Jealous
Thanks to our favourite anon for submitting another piece. I’ve had this in my ask box for like almost a week now oops. Hope you enjoy it!
She took a deep breath as she leaned her head against the cool tile of the room. Her high heeled shoes were kicked off as she tried to massage some of the ache at the bottom of her soles. The party had barely even started, her feet were already killing her, her hair was getting puffier by the second and her fake wide smile was already wearing thin. She glanced at her watch and groaned, five hours to go – minimum.
The Manchester United UNICEF event was the biggest project she had worked on so far since she joined the company, and it was definitely one of the most taxing ones. Her boss needed this night to be absolutely perfect, which meant that he was on her case over every single detail and the stress had definitely taken its toll on her. “I need a drink” she muttered to no-one in particular, as she switched feet, trying to ease the pain in her left foot.
She had gotten especially dolled up for the night, knowing that she would need to mingle with all the guests, and supervise the coming and goings of the staff. It would also be an optimal experience for her to network with other people in her field.
That was not the only reason she got all dolled up though. There was also the little matter of wanting to look good for a particular United footballer, that she had been exchanging messages with. It was nothing serious, they had met at a previous event, he had followed her on Instagram and then slid into her DM’s. He had told her earlier that day that he was looking forward to seeing her, so she had put a little bit of an extra effort in her look.
Another glance at her phone told her that she had been missing from the party for a bit too long and she slid her feet back into the strappy heels, groaning slightly as she tried to tame her hair with her fingers. She made her way back to the party through the staff’s entrance, mingling immediately with the guests, subtly checking if everyone’s glass was full and if the waiters were clearing the empty glasses accordingly. She passed her boss’ table, heaving a sigh of relief internally as he gave her a reassuring smile, the night had so far gone off without a hitch. She made a quick round of the most important tables; the management and main sponsors, and then made her way to the bar, where she knew the majority of footballers would be before the sit down dinner started.
As soon as she approached the bar, the atmosphere changed. Instead of the quiet undertones of the elite of the area, there was more ruckus as the majority of the players had already removed their blazers and loosened their ties, drinks in hand, all chatting amicably between them. She scanned the room for any sign of him, her heart suddenly beating a bit faster and a sly smile playing on her face. She realised that her throat has dried up and asked Mark the bartender for a small glass of water, realising that she had not eaten or drank since her quick breakfast that morning. As she was raising the glass to her lips, her attention was caught by an over-zealous laugh to her right hand side and as she angled her head towards the noise she saw him; grinning at a drop dead gorgeous blonde who was practically draped on him.
All of the noise in the room seemed to stop all of a sudden and all she could hear was her sharp intake of breath as her heart plummeted down to her stomach. She gulped, setting her glass down abruptly on the bar and she turned and left the room.
The rest of the night went by in a blur, she was pulled in all directions putting out fires, and she barely had time to think about him. She stopped by his table but avoided looking at him, despite knowing that he was staring at her. The blonde was nowhere in sight.
People had begun to leave, and the event was slowly coming to an end. The night had been a roaring success and she could not wait until everything was cleaned up so that she could go home and get a good night’s rest. And possibly drink an entire bottle of wine, watch Bridget Jones and have a self pitying cry. Sounds like a plan.
She was so consumed in her own thoughts that she didn’t hear him sneak up on her. A hand on her waist, made her turn quickly, bumping into him, her hands on his chest as she came face to face with the man she had been successfully avoiding for the better part of the night.
“Hey darling,” he said with a slow smirk, his eyes twinkling as she took a step backward, wanting to put some space between them, “Haven’t seen you all night, wanted to congratulate ya on a job well done”.
She gulped noticeably, her chin set high as she put on her best bitch face, “right well thanks for that. I really should get going, there’s a lot to be done so..” she tried to walk past him, but he blocked her path.
“y'alright?”
“I’m fine, I just need to get back to my job”
“You don’t seem fine, you seem pissed about something”
“I’m fine Jess, just move please.”
“Not until you tell me what’s up”
She glared at the man standing in front of her. What was she going to tell him? I’m pissed because I saw you with some other woman. And all we’ve done is text, so I have no right to be mad
Jesse cocked his head as he looked at her face, her eyes flitting across the room, looking at everything and everyone except him. His hand was still on her arm as she struggled to find her words.
“It’s nothing Jess, I’m just tired and stressed and I want to go home.”
“Nah I don’t think that’s it though”
She clenched her teeth as she finally whirled around to look at him, her anger getting the better of her, “and what do you care? Shouldn’t you be bothering that girl you came here with?”
Jesse raised his eyebrows, somewhat amused, “what girl?”
She rolled her eyes, snatching her arm away from him, “don’t play dumb Jess”
“I didn’t come here with a girl”
“I saw you with her at the bar”
“I genuinely do not know what you’re talking about”
“The fucking blonde at the bar Jess! The one that was practically in your lap!” she hissed, her finger pointing at his chest as she tried and failed to conceal just how much the situation had bothered her.
“The blonde at the bar?” He was still smirking. She wanted to scream in frustration, but settled on rolling her eyes at him and storming off past him.
He caught up to her with ease as he walked by her across the floor of the venue, “That’s one of the daughters of the club’s shareholders. She flirts with every single player. Tonight was my turn apparently. Marcus is normally her favourite but he decided to skip tonight.”
She faltered in her step, but kept walking “Oh”
“Yeah.”
She nodded and kept on walking while he trailed off behind.
“You know, it’s cute that you’re jealous though.”
She stopped and turned around slowly to face him. “I am not jealous.”
He scoffed, “Clearly”.
She closed the gap between them in a few short strides, “It’s just been a long day, and I’ve been feeling overwhelmed. That’s all.”
“I’ll take your word for it”
“Great” She turned, once again heading for the back of house, intent on starting the clean-up process.
“You look absolutely gorgeous tonight by the way.”
She halted once more, her cheeks flaring as she cursed herself for letting him have this much of an effect on her. “Thanks”, she muttered, her back still towards him.
“You want to go get a drink?”
“I can’t. I’ve got to help the guys clean up, the venue’s being used for another event tomorrow, so we’re on a bit of a time crunch.” She walked up to him, her eyes focused on the tiles on the floor, as she tucked a stray strand of her behind her ears, “Rain check?”
“Yeah, definitely.” He smiled that easy smile that seemed to be on his face a lot more often lately. “Dinner next week?” he asked.
She nodded, “That sounds nice”.
If you wanna read the other piece submitted by my anon click here
