With My Heart Wide Open

Chapter 10

"What in the hell happened at the club last night, Sergio?" his agent, Rene, hissed on the other end of the phone.

"How did you find out about it already?" Sergio questioned.

"It is in the paper dumbass! You can't just do whatever you want and expect it to stay out of the media! When will you figure that out?"

"Well what does it say in the paper? I will tell you if it is true or not. "

Sergio was beginning to get annoyed with Rene. If he was just his agent, he would have told him exactly where to go. Except he wasn't just his agent, he was also his brother. Rene had a tendency to look at things from a personal level a lot of the time, but always remained professional. Having his brother as his agent definitely had its perks, though. He always knew that Rene had his best intrests in mind and would always have his back.

"It says that you started a bar fight with some guy. Over a girl none the less. They were even nice enough to include a picture of you and the girl that you apparently won. Sergio, life isn't all about girls and who has the biggest balls. Your ego is going to get you in trouble. You already hold the record for the most red cards in Real Madrid history and now you are starting brawls in the club."

"It wasn't like that. Not at all actually"

"Then please, brother, enlighten me. How was it really?"

"The guy was practically attacking her. He wouldn't let her go. I saw it from the balcony and no one else around her was doing anything to help her get away from the creep. I simply went down and dissolved the situation." he stated.

"By knocking him out?"

"Not at first, no. I told him to let her go. He didn't listen. He started dragging her away. He left marks on her, Rene. He actually deserved a lot more than a bloody nose and a black eye." Sergio said, getting angrier the more he talked about it.

He heard Rene sigh on the other end of the phone before he began to talk again.

"Well that was very honorable of you, brother. Next time though, maybe try not to cause a scene that will eventually end up in the paper. I will do some damage control and get this to go away."

Switching into brother mode, Rene continued.

"You at least got laid for your trouble, right?" he asked with a chuckle.

"No it wasn't like that. That was the farthest thing from my mind. Audrey isn't like that."

"Oh, and how do you know that?"

"I just do. She is different than all the others...special, I guess you could say."

"I have heard you say that before. You said the same thing about Pilar being different than the others."

Sergio cringed at the mention of his ex-girlfriend's name.

"No, I know for a fact that Audrey is different. She is nothing like Pilar. She was only with me for my fame. She sought me out, seduced me and then she used me to get ahead in her career."

"And how do you know for a fact that this Audrey chick won't do the same exact thing?" Rene asked.

"Because she doesn't even know who I am." Sergio said, raising his voice slightly.

Rene let out a laugh.

"How could she not know who you are? Everyone knows who you are."

"Not if they are from America and don't follow football."

****

Audrey's mind was racing. Why was she in the paper? Why had Macy said that Sergio was the reason she was in the paper? Her friend had also said to ask him what he did for a living. What had she gotten herself into? He lived in a mansion and drove a very expensive car.

Oh my God. What if he is some kind of drug lord? Audrey thought of a million scenarios and none of them were good. She was here in Madrid trying to better her life by interviewing for her dream job, but instead she got herself involved with some guy that was surely in the mafia. There was photographic evidence of her being connected to him in the paper. There was no way she was getting that job now.

Pulling her from her crazy thoughts, she heard a knock at the door. Walking over and looking through the peep hole, she saw that it was Sergio. For a moment, she contemplated telling him to go away. Instead she opened the door and watched him cautiously as he stepped inside the room.

"I brought bagels and coffee. Dig in!" Sergio said, setting breakfast on the table.

Audrey just stood there, unsure of what she should do. Part of her wanted to run, but part of her wanted to stay. There was clearly much more to this man that she had spent the entire night before getting to know. Much more. She reeled in the memories of him making her feel as if she were the only woman in the world last night. The most beautiful man she had ever seen, had made her feel like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Deciding to take a chance, she walked over and sat at the table, across from Sergio.

"Macy called. She said that her and Karim are going to hang out at his place for a while."

Sergio looked up from removing the bagels from a brown paper sack. He flashed a smile in Audrey's direction.

"Sounds like they hit it off more than we initially thought." he chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"What's wrong, Audrey? Is there something on your mind?" Sergio asked, worry filling his eyes.

"Who are you, Sergio? What do you do? And more importantly, why in the hell is there a picture of you and I in the paper?"

Sergio took a deep breath. He had to tell her now. He knew that she was either going to embrace it or walk out of his life forever. The thought of losing her made his heart race and he had only just met her.