Chapter 18
It was party time.
Yay.
I had spent the days leading up to the party at the new condo. I couldn't stand to be under the same roof as my father. I slowly started moving my things in to make it easier to go and come for work. Julius knew I was here and would be moving in after the party.
It had seemed that Julius was over what he was mad about before, but we kept communication minimal. I hadn't talked to him about anything my dad told me. I wanted to give myself some time to sit with the new information I had learned, we were going to have plenty of time to talk when he moved in.
I picked the master bedroom for myself and the other bedroom was next door. The condo was really nice and quite spacious, I wouldn't have minded it if it wasn't going to be my prison.
But today was the day of Julius's birthday party. He texted me everything I'd need to know in regards to it days before. His parents had been sure to invite lots of press to clean up any speculation about us separating. So we both had to be on our best behavior.
It was Saturday morning and I was just laying in bed thinking about the day ahead of me. I enjoyed living alone. I could do almost anything I wanted and no one was around to tell me not to.
I got out of the king-sized bed and walked over to the bedroom. Since it was late May, the weather was starting to get very warm. I slept with an oversized t-shirt but the weather in the apartment was also warm.
I brushed my teeth and threw off the t-shirt before putting on a cropped sweater and walking to the kitchen. It felt exciting to walk around the house without pants. And nobody was around to see.
I turned on some music as I looked around the kitchen for something to eat. I hummed along to Rihanna as her music played from the kitchen speaker. I grabbed some eggs from the fridge before cracking them into the frying pan.
I turned the music up as I lightly dance around the kitchen. I felt so relaxed, I should've moved out ages ago!
"Well happy birthday to me." A voice says suddenly. I turn toward the direction of the front door and Julius stood there with a smirk on his face, his eyes scanning my body.
"Julius!" I exclaim grabbing a kitchen towel to cover my body. "Why are you covering up? I've seen you in a bikini." He laughs.
He was right but I was still surprised to see him. "What are you doing here?" I ask him.
"I came to see you."
"Then knock?"
"It's my place too. And I wasn't expecting you to be dancing around the kitchen half-naked. Although I don't mind." He says as he winks at me.
I roll my eyes before turning off the stove, "I'll be back." I grab my t-shirt from earlier and put it on before coming back into the kitchen. I turn off the music and continue my cooking. "So what is it?" I ask him.
He sighs as he sits back against the couch, "My father has arranged for us to talk to Hollywood Weekly tonight at the party."
I groan as I stir the pancake mix, "Is that necessary? Can't we just smile and wave?"
He chuckles as he shakes his head, "We just need to answer any questions they have, look good together, the usual."
I sigh and nod, "Alright."
He relaxes on the couch as I prep breakfast. It felt weird to have him here, but I was going to have to get used to it. I could feel his eyes on me as I poured the pancake batter into the frypan.
"I overheard my father discussing his plans to step down." Julius said suddenly.
"How soon?" I ask him as I flip the pancake in front of me.
"End of July, early August."
I look up at him, "That's a lot sooner than I expected."
He nods, "I know."
Suddenly an idea popped into my mind. "That's it." I state in realization as I look at him.
"What?"
"It's perfect!" I say excitedly as I take the pancake off of the stove and place it on a plate. I rush over to him and take a seat on the couch. "My dad told me that he made a deal with your dad. The deal was that they would merge companies as long as you and I got married."
He nods, "I figured that."
"And if your dad is stepping down in July, we announce a wedding for August. Then by the time he steps down and you step up, we break up."
"But we don't know when the companies are going to merge yet."
"They've already started the process if your dad has his date planned. He wouldn't step down without merging first. They're obviously expecting us to get married."
"My dad isn't allowing me to step up until I prove myself, otherwise he plans on making Hunter Ratliff CEO." Julius says grumpily.
I quirk my eyebrow, "Then what can we do to prove to him you're serious?"
He chuckles, "Get married, or at least look like we are."
"Then the plan is still on. Look good together, announce a wedding for August, and break up after you're named CEO."
"Then we have two months to fix this." He says.
"Sounds good to me. If anything goes wrong we can 'postpone' the wedding."
It seemed like the perfect plan. With Julius's father stepping down, they couldn't threaten us with the company anymore. As long as Julius was named CEO, my dad will have less control over who would be in charge. And in turn, can't prevent me from taking over.
So in the end, my last obstacle to the top would be Julius Ashford himself. But that's a battle for another day.
I head back to the kitchen to finish making my breakfast as Julius stays on the couch. After another 10 minutes, I had finished cooking and took a seat at the dining table. Julius stood up and entered the kitchen, looking around for something.
"What about me?" Julius asks looking at my plate. I take a bite of my pancake, "What about you?" I ask.
"You only made for yourself?"
"You didn't ask." I say with a shrug as I take a bite out of my bacon.
"But it's my birthday." He complains.
I wave my bacon in the air, "Happy birthday." I say unenthusiastically. He frowns before pulling out the pancake mix to make his own food. I smile to myself as I eat.
"So how old are you now anyway?" I ask him when he takes a seat at the table. "Twenty-seven now." He says as he pours syrup on his fresh stack of pancakes.
"Oh, so you're old."
He raises an eyebrow, "How old are you?"
"Twenty-four, I'll be twenty-five in August."
"August what?" He asks as I put a piece in his mouth.
"August 10th."
"So you're what? A Leo?" I nod and he chuckles, "Makes sense."
"Don't tell me you believe in that zodiac mumbo jumbo."
He shrugs, "Sometimes it's accurate."
I chuckle before getting up and taking my plate to the sink. "Well, I need to start getting ready for said party. Show yourself out whenever." I tell him before heading back to my bedroom.
I get to my bedroom and start looking through my closet for something to wear for tonight. I didn't have much of my clothes here, meaning I'd have to go back home to bring over the rest of my things.
I take a shower and dress up in some casual jeans and a shirt before heading to the living room. When I got there Julius was still here, hanging out in the living room. The kitchen looked like it has been cleaned as Julius scrolled through his phone.
"Why are you still here?" I ask. He points to the kitchen, "I cleaned up the kitchen."
"Why? I was going to do it."
He shrugs, "I don't have anywhere to be, so I figured I would."
"Oh, well thanks."
"No big deal." He says as his eyes scan over his phone.
"I'm going to my parent's house to get some more of my stuff." I announce to him as I reach for my keys.
"I can help you carry stuff if you want?" He offers. I raise my eyebrow, why was he being so helpful?
"If you want to." I say before grabbing my purse. He gets up from his seat, "Gladly, and I can drive."
I shake my head, waving my keys in front of him. "I'm already driving."
"But you're so slow."
I scoff, "Then stay here." I head to the front door and he sighs before following behind me. I get inside the elevator and Julius follows behind me as it shuts close.
We were both quiet as the elevator went down to the lobby, before exiting and heading outside to where my car was parked. We got inside and started driving in the direction of my house.
The location of our condo was pretty close to everything. It allowed us to get to our jobs in a reasonable amount of time. And it was pretty close to my parent's house.
We get to my parent's home and I unlock the front door as Julius follows me in. "My rooms upstairs." I tell him as I lead him up the stairs. He chuckles, "It feels like you're sneaking me in."
I scoff, "Just hurry up." He follows me up the stairs to my room where most of my things were already put into boxes. "You can take some boxes to the car, I'm going to pick a dress." I tell him as I wander into my closet.
He doesn't respond as his eyes wander around my bedroom. He picks up a photo of me and my mother on my bedside table. "You were a cute kid." He comments as he looks at the photo.
"Obviously." I call back to him from the closet.
He chuckles before picking up a box and heading out the door. I sort through my closet, trying to find some dresses to wear for tonight, as well other clothes I'd take with me for the move. Although I was taking a majority of my things, a lot of it was still staying at the house. It would be excessive to take everything when I know our arrangement isn't permanent.
I pick a couple of dresses and place them on my bed before picking out some shoe boxes. I carry the dresses and head downstairs to the car. When I get outside I see Julius talking to my father in front of the house and I groan. I thought he was going to be out of the house this afternoon, guess he's back early.
I walk past the both of them to my car, ignoring my father's presence.
"Stella." My father says.
"Father." I respond distastefully as I retreat to the house. I walk back up the stairs to my bedroom to pack up more things and Julius comes in shortly after. "What were you two talking about?" I ask as he comes into the room.
"He wants to meet with me on Monday to discuss some things, business-wise. He wants me to be the one to take over Ashford Industries and not Ratliff."
I nod, "I guess that's a good thing."
"You really hate him huh?" Julius asks as he picks up some boxes.
"More than menstrual cramps." I say as I walk out of the room. After Julius and I loaded up the car we came back to the condo to start getting ready for the party.
"Shouldn't you be going home to get ready?" I ask him as he follows me up to the condo. He sighs, "Truthfully, I don't want to. I'll leave in an hour or so, I have time."
I chuckle, "Well I need to start my process now."
"What are you wearing?" He asks curiously. I shrug, "I'm still not sure, that's why I'm starting now."
"Can I help you decide?" He asks. I quirk my brow at him and he smirks, "I mean it is my birthday." He reminds me.
I roll my eyes, "Oh fine. Follow me."
He follows me to the bedroom where I had laid my three dress options on my bed. "So it's out of these three." I tell him. He places his hand on his chin as he surveys the dresses.
One was a long-sleeved red dress that stopped above my knees and low v-neckline. The other was a nude two-piece dress with a halter top neckline and a high slit. And last, there was a pink shimmery body con dress with one sleeve.
He looks at the dresses, then looks back at me, before turning to the dresses again. "Can you try them on?" He asks.
I glare at him, "Don't push it pretty boy."
He shrugs, "How am I supposed to decide what looks the best if it's laying on the bed?"
"Just pick the prettiest!"
He sighs before pointing to the pink dress, "I think that one will look nice, maybe."
I nod, "Thank you, now get out so I can start getting ready."
"Alright I'm going, I'll pick you up tonight." He tells me as he heads toward the door. "Don't be late!" I call out as he leaves.
He says something back but I don't hear him as I head into the bathroom to start getting ready. The party was tonight at 6, at a beautiful venue in the heart of New York City. From what I knew about it, almost all of his family were going to be in attendance, as well as his friends. And then to add assault to injury, Hollywood Weekly was interviewing us.
It was going to be a long night, I could already tell.
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Late Saturday update lol.
- AuggiePooh_