[006] games

                              Walking inside of Harvey's penthouse apartment, Alice instantly felt a weight lift off of her shoulders. After all the fucking chaos she had gone through tonight, she needed this. She needed to relax, even if it was with the one man she wasn't supposed to be spending time with. During the drive, Alice made sure to touch up on her makeup. She isn't sure what frightens her more: the fact that she was making herself this pretty for a married man or the fact that she didn't feel even a tiny bit guilty over it. She knows she should but she just can't bother to pretend. Not when she knows how the night's going to end already.

                              Harvey was quite the gentleman, taking off her coat and supplying Alice with a drink. In her mind, he was already quite the keeper.

                             "How'd you know my favorite drink?" Alice questioned, walking towards the floor to ceiling window which overlooked the entire city. It's a view she's familiar with but nonetheless, it never fails to take her breath away.

                             "I guessed honestly. I'm a fan of whiskey too so I just hoped you'd like it," Harvey admits, standing next to her. 

                              The glow of the lights outside poured into the window, allowing the both of them to bathe in it. Now Alice wasn't much of a romantic due to love disappointing her so many times before. But this was probably the closest thing to romantic. That, and the one time that Roman stole a big bottle of champagne for them to drink while hiding away from that one really shitty dinner party when they were teenagers. That was probably one of the few romantic moments in Alice's life.

                             Fuck, the last thing she needed to do was think about her best friend who was probably still going through hell.

                            "You know, I really want to keep playing the game but I don't know if I have the patience for it tonight," Alice then declared, taking a large sip from her glass.

                           "Game?" Harvey repeats. He looks a lot like a confused puppy but Alice senses he's a lot smarter than that.

                           "You know... the game where we drink and flirt and dance around our true intentions towards each other. Normally I have a lot of fun playing that game but I'd rather just skip to the point, if you don't mind," Alice explained.

                           "Go right ahead. I'm an open book," Harvey nods.

                           Alice begins to take another sip, only to be disappointed when she finds that she had already finished her drink. "What do you want from me?"

                           "Besides your company?" Harvey responds, answering her question with one of his own.

                           "You sought me out. You chased after me, determined to get something out of it. So what? Are you just looking to fuck me or what?" Alice questioned next.

                           Harvey chuckles, nearly choking on his own drink in the process. "Damn, are you usually so blunt and straight to the point?"

                           "A woman has to be these days. There's too many assholes out there who specialize in bullshit. I want to know what I'm getting into. Everyone wants something," Alice replied.

                          From a young age, Alice had to learn the hard way that everyone wanted something in this life. Whether it be money or attention or sex, they didn't plan on leaving empty handed. Alice allowed people to use her, but only because she used them in return. Ninety percent of the relationships in Alice's life were purely transactional, even down to her own fucking parents. The only exception was Roman but that was only because Roman pretty much had everything. He was just fucking lonely, same as Alice.

                            Maybe they were using each other for the sake of not being alone. Alice would rather believe that than accept the possibility that anyone could like her for... her. She was a rotten person, dark and corrupted on the inside. Like her mother always told her, she was impossible to love. All she was good for was using people and being used in return.

                           "I just want you," Harvey answers but Alice hardly bats an eye. Max had said the same thing, so had countless other guys. This wasn't anything new before. She'd pretend to believe them and then they'd find some way to fuck her over. "Is that so hard to believe, Alice?"

                           "Even despite being married?" Alice raises a brow, causing Harvey to momentarily fall silent. "Your wife is pretty, by the way. I've seen a couple pictures of her online. You're an idiot for wanting to cheat on her."

                            Jillian Eaton was a beautiful woman, one who came from a wealthy family of her own. Of course, she had been born Jillian Eaton - from the same Eaton family who owned a very lucrative chain of fashion boutiques. Needless to say, the Eaton and Grosvenor family quickly became close and after Jillian and Harvey met, they were married after only a couple of months of knowing each other. By all appearances, they seemed like a very happy couple. And yet, it was nothing more than a fucking facade.

                           In a world comprised of diamonds and gold, you'd be surprised by how fake everything was. 

                           "We didn't marry for love," Harvey responds vaguely.

                           "Is that supposed to make a difference?" Alice scoffs.

                           "I know how it sounds. But our parents arranged for us to be married. We don't love each other. We never have. Yes, I'm guilty for having a wandering eye because of it. If I had a choice, I never would have gotten married at all. I can't just divorce her. It wouldn't be that simple. So, I have to resort to this," Harvey explains.

                           Alice believes him. Maybe it's because of her own parents arranging things for her that she naturally believes him. Her parents had tried to arrange relationships for her in the past, only for Alice to find some way to screw it up.

                           "How many times have you stepped out on your wife before?" Alice questioned.

                           "Twice," Harvey admits.

                           Alice snorts. "What? Is the third time supposed to be the charm or something?"

                           "Here's to hoping," Harvey replied. "Should I get you another drink?"

                           "Please," Alice responds.

                            He pours her another glass before he does the same for himself, sitting down on the nearby couch when he finished. Harvey then pats the empty space beside him, silently motioning for him to join her. She does, crossing her legs and allowing her skirt to raise just a little higher than before. Harvey also notices - he can't help himself. Alice was beautiful and it was impossible for him to resist.

                             "Are you having second thoughts now?" Harvey asks. Mentally, he's praying that she wouldn't be. He didn't make all of this effort just to get nothing in return.

                             "No. I already knew what I was getting into. Besides, I'm not looking for any sort of relationship. I just want to forget," Alice admits with a shake of her head. She follows up her response with another drink, enjoying the familiar burn that follows.

                              "Forget what?" Harvey asks.

                              "Everything. I can't forget when I'm alone. Being alone forces me to have to think about everything. And the last thing I want to do is remember. I don't want to be myself right now," Alice admits. This was the most vulnerable she had been in a while, and she blames the insane day she's had for that. "For tonight, we can just be two different people with very different lives with only one common interest. Do you think you can do that for me?"

                               Harvey nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I can do that."

                               With one final drink, Alice decides to skip right to it. She kisses Harvey right then and there, and he immediately kisses her back. It's far from romantic but then again, Alice doesn't want it to be. Romance was stupid and complicated. They both knew what they wanted from each other and that was exactly what they were going to get.

( 🥀💔🍸 )

                    Alice had never been the type to spend the night in any of her relationships. So, when Harvey was fast asleep, nearly snoring into her ear, Alice makes her escape back to her apartment. She takes a shower, changing into an oversized sweatshirt. It does little to hide the hickey on her neck though. She's going to murder Harvey when she sees him again (because yes, she was obviously going to keep seeing him until she grew bored). 

                    It only takes Alice nearly half an hour of lying in bed to realize that it was Roman's. It even had the scent of his cologne too. Alice never bothered to say it out loud, but she liked his cologne a lot. She had even bought herself a bottle which was hidden away in her bathroom. But Roman could never know about that (or his missing sweatshirt) or else she'd never hear the end of it.

                    As Alice tried to make herself comfortable, she was about to drift off to sleep. But then her phone rang, and Alice said about four different curse words before she rushed to answer it. There were only two people who'd be calling her this late. It'd either be Roman or her mom. Unfortunately, it would end up being the latter.

                     "Mom?" Alice responded after the third ring.

                     "You were with the Roys' earlier, weren't you?" her mom questioned, immediately going straight to the point. "At the hospital, you were with Roman and his family?"

                     "Yes, why?" Alice answered.

                     "How is Logan doing?" her mom asked next.

                     "I think he'll be fine."

                     "You think?"

                     "He's not dying, okay? He's going to be just fine."

                     "Well, I expect you to keep hanging out with Roman and his family more than ever now. In the press that's to follow, I expect to see your face along with theirs more and more."

                     Alice frowned. "I have a lot of work to do."

                     That wasn't a complete lie. Alice still had a lot of work to do with Moderne and she wasn't going to slip up now. Not if she wanted to show her parents that she could handle the pressure.

                     "Don't you think I know that? It's called multitasking, Alice. If you can juggle all those boyfriends of yours and still work, you can also find the time to be with Roman. Your father and I both feel that you need to show your face more than ever right now. All eyes are on the Roys and they should be on you too," her mom replied.

                      Alice sighs. It wouldn't be her parents if they weren't looking for some way to capitalize on another person's tragedy.

                     "Are you still there, Alice?" her mom asks when she hears no real response from Alice.

                     "Yeah. Yeah, of course I am. Look, I'll do what you said. I'll meet up with Roman soon," Alice quickly agreed.

                     "Make sure to go someplace public. I'll arrange some paparazzi to snap some pictures of the both of you. It'll be wonderful," her mom continued.

                     "Are you sure that's such a wonderful idea?" Alice frowned. She wasn't in the mood to have more cameras shoved in her face. And she was pretty sure Roman wouldn't appreciate it either.

                     "Of course it is. How dare you question me?" her mom immediately argued, and Alice could picture the anger written all over the woman's face.

                     "I'm sorry," Alice apologized. It was a lot easier to apologize instead of arguing with her.

                     "Do you suddenly think that you're much smarter than me just because you're running things now? Your father and I gave you the job," her mom snapped.

                     "I know," is all Alice says.

                     "I could list ten other people who could do your job and much better. The only reason we gave it to you was because it was the right thing to do. It's better to keep Moderne in the family than let some outsider have it," her mom continued. It was never enough to simply hurt Alice. She had to kick Alice while she was down and keep kicking until Alice begged for her to stop.

                      Alice swallows hard, the words feeling like a harsh punch to the gut. The only reason she had her job was because her parents wanted to keep it in the family. Not because they thought she was actually qualified. It seemed no matter how hard Alice tried, they'd never think she was good enough. She was editor-in-chief out of pity, not actually hard work.

                      Fuck, Alice would never be able to escape the fucking nepotism allegations.

                      "I know that. I'm sorry for questioning you," Alice replies, blinking away her tears. She's not even sure why she's on the verge of tears. With how exhausted she was, maybe she was more emotional than usual. Either way, Alice feels like snapping. "You're right about all of it. Plus, gaining some new attention might be good for the magazine and the family."

                      "Good. It's late so you should get your sleep. I expect to see the new issue of Moderne early tomorrow morning when I come to visit the office," her mom adds.

                       Alice sniffles, quickly hiding it with a deep breath. She then wipes her eyes and sits up a little straighter as though her mom was sitting right there and watching her. "Of course. Bye."

                       Her mom hangs up the phone without bothering to say much more and Alice was just sitting in bed, holding onto her phone like an idiot. She wants to scream until her throat feels raw and there's no air left in her lungs. But instead, she just goes to sleep and hopes that tomorrow will be a lot better than today was.

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word count: 2352
notes: here's chapter six! if you guys hate harvey already, do not worry. you have every right to hate him since he's flaming hot garbage. the next chapter should (hopefully) be up very quickly! oh and if you haven't, please check out heartbreaker which is the prequel to this fic and shows alice and roman's relationship when they were teens!