Narrator-
As the evening continued, Liliana became more and more curious about the man who she knew as her boss. She began fretting over some of the questions she heard from the paparazzi outside, and as much as she wanted to ask Frantz about it, she didn't think his personal life was any of her concern.
The live band played various types of music, and besides the disruptions from hopeful contract seekers, the evening was not too bad. That and of course Liliana always catching the blonde looking their direction.
From the moment they sat at the table till now, the blonde had flirted and chatted her way towards Frantz and Liliana's table, and Liliana knew that it was only a matter of time before she reached them.
"Are you enjoying yourself?" Frantz asked, drawing Lili back from her thoughts, and Liliana had to do a double take to make sure that he was speaking to her.
Frantz chuckled at her puzzled expression and asked, "what is it?"
"Why are you being so nice to me?" Liliana blurted out, not bothering to mince her words.
"What do you mean?" Frantz asked, and Liliana threw on an exasperated expression as she said, "well for one, you're always so mean on the plane, and when you're not being mean, you're too busy making situations awkward for no reason."
"Making situations awkward..." Frantz repeated, as if confused.
"Yeah, like invading my personal space, asking for a kiss and stuff like that." Liliana elaborated, and Frantz shook his head then asked, "so what? You don't like it when I do that?"
"Well... that's not what this conversation is about." Lili sidestepped his question, knowing Frantz was probably trying to have a go at her.
"What is the conversation about?" Frantz asked, though the mischievous smirk that played on his lips told Liliana that he was purposely teasing her.
"About you pretending to be nice." Liliana clarified, getting worked up.
"Well for one I'm not pretending, and I really just wanted to make up for my past behavior. Nothing more." Frantz stated, calmly, and Liliana squinted her eyes at him before nodding with an "alright then, if you say so."
"Would you like to dance?" Frantz offered, and Liliana smiled as she said, "no thank you."
"What? I won't step on your toes or anything." Frantz stated, keeping his tone light and friendly.
"I know, but I will. I haven't danced since my prom night, trust me, I am as rusty as they get." Liliana explained with no shame, and Frantz nodded again, as if intrigued with everything that Liliana said, and taking mental notes.
"Seriously this is so weird." Liliana pointed out, and Frantz lifted an eyebrow in question, and Lili giggled softly as she said, "I'm sorry. I know you already explained why we are here, but I don't know, I guess after so many trips together, I've gotten used to your cold shoulders, and your one worded answers. Having a full on conversation with you is just alien to me."
"Well we aren't at work right now." Frantz stated, in explanation.
"Yeah... by the way, thank you for sending the stylists, when the driver came by and told me that I had to attend a ball, I was ready to have a heart failure." Liliana spoke, feeling a bit awkward, especially around this laid back version of Mr. Cavalier.
"Well you look lovely." Frantz complimented again, and Liliana felt her heart flutter. She looked up and away from his face, her cheeks flushing with a blush.
She could feel Frantz studying her, and she wasn't sure what to say. She needed to create some sort of conversation or else she would talk herself into eternity. And Liliana hated those moments where she would just ramble on and on and on.
"I can see that brain of yours working overtime, what are you thinking about?" Mr. Cavalier asked, and Liliana shrugged as she said, "I don't know, maybe what people in the company would think if they knew that we were here together." Liliana spoke off the top of her head.
"Well what does it matter what they think?" Frantz asked, curious.
"Nothing, it's just, I wouldn't want people to get the wrong idea." Liliana explained, though she felt if the conversation continued, it might take a bad turn.
"And what idea would that be?" Frantz asked, carefully.
"That we're dating or something. I know that they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and in fact some pictures can be worth way more, especially if gossip and rumors start to speculate. I mean next thing you know people might think of me as a gold digger or something, just by my being here with you and-"
"Liliana," Frantz called out and she stopped mid-sentence and she looked over at him, "just relax. Let people think what they want, we know what's going on, that's all that matters." Frantz shrugged, then took a sip from his glass.
Liliana prepared to reply, when the blonde's boisterous laughter from a few tables away caught their attention. Liliana noticed how Frantz's cool expression instantly transformed into a dark one, and Lili gulped uncomfortably. She noticed Frantz's body language stiffen, and once again, Liliana began to worry about whether the blonde was really the reason why they were here.
Liliana sighed quietly, feeling her heart drop as Christina began making her way towards them. Before Christina could reach the table, Frantz stood abruptly and excused himself as he headed towards the bathroom. Lili wasn't sure what to do at that point, so she simply sat, and shyly sipped on her champagne.
A few seconds later, Christina sat in Frantz's chair, as she smiled at Liliana, making Lili feel very awkward. Liliana sipped from her drink, and Christina did the same. Liliana sent her an awkward tight lipped smile, then sipped on her champagne again, looking away, feeling an intense heat envelope her neck and head.
After one to many eye contacts, Liliana decided to speak up, "um if you're looking for Mr. Cavalier, he just stepped away and should be back in a few moments."
"What are you his secretary?" Christina demanded, her tone as bitchy as the smile on her face.
"No." Liliana replied, firmly, but didn't offer any more details.
"Mmh, he never really like brunettes." Christina noted, as if thinking out loud, and when Liliana chose not to reply, Christina continued "so whatever angle you're playing at, just know as soon as he gets in between your legs for one night, he'll move on to the next one. But you look like a sweet girl, so I'll give you a word of advice, he's in love with me, and that means you don't really stand a chance, so save yourself the heartbreak, and go back to dating guys who are more... on your level." With that declaration, Christina flashed Liliana the sweetest smile as she said, "ciao." Then she stood and left as if all was well.
Lilia a gulped back the rest of her champagne, as she felt her anger build, and the tears caused a lodge to form in her throat. Liliana tried telling herself not to cry, but she could feel the tears burn beneath her eyelids, and she blinked quickly, hoping to avoid them from spilling onto her face.
What was she doing?
Liliana felt as if she was back in high school again. With Christina being the snarky mean but prettiest girl in school, and Mr. Cavalier being the hot shot player that every shy girl dreamed of dating.
Lili knew that it was a mistake crushing on a man that looked as good as Frantz. Of course he had extra baggage, not to mention an ex who looked like she jumped off the cover of a Vogue magazine.
Liliana called over one of the waiters and grabbed another glass of champagne. As she looked around, Christina kept making friends, and Liliana felt way out of place. She didn't belong in this world of fame, fabulous and wealth. And it sure wasn't worth getting her feelings hurt by her boss's ex.
Liliana was just about to get up from the table when Frantz returned. He seemed better, and less tense, but now Liliana was moments away from exploding. She wanted to get out the ballroom. She wanted to take off the over expensive dress that was now suffocating her chest, and she wanted to scrub her face clean of the makeup that now felt like a heavy mask, hiding her true identity. For a moment Liliana feared what the other guests would think if they knew that she was Frantz's employee. They'd call her a phony. She could see the headlines now, "Small Town Girl Tries to Win Big with the Billionaire".
Liliana cringed. She wanted to run.
Funny how a simple conversation, and a simple use of words, could ruin somebody's entire mood.
Frantz noticed Liliana's red face and could only imagine what could've happened when he left.
"Are you alright?" Frantz asked, Liliana, and she looked away pursing her lips. Liliana's upper body began to bounce in a fast pace, and the soft rubbing sound of the material under the table, told Frantz that Liliana was shaking her leg, which meant that she was either very pissed, or she had to go pee.
"Hey what's going on?" Frantz asked, again, as and Liliana turned sharply as she asked, "So do you want to tell me why we're really here?"
"I told you before, I wanted to make it up to you." Frantz answered his brow furrowed.
Oh he was such an actor.
"Right so it doesn't have anything to do with that gorgeous blonde over there probably named Christina? Who has been staring at us from the moment we walked in?" Liliana demanded, feeling the anger bubbling in her chest. If it wasn't for the makeup, Frantz would've seen just how mad she was, because Liliana knew for a fact that her face was boiling red.
"No." Frantz denied, and Liliana wanted to believe him. She really did.
"Right." Liliana brushed it off. There was no point in arguing or having a back and forth.
Liliana didn't have the energy.
Frantz on the other hand didn't know how to handle Lili like this. He was used to shy Lili, and brave Lili, even ranting Lili, but he had never seen her this upset. Frantz wanted to diffuse the situation, he was actually enjoying his evening with her, and didn't want it ruined.
"Okay do you want the truth?" Frantz offered.
"That would be nice." Liliana replied, keeping her eyes away from him.
"She's probably staring because you're the most beautiful woman in this room, and I'm the most handsome man. We make a sexy couple." Frantz stated, trying to create some comic relief.
"Sure we do." Liliana replied, rolling her eyes though she could feel her anger dissipate slightly. And she knew she was being a fool to let her guard down.
Guys like Frantz were bad news, and Lili knew this, but she also knew that she was not one to hold grudges or to stay mad at a person for too long. The negativity was just draining.
"I've studied you Lili, you're not like other women. I thought I could charm you into bed with me, but you don't seem too impressed by me. That earned my attention, my interest, my intrigue, so I want to take a different approach. I want to try and build something with you. Only if you would want it." Frantz admitted after a moment of silence, and that caught Lili off guard and almost caused her to choke on her saliva.
"Okay... who are you and what have you done with my boss?" Liliana asked, chuckling softly out of disbelief.
"After you left my suite all hot and declaring that you meant it and all, I really wanted nothing more than to drag you back inside and possibly have one of the hottest make out sessions ever, but then I figured there was something more precious to win from you then a one night stand. And I want to win it." Frantz continued on with his calm tone, as if he wasn't trying to impress her or charm her.
"And what's that?" Liliana asked, curiosity getting the best of her.
"Your heart." Frantz declared, and Liliana was ready to fall out of her chair.