ROANNE.
"Thank you" I say to the cab driver before he drives off. I turn to face the huge building,
the huge name staring at me 'ALAN REED MULTIPURPOSE HALL'. It's so large, it's a bit
intimidating. Like it's mocking me. For being such a fool. For being a fool and not seeing
through Scott's lies, or for being a fool and coming to the event whilst knowing that
Scott's going to be here. With his family, and possibly a date. I'm setting myself up for
more hurt, I know. But allow me to lie to myself that I'm here because of the company's
reputation.
They already RSVP'd. I need to be here.
I need to see him.
I hold my head up high as I walk in. My invitation is scanned and I'm escorted to the
main room.
"Thank you" I tell the man in suit and he just nods and walks away.
It's beautiful.
That's the first thought that comes to my mind when I look in. The decor is beautiful.
Cassie is an architect, so I have a very good knowledge of exterior and interior designs
and this beats it all. Asides the beautifully dressed people, there glimmering lights,
classy linen and everything is just...wow.
"It's already booked the whole of next year for a reason." A voice says beside me and I
jump a little, shocked.
I turn to face the owner of the voice. A brunet, with brown eyes, and dimples, and lest I
forget, a very thick British accent. Just like Scott.
What did I expect? I'm in London.
I force a smile back. He stretches his hand.
"Influencer?"
"Me? Oh no-"
"-Actress? Though I'd like to think I know all the actresses that were invited."
"No"
"Hm. Musician?"
"We can both save time if you'd actually let me just say it, you know"
"Oh, sorry" He blushes a little. "Bad habit. I'm Jameson. Event planner. A little bit
exclusive to the Reeds"
I take his hand. I've left it hanging for too long.
"Roanne. Representative for K & G freelance consulting company"
"Ah. White collar lady."
"I mean, I understand why you'd think I'm an actress though." I lift my shoulder
gracefully and let them fall, a tiny smug smile playing on my lips and he smiles.
"Love the hair by the way."
"It's a wig" I reply and he just smiles wider.
"I guessed"
I scoff. Then start walking into the event, Jameson right beside me.
"And for the record, there's nothing like 'a little bit exclusive'. You're either exclusive or
you're not" I tease and he nods, his lips twitching.
"Noted, ma'am."
"Doesn't look anyone's mourning" I state, watching all the people mingle, smile, laugh,
clink glasses and drink.
"Yeah well. I doubt even the old man's family's mourning. Can't really blame these
strangers"
"Yeah."
It's silent for a minute.
"Sorry, I know this is weird. It's just- you stood at the door for quite a while, just staring
into space. Seemed like a damsel in distress. A beautiful one, at that."
I scoff playfully.
"I don't think I stood there for so long."
"Maybe, maybe not." For some reason, I like the way those words sound when they leave
his lips. Except it's probably because he sounds so much like Scott – Oh God. It's
Grayson. Grayson, not Scott.
"Sir." Someone comes over and whispers in his ear and he nods, before shooting me an
apologetic look.
"The night is still young" Is what I say to him and he gives me his brightest smile before
walking away. I may be leading him on, which is wrong, but he had me the moment he
said he's exclusive to the Reeds. I need him, for now. Or more like what and who he
knows and has access to.
Besides, it's easy with him. I hardly have smooth conversations with strangers.
A man and a woman -presumably his date- walk up to me, and even though I don't like
the way his eyes roam over me, I smile.
"Hi" I say.
"Well, hello." He stretches a hand. "I'm Mark Lawson. CEO of McKyle Construction. You?"
I take his hand.
"Roanne Jacobs. Representing the CEO of K & G freelance consulting company."
"Ah. She's American" He tells the quiet lady beside him. She looks up at him and smiles. A
look that tells me how much she adores him.
"You are gorgeous" I tell her and she looks a bit surprised, before she catches herself.
"Thank you. So are you"
"So tell me more about this freelance company you speak of. I'm assuming it's in
America?" The man asks, before I can reply her.
"Yes sir. Seattle, to be precise. We do all forms of jobs. Consulting in different areas,
Social media management, Public relations, and a lot more. You can check our website."
I say and he nods.
"Put that away, dear." He says and then woman takes out her phone and types away.
"Alright, so we do..."
It's a very long and boring conversation, but it's what I'm here to do. Mingle, network,
and ignore the roaming eyes of the stupid men who have ladies hanging off their arms.
I move from pillar to post, talking, smiling, laughing, drinking. And it does help. It takes
my mind away from him. Quite successfully if I must say. But then, a mic gets turned on
and everyone's attention is drawn to the make shift stage.
"Good evening everyone. Thank you for being here. On behalf of the whole Reed family, I
want to say that we highly appreciate your presence. In a bid to fulfil one of the numbers
on the late Mr. Jones Reed's will, we have brought the specified items and they are to be
auctioned. Right in the room by your left when you walk out of this hall, is the auction
room and so if you are interested, kindly gracefully make your way there. Thank you.
That being said, join me as I welcome his first son, Mr. Reed who wishes to address you
all"
Claps resound around the room and it leads me to clap too. The man must be highly
respected. He climbs the stage, his steps sure. He's the first person who looks like he's
mourning. He's not crying or anything, but I see it in his jaw, in his eyes. And I know they
can't see it. The shallow people in this room. But, I can.
"Thank you, Richmond. Good evening everyone. Thank you all for being here. The past
few weeks have been a bit hard for my family and I. My father may not have been the
best man to a lot of you in this room, but he was the best father to me and my sister.
Same way he was the best father-in-law and same way he was the best grandfather.
Same way he was the best husband" His eyes fall to someone I assume is his mother. He
clears his throat, like he's trying not to cry. "He was 74. A lot of you call him 'The old
man'. But to me, he wasn't that old. A little white hair, don't mean nothing, right?" He
jokes a little and some chuckles fill the room.
"To me, he needed to have at least 20 more years. But it's okay. God does the things He
does for a reason. I almost didn't come for this event, if I'm going to be honest. But, my
wife held me and told me to get myself, that life has to move on. What can we men really
do without these beautiful women?" He says and smiles cheekily. "I realised she was
right. So, I threw on a tux and made my way here"
I think we all know there's no way he just threw on a tux. That suit looks like it's worth
nothing less than a hundred grand, and that's in dollars.
He keeps talking for a while and I kind of zone out a bit, until someone taps me.
Jameson.
"You're back?"
"Yeah. Nothing is ever perfect." Hs sighs, but his dismay is gone in a second, replaced
with a smile. I wonder if he's smiling like that on purpose. He has to know his dimples
are attractive. Thank God Scott doesn't have. I'd be a complete goner. "Am I making
progress?" His dimples move as he speaks and I look up at him. I'm light skinned, but my
melanin is still enough to not show my blush.
"Progress?"
"Yeah. I'm trying to woo you, and you're staring at my lips. So, is it working?" He quirks
an eye brow, and I can't help the laugh that escapes my lips when I go back to another
memory.
"What are you doing?" I asked Scott when I saw him for the third time in a row in front of
the coffee shop. It can't be a coincidence the third time.
"I'm trying to woo you. Is it working?" He bounced his eye brows and I smiled, despite
myself.
"Who still uses the word 'woo' ?".
Clearly. It's a British thing then. Or maybe it's just two of them that are old fashioned.
Scott and Jameson. I bet they'd be good friends.
Which reminds me...
"Are you friends with Scott?" I ask and he bunches his eye brows.
"You have a boyfriend? Scott? Ouch" He says and actually visibly winces.
"Oh no. No, I don't have a boyfriend" I think I said that too quickly. Because he smiles
brightly again. He needs to stop taking everything as a sign. "I mean. Scott Weston"
He blinks.
"I'm not sure I know who that is"
"But you said you were exclusi-" Oh. Oh God, Roanne. "Sorry. I meant Grayson. Not Scott.
Grayson Reed"
"Oh." He smiles again, and I realise that if I wasn't hurt and probably still in love with
Scott, this thing with him would work. He's definitely wooing me. Since that's what they
want to call it. "He's my brother from another mother" He says, and I smile. Bingo.
"Speak of the devil" He says and my eyes follow his to the stage, zoning back into the
father's speech.
"So finally. I want to ask that you all be very welcoming of my son, Grayson Reed. I know
my father's will came as a surprise to you all, but I assure you that we were aware of it
all. There is no family chaos or argument. The performance of all our companies will not
suffer in any way. My son is more than capable of taking up after his grandfather. Come
up, son" The man steps aside and I see him climb the stage.
Him, being exactly who you think it is. Grayson Reed. My Scott. And god, he looks so
handsome. I immediately feel myself tear up.
"Good evening, and thank you all for coming"
His voice does something to me that I cannot even explain. Did I say I was getting over
this man? I must have been delusional. I'm still in love. Neck deep in love with him.
Of course I am. It's just been about 3 days. Which is crazy, because it feels like forever.
Forever since he last held me. I zone back into his speech.
"...I really appreciate the support I've gotten so far. My grandfather was a good man"
Murmurs start, but he continues.
"...And while a lot of you may not agree. He was. Whilst he was alive, he gave to Charity
more than he gave to his family. He taught me about the love of God through his actions.
He never went into anything half way. He went head on and never looked back. He
would kill for us. We all knew he would."
The Murmurs increase.
"But he didn't. Regardless of what anyone says. My grandfather had clean hands" I see
his dad put a hand on his arm and I don't know if it's to steady him or to warn him. "That
aside. May his soul rest in peace. Regarding the companies. More information will be
released when it's fit to go public. I know a lot of you see me as incapable, but this isn't
just work or money to me, it's my grandfather's legacy. And if I have to die protecting it,
so help me God, I will."
I think I started the applause. I'm not really sure. I just know that I heard him speak and
it was so new and so commanding that I was in so much awe that I just had to clap. At
least everyone followed.
"Are you okay?" Jameson asks and I blink as I turn to him. "You're clapping cheerfully,
but you're crying, Roanne"
I stop clapping as my hands shoot to my face. I'm actually crying. Oh God. I thank God for
waterproof make-up.
"Oh God. Sorry" I bring napkin from my clutch and dab at my eyes.
"What was that?" Poor Jameson sounds freaked out.
"It was an emotional speech" I retort. Bringing out my powder to use the mirror to fix
my make up a bit.
"It wasn't."
"It was"
"Everyone's smiling, Roanne"
"Well, I thought we already registered that everyone doesn't have feelings" I bite back.
Snapping my compact shut and snapping my clutch shut too. I turn to glare at him.
"You're losing brownie points, dimples"
I don't know where the nickname comes from, but he likes it. Because his expression
goes from freaked to cheery again. I can't imagine him bossing people around. Which he
probably had to do to put all these in place.
"Thank you. We owe the beautiful decoration to Mr. Jameson Hynes." Grayson continues.
"I'll kill him" Jameson mutters as Grayson's eyes scan the crowd for him. I panic a bit. I
don't want him to see me yet.
"What are you waiting for? Go" I nudge him.
"Oh God. He promised not to call me out"
Yeah well. Scott breaks a lot of promises.
Jameson walks forward before Grayson sees us together, much to my relief. I watch them
charm the room and it suddenly hits me. The actual reason I cried.
Grayson looks so happy here. He was happy with me, but this is clearly more his scene.
He fits in like a glove, and his skin has a glow. I've spent the last 3 days hung up on him
and why he left, while he's spent it mourning his grandfather and stepping into his new
role as a CEO. He's a millionaire now and Cassie was right. He probably has an arranged
marriage ahead of him. And while I know he probably hates that, I also know now that
he loves his grandfather, and he said it himself. He'd give up his life for the old man. It
doesn't seem like there's much space for me in his life. I don't think there ever was.
I take a step back, but my eyes run back to him and meet his. Staring. My heart skips a
beat. He's seen me. He squints his eyes and I know he thinks he's crazy. He's not sure it's
me. Right, because coming here was dumb. Coming to London and coming to this stupid
event.
The crowd has gone about their business now and the mic has been turned off. But,
Grayson doesn't look away. I wanted to leave before he sees me, but I don't think he even
cares. Someone comes up beside him. A girl in a black and grey dress that stops just
before her knee. Fair legs donned in silver stilettos with a long strap that hugs her leg in
layers. Her blonde wavy hair swings as she places her hand on his arm and smiles. He
looks down at her and I see his eyes soften. He's far from me, but I know him so well.
Who am I kidding? I knew Scott. Scott Weston, and Scott Weston loved me. I know he
did. But this is Grayson Reed, and I'm probably dead to him. So I take another step back.
And another and another.
Then I walk out of the hall. I enter an empty room -which I probably shouldn't be in- and
then, the dam breaks. I cry and I cry and I cry. I let myself cry, because I want this to be
the last time I cry because of him. I want to walk away knowing that I'm going to dispose
everything that we built. I'm going to sell the apartment and keep the money locked
away. I won't even let myself spend it. Then, I'm going to delete any trace of him in my
phone and someday -when I get the strength to-, in my heart.
"Roe."
I freeze, refusing to turn because I know who it is. There's only one person that calls me
that.
"I knew it was you" I hear his steps come closer and I tense. "Roanne. Look at me"
"I- I didn't come here for you. I didn't even know you'd be here"
Lies lies lies. He keeps walking to me.
"Don't come near me"
"Roe"
"And don't call me that!" I yell, turning around. Anger replacing my hurt. "Just go. Go
back to your family, and I'll stay away from you. I promise. You won't even see or hear
from me. Scott Weston is dead to me. And so is Grayson Reed"
I see the hurt in his eyes. It's not just a flash. It spills in and remains. But that just makes
me angrier. Because he has no right to get hurt.
"I'm sorry" He says, but his jaw is set. The only form of emotion in his eyes.
"Don't. Don't you dare stand there and apologise. Don't you dare cry."
I say as my own lips quiver.
"I can explain"
"I would have appreciated that three days ago, Scott. Oh sorry. I forgot. It's Grayson"
"Scott is my name too."
"But Weston isn't" I retort and his silence confirms that. He comes forward and now he's
staring down at me. Deep into my eyes. I look away, and turn to walk away, but he holds
my hand, and I will my tears to stay in, because I won't cry now. Not in front of him.
"You blocked me. You left me with a stupid text and flew back to London. To resume your
Prince duties. What was I? Some avenue to blow off some steam?"
"No. God, no." I hold a breath, waiting for him to say something else, continue. But it
seems he's done.
"I don't hate that you love your family or that you're passionate for your grandfather's
business, but I hate you, Grayson. I hate Scott, I hate the guy who wooed me and made
me smile, made me laugh, made me fall harder than I ever have. I hate the guy who
became my reality. My world. I didn't just give you my heart, Scott. I gave you my world
and I'd have given you my soul if God didn't already have it. And you know I would have."
"Ro-" I snatch my hand from his, and turn to face him. I'm not leaving now. Not till I say
my piece.
"Let me speak. I did not deserve that. I did not give you everything I am. I did not love
you that hard, just to be broken up with over a text? A text, Scott. Is that how little you
think of the time we spent together?" He shakes his head, his eyes turning red. "And you
looked so jolly on that stage, didn't you? While I'm slowly dying inside each hour that
passes. I don't remember who I was without you. And yes, I'm here because of you. I saw
your text and I was so disoriented, I caught a flight to London, all because I wanted
answers. And oh, I got them. Scott Weston, the imposter who dates women and then
disappears when the magic wears off. Disappears -not on the lows- but on the high.
That's who you are. A fake name doesn't change that. That's who you are inside.
Heartless, wicked, and ugly. So damn ugly. So don't you dare let those tears fall. Don't you
even dare"
"I don't date women and disappear, Roanne. I know this is all so confusing-"
"-It's not just confusing, it's damning, Mr. Reed."
"Roanne, please. Listen to me."
"No. If you didn't think I was worth an explanation or any damn thing better than a text
then why would think so now? Don't worry, Mr. Reed. I'm not a nutcase. I won't make a
scene. I won't try to get you back. I won't stand in the way of your success, either. We had
a great time together and it's over and that's fine. That's okay. We're two adults. We love
and we lose, right? Goodbye, Scott"
The moment I turn around, I cry again. Because, I called him Scott again and that's
embarrassing, but it's not really that. It's that It's not fine. This whole thing is not fine,
not fair and not me.
"I love you" His words make my stupid feet stop, and my hands curl into a fist, anger
boiling through me, because it hurts so much. So much that I almost want to hang on to
those words. Despite everything.
Damn him.