“What just happened in there? Do you know anything about that?” She accused Marcus who appeared to be as astonished as she was.
They ended up in the bar and ordered themselves some drink. When she got hers, she quickly took a sip to calm herself down. Marcus did the same, but he was more amused than anything else with the display Alex just did.
“I am as clueless as you.” Which was slightly true. Although he knew that Alex was considering Dani as a candidate for his fake fianc?, he never suspected that there was already something happening between them.
He knew his friend was picky with it came to girls and quite a bit on the conservative side. Doing this was very unusual behavior coming from him. He could not wait to hear what he had to say to this.
“Are you saying that they kept their relationship a secret, even to us, their best friends?” Jacky was starting to feel slightly annoyed and disappointed that Dani did not trust her enough to share her secret with her.
“Probably. I’m not sure.” Marcus just stared at the couple who was in a deep conversation. He was trying to figure out if he was missing something from this situation. It was not like Alex to keep something this big from him.
With all the things they had gone through, this was the first time that he felt left out. But he was sure that there was a good explanation for this and he would find out later what it was.
“Well, she better have a very good reason for keeping this from me or else.” She had no idea what she would do, but she was certain that she would get to the bottom of this later.
“For the meantime, why don’t we just dance while we wait for them?” Marcus suggested as he dragged her along the middle of the dance floor.
“Oh! I like that.” There was no use in wasting this perfectly great party to mope around, she mused to herself as she tagged along with Marcus.
Their relationship was still unknown. They enjoyed each other’s company but they were not yet committed to each other. Which suited them both, just fine.
On the other side of the ballroom, Nick was still fuming with the turn of events. He was supposed to rile her up until she lost her temper and made a scene. something her father would never condone. But things did not turn out the way he planned.
He was not expecting that she was now in a new relationship. Based on the report he got from his investigators, she was still single and very much devoted to her profession. He was blindsided by this new development.
The intriguing part though was that she was involved with his new competition. Alexander Princeton was a growing name in their circle and his company was a threat in his position in the business world.
Nick had already his eye on one company he was after, having more competition would be more exciting, but much more difficult. But he thrived in challenges. He was not afraid to face them because he knew he had more tricks up his sleeves.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure you can still get what you want easily.” Cassie followed his gaze and knew exactly what he was thinking.
She was sure that his heavily inflated ego was bruised by what just happened, so she needed to reassure him that he still got his plan on the bag.
She was not just a dumb bimbo like everybody thought. She just acted like one because she needed Nick’s participation in her ulterior plans without him knowing about it.
“I knew I can always count on you.” He hugged and kissed Cassie, savoring the softness of her lips. Afterward, he looked around him and decided to mingle with the crowd. It was time to start with his other plans.
On another side of the ballroom, another man was heavily invested in the scene that just happened. He was silently analyzing what he just witnessed and was quite intrigued by what was going to happen next. He continued to watch the couple who moved to the end of the hall.
From another perspective, it would just seem that the two were just merely conversing, but he knew her. From her expression, she was silently fuming and barely containing her temper.
The man, on the other hand, was still a mystery to him. The lad was more amused than anything else.
He was seriously curious about what they were silently arguing about. He just had to know. And he had to meet this man who had his daughter twisted in a vine and boiling in anger.
“Mr. Hamilton, I heard that you…” The man at his side blabbered on about his new acquisition, but he only listened with half an ear. He was not particularly interested to hear his praises. His mind was already busy thinking of all the possibilities with what was happening to his daughter.
He was not sure that having all of them in this one event would be quite fruitful. On the contrary, he was expecting that his daughter would create mayhem upon seeing Nick. However, seeing her react differently with this Princeton guy was something else.
“Thank you. But, if you will excuse me for a minute, I just need to talk to my daughter.” He walked away from the group and made his way to the other side of the ballroom.
He could not wait to know the rest of the story, as he decided to meet this new man in his daughter’s life.
Should she give it a try? As he said it would be just for tonight. If she did not like it, she could still say no to him. She also had this tingling feeling of curiosity that would not stop bothering her. Why was he so desperate to find a fake fianc??
Why did he keep insisting on her when there were so many other ladies out there? Based on her observation, there will be several women who would be willing to stand beside him? Why her? These were only a few questions on her mind right now, but if she would analyze it any further, she was sure to come up with more.
“You said that I can name my conditions if I do I agree to this arrangement.” She wanted to know her options if she did consider his offer. Could she draw the contract to her wishes?
She began to contemplate the possibilities. Weighing the pros and cons in her mind if she even considered this deal.
“Yes, anything you want as long as it is reasonable. If not, maybe we could work out a compromise.” He assured her. “Think about it, then let’s discuss it over dinner tomorrow night.”
He saw a glimmer of interest in her eyes. Her earlier uncooperative demeanor was slowly changing. He was positive that he was about to crack to her defense. He just had to be careful not to rock the boat.
He kept his distance, not wanting to spook her. He was sure that if he said the wrong word or made the wrong move, her answer could easily be a no. He had learned from the short time that he spent with her that she could be stubborn.
“Come on, what do you have to lose?” He urged her as he stood not too close to her, but near enough for her to feel his presence.
Before she could answer, a commotion on her left caught her eye. She saw her father with one of her longtime suitors walking towards her. This was what she was trying to avoid, an encounter with her father. To make it worse, he would insist that she entertained one of his friend’s sons.
She had no time to argue with him and made a scene. She had to think fast before they reached them. Luckily, one of his investors stopped him along the way. That gave her time to make a plan.
“What’s wrong?” He asked when he noticed that she had been quiet for some time now. He wanted an answer but it seemed he was not getting one.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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