Winning My Ex-Crush

Laird’s POV

“Welcome!”

Fenella shouted loudly alongside Jessy and Mike. All three of them popped small confetti until colorful papers scattered at Alan’s house entrance. Alan, of course, immediately squealed, his mouth wide open and his eyes fluttering.

“Oh my, you guys set this up? What a surprise!” Alan exclaimed as he hugged each of them one by one. Fortunately, he only briefly hugged Fenella.

“Yes, of course, a surprise,” I said skeptically, standing behind Alan.

“Of course. Successfully getting out of detention is something worth celebrating,” Jessy cheered enthusiastically.

Mike grabbed a bottle of champagne and two clear glasses. Jessy also fetched three clear glasses for me and Fenella. She accepted the glass from Jessy, unlike me, who declined.

“No, thank you. I still have to go to the office after this,” I quickly said to Jessy.

Though I also wanted to drink the champagne, I remembered I still had to organize Alan’s documents. Then I had to report to my boss and read the new documents that had come in this morning. I could only understand the three people who didn’t have to go back to the office like me, and I even had a twinge of envy for them.

“Let’s ignore that stick in the mud,” said Alan as Mike shook the champagne for a moment.

Mike raised his thumb from the champagne bottle, and a ‘pop’ sound was heard loud and satisfying. The bottle cap flew into the ceiling, and Mike immediately sprayed champagne on Alan’s face. They shouted with joy together while I ran backward to avoid the golden liquid spray.

But, of course, Mike would not let me escape. So Mike sprayed champagne toward me.

“Stop! I still have to go to the office! Are you crazy?” I protested loudly to him.

My hand was raised to ward off the spray of champagne into my face, but of course, the action was futile. My face and hair were immediately wet and sticky. The suit I wore also became a victim of his mischief.

Mike was still shaking the champagne and spraying it on everyone with loud laughter. Fenella, Alan, and Jessy could only laugh and shout happily. Yeah, that’s good.

After Mike stopped shaking, finally the flow of champagne subsided, and Mike began pouring champagne into their glasses. Alan smiled and raised his glass toward us.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Thank you to my friends. Your support has been my hope in difficult times in detention,” Alan said.

“Overacting,” I muttered quietly to myself with both hands clasped in front of my chest.

“Toast!” Alan exclaimed, and they drank champagne together.

I just watched them from the corner of the door while I removed my sticky and damp blazer. I hung the blazer on my arm. After they finished their glasses, I approached them again.

“Where’s the bathroom?” I asked Jessy.

“There, at the end, turn left,” he replied.

I quickly walked away from them and entered the toilet. While they still sounded joking, I cleaned myself from the remains of champagne on my face and hair.

***

After making sure my face, hair, and shirt collar were clean again, I left the bathroom. I immediately found all three of them sitting on the living room sofa. They were still chatting when I sat next to Fenella.

“Once again, thank you, Alan. I promise to work hard to repay your kindness to me,” Fenella said to Alan.

“Yes, it’s okay. I’ll do anything to protect you, Fenella,” Alan said with a broad smile.

The man’s eyes then glanced at me, and he smirked arrogantly. I just stayed silent and let the man take credit as Fenella’s hero. At this point, I started to not care about him. Moreover, I’m sure Fenella still likes me more than Alan.

“Forget about this case. I am more interested in Oscar’s opinion and the main model contracts. How about Jessy?” Alan asked Jessy.

“Oh, yes, as per your instructions yesterday. I have spoken with Oscar, and he is ready to make Fenella the brand ambassador for his clothing brand and club,” he explained.

“Also, because public relations successfully shifted the issue to you, people are starting to believe again and are willing to continue offering projects to Fenella. We just need to give them an answer later,” Jessy claimed.

“What about that TV series producer? Do you still want to try for a small role from him?” Alan asked Fenella this time.

“Yes, Alan. I still want to try it,” Fenella answered confidently.

“I’ve contacted him, and he asked to meet Fenella again on Thursday,” Jessy said.

“That’s good, then,” Alan said with a short nod.

“What role?” I asked Fenella.

“Oh, that. I want to try acting. Yesterday there was a producer who came to the party and briefly offered me a cameo role in one of the TV series he handled,” Fenella explained with a shy tone on her face.

“Isn’t that fun? Seeing Fenella on TV?” Alan chuckled.

“Is that possible, Alan? Ms. Lola used to say I should focus on my modeling career,” Fenella asked hesitantly.

“Yes, of course. I’m not like Ms. Lola, who likes to categorize things as black or white. I prefer shades of gray.” Alan then glanced at me and stared at my eyes for a long time.

I just raised my eyebrow in confusion at Alan’s attitude towards me. Unlike me, Jessy and Fenella seemed to laugh happily. Alan poured the champagne back into his glass and sipped it.

“Thank goodness then,” Fenella said, still with a cheerful laugh.

“I’ve said, haven’t I? I will give anything my top model wants,” Alan said, crossing his legs on the sofa and smiling.

“Because of that, Laird, we have to finalize her contract. Is a month enough to finish extending the new contract?” Alan asked me.

“Even if I refuse and say it’s not enough, you will still force me, right?” I asked lazily.

“Yes. Moreover, this is about Fenella. You said you would be Fenella’s personal lawyer. So, like it or not, you have to handle her contract,” Alan said firmly to me.

“Is that right, Fenella? You will appoint Laird as your lawyer to negotiate the contract extension with Gene, right?” Alan asked, still smiling.

“Yes, Laird. You will be my lawyer, right?” Fenella asked me with her eyes wide.