CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
“ Of all Arianas in the world it had to be that bitch ?” Zoey asked as I did her makeup
“ I know right , I feel so annoyed right now “ I said adjusting the concealer
To be honest , I’ve always had the feeling that Aria and I would still be acquainted through fashion , I just can’t believe it’s happening so soon .
Aria is a really mean person by nature , the only reason we got along was because she was a little bit nicer to me and I happened to be extraordinarily gentle .
I remember the first day we met , I was just ten and she was nine , her dad had just donated Food and drinks to the orphanage and we were all asked to thank him . When I walked up to him I saw his pretty daughter beside him and I admired her bow , I remember how I had told her to borrow me the bow and she refused .
After few days she came back with her dad and this time she gave me the bow , I was so happy that I hugged her tightly , her dad decided to sponsor my studies from secondary to tertiary level and like that we grew up together until she decided to cut ties with me .
“ I saw her latest pictures on IG , she now looks like a Kendall Jenner stunt double “ Zoey said and I laughed
Aria had always been obsessed with Kendall since graduated college , she immediately got some surgery done on her face and body to look just like her and honestly , I can proudly say that Aria looks like the carbon copy of Kendall .
There have been lots of controversies on the internet on why she looks so much like Kendall , but she didn’t give a damn and now , she’s on the level with the supermodel .
“ I swear if she tries anything to hurt you this time , I’ll beat her stupid ass up , damn ! God knows how much I detest that girl “ she said
“ I know right, we just have to keep it professional , you know , we should act like we don’t know “I said
“ that’s a great idea , we should ignore her but I can’t help but think that it must be harder for you , I mean you’re the designing the dress , you’ll literally see her every day” she said
“You’re right , I will probably see her every day but I guess I just have to be strong “ I said and she nodded
“ I want the Pink shade “ she said pointing to her lipstick choice
“ Done “ I said finishing the makeup
“ Thanks babe , can you help me pick a clothe too ?”She asked with puppy eyes
“ What ? You’ve not picked a dress yet ? You’re almost late for work “ I said
“Well I wouldn’t have been late if someone didn’t destroy my alarm “ she said glaring at me
I accidentally dropped her alarm in water yesterday .
“ But I already apologized “ I whined
“ Whatever , unlike you I have to work my butt off throughout this week “ she said which made me smile
Luca gave me the week off to compensate for all the troubles and Mr Harlow ?.... He didn’t even look at my face once , his eyes looked so cold and distant .
“ Well I earned it “
“ Yeah you did “ she said giving me a hi five
“ You know I just find it weird that Hayden could do that , I mean what exactly was he trying to do ?” She asked
“ Honestly I don’t know , he once told me that we wanted to make it up to me “
“ yeah right , can he make up for the heartbreak and the pain he caused you?” She asked
“ I don’t think he can “I said and she smiled
“ You know what , I don’t care about Hayden or Ariana anymore , infact I don’t give a fuck what happens to the both of them . Today I’m going to enjoy my day off and hit the club at night “ I said
“ Yes girl that’s the spirit , we’ll hit the club tonight and paint the town red “ she said and I nodded in affirmation
“ You know it girl , infact let’s go shopping when you come back “ I said
“ Now that’s what I’m talking about , where has this Laura been all my life ?” She asked and I smiled
“ You’re already late for work “ I reminded her
“ Shit I gotta go , take care boo “ she said running off
“ and you too “ I said blowing her a kiss
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“ So have you ever considered Mr Harlow ?” Zoey asked as we got ready to hit the club
“ Consider him ?” I asked
“ Yeah I mean have you ever thought of having feelings for him ?” she asked
“ what ? No way , Mr Harlow is the CEO of the company I work for , how can I catch feelings for him ?” I asked
“ What if he likes you ?”
“ Zoey I don’t think that will ever happen , you saw how he treated me this past few days , besides I don’t think he’s interested in a poor girl like me “ I said and she looked at me weirdly
“ Don’t look at me like that I’m just stating facts “ I said
“ Whatever “she said rolling her eyes
“Speaking of weird you haven’t told me about the weird relationship between you and Luca “ I said
“ oh look it’s ten 0’clock , the club will be opening very soon “ she said changing the topic
“ No no no Zoey Phoebe Miller I won’t let you change the topic , you gotta tell me what the heck is going on between you and Luca “
“ Honestly Laura we’ll be late , let’s get into the car , I’ll tell you on the way “ she said
“ promise ?” I asked
“ promise” she answered
We picked our jackets and got into the car
“ I’ll drive “ I said collecting the keys from her
“ Why ?” she asked
“ Because I want you to give me every single detail without missing a point “ I said and she gave me a ’whatever’ look
“ Let the story begin “ I said dramatically which made her smile
“ Once upon a time in the land of magic , there lived a golden unicorn named Luca –“
“ No no no , best not play with me girl , quit the unicorn tales and tell me what’s happening “ I said
“ Fine , As I said earlier I lost my virginity to Luca at a party when I was just 16 , Even though it was supposed to be a one night stand but after that day , Luca and I bumped into each other every time , after few days we hooked up and decided to date “
“ So what happened after that ?” I asked
“ I was considered a nerd in high school until Luca decided to join my school , immediately people knew I was his girlfriend , they respected me like I was some kind of royalty . Imma be very honest with you Luca was the sweetest boyfriend anyone could ever have . He was so gentle and kind , he thought about me first before doing anything or taking any decisions . Lau I swear he was the perfect man “ she said and I couldn’t help but let out an ‘awwwnnn’
“ Don’t ‘awwwnnn’ yet , here comes the dark side “
“ Oh the sick turn “ I said
“ You know how people say good things don’t last forever ? Well that was the same with Luca and I , after dating him for almost a year his dad suddenly visited my house “
“ Uhhh why ? Wait let me guess , he didn’t want you to date his son ?” I asked
“ Bingo ! But that wasn’t all , Laura he didn’t just tell me to stay away from his son , he got down on his two knees and begged me “ she said
“ Whoa ! But why ?”
“ Apparently He had been betrothed to a rich heiresses even before he was born but he ran away from home because he was against the idea . When the lady’s family heard about his disappearance they threatened to kill him if he didn’t come back home “ she said tearing up , I quickly rubbed comforting circles on her back with my free hand
“ oh my goodness , that’s really dark “ I said
“ His father said the only reason he wasn’t coming back home was because of me so my picture in the story was to break up with him , it wasn’t just an ordinary breakup Laura , I was asked to break his heart really bad so he could come back “ she said crying
“ No no no Zo don’t cry “I said I parked the car , I used my hands to wipe her tears and pulled her into my embrace
Zoey is not an emotional person so it takes a lot for her to cry , I guess she must have loved him .
“ it’s ok don’t cry , I’m so sorry for asking “
“ It’s ok , I mean it’s not your fault” she said
“ ok I’m done crying “ she said cleaning her eyes
“ Oh…”
“ Now let’s got the party and hookup with handsome strangers “ she said smiling wildly
If there’s one super power Zoey has , it’s the ability to stay happy and positive at all times , even when she’s sad she still smiles , honestly she’s a rare gem .
“ Ok then , here we go “ I yelled before turning on the stereo
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The moment we stepped into the club literally all eyes were on us , we purposely swang our hips as we moved straight to the dance floor . We danced with tons of strangers for what seemed like hours , after dancing till we couldn’t feel our feet we went to the bar and ordered couple of shots .
I drank all the shots to my heart satisfaction and in few minutes I started feeling tipsy .
“ You don’t look like the type to drink “ A very familiar accent said from behind me
I know that voice
“ Mr Harlow ?”
“ Laura , fancy running into you here “ he said
Fancy running into me ? I know for a fact that Mr Harlow can Never come to a club like this unless he has an assignment .
“ I have a feeling you followed me here although I wonder who told you I would be here “I said glaring at Zoey
She must have told him that I would come here tonight … Traitor
“ Uhhh I better go use the bathroom now “ Zoey said running off
No no no don’t leave me alone with our hot boss …
“Mr Harlow please have your seat “ I said pointing to the chair beside me
What is this ? A job interview ?
“ So – ummm do you – No how’s your day off going ?” He asked stumbling in his words
“ Its going great as you can see “ I said taking another shot
“ So you and Mr Sommers , is there like – is there something between you both ?” he asked
What ?
“ No , why are you asking ?”
“ I mean he was all over you during the meeting, he looked like he was covering up for you “ he said
“ Mr Harlow is there something you wanna tell me ?”I asked
“ Well – I mean yeah , ummm – on behalf of the whole company , I’ll like to congratulate you on your first project “
“ Uhh thank you sir “ I said
“ you’re welcome “ he replied and immediately an awkward silence descended
“ I think –“
“ you owe –“
We both said at the same time , I chuckled and told him to go first
“ Miss Paley I think I owe you an apology “ he said
“ You think ? You literally acted like you didn’t give a fuck about me this Past few week , it’s not like I wanted you to defend me all I just asked for was for you to believe me but you didn’t , I mean I totally understand it’s not like I mean anything to you “ I said angrily
Why am I talking so much ? It must be the alcohol .
“ Miss Paley , don’t ever think for a minute that you don’t mean anything to me , honestly this whole CEO shit is fucked up more than you think , it’s so hard to be your boss and your friend at the same time . I believed you , of course I knew you didn’t submit the sketch , you’re anything but clumsy “ he said
“ So what happened ? Why did you act like you didn’t care ?” I asked
“ The case would have been handled by the upper hands if I didn’t do that “
“ What do you mean ?” I asked
“ You would have lost your job , they are aware that you and I are pretty close so they were waiting for the perfect opportunity to get to me through you , that mistake served as the perfect chance to oppose me for the first time “
“ what do you mean ?” I asked
“ You see not everyone is happy about me being the CEO , some people think I’m not ready for the position yet , some think I’m not a legitimate son and some just hate me naturally “ he said simply
“ but why ? I mean you’re the boss they should accept you just as you are “
“ It doesn’t happen that way in the business world , there’s too much competition than you can imagine “ he said
Wow , I’ve seen different shades of Mr Harlow but not even once have I ever seen him this sad and empty , I guess money doesn’t buy happiness afterall .
How do you comfort a sad good looking man ?
“ Mr Harlow you have to –“
“ Do you wanna dance ?” He asked cutting me off
How rude
“ uhh yeah sure “ I said then he grabbed my hand and led me to the dance floor
A slow jam came on and we started vibing to it .
“ Mr Harlow you’re horrible at this “I said laughing
“ What do you mean ? I’m a very good dancer “
“ no I don’t think so “ I sa and we both laughed
We continued dancing for what seemed like forever , his arms around my waist and mine on his shoulder , electricity shot through my body as he pulled me closer .
He held onto my waist tightly and stared into my eyes , my stomach rolled in knots as I stated into his ocean orbs .
Our breath mingled as we continued slow dancing , his cologne that flooded my senses made things even worse , at that moment I couldn’t deny the fact that Mr Harlow was one of the most beautiful creations ever .
“ Laura do you have any idea what you do to me ?” he asked slowly in that sexy accent
“ Uhhh – I – “
Laura say something
Oh my goodness he’s too close for comfort , I mean I can’t even think .
“ I said do you have any idea what you’re doing to me ?” He asked
“ Uhhh … what ? I-I”
Then he placed my tiny hand on his rock hard chest
“ Do you hear that ?” he asked
“ What ?” I asked
“ My heartbeat “ he said
“ Uhhh – I’m sorry what ?”
“ It’s bearing so loud because of you “ he said and immediately my breath hitched
“ Uhhh maybe y-you need t-to see t-the doctor “ I said nervously and he laughed
“ No Laura , I don’t need to see a doctor when I have you here “ he said
Ohhhh
“ You are the reason I have sleepless nights , you’re the only one that has been appearing in my rated 18+ dreams for a while now , you’re all I can think of Miss Paley “ he said
Uhhh ok somebody better hold me before I fall down .
“ Laura I wanna kiss you” he said moving his face closer to mine
Uhhh Laura you have to pull away , look away , do something…. Why am I not pulling away ?
My feet stayed rooted in the ground as our breath mingled even harder
Uhhh what do I do ?
Immediately I felt a warm pair of soft lips on mine , it felt as if time stopped for a minute and everything around us froze , it felt like it was just the both of us against the world.
My heart was beating wildly as I closed my eyes to enjoy the moment , the knots in my stomach multiplied and it was then I believed that butterflies did live in our stomach .