I've done such a good job with this party that there's nothing to check on and nothing to fix. I have nothing to distract me from watching Aiden with Celine. They spend the cocktail hour going around to each of the guests. Celine never lets go of Aiden's arm and she keeps looking at him like she's in love.
She keeps it up during dinner, leaning over to Aiden, whispering in his ear, rubbing his arm. I tell myself to look away but my gaze keeps going back to them.
The dinner itself is a huge success. The guests compliment the food, the decor, the location. Celine takes all the credit, of course, but I really don't care. All that matters is that I get the promotion, which I should because absolutely nothing has gone wrong.
At the end of the night, Celine and Aiden tell the guests goodbye as they leave. The caterers begin their cleanup as I stand by the bar in a fog, so tired I can barely stand up.
"Sophie." Celine appears and I force myself to wake up. I notice Aiden coming up behind her. "You remember my boyfriend Aiden, don't you?"
"Yes, I remember." I lock eyes with Aiden, suddenly feeling very awake. "Good to see you again," I say, shaking his hand. My heart's pounding, thinking I'll do or say something to give us away.
Celine has no idea I've seen Aiden since that night at the bar. She knows about our littering fiasco in Vermont but she thinks we parted ways after getting our citations. As far as she knows, the only other time we've seen each other is at the bar that night, but all my attention was on Tanner, not Aiden. She has no reason to suspect there's anything going on between us.
"Great job tonight," Aiden says, smiling at me. "Couldn't have gone better."
"Thank you. I hope it will bring in new business."
"It already has," he says. "We might have just sold a building downtown we've been trying to sell for over a year."
Celine takes his arm. "Sweetie, you shouldn't tell her that. It's confidential."
He smiles at her. "I doubt we need to worry about the event planner telling our secrets."
"Certainly not," I say. "I know nothing about property investment."
I'm trying to keep my eyes off Aiden but he's so incredibly handsome it's hard not to look. Aiden's doing a better job of pretending we're just acquaintances. Calling me the 'event planner' instead of using my name was a brilliant move. It's impersonal and shows he has zero interest in me. I'm just someone he met in Vermont who ended up being hired by his girlfriend for a job.
Celine turns back to me. "I must admit it went quite well. A few of the guests thought the coffee was a bit strong but other than that, I thought the caterers did a better-than-average job."
Aiden laughs a little and says to me, "She struggles with compliments."
Celine nudges his side. "Sweetie, if I shower her with compliments, she'll have nothing to work towards. Everyone has room for improvement." She checks her diamond-studded watch. "I didn't realize it's so late. Aiden, would you go get my coat? I'll meet you by the elevator."
Aiden leaves and I force myself not to watch him walk out.
"He's gorgeous, isn't he?" Celine says, following my eyes to Aiden. I just did a quick glance at him but Celine caught me. "We've been together for over a year." She turns back to me. "So how's it going with Tanner? You're still seeing him, aren't you?"
"No. It didn't work out."
"I'm sure you'll find someone. But in the meantime, keep your eyes off my man." She says it like she's joking but the look in her eyes tells me she's not. I hate that she's acting like she owns him. It makes me wonder if she's going to fight to keep him, or convince her father to manipulate Aiden into going to more than the two remaining events he agreed to.
"I need to help clean up." I smile at her. "Have a good night."
I race off before she can say anything else. When she's gone, I finally relax, counting the minutes until I can go home and go to bed.
It's after midnight when I get back to my apartment. I thought I might have a text or two from Aiden but I haven't heard from him since this morning. For a moment I