Couldn't pick one, so I thought I'd post all of them and leave the choice to you *wink wink *



"Just wear the fucking dress! I'm tired of hearing your boring old nags." Carl yelled at me through the phone and I bit my nail.
"Calm down Carl, you should understand that our little bean here is new to everything! Since its an occasion where they'll pretty much be old rich people I wouldn't advise you go for something too revealing. Your look should scream sexy yet classy!" Susan told me through our video call and I nodded in agreement.
"If you're gonna agree so much with what Susan is suggesting why did you add me to your blasted video call?!" Carl snapped and I almost chuckled at how annoyed he was.
"Come on Carl, you two are the only friends I have in the world _"
"Correction, I'm your friend, she's a relative I barely like, big difference " Did I forget to mention how Carl and Susan didn't really meet eye to eye.
After meeting at the club, it seemed they hit off quite good till something happened between them and Carl has despised her ever since. He still tolerates her for my sake though.
"Still sour about that night, Carl honey?" Susan cooed and I could see Carl get furious.
"You stupid_"
"Riiight! So I'll go with this one! Thanks for your help guys, love you bye!!" I rambled and hang up before they started a cat and mouse chase over the phone.
I looked at my dress and sure enough I felt like it was the right one for me. I had just two hours left and I still hadn't done my makeup.
"One year of MooTube makeup tutorials, do not fail me!!" I exclaimed and rushed over to my dressing table.
I ended up going over the Mootube video several more times to make sure I was doing the right thing and when I was finally satisfied with the final look, I had just 30 minutes to get ready.
Staring at my final look in the mirror, I tried to muster as much courage I could find to walk out of that door.
Part of me was yelling " Call in sick and lie in that damn bed, see how comfy is?" And the other much more silent part " Girl, you better get your ass out of the door, you look too gorgeous to be at home"
Before I could decide on who to listen to, my door bell rang and I bit my nail nervously.
" it's now or never" I murmured, took a last look around especially the kitchen just to make sure I hadn't left anything on by mistake.
I opened the door and a handsome looking Nicholas stood before me.
His green orbs lit up as soon they landed on me and he couldn't hide a wide smile.
His tux was grey and his hair slicked back in a very professional yet sexy way. His cologne filled the air and I could smell a tint of vanilla.
"What?" I chuckled and stepped out to lock the door.
"You look great darling, honestly" He told me and I shyly clutched on my purse with my head facing away from him.
"Thanks, let's just go" I mumbled shyly and tried to make way down my front steps but he stopped me all of a sudden and handed me a pink rose.
"You know....which gentleman would I be if I didn't get you a rose or something......darn this turned out to be harder than I thought" He chuckled nervously and rubbed his neck.
"Thank you.....this is sweet" I took it from him slowly, still trying to process what was happening.
"Shall we?" He asked me and led me straight to a white SUV.
He opened the front door for me and made sure I was okay.
The ride was a but silent as we were both pretty much shy but I kind of enjoyed it.
We got to the hotel and sure enough it looked like some met gala entrance with reporters and some sort of paparazzi everywhere.
"What the......I didn't think it'd be this crowded" I blurted out as I stared a the crowd, my fingers nervously playing with the zipper of my purse.
"When my uncle organizes an event, you should know that it's definitely going to be huge. Don't worry though, I could stay with you all night if you want"
"That's very sweet Nick, but my dad's going to be there and I gotta follow him around like some shadow" I told him and he gave me an assuring smile.
He got out to help me out of the car and instantly I felt some cameras turn to face us.
The valet took the keys and the car sped off.
"You ready?" He asked me, giving me his hand.
"Do I have a choice?" I replied and gave him my hand.
With that we slowly walked up the stairs towards the entrance.
If it wasn't for his hand firmly holding mine, I was sure I'd have tripped and fallen face flat from all the blinding lights.
"Miss Ross, are you dating Mr Cole!"
"Miss Ross is it true that your father kept you locked in a basement all your life "
"Miss Ross ,is it true that your father embezzled funds and left your employees unpaid"
I was horrified to be honest, what happened to asking sweet questions and giving compliments?
Just before we could get up the long flight of stairs, I heard an uproar in the paparazzi once more and I slightly turned to see what was happening and I suddenly wished I hadn't done that.
"Mr. Ramirez ,look here, you look amazing sir!"
"Congratulations on your Best Investments CEO sir!"
"Is it true that you're getting married to Supermodel Rachel Santiago Reese?!"
My face flushed instantly.
Our eyes locked all of a sudden and a look of confusion was apparent on his face as he looked up at me.
He was the first to speak,"You?!"
I opened my mouth to speak but the shock was quite evident on my face.
I then remembered we were still on the damn red carpet and I gave Nicholas an apologetic smile as he took me inside.
"You okay?" He asked me as soon as we got in and I gave him a nervous chuckle.
"Yeah yeah.....the guy who was behind us though_"
"I'm suddenly the guy huh," a sound resonated behind us and I turned around to see that familiar black hair and piercing blue eyes.
"I see you guys have already met or something." Nicholas said confusingly and rubbed the back of his neck again.
" No!" I exclaimed
"Yes" He calmly said and checked his watch.
" I think its best we go, the old men must be waiting" He added and left Nick and I standing at our spot.
"Why is he here?" I suddenly blurted out in frustration and disbelief.
Nicholas shoved his hands in his pocket and let out a deep breath.
"Well he's the CEO of the company hosting this event and well......he's my cousin"
My heart sunk at the latter part. Did he just say cousins??? I must have heard wrong. It couldn't be.....
"Shall we? Its kind of weird that we're standing at the lobby whilst the event's on the inside" He asked me and I nodded.
Going into a huge ballroom, I realized my dad didn't fill me in on what the event actually was.
It was a dinner, yes, but one fit for a king.
Circular tables decorated with all kinds of delicacies filled the room along with an all you can eat buffet.
An orchestra played there was room at the center for dancing.
"My uncle's done it again " Nicholas whispered and chuckled in amusement
"There you are child, come quickly" I heard my father say and I spotted him within the crowd.
I waved Nicholas good bye and joined my father. He was all dressed up and what was even scarier was that he was laughing.
The man was laughing.....never once did I dream of hearing him make such sound from his mouth.
"This is my daughter, the heir of my company " He introduced me with a smile on his face to the other old geezers and present.
All I could do at that point was fake a laugh and shake their wrinkly old hands.
I caught some of them giving me weird pervert looks and I instantly got uncomfortable.
"You look exactly like your mother, bless her heart, I'm sure she'd be proud of such a fine woman you've become" one of them told me with a huge smile and to be honest it was kind of sweet.
"Thank you sir"
"Okay okay now run along child, but not too far, there will be an important announcement soon enough " my father dismissed and I faked a smile then quickly excused myself.
The room was filled with old geezers but for some reason I could feel a pair of eyes fixed on me.
Blue eyes to be specific.
I noticed him at the far end of the room and moved far away from him in Nicholas's direction.
"Hello darling "and he took a sip of the liquor in his glass.
"How many hours left till I can leave?" I asked him and tapped on my purse nervously.
My social anxiety was starting to eat me up.
There were too many people around and I suddenly felt like they were all staring at me for some reason.
"We just got here though, what's the rush?" He asked me and I inwardly groaned.
" I'm not so comfortable "
"Cause of Anthony?"
"Who the fuck is that?"
"My cousin, the man you were gawking at" He added with a tinge of annoyance evident in his tone.
"Anthony huh? Gawking ey?" I snickered and rolled my eyes.
"Hello Nick, trust all is well?" I heard a familiar voice and I just wished in that moment that the earth will open up and swallow me up.
"Mmhmm, I'm good. I hope you're good too and Rachel...it's a surprise she isn't here with her being your girlfriend and all" Nicholas replied emphasizing the girlfriend part.
I tried my best to remain composed but deep down I was flaring. He has a girlfriend???? I was all over in the club with a guy who was committed to another and he didn't tell me?!
"Ahh right, Rachel's in Peru on a photoshoot with Yogue magazine. She'll be here probably next week and you two can catch up considering how fond of her you are"
At this point I really needed the earth to engulf me.
"You know I hate that bitch of yours" Nicholas suddenly snapped and my eyes widened in shock. It's like they totally forgot I was there or something.
"Bitch ey? You're one to talk"
"Ummm I think I'll go get a drink now!" I exclaimed and quickly rushed off without sparing a look.
I could finally breath once I got to the food bar and grabbed myself a glass of champagne.
"Hey" I suddenly heard behind me and I clenched onto my glass in fury.
"Will you leave me the fuck alone?!" I whisper yelled at him and he gave me a blank look.
"I didn't think I'd see you again "
"I'm not sure I wanted to see you again, Mr I have a girlfriend but I'll allow another woman in my bed" I gritted through my teeth and gulped the champagne in a whole.
"Take your seats please" a voice suddenly boomed across the room and I scanned the room to find Nicholas.
Couldn't find him in the crowd and I had to settle for the closest seat nearby, right next to Mr I can't express my emotions all too well.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, I hope you're all having a great time_" I started listening attentively only for my attention to be cut off by the douche who kept on poking me with a butter knife.
"What do you want?!" I whispered irritatingly at him.
"Answers to some questions running through my head."
"Can't it wait?!"
"Now tell me Bambi, if I were to wait till the end of this fucking programme would you want to talk to me? The oh so hospitable man who gave you a bed to sleep in, a bath to refresh yourself and let's not forget, my sadly rejected dollar bill" He whispered back and i rubbed my temple.
"Fine, what do you want?!" I whisper yelled attracting the attention of the others on the table.
I cleared my throat, smiled at them apologetically and threw him a dirty look.
"So without further ado I would love to welcome the former CEO of F. RAMIREZ INVESTMENTS to share with us the reason as to why such a grand function was held" I heard the MC say and spotted an old man walk up the stage.
"Your dad?" I asked.
"Unfortunately so" He replied and we glanced at each other briefly.
"Look, I didn't have bad intentions taking you home. You were really drunk and I couldn't just leave you on the street."
"Why should a committed man be at a club anyway?!"
"Well its not like she doesn't do worse"
"Come on thats so childish of you!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all so much for honoring my invitation. I would like to especially thank my old friend and former business rival, Mr Alfred Ross. Most of you know how deep our relationship goes in terms of business back in the old days_" my attention spun back to Mr Ramirez making his speech and then back to his photocopy right beside me.
"It's an open relationship, I know the shit she does and it's not like we had sex or anything, well we were close to but_"
My eyes widened at his last words and I shot him a what-do-you-mean look.
"What do you mean by that?!" I gritted through my teeth angrily and grabbed onto his sleeve angrily.
"After 30 whole years we have finally decided to bury the hatchet and make amends. But to do that not only did we decide to merge our companies by law but by blood as well_"
"Bambi, you can't tell me you dont remember holding my shirt telling me not to let go that night?" He teased and smirked at me. I badly wanted to punch his face at this point.
"I don't remember such a thing! Tell me you're joking!" I whisper yelled frantically and at this point I was sure the others at the table were livid.
"After generation of building such great empires, we have come to an agreement that two heads are way better than one. To make our bonds stronger than ever, unbreakable even_"
"Relax I'm just joking with you, even though my relationship is open, I do still honor it." He said with a playful grin but that didn't subdue my anger on any way.
"Wait....about that marriage thing you said at the bar" I suddenly remembered and then turned my focus to the stage.
"In holy matrimony we would like to join the heirs of our companies _"
With that my voice got stuck in my throat. I watched as my father slowly rose up from his seat to join Mr Ramirez on the stage.
"With permissions granted, we join the heirs of our companies Mister Anthony Ferdinand Ramirez and Miss Melissa Ross in holy matrimony "
A shriek escaped my mouth as the spotlight fell on the douche and I and were stared at each other in shock and disgust.
At the corner of my eye, i caught a glimpse of Nicholas and my world suddenly crashed around me.
Thank you so much for reading