Chapter Fourteen

**Greyson**

She walked me with the biggest smile on her face, not a care in the world not even a glance at how worried I’ve been.

She has not even noticed me stood here as she heads towards her room.

“Where the hell have you been, I’ve been calling, and you didn’t pick and you. I also told you to take Jack and you just outright ignored me!”

She turns to face me; her eyes are wide, and her mouth is open.

“Are your serious right now?”

Am I serious is she joking, does this woman just live to push my buttons?

“Of course, I’m serious where the hell have you been?”

I ask her a second time and she take a step back from me.

“I went out, I told you this morning what’s your problem?”

My problem? My problem is Jack went looking for her and found her inside a restaurant looking pretty cosy with some dude.

“You’re going to be my wife soon I have the right to know where you are at all times.”

Her mouth twists into a frown, but her stance remains firm until she takes a deep breath and her shoulder relax back down.

“I went for a walk, and lost track of the time okay”.

A walk, that’s what she’s going to tell me. After all the things she said about not being with guys I almost for a second believed her and yet here she is lying to my face about meeting up with someone.

I can feel my fists tense as she patently lies to me and I can’t stop the words from coming out.

“So that’s what you were doing with the guy in the restaurant, just walking? I guess Mia was right”.

The second I said the words I regretted it; I knew I shouldn’t have. I can see how angry she is, and her eyes have glazed over with tears.

“Greyson, are you following me?”

“I have a right to know where you are Gen”.

“Stop you don’t get to call me that. You do have a right to know where I am, but I have a right to expect a certain amount of respect from you. You have no right to keep tabs on me.”

She’s moved closer to me and her fists have balled up as she stands a little taller.

“So, you not even going to try and deny you went to meet someone “

“Greyson there is nothing to deny I met that guy today! Not that I have to justify this to you”.

“Well Jack said the two of you looked pretty cosied up so one of you isn’t telling the truth”.

“I can’t believe I have to justify myself to you again Greyson. After everything I told you, you still don’t have any trust in me at all. How are we supposed to act as a married couple when we can’t even act like civil humans “?

Her last statement seemed void of any emotion and with that, she turned away and headed to her room.

Monday came around quickly and Gen and I are on our way into work, she didn’t leave her room at all yesterday, or at least if she did, she was careful to avoid me.

As the car pulls up, I’m worried to go into the building with this friction between us praying people won’t notice.

As soon as she steps out of the car, she is like a different person she is linking my arm and smiling at people as we walk to the lift.

I can’t help but think maybe she has forgiven me, and the feeling makes me smile too, this is going to work.

The happiness is short-lived when the doors close and she breaks away from me, taking a step and avoiding my any eye contact, I feel a little pang of something in my stomach at her ability to fake these emotions, the elevator gets to our floor and she relinks with me plastering the fake smile back on.

She makes a show of it for all the people on the floor and I instruct Vicky to get us coffee before we both head into my office, to the outside we are a couple in love. When the door closes it’s a different story.

“I will only stay here a few minutes for show, and I will leave my coat in here”.
He voice is still emotionless.

“Genevieve, what are you doing?”

I know she knows exactly what I mean and for the first time since Saturday night, our eyes meet hers aren’t as bright as I remembered they seem to be shadowed.

“I’m being the devoted loving girlfriend, just like you pay me to be. Isn’t this what you want”.

The door clicks and she heads over to me kissing me on the cheek then taking the coffee from Vicky with a bright smile and a cheery thank you.

As the day goes on in my mind constantly flashes to Gen on the other side of the glass.

Is she okay?

What is she doing?

I’m starting to annoy myself, I’m not one to admit that I’m wrong but maybe I was a little harsh. Perhaps she was telling the truth about just meeting that guy.

It plagues my thoughts and I have to do something to get them out, to suppress these weird feeling for her I think if something that might help and that’s when Vicky walks in.

She is wearing her usual short skirt, heels and a shirt that has to may button open ensemble and I won’t lie she does look good, as a man, it would be hard not to notice.

She leans down close to me places some files on my desk so I can see right down her top, her hand resting on my shoulder.

Maybe Vicky was who I needed to release some of these feelings onto.

Again, I’m pulled from those thoughts when Gen walks in, her smart dress hugging her in all the right places and making me throb in such a way that I adjust my seated position.

“Greyson, I need to go and pick up my wedding dress can I take Jack?”

She is smiling sweetly but her eyes constantly darting between Vicky and me.

Standing up t forces Vicky to take her hands off of me and I head towards Gen.

“I’ll come with you “

“You don’t need to do that its bad luck to see the bride in her dress before the wedding day”.

“Well, I will wait in the car while you grab it “

I can tell she doesn’t care about me seeing her concern is with spending any more time with me alone.

“Mr Maddox, you can’t go you have a meeting in 30 minutes”.

Vicky’s revelation breaks any tension between Gen and I as it’s now clear I can’t accompany her.

“Okay Genevieve, you go with Jack and head home after ill meet you there when I’m done”.

She nods still smiling before exciting the room closely followed by Vicky. Watch them walking away and I struggle to work out what it is that Gen makes me feel.

**Genevieve**

Walking out of his office I hear the familiar click off Vicky’s heels, taking a seat at my desk she takes a set on the edge of it picking up my pen pot and digging through it.

“I don’t know how you do it, Genevieve”.

I roll my eyes at her and lean back in my chair.

“What exactly is it that you think is do Vicky?”

She places the pot back down on the desk and then begins to inspect her claw-like fake nails.

“How you sit here watching as he openly flirts with other women in front of you. You saw the two of us in there and look here comes his next meeting”.

She turns her head and I follow her eye line to a tall slender woman with long blond hair, everything about her seemingly pristine, she wouldn’t look out of place on the cover of vogue that’s for sure.

The woman turns to meet Vicky’s gaze and then heads in our direction.

“Vicky darling is Grey in?” She flashes a smile to her then meets my gaze before turning back to her.

“Who’s the new girl?”

She asks as if I’m not even there, I could be invisible right now.

“Oh her “Vicky waves a hand toward me and stands up off the desk.
“Oh, she’s no one. I’ll let Mr Maddox know your here”.

With that they both head towards the door of his office, chatting between them like they are old friends.

I start to gather my things up to head to the dress shop not looking forward to the experience of picking up a wedding dress alone, it’s not exactly how I imagined my dream wedding scenario.

I’m about to head out to the lifts to meet Jack when I hear shouting coming from Greyson’s office, I’m torn between wanting to see what’s going on and leaving before they notice.

I opt for the latter reminding myself that this whole thing with him is not real and is a step into the lift, at the same moment the door to his office opens and I hear the woman before screeching.

“Where is she Greyson how could you do this, what makes you think I’m going to let you marry her?”

The lift door seems to not want to shut as my breathing heavies at the thought of her spotting me, Then I see something that makes me knees want to buckle under me, Greyson comes out of his office and cups her face in his hands, his eyes are fixated on hers as he speaks soft and slow-moving his hands away to hold her hand.

He looks around and spots me as the door to the lift close, how could he do this he is such a hypocrite he has clearly been with someone this whole time. A secret that he seems to have kept close to him.

I feel my eyes well up and clench my fists angry at my own feeling for failing me and letting me feel this way about someone who cares only for himself.

Angry at myself for constantly having to remind myself this isn’t real, that this marriage is fake. Angry because no matter what I do there is this small hope that all of these things might come true for me with him.

I storm out of the building the silent tears now streaming from anger and sadness all in one and I’m knocked on my ass when I walk into someone.

“Gen, shit is you okay”.

The ass hurts from how solidly it hit the ground.

“Alex?”

“Yeah, Gen are you alright?”

He grabs my hand and pulls me up off the floor.

“Are you okay you look as though you’ve been crying?”

I want to be mad at him for getting back with Mia and ignoring my calls, but I also need a friend right now.

“I’m fine Alex, I’m just going to pick up my dress”.

He nods and doesn’t say anything.

“I’m going alone Alex, would you… “

Be brave Gen he is your friend.

“Would you come with me?”

He seems to rack his brains for an answer before he replies.

“Sure, I think me, and you need to catch up anyway, I don’t like the way things are between us”.

Hearing those words seems to lift my spirit to another level.

“Me too Alex, I miss my friend”.

“Let me grab my stuff and check it’s okay to leave and then maybe tonight you could stay over, and we could watch movies, your bedroom is still the same”.

Deciding at that moment to use my new status as Greyson’s fiancé, don’t worry about that ill clear it with Greyson you just grab your stuff and I’ll meet you in the car.

He runs off to the stairs and I pull out my phone and search Greyson’s number.

*Met Alex in the lobby, we will be going for dinner and then I’m staying over at his. It looks like you will be busy with blondie tonight anyway*

I chuck my phone in the bottom of my back as Alex walks back towards me, I might not be able to tell him what’s really wrong, all of the things I think I feel for Greyson and why I’m really doing this but having my friend back is like a light in this darkness I’ve been feeling and right now that’s enough.