Competing for His Heart

Chapter 8:"Girls, This is NOT Good."

Olivia's POV

We walked into the ballroom- it had been completely transformed. The decorations were elaborate and expensive- but that seemed to be Mrs. Montgomery's style.

Speaking of, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery were standing smack dab in the middle of the room greeting guests, toasting flutes of champagne, and sneaking kisses in between conversations. I guess maybe "The Competition" really worked for them, they seem to be truly in love.

Katie grabbed my arm and pulled me over to where Mark was standing with some other young men.

"Hey babe", Mark says with a smile as he snakes his  arm around Katie's waist.

He whispered something in her ear that made her blush... I don't think I want to know what he said.

Mark and Katie introduced me and Cassie to Mark's friends from the Law Firm, and we made general small talk. 

I couldn't stand still, I looked around anxiously.

"Uh oh, parents are headed this way, look alive everyone!" Cassie said, taking a sip of champagne.

"You girls look RAVISHING!" Mr. Montgomery beamed as he approached our group. He quickly kissed each of us on the cheek and spun Cassie around in a huge circle with a wink. She's definitely such a daddy's girl.

Mrs. Montgomery followed closely behind him. She began to look each of us up and down- her eyes stopped when she got to the name tag hanging off my dress.

"Why does she have one of those?" she asked flatly.

"One of what, Mom?" Cassie asked, fluttering her eyelids. How is this girl ALREADY tipsy? That is pure talent.

"She has a name tag." Mrs. Montgomery's face seemed to contort into a deeper grimace with every word. "Only contestants for 'The Competition' get name tags. I'm sorry, young lady, but you'll need to take it off. Someone must have given it to you by mistake."

Before I could say anything, Katie stepped in front of me.

"Actually, Mother. We signed Olivia up. We want her to compete. SHE wants to compete." Katie said defiantly. I saw something in her in that moment that I hadn't seen before- she has nerves of steel.

"That's wonderful, sweetheart! Good luck! I'm sure Levi will turn up at some point- you'll have to meet him when he does!" Mr. Montgomery said with a large grin. How could he love someone as sour as his wife?

"Girls, you don't understand what you're messing with. Olivia could NEVER fit into our family. She has no idea how to manage High Society living." With that, Mrs. Montgomery scooped up her elegant ball gown and turned away into the crowd. 

"Don't you worry about your mother, girls. I'll take care of her. Olivia...I'm sure you'll do just fine." He said with a wink and a warm smile, then turned to follow his wife through the crowd.

"Ugh why is mom always so....MOM." Cassie said, downing the rest of her glass.

Katie sighed and rolled her eyes, "What were we expecting? She wants Levi with someone like Vanessa. Someone accustomed to our world. It doesn't matter, though. Status is such a joke."