The party that night was being held for a popular and highly regarded director. Chris had been fortunate enough to have worked with him once already in his short career. Elle never had, of course, but she attended that night all the same.Chris quickly changed into a suit at his company and then the two headed out together.
"Are you sure this dress is suitable enough?" Elle asked as she looked down at her simple dress.
"Of course it is. You look beautiful." Chris replied instantly.
Elle felt her cheeks heat. "Is that so?"
Chris began laughing at her reaction. "Are you embarra.s.sed?" He teased.
"No." Elle replied, making a point to look out the window so he couldn"t see the clearly embarra.s.sed expression on her face.
The car ride to the party hall was filled with laughter and a light hearted mood. It was easy for Elle to get along with Chris and it easy for him to get along with her as well. Their silly banter lasted right until they reached the doors of the hall, but once they were pushed open the mood died.
The whole day was one full of new experiences for Elle but this was something she already knew well. The cold atmosphere, the judging eyes, the whispers that followed you around a room were all things she was very familiar with. The only difference was that she had no stakes here.
This wasn"t her world. She didn"t need to worry about her image or her reputation here. But Elle could tell from the way he stiffened that Chris did. Elle laced her arm through Chris"s to show her support.
"Come on, let"s go in." She said with a soft smile.
Chris let Elle lead him into the room of fake smiles. Chris took the lead and Elle followed him around as he greeted the other guests. There were all sorts of people from all sorts of professions present; actors, writers, other directors, editors. Chris would whisper a brief introduction of each person they spoke to to Elle, for her sake.
"I should be the one reminded you who all these people are, not the other way around." Elle said apologetically.
"It"s no problem. It helps me remember too." Chris replied kindly.
All night long people had called out to Chris to share a quick conversation with him but after being at the party for almost an hour Elle heard her own name.
"Elle?" A sweet voice called out. "Is that really you?"
Elle turned out of reflex towards the voice. "Amelia." She said in surprise. "How nice to see you again."
"What are you doing here?" Amelia asked.
"I"m serving as Chris"s a.s.sistant for today. I"m just here accompanying him."
"Oh, how nice. I didn"t know you were so well connected in the industry." Amelia said, looking back and forth between Elle and Chris.
"I"m not." Elle said firmly. "Chris is a friend, not a contact. I"m only doing my friend a favour."
"Is that so? I thought you might have worked with him regularly. You seem to be a woman with many faces Elle. Every time I meet you you seem to have a different job. It must be exciting."
Her word"s were friendly and polite enough but Elle couldn"t help but feel there was a thorn in what Amelia said.
"I try to keep busy." Elle said with a polite smile. "I"m sure you"re very busy too, we won"t keep you any further."
Elle slipped her arm through Chris"s and led him away.
"Did you do something to offend her?" Chris asked with a smirk.
"I barely know her." Elle said. "She seemed nice enough to me the last time we spoke."
"Well you must have done something."
"You think so?"
"She clearly hates you."
"Do you really think so?" Elle asked with concern. She barely knew Amelia but she was a friend of Adam"s. She didn"t really hate her did she?
Elle looked up at Chris with wide eyes and a furrowed brow. He couldn"t help but snicker.
"I"m sorry." He said between giggles. "I was just teasing you. I"m sure she doesn"t hate you. Everyone in this industry is like that. Her way with words is probably just a bad habit."
"I hate you. Just you wait. I"ll get you back in a spectacular way." Elle muttered, ripping her hand from his.
"I"m sorry." Chris said, following after her with a grin on his face. "It"s too much fun."
Little did Elle know but Chris had actually done her a huge favour. Amelia still stood where the two had left her, watching as the two walked away laughing and joking, arm in arm. Her mood lifted and a sweet smile was now on her face.
Maybe it was because Elle and Chris were acting overly familiar with each other, or maybe Amelia was only seeing what she wanted so desperately to see. Either way, in her mind, Elle"s position changed from a rival to a supporter.
~~
The party went on and the night grew old. Eventually Elle grew tired. She was on her way back from the restroom, purposely walking slowly so she could enjoy the artwork that decorated the hallway, when her phone began to ring.
Elle smiled sweetly as she saw the familiar name appear on my screen.
"Hey you." She answered. "Where are you?"
"Turn around." Adam replied.
"What?"
"Just do it." He said with amus.e.m.e.nt laced into his voice.
Elle turned and sure enough there was Adam, standing a few feet behind her. Elle ended the call and bounded towards him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked with a grin painted on her face.
"I"m here for work." Adam replied with a chuckle. "More importantly, what are you doing here?"
"It"s a bit of a long story." Elle said sheepishly. "You remember Chris? He asked me if I could accompany him for his work today."
"Is that so? You"re not too tired are you? You were supposed to rest today."
"I"m fine. It was fun. I got to attend another photoshoot." As Elle recollected her day something suddenly popped into her memory. "That"s right; did you know Chris would be signing a contract with MK?"
"That"s a highly cla.s.sified project. How do you even know about it?"
"If it makes you feel any better I have no idea what the project is about. I just answered a call and was told to pa.s.s the message along to him. You knew?"
"Of course I know. I"ve been working on it personally."
"You never told me." Elle complained, hitting him lightly in the arm. "What if I ended up embarra.s.sing myself in front of him again."
"It was supposed to be a surprise. Imagine how funny it would have been if you both ended up at one of MK"s event parties. The look of shock would have been priceless."
"That"s enough, I"m leaving. I"m being teased too much tonight." Elle grumbled, even though the truth was Adam"s joking expression brought her so much joy.
"Let"s leave together then." Adam said.
"Really? Don"t you have to stay longer?"
"I"m tired too. Let"s go home."
"Okay."
"Give me ten minutes to say my goodbyes. You can wait for me in the car." Adam said as he handed Elle the keys to his Maybach.
Elle took the keys greedily and quickly returned to say goodbye to Chris who thanked her several times before letting her leave.
As Adam and Elle drove home that night Elle caught sight of her reflection in the car window and she recalled Amelia"s words.
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"I only have one face." Elle thought to herself as she look towards Adam"s handsome profile. "It"s the face of this man"s girl."