The Billionaire's Personal Obsession

Chapter eleven

Evelyn had just had her last bite of the heavely fried rice and chicken Martha had prepared, when the doorbell rang. Martha had gone to open the door so Evelyn picked up her plates and arranged them in the dishwasher. She headed out to the living room to see that it was really busy.

A quick headcount told her that there were more than seven people in the room. Two seemed to be struggling with what looked like a makeshift wardrobe which had wheels. She spied Martha by the top of the staircase, directing a woman towards Julian's huge dressing room. Martha saw her and came down the stairs, towards her.

     "These are the people who will take care of you dressing you up for the event." She said, steering Evelyn towards the room.

     Evelyn looked at them with skepticism. "But surely, I wouldn't need seven people to do my hair and makeup." She complained, still cringing at the sight before her. But Martha just rolled her eyes and pushed her into the room.

     She had never had many people attend to her like this. She might as well just go ahead. Evelyn entered to see seven pairs of eyes staring at her. One man in particular, who had a gum in his mouth looked at her like she was a piece of rumpled cloth that needed ironing.

    

Three hours and fourteen dresses later, Evelyn watched the last of the team go out through the door, shutting it behind her. They had taken their time to dress her up. The man who had chumped on his gum throughout, had held her hair in different directions till he had chosen a style he was satisfied with. Kent, the hair stylist had insisted she straightened her hair to get a sleek look. They had argued until he resented and decided to curl them.

     Standing in before the floor to ceiling mirror, Evelyn had a hard time recognizing the sophisticated woman looking back at her. Her hair flowed down in sleek waves, her cheekbones jutted out in a classy way. She was dressed in a silver gown which hugged her slim figure flatteringly. She looked down at her heels, they sparkled. Wow. She looked beautiful, if she could say so herself.

     Evelyn's phone chimed, alerting her to a message. She grabbed it from a table next to her and read. It was Julian. He was ten minutes away. She grabbed for her purse on the same table but stopped when the edge of what seemed to be a newspaper, caught her eye. She pulled it out and picked it up, it had its back facing upwards so she flipped it over and had the wind knocked out of her.

     On the very front was a picture of Julian and a woman. He had his arm on her waist and a smile on his face. They seemed to be coming out of an event or something. The stunning woman had her arms around him in a way that made Evelyn's head throb. They looked like a couple. Evelyn read the header and stepped back in shock.

     Julian Richardson and Ex-wife Gwen Valentine, spark dating rumors. The pair have been really cozy all week.

     Could it be a reunion? It said.

     Evelyn re-read the lines over and over again. Ex-wife? Julian had been married before. She hadn't even known about that. Was this the thing he said had come up? She sank into a chair nearby and closed her eyes. How could he have done this to her?

     Her phone rang. It was Mr Chima.

     "Evelyn, my dear." He sounded cheerful.

     "Hello Chima. Happy birthday." She forced herself to sound normal.

     "Thank you. I hope you are on your way here?" he asked, the background noisy.

     Evelyn closed her eyes, trying not to cry. She couldn't leave now. "Don't worry Chima, of course I will be there." She assured him.