CHASING MY RIVAL

I AM NOT A PARTY GIRL

Mist’s P.O.V.

“I don’t understand why it’s necessary to wear this… these kinds of dresses on these occasions”, I muttered angrily while trying to adjust the evening gown on my thighs where the slit was. I was plus-one with Christopher at this charity ball and I was already agitated about the dress before entering the venue. I refused Christopher to be his plus one here because it was really not my cup of tea being all dolled up and plastered a fake smile on your face. The gown that I had worn was a beautiful emerald-coloured gown but as I told you earlier, these kinds of dresses were not for me.

“You are looking beautiful, Mist, and please stop whining”, Christopher once again scolded me and I glared at him this time. We were in the car going towards the venue. “You can choose any of those celebrities who were eager to go with you”, I muttered again and he scoffed. “Why throwing this tantrum when you already know the answer, huh?” he said in an irritating tone this time and I rolled my eyes and looked outside the window. I enjoyed working with Christopher as he was the best boss that a girl could think of. He was friendly but never tried to cross the limit. He always maintained our professional relationship when we were in the office or any other professional place but always tried to make me live some life like a true friend.

“Listen to me, Mist. This charity ball has nothing to do with anything professional this time. We are going there as good friends. Loose yourself a little bit …. I am sure that Naomi will be thrilled to see you in this attire”, he said and I snapped my head towards him in confusion. “Say cheese”, he suddenly held me from my shoulder while taking a selfie with his phone. I sighed aloud and flashed a quick smile because he was going to send this photo to Naomi. Naomi actually liked getting dressed and she was always thrilled to see me in these dresses. “And sent”, he said enthusiastically while sending the photo to Naomi and I just glared at him helplessly. Within a second, my phone started ringing. I immediately picked up the video call. “OMG, sisso…. You are looking smoking hot”, Naomi’s cheerful voice filled the car making me smile widely.

The dress was indeed gorgeous. It was one shoulder, having beads all over the neckline and chest line only at the front and soft embroidery in the same colour on the back line. I had a long neck and one side shoulder made my slender neck more beautiful. “Thanks, sis”, I said with a wide smile. “What’s the occasion, huh?” she asked me and I looked at Christopher. “Hey, girl… how are you?” he immediately came inside the frame of the camera and greeted her in a cheerful voice. “Chris… you didn’t come to see me”, she immediately complained to her while pouting innocently. Both I and Christopher laughed at her. “I will be there tomorrow and we will spend the whole day together. We will watch the new Marvel movie”, he said while wiggling his brows and widening his eyes.

“Really?” Naomi beamed immediately. Naomi was a fan of Marvel’s movies and she never missed their first show when she was healthy. After she was hospitalized, she made me bring their movies in my laptop so that she could watch them. After joining Christopher, he started visiting Naomi and they clicked immediately. Then he became the one who watched movies with her whenever he got the time. “We are here”, we heard the driver’s voice and then looked at Naomi again. “Okay, sis… rest now… we have to go”, I said and then we waved our hands while biding our farewell. “Let’s go”, Christopher said in an enthusiastic voice making me sigh again.

He opened his side of the door and went out. He came towards my side and opened the door for me. After taking a few deep breaths, I went out after taking his hand. It was not my first time with him. So, I knew what to do. The paparazzi took our photos as we gave a short pose for them before going inside the venue. Both of us greeted whoever met us on our way towards the main hall. “Kane and Lucas are already here”, Christopher informed me while looking at his phone. I was walking beside him with my hand wrapped around his arm. I nodded and breathed in relief mentally. Lucas was our CEO’s PA and we were good friends. It was good that someone was here with whom I could be comfortable.

“Hey, Christopher… long time no see, huh?” both I and Christopher passed a pleasant smile to Mr Jacob Smith who greeted Christopher in a cheerful tone. He was CEO of Smith Inc. and good friends with both Christopher and Mr Harris. “Hey, buddy… I can say the same for you”, Christopher replied to him while giving him a friendly hug. “Good evening, Mr Smith”, I also greeted him in a professional way. “Good evening, Mist. You are looking beautiful”, he greeted me back with a compliment. I blushed while lowering my eyes and thanked him. I was not habitual of compliments and it was only an innocent compliment.

“Where is Kane?” Christopher asked him while looking around. “Where he can be, huh? As usual, dealing with some business associates somewhere in a dark corner”, Mr Smith said in a casual way while walking with us. He even made a gesture of mystery while saying dark corner. Both of them shared a look and then we three burst into laughter. I laughed with them because what Mr Smith said was right here. Mr Kane Harris never left any opportunity that could benefit his business. He was a workaholic and this was what I liked about him the most. I took two glasses of wine from a passing server and gave one of them to Christopher. I didn't like drinking but I could pretend, right? I also took a small sip and frowned when the bitter taste of the wine hit my taste buds.

“Are you okay?” I heard Christopher’s worried voice and looked at him. “I am okay, Sir”, I immediately replied to him with a smile. He looked at me and then to the glass in my hand. The corner of his lips crooked and I glared at him. He was my boss but we also shared a friendly relationship and I would be pissed if he dare to laugh at me. “Don’t tell me that you are still not accustomed to the taste of wine, Mist?” Mr Smith asked me in a teasing tone and I turned red. “O My, Mist… you always amazed me”, he laughed and this time Christopher couldn’t help and laugh with him. “This is not funny, Sir”, I muttered while glaring at Christopher but that made them laugh more.

“Anyways… don’t torture yourself. I will ask someone to bring fresh juice for you”, Mr Smith immediately offered and I smiled genuinely and bowed a little in front of him. “Thanks, Sir… this is so nice of you”, I said and then looked at Christopher who was still looking at me with a mocking smile. He knew that I was not a kind of party girl still he had this audacity of making fun of me. “Don’t be so formal, Mist. I am not your boss but I know how to treat a beautiful girl like you”, Mr Smith said with a flirtatious smile on his lips. “Now you wound me, Jacob”, suddenly Christopher wrapped his hand around my waist protectively while fake complaining to Mr Smith. To be honest, I was also not comfortable with his remark, but I couldn’t do anything here.

“Aaahhhh… don’t be jealous, Chris. What’s the harm to call a beautiful girl, beautiful, huh? You can’t deny this fact that Mist is the most simple woman here still with her divine beauty, she holds herself out of the crowd”, Mr Smith once again praised my beauty but the way he looked at me from head to toe made me feel something creepy called all over my skin. I just hated these kinds of big shots pervert for whom, women are only playthings. Christopher’s hold on my waist tightened a bit showing his irritation to me. I knew that he wouldn’t let anyone lay a finger on me here still he couldn’t stop anyone from eye r**ing me. I really hated these parties.

“You are right about Mist here, Jacob. She is indeed a precious gem”, before Christopher could say anything, we heard Mr Harris’s voice. I looked in his direction and saw him coming towards us with a cold face. Mr Smith smiled awkwardly this time which made me smirk internally. Mr Harris came to us and stood beside me on the other side. Both Christopher and Mr Harris shared a look with cold gazes and then looked back at Mr Smith in front of us. “So, apart from discussing her beauty here, I think we have something else to discuss also”, Mr Harris spoke once again in a cold tone and I saw Mr Smith go pale immediately. We were working on a project with Mr Smith’s company and having some trouble on his part. Our company representative was trying to contact his company so many times but they didn’t answer him.

“Uhhhh… Kane… don’t you think that this is not the occasion and place to discuss business matters. This is a charity gala and all of us here are to enjoy our night, right?” Mr Smith spoke with difficulty after some time. I chewed my internal cheeks while playing with the rim of my glass. Suddenly Mr Harris snatched my glass from my hand and before I could stop him, he took a sip from my glass. “Thanks, Mist. I was really thirsty”, Mr Harris thanked me after gulping down the content in his mouth. I just blinked dumbfounded not knowing what to say. I looked at Christopher who also had furrowed his brows while looking at Mr Harris. “Well, if you say so, then let’s have a chat over coffee in my company tomorrow. What’s say?” Mr Harris once again asked Mr Smith in a cold tone and he only nodded in response.

Mr Harris now finished his glass and then gave it back to a server passing by. “Let’s go for the dance, Mist”, Suddenly Mr Harris asked me and I looked at Christopher once again with horror. There was no way that I was going to dance with Mr Harris. I even didn’t know the D of any form of dance. I didn’t want to embarrass myself. “Kane, you are asking the wrong person for the dance”, Christopher spoke as my saviour and I immediately nodded while looking at Mr Harris. “Neither of us is a dance, Chris. This is all about enjoying our night, right Jacob?” Mr Harris once again dragged Mr Smith into the conversation. “Yeah.. yeah.. y.. you should enjoy this beautiful night. Now, if you excuse me, I guess someone is calling me over there”, Mr Smith immediately made an excuse and before any of us could speak, he sprinted out.

We three looked at each other and burst into laughter. Christopher is still holding me from my waist. “Remove your hands from her waist or else everything will take her as your girlfriend”, Mr Harris teased Christopher and I shrank my nose in disdain. “No way”, I shrieked in disgust and immediately removed Christopher’s hand from my waist, making him frown. Mr Harris laughed at our reactions but there was no way that I was asking the sharks to come and bite me. Both Mr Harris and Christopher were the most eligible bachelors right now and had very charming personalities. “Let’s go”, Mr Harris put his hand on my waist lightly and then we both walked towards the dance floor.