Novel Square
33
Standing right in front of us was a woman no older than 24 with stunning blue eyes. Her body was clad in a shimmering gold dress along with a pair of legs to die for. Her hair was perfectly curled and her make up was sultry. I felt an immediate threat from her and shrank back a bit.
“Ivan Stone, nice to see you again” the woman says going in to embrace Ivan tightly. I stand their awkwardly scratching my arm as the two embraced.
“It’s good to see you too Simone, congrats on your success” he says giving her a kiss on the cheek before pulling away. I ignore the nasty taste of jealousy and grip Ivan’s arm when he pulls me closer.
“Who’s this cutie” she asks condescendingly while turning her attention towards me. I put on a smile and square my shoulders before replying.
“Amelia Winters, assistant of Mr. Stone” I say leaving out the girlfriend part. She nods while carefully eyeing me in warning.
“She’s also my girlfriend” Ivan butts in, pulling me closer into his side. Simone’s expression turns sour as she huffs in annoyance.
“Dating your employee seems a little lower class for someone like you Ivan” she bites taking me by surprise. I resist the urge to snap back and wait for Ivan to defend himself.
“I certainly didn’t ask you to analyze my decisions so I suggest you bite your tongue next time Simone” he replies coldly before pulling us away from her. He escorts me to a table occupied by a single man and we take a seat. Ivan takes a minute to calm his breathing and I give him a reassuring squeeze on his hand.
“Ivan Stone, I must say it’s been awhile since we’ve last met” a voice booms next to us and I turn my attention towards the interruption. The man looked to be in his late forties with green eyes and dark brown hair. His eyes assess my appearance before a look of shock washes across his face but he quickly masks it.
“Well Alejandro, I never expected to run into you ever again, especially after our last encounter” he responds coldly with a guarded expression. I look between the two as they glare at each other before butting in.
“I’m sorry but I don’t think we’ve met, Amelia Winters” I say as both men snap their attention towards me. Alejandro gasps as a look of surprise becomes evident on his expression. He quickly shakes out of his trance before giving me a curt smile.
“Alejandro Chavez, pleasure to meet you Amelia” he responds and I smile before a sound of a mic grabs our attention.
“Hello everyone and welcome to the Award Gala of 2016. Today we’ll be honoring a very familiar face to the public eye for not only her generosity but also her entrepreneur skills. Please give it up to our very own, Simone Pierre” the announcer exclaims as the room erupts into clapping and cheers. Simone comes out with a smile and hugs the announcer before taking the mic.
“Thank you all for coming, it’s truly heart warming to see us all so interested in helping our community. As for my modeling, I’ve had a great year with many promising projects and I can’t wait to be able to share them with you all” she says before thanking them once again. The crowd claps some more and she walks off stage to greet a few people as the rest of us resume our conversations. As the room lights up with chatter, various waiters walked around with trays filled with food. As we wait for our food to come, Jake walks over with a grin and seats himself beside me.
“Well I must say, Simone has truly done it this time” he says lightheartedly and I give a slight nod in agreement.RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only
“Tell me about it, the woman is the perfect business woman not to mention the fact that she thinks with her head and not her heart which is smart in this industry” Alejandro says joining the conversation. Ivan sends a glare his way and Jake looks between the two with the same expression I had.
“Ivan, is there something between you two that we don’t know about” Jake asks and Ivan snaps his attention towards Jake.
“You of all people should remember Alejandro Chavez” Ivan responds and Jake’s expression turns cold at the knowledge of this man.
“Nice to see that cheating and scamming your way to the top worked so great for you” Jake says curtly causing Alejandro to flinch.
“I’m not like that anymore so I’d appreciate it if we let the past stay in the past” he replies directing towards Jake and Ivan.
“He’s right, you guys should be happy for Simone instead of throwing insults to a man who’s clearly sorry for his past” I add causing them to look at me. They nod in agreement and before we know it, our food arrives. My stomach grumbles loudly causing Jake to chuckle at me.
“Someone’s very hungry aren’t you Amelia” Jake says with a smile and I send him a playful glare.
“Obviously, I haven’t eaten all day so that I’d look good in this dress and not look like some bloated ballon” I reply causing the table to rumble in laughter.
“Trust me baby, that dress is doing you plenty of favors” he flirts with a wink causing me to giggle.
“Jake, I suggest you stop flirting with me before a certain someone over here looses their shit and ends up throwing a fork at you” I nag with a smile causing Jake to chuckle.
The rest of the night is spent with lighthearted conversations until our food is completely gone. Jake excuses himself to the restroom and I finally direct my attention towards my boyfriend. Ivan scoots closer to me before opening his mouth to tell me something.
“Mia cara, I have to go congratulate Simone again and go talk to her parents. Are you ok with staying here or would you like to come with” he whispers and I shiver slightly before shaking my head.
“It’s fine, you go do whatever CEOs do and I’ll wait here until you’re done” I answer and he excuses himself but not before giving me a kiss. I watch his retreating figure blend in with the rest of the people and turn my attention to Alejandro, who was already staring at me.
“Is there a problem” I ask confused but also wanting him to stop staring at me.
“No problem, you just look really familiar. Are you sure we haven’t met” he asks and I shake my head.
“Not before today” I respond and we fall into an awkward silence as I play with my dress to pass time. Getting fed up I attempt to strike up a conversation, much to my dismay.
“So what do you do for a living” I ask awkwardly and he looks up at me.
“Do you really want to know or are you asking just to make small talk” he asks curtly and I blush in embarrassment.
“Not really” I admit and he chuckles in amusement.
“You know, someone dear to me always said No hables a menos que puedas mejorar el silencio. It means-” he says but not before I cut him off.
“Don’t speak unless you can improve on silence” I translate and he looks at me surprised.
“Not many people know that saying” he says confused and I snap out of my daze before responding.
“My mother always said that to me whenever I would say something out of line” I admit and he nods with a smile.
“It was good to see you again Amelia” he replies and I look at him weirdly before he gets up and walks away leaving me slightly confused. I sit there for a couple of minutes trying to gather my thoughts before getting up to go find Ivan. I walk around the gala giving anyone who glanced my direction a smile while skimming the crowd for Ivan. I walk down a narrow hallway that leads to a garden and hide behind a corner when I hear talking.
“You really left me for some middle classed nobody who’s probably sleeping her way towards a better job” I hear a feminine voice whisper shout angrily.