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Chapter Five

Greyson

Ever since I got to this party, it has been nothing but meaningless conversation. I do my best to smile and engage with those who approach me, but itā€™s hard when youā€™re not in the mood to socialise.

The meeting the other day did not exactly go as I planned, and now my father is putting extra pressure on me to get engaged. I thought about approaching Vicky, but the more I watched her at work, the less a good idea that seems to be. Now Iā€™m stuck here.

Looking out among the crowd, I spot a woman in a blue dress standing by the bar. I find myself instantly captivated by her. The low riding material exposing her back and yet still perfectly hugging her body and showing her perfectly deep caramel skin. This night may have just got a little more interesting. I at least not be going home alone.

Heading over to the bar, the barmanā€™s head snaps my way instantly. I nod in the direction of the girl beside me, whose face I cannot see fully.

"Just water, please "

Her voice is soft and yet somehow angry.

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

I see the crease lines on the side of her face as she tries to work out who just spoke before. I see her turn to me, and I instantly look away.

The feeling of her eyes on me gets me a little excited, but she does not speak. I order a drink for myself and a champagne for her. She looks like the type. As soon as he places her drink's in front of her, I see her body tense.

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

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

I take my drink off the counter and walk away with my back facing her, feeling her eyes on me as I do. I am hoping she could follow me or at least comes to find me later on.

The rest of the evening goes by quickly, and I get caught up in conversation with the hotel owner. He brags about renovations of the place and how much money he spent in doing so.

Personally, it looked better before, less corporate and cosier. I excuse myself from the conversation, not that he is really paying attention to me anyways. He is staring blindly at someone behind me.

I turn to see who it is, but all I see is the girl in the blue kissing some guy, who I have seen around the office.

Seeing that she is leaving, I reside that I, in fact, will be going home alone. Making my way to the room, someone grabs my arm and at the same moment, I feel something smash into my side and my trousers suddenly feel wet.

Looking to the right, I see the face of a would-be conquest and to the left the face of the same girl who spilt tea on my three days ago. She is apologising to me, trying to wipe down my leg, but looking around as if she really wants to get out of here. As I look her up and down, I notice the dress.

She is the girl in the blue. Now I am kind of glad I didnā€™t really pursue her, knowing I would have been pissed.

"I am so so sorry. Itā€™s red wine and Iā€™ve ruined your suitā€.

She grabs my hand and pulls me to the side, asking the bartender for a few napkins. She carries on wiping until I grab her hand to stop her, forcing her to look at me, so she can see how pissed I am.

"You know you really should watch where youā€™re going. This is the second time in only a few days that youā€™ve poured your drink all over meā€.

Her eyes meet my own, and I am momentarily distracted by the amber glow her brown eyes seem to have.

She pulls her hand away from mine with force.

"Well, maybe you should stop standing right in the middle of places just waiting to be walked into, ass hatā€.

Ass hat is that what she just called me. She starts to walk outside again, wiping the red wine from her own arm. I catch up with her just outside the door.

"You know, youā€™re really rudeā€.

She scoffs at me and rolls her eyes.

"Iā€™m really rude? I spilt the entire contents of my bag on the floor at your feet, and you stared at me without movingā€.

Her face looks like thunder as she carries on.

"And then I was late for an interview with another ass hat, who only wanted one thing, and I didnā€™t even get the freaking job. So if anyone is rude, it should be you. You ass hat day wrecker"

With that, she looks away from me, before snapping her head back...

"Oh, and good luck getting me to pay for the dry cleaning on that suit because Iā€™m dead ass brokeā€.

I think about what she has just said, and then my mind flashes back to my current situation. I have seen her be elegant, so I know she can handle herself in society. Thereā€™s no chance Iā€™ll fall for her because her personality is awful, so itā€™s a win-win. Before I can even process what Iā€™ve said, the words have come out.

"I have a proposition for youā€.

She stares at me blank in the face. Before she starts muttering about how shallow I am, and she would never do that, I interrupt her.

"Not that kind of proposition, I have an unconventional job offer for youā€.

She does not say anything but is looking at me expectantly.

"Look, letā€™s not talk about this out here. Let my driver take you home, and Iā€™ll explain on the way?"

She hesitates.

"Youā€™re not going to try and attack me or something weird like that if I get in the car, are you?ā€

"What! Absolutely not. Iā€™ll make you my offer, and then youā€™re free to do as you wishā€.

She nods, and I head to the valet to call my driver. Within a few seconds, he rounds the corner, opening the door for us to step inside. Sitting as far away from me as possible, she put her hands in her lap.

"So, whatā€™s the job offerā€.

She hesitates again and then says, "Actually, letā€™s start with your nameā€.

"Greyson Maddox. What is yours "

"Maddox as in you know Maddox .... oh, shit, Alex is going to kill meā€.

Alex? Was this the guy she was with tonight? I'm also a little taken aback normally when a girl hears my name her whole attitude towards me changes. They practically throw themselves at me, but she seemed angrier at herself.

"You should probably let me get out of the car here. Alex works for you, and I donā€™t want to ruin that for him. Heā€™s already going to be pissed when he finds out I spilt a drink on you and called you names. Even though I meant themā€.

The last words were full of malice.

"I said I will take you home and I will, so Iā€™m not letting you out into the street, and itā€™s not safe. What is your nameā€.

She looks more nervous now. "Genevieve Hudson "

She put her hand out and I shake it.

"Look, Genevieve, itā€™s no secret we donā€™t like each other, but you need a job and I need help to solve a problemā€.

"Okay, thatā€™s not ominous at allā€.

I shoot her a glare. Does she have to talk so much? Taking a breath, I begin to explain.

"I need you to pretend to be my new fiancĆ©. My reputation is not so good now and my company need to secure a noticeably big deal. Trouble is my images is putting the other side off, my father things it best that I am seen to be settling down and thatā€™s where you come in. You pretend to be my girlfriend ill fake some whirlwind romance and secret enjoyment to the press and we will be the perfect on-camera couple you just have to play the part. Iā€™ll write up a contract and one year after the deal is secured, we will fake a breakup and your free to goā€.

A smile appears on her face, and then she starts laughing uncontrollably.

"You cannot be serious. You said it yourself we donā€™t even like each other, then why would I do this to help you?ā€

"Miss Hudson, youā€™ll do it because you need a job. When this is over, and Iā€™ll pay you 1.5 million dollars to keep quiet about itā€.

Her mouth opens into an O shape at my words.

"While we are together, youā€™ll have access to your own personal funds and whatever else you need, and you just have to play nice at dinner parties and family events to satisfy my father. If you agree, things will need to move fast"

She does not say anything, seemingly in shock as the car pulls up to the address she gave. She doesnā€™t get out of the car immediately, and still unable to form a sentence before her phone starts ringing. She scrambles to pick it up.

"Sorry, Alex I just got home nowā€.

"Yes, Iā€™m okay, I promise".

"Okay, sure see you when you get homeā€.

She looks at me as she put the phone back in her bag.

"I should goā€.

"Look, I know what Iā€™m asking seems crazy but think about it. If you accept, call me on this number at 12 pm tomorrowā€.

I slip her my card before she gets out, instructing the driver to wait, so we can ensure she gets inside safely. Once behind the doors, she puts a hand up and waved a quick goodbye before disappearing.

Tapping the back of the driver's chair, I usher for him to go home. My thoughts trail back to Genevieve at the bar. She was like a different person, and I wonder what has made her so angry.

As my thoughts stray away from her, I think about going home to an empty apartment, so I pull out my phone and scroll through the list of names before settling one.

She answers right away, and by the sounds of it, she is ready for whatever Iā€™m giving out.

"My place 20 Minutes "

I put the phone down and enjoy the car ride in comfortable silence. A small smirk appear on my face as I know Genevieve wonā€™t be able to risk turning down that much money tomorrow.

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