in!”

With a nod, the maid stepped out, and a moment later,
she
entered the room.

Roman’s eyes widened slightly as he took her in. Her dark brown, almost-black hair gleamed under the lights and fell in soft, perfect waves past her bare shoulders. Her green eyes looked brighter and more vivid than usual, and set off her flawless bronze skin to perfection. The slinky black dress she wore—according to his stylist, it was Alexander McQueen and cost over $2000—showed off her tiny waist and long, shapely legs to perfection, and her rhinestone-studded Jimmy Choo stilettos added three inches to her height.

For a scholarship girl, she looked breathtaking. She also looked very, very angry.

“I should’ve known it was you!” Maya spat, flames nearly leaping out of her eyes. “What the
hell
is all of this, Fiori?!”

He stood up, a little surprised by her reaction. “It’s a makeover, of course.”

She looked like she was about to spit fire. “I
know
it’s a makeover! But why are
you
, of all people, giving me one?” She planted her hands on her hips. “Did I say I wanted one?”

“Well, you certainly can’t go around dressed the way you usually do,” he pointed out, rather reasonably, in his opinion. “I have a reputation to protect.”

Maya narrowed her eyes. “And what does the way I dress have anything to do with your reputation?”

“Everything, of course,” he answered matter-of-factly. And here he thought she was supposed to be smart. “Well, now that that’s out of the way, let’s go over the rules.”

“Rules,” she repeated slowly.

Roman walked towards her, listing the guidelines as he went.

“One, you are to be dressed and made up by your personal stylist, hairdresser, and makeup artist every morning, which means you have to get up a bit earlier than usual. Say, three hours? Two, you are to always walk a step behind me in any public place, although of course you can walk next to me in private. Three, you are not to say anything that contradicts me. Four, you need to apologize to me for the party incident in front of the—“

“What.
Are. You.
Talking. About?”

Well, he guessed he would just have to spell it out for her. “The rules you need to follow as my girlfriend, of course!” Roman couldn’t help but smile smugly as he waited for her to gasp and gush her appreciation. 

Unfortunately, that wasn’t exactly what happened.

Maya’s jaw dropped. “And who said I wanted to be your girlfriend?” she shrieked.

Roman sighed. Not the reaction he’d been expecting. “Of course you want to be my girlfriend. Everyone wants to be my girlfriend. I’m the only son of the richest family in the world. I’m good-looking. I’m smart. I’m powerful. I can give you things you can’t even begin to dream of. Private jet, yacht, vacations to anywhere you want. Clothes and jewels, of course—“

“You
must
be crazy!” Maya’s voice rose another pitch.

He winced. Second note to self: call Gucci to see if they made earplugs.

“I don’t
want
your stupid jet. Or clothes. Or jewels—“ To emphasize her point, she yanked the diamond-and-ruby necklace off her neck. “I want to go home. And I want
you
to leave. Me. Alone!”

“This hard-to-get game is getting a bit old,” he snapped. “If you didn’t want to be my girlfriend, then why did you go to all that trouble? “

Maya glared at him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He sighed. “Obviously, the only reason you yelled at me at the party and withstood all the students’ abuse was to stand out and get my attention!”

Her jaw dropped, and she slowly shook her head, a disbelieving look on her face. “I always knew you were an arrogant blockhead, but I never knew you were delusional too! Listen to me, and listen to me good, Roman Fiori. I don’t want to be your girlfriend, and I never will,
especially
when one of your lackies
chloroformed
me! I yelled at you because you are a heartless egomaniac who needs someone to put him in his place, and I managed to withstand everything
you
put me through because I’ll be damned before I let someone like you walk all over me!”

Roman was stunned. “Why are you being so difficult?” he demanded angrily. “Any girl would kill to be my girlfriend! Besides, you’re a scholarship kid! You should be begging to be with me! I can give you all the financial support--”

“Are you listening to yourself? Do you know what an ass you sound like? I
don’t need your financial support.
Just because I go Valesca on a scholarship doesn’t mean I want to be your slave!”

His narrowed his eyes. “Is it because you’re already dating someone?” For some reason, the thought made him even angrier.

Maya threw up her hands. “Have you not been listening to a word I said? I don’t—“

“Actually, Rome, she does.” Parker strode calmly into the room, draping an arm around Maya’s shoulders. “She’s my girlfriend now.”

CHAPTER 8

Sometimes, I wonder if I was a murderer in my past life or something. Obviously, I had to have racked up some pretty bad karma because my present-day life sucks.

I unconsciously moved closer to Parker as I stared at Roman with wide eyes, my previous anger replaced by fear at the look on his face. I was surprised I didn’t see steam pouring out of his ears.

Unfortunately, the small movement on my part only seemed to make him angrier.

“Excuse me?” he ground out, his voice low and dangerous.

“She’s my girlfriend,” Parker repeated, not seeming to share any of my personal terror at all. He kept his arms around my shoulders. “Sorry, Rome, guess I beat you to the punch this time.”

I blanched. “Are you crazy?” I hissed so that only Parker could hear me. “Now is
not
the time to bait him.”

“Calm down, sweetheart, it’ll be fine. Unless you would rather be his girlfriend instead…”

I just glared at him in response.

Parker smirked. “That’s what I thought.”

I was so caught up in silently cursing every Scion, as well as the stupid person who’d
invented
the word Scion, that I didn’t notice Roman approaching until he forcefully yanked Parker’s arm away from me.

“You didn’t beat to me to anything,” Roman snarled, his violet eyes a near-black. “You two aren’t really dating.”

I shot Parker a panicked look. Was Roman psychic?

“Of course we are.” Parker did a very good job of looking surprised. “What makes you think we aren’t?”

Roman’s eyes narrowed. “You guys don’t even know each other!”

“
Au contraire,
I just had dinner at her house yesterday,” Parker replied calmly. “I also met her family. They’re quite lovely, I must say. Now, since you are one of my best friends, I would appreciate it if you gave us your blessing and support—“

"Bullshit! You guys have never even talked before!"

"Not that you know of," Parker corrected calmly. "Your game's slipping a bit, Rome."

"Parker, you're my friend, but you need to shut the hell up!"

Parker stepped forward and placed his hands on Roman's chest to push him back from me. "Listen, Rome, I know you're mad, but--"

And that was when Roman hauled back his fist and punched Parker in the jaw.

"What are you doing?"
I screamed, running over to Parker's side. "Oh my god, Parker, are you okay?"

He winced, rubbing his jaw. "Yeah, I'll be fine." 

I turned to Roman, my own hands balling up into fists. "What is
wrong
with you? You can't go around punching people like that! And you wonder why I'm with Parker and not you? He's a great boyfriend--"

“Oh,
now
I get it.” Roman glared at me. “Guess you already found someone to give you the jewels and clothes, huh? You work fast, I’ll give you that.”

I’ve never been so insulted in my entire life. “Excuse me, but I’m dating Parker because he’s a genuinely good person,” I declared, straightening up and staring Roman straight in the face. “Which is more than I can say for someone else in this room.”

“Genuinely good person?” Roman snorted. “You’re talking about the biggest player in town! He’s been with every girl in Valesca!”

“Thanks.” Parker sounded touched. He didn't seem to be all that upset that one of his best friends had just punched him in the face.

Roman and I both ignored him.

“Although, now that I think about it, that probably means you’ve been with him too.” His lips twisted. “It makes so much sense now.”

I couldn’t help but gasp. Was he accusing me of being a
slut?

“Shut up!” I shouted, nearly blind with rage as all my previous anger came flooding back. “God, you’re such a
dick!
” I  threw the necklace I’d taken off as hard as I could at his chest and impulsively stomped on his foot—in my three-inch heels.

To my immense pleasure, Roman let out a yelp of pain.

“And just so you know—“ I pulled the torture devices they called Jimmy Choos off my feet and threw them at him too. “—even if he was a homeless pauper and looked like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, I would
still
pick him over a soulless jerk like you!”

Not satisfied with just impaling his foot, I also slapped him across the face for the second time in a week before running out.

For some reason, I could feel tears prickling the backs of my eyes, blurring my vision. It shouldn’t have upset me that he thought I was promiscuous, but it did.

I didn’t like him, and I didn’t care what he thought per se, but I was so sick of people making judgments about me before they even got to know me.

Oh, I’m a scholarship kid? That must mean I’m poor and pathetic or a gold-digger.

Oh, I’m part Asian? I must be super-good at math and science. (Well, I am good at them, but I’m much better at English and the social sciences).

Oh, I happen to think Parker Remington is actually a good person? That must mean I’m a slut who’s already slept with him.

Fighting back a sob, I ran blindly down the hallway. I didn’t even know where I was going—I just knew I had to get as far away from Roman Fiori as possible.

*              *              *

Adriana stormed up the stairs of the Fiori mansion, the sound of her stilettos echoing like gunshots in the massive halls. She pushed open the doors to Roman’s room with unnecessary force.

He looked up from the video game he was playing with surprise.

“God, Adri, could you be any louder?” he asked, sounding annoyed. “I’m—“

Adriana stomped over to him and gave him a big, healthy whack on the head.

“Jesus! What the hell?” Roman yelled, rubbing the back of his head. “What was that for?”

“You know what it’s for,” she snapped, about to give him another well-deserved slap, although he managed to evade it just in time. “God, Rome, what the
hell
were you thinking? Kidnapping Maya and then bringing her here and basically implying she’s a slut? You’re a total idiot!”

Roman’s face shut down as he turned back to his video game. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t bullshit me. Parker told me what happened.”

“Oh, right,
Parker,
” Roman said sarcastically. “Everyone believes Parker, because he’s so perfect.”

Adriana crossed her arms over her chest. “So what are you saying? That he was lying?”

Roman didn’t respond.

“That’s what I thought. And you
seriously
need to stop being jealous of Parker and get over yourself Rome, or you’re going to end up with no friends. Not to mention, you need to apologize to Maya.”

Roman snorted. “I’m not jealous of Parker,” he snapped. “Why would I be jealous of him?”

“Because Maya is dating him and not you.”

“So? It’s not like I would want to date someone like her anyway. I don’t even like her! Remember the party incident?”

Adriana rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she wondered why she even bothered. “Well, you’re the one who brought her to your house and basically asked her to be your girlfriend.”

Roman threw the joystick down. “I didn’t
ask
her to be my girlfriend, I was just giving her a way out,” he declared.

“Please. Just admit it. She intrigues you, and
that’s
the reason why you want her to be your girlfriend,” Adriana said knowingly. “And judging from the look of things, it seems like you lost the bet.”

Roman let out an annoyed sigh. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“The bet. I said I could find a girl in Valesca who doesn’t care you’re a Fiori. That girl is Maya.”

A muscle ticked in Roman’s jaw. “That’s not true.”

“And de Nile is not just a river in Egypt,” Adriana countered. “Seriously Rome, you like her, or at least, you’re starting to like her, and we both know it. If you keep on acting like such an ass, though, you’ll never have a chance with her.”

A shadow crossed Roman’s face. “She’s dating Parker, remember?”

Adriana tensed. “Well, it’s Parker,” she said nonchalantly. “You know how he is.”

“Personally, I don’t see the attraction,” Roman muttered. “He’s a huge player. I’m richer than him. I’m better-looking than him. What does he have that I don’t?” He sounded like a petulant child.

Adriana snickered. “You’re beginning to sound like a girl.” She tossed her golden hair over her shoulder. “Besides, like you said, Parker’s a player. He and Maya probably aren’t that serious, which means you still have a chance.”

Roman eyed her suspiciously. “Why do you want us to get together so badly anyway?”

She sighed. “You really are dumb sometimes. Because you are completely insufferable right now, and you need a girl in your life to make you a little
less
insufferable. So far, Maya’s the best, not to mention the only, candidate for the job. That is, if you can somehow clean up this horrible mess you've made.”

“Whatever.” Roman picked up the control for his video game again. “Just so you know, I’m only intrigued by her. That doesn’t mean I like her.”’

Adriana patted him on the shoulder. “Sure. Whatever makes you sleep better at night."

*              *              *

“Which of these adjectives best describes her?” Roman’s assistant, Richard, read aloud from the magazine in his hand. “A. Dainty and feminine—“

“Yeah, right,” Roman snorted, toweling off his hair, which was still damp from the pool. “No.”

“—B. quiet and shy. C. friendly and outgoing, or D. stubborn and willful?”

Roman pursed his lips. “D. Definitely D.”

Richard marked off the answer. “This is the last question, Mr. Fiori.”

“I know, I know, just ask it already,” Roman said impatiently.

Richard cleared his throat. “What qualities do you admire most in a girl? A. Intelligence. B. Beauty, C. Compassion—“

“What kind of dumb quiz is this anyway?” Roman demanded. “Who would like a dumb, ugly, mean girl?”

“Well, you were the one who gave me this quiz,” Richard murmured.

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing,” the assistant replied innocently. He resumed reading out loud. “Like I was saying, C. Compassion or D. Talent.”

Roman tapped his fingers on the table. “Compassion,” he finally answered. “Well? What are the results?”

“I’m looking.” Richard flipped to the back of the magazine.

“Look faster!”

Richard sighed. He’d been a loyal member of the Fioris’ staff for years, and the gig paid well, but it was times like these that he wished he actually completed business school. “I found it.” He skimmed the results, his face paling.

“Well, what does it say?”

“Mr. Fiori, I don’t think these types of quizzes are necessarily accurate—“