The Show-Stopper Billionaire (TBB 1)

Chapter 1

ALEXIS BECKETT

Alexis was on the brink of tearing her hair from her scalp. To say her day had gone bad was an understatement. To begin with she had slept last night on the couch in her office. Well she had been doing that for over three nights in a row now all because people were running amok doing their own thing in a fashion house that was owned by her.

It kind of hurt her that even though she wasn't some bigshot MBA degree holder, she was a fashion designer, dammit. And if it weren't for her, Mirage, her very own fashion house, wouldn't be as famous as it was now. She had given her all to the company and she could run it just fine. Mirage was her blood, sweat and tears. It was her present and her future. A dream that she had dreamt since she was 15 years old.

To top it all off she was fucked up big time, just a week away from her show. A show that was going to be the biggest success for Mirage and for her as a fashion designer. That would put Mirage as the topmost brand in the country and an international brand at the same time. The show was going to be huge and it would be a big fucking loss if she failed this.

"Ma'am is busy and she has no time to meet Anya. You wanna talk? You wait down there until I come get you. But I gotta warn you sweetie every time you come or call, you're gonna get the same answer." She heard her sister's sweet, saccharine fake voice as she walked up behind Lexi.

Tessa was her family. Her only family. The family that was alive and well, the only one who mattered to her.

"Who was that?" Lexi asked Tess as she snatched the go-to cup of coffee from her sister's hand.

"Just someone you don't need to bother with. Let your PA handle it"

"You're my sister, Tess. Not my PA."

"Shh. People don't have to know that."

"Yeah. Because then people will judge me big time if they know that I'm letting my chartered accountant sister to not only do my accounts but also be my PA."

"Exactly." she said.

Lexi smacked her over the head. "Understand the sarcasm."

"I did. I just chose to ignore it." She ducked this time when Lexi raised her hand to smack her again.

"What's got your panties in a twist?"

Lexi just grumbled and then went back to sipping her coffee.

Tess sighed, "What did the fucker's do now?"

"Language Tess." Lexi reprimanded her

"Oh shut up. They are fuckers. I'm just saying it because you're just too... sweet to them"

Lexi wasn't sweet to anyone. She hadn't made it into the business world without being ruthless. It was just that she took pity on some people who had bad pasts or a poor background because she knew exactly what it felt like to be one of them.

"The seamstress fucked up with the measurements of the showstopper dress."

"And..."

"And she may have interchanged the colors of the top and bottom for one of the dresses."

"Is that what's gotten you all stressed?"

Lexi pursed her lips. If she told Tess about it, she would blow her fucking mind. Lexi had her PR working on it but Lexi had given up hopes. She had scraped the ideas she now knew were out in the open and had already had her other tailors working on the new designs.

"Well the assistant buyer might have blabbed about certain designs to a customer who may or may not have talked to the media."

Tess was calm. She was completely calm which put Lexi on her toes. When Tess simply fished out the phone she had just kept back in her pocket, Lexi knew what Tess was going to do and she sighed. "I took care of it. Don't blow a gasket." She said.

When Tess opened her mouth Lexi glared at her. "I might be sweet to them but that's because those mistakes don't affect me much. We humans make mistakes but don't for one second think that I would let this slide."

Tess took a step back and Lexi reigned in her anger.

"Yes Ma'am" Tess said. "C'mon drop the Hulk face."

With a deep breaths, more like five, Lexi settled down in her office chair.

"Do you wanna go see the models?"

"Do I want to?" she retorted and Tess laughed.

"You've got to" she replied.

"But I'm telling you that there's no way in hell I'm gonna stay there for more than an hour."

"You wanna bet that you'll spend over six hours getting them in and out of the mock dress and the mock shoots and the ramp walk practice. And oh don't forget about fussing over the music and ...."

"Okay I get it" she sounded annoyed even to her own ears because she hated that her sister knew her so well.

"You know you've been awfully grumpy since you came back from Paris. What happened there?"

I met a guy who blew my mind with his amazing talent in bed. Lexi didn't say it out loud. Instead she just glared at her sister

"C'mon getting out of this office might be good for you. You've been holed up here for over 12 hours now." Lexi knew Tess was trying to reason with her but right now with everything going on with her, she didn't know if getting out of the four walls of her office that housed a couch, a mahogany table that was full of sketches scattered all over the desk, a laptop on one pile of the papers, a trash can that was overflowing with crumpled papers and a cupboard that had her two spares- was safe.

"I'll wring someone's neck if I get out of here."

'Wring Sydney's neck for all I care. She's with her agent by the way."

"What? " she screeched and Tess patted her back."Yeah, Anya wanted to meet you but I just told her that you are not going to." Lexi sighed grateful to have her sister to look after everything

"It's okay. I have to deal with the agent not you. You just wring Sydney's neck. That voice of hers..."

"She's sweet you know. She's almost human."

"An almost human who's trying to go after your dream"

"I gotta give you that"

Lexi was reluctant on stepping out of her office but Tess guided her out the door and down the stairs to the mock room where all the models had gathered.

'Don't worry a thing. Just get them to walk right and you'll be alright."

Lexi nodded her head. She was sure that with Tess beside her, she would definitely be alright.

**********

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-Nami