Status: Sequel is posted :) !

Cinderella for Hire

fifteen.

Upon arriving to the venue everyone was livid that Nicholas Fulton looked as if he was having the time of his life due to the fact that he was all smiles and laughter every 5 seconds. People were whispering among themselves that having a woman in his life did soften him up and fortunately for Nick, that was a good thing.

The problem was the 'woman' with him wasn't as amused.

I was still sitting at the open bar having another shot of vodka. This was harder than I thought it would be. I thought that if I accepted this job it'll be such easy money and Nick didn't even turned out to be a creep (maybe a sadistic jerk but still). I knew it was just too good to be true. I rubbed my temples and downed a shot.

After all that taking-the-girlfriend-job, I still couldn't reduce my stress level. Or maybe what I was feeling right now was stupid hormones working at its' best (i.e. destroying people's LIVES) (Oh who cares I exaggerated) and too many drinks. Next to the mirrors near the shelves of colorful bottles of beverages, I caught sight of an abstract painting. I squinted my eyes. Acrylic on canvas.

I wondered how long has it been since I've picked up a paintbrush.

I looked down at my new drink. I wondered how long has it been since I've seen my parents even. Been home. I couldn't bear to see them, not yet. I rubbed my temples and shut my eyes tightly. They had been so supportive of me and I had been crap. They've fueled so much of their money into my love of art that failed in to get me to be an artist in the end. I yawned and propped my head with my arm on the table. I saw my reflection in the mirror and my face had 'guilt' written all over it. I wanted to laugh. I was blonde too. How surreal.

The first thing I'll do when I get my paycheck, I'd go to the nearest art supply store and buy myself a canvas. Nick couldn't change that one thing about me. And plus, what the hell was I so moody about? I could be 'myself' around him at the least, just not around the people he knows. He told me I was kind of a weirdo and he didn't want any weirdo vibes to be shown around him or whatever.

Stupid Nick.

"One more," I told the astonished bartender. When my drink arrived, a hand snatched it away.

"Young lady," a deep voice spoke. "You've been drinking too much."

I looked up lazily to see a handsome young man about Nick's age, give or take a couple of years, with azure eyes and black, slightly long-ish hair. He had freckles across his face that made his sharp feature subdued a little bit, in a very cute way.

He sat at the stool next to me and said, "I heard from Nicholas that you had a fear of flying."

My eye twitched. That fear made him that amused all night. But could you really blame me? I thought we were going to go to an event somewhere in the same city, not in another state. Plus, there were a lot of violent turbulences – even the stewardess looked scared!

"Who are you?" I asked as polite as I could, for Nick's sake. But honestly I felt a pounding headache.

He chuckled. "Pardon me. I'm Caleb. Caleb Fulton."

"You're…Nick's…brother?"

He threw his head back and laughed. I wanted my drink back now.

"I'm his cousin. My dad is his dad's little brother. Steve Fulton?"

"I didn't know Richard Fulton ever had a brother."

He smiled dryly. "There are a lot of things you don't know, April."

"Caleb," another voice said.

Nick was a few steps away. "I haven't seen you around in ages."

"Likewise."

I cocked my eyebrow at Nick who had this weird polite glare thing going on with Caleb. I sighed and rolled my eyes, I was too headachey for this.

"Can I have my drink back now?" I asked Caleb but Nick pulled me up and I nearly stumbled into his chest. Damn it, I hated these 4-inch-heels of doom.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to talk to my...significant other now."

"Date, but close enough," I whispered into his ear when we were moving away.

"What is wrong with you, April?"

Offended, I pushed him away. Even with my heels he was towering over me and I maybe because I was just a bit tipsy but I honestly wanted to hit him. How the heck did he pull that arrogance off? Urgh, I was so confused it was making my head hurt even more.

"April…" He said, looking genuinely concerned before that look vanish a bit and he said, "are you seriously still mad at me with the whole drawing-on-your-face-issue and the whole teasing-you-in-flight thing?

I opened my mouth to retaliate. But I couldn't.

"I need to get some fresh air."

While walking out of the fancy ballroom and out to the garden outside of the hotel, I kept my grace and hopefully, no one suspected that there was something going on.
♠ ♠ ♠
Now that Caleb is introduced, let the games begin!
Kidding.
Or am I...?

Anyway, sorry for the tardiness. And you guys who are still keeping up with this story is just plain awesome really. I'll post up a new chapter a.s.a.p. (tomorrow probably).

Thanks for reading and please do comment :) It'll make my day!