Free Womanizer (Spoilt) by Joanne Ellis Page A

conquest.
    Somehow she managed to complete the shoot, changed the moment it was over , then left without saying a word to anyone. When she arrived home, the house was quiet due to the late hour. She crawled into bed and attempted to sleep, to no avail. How could she have been so naive? Like a lovesick teenager she’d thought maybe she was different, maybe he felt the same way she did. Jesse murmured in his sleep and her heart lurched. How was she going to explain to him why he wouldn’t see Mitch again?
    Fuming, she muffled a frustrated cry in her pillow. Then the hurt crept up and wedged in her throat and she stifled a whimper. The first time she’d began to fall in love it had been with a man like him. The same type of man she detested, just like her father. It had all been a cruel deception by a lying playboy. How could she have let this happen, she wondered, as an errant tear slid over her cheek.
    W ould be there tomorrow to face the music?
     

Chapter Eleven
     
    Playboy
     
    For the first time ever, Mitch was early for the shoot the following morning with the aim to arrive before Isabelle. While he waited impatiently for her to appear, one of the stylists beckoned him over - a girl he’d spent an evening with, and he realized with a stab of guilt, that he couldn’t remember her name. She was standing on the far side of the studio and seemed anxious to speak with him, so he decided to find out why.
    “What’s up?”
    “I haven’t seen you for a while, Mitch. I really enjoyed our night together.” She winked.
    “Yeah, me too,” he answered politely. These situations alwa ys went smoother if he was nice but not too charming. “I’ve been kind of busy lately.”
    “Would you like to have a drink with me tonight?” She run her hand up and down his arm and gazed at him with an expression which showed her intent. He could barely recall their time together, and even if there was no Isabelle, he didn’t want to repeat what he couldn’t remember.
    “Um, no thanks ...” He paused and searched his brain, trying to remember her name. “I’m actually seeing someone.” He gave her his best, most charming smile, hoping to avoid a scene. He’d encountered situations like this before. Some girls didn’t do casual sex.
    “Oh,” she said, the disappointment written all over her face.
    His ego did a little dance but his conscience told it to hit the road. Leaning forward, she whispered in his ear all the things she wanted to do to him. As she regaled him with whisperings of their night together, memories surfaced in his mind and caused him to chuckle. She was a firecracker, he remembered now. As he opened his mouth to decline again, he spotted Isabelle across the studio and her icy stare indicated her displeasure.
    “Sorry , but I have the girl I want. Will you excuse me?”
    Without waiting for a reply, h e strode across the studio and followed Isabelle as she stormed out the back to the dressing room.
    “Isabelle,” he called.
    She stopped and turned to glare at him over her shoulder.
    Taken aback by her reaction , he approached her with caution. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there last night. Something important came up -”
    “I’m sure it did,” she said in a cool tone, cutting him off. “I can see you were nice and cozy over there with Amber. Is she next or was she the one from last night?” Her face contorted and he started to explain again but she cut him off.  “Look, I don’t want to know.”
    She turned on her heel and strode away.
    Although he understood her reaction, he was still a little puzzled over it. Yes, he had been talking to Amber, but he was turning her down. He thought Isabelle was reasonable and would’ve listened to his explanation. Impatience became his companion as he waited for her to reappear.
     
    When Amber sauntered over and attempted to make small talk with Isabelle, she would have none of it. Her jealousy at the sight of their obvious intimacy was frustrating and hurtful