Chapter 38: A Fancy Gift

It took hours for Gwen to finally fall asleep; she listened to the soft breathing of her friend for hours, touched that Stephanie had refused to leave her side. Gwen was still very shaken up, and her friend thought it would be better to keep an eye on her.
The next morning, Gwen didn’t feel like going to work or even getting up from her bed. All possible worst-case scenarios were taking turns inside her head the whole night, as Gwen fought her own brain to stop suffering with anticipation.
She would have to trust fate, and also Finn. He was a billionaire after all, so he wouldn’t leave his only heir to walk around the city without protection. He probably had security guards watching Cody. Or at least she hoped he did.
She would have to think of a way to prove to him that she was telling the truth, but that would take time and she had no idea where to begin. Marcy was a very powerful woman, perhaps even more than Finn. There was no way she would show her nasty, conniving side to her son. Gwen shuddered at the thought of the woman’s evil nature.
For the time being, she couldn’t do anything; her hands were tied. Finn warned the authorities of the whole country, so she could not escape with her son anymore.
“Gwen, are you sure you want to go to work today? I’m sure Finn won’t fire you because of this,” Stephanie commented as she mixed the eggs inside the frying pan.
“Maybe he should. Actually, I think it’s better for me to accept Clyde’s offer now more than ever. I don’t need to give more reasons to Marcy to think I have anything to do with Finn,” she explained, contemplating that option.
She didn’t feel like accepting Clyde’s offer because of his love confession, if she could call it that way, but it was a great opportunity for her to grow professionally, and also get away from Finn.
“Really? Do you think that woman will leave you alone even if you do that?” Stephanie asked, frowning.
“I honestly have no idea. I can’t really do anything, can I?” Gwen replied, a bit harshly. “How am I going to leave with Cody with Finn watching us the whole time?”
The doorbell rang again, making Gwen and Stephanie jump.
“Holy sh*t! I swear that they are going to give me a heart attack some time,” she complained, circulating the kitchen counter. “Who do you think it is?”
Gwen shrugged her shoulders, feeling her stomach fall into a void. Could it be Finn? Or even Marcy again? She didn’t know who was worse. But luckily, it was neither of them. It was just the doorman delivering a huge and fancy box with a very sophisticated red bow on top.
Stephanie thanked the man and closed the door, looking intrigued by the extravagance of the package. Gwen was also very curious to know what it was, since she wasn’t expecting anything.
“Who sent you this?” Stephanie asked, approaching Gwen and handing her the box.
“I have no idea,” Gwen replied, taking the little white envelope attached to it and opening it.

“I couldn’t think of a better opportunity for us to discuss some business than a boring annual gala dinner. I’d be honored to have you accompany me on Saturday night. This dress is for you to look even prettier than you already are.”

The note ended with the two initials C.B., which Gwen had already figured out before finish reading it.
Clyde was inviting her to talk shop, though it was likely an excuse to try to woo her.
Thinking on the invitation, Gwen realized it would be good for her to forget about the past events in her life and, if she was lucky, Finn’s mother could hear about Gwen seeing another man and maybe she could leave her alone for once. But even with that in mind, she didn’t feel excited to go.
“Oh, my God!” Stephanie uttered, looking at the gown nestled inside the box, which she had opened after reading the note behind Gwen’s shoulders. “Look at this fabric.”
Gwen’s curiosity didn’t need more than that. She grabbed the box from Stephanie’s hands and took the dress out, gasping at the sight of the most soft and delicate fabric she had ever seen.
It had a dark tone of navy blue, with a discrete but also sexy neckline, and it went all the all down her ankles. It was probably made of a very expensive silk, but Gwen couldn’t know. She had never put her hands on something so exquisite and elegant.
“You’ll be the prettiest woman in this party,” Stephanie said, daydreaming by Gwen’s side.
“What?” Gwen asked, blinking a few times and finally taking her eyes off the dress. “I'm not going.”
“What are you talking about? Of course you are,” Stephanie replied, looking at her as if she was saying the most absurd thing in the world.
“I’m not in the mood for a party, Steph. I won’t be able to enjoy a single moment of it, let alone talk business with Clyde.”
“Of course he won’t talk business with you. He’s just trying to find some time to spend with you, you know, to try to win your heart.” Stephanie punched her slightly on the shoulder, teasing her. Gwen rolled her eyes, definitely not wanting to fall for the provocation.
“Come on, Gwen. You can’t live your life in fear. Cody is with Finn, you can't do anything for now, and there’s a hot guy who sent you a pretty dress asking you out. Why would you refuse that?”
Gwen reflected on those words, and even though her heart wasn’t feeling well enough for her to focus her mind on a party, she knew her friend was right. And if she wanted to get control of her life back, she needed to stop acting scared and just face whatever fate threw at her.
“Fine!” she said, tossing her arms up as a sign of defeat. “I’ll go. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Cody and Finn, so I’m not sure if he’ll stay with me on Saturday-” Gwen started saying, but Stephanie lifted her hand in front of Gwen’s mouth, shutting her up immediately.
“I'll watch him if you need. Don’t worry about that. Let’s just worry about getting you to work now, because you’re definitely late.”
Gwen rushed to get ready, her mind now back on the problem of dealing with Finn today. Maybe she should really consider quitting that job. She had no idea how he would react after what she did with Cody, so as she stepped inside the company, her nerves were frayed.
It didn’t take long until someone appeared in front of her and told her than Finn was asking to see her in his office. She had no idea that he intended to solve things during work time, but she couldn’t avoid the problem much longer either. She wasn’t in a place to make demands.
“Did you ask to see me?” she asked as soon as his gruff voice on the other side of the door told her to come in.
“Yes, I did,” he answered, intertwining his fingers and looking at her with a very serious expression. “We have something really important to discuss.”