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“They’ve been around for a while. They’ve become popular in the last few months. It’s going to be fun. I love that I get access to all these hot parties because of your brother. Connections are everything,” Chris says.
“You did the same for me at the club,” I tell him, reaching out to pat his knee. Chris did more than grant me access to the private club his family belonged to. He convinced his parents to pay for my swimming and tennis lessons. The only reason that I’m a little bit polished is because of Chris.
There’s a long queue of cars to get to the club but we’re in no rush.
“How are things going with you?” Chris asks, resting his head on the seat and turning to look at me. “Still sleeping with the boss?”
A sigh escapes my lips. “Not anymore.” I bring him up to date about my affair with Jace and how it came to an end.
A puzzled expression comes over Chris’s features. “Why would you do that? You don’t like to have fun, do you?”
“I like to have fun as much as the next person, but I also don’t like getting into a situation that will only lead to me getting hurt,” I tell him.
“You’re hurting already,” he says. “Why suffer twice?”
I don’t have an answer for that but what Chris is saying makes sense. It’s already too late to protect my feelings. I’ve already fallen for Jace. Conflicted emotions grab me by the throat. I’m glad when the cars in front start to move and Chris’s attention shifts.
The whole block in front of the hotel is blocked off and covered with a red carpet. I’ve been to enough of these events not to be star-struck but it’s still exciting to attend. A valet takes Chris’s car and we stroll down the carpet. We’ve done this before, acting like celebrities. We laugh as cameras go off in our faces and we hear the paparazzi asking each other who we are. Marcus and Charlotte join us and then they disappear, returning to work.
We enter the ballroom where the party is in full swing. We grab some drinks and Chris grabs my hand and points out some celebrities.
It’s not long before Chris hooks up with some girl and if I’m not wrong, she’s one of the band members. I bump into someone; a friend of a friend when I’m leaving the bathroom. After saying hello, I wait for her and then join her group of friends. Chris keeps track of me, coming to ask if I’m okay every so often.
I’m very okay. Or at least I’m determined to be. I’m not going to spend the night in tears over Jace. I drown more cocktails than I normally would and with each one, my melancholy withdraws and a party mood kicks in. Chris introduces me to Maya and she introduces me to the rest of the band members.
It’s one big party but at some point, I become tearful and I have to go and hide myself in the bathroom. I check my phone for messages or missed calls. I have to squint at the screen to see. Nothing. Damn Jace for making me miss him so much.
I’m tempted to call him but the sober part of me realizes what a terrible idea that is. I resolutely put my phone away and return to the party. After that, I stick to water. By three I’m sick of the noise and I say goodbye to Chris and Maya, who is wrapped around him. My brother escorts me to an Uber.
“You sure you’re okay to go home alone?” he asks.
I stand on one leg. “Does this prove to you that I’m okay?” If only he knew my balance is not the problem. It’s my heart.
Chapter 19: Olivia
“What’s wrong with you? You look like you should be in the ward of The Anderson Clinic.” Amelia says when I slunk into her office.
I feel worse than I look, especially because I was yanked out of bed at ten in the morning by her call. I sink into a chair and say a silent prayer that I don’t vomit all over my editor’s table.
“A little bird confirmed to me that you’re seeing Jace Anderson,” she says, leaning over her desk.
I groan internally. Not that again. I was sure that I had thrown her off. “It’s nothing serious,” I say, too hungover to try and convince her otherwise. Besides, calling me to her office means that she’s pretty sure of what she’s saying.
Her eyes gleam. “Are you serious? I don’t care what you’re doing together as long as you’re together. This is Jace Anderson we’re talking about. The CEO of Anderson clinic. If anyone has the dirt, it’s him.”
It’s my turn to look at Amelia like she’s insane. “He’s the last person that’s going to give me any dirt on the clinic. Besides, I’m starting to wonder if there is any dirt. They seem to be very open in how they run it…” my voice trails off at the look of disgust that comes over Amelia’s features.
“Are you falling for him?” she asks.
“No,” I say as firmly as I can.
She stares at me without speaking for a few long seconds. “Do you remember asking me to give you this assignment and you’ll prove to me that you can do it?”
I nod stiffly. I had a lot of conviction that day but I hadn’t reckoned on falling for Jace Anderson.
“Don’t make me regret trusting a novice. If I had gone with our more experienced journalists, they would not be sitting here telling me that the clinic has no dirt and it’s run very professionally. You sound like they’re PR department,” she says scornfully.
I don’t blame her for being angry. I was given a job and now I’ve gotten myself into a situation of conflict between my work and my feelings for my boss. If Amelia knew how bad it was, she would fire me on the spot.
