Candace had been in high spirits from the moment she left Matt's house after two amazing rounds of very satisfying sex.
Even though she had doubted the wisdom of her decision to engage in such an affair with him, she couldn't deny that she had enjoyed herself even in such a short duration.
And Matt had turned out to be a better cook than she had expected. Despite the fact that the sauce had gotten burnt, the meal had tasted really nice.
Although she knew it was silly, but she was looking forward to her next visit to him which was going to be the next day.
They had both agreed that they make the best use of this period since they were both available right now and didn't know how their schedules would turn out after she returned to Sogal and he resumed work.
Getting home and finding the lovely package Harry had sent her to choose from, she had felt like she had walked into a fairytale movie and was a princess. She had enjoyed the admiration of her father, Jamal, Desmond, Evelyn, Andrew, Janet and of course Harry after she dressed up.
They had all taken pictures of her and with her on their phones, and then Aaron had taken out his camera which he brought with him and set it up so they could take a group photo together in that moment.
Then she had told Harry about the text from Andy, and Harry had offered to have his men track the number but they got nothing.
Still, that hadn't dampened her mood since she was still grateful to have heard from Andy, and was thankful for Jamal and her newfound family, and her friendship with Matt.
And then both her and Harry had driven to Tom's house, and she had wallowed in the pleasure of having so many lovely people in her life now who she could tell genuinely cared about her.
Sitting in the backseat of the car, she and Jade filled Harry in on the details of their meeting with the Miller sisters, and Jade told them about her discussion with the chief judge.
Once the car stopped and they all got out, and joined Tom and the others, while the valets took their cars away as all seven of them walked down the red carpet to the hall where the event was to be held.
"Is this your girlfriend?" Several of the reporters called out to Harry when they noticed he was holding on to both Candace on his left and Jade on his right.
"Who is she?"
"May I know you ma'am?" Some called out to Candace since she was the only person they knew nothing about amongst the others.
Candace stiffened heads and cameras turned in their direction. She had not imagined that the event would be so grand or that the place would be crawling with journalists and paparazzi.
"You're beautiful. Relax and smile," Harry whispered to her as he patted her hand, and she smiled at him in gratitude.
Some of her reporters focused on taking pictures of Tom and Lucy, since it was Tom's first time of attending the anniversary party openly as CEO, and it was the first time they were seeing him and Lucy together in public this way.
Some others focused on Bryan and Sonia who were more of a celebrity couple because of Bryan was considered a screen god.
Unlike the others, Bryan smiled and waved at the reporters who called out to him, and he pulled Sonia closer so they could pose for a few shots.
"You're enjoying this aren't you?" Sonia asked with a giggle as they posed for the camera.
"Such is the life of a star," Bryan said as he pressed his lips to the tip of her nose making her giggle as they continued moving to give room to others who were coming behind them.
They all continued down the red carpet to where the decorated photo backdrop stood. Once they got there they all stood together so they could be snapped as a group and after that they headed for the event hall.
Immediately they walked into the event hall, they were surrounded by people who came to say hello to Tom and Harry and to congratulate them.
Tom made sure Lucy remained right there beside him the whole time as he said hello to everyone who came to him and introduced her to them.
"Jade!" Aurora who has just walked into the hall screeched happily when she spotted her, and immediately Jade let go of Harry and went to say hello to Aurora who was with Philip.
"Well, this place is packed full. We should find somewhere to sit," Sonia whispered to Bryan, and then turned to Candace who seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"Want to come with us?" She asked, and Candace let go of Harry and left with Bryan and Sonia to find somewhere to sit while Lucy remained with Tom and Harry as all three of them socialized with the guests.
Immediately the ushers spotted Bryan and Sonia, they led them to one of the tables at the forefront which had been reserved for them.
"How did they do this? Everything is just so organized," Sonia said when they got to their table of twelve and realized there was a name tag in front of each seat.
Candace looked around, "And the hall is so large," she observed as she took her seat, and a waiter came with a tray of champagne glasses.
Bryan and Candace picked a glass each, but Bryan instructed the waiter to get something nonalcoholic for Sonia who was busy going around their table to check the name tags so she would see who was joining them on the table.
"I guess Tom and Harry wanted us to all be together," she said when she observed that most of the names were familiar.
Lucy, Tom, Harry, Jade, Aurora, Philip, Mia, Jeff, and then then there was Matt, "Is Matt coming?" Sonia asked Bryan, causing Candace's heart to skip a beat.
"I don't think so," Bryan said, certain that Matt wouldn't show up at such an event. Especially if he suspected that Candace might be present.
"Why not? His name is here," Sonia asked as she took her seat, and Candace tried not to look too obvious as she strained her ear to hear what Bryan was saying to Sonia from where she sat away from them.
Because of the name tags on the seats, she was meant to sit between Harry and Lucy which was about two seats away from Sonia and Bryan.
As the waiter brought Sonia's nonalcoholic drink, an usher led Jade, Philip and Aurora , who were with their wine glasses already, to the table, and Jade did the introductions as they sat down.
"So, you're the couple who loves to fish," Sonia said with a grin, making both Aurora and Philip laugh.
"Hello! We meet again. I'm sorry about getting on your nerves the last time," Aurora greeted Candace with a wide smile.
Candace smiled, "All is well that ends well. I guess the fishing is going well," Candace said, nodding towards Aurora's hand which was joined with Philip's, and Aurora giggled.
"Phil loves to hold hands," she told them with a wide smile.
"I love to hold her hands not just any hands. Her hands are so tiny and cute," Philip told them making Aurora blush.
"Don't say that! It's embarrassing," Aurora said, and Philip chuckled as he raised her hand to his lips to kiss it.
"You look so beautiful when you blush," Philip said, and Candace shook her head.
"I can't believe I have to be subjected to an evening on the same table with you all. You're all annoying," Candace hissed, making Aurora and Philip look at her slightly taken aback by her outburst but one look at Jade and Sonia who were laughing out loud, they realized she was kidding and relaxed.
Next Jeff arrived, saying Mia wouldn't be joining them because she wasn't feeling too well and her drugs made her drowsy.
They all chatted and discussed like old time friends, and soon Candace felt herself relaxing. She was even more surprised to realize that she was enjoying herself and the company of everyone around the table.
Soon an announcement was made asking everyone to settle down as the event was about to kickoff, and Tom, Lucy, and Harry returned to the table to join them.
"I love the sitting arrangement. Whose idea was it?" Jade asked after they were all seated.
"We all agreed on it. Tom, Lucy and I," Harry said and then glanced at the empty seats.
"Is Mia not joining us?" Harry asked when he noticed that Jeff was present but Mia wasn't.
Jeff explained to Harry that Mia was ill, but Harry gave him a nod but said nothing even though he doubted that was the reason she was upset.
He had a feeling she was avoiding him. He had noticed that she had made up an excuse not to be at every meeting he had with Jeff since the day he said she looked familiar. Perhaps it was time for him to look into her and find out what she was hiding.
"I guess Matt is really not coming," Sonia said to no one in particular.
"Matt is supposed to be here too?" Jade asked curiously, wondering if that was the reason Candace had been excited all evening.
"I invited him since he's a part of I-Global. I don't know if he's coming or not," Harry explained for the benefit of everyone.
"Why would I miss such a fun gathering?" Matt asked as an usher showed him to his seat.
Candace felt her heart lurch and her spirit plummet when she saw the model from the cafe standing beside Matt.
Her gaze shifted to the model, as she wondered why Matt had not told her he was also attending the party and why he brought her along with him when he knew fully well that she would be there.
They had an agreement, didn't they? They agreed he was not going to see anyone else for as long as they were together, so why was he with another lady just hours after having sex with her? Why was he with this particular lady who she knew without a doubt was the lady he had told her he had sex with the other day?
"Are you alright?" Harry whispered as he looked at her, when he noticed she was too busy eyeing the model to pay attention to the introductions being made.
"Yeah. Sure. I'm alright. I'm just wondering why you didn't deem it fit to tell me you were inviting him?" Candace asked in a whisper.
"Was I supposed to? If I remember correctly you have no business with him. Or do you? Should I give you a list of everyone I sent an invite to?" Harry asked sweetly, and she scowled but quickly replaced it with a stiff smile when her gaze met with Matt's who was now seated beside Matt, while Gemima occupied Mia's seat beside him.
"Hi! You look lovely," Matt said with a polite smile as he had said to every other lady around the table.
Lovely? Candace mused as her blood boiled over, but she managed to control her emotions as she smiled at him, "Thanks. You look good yourself," she said as her gaze shifted from him to Gemima and then back again, demanding an explanation with her eyes.
Lucy, Sonia, and Jade all glanced at Candace and exchanged an understanding look, each thinking about how uncomfortable she must be to be on the same table with Matt and his model.
They all directed their attention to the podium when Harry was called upon to give the opening speech, and as they all rose to give him a clapping ovation, Gemima leaned closer to Matt.
"She is the one, isn't she?" She whispered, and Matt smiled.
"Yeah," Matt said as his gaze met with Candace's, who had caught Gemima's movememt from the corners of her eyes and was now watching them.
Matt's gaze traveled over the length of her body which he could see but his eyes remained blank as it met with hers again.
To her surprise his expression was ordinary. He didn't look as stunned as the others had been to see her dressed that way. He just looked at her with casual interest as though they had not spent the afternoon making out on his kitchen Island or fucking their brains out on his dinning table and couch in the living room.
As they all sat down once again, Candace couldn't help but notice that Gemima's hand was resting on Matt's thighs, and as she looked up she caught Matt's amused gaze before he looked away from her.
He was amused? He thought any of this was amusing? He was sitting there beside another woman and smiling at whatever nonsense she was whispering in his ears and he had the nerves to be amused? No! She was not going to tolerate any of that.
Grateful that everyone else seemed engrossed by whatever it was Harry was saying, she took out her phone from her handbag and texted Matt.
[We had an agreement, and seeing as you can't honor it, I take it our arrangement won't work.]
Matt glanced at his phone when it vibrated, and he waited a minute before checking the text.
He considered whether or not he should respond to it, and decided not to. They could talk about it later.
"That was from her, wasn't it?" Gemima asked and Matt turned to her.
"Yeah," Matt said, and Gemima giggled softly.
"She looks really pissed. You might not have to do too much to win her heart after all," Gemima said making Matt grin, while Candace seethed as she watched them.
She couldn't believe that Matt had put his phone away without responding to her text. He did not even spare her a glance. He was ignoring her.
Seeing how Candace kept sending a glare in Matt's direction, Jade leaned into Harry's empty seat so she could whisper to Candace, "You're being too obvious," Jade said, and Candace turned to glare at her.
"I shouldn't have come here," Candace muttered under her breath.
"Are you alright?" Lucy asked Candace softly, and she turned to her.
"Yeah. Sure. Thanks," Candace said, and even though Lucy wasn't convinced, she decided not to push.
Sonia being the busybody she was, didn't miss anything going on around the table. And as far as she was concerned, Matt and Candace were an item. She did not care about the model who had accompanied Matt.
"Why did Matt come with her?" Sonia whispered to Bryan with a frown.
"I have no idea. He didn't tell me he was attending the party either," Bryan said, and Sonia scowled.
"Can we swap seats?" She pleaded with Bryan.
"No," Bryan said, and then turned to Matt who was seated next to him.
"Why did you bring her with you? I thought you said the sex was terrible and you were done?" Bryan whispered to Matt.
"We are not having sex right now, are we?" Matt asked, and Bryan frowned.
"Her presence is making everyone is uncomfortable," Bryan said before returning his attention to the stage.
They all gave Harry a standing ovation once he was done giving his speech, and one of the pioneer shareholders of the company was called to read the history of the company and it was established.
"Are we going to sit this way all night?" Candace asked Harry when he returned to his seat.
"No. This is the official part of the night. After Tom presents the special awards to the employees of the year, dinner will be served, and then move to a different hall for partying and socializing," Harry explained.
"Great! I can't wait!" Candace said as she raised her glass to her lips and gulped down the entire content while Matt watched her from the corners of his eyes.
She had wanted them to keep their affair a secret and for him to not treat her like a lover in public, so why did she seem so upset when he was only doing exactly what she asked for? Did she forget he was an actor?
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