NINE: Holding Gaze

HER HEART WAS pounding. Cornelia was getting to associate the event with the sight of him. She scoffed at herself, even the thought of him. She put on her perfect smile, "Nice to see you again, Mr. Amarok. Your home looks beautiful from what I can see."

She was raised to know manners, and she knew exactly when to showcase them. It was then that she began to worry that Lucien would bring up their meeting in front of her father. She didn't think Jerry would take it all too well if he knew about her desire to pursue an older man.

"Jerry Cooper, I was worried you wouldn't make it."

Cornelia rolled her eyes when the woman said those words with her wide smile. Laura Stanford, the current mayor, joined them with Joshua right behind her. It wasn't a secret to Cornelia that Laura had some sort of a crush on her dad.

In fact, since her late husband passed a year ago, everyone in town noticed how Laura was different towards Jerry.

"Mrs. Stanford, you look beautiful." Jerry greeted her, kissing the back of her hand like a true gentleman.

Laura giggled like some giddy school girl, "Thank you, Jerry. You look quite handsome too."

Cornelia did her best to not roll her eyes or barf, whichever was closer. However, she knew that if her dad wanted to pursue something with Laura she wouldn't stand in his way.

"Lia, you look gorgeous, sweetheart. Just like a princess." Laura said, seemingly noticing her for the first time.

"Thank you, mayor. You're breathtaking, this dress is gorgeous on you." Cornelia replied with a sweet smile.

"Mom is right, Lia. You look hot." Joshua said with a wink.

She didn't dislike Joshua nor did she like him. He had a reputation around school, he was a jock and a fuckboy. However, that wasn't what made her steer clear of him, but more the fact that he tried more than once to get in her pants.

Well, he asked her out a few times, but she knew that getting in her pants was what he wanted.

Despite his crass comment, she still smiled politely, "Thank you Josh."

They had known each other since they were in diapers, but they were never friends. Unlike him and Abigail who were friends from kindergarten up to the end of elementary school, then something happened. Cornelia wasn't sure what it was exactly, but the two just stopped talking.

He was eyeing her in that strange way, "How about we let old people talk?" Joshua suggested and Jerry encouraged the idea.

"Yes, go ahead and mingle. It's a party after all." Lucien spoke for the first time, but Cornelia could hear strange tightness in his tone, like he was holding back.

When she dared to look up at him, she found his gaze burning right through her soul. He was pinning her in place. Cornelia was frozen in place, caught in his brown eyes.

At that moment, nothing else existed except for him and her. She was trying to interpret his look, she really wanted to know the message he was trying to deliver.

The one thing that brought her out of her trance was when she felt a hand on her upper arm, pulling her slightly away. She turned to the person pulling her, and saw it was Joshua.

"Come on." Joshua said pulling her away and she allowed herself to be moved.

Cornelia felt like she was breathing for the first time in a while after she left. She decided that if she had stayed a second longer she would die our of breath.

Joshua and her arrived at the ballroom. Once they were far enough from Jerry and the others, she stood by a wall and rested her back on it. One of the floating trays passed by and she grabbed a glass of what looked like Champaign.

"I didn't know you drink." Joshua commented, grabbing a glass for him as well before standing next to her.

Cornelia took a sip of her drink and simply shrugged her shoulders. Her eyes followed Lucien as he walked around greeting his guests.

"I wasn't kidding when I said you look hot by the way." Joshua said with a wink.

She blatantly rolled her eyes at him, "Seriously? Josh, when you want to compliment a lady, you call her beautiful, gorgeous, exquisite. There are a few hundred synonyms you can use and they will sure as hell sound more classy."

Josh shook his head, chuckled into his drink. "You know, I think I'm the only one in this town you give that kind of attitude too. Everyone calls you sweet and polite, yet when it comes to me, you're always rude, blunt."

"I wonder why is that."

"I think it's because you're comfortable around me. Or maybe you're not worried that I'll judge you. I just know you don't want to uphold that perfect image you portray for yourself in everyone's mind."

For the first time, Joshua sounded serious. There was no hint of amusement or innuendo in his words. It was said like an observation he made.

Cornelia decided that there was some truth to his words. She never felt the need to draw a certain image in front of Joshua, maybe it was because she didn't put him in any kind of regard to begin with.

"Whatever." She replied, gulping the rest of her glass. She pulled off the wall, and began walking away from him.

"My mom is worried about the Amarok family." Joshua said following her.

She turned to him with a tilt of her head, "Is that because their wealth can rival your family's?"

He shrugged, "Because she thinks they can take over the entire town. I heard her speaking over the phone about Lucien Amarok, apparently he isn't a simple man."

She froze at the mention of his name and sharply turned towards Joshua. She had to agree with him though, "He looks anything but simple."

Joshua nodded, "Yeah. Do you think he'll try to be the next mayor? You know elections are close."

She smirked, "Is that why you're talking to me? Following me around? Because you know my dad is his lawyer and I might have information on him?"

"Do you really think that low of me?" Joshua asked with a look that resembled being hurt.

For a fleeting moment she wondered if she had been too forward, but she decided that there was no way he could be hurt over that. She leaned closer and put on a sweet smile, "Sometimes even lower."

She turned and walked away from him. She wasn't sure why she was being extra nasty to Joshua but it was perhaps because she needed to vent out her anger at someone. This ball wasn't going as she hoped and that disappointed her.

She scanned the room while walking, her eyes searching for him everywhere. However, it seemed like he had vanished into thin air.

The soft music aggravated her, and the chatters and laughs of the others got on her nerves. She needed a moment alone, to rearrange her thoughts and calm down herself.

Cornelia walked down a hallway, the further she walked the fainter the sound of the music had become. She saw a door open, and something made her decide to go into the room.