Chapter 31 TRIP TO PARIS IV

           In the same restaurant, Christopher sat at a table with some business associates who also looked like high-class businessmen. They were having a meeting in the restaurant and he saw when El walked into the building with two girls. He recognized one of the girls as one of Ethan's younger twin sisters, and the other girl's face was unfamiliar to him. This was the first time he was seeing the other girl, but he cared less because the person who caught his attention was El. He looked at her white thighs as she walked in her white mini v-neck dress which hugged her body from her waist upward, revealing some part of her chest area. From the waist part of the dress to her thighs was flair and it stopped midway through her long legs which looked even shorter than it was because of the six inches of heels she wore. Her brown curly hair was slightly above her buttocks, and it bounced as she walked.

       F**k! He cursed in his head as he continued watching her. She is attractive, extremely if you ask him and he couldn't take his eyes off her. It was as if she was the only person he saw in the room. He watched her sit on her seat as the waiter helped her with it, alongside her supposed friends which he assumed because of how they chatted and laughed amongst themselves. His eyes were still on her when the waiter served them food, and they started eating.

      "Mr. Chalamet," a man at the table called out when he noticed his attention was somewhere else, and Christopher's eyes shifted to his. "You seem a little bit distracted, are you okay?" He asked further.

     "I am. Please excuse me." He stood up from his seat and walked to where El sat with her friends.

     "Miss Eleanor?" A familiar voice called El's name and she turned in the direction of the voice only to see a hot guy in a black suit standing beside her with a wide grin on his perfect pink lips. It was Christopher. Her eyes widened in shock as she stood up from her seat as if she has just seen a ghost. She was surprised to see him her standing close to her, and more importantly, she was surprised to see him alive. She wanted to hug him because of how excited she was seeing him alive, but then again they weren't friends, and he was still a stranger to her so she restrained herself.

        "Christopher," she managed to say as she tried to hide both the excitement and shock she felt at the same time from reflecting in her voice. "You're alive." Those were the first words that she thought, and they came out of her lips surprising her. She bit her lips embarrassed by what she said when she thought about it. "What I meant to say is, how are you here? I I mean why are you here?" She stammered embarrassed as she bit her lips once more.

      Her reaction surprised Chloe and Sophie as they both stared at her and then at the handsome huge figure who stood beside her.

       "I have a meeting with some investors plus I was craving a meal from this restaurant, so here I am." He charmingly smiled at her as he took her hand in his. "You look extremely beautiful, Miss Eleanor." He placed a kiss on her hand, his eyes not leaving hers. He was flirting with her. El could see through him but she wasn't the only one. Chloe also saw through him and she frowned at the thought.

         This man wasn't only trying to put himself in trouble, but also her friend if Ethan was to find out about whatever is happening right now. Who knew if he didn't even have someone spy on them right now because she knew how possessive Ethan was and how he didn't like to share? She looked around the room to check for anyone suspicious. What was the use of even looking around? Even if there was a spy in the room, the person would probably be a professional, and wouldn't act suspicious for her to be able to detect him or her. She sighed in frustration, and her eyes shifted to Christopher again, annoyed.

       "Christopher, isn't it?" Chloe asked as she stretched her hand to him while standing to her feet, diverting his attention from El to herself.

     "Miss Chloe," he greeted as he held her hand in his with a smile spread across his lips. She wasn't surprised how he knew her name because her family was famous. "Forgive my manners for not introducing myself sooner. My name is Christopher Chalamet. It's nice to meet you."

     She removed her hand from his. "I'd be lying to us both if I said the same." She looked into his eyes with a stern face, making Christopher chuckle.

      "I must say, you act nothing less than what I expected from a Grayson."

       "Mr. Chalamet must have heard a lot about the Graysons, and you must have also heard that my friend here is engaged to my brother, Ethan Grayson who doesn't like sharing anything, including anybody that belongs to him."

        He smiled as his gaze shifted to El, and back to Chloe. "If I remember correctly, the marriage between your friend and Mr. Ethan is a contract marriage which is only for a year. Correct me if I'm wrong."

       Everyone at the table was shocked, including Sophie who had been quiet for a while as she watched the drama in front of her unfold. This was a family secret and the only person that knew about it who wasn't involved was Sophie because she was a close friend of both of them. It made them wonder who this man in front of them was. 

        "I guess I wasn't wrong, seeing the reaction on your faces." He added as he looked at all their faces, and finally stopped when he looked at El's face, smiling at her with his perfect white teeth. This was no ordinary man, El could feel it. She started remembering her last encounter with him, how he felt relaxed when he saw that Ethan caught them together, and how he had challenged Ethan, the most feared and respected man in the country, and even the world. Even with everything that he did to Ethan, he didn't lay a finger on this man. She should have figured it out. 

       "I guess you're one of Grayson's stalkers," Chloe fired back, refusing to let him have the last word. This man had an ulterior motive concerning El, she could feel it. If he knew so much about their family, he was either a foe or a friend. With the way he looked at El, she could tell that he was no friend but a foe rather. 

      "Miss Chloe doesn't seem to be my fan. Tell me, have I displeased you in any way?" He asked warmly with a smile still spread across his lips.

     "I should be the one asking you that. Have you?" She stared firmly into his eyes and he returned the stare with a smile. They continued glaring at themselves for a while, while El and Sophie's eyes shifted to them both once at a time confused. It was like they had this unspoken beef for a long time, except that they were just meeting for the first time.

       "It was nice meeting you again, Christopher," El said trying to break the awkwardness she felt as she stared at them both, and his gaze returned to her face once more.

      "Likewise, Miss Eleanor and Miss..." He stretched his hand to Sophie who stood up and placed hers in his.

     "Sophie," she only said.

      "Beautiful name." He winked at her as he placed a soft kiss on it. "Thank you." Sophie forced a smile.

     His gaze shifted to Chloe. "Miss Chloe," he said as she smiled pretentiously which was obvious to everyone at the table and he smiled once more at her action. "I'll leave you guys to continue your meal." He smiled and walked back to the table he sat on before coming here, to continue his meeting.

      They all sat back on their chair as Chloe and Sophie stared at El. "What?" El asked when she couldn't endure the stare they gave her.

       "Start talking," Chloe only said.

        Eleanor sighed. "Okay, I met him at Grandpa's birthday party after what aunt Amelia and Vanessa did to me in the garden. I accidentally threw Ethan's suit on his legs, and he sat with me on the bench in the garden after I apologized for the mistake. Somehow, he comforted me by just sitting close to me without saying anything."

     "That's all?" Chloe asked when El stopped talking and took a sip of her wine.

     "Yes," she lied for some weird reasons. She knew Chloe and Christopher didn't get off a good start, and even if they just met each other for the first time, she could see the resentment in her eyes as she stared at him, so telling her about his suit and Ethan's reaction was just going to make her hate him more, and even ruin her evening and she would very much hate for that to happen.

      "I don't mean to pry into your personal life, El, but I feel like it wouldn't do either of you any good if you guys proceeded with your friendship. You know how Ethan can be when it comes to things like this. I'm just trying to look out for you, not offend you, so don't think I'm trying to tell you what to do." Chloe said calmly.

       "I'm not offended, Chloe," El smiled at her "In fact, I'm pleased. It's not every day you get to have a friend like you who's got my back. As I said, I just met him once at the party, so there's no friendship between us. You don't have to worry." She winked at Chloe, and she smiled.

     They continued their meal as if nothing happened. They wouldn't let the presence of a person who meant nothing to them ruin the fun evening they have planned for themselves all day. They ordered more wine and drank to their satisfaction.

.

        At 12:22 pm, a black Chevrolet stopped in front of the Grayson's mansion, and the girls came out with the help of the bodyguards who stood outside the mansion. They were all drunk, and they staggered as they got out of the car, fumbling words that didn't make sense as they giggled amongst themselves while being carried to the mansion. They were drunk almost to a stupor. Since the maids couldn't carry them inside the mansion, they directed the guards who carried them to their respective rooms. 

      El was carried to the fourth floor of the building, and when they got out of the elevator and she realized she was being carried by an unknown person, she ordered the person carrying her to put her down and the guard did as was told without hesitation. She was drunk but not as bad as Chloe and Sophie. She still had little idea of what she was doing but she felt dizzy and she held the wall for support to stand to her feet. She recognized Jeanne's face after looking at it carefully for a while and ordered her to leave with the guard. They hesitated when they saw the state she was in, but did as were told when she repeated herself. Regardless of what state she was in, they were given direct orders and it was a great offense to violate them. Knowing what an order meant in the mansion, they quickly left her alone as they watched her stagger to her room.

        She opened the door of her room after several attempts and walked into the room staggering, closing the door behind her.

     "Where have you been?" She heard a familiar cold voice ask, and she paused as she turned in the direction of the voice. He was there, sitting on the couch, she could feel it but she couldn't see him because the room was dark. She only heard his deep husky voice. He turned on the lights with the remote in his hand, only to see her staggering as she turned to look at him.

      "Are you drunk?" He asked further when he saw her struggle to balance herself so she doesn't fall.

      "What? Do you despise drunk girls? Are they not good enough for you, Ethan? If you despise them so much, then why did you get engaged to me? Why are you putting me in this misery? Do you enjoy this? Do you enjoy seeing me suffer this way? What did I ever do to you to make you hate me this much, huh?" She laughed sardonically as she staggered closer to him.

      "Do you know how much I despise you? I hate everything about you, the way you walk, your voice, and your stupid name. Thanks to you, I now hate the name, Ethan. You're a f**king monster." She staggered to the couch he sat on, and stood directly in front of him. "But what I don't understand, is how a devil like you is so handsome." She sat on his lap as she spread her legs apart to trap him in between.

      Ethan didn't move, or speak but watched her quietly. He would be lying if he said he wasn't stunned by her actions. She was speaking out of point but her message was pretty clear. She traced his lips with her thumb, but he quickly caught her hand before she could go any further. She was seducing him again, and he started feeling something build up inside of him. His eyes traveled down her body and stopped at her exposed cleavage. She wasn't wearing a bra, he could tell from the way her breasts bounced when she sat on his legs, and he could feel her soft skin as she sat on his legs. He knew she was wearing nothing but silky underwear, and he suddenly started to imagine how long it would take him to rip off every piece of clothing from her body until she was naked. F**k! He cursed at his thoughts. No one has ever made him feel this way before. For the first time in his life, he felt himself losing composure and he was fighting hard to maintain it. What was this woman doing to him?

     "You don't like it when I touch you like this?" El's other loose hand traveled down his body inside his black shirt which was unbuttoned down to his lower abdomen. She touched his firm chest and her hand stopped at his nipple.

      "Don't," he said between gritted teeth as he shivered from her touch and quickly stopped her with his other hand as he removed her from his legs. If he let her have her way, she was going to drive him crazy and make him lose his self-control. He stood up from the couch and carried her to her bed.