Poor thing, you must be straight

Cold fury blazed in Layla's eyes and she stepped forward only to be stopped when an older man standing a little distance away shook his head ever so slightly. 

Based on the likeness between them, Emmaline guessed that he was her father. 

Whatever it was, Layla couldn't afford to make an enemy out of this horrible young man… But Emmaline sure could. 

She had no company or shares to lose.

And she was very, very angry.

"If I understand you correctly, you mean to say that being homosexual is a problem?" Emmaline prowled forward with so much venom in her voice that the young man took a startled step back. 

He recovered quickly and nodded a little too hard, "Yeah, he's going to ruin his company like that."

Emmaline laughed lowly, without humour. 

"That's funny," She remarked, "I didn't realise your sexual and romantic preferences directly affected how you work."

The young man opened his mouth but she held up a finger and he stopped. 

"That must be why Ashton Wright has secured more successful deals for his company in the past year than anyone else at Wright Enterprises," Emmaline raised an eyebrow at the man, "Poor thing, you must be straight. I don't even know who you are so you must not have been that good at your work because of it."

The man's jaw dropped and so did everyone else's. 

Layla was holding back a cackle which turned into a snort and her father had one hand over his mouth, unsuccessfully disguising his own smile. 

She didn't see Ashton's face, but he was a solid presence at her back, and when the young man looked up behind Emmaline at Ashton, he gulped and quickly focused on Emmaline again. 

Emmaline leaned in conspiratorially, "Maybe you should try dating men to improve your working style."

The man's face darkened in anger and the girl with him tried to pull him back even further. 

Emmaline didn't even flinch. 

"OH, maybe I was wrong," She pretended to be thoughtful, "Maybe your work life is fine… You could be talking about physical defects?"

She pointed at a sturdy looking tree a short distance away, "Since I'm evidently one of the defective people you were talking about. How about we race to that tree and back?"

The young man recoiled, looking disgusted at such a proposal. 

Emmaline thought he would. After all, he was wearing fancy shoes and expensive clothes. 

He wouldn't want to ruin all of that by running. 

On the other hand, Emmaline had pinned her wig very securely today and because Ashton told her that today's event was casual, she had worn loose pants and a half tucked in patterned shirt. 

It was super airy and very good for running. 

A fashionable scarf fastened around her neck obscured the lack of an Adam's apple and also made her look more haute couture. 

Plus, she didn't have very fancy shoes so she was wearing her trusty sneakers. 

Perfect for a little jog. 

"Scared?" She tilted her head. 

Several people in the small crowd that had gathered sniggered. 

They were watching with avid interest and even those who hadn't come over were clearly also paying attention to this small commotion. 

That did it, the young man straightened up and scowled, "I'm not scared. It's just a small race, I'll do it."

Within a minute, a path had been cleared to the tree and people lined the 'track' that the two would be racing down. 

A random older man had been pushed forwards by some of the younger people, cajoling him to be the referee since they said he was 'neutral'. 

Dr Bernard had streaks of white in his hair and was definitely what Crystal would call a silver fox. 

But he really seemed neutral, asking both Emmaline and the young man if they felt alright before they started. 

"On your marks, get set," Dr Bernard said calmly in a deep voice, "Go!"

Emmaline sprinted so fast she was sure she kicked dust into the horrible guy's face. 

Despite being smaller, she was way faster and she reached the tree with a good head start. 

She could have just tapped the tree and run back, as was required, but Emmaline was an actress. She wouldn't turn down the opportunity for a little drama. 

Making sure that the angle of her feet was correct, she tensed her muscles as she neared the tree and launched herself into the air, kicking up so that her feet landed on the tree bark.

Treating the solid wood as a springboard, she pushed off and turned her body, landing back in a run to the finish point where Dr Bernard stood. 

The stunned look on the young man's face was priceless and despite being out of breath, Emmaline laughed as she dashed back. 

"WHOO, EM, YOU DID IT!" Layla was screaming as Emmaline reached first and slowed to a stop, panting as she did. 

Ashton was smiling slightly but it was a genuine smile, and his green eyes were alight with held in laughter. 

He held up a hand for her to high five and when she did, he interlocked their fingers, pulling her in closer to him. 

Emmaline told herself that her heartbeat was rapid because she just did a very strenuous run. 

"You are incredible, Em," He told her quietly amidst the cheering and somehow, that was better than all the shouts and clapping that she was getting from everyone else, "I don't know what I did to find a gem like you."

Emmaline pulled back to grin at him, "I just couldn't stand his awful remarks any longer."

The man in question finally arrived at the starting point, sweating and gasping for air as if he just ran a marathon instead of a short distance. 

"Sorry, were you saying that gay people are defective?" Emmaline asked coldly. 

The young man sneered as best as he could while breathing hard, and was about to say something when a voice interjected, "Shut up, Keegan, the dude just did a wall run on a tree and still beat you."

Other voices chimed in to agree.

"Yeah, rude and he lost as well."

"I heard that Ashton Wright is the most promising heir to Wright Enterprises so he has to deal with upstarts like this all the time!"

"Actually, Ashton's boyfriend is really cute, plus he was so cool!"

"Keegan doesn't know when to shut up, we're at Ashton's parents' event and he still wanted to pick a fight. What an idiot."

Keegan had flushed dark red from all the comments that began to bubble up around them. 

"I think the biggest problem isn't personal preferences but prejudice just like yours," Emmaline stated, staring him down, "Go reflect on your beliefs and stop ruining this party."

Layla cheered and led some applause in response to that statement.

By now, Keegan looked livid and humiliated, his sweaty clothes sticking to him. 

Ashton placed a deliberate arm around Emmaline's shoulders, "If you have nothing else to say about my partner and I, I would appreciate it if you enjoyed this event somewhere else."

The girl with Keegan finally stopped tugging at him and straight up dragged him away, scolding him in a furious tone as they walked. 

"Em, that was so cool!" Layla gushed, "I didn't know you had it in you but that was the best defense for our community ever!"

Our community? Emmaline looked consideringly at Layla and realised that she didn't know much about the girl.

"How did you do that wall run thingy?" Layla continued, completely enthused. 

Emmaline shrugged, "I learned it for a role I was playing and realised I still had the muscle memory to do it again."

Dr Bernard shook her hand, "Well done, young man. Be sure to stretch a little to prevent any aches tomorrow."

"Knew I could count on you, Uncle Bernard," Ashton bumped his shoulder into the older man's shoulder.

"The one you really counted on was this young man here," Dr Bernard gestured to Emmaline, "I'll leave you young ones to it. See you at dinner!"

Emmaline was wondering why Dr Bernard seemed to be in such a rush to leave them when Layla muttered, "Uh oh, Donovan incoming!"

Emmaline looked up to see another young man walking to them with a haughty expression. 

"Donovan who?" Emmaline asked, trying to run through the relatives' names that she had studied on her way here. 

"He wasn't invited," Ashton murmured, a small frown creasing his brow. 

A small bolt of alarm shot through Emmaline. He hadn't looked this troubled even when Keegan was causing problems for them. 

"Donovan Wright!" Layla hissed, as Donovan approached, "He hates Ashton's guts and will do anything to get him in trouble."

Emmaline realised she had severely miscalculated. 

She had come here to help convince Ashton's family that they were dating and in love. 

But as she stared at the unconcealed hatred in Donovan's eyes as he approached, she knew she was in for more than just acting today. 

After that run in with Keegan, she was sure…

This was a hotbed of enemies for both of them!