Olive's P.O.V.
"There, all done." Hailey stepped away from my face, allowing me to see myself for the first time since she started.
She had styled my hair in a pinned up bun with a few loose strands on the front. She did my makeup flawlessly, adorning that red lipstick she loves to put on me so much. I could barely recognize myself. I looked beautiful and the dress fit me like a glove. Somehow Lucas knew my size better than myself.
Hailey let me borrow a pair of her black heels for the night that clasped at my ankles. I could feel my stomach turning. The swirl of butterflies in me was making me nauseous. My hands felt clammy, making me want to wipe them on the dress. My heart was racing from the nerves that were eating me up inside.
"You look beautiful." Hailey whispered as we both stared at me in the mirror.
"Thank you, Hails."
The ring of the bell had my heart hammering faster. Hailey raced to the door. As I grabbed the small black clutch purse, she let me borrow for the night. I stepped out of the room to see Lucas in a 3 piece suit, looking fine as hell. That's a mental image I'll save for later. He gave me that signature smirk of his that melts me to my core. His eyes checked me out from head to toe.
"Beautiful." He boldly stated as he held his hand out for me to take.
"I won't be out all night." I told Hailey as I stepped past her through the door.
"Have fun, and don't worry about me." She pushed me out with a gleam of excitement in her eyes.
I silently followed Lucas out of the building to his car. He really must have money, seeing as he showed up in a Lambo. He held the door open for me to get in like a gentleman. I felt my cheeks flush at the gesture as I entered the car.
"You clean up nice." I finally said, as he started to drive us. "Where are we going, that I had to dress up so nicely?"
"My dad's house." He answered causally.
"You dress up nice to go to your dad's house?" I arched a brow at him, thinking he was joking with me.
"He has a dinner meeting tonight, so that means a fancy meal, fancy clothes, and boring business talk. It may be selfish of me, but I brought you to save me from a hellish night." He grabbed my knee as he spoke, sending a spark of energy through me.
"Are you sure I should come? It sounds like you're making me crash this dinner."
He gave me a cheeky smile, letting me know how right I was. I smacked his arm scoldingly.
"Lucas!"
"It's fine, I promise. Trust me, Rose. I would never embarrass you."
Something inside of me inclined me to trust his words. I sighed, trying to gather even more courage, but failing as the nerves took over instead. I'm meeting his dad, while crashing his business meeting.
"I could kill you." I muttered to him, making him laugh.
"Thank you, Rose." was all he said as we pulled up to a large iron gate.
Lucas pushed in a code, having the gate open for us. It led to a long driveway that circled in front of a larger house. Better yet, let's call it a mansion. I did not know that Lucas came from the money. I honestly didn't care about it, but at the moment, I found it intimidating. What if they have the table set with all kinds of silverware that I don't know how to use? You know, like that mini fork, that no one really knows what it's used for.
Lucas parked, coming to my side, opening the door for me again. He held his hand out, helping me out of the car. He led me up the 5 steps to the front door, passing by a familiar blue car. Where have I seen that car before?
"Good evening, young Mr. Porter." An elderly man with a gray mustache and an air of sophistication about him greeted us.
"Hello, James. Where are they?" He handed James his keys and jacket as he spoke.
"In the front room, sir." He motioned to the room in the back left corner.
Lucas grabbed my hand, placing it in the nook of his arm, before walking behind James. He slid the French doors open for us, revealing a small group of people. All eyes landed on him, and then on me, but mine were stuck on an all too familiar face.
Clover sat in a lounge chair by herself. Beside her was an older woman and man that I recognized as her parents. Lisa, Lucas' sister, whom I met last night, sat on the couch beside a more serious man that had the same brown eyes as Lucas. His jaw ticked in obvious anger, but he said nothing about me. Hell, he seemed to pretend I didn't exist. Lisa tried to suppress her smile not too well. She found this amusing. I gripped onto Lucas' arm tightly as Clover eyed me.
"Olive, sweetheart, is that you?" Clover's mom called out to me, breaking the long silence.
"Yes, hello, Mrs. Camilo," I greeted her with a sweet smile.
"You look so beautiful! I didn't know you'd be here." She came up to me, embracing me in an awkward hug.
I'd met her many times when she would come to the apartment to visit Clover. We would all talk, eat, and shop together. It was usually Clover and her mom that did the shopping though.
"I was sad to hear that you had moved." Clover obviously didn't tell her why, and I would not be the one to reveal what a bitch her daughter was.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't tell you myself."
"Ronda, Malcolm, this is my son, Lucas, and it seems you are acquainted with his guest." Lucas' father finally spoke.
"Oh, so lovely to meet you, Lucas. This is my daughter, Clover. She and Olive were roommates until last week." Mrs. Camilo explained.
"Nice to meet you." Lucas said with a curt nod. He was also being polite, but I didn't miss the quick second of anger that crossed his face as he looked at Clover.
"Shall we start dinner now that everyone is here?" Lisa suggested, trying to save us all from any more of this.
"Yes, please, follow me." Her father responded.
We all headed to the next room. The table sat 12 even though there were only 7 of us. I did not know where to sit and, to my horror, the tiny fork stared at me from the table. The urge to take a step back and just run away and hide was very strong as I approached the table. I won't give Clover the satisfaction, though. Lucas thankfully led me to my seat, pulling it out for me, and pushing it in as I sat. He was a proper gentleman. He took the seat beside me, but then they directed Clover to sit beside him. Her parents sat across from her and Lisa sat across from Lucas and I. Of course, Lucas' dad sat at the head of the table looking out at the rest of us.
I felt his gaze linger on me, but I made sure not to show any intimidation. I kept my gaze fixed on the odd painting above the fireplace. I couldn't make out what it was, but it was slightly off-putting. Lucas squeezed my thigh under the table, trying to give me some encouragement. I turned to look at him, seeing him wink at me with a little smirk. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at my lips.
Lucas' dad began to talk business with Mr. Camilo shortly after we all finished eating. He invited Mr. and Mrs. Camilo to the cigar room to talk more business, leaving Clover out here with Lisa, Lucas and I. I bit my tongue not wanting to say anything to Clover.
"So Lucas, tell me about yourself." Clover rested her chin on her palm as she stared up at him.
"Why?" He asked coldly. I was loving the attitude.
"Aren't you supposed to keep me entertained?" She asked with a raised brow. "I can always just let my parents know that I'm ready to leave."
"I hate snobby girls. These dinners are insufferable. I hate girls that cheat with other girl's boyfriends. Oh, and I love redheads."
My mouth dropped open as he listed these things quickly, numbering them off with his fingers. I couldn't believe he was so bold, but I absolutely loved the words he spoke. He made my heart swoon further for him, even though I told it not to. Did he say he loves redheads? Was that aimed towards me? Clover gasped, just as shocked as me.
"Just so you know, Ollie." She used the nickname I hated. The one she came up with because she said it sounded like a guy's name. "That wasn't the first time."
She was referring to when I caught her with Julius. My hands fisted, but I didn't react to her words. She was trying to hurt me, and she succeeded, but I won't show her that.
"Just so you know, Clover." I turned my gaze to her. "He was sleeping with me, too. Does that make you sloppy seconds? Or maybe just desperate seconds?" I pursed my lips, pretending to contemplate it. "No, that's not right. It just makes you pathetic."
"Ugh! I am not pathetic. What's pathetic is the way you keep dating guys for their money. You met Julius at one of my parties. You knew he came from money and stole him from under me. Now here you are throwing yourself at Lucas because you think you caught a bigger fish." She shook her head like she was disappointed in me.
"Ha! That's a laugh. Stole him from under you? He threw himself at me. He begged me to go out with him. After his insistent badgering, I finally agreed. Sorry, he just wasn't interested in you in that way. Guess he just wanted something easy to do while he waited for me." I gave her a fake smile, batting my lashes at her the way she did when she flirted with guys. She always looked so stupid when she did that.
"She didn't throw herself at me. I begged her to come tonight. She's here because I asked her to be," Lucas interjected, grabbing my hand from under the table and kissing the back of my palm. I wasn't expecting the action, so I blushed.
Lisa suddenly burst into a fit of laughter, making us all look at her puzzled. She shook her head, reigning in her laughter. It took her a minute, but eventually she stopped, clearing her throat before explaining.
"Christ, this is some daytime drama shit. So what I'm understanding from this is that you slept with her boyfriend multiple times while they dated, because what? You wanted to prove that you were better? Even though all he did was make you the side piece. Honey, the side piece is worse than just being rejected. It means he gets from you what he wants, but still makes his girlfriend the priority." Lisa shook her head disappointedly as she explained. "Now here you are, thinking that saying you slept with her boyfriend more than once is something to brag about. Oh, Honey."
Lisa had me cracking a smile at the way she was putting Clover in her place. I wasn't sure she liked me much when we met yesterday. She asked me a million questions, walking off suddenly without another word.
"I...But she..." Clover couldn't seem to form a sentence anymore. She was stunned and flustered, and I was so happy I could see this moment right now.
"Could you let Julius know that I still don't plan on getting back together with him the next time you guys are having sex? Cool, thanks." I threw that in, knowing that Julius was probably still sleeping with her. I also knew that she probably didn't know he was still trying to get back together with me.
"That's such a lie. He doesn't want you anymore," Clover hissed.
"Really? Let's see."
I pulled my phone out, ringing Julius' number, placing it on speaker for everyone to hear. He picked up on the second ring.