"I can't Elena!" I grimace, "I really must stay in and finish this." I gesture to the paperwork in front of me.

"I still can't believe you have homework and you've only been there two weeks!" She scoffs. I smile at her reaction, glancing back down at the sheet of paper. The business is not what I expected, and I'm still not sure if I enjoy it, but it's one day a week and it'll look good on my resume at the end of college. I can't help but wonder if this is what Brett's company do, dealing with energy and making multi-million dollar deals with different enterprises. It makes me laugh that over the last week I have already dealt with a client worth twenty million dollars.

"It's not homework!" I laugh, "Go, have fun." I gesture towards the door.

"I will." She grins, "I'll miss you though."

"As soon as you're with Kyle, you'll forget all about me." I tease and she rolls her eyes.

"Never S!" She exclaims, "See you later!" She grins, before disappearing out the door.

"Bye!" I call out as the door shuts behind her as she swans off to her third party this week. I'm starting to miss them, but then I wonder if that is only the lack of company talking, the fact that Elena now has a boyfriend meaning she has to split her time between the two of us. Boyfriends suck.

I'm kidding. I'm happy for her.

Turning back to the long essay I've written to Quantile International about why they should take up our business I begin to proof read the second paragraph, unsure about how it is written. I'm five minutes in when my phone begins to ring and I pick it up, grinning as I answer.

"Bec?"

"Babe I miss you!" She whines and I laugh.

"You too!"

"How's the job going?"

"It's going well." I reply, "I'm not sure if it's the career I want but it sure is interesting." I comment and she laughs.

"Well, no harm in trying out different jobs." She retorts, "It's how I treat men."

"Very true." I laugh, "How is college going for you?"

"I'm top of my class." She exclaims.

"Becky Gordon I never would have expected that!"

"I guess hating all the girls on my course made me competitive." She snorts and I laugh.

"I'm proud of you."

"Thanks best friend." She exclaims, "Any update on the Brett situation?"

"There is no Brett situation."

"Sav, you told him you needed time." She points out, "That's all."

"He's right Bec." I mutter, "I can't be with him if I don't trust him."

"I know." She agrees, "In other news, Zara will be home soon!"

"Soon? I'm not sure I class October as soon. But I can't wait!" I reply.

"Me neither!" She exclaims. Suddenly my phone begins to buzz and I pull it away from my ear to see that Elle is also attempting to call me.

"Bec? Elle's ringing me. She doesn't normally ring this late!" I exclaim, glancing up at my pink clock.

"No worries!" Becky responds, "Let me know if she's okay! Love ya!"

"Love you too!" I reply before ending the call and picking up the one from my sister. "Elle?" I exclaim, a hint of worry in my voice.

"Anna!" She squeals and I cringe at the loudness of her voice.

"What?"

"I'm engaged!" She announces and I feel my mouth open with shock. Say what?

"You're.... what?"

"Engaged!" She confirms, "Alex just asked me." She explains and I grin, a warmth spreading through me at how pleased I am for her. My big sister. ENGAGED.

"Well he didn't ask me first." I grumble, teasing her slightly.

"Seriously?" She scoffs.

"It would have been nice to give him the approval." I argue.

"Ann!" She moans and I laugh.

"I'm so happy for you Els!" I congratulate, "I'll be home this weekend to celebrate with you!"

"I know we haven't been together too long but he stays here every night and he makes me so happy..."

"I'm so excited for you Elle!" I cut her off, knowing that she is trying to justify it, worried about how I am reacting. Truth is, I couldn't be happier for her. "He deserves you. And you deserve him!" I assure her and hear her squeal once more.

"Thanks Anna!"

"So what color scheme are we thinking?" I chirp, "I look awful in orange!"

"Ann!" She giggles, "I haven't even started thinking about that yet."

"As if!" I laugh, "Elle Hurst, planning her dream wedding since the year 2000!"

"Alright, I might have some ideas." She admits quietly and my laughter continues.

"Alex has no idea what he has let himself in for." I mutter as she giggles.

*~*~*

Walking down the corridor with the Quantile paperwork in my hand I smile at the people I pass, heading straight for Mr Elidees office. I'm wearing black trousers and a polka dot shirt, my work wardrobe still limited due to my low funds. The internship has however increased my pay, providing me with more money than the cafe did when I was working three shifts a week.

Lightly knocking on the door before entering, Mr Elidees looks up, smiling as I enter.

"The Quantile paperwork. Written and proofread." I exclaim, handing it over to him.

"Already?" He asks, looking impressed.

"You said it was urgent." I remind him.

"It is." He grins, nodding his head at me. "I may need to promote you." He jokes.

"It's nothing!" I object, laughing slightly.

"You've managed to turn over three reports already and you've only been here two and a half weeks!" He points out.

"Just doing my job." I smile and he nods, standing up.

"I can see we made the right decision hiring you." He grins, "Your references were correct in their comments about your work ethic." What references?

He opens his desk drawer, grabbing hold of a piece of paper and pulling it out, holding it out towards me. As I take it and start to unfurl it, my breath catches in my mouth. Is he serious?

"I know you've only been here for a few weeks but you've shown great potential." He comments as I scan over the words on the page. "It would be good if you could attend this with us tomorrow evening."

"A Gala?" I breathe out, the expensive card elaborately decorated with elegant fonts.

"Yes." Mr Elidees nods, "It'll be good to get you out there and start meeting our clients." He continues, "And the competition."

"Tomorrow night?"

"Are you free?" He asks and I nod my head.

"Perfect." He claps his hands, "Lydia will tell you the specifics." He nods towards his door, outside of which Lydia is grinning at me.

"Thank you so much." I smile at my Boss before ducking out of his room.

"Well done girl!" Lydia grins. "You're the newest intern he's ever invited!"

"I am?"

"Yeah!" She exclaims as we walk down the corridor towards her desk, "From what I hear, you deserve it."

"I've only been here two weeks!"

"Clearly you've made the right impression then." She grins and I can't help the smile that spreads across my face. Clearly I have.

I'm doing well in this job. Even though I don't know whether it's what I want to do, I'm doing it well, and that causes pride to flow through me, a sense of accomplishment which makes me want to continue.

"So it's at the Crystler Hotel, off Belrose Avenue." Lydia explains, sloping down onto her chair. "Starts at seven."

"Okay." I nod my head.

"Dress code is black tie. I hope you have a dress ready?"

"I'll drag my best friend shopping tomorrow." I shrug and she laughs.

"I'll be going too, so I can help you out all night and introduce you to people." She smiles and I'm grateful. At least I'm not being dumped in the shark pool with no-one to help me.

"That's good to know." I admit and she grins.

"In the meantime, here's your next case." She says, handing me a pink folder. "Evemount Industries." She explains and I nod, opening the report swiftly, my eyes bulging as they fall on the seven million dollar bill.

"No problem." I smile, looking up at her.

*~*~*

The next day I sit at Elena's desk as she pastes eyeliner around my eyes with ease. We've been out and selected a long black strappy dress for me, a slit up the side to my knee meaning it was still conservative enough for a work event.

"Are you excited?" Elena exclaims.

"I am." I admit, "It means I'm doing something right at this place." I laugh and she giggles.

"I never doubted you." She replies and I smile.

"What are you doing tonight?" I ask her, writhing my hands together in my lap as I open my eyes.

"Kyle's coming over." She grins, "I'm going to make him watch Twilight."

"I'm sure he'll love it." I chuckle slightly and she rolls her eyes.

"He better!" She exclaims. "Shut your eyes again." She orders, the false eyelashes in her hand. I grimace before shutting them. She immediately presses one into my right eye.

"Ow!"

"Stay still and it'll be over quicker." She lectures and I grit my teeth, hating this part of her getting me ready. I've never enjoyed the process of false eyelashes being stuck to my face, anything goes near my eyes and I flinch like anything, which is why Elena always orders me to shut my eyes. I normally reject her offer of eyelashes but for tonight I wanted to make a good impression and look my best so I gave in, letting her stick the wispy extensions to my eyelids.

"I'm regretting asking for your help." I mutter.

"Shut up!" She retorts before the pressure disappears from my face as she lets go. "You can open them now." I open my eyes and she grins, turning and grabbing hold of a make up brush. "So, Kyle's parents are coming up next weekend." She announces, grabbing her pot of concealer to help cover the shadows under my eyes.

"Wow!" I reply, "That's big."

"I'm nervous." She admits, sweeping the brush across my face.

"You'll be fine Elena!" I assure her, "Trust me."

"What if they don't like me?" She worries.

"What's not to like?" I scoff, "You're kind, caring, and treat their son well." I point out and she smiles, "If I can survive meeting the Winters family, you'll be okay."

"Good point!" She laughs, "Have you spoken to Brett?"

"No."

"Are you going to?"

"No."

"S..."

"E, I'm fine!" I cut her off and she bites her lip. Why does no-one seem to realize that I'm okay without Brett, I don't need him in my life. I'm perfectly happy being on my own, I'm an independent woman and that's all there is to it. I don't need him to survive. He was just an added bonus. One that I chose to enhance my life. Now he's gone, I just have to focus on myself.

"I just want you to be happy."

"I am." I reply to her, attempting to convince myself as much as Elena.

"Good."She smiles, sitting back and setting her brushes down. She stands up and I follow her with my eyes as she grabs hold of a strand of my blonde hair before glancing over at the clock on the side. It's six. "I'm going to backcomb your hair. Give you a sophisticated messy look."

"As long as it doesn't look like a birds nest." I warn her and she smirks, pulling the hair tie from my hair and letting it tumble down my back.

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A bit of a filler chapter here!

What do you think is going to happen at the Gala?

And should Savannah give her and Brett another go, or should she stay single?

Buckle up and scroll to the next chapter for the Gala...

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