A CONTRACT ENGAGEMENT

Leonard gasped, feigning annoyance while Nina just laughed.

“Actually it’s fine,” she said. “I actually don’t mind. I think he is funny”

“You hear that, sweetie? She thinks I’m funny” he said, poking Camille.

Camille turned back to her drink and rolled her eyes, “Well I wouldn’t read much into what Nina said, she’s had a couple of drinks so she might not be thinking straight. That’s just the alcohol talking… Because why would anyone in their right mind find you funny?”

Leonard ignored her comment and turned to Nina. “It’s really nice to meet you, Nina,” he said, smiling at her and extending his hand for a handshake.

Nina shook his hand and smiled back. “It’s nice to meet you too, Leonard,” she replied.

“You should know that I know who you actually are,” Leonard said.

Nina lifted an eyebrow “You do?” she asked. And then she understood. He was in advertising. He probably already saw the news about her. Her eyes lowered and her smile faded.

“Oh” she said. “I guess with everything going on I’m a bit popular now… Good for me” She turned and drained her glass.

Leonard shook her head and took a seat next to her. “What? No I don’t mean that…. I mean, actually, I read the whole thing, but I kind of knew you before then. At the party? The one we all attended… Tryna get Julian Martin’s account? My company wanted it to remember? I was at the party too. We just didn’t speak to each other”Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

“Oh” Nina said simply

“Yeah I saw you there and I couldn’t help thinking, that lady is beautiful”

Nina managed a smile, though it was genuine. “Thanks,” she said. “That’s very sweet of you. I think you are really good looking too”

“Not so good looking on the inside though. Don’t let the package fool you… That saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ also applies in this situation” Camille said playfully.

“Shut up” Leonard told her and Nina couldn’t help but grin.

“So you work at Creative Edge?” she said to him. “How is it going over there?”

“Well apart from Standard Gate taking the Mart Enterprises account from us, we are doing well I guess” Leonard said smiling, and then his smile died when he realized what he’d just said. “Oh I really didn’t mean to… I didn’t mean to insinuate that…”

He slapped his forehead. “Damn I’m really sorry. I really didn’t mean it that way. You must think I’m a jerk”

“It’s fine, honestly” Nina said. “You don’t have to walk on eggshells around me. I’m a big girl. I can handle myself”

“See, he hasn’t even been here for up to ten minutes and he’s already ruining people’s mood.” Camille said, “You know Nina, you can’t say that I didn’t warn you about him”

“Why do you derive so much joy from torturing me?” Leonard groaned.

Nina laughed and he turned back to her and smiled. “Actually, I think it’s really stupid the way most people reacted to the whole thing. Judging someone just by something you read… That’s not right. They should know how bloggers are. What are they…. New to the internet. I’m sure that you are good at what you do and you deserve that account. And your personal relationship is your business… Anyone who has a problem with it can go fuck themselves ” He paused for a while then added, “I’m sorry, pardon my language…. I think I got a little carried away with my… Speech”

Nina laughed, deciding that she liked this guy. “Well, I think it was a very wonderful speech”

“Hear that, Camille? She said she liked my speech. Seems like everyone loves me except you…. Actually I think you love me too, but you don’t want me to know. But that’s all right. I love you too”

Camille simply rolled her eyes at him and continued to sip her drink. They all talked for a while and then a few minutes later, Camille’s phone rang and she had to go outside to talk because the place was noisy.

When she returned she grabbed her bag. “I gotta go dears” she said, she looked like she was in a hurry.

“Is everything alright?” Nina asked her.

Camille nodded. “Yes… No… I mean, I don’t really know. Evan called me. He sounded kind of upset about some work stuff and I gotta go see him. You know how serious he gets when it comes to the company”

Nina understood. “Allright” she said. “But are you gonna come back here? You’re my ride”

“Yeah I know” Camille replied, then she turned to Leonard. “Hey, is it okay if I ask you to take Nina back home. She’s had some drinks, actually a lot of it and she didn’t bring her car. I want to make sure she gets home safely”

“Oh that’s alright. She’s safe with me” Leonard replied, then he leaned closer to Camille. “So you’re going to see Evan huh… Sure it’s work stuff or… ?” he raised his eyebrows ridiculously at her and as Nina watched them, she realized that the both of them must be very close… Especially as he obviously knew about her and Evan.

Camilla hit him on the shoulder. “You are disgusting” she said playfully as she put her bag on her shoulder.

“I know I am, but you love me anyway” he replied.

Camille turned to Nina. “I will see you later girl. Don’t stay here too long. Go home so you can sleep all these off”

“Got it,” Nina replied. After Camille left, she turned to Leonard. “You guys seem pretty close,” she said.

“Yeah,” Leonard replied. “I wanted to get a job at Standard Gate at first, that’s when I met her and she was super nice to me. I would have taken the job if Creative Edge hadn’t given me a bigger offer, but she and I remained friends. I love her… She’s like a sister to me”

Nina nodded. “And from your comment earlier, I suppose you know about her and Evan”

“Yep. I do” Leonard replied. “They seem really into each other and I’m happy for her”

“You’re a good friend”

“Yeah, I try” he said.

Minutes later, Nina decided it was time to go home as it was getting really late.

“You sure you can stand on your own….” Leonard asked, watching her. She nodded and he added, “On those heels?”

“Hey” Nina said laughing. “I have been wearing heels since I was like eight. I’m sure a couple of drinks won’t affect me that bad”