Mr. Boss Man

Chapter 11 ~ The Charity Gala

Hey there! So today is my deb day but I thought I'd be nice and update anyway:) hope you like!! ______________________
After another twenty or so minutes we're pulling up into an elegantly grand building. I'm surprised to see so many paparazzi's hanging around the entrance waiting for the guest to arrive.

"You ready for this?" Nick gives me a fleeting glance.

I let out a shaky breath.

"As I'll ever be." I reply.

The door of the car suddenly opens and I'm instantly bombarded with bright flashes of lights going off in every direction. Reporters are everywhere and are all speaking at the one time. My eyes go wide as I feel Dominic's hand come down around my waist as he pulls me closer to him.

"Mr Reeves are you going to be contributing to tonight's charity gala?"

"Mr Reeves who is your new date?"

"Mr Reeves is it true about the Dubotski Company merging with Reeves enterprise?"

I try to keep a pleasant smile on my face through it all, feeling about two feet tall as I stand in front of the cameras. The reporters probably think I'm Nick's new flavor of the month.

Nick ignores the reporter's abrupt questions and accusations and shoves past them as his arm tightens around me protectively.

My heart flutters a little bit.

Finally we make it into the Grand Foyer. It's absolutely breath taking. The ceilings are high and lush red curtains with gold trimmings drape from them and glistening crystal chandeliers hang like brilliant impossible stars in the sky. The Victorian era architecture engrave the buildings interiors and internal pillars that stand imposingly tall. The floor is made of soft red carpet which follows out onto the grand staircase that's surrounded by golden handle railings that are beautifully and intricately detailed. It's incredible beyond words. It's like every little thing in the room has been thought through very thoroughly and carefully.

I suddenly feel very intimidated by the place and I haven't even walked into the main dining room yet.

Nick, sensing my apprehension, soothingly runs his thumb in small circles on my back, in an almost intimate manner, making my breath hitch.

He's probably just trying to calm me down but it's having the exact opposite effect because my heart rate begins to increase.

He leans in and I can feel his warm breath tickling my skin as he speaks that I have to suppress a shiver.

"Just be polite and smile to everyone even if you feel like you want to punch them in the face. That's the only way you'll get through tonight." He says softly in my ear.

I sigh softly and look down. Nick notices my hesitance.

"What's the matter Andy?"

I shrug, "I just feel like there's this big sign on my forehead in flashing lights saying that I don't belong here." I admit to him. "I mean look at this place, and then look at me. I shouldn't be here."

"Don't say that." He frowns at me, "What makes you think that the people here are any better than you?"

I shrug, "Because, they are."

He shakes his head. "I'm not taking that as a valid answer...Look, the business world can be very harsh sometimes and that can mess with your mentality. It's hard when dealing with the amount of stress you have to put up with every day and we're not usually used to being as...nice as you would hope. But that doesn't mean people think that you're not good enough to be here. You're just as good, if not better, than everyone else in that room."