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Chapter Four

Genevieve

The last two days have flown by and honestly, it has been a nightmare. Iā€™ve had a few interviews, but none of them has come up with anything, and getting rejected constantly is tiring.

The only thing that has been keeping me going is this stupid party of Alex's. I cannot wait to get dressed up and to just feel like a normal function member of society, high society in this case. Alex and I talked a bit more about me pretending to be his girlfriend, and I am under strict instructions to not overdo it. Just maybe touch his arm every now and then and laugh at his jokes will be okay.

Simple enough.

Now I am getting ready and finishing up by adding the last few curls to my now smoothed down frizz-free hair. Big and bouncy is what I was aiming for, and I think Iā€™ve achieved that.

I apply a light layer of makeup. If I remember anything from parties like this in London, it is to not overdo it and look like a clown. I put a light shimmering shadow over my lid and settle on a nude-coloured liquid lipstick, so it will not budge all night.

Once I am done, I head out of my room to find Alex, needing his help to get me into my dress. I find him stood in the kitchen, shirt unbuttoned, holding out a wine glass in my direction.

I swear, if I did not live with him, I might have fallen for him. He has scruffy blond hair and well-defined abs. I catch myself staring at him longer than I should have while he is still holding out the drink.

"Gen are you going to take this drink or are you going to just stare at what you canā€™t haveā€.

He motions his free hand to himself as he says the last words.

"Not staring at what I canā€™t have, just praying you would put on a shirtā€.

I take the drink from him and he winks at me. ā€œOkay Gen whatever you say.ā€ I feel my cheeks heat up ever so lightly, so I take a sip of my drink.

"Alex I actually came out here because I need your help to get into the dressā€.

He put his drink down and heads towards my room and I follow behind.

" Would you mind turning around? "

I stare at him; he knows full well I am not going to take this robe off while he is staring at me.

He obliges and turns to face the window. Taking the robe off I pull the dress off the hanger and stepping inside, pulling the sleeves over my arm and holding it up.

"Okay, Alex, you can look now." He turns around and steps towards me.

"Okay, so what should I do?ā€

He stands behind me, hands at the ready like he is about to catch a ball or something.

"Okay, so there is a small zip at the bottom and then a clap to hold it in placeā€.

He moves his hand to the zipper, pulls it up, and then I hear the clap click. ā€œOkay Gen all done" He steps away, and I check his handy work over in the mirror.

"Thanks, Alex "

"Genevieve, you look amazing in thatā€.

He has this weird smirk on his face.

"Oh, and, errā€¦., great choice of underwearā€.

He makes the okay sign with his fingers, and dashes out of the room, knowing full well I cannot chase him.

A short while later we are both dressed and ready, finishing off the wine in the kitchen as the driver arrives downstairs. The journey to the party is short, and the car pulls up outside the Hudson hotel.

"Dude you never said it would be hereā€.

He shoots me a smile as he takes my hand to help me out of the car.

"If I had told you, you would have made an excuse not to comeā€.

He is right. I would have.

I would have used every excuse in the book to not have to step foot in the Hudson hotel. It was formerly named as the Hudson Riviera, until my brother decided to rename my father's entire legacy and replace all the high-class elegant touches my mother had worked so hard to incorporate into the design of the hotel with harsh modern furniture.

"He isnā€™t here, is he?"

I ask quietly praying to the heavens that he is not. I havenā€™t seen him since I left London. We have only communicated through lawyers since then.

"Gen, honestly, I donā€™t actually know. It was rumoured that he would be because the party is such a massive deal, and it is held for the Maddox familyā€.

"If he is here, Alex... "

I trail off from my sentence as soon as we enter the ballroom. I look around at all the changes that have been made. Every essence of my mother is now gone and replaced with harsh plastics and bright white lights. All the warmth from this once beautiful room is now gone.

"Are you okay? "

Alex squeezes my hand while staring intently at me and waiting for me to reply. Straitening up and smoothing down my dress so that I am standing tall with confidence once more, I turn to him.

"Yes, Iā€™m fine, I remember how to live in this world, and I think I can survive one nightā€.

A flash him a quick wink as we step into the crowds of people.

We move through the room. Many people greet Alex and then make pleasant conversation with us both. Yet, he has not had the chance to say I am her girlfriend, which I am secretly happy about. Lying has never been a strong point of mine.

Alex is engaged in conversation with an elderly couple. He pre-warned me that this guy was high up in the company and I had to behave. I do smile and laughing at the old manā€™s jokes. As I do, I feel like someone is watching me. I look around to see who it might be, but there is no one.

I lean into Alex to whisper. "Alex, Iā€™m just going to go and attempt to use the bathroom in this dressā€.

He laughs at my words, and the elderly woman in front makes a comment about young love. I laugh along before excusing myself from the conversation and heading to the bathroom.

I walk along the corridor, smiling politely as I head into the bathroom. I did not actually need to go to the restroom, but I did need a break. The toilets are dimly lit, nothing like the brightness before.

I just needed a minute to get myself back together. It has been a long time since Iā€™ve had to dress and act this way.

Looking myself up and down in the mirror, I see the door open behind me.

"Genevieve, how unfortunate to see youā€.

The hairs on my neck stand up as I twist around, plastering a smile on my face.

"Mia, I wasnā€™t aware the doormen were letting in trash off the street. Iā€™ll have to go and warn them of their mistakeā€.

I brush past her while heading to the door.

"Alex isnā€™t going to want you forever, you know. He will soon realise what he's missing and come back to meā€.

Alex does not want me at all, but this crazy bitch doesnā€™t need to know that.

"Mia, itā€™s not very ladylike to make threats. As for Alex and me, we are incredibly happy and if you ever cared about him in any capacity, Iā€™m sure you would want it to stay that way. Now please do us both a favour and stop reaching for something that is no longer there ā€œ

I glare at her. My head held high while she searches my face trying to think of a comeback before I turn around and exit the bathroom. Something about her just raises my blood pressure and keeping my composure to her face was tough. I promised I would not cause a scene though.

Heading back into the main room, I see Alex standing across the room. He spots me and nods, making sure I am okay, so I make a drinking gesture with my hand and head to the bar.

It feels like I am waiting for a lifetime before the barman asks me what I would like.

"Just water, please "

"A water? Surely you would like something else, something for a woman of your calibreā€.

I stare at the barman. His lips did not move, so I turn to the side to see a man in a very well-fitted suit standing beside me. Staring from his feet upwards, I feel myself holding my breath, and for the first time in a long while, out of things to say. His slightly long dark hair is pushed back, connecting the stubble on his defined chin. As he is facing forward, I find myself wanting to see his eyes, but he is facing forward as he orders his drink.

He does not speak again, but the barman placed a glass of water and a glass of champagne in front of me.

"Sorry, I didnā€™t order the champagneā€.

"No, I ordered it for you, you looked as though you could use oneā€.

His voice trails off as he walks back into the crowd. I turn back to the bar and take a sip of the water. Whoever that guy was, he was right. I could use an actual drink. Swapping the glasses over, I head back to Alex with the champagne in my hand.

As I am now stood chatting with more of Alex's acquaintanceā€™s, I still feel that someone is watching me. I search in the crowd for Mia once more, but I stop when my eyes land on his, a face like thunder, my brother Mitch, as he too stares at me like I am a waste of space.

As the night progresses on, I can still feel his eyes on me, which makes my skin crawl. I told Alex he was here, and he promised me that we would leave soon. He just had a few more people to speak with, but it was going well for him.

I end up having a few more drinks, and now I am stood next to Alex with a glass of red wine in one hand and my eyes locked in an intense war with Mitch.

I lean into Alex and whisper in his ear.

"Alex, I need to go, I canā€™t be here any more." He stops talking and turns to face me.

"You donā€™t have to come with me. Iā€™ll get your driver to pick me up, but I need to leave. Have a wonderful night, and Iā€™ll see you at homeā€.

"Message me as soon as you get home, I wonā€™t be much longer, and thank you for tonight Gen. Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™m going to get the jobā€.

He has a huge smile on his face, and I press a light kiss on his cheek before heading to the doors to call the driver.

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