READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 20: Grand Entrance
Vanessa and Jayden immediately departed. They left in another vehicle, different from the one that brought Vanessa to the beauty shop. This one looked pricier than the previous one. Vanessa had no idea which brand it was because she had never had such exposure before. She was sure it was a BMW, at least because of the logo, but had no idea which edition it was. It might seem strange that a college student like Vanessa did not have much exposure, but she grew up in a small town and was not a fan of automobiles. Why would she spend her time on something she could not afford?
Throughout the ride to the venue where the gala was to be held, the car was silent, as neither Jayden nor Vanessa had attempted to strike any conversation with the other person. Vanessa sat quietly, gazing through the tinted windows of the car, enjoying the night view of the city. She had a little smile on her mouth, thinking about the fortune she was about to make.
Jayden, on the other hand, was thinking of several scenarios that could happen tonight. He was 75 percent sure his mother did not know the identity of his actual girlfriend, since he and Petra had hidden their relationship perfectly well. The remaining 25 percent was since his mother had an underground network for getting information. He was just praying luck would be on his side. He had not spoken to Petra today because she had informed him earlier that they had very complicated scenes to shoot, so the cast and crew were going to stay overtime this night to meet with their schedule.
He hoped he had made the right decision, and things would not get too complicated. His plan was simple – show off Vanessa for a while, then make sure to introduce her to his mother and leave afterward. He would rather not stay too long before they realized there was something amidst between him and her. So it was better this way, before his mother started asking Vanessa some fishy questions. He intended to introduce his mother as his elder sister to hide the fact that his family were immortals.
He had not even revealed his secret to Petra yet. He was planning to later this year when he would propose to her because he could not wait too long before Petra started aging. Furthermore, he had to reveal everything and convince her to become an immortalis. Who would not want eternal youth?
The driver informed them that the car was just minutes away from the venue. The red carpet event was meant to have started by 8 pm, but it was already past 9 pm. This meant the main event should have commenced, which was fine by Jayden. It saved him from a lot of trouble if he had attended the red carpet session with Vanessa.
"What are your account details?" Jayden nonchalantly requested while his focus was on his phone. Vanessa, whose attention was outside, immediately turned her attention to Jayden.
"Your digits, please. Don't you want your payment?" Vanessa had an "oh" expression on her face; so that's why he suddenly asked for her details. Vanessa knew her account details at the tips of her fingers, so she relayed her bank details to Jayden, who immediately transferred five thousand dollars to her.
"I will pay half upfront, then by the end of the night, I would complete the payment to keep my side of the bargain." Jayden switched his attention from her phone to the girl sitting by his side, who looked overjoyed after receiving the credit alert.
"No problem then," Vanessa chimed. Jayden's gaze on her got deeper, like he was looking straight into her soul. The intensity of his stare made Vanessa feel nervous. He was too domineering; why was he staring at her like that?
"You already have an idea of what to do; act as natural as you can and avoid unnecessary conversations with anyone. Please act like you belong there," Jayden instructed Vanessa with a commanding tone.
"You don't have to tell me how to do my job; I know what I am here for. Since you are keeping your part of the bargain, my love, of course, I would be your loving girlfriend," Vanessa replied with a smirk; she was ready for business.
Jayden and Vanessa then arranged their story for their act. They agreed on a story of how they met and fell in love, and also shared some information about his habits to get a solid background story prepared.
"Sir, we have arrived," the driver informed Jayden as he was moving into the venue compound. Since the red carpet was already over, he headed straight to the car park, which had another entrance to the hall. The surrounding was clear of paparazzi since they have all moved inside for the main event.
"Can I trust that your feelings won't impact this?" he asked, staring at her with a menacing intensity. He needed this confirmation from her because he could not afford to screw this.
"I'm here for the job. You require someone to play a role, and I simply require payment. This is strictly a business deal. Let's both wear our brightest smiles," she replied, maintaining a serene expression, not flinching a bit at the intensity of his stare.
"You know the moment we step out of this car you have to get in act even though there is no one watching us," Jayden stated, still maintaining his stare at Vanessa. Vanessa simply nodded at him.
Jayden smiled at Vanessa's brave reply. It was time to see if her resolve was up to the task. The driver, who was also the chauffeur, opened the car doors for Jayden and Vanessa to step out. The moment they stepped out, Vanessa hooked both of her hands with Jayden while leaning slightly on him. She had a gorgeous smile on her face. Vanessa, who normally looked cold, was entirely different now; she looked like a sweet and caring girlfriend beside Jayden, who still had her domineering look.
They walked side by side into the venue, which was lavishly decorated. The venue was a two-story building with a huge hall and a wide gallery. Although Jayden did not arrive through the main entrance, the ushers were informed ahead of time of his arrival. When they arrived, it was during one of the guest artists' performances during a dance, but they still gathered a lot of gaze. Since most of the people here knew Jayden, some knew him as a son of the Rossi family from the immortals clan, while others knew him as one of the leading tech CEOs.
Most people's attention was attracted to the glamorous couple who arrived through the side entrance. They were both good-looking, but most were interested in the beautiful young lady who was accompanying Jayden Ashford. Some people were too distracted that they stopped dancing just to look at the couple.
Vanessa felt a bit nervous at first when they stepped in and gathered everyone's attention. But Jayden stared at her with a soft gaze and a reassuring smile that boosted her courage. His girlfriend must be very lucky to have such a caring boyfriend. The spectators' minds blew up at Jayden's and Vanessa's little intimate interaction.
Even Miles, who was present sitting at his table, was shocked by his friend's acting skills. He was the only one here who could guess Vanessa was a rental because he knew the identity of Jayden's actual girlfriend. He had a mischievous smirk on his face, which stole the hearts of the ladies seated close to him.
This gala was a masked event, so both Jayden and Vanessa had masks on their faces. Since most people here were close acquaintances of Jayden, they could easily recognize his presence, but they had no idea who the lady was.
The artist was a violinist who led the instrumental during the dance to play a very soft and calm harmony for the slow dance. Since Jayden arrived in the middle of the dance, he felt it was common courtesy to join. He led Vanessa to the middle of the floor and danced, gliding with the melody.
Jayden's moves were easy because he wanted Vanessa to easily catch up while the two outstanding figures were leading the dance in the middle of the floor. Others immediately joined and resumed their Movement. Miles even asked a random lady out for a dance because he wanted to have a good look at his friend's dates. The girl blushed so hard as she shyly accepted Miles's hand; she was not expecting him to ask her out for a dance.
Miles joined the floor in an attempt to get close to Vanessa. On the first floor at the table reserved for the Rossi family, Alessia, who was seated observing the dance, saw when her son come in with a strange lady. She thought he would not have honored the invitation with a plus one. Her eyes locked onto Vanessa; who was that lady, she pondered. She saw how intimate her son was acting with her and wondered if she was really Jayden's girlfriend.