“I’m sure you can squeeze in one night out of your busy schedule. Right, Alex?” He was not going to let his daughter squirmed her way out of this. He did not get to this position without a lot of manipulation.
“Of course, Ethan. I’m sure we can arrange something.” He was not about to lose this opportunity to get close to her and her father. This was a once in a lifetime.
Although he knew he could get to his position without any help, he still believed that learning from the best and especially from your competition was the easiest way to success. He acknowledged that Mr. Ethan Hamilton was the best in this business.
“Go ahead and mingle. But before you leave, Dani, make sure to say goodbye to your mother.” Her father reminded her. It was something that she loved about her parents. No matter how busy they were, family always came first.
“Of course, Dad. I’ll make sure to see her.” In truth, it was what she was supposed to do earlier before she got caught in this web of deception.
She quickly dragged him again away from her father and pretended to mingle with the crowd. Talking briefly with several of the guests before moving on to another. One of her father’s friends asked her for a dance, which she had no choice but to accept, not wanting to appear rude to their guests.
As the song ended, she was about to make her excuse, when Alex stood beside them and asked for his turn. Since they were pretending to be a couple, she knew she had to dance with him.
He pulled her into his embrace, placing one of his hands around her waist while the other held her other hand. She had no option but to place her other hand on top of his shoulder as they started swaying to the beat.
“Wipe that smirk off your face before I decided to break up with you right at this very moment with a punch on your handsome face.” She hissed between her teeth as he moved her across the dance floor.
She was irritated that she was suddenly backed into a corner to agree with this arrangement without being able to think this through. She had to analyze this immediately, making sure that she was not caught in a trap where she would not be able to escape.
“Wooh, I’m just happy that you finally agreed to my request. No need to be violent about it.” He kept smiling at her, amused again with the way she was reacting. “Besides, this is just for tonight. We can easily declare this null and void by tomorrow if you think that this would not work.”
He could sense that what she was doing was all an act. Pretending to be tough on the outside, but she was just a softy on the inside. He just wondered what made her turned out this way. Remembering her different attitude more than a year ago.
He had an idea of how difficult it was to grow up with a big responsibility attached to a name. He had been a victim of that. Maybe in some way, they were the same. Both of them, trying to get out of the shadows of their family and legacy.
“I’m sorry. I just got riled up when my father kept pushing his friend’s sons on me.” She apologized as she moved along with him in time with the music and slightly leaned on his body while they swayed.
She was not usually this messed up. Maybe the incident with Nick, in addition to what her dad was trying to do, then combined it with Alex’s presence, just put her on the edge. Making her lose her control and composure.
He slowly moved closer to her while all she could do was stare at him, feeling the hard body against hers. He placed his fingers just below her chin and made her tilt her head up until their eyes finally locked.
“I’m not the enemy here. I am just like you, trying to get my parents off my back. That was why I was trying to seek your help.” He took this as an opportunity to get through her defense. He could see that her resolve finally had some crack which he could exploit.
As he continued to stare at her eyes, he found himself wanting to do more. Then again, a commotion at their back notified them of the presence of other people around them. He had no choice but to stepped back and away from her before he did something they both might regret.
“I guess it is time to look for our friends.” She made an excuse when she finally realized what almost happened with that small incident. She needed to be very careful around him if she would maintain a safe distance from him.
He just nodded, slightly disappointed with the turn of events. But then, he figured that it was for the best. It would be better if they stayed platonic in this association so that their agreement would not be tainted with complications, especially a romantic notion.
They sauntered back to the middle of the party to find their respective friends. At the same time, to make some more appearances for the benefit of Nick and her father.
“Where have you been?” Jacky appeared behind her followed by Marcus. “We’ve been looking for the both of you all over the place.” The way Jacky was looking at her, she knew that she was not yet through with her. She wanted answers.
“Well, we’ve been mingling around.” She explained as she unhooked herself from Alex’s arms. And went to the side of her friend.
“What’s going on?” Jacky whispered as they stood closer together. “Why did you not tell me about Alex?”
Jacky was still confused as to why her friend kept this secret from her, but she was willing to give her a chance to explain this to her.
“Can we talk about this later? Promise I will tell you everything.” She gave her friend a pleading smile, hoping that would melt her heart and forgive her for this incident. She valued too much her friendship and she could never afford to lose her.
The same thing was happening between Alex and Marcus, as Marcus tried to pry some answers from his friend. But just like Dani, Alex promised to tell him everything later.
Both of them wanted to make sure that everything would run smoothly this night. If this became a success, then maybe they could make a deal.
“I need to see my mom. Do you mind if you excuse us for a few minutes?” She asked Jacky who only agreed with the promise that they would have a long talk soon.
She had to bring along Alex since they had to sell that they were a couple. She was sure that her mom would be shocked that she was in a relationship. She very seldom kept anything from her, so this would be one lie, she would be having a hard time telling.
She was barely seated in her chair when Jacky walked into her office. “This just came for you.” Jacky went straight to her table and placed the large bouquet of roses on top of it. “You should have told me that he was the one sending you the flowers.”
It was clear that despite their long conversation last night, Jacky was still slightly upset with her. Jacky was lacking her usual bubbly self. This morning, she went for a jog and when she came back, Jacky was already gone. Jacky left the house early just to avoid her.
“Come on, Jacky. Please forgive me.” Using a pleading tone, hoping that things between them would finally go back to normal. “Promise, I will never keep anything from you again.” She stood up from her desk and pulled her friend in a hug.
She did tell her friend everything that she needed to know about her current situation with Alex. She even explained to her about Alex’s proposal and the contract.
But she never mentioned the incident that happened more than a year ago. That was something that would remain buried in her mind for the rest of her life.
After her revelation last night, Jacky said that she needed time to process it before leaving her in their living room as she went to her room. She was not angry, Jacky expressed, just disappointed.
Now, inside her office, she stared at Jacky as she stood in front of her table, waiting for her response to her apology.
“You know you are the only family I have, so you keeping something from me this big is hard to accept. I need to know these things. What if something happens to you? How can I help you if I have no idea of what’s going on with you?” Jacky expressed her grievances and concerns.
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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