GOLDEN GIRL

CHAPTER 15

Shay's POV

I was surprised how time flew by so quickly during the day that the next thing I realized I was led into a classy looking restaurant with Sylvia by my side while the rest of our co-workers walked ahead of us, their voices ringing in the air with excitement evident in their voices. I had never been to a company dinner before so it was clear that I was a little bit nervous that I haven't actually said a word to anybody the minute we arrived. I tried to focus my attention on everything around me with a little hope that I might find something that will spark my interest. My eyes wandered around the hallway with the golden lighting dimmed, the fancy portraits on the wall, the beautiful flowers in their vases standing aligned on each sides, everything seems so perfect the way it is that it was nearly impossible to ignore the word 'money' screaming from every corner which is something I'm used to seeing all the time.

The front receptionist led us into a private space away from the rest of the customers dining inside, and we were surprised to see Jason already seated by the head of a long glass rectangular table inside the room with a waiter pouring wine in his glass and a few waitresses lingering near the table adding some finishing touches to the meal prepared. The guys starts to greet Jason in a polite and friendly manner and starts occupying the seats from the front by his side while Sylvia pulled me towards the chair which is just three chairs away from him. He looked effortlessly handsome, wearing a white plain dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms with two buttons opened at the top, his hair was surprisingly disheveled, and he somehow looked carefree and full of smiles which is something new that I haven't seen before.

"Are you okay?" Sylvia whispered in my ear.

"Yeah I'm fine, why'd you ask?" She looked away and starts cutting into her steak.

"You were so quiet that I thought something was wrong with you." I chuckled and shook my head while staring at the delicious food in front of me.

Everything looks wonderful and so delicious but unfortunately my appetite hate to agree. I don't know what the matter with me is but one thing for sure is that something was behind my recent change of mood and it was starting to bother me. Or rather someone. Not only has my mood changed, but my feelings too and slowly, I'm starting to realize that.

Trying my best to avoid looking awkward, I slowly start to pick at the baked potatoes on my plate and happily started a normal conversation with Sylvia. When the second course came around, I needed something cool to drink but the only option on the table was wine. White wine to be exact, and I'm not really a fan of white wine no matter the brand or how expensive is it.

"Drink, Miss Kellen?" Mr. Samuelsson suddenly asked me with the bottle of white wine in his hand.

Since he was sitting right next to Jason and the others, they were all staring down eagerly at me.

"No thank you Mr. Samuelsson. I think I'll just stick to water for tonight." The men around him starts to chuckle playfully and I hid an embarrassed smile.

"Oh c'mon, not a fan of Leroy Domaine?" I shook my head politely.

"You can say that." They all started laughing and my eyes involuntarily glanced at him.

He wasn't laughing with them or smiling, he was just staring right back at me as if he's trying to figure me out. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that he was looking at me so I quickly glanced at Sylvia to avoid meeting his eyes.

"Waiter, can we get a bottle of rosé for the lady?"

My head snapped up when I heard what he just said and I watched in shock as he signaled for the waiter to his side and then points down directly at me. The waiter came to my side and poured the wine into my empty glass before walking away. I was speechless, I didn't know what to do except slowly reaching out for the glass and taking a small sip of the pink liquid to get rid of the dryness in my throat. I finally looked back at him and smiled as in to say thank you and he briefly nods his head in return and joined back in the conversation with Mr. Samuelsson.

"Mom called me the other day and she mentioned something about Shanelle accepting that new offer from Dior. They want her to fly over to Paris for the official photo-shoot. Does your parents know anything about it?" Said Sylvia.

"No, it's not like they care what she's up to nowadays. She's free and she can do whatever the hell she wants and speaking of going to Paris, when did this whole thing happened?" She shrugged and took a sip of her wine.

"Last week. I think she's leaving on Friday." I chuckled sarcastically and rolled my eyes.

"She may have the freedom to live her life but there's no way dad would let her slip away under his watch. He'll probably have his men follow her to Paris to keep an eye on her, who knows what she's really going to be doing there." She slowly nods her head in agreement.

"Miss Kellen, have you tried the Italian pasta yet?"

Sylvia and I both looked towards Jason and we secretly shared a perplexed glance.

"No, I haven't." I slowly replied back. He smirked and tilt the wine glass in his hand towards the huge pasta dish in the middle of the table.

"You should try it, it's their main specialty. Would you like a refill of your rosé?" I quickly shook my head and smiled.

"No thanks, I'm good." He held my eyes for a minute longer while sipping his drink and then finally looks away.

I released a low sigh and when I turned back to Sylvia, she gave me a look before downing her wine all in one go. The expression on her face was difficult to describe but I immediately understood her sudden change of demeanor. It was all because of Jason's sudden attention on me tonight.