Theodore escorted me beyond the too-long hotel hallway before taking me to a more private spot, and I believe we walked into another building nearby because the walk was very lengthy and the space seemed a little different, so I was pretty sure we were in another building.
We went up some stairs and then through a door, and then we found ourselves behind another closed door. We were making way too many abrupt turns, and it was just too much for me to compute. Finally, we arrived at another closed door, and behind it stood Hardy, dressed in all black with his hand holding his thick long blazer. I noticed the dozens of expensive diamond rings that he was wearing in his other hand.
When Hardy became aware that Theodore and I were present, his shadowy eyes landed on me.
And much like a DVR, my unpleasant dream about him played back in front of my eyes, and I found myself having to force myself to swallow.
Darn it.
Even though it was only for a split second, I swear I saw his pupil move all the way down from my face to the bottom of my dress. It was just a brief moment.
“What took you guys so long?” Hardy snarled at Theodore, but he didn’t appear to be very enraged by the exchange.
“We apologize, but the stylists took too much time.” Theodore responded, but he did not even make an attempt to seem apologetic.
Hardy let out a sigh before holding out his fingers in an invitation to me to approach him.
And I gently walked up to him.
“Your task for the evening is to be quiet, smile, and sit down; nevertheless, you are free to continue without smiling if that is what you like. However, the most important thing is to be quiet.” He did so in a hushed manner.
Oh wow.
And the hostility never ends.
He gave me the order, “Now give me your hands,” and I obeyed him like the puppet that I am.
“B.. but where are we going?” I managed to ask.
Suddenly, he shifted his attention to me as if I had just uttered something abhorrent.
Please, it was just a simple question, I can’t be killed in such a gorgeous outfit, and I need to know where the hell I’m going to know where the hell I’m going.
“You don’t get to ask that,” Hardy scoffed
“I have made it abundantly evident that you mean nothing to me and are essentially simply a living object I can manipulate to my pleasure; I make the rules, you comply. No questions asked.”
He explained everything in a tone that was so soft that it was practically a whisper, and I found myself rapidly nodding my head while trying not to whimper.
“So do you understand.?” He asked.
“I understand,” I finally managed to say after a moment of hesitation.
I watch the man in front of me, breathe in a loud sigh of relief before continuing with his words.
“And tonight, you’re playing the role of my fiancé, the rebound kind, and your deal is to not let out a sound. Understand?” His voice was thick as he leaned in closer.
My eyes blinked on their own as It shifted from his lips to his eyes immediately.
“Got it.” I rushed my words.
Pull yourself together Joanne.
“Good.” He scoffed.
I held my breath, hoping that the temptation to rip open Hardy’s shirt was caused by pregnant hormones because I had no idea where else it might have come from.
Without a doubt not from me.
He basically was reminding me of how he’ll always make my life harder, but all I could think about was how to get his shirt buttons undone.
Classic one Joanne..
“Now…
Hardy grumbled as he pushed the door in front of us open.
We both entered the large, bright room, which had nothing but comfy chairs organized in rows and a platform in front of all benches.
On the chairs were expensively dressed women and gentlemen, mostly couples, each couple linking arms to kind of prove they were couples or something.
I refrained from rolling my eyes after seeing how some ladies tried to sit in the most forced arched position.
I glanced back and noticed Theodore wasn’t coming with us, and that was when I realized the meeting was somewhat confidential.
Hardy and I took a seat at the back, unnoticed and quiet. And the moment we sat down, Hardy let go of me.
Well what did I expect?
I tried my best to sit elegantly, not like the ladies forcing the life out of their backs, but you know, to fit in, not to make Hardy look weird and all, but I found myself breathing fast for help after five seconds.
“Don’t push it.” Hardy mumbled close to my ear and I froze.
His breath caressed my ear.
I swallowed.
He shouldn’t do that.
“I… I…
My words fumbled
“You’re pregnant.” He reminded me blandly.
Of course I am, because there was no way I would think this monster- this man beside me, was sexy, and no way I would ever care what he would look like without his shirt on.
“Just be still and don’t draw attention to yourself” Hardy quietly snarled, before turning to the woman who had just walked up the podium.
I gulped heavily, making myself comfortable.
Just be calm.
The woman who has gotten everyone’s attention, started off with some lame greetings before getting into a thick accent and saying some grateful things, giving gratitudes shits I could barely pick up.
Few minutes later she was still talking and I was getting sleepy.
Why the hell did Hardy bring me here? It was boring and when everyone clapped I just clapped having zero idea why anyone was clapping.
Hardy never clapped though, he just sat beside me, listening, his face calm, his hands folded, resting on his thighs.
And goodness.
Those lashes.
My sigh was quiet as I tried to balance my gaze on the woman at the front when my eyes caught a brunette at the corner of the room with very bright lipstick, throwing me daggers from her glare.
Uh, miss? Do I fuckin know you?
I wanted to give her one of the dirtiest looks ever, cause why would she ever look at me like that, when she doesn’t even know me.
But I composed myself, smiled and turned to the woman in front.
Hardy is going to make my life miserable if I act irrational.
The meeting went on for hours, and many couples came out to drop lame speeches about sales or something, where everyone clapped and gave their best forced smile. Surprisingly the brunette who had been sending me daggers, and her partner were the last to give another boring speech and a really high amount of money before everyone clapped before ending the meeting.
Finally,
And that was it? Really? Hardy didn’t even get on his feet or make his presence known, so why are we even here? Why am I even here?
“Come on,” Hardy turned to me, opening his hand.
Oh.
I gently placed my hand in his, trying not to get flustered, because I knew he wouldn’t do this on his own accord. Never.
We both got on our feet, and the minute we took two steps forward, Hardy’s name was heard from four angles at once.
“Hardy Bensimon…
My eyes noticed the way Hardy’s lips curved up into a small satisfying smile, before turning to the couple on our right, who were still far away, but walking super fast to get close to us.
Hardy leaned down a bit closer to me.
“Have you ever tried the game of seduction Joanne?” Hardy asked.
I threw him the most bewildered look ever, as my mouth fell into an “Huh?”
“I want you… No, I need to do it, you will be playing the seduction game tonight.”
“Seduce them.” He ordered.
.
…*