by Sophie Blue
“That sounds wonderful, thank you,” I answer with sincerity.
“Don’t forget to give him a plus one so his new girlfriend can attend,” I hear her sneer from behind me. Rolling my eyes, I turn and sure enough, there’s Leanne, in all her bitchy glory.
“Leanne,” I say, giving her a slight nod and turning back to Malcolm.
“I didn’t realise you had a new girlfriend,” Malcolm says, smiling kindly at me. “Of course, you must bring her along. Evelyn and I would love to meet her.”
Before I have a chance to decline, Leanne pipes up again.
“Must be pretty serious, considering they’re living together.” She scoffs, taking a gulp of her red wine and looking at me through narrowed slits.
“Really? Well I can’t wait to meet the lucky lady. I’ll have Evelyn send you the invite,” Malcolm says, shaking my hand again and making his way off to mingle some more.
“She doesn’t seem your type,” Leanne remarks, as I try to make a hasty exit. I can think of nothing worse than having to stand and hold a conversation with this woman.
Against my better judgement, I bite. “And why is that?”
“Thought you preferred women with a bit more class,” she replies, smirking at me as she raises her glass to her mouth again.
“Considering I dated you for a while, that’s clearly not the case is it?” I say, calmly, as I continue on my way to the restroom. What did I ever see in that woman?
Chapter 13
Mia
Curled up in the snug under a warm blanket, watching a romantic comedy, I jump when I hear the door open. Jackson walks in, still in his dark suit and looking rather delicious.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he says, taking a seat on the other end of the sofa. It’s one of those that you can feel yourself sink into when you sit in it. I could happily hibernate in here with coffee and cake and never be seen again.
“No worries. I jump at anything. How was the function?” I ask, refusing to admit that I missed his company at dinner this evening.
“Boring, but beneficial, so that’s the main thing.” Loosening his tie, he sits back and lets out a breath.
I nod and take a sip of my coffee, watching him over the rim of the cup.
“How do you drink that before bed?” he asks perplexed, nodding to my mug of caffeine filled goodness.
“I drink so much of it, I don’t think it even affects me anymore.” I shrug, taking another sip.
“That’s probably a sign that you should start weaning off.” He chuckles, looking over at me with a smile.
“How dare you say something so hurtful!” I mock and put my mug down on the coffee table in front of the sofa.
Laughing, he puts his hands up in mock surrender, “My apologies. That was uncalled for.”
Nodding, I say, “Apology accepted, Mr. Carrington.”
Leaning his elbows on his knees and rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he says, “I have a favour I need to ask you. I completely understand if you say no. Please don’t feel you have to say yes just because you work for me.”
“Ok…” I say, intrigued as to where this is going. He’s never asked me for a favour before.
“A partner at the law firm my company works with is having a fundraiser next week and invited me. I said I would love to go. I have a lot of time for him and his wife. The Ex-Asaurus-Rex piped up and said I should invite my girlfriend, since we’re living together. So now the invite has been extended to you too. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to; I realise the situation is less than ideal. But I don’t suppose there’s any chance you’d consider being my date for the night?”
He’s rambling and it is adorable. I smile at him and say, “I’d love to go with you and be your fake girlfriend.”
“Yeah?” he asks, surprise evident in his voice. He didn’t think I’d agree and I have no idea why. After everything, it’s the least I can do.
“Of course. If it helps you out, it’s the least I can do after everything you have done for me. Plus, any excuse to wipe that Botox smile off of the dinosaur.” I smirk, grabbing my coffee again and finishing the last of it off.
He laughs, leaning back on the sofa. “I swear she wasn’t always this annoying. At least not that I noticed.”
“Was that because you spent most of your time balls deep in her?” Fuck. I did not just say that. To my boss. No. I feel the heat rushing to my cheeks and want the sofa to swallow me up.
“Crap, I am so, so…” I’m cut off by him full on howling with laughter. He’s clutching his sides like he’s in pain and it makes me giggle through my mortification.
“You really are something else, you know that?” He laughs, looking over at me. “Maybe it was, we didn’t talk much. We attended functions together and slept together. That’s about it. Honestly, I think she just liked that she had a successful man on her arm to help elevate her social status.”
Nodding, I hope my face has returned to its natural colour and is no longer the tomato red I felt it turning to a few moments ago.
“Still, that was crazily unprofessional for me to say, so I am sorry.”
“Mia, we’re about to pretend to be in a relationship at a fundraiser. I think we already crossed the professional line. Don’t you?” He chuckles, hitting me with one of his charming grins.
“I guess so.” I smile back, pushing aside the blanket and standing. Grabbing my dirty mug, I turn the TV off and look over at Jackson. “I’m ready for bed, I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast?”
“You sure will. And thanks again, for helping me out,” he says, with a genuine smile that may have given me butterflies. But I’ll never tell.
“Anytime,” I say, heading to the kitchen to put my mug in the dishwasher.
What am I doing?
Chapter 14
Jackson
Almost done going through my emails, I grab my mug of coffee and have a well-deserved slurp. It may be Saturday, but there is no rest for the wicked. I’m sure I spend most of my time at home, either in the office or at the dining table.
The knock on my office door pulls me out of my thoughts. “Come in.”
Mia walks in, looking a little on edge, and I don’t like it.
“What’s wrong?”
“This function we’re attending. You haven’t told me anything about it. Is it a BBQ, a formal event, a casual get together? Do I need to buy a new outfit? Do I have to donate?” She’s talking a mile a minute and looks flustered, I’d laugh if she didn’t look so overwhelmed.
“Woah, calm down. Have a seat,” I say, motioning to the seat in front of my desk. She takes a seat and plays with her hands nervously.
“It’s a garden party; it will be a bit formal, yes. You can wear whatever you like. You don’t have to donate anything, I’ve already taken care of that. There will be an auction held; you can bid if you like and I’m happy to foot the bill. Stop stressing. It’ll be fine.”
“I don’t want to stick out like a sore thumb, Jackson. It’s obvious I’m not from your world,” she whispers, looking down with her cheeks tinged pink in embarrassment.
“What? Don’t be ridiculous, Mia. The only way you’ll stick out is because you’ll be the most beautiful woman at the party. If a new outfit will help to put you at ease, we can go shopping later and pick one out. But please don’t worry over this,” I soothe her, hating seeing her so anxious. Bloody Leanne sticking her nose in where it doesn’t belong. I never should have gone ahead with this charade.
“You think I’m beautiful?” she asks, looking up at me through her long lashes and looking far too appealing.
“I think you’re stunning,” I admit, quietly. “You have nothing to worry about. Let me finish up here and we can go shopping. Ok?”
She smiles up at me, a real Mia smile, and I feel it in my chest.
“Ok, thank you, Jackson. I’ll go get my purse and meet you in the kitchen when you’re done,” she says, looking a lot more at ease than she did when she first
entered my office.
Nodding, I make quick work of the remaining emails and shut down my laptop. Grabbing my phone from the desk, I make my way to the kitchen where I find Mia waiting for me with a travel mug full of what I assume is coffee. The woman has a problem.
“You ready?” I ask, grabbing the key card and walking towards the front door.
“Yep! Are we not taking one of your cars?” she asks, pointing to my key cupboard.
“Not today. Martin will drive us,” I say, leading her to the elevator and swiping my card to call it.
“He’s just on standby for when you need him?” she asks.
“Yes, during the week anyway,” I admit, following her inside the elevator and pressing the button for the ground floor.
“That must be boring,” she says, “I wonder what he does while he sits around waiting for your call.”
Chuckling, I say, “I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it. Let’s go get you a dress, shall we?”
Chapter 15
Mia
Looking around at all of the dresses, I’m in over my head. I have no idea what sort of thing I’m expected to wear. I look around for Jackson, but he had to pop out to take a work call. I must look a little lost as a shop assistant comes over to ask if she can help.
“I’m looking for a dress to wear to a fundraiser. It’s a formal-ish garden party,” I say, and she gives me a friendly smile.
“We have some lovely summer party dresses over here, if you’d like to take a look,” she says, leading me around the corner to another selection of dresses. I hardly know where to start. She must sense that I’m overwhelmed as she points to the cream leather seat at the end of the aisle.
“Why don’t you have a seat and I’ll grab a few ideas that I think will suit you, and we can go from there?” she offers and I sag in relief.
“Yes, that would be amazing. Thank you.” Smiling, she starts sorting through dresses while I take a seat and scroll through my phone to see what is going on in the world.
“Ok, so I’ve found some that I think will work perfectly with your figure. Did you want to go to the fitting room and try them on and see what you think?” she asks, with an armful of dresses and a friendly smile.
“Yes, that sounds great, thank you so much,” I say, standing to follow her to where I assume the fitting rooms are.
“No problem at all, Miss.” Leading me into the fitting rooms, she hangs the dress choices up in a cubicle and says she’ll leave me to try them on in peace.
Shutting the door, I look through her selection. There’s a pretty floral number, a lilac knee length dress, a light blue maxi dress, and a long black dress. They’re all lovely so I start to undress, ready to try on number one.
Pulling the floral dress on, I check out my reflection in the mirror. It’s nice, but is it nice enough? I’m not really sure what I’m dressing for. Sighing in frustration, I pull out my phone and text Jackson.
Me: Hey, you almost done? I need help deciding.
Jackson: All done now, sorry. Where are you?
Me: Fitting room at the back.
Jackson: On my way.
Still contemplating on whether this is dressy enough, I hear a knock on the cubicle door.
“Hello?”
“It’s me,” Jackson says, and I unlock the door, looking up at him.
“Is this ok?” I ask, doing a little twirl and trying to gauge his reaction.
“It’s beautiful. Do you like it?” he asks, looking me up and down.
“I do, but I think I like the black one more, but is it too dark or dressy for a garden party?” I ask, pointing to the other dresses hanging up in the cubicle. He looks over and shakes his head.
“Not at all. I’ll be wearing a black suit. Try it on and let’s have a look,” he encourages, backing up so I can shut the door again. I quickly unzip the floral dress and shimmy out of it. Picking up the black one, I take it off the hanger and slip it over my head. Straight away, I know this is the dress I want to wear. I feel great, and I think I look pretty good too. Smiling, I unlock the door and pull it open.
Jackson looks up from his phone and his jaw drops. I’ve never seen him lost for words before and it’s a heady feeling to know that I’m the reason.
“Definitely that one,” he says in a throaty voice that has my pulse racing. He looks like he is peering into my soul.
“Ok, I’ll get changed and meet you by the counter,” I say, trying to get my thoughts out of the gutter and focus on the goal.
“Ok, see you there,” he says, giving me one last glance before heading out of the fitting rooms. Closing the door, I let out a breath and smile. This is definitely the dress.
We fight over who is paying, even after I saw the horrifying price tag, but Jackson insisted on footing the bill since he was the reason I was having to attend the fundraiser. Heading back to the car with the bag in my hand, I smile. Maybe this party won’t be so bad after all.
Chapter 16
Jackson
Straightening my blue tie, I check my reflection in the floor length mirror in front of me. Not too bad, Mr. Carrington, not too bad at all.
Making my way out of my room and into the kitchen, I grab a glass of water and take a sip while I wait for Mia to get ready. I know she is nervous about tonight, but there is no need. We won’t stay too long, and most of the people going that I know are friendly. Putting my now empty glass into the dishwasher, I hear her footsteps coming down the hall. Looking up, I freeze.
Mia is standing in front of me in the black dress and a pair of black heels. Her hair is curled and falls around her face, complementing the light makeup she has put on. With diamanté drop earrings and a smile, she is truly breath-taking.
“Do I look ok?” she asks nervously, and I realise I’ve said nothing since she entered the room.
“You look stunning. Absolutely stunning,” I say with complete honesty. This woman is one of a kind. She gives me a shy smile and her cheeks start to turn an adorable shade of pink.
“Thank you,” she says, stepping forward and grabbing her purse. “Are we ready then?”
“Yes, as ready as we’ll ever be.” I nod, taking her hand and leading her out of the penthouse and towards the elevator.
“How did we meet?” she asks as we enter the elevator and wait for the doors to close.
“Let’s stick as close to the truth as possible, shall we? At a bar. I saw you having trouble with some guys and stepped in?”
She nods and sucks in a breath at the bad memory. I’m not particularly fond of reliving that part either. But it brought her into my life, and that I am thrilled about. Over the past few weeks, I’ve enjoyed getting to know Mia. Our meals together have been the highlight of my day. She’s witty and kind and crazy and beautiful.
As the elevator comes to a stop at reception, I take her hand in mine again and lead her to the car outside, where Martin is waiting to drive us to the fundraiser. Opening the door, I help her in and slide in after her.
“Relax. Just try and have fun, ok? It’s for a good cause,” I remind her with a smile as she takes another deep breath.
“Ok.” She smiles back at me. “What is the fundraiser for?”
“It’s for the local children’s hospital. Malcolm and Evelyn donate a large amount of money to it every year. Evelyn used to work there before she retired and is still very involved.”
“She sounds like a wonderful woman,” Mia offers with a smile.
“She is, you’ll like her.” I reassure her, watching how she starts to relax back into her seat and watch the world go by outside of the window.
Before too long, we are pulling up outside of Malcolm and Evelyn’s sprawling country estate. Mia gasps as we step out of the car, taking it all in. In fairness, it does look like something out of a Jane Austen novel. The stately brick mansion is stunning. Modern and sleek, with a huge water feature in the middle of the vast driveway. Above the front door is an elegant balcony which I imagine stems of
f of the master bedroom. It’s truly a sight to behold.
Malcolm comes from round the side of the impressive house and greets us with a beaming smile.
“Jackson, so glad you could make it!” Shaking my hand, he grins. “And you must be the lovely lady in his life.”
“This is Mia. Mia, this is Malcolm,” I say, introducing them.
“It’s lovely to meet you,” Mia says with a smile, holding her hand out to shake his. He pulls her in for a hug and I chuckle. He’s always broken the stereotype. People expect high power lawyers to be cold and aloof. Malcolm couldn’t be more the opposite. The guy’s a teddy bear, and that’s one of the many things I like about him.
“Same to you, my dear. It is lovely to have you here. Come, you must meet my wife.” We follow him round to the garden where the party is in full swing already. The garden is just as impressive as the house itself. Acres of greenery and flowers greet us. Gazebos have been erected and a dance floor has been laid. There are people everywhere, drinks in hands, laughing and enjoying the sunshine. Grabbing hold of Mia’s hand, for moral support I tell myself, I lead her round to where Malcolm now stands with Evelyn. In an emerald coloured dress, with a black lace trim, Evelyn looks lovely and every inch the hostess.
“Jackson, my dear. It’s been too long,” she says kindly, pulling me in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I smile and hug her back.
“You look as lovely as ever, Evelyn.” She blushes and smiles at me.
“You must be Jackson’s girlfriend, it’s so lovely to meet you!” Evelyn says, in excitement, pulling Mia in for a hug. In all the years I have known Evelyn, she’s always been trying to matchmake me. She never seemed to like Leanne, I should have trusted her judgement. Malcolm always says she is an excellent judge of character.
“This is Mia,” I introduce them, even though Evelyn has already engulfed Mia in a motherly hug which has me chuckling.
