BUY ONE GET ONE FREE

AMY'S POV

I felt the heat radiating from within me. “Are you kidding me?”

His breath was warming against my skin "Of course not. You said you’d do anything.”

I shoved at his chest and pushed him, but he didn't move an inch.

"You are disgusting." I hissed.

He chuckled. “I’m a businessman, sweetie. I see opportunities and I take them.”

"You believe I would actually sleep with you for a damn job? "

He smirked again. “You would be amazed at what desperation does to people. I bet you would look better as a model, naked on my bed. We can start there.”

I glared at him. “I could take legal actions against you for sexual harassment.”

"What's stopping you?" he drawled, completely unbothered. “But who do you think the courts will believe? The no-name model desperate for recognition or the CEO of Lords of Fashion? ”

My hands clenched at my side as my body was shaking.

He turned away and leisurely walked back to his desk. "I will give you until midnight. Come find me when you change your mind.”

He slid a business card onto my resume and pushed it across the desk.

My jaw tightened as I snatched it up.

He spoke without sparing me another glance, "Enjoy the rest of your day, Miss Walters.”

I stormed out of the office, my heels clicking on the marble, my chest heaving with anger and something else I couldn't identify.

Outside, I looked at the shiny card in my hand.

Midnight?

"Asshole," I hissed.

I didn't throw away the card, not that I was ever going to need it.

**************

LIAM'S POV

I’m Liam Carter, the CEO of Lords of Fashion. I drove into ‘The Lords’ mansion; a symbol of the accomplishment my twin brother and I had made after we lost both our parents at a very young age. We are both Co- CEOs of Lords of Fashion and we've worked our butts off to make it what it is today. Five years after we graduated from business school with the trust fund that was left for us, we built an empire and Lords of Fashion became one of the top fashion companies in New York city.

“What a fucked up day," I grumbled to myself, stepping into the mansion and closing the door behind me.

The mansion was quiet, with only the muffled hum of the TV blasting on in the living room. I removed my jacket and tossed it over the couch as I walked in.

Leon, my twin brother, sprawled back on his hands, knees bent under him like a child, over a pile of sample portfolios lying out on the glass coffee table. He didn't look at me at all, gazed past the TV at the photographs.

The public doesn't know about Leon Carter, but that was how my brother wanted it. He developed social anxiety since he was the only survivor of the accident that killed our parents; the incident traumatized him and he stayed locked up in the house till it became a habit for him and he seldom leaves the house, except when he needs to. So he runs the company from home while I do all the physical work.

Even when Leon steps out, the world sees him as Liam Carter, but he didn’t care, he always played along with it.

I made it a habit to share everything with Leon, so he would never feel left out. I never got into a decent relationship with any woman, because I enjoyed sharing them with Leon. To us, women were like toys—Adult toys, to be exact. Since he doesn't leave the house, I always get the toys and I think I just got another toy to play with.

"You're home early," he complained, still digging through a pile of photos. His flat tone was as thoughtless as ever, not caring about how my day went.

I settled down next to him on the couch, laughing. "It's like you prefer having the house to yourself all day and don't mind if I don't come home.”

Leon growled. "Well, I like my peace and quiet time, and you are always noisy.”

I smiled, scooting over to pick up a glass of whiskey on the coffee table and took a sip of it. "Peace and quiet are underrated."

Leon growled, finally turning to face me and scowling. "So? Did you sign the new model today?"

I twirled the whiskey in the glass before answering. "Depends."

His furrowed brow. "Depends on what?"

I leaned my head out, elbows on my knee, and a sour smile growing on my face. "On if she's showing up tonight."

Leon's expression altered, and he narrowed his eyes on me with a raised brow. "And why does she have to show up here? Can't you do whatever needs to be done in the office?"

"Oh, under normal circumstances, sure," I filled the silence. "But things are not normal here."

Leon's down-turned mouth told a great deal about the fact that he'd had some kind of intuition about what was going on. "Liam, what have you done?"

I chuckled. "Easy, bro. I may have gotten us a new play thing.”

Leon's forehead creased but his smooth voice didn't miss by an inch. "You mean a model, for the company right.”

I swirled my drink slowly, watching him with a smile. "Yes, that too. Two in one."

He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Liam, we've discussed this. We don't mix business with pleasure.”

"Who says we can't?" I said, lounging on the couch.

Leon shrugged and gave me patent contempt. "You're impossible."

I pushed one of the model portfolios on the coffee table, flipping through it idly and carelessly, until I found her photo among the others. I pulled it out and examined it.

"Amy Walters," I breathed, embracing myself with a grin.

Leon looked at me suspiciously. "That's her?"

I nodded, flipping the photo over for him to examine. "She's hot, isn't she?" But I'll share a little secret with you: she's far more sexy in person."

Leon didn't even hesitate long enough to glance at the picture before he snapped at me. "Did you tell her about me too, that you have a twin brother?”

I frowned. "Of course not. Do I look that stupid to you?”

Leon took a deep breath. "Liam, we don’t want what happened last time to repeat itself.”

I shrugged my shoulders. "Don't worry, she won't even notice. And if she does, she won't be able to back out then, I'll make sure of it.”

Leon’s expression shows that he was feeling uneasy. "And why on earth do you think she is going to accept your offer, anyway?"

I smiled, covering up the photograph on the table. "Desperation, man. She's desperate for the deal. She has never been signed by a company and I'm giving her that on a silver platter. Do you think she would give up on a life-changing opportunity like a deal from Lords of fashion? I doubt that.” My confidence was oozing at this point.

Leon scowled, his lip curling into a snarl. "So what? You recruited her as a decoy for us first, for a potential modeling contract?"

I shrugged. "Something like that."

Leon smoothed his hair back behind his ears in protest but he didn't. "You're absolutely unbelievable.”

I grinned. "That's what life is worth."

Leon shook his head again. "You're playing a dangerous game, Liam."

"That's the best of it."

Leon stood up out of his chair, and headed into the kitchen. "I'm cooking supper. Do as you please, but when this blows up in our faces, I told you so, remember that.”

I laughed at him as he made his way to the kitchen. Leon is so laid-back and serene, he wanted this, we've always done it and he knows I'm doing this for him but he's scared of the stunts I'm pulling this time because he doesn't want any guilty conscience on him, he always avoids getting his hands dirty.

The rest of the night dragged on. Leon and I dined together, the conversation remained light, but while he ate in peace, my eyes couldn't help but still reach out towards the clock.

9 PM.

She didn't show up

I leaned back in my chair, fingers tapping against the table with my mind racing.

Maybe it was never supposed to happen.

Maybe I should have known better than to have expected anything from some desperate model. Maybe she was more ethical than I had supposed. Maybe she was one of the rare ones who would not sell herself out for a job.

It made me envious.

It also made me somewhat angry and disappointed.

Leon noticed me gazing at the clock and let out a huge sigh. "Forget it, Liam. Just go to the office tomorrow and sign a good model. Not every woman is going to throw themselves at you because you are Liam Carter, and to be honest, I gotta respect her for it."

I grinned. "You think she's any better?"

Leon glared at me. "If she wasn't, she'd be on my front porch right now."

I was about to say something to protest when—

Ding-dong.

The doorbell at the mansion rang.

Leon and I froze and stared at each other.

A small smile crept up my face. “Spoke too soon brother.” He rolled his eyes.

Satisfied tension eased my face as I rocked back again in the chair and stood up. "Guess I was right about our little Amy after all “

Leon's scowl twisted on his face. "Liam—"

I wheeled around him and ran for the door. He was at my back, but I could feel the hesitation in his gait.

I looked at the monitor beside the door.

There she was.

Amy Walters, pacing back and forth across our porch, arms crossed, fingers drumming against her dress as if counting the cost.

Leon breathed beside my ear. "She actually came."

I smiled. "Of course she did."

Leon wasn't smiling. "She might come for another reason, don't get excited yet.

I gave a harsh, loud snorting. "Be positive, don't jinx it.

Leon scowled at me. "Liam, think. Be reasonable."

I spun around to face him, my smile widening. "Go to your room, now.”

Leon's jaw went slack in shock. "What?"

I pushed him towards the stairs. "Leave, she can't find out about you yet, she'll freak out if she finds out what she's getting into.”

"Liam—

"Shh. It's time to test our new merchandise.” I said, licking my lips.

Leon wanted to say something, but the lust in his eyes betrayed him.

I winked and grinned. "I'll call you when it's your turn.”

He smiled and walked up the stairs towards his room.

For the third time, I hung at the door hesitating for a second and took a deep breath before pulling the door open.

Amy scrunched up her shoulders.

Her snarling green eyes flashed into mine, with shock and uncertainty.

I grinned in the doorway, never once giving it up.

"Hey, well," I savored. "Look who finally showed up for the party.”

Her cheeks turned pink and the embarrassment was written all over her face.

I took a step forward in front of her, eyes locked on hers.

"Changed your mind, sweetheart?"