Chapter 5

MELANIE

I narrowed my eyes, wondering why he was headed in my direction. Trish was saying something about how crowded the bar was even though we weren't exactly that late but I wasn't paying her any attention. My blood heated in my veins and I tried to remind myself that he was like any other person I'd come across. There was nothing special about him.

"Oh my gosh," Trish gushed beside me, gripping my arm like it was a lifeline. I turned my attention to her. Her eyes, smoky with make-up, were rounded and her lips were wide open with surprise. I already knew what had gotten her in such a state of glee. "Damon Trent is coming right this way," She reduced her voice to what I'm sure she thought was a whisper. "And he's staring right at you."

I winced when Damon came to stand in front of me right after she had just finished speaking. I had no doubt that he must have heard caught onto her statement. I was going to kill Trish and then burn her dead body one of these days. There was nothing anyone could say or do to convince me otherwise.

She narrowed her eyes at him as if in warning and then made a little 'I'm watching you' gesture before turning her attention to me. She looked at me innocently like she had just done nothing and then proceeded to politely excuse herself. She even had the nerve to wink openly at me as she walked past the both of us towards the bar.

I watched her strut to the bar like she was extremely parched, wondering if she was seriously going to leave me all by myself with him. Apparently she was. I slowly withdrew my gaze from her and turned it to him. We stared at each other for a few seconds in silence. Me, waiting for him to say something and him doing God knows what.

Just when I decided that I'd had enough of him standing like a statue, he tilted his head, his eyes taking a leisurely path down my body. I forced myself not to show any outward reaction to his gaze. I'd already let my slip earlier when he'd been blatantly checking me out. "Look who was actually able to get cleaned up after she was done throwing her childish tantrums."

My eyes went wide and my cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment. The guy was such an asshole. Did he really have to walk up to me if he wasn't going to say anything reasonable? Every single hope I'd been holding out that there was some good in Damon Trent immediately evaporated.

"Look who's supposed to not give a shit actually giving a shit," I shot back at him. I angrily pushed a strand of hair behind my ears, my eyes instantly scouring the room for Trish. I told her I wasn't interested in going to a bar but as usual, she didn't pay me any attention. Now she was probably somewhere already having the time of her life while this jerk spoiled whatever mood I'd managed to be in.

"You don't actually have to look like you were forced to be here, you know," Damon said bluntly, digging a hand into his pocket. A crease appeared between his brows as he casually looked around, locking gazes with a blonde somewhere to our right. She was giving him a flirty smile. One he returned with a small smirk. "Maybe if you went out more you wouldn't be so uptight."

Before I even had a chance to reply, he had gone off in the direction of the blonde. I couldn't help but turn a little bit, my attention still firmly fixed on him. The man had called me uptight as calmly as if he were stating a general fact. What in the world had given him the nerve to call me uptight?

Trish was at my side before I knew it, both our gazes resting briefly on him as he started a conversation with the blonde woman before we looked at each other. I made sure to try to non verbally communicate my displeasure to her with my eyes. I really was tired of her pulling these kinds of stunt.

She tsked disappointedly, her eyes darting to where Damon stood and then back. She leaned in, her extreme low cut dress giving more than an eyeful. How had Luc even approved of her wearing this? Either trust in each other was on another level or they had some weird shit going on. Because there was no way in hell Trish wasn't going to get approached in these clothes.

"I can't believe you let him walk off to go talk to someone else," She whispered, pulling my arm and gently steering me towards the bar. She wasn't smelling of alcohol so I knew that she'd had nothing to drink. She'd only just made a show of leaving and going to the bar like she was impatient to get a drink when in reality she'd been watching us the whole time.

I whipped my head to face her at her ridiculous words. "I can't believe you walked off without me in the first place," I whisper yelled, dropping my ass on the barstool and fully turning to face her. I gave her my death stare to let her know I was being very serious right now. "Trish please, you can't be doing stuff like that." I stared at her meaningfully. "The last thing I want Damon or anyone to start thinking is that I have a thing for him."

Trish widened her eyes comically, trying to make an exaggerated facial expression that implied that what I'd said was practice impossible. Getting real, she leaned in just as the bartender moved to get our orders. "But you do kind of sort of low key have a thing for him, right?" She winked twice, asking the bartender for two cups of vodka.

It took almost everything in me to hold back a groan. "No, I don't." I almost gritted out. I knew how this would turn out if I didn't put an end to it now. She would get even crazier with the idea of matchmaking and end up doing something that was going to be so absurd it would probably end with me and Damon in the news.

I took the cup and downed half the glass in one go. It actually was a really small glass. "You promised to let up with your antics if I indulged you in whatever you wanted." I reminded her. My gaze drifted to Damon without my permission. I hate that I was subconsciously aware of his presence in the room.

Then again, who wasn't?

He was leaving with the blonde. Good. I watched him as he walked with her to the door, no doubt taking her to his place so they could have sex. His head suddenly turned just as his hand made contact with the doorknob and I tried to direct my attention away from him immediately but it was too late.

He caught me staring at him.

I pretended to be extremely interested in my drink when I noticed that he'd lingered, probably waiting to see if I was going to stare back at him. When I didn't, he let the door close behind him and I immediately breathed a little easier.

"I haven't found the perfect thing to ask you to do yet," Trish was saying when I refocused my attention on her. She was already done with her drink and her brows were creased in thought. She seemed to brush off whatever she was thinking about, her body swaying slightly to the beat of the song playing off in the room. I could tell she had already begun the journey to being drunk. "C'mon, let's dance."

I almost said no. She even looked like she expected me to say no. I wasn't uptight, was I? I gave my head a shake, refusing to continue in the direction of my thoughts. Nothing good ever came out of second guessing yourself to please others. And there was no way in hell that I was letting Damon Trent get into my head. I rose to my feet, ready to let loose.

It turned out to be my best Friday night out.

***

I wasn't sure what I was seeing as I stared at the paper in my hand. Bringing my coffee mug to my lips, I leaned on the kitchen counter. I let my eyes scan the words for the second time. Are we expecting a future Mrs. Damon Trent soon? Billionaire heir Damon Trent in search of a wife. I walked my coffee to the dining table and pulled out a chair. Biting into my pancake, I read further.

Billionaire heir Damon Trent finally ready to settle down...blah blah blah... interested persons should mail a personal letter to his address, a reply would indicate that they could sign up for the audition...blah blah blah...those who would be selected would engage in a public contest...blah blah blah...winner would be legally married to Damon Trent by the end of the contest.

What the absolutely heck?

I literally sat down with my lips wide open for a few minutes. I would have probably pinched myself if I was that kind of girl, but I knew that this really was reality. Or was it? Because there was no way in hell that Damon Trent had put up an ad for a wife in the papers. That sort of thing just didn't happen in real life.

People didn't just announce that they needed a life partner in a newspaper. And they definitely didn't make a public spectacle out of it. I finished with my breakfast, wondering if any girl was going to actually take him seriously. I almost scoffed out loud at the thought.

Of course they would. Who didn't want to be with Damon Trent? If for some reason they were hundred percent immune to his looks and supposed charm then at least they would respond for the money. He finally decided to settle down and this was how he wanted to go about it? I wasn't sure why but a part of me was disappointed.

My doorbell went off, followed by incessant knocking. Drawing my eyebrows together, I shot a glance at the wall clock at a corner of the room to check the time. It was still very early. Barely after eight o'clock in the morning early. The only reason I'd woken up so early was because I wanted to finally finish the book I'd been writing for the past three months. On a normal day, I would still be beneath my covers.

So I really was surprised that someone was at the door. I took a pause when I looked through the peephole and saw Trish. Trish was a personal secretary to one of the top dogs in the city. I didn't know her boss personally, but from all the endless stories she always had to tell about him, I knew he was an absolute beast.

The gears in my head immediately began turning. Trish wouldn't risk stopping by my apartment and showing up to work late if it wasn't important. That single thought in mind, I quickly pulled open the door and let let her inside. "Trish is anything wrong?" I asked before I could even properly get a look at her.

Confusion warred with worry as I took in the barely contained look of excitement on her face. Her eyes were dancing with glee and she was almost bouncing with excited energy. She reached out and took my hands in hers. "Oh my fucking gosh, did you see the news?" She questioned, her increasing by a whole octave. Bringing my eyebrows together, I nodded.

My heart beat slowed as I put two and two together. There was no way she had risked her job for something as trivail as what I'd read earlier. The sinking feeling in my gut already let me know that she actually had. Trish could not actually be serious. She reached out and held my hands in hands, giving me a wide mischievous grin. Her next words had dread spreading through my veins.

"I want you to sign up for the contest."