It was a party fit for a King. They’ve been decorating the entire venue since morning. The list of menus were unpronounceable, there were long tables packed with the highest quality of delicacies, an endless pour of champagne and the best wine.
The room decoration was extravagant, something like a hollywood party. The flowers, the lights, souvenirs, tables and chairs. She never saw Gabriel as someone who would hold those kinds of parties but his status required him to do so every once in a while. His birthday would be a good reason. The press will be there too, it was an event the public would take notice of.
She was informed that a hairdresser and a make-up artist will come up to her room at 3 PM. The party starts at 7 PM, the guests will start arriving at 6. She cut her day short to go back to her room to get ready.
“Do you do this often?” she asked Stella, the hairdresser.
“What do you mean?”
“Do you do Gabriel’s guest’s hair often? It seems like you’ve been working for him for awhile.”
“Oh … yeah, we’ve been Mr. Love’s stylist for 10 years,” Stella said while styling Jamie’s hair.
“Does he often hold parties like this? Or go to one? I’ve known him for months now, this is the first party he ever held.”
“Not very often, but his girlfriends did quite often,” Lindsay, the make-up artist said.
Jamie raised an eyebrow, this was the first time she ever heard anyone mention his girlfriends. “Girlfriends?”
“Well … ex-girlfriends, not that we’re allowed to reveal who they are … mostly models and celebrities,” Stella whispered in the last sentence.
“Really? Did he have a lot of girlfriends?”
“Oh … I don’t know, not enough for someone like Mr. Love … and never more than one at the same time,” Stella giggled. “I guess he’s a very private guy, even his ex-girlfriends didn’t know much about him other than how rich he is.”
“I personally never liked them if you ask me … gold diggers,” Lindsay threw a dismissive hand with a grimace on her face. Then she covered her mouth when she realized she had said too much. “Don’t tell him I said that … but it’s true, they only talk about the things Mr. Love bought them as if to brag, and the things he owns … but we’ve known Mr. Love for a long time now, he might me quiet and strange … but he’s a very sweet gentleman.”
“Don’t worry I won’t tell him … I just work for him, he’s kind enough to book me a hairdresser and make-up artist to attend his party,” Jamie assured them. “So … what else did his ex-girlfriends say about him?” she was intrigued.
“Well … they all complained how they had to keep their relationship a secret, he even had them sign papers for it,” Stella giggled and Lindsay second that. “They wanted to be known as his girlfriends so badly, I guess it would’ve boosted their popularity and social status, not to mention the endorsement they would’ve gotten from it … I’m glad Mr. Love was smarter than that.”
“I bet they stopped taking birth controls all together to get pregnant with his baby,” Lindsay said. “When is your baby due by the way? And where’s the husband?”
“November, I’m still in my early second trimester … my husband is getting ready somewhere in the hotel … I asked him not to be here while I get ready, you know … men,” she lied.
They laughed.
“Well … you are glowing like a rare sapphire my dear,” Lindsay copper her cheeks and asked her to look in the mirror.
She almost didn’t recognize herself. The make-up looks good on her. “Wow,” she gasped.
“I didn’t have to do a lot, I swear … pregnancy glow is the best make-up for a lot of women … seems like you’re one of them,” Lindsay smiled. “Now, let’s do the smokey eyes.”
“Hmm … these ex-girlfriends … did they ever tell you about his house? I always wonder where he lives and what his house looks like.”
“Oh no … they’ve never even been there, Mr. Love had a lot of apartments where he stayed from time to time whenever he had a girlfriend, he never took them to his house … so much for a serious relationship,” Stella laughed softly.
“Why do you think that is?” Jamie wondered.
“I think he’s just very picky, he’s very careful with whom he surrounds himself with, if you need to sign a paper to keep your relationship a secret … you know he doesn’t trust you.”
“That’s true … probably why he’s still single,” Jamie mumbled.
“Uh-hmm … I personally hope he’ll find someone who could really love him for who he is, I think that’s what he’s looking for … it’s cliche I know … and it’s probably impossible with the kind of money he has, no one’s gonna look beyond that … and how gorgeous is he? Right? And good in bed too … that’s what they all say.”
Jamie hid a smile and nodded, she would have agreed to it but she was pretending not to know him very well. What they said about him resonated in her mind, she was seeing him in another light. Gabriel the lover. He had been with probably the most beautiful women under the limelight which she never knew about.
The very mysterious Gabriel Love was suddenly not very mysterious anymore. Lindsay and Stella excused themselves after they were done.
Jamie waited for Gabriel to pick her up in her room. She put on her shoes and did a last-minute check on her overall appearance in front of the body mirror.
Gabriel was right outside her suite when Lindsay and Stella walked out.
“Mr. Love?” they were startled.
He pricked up his index finger to his lips, he didn’t want Jamie to know he was there.
“Ladies,” he greeted them with his usual calm demeanor, “Did you tell her everything?”
“Yes, sir, as you requested,” Stella replied in a whispery voice.
“Good,” he smiled. “You’ll be taken care of, as usual … I hope you did an excellent job with Ms. Knox.”
“Of course, Mr. Love, she didn’t need a lot of help with that,” Lindsay complimented her.
“Perfect … thank you, that’ll be all,” Gabriel said then pressed the bell on Jamie’s door.