Captivated by the Tycoon

chapter 3

Eva scrubbed at the wine stain that had started to form on the front of the white dress she’d worn for the night, it had been her favorite dress, and she tried holding back the tears she felt raising behind her eyes.

“So much for wanting to spend my weekend in bed, uh?”, she mumbled to no one in particular.

She had given in to being Marcus’s plus one at the Alvandrez fundraiser party. What she had not prepared for was pure spite of other women she had never met before.

Once they had gotten to the party, she’d been moved around by Marcus, who introduced her to business associates and potential investors for the company and she’d barely been able to remember a single name,what she did remember though was the way a lot of other women in the party sized her up and stared at her and she did not like that at all.

“Good evening Marcus,I see you never returned any of my calls”,a beautiful blonde woman said as she approached them completely ignoring Eva who stood right beside him.

“Isa,you called?”He replied, faking his shock.

Eva knew it was fake because she was in charge of declining his calls from people who he didn’t want to speak with anymore, especially his "one-night stands".

“Oh please cut the crap, you do everything with purpose, you’ve been avoiding me”, Isa whined, pouting her lips.

“True, I suppose you haven’t met my assis- I mean my girlfriend, Eva… Eva meet Isabella Alvandrez. We’re old friends”

Isabella let out a laugh that spoke volumes before she even said anything. Eva realized at that moment that letting Marcus talk her into coming out in public to an event that was now obviously organized by his ex was a huge mistake.

“Friends uh?!,so we’re friends now Marcus?” Isa queried.

At this point a lot of people had started to really pay attention to them wondering why the hostess’s voice was raising at one of the guests.

“Isa,don’t be dramatic please we’re in public”

Isa's nostrils flared, and she looked at Marcus with distaste before turning and walking away from them.Eva let out a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding and turned on him.

“You brought me to your ex-girlfriend’s fundraiser?!”

“I told you we were friends, we never dated!” he hissed at her dismissively.

“Well, obviously she didn’t think so.”

“I am very clear to women about what we are before we have any relationship together.”

“you’re using the word relationship Marcus!,do you even know what that word means?”,Eva asked.

“yes,we had a relationship of sorts,not that I have to explain it to you”

He grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor,they started to slow dance and he kept her really close to him and kept whispering to her.

“I make it very clear that we could have a relationship without any further attachments, just fun and exciting conversations contrary to what is written about me in the papers and online… I am not a jerk.”

“Oh, just like I’m not your assistant?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”, he frowned, looking her in the eyes this time.

“Just that I work for you and "jerk" is very much a compliment to you”

“I’m still your boss”,he whispered dangerously.

She was suddenly aware of his hands around her and the firmness of his chest,he was staring down at her and her heart had started beating faster than usual,had he always had really light brown eyes or was she just noticing them?

“And I’m your fake girlfriend”,she said.

His gaze softened for a second before he smirked and leaned in closer to her face.

“Oh really?”

“Don’t ruin it” she said, pulling away.

Thankfully, the song had stopped, and the music was now faster paced. He escorted her off the dance floor still holding a teasing smile in place, but once they reached their table, he excused himself to go around and socialize with more people. She was grateful he didn’t take her with him, she was tired of keeping a permanent smile on her face to people she didn’t even know.

“Eve is it?”, she looked up to see Isa standing beside her and looking at her with obvious dislike.

“Eva”

“Whatever, he’ll be done with you by the end of the week anyway. What I don’t understand is this “girlfriend” thing the tabloids say”, Isa asked, her words were slurred.

“Well you heard him yourself”, Eva replied, looking around hoping Marcus was nearby to take care of this.

She definitely didn’t want to be in a cat fight with a very drunk woman.

Isa reached for a passing tray of wine but as she pulled back a glass she tipped the entire tray off the hands of the waitress holding it and most of it came pouring down on Eva. The waitress immediately started apologizing profusely to Eva.

“Oops, my bad”, Isa said, giggling as she walked away from the mess she created and a very drenched Eva.

The entire party had paused now and were staring at Eva while she just stood there shocked for about half a minute.

Embarrassed, she turned and fled for the door in the corner of the room. Fortunately, it was a bathroom, and she ran first to the mirror to see how bad she looked. Her face was wet and her dress was soaked. It was then that she started scrubbing at her dress with the towel she’d found and regretted coming to the party in the first place. What had she been thinking?! She wasn’t even his girlfriend and this was what she got?.

“Hey”

Marcus called out as he stepped into the bathroom.

“oh s**t,I’m so sorry about Isa”,he pulled off his suit jacket and held it to her.

Pulling it on she refused to even look at him as she stormed out, Picked up her purse from their table. She didn’t even stop to look at anyone but was very aware that people were staring at her and the embarrassment made her eyes burn, she refused to let anyone see her crying, and even though she could hear Marcus calling out her name begging her to wait she didn’t stop.

She took the first taxi that stopped and instructed the cab driver to drive,only then did she start crying.