The Right Choice

Chapter 39

Jessie tugged at the fabric of her gown as she felt it get caught in one of her heels. The last thing she wanted to do was wreck the expensive dress. She was about to step out of the car when one of the ends of her gown had made an attempt to ruin itself.

"Come on!" Jessie cried as the stubborn material in white refused to budge.

Holden, who was holding the car door open with one hand, leaned in inside and asked, "Do you need any help?"

Jessie huffed, "Yes! Could you cut like, three feet off this gown? That way, I won't keep tripping on it and get myself hurt."

Holden laughed and said, "I'd love to cut off a lot more but I don't think doing that is going to make you look particularly classy."

Jessie shot him a look. How could he think of stupid jokes in the middle of her inconvenience? She finally felt the fabric loosen and get free. She said, "You wish," before taking his hand and stepping out.

Tonight, was the first time she and Holden were going to make an official appearance at any event. And Mayor Fletcher's annual charity gala seemed to be the perfect place to do it. Jessie though very hesitant at first, had decided that it was now or never. She was afraid of what people were going to say about her. Not as though they hadn't already done that. But still she was worried about the impact on her family's name and on her job. Brushing that worry aside was next to impossible. Her parents had already warned her against pursuing this relationship any further then she already had. But since Jessie had made the decision; she wasn't planning on backing out any time soon.

Jessie walked arm in arm with Holden on the red carpet. They were practically sprinting across its entire length. Jessie was relieved that they had decided to skip giving interviews and posing for pictures. Just the thought of doing that was making her anxious. This way they had avoided any uncomfortable and agonizing questions that could be posed to them. Plus, this method turned out to be much less taxing and intrusive. However, it hadn't stopped the reporters from screaming questions at them and photographers from taking insane number of pictures.

After walking through the rain of camera flashes, they made it to the ballroom. Jessie had gone to quite a few charity balls when she was a bit younger. But this was the first time that she was attending a ball organized by the Mayor. Her parents had been invited as well. However, since they had been obligated to attend one of their dear friend's wedding reception, they were unable to make an appearance for this event. Her mother had said to Jessie, 'I'm sure that your presence will make up for our absence and much more.' Jessie hadn't missed the sarcastic undertone in that sentence.

On entering the large ballroom of The Regency Hotel, Jessie's mind went back to her first time here. It was such a stark difference between then and now. Instead of a single, clueless girl dressed in a moderately priced summer dress, here she was attending the gala as a date to a celebrity, dressed in a gorgeous white, Gucci gown. Jessie was struck with disbelief at how things could change in a matter of just six months. Back then, if anyone would have told her about this future then she would have dismissed them as being stupid and in need of some serious mental evaluation.

"It's quite the turnout, don't you think?" Holden asked her as he smiled and gave a nod to someone doing the same a few feet away from them.

Jessie turned to look at the crowd. There were quite a lot of people in attendance. And why wouldn't they? It was the Mayor's gala after all. She recognized a few faces as some of the most respectable and elite members of the society. And Holden was one of them. As his date tonight, this was a huge role for Jessie to fulfill. She took a deep breath and replied, "Tell me about it. I’m getting anxious just thinking about interacting with any of them."