Nicole; I open the room door in the morning to see a gift bag waiting for me. Tentatively, I reach for it and retreat back into the room. Pouring out it's contents, I see a box fall out first. I open it to see a pair of folded black pants and a burgundy silk shirt, very much my style. I peer at the shirt suspiciously, not missing the fact that it is in Alex's favorite color. Was that intentional? In the bag again is a pair of nude stilettos, some makeup and a pair of underwear. My cheeks heat up at the possibility of Alex shopping for underwear for me. I slump back on to the bed, running my fingers through my hair in exhaustion. I feel reluctant to go downstairs now that I know the possibility exists. I glance at the wall clock, it's just a few minutes past 6. I fall back on the bed and groan mentally. With the luxurious bed, it was hard not to have a good night's sleep. Much against my will, I found myself drifting off to oblivion, awakening only a few minutes ago. I wonder if there

Nicole;I'm not a department head but it's imperative for me to attend the meeting too. I trudge behind Carina as we make our way to the room. She doesn't let go of any chance she gets to make her dislike clear for me on her face. With my back straight and my mouth set into a hard line, I do a good job of ignoring her. I'm way too preoccupied with own thoughts. Why would Alex complicate things with such a reply? I'd have liked to have a word with him before the meeting but he's still on the call. I'm racked with nervousness as I follow Carina into the conference room. The department heads are already seated and their heads swivel in our direction as the door opens. But they are not looking at Carina, their eyes land on me and with each step I take deeper into the room, I can't feel the intensity of their gazes as they follow me. By the time I settle down into a seat, I'm beyond uncomfortable. Thankfully I don't have to spend a moment of awkwardness with them as the door opens and we

Nicole;It isn't such a hard job like I expected, gently but firmly holding on to Alex's arms while smiling like a pretty doll. The journalists are throwing so many questions at us, some about the project and the upcoming night and some others about our supposed relationship. Listening to them is a hassle so I simply don't, instead choosing to focus on the aggressive clicks of their cameras. Just when the discomfort begins to set in, it's almost like Alex can feel it. He pulls me in just a tad closer and together we make our ways inside. It's only when the door closes behind us and their voices become muffled that I extract my arm Fe Alex's and let myself sigh in relief. Alex looks down at me in mild concern."Are you okay?". He asks. I nod just a bit too fast and his eyes narrow at me suspiciously."Nicole….". He takes a step closer to me and I glance around in a mild panic, scared of someone seeing us. Thankfully, the enormous lobby doors have been shut behind us, blocking out the j

This is the moment they've all been waiting for and I should be anxious that I'm feeding it to them but with Alex by my side now, I don't. I drag him along with me to the bathroom, flashing a smile to anyone who is unfortunately enough to meet my eyes. I can hear the slight hesitation in Alex's steps and I understand. But we need to talk privately, and it has to happen now. We enter the luxurious bathroom area and I pull him into the male bathrooms with me and lock the door behind us. When I let go of his arms and turns to face him fully, his eyes are fixated on mine, a certain excitement obvious in them. I hate to break it to him but that's absolutely not the reason why we are here."Apparently your friends are just rich. They aren't exactly good at pretending that they aren't staring at people". I say leisurely as I stroll towards the washbasin and look at myself in the mirror. Alex chuckles silently behind me and I rest my both arms against the sink, eyeing him in the mirror. "How

Nicole;My body stands in the same spot, taut and stiffened with fear as I glance around the whole room, my eyes as wide as saucers. Another live update has come up and through the roar in my ears, I hear the people's whoops. He's watching me, I feel it. He's in this room with me. I step back instinctively and bump into an usher carrying a tray of drinks behind me. To my horror, a glass of blood red wine spills over, splashing all over me and my white dress. The cold feel of the drink jerks me back to reality and suddenly, I can hear the people again, their oohs and aahs and no long my pounding heart or the blood in my ears. Slowly, I glance down at myself. The drink has splashed generously on me, creating a large red map all over the front of my dress. Around me, I hear the horrified gasps of the guests and the usher practically has tears in her eyes as she apologizes profusely. I shake my head to clear it of the clear fog before nodding at the girl in understanding and making my way