Page 68 of Caught in the Middle

She caught his eye and smiled.

He looked incredible. He'd decided to go a little bit more informal, and wore his shirt slightly open, revealing his tanned chest. He beckoned her over.

'Hey sweetie,' he planted a brief kiss on Lucy's cheek, 'I'd like you to meet Alexi,' he nodded towards the older, more tanned male, ' - and Richard,' the younger man, 'they are both very respected business associates of mine. We go back years.'

Lucy extended her hand to both of them.

'And this is...' Joey paused, gesturing towards Lucy. He took a sip of his champagne glass and laughed. 'One of the new girls.'

The other two men chuckled politely, but Lucy's ears burned with embarrassment.

One of his new girls?

And then it hit her, like a tonne of bricks.

He didn't even know her name.

Perhaps it was the several glasses of champagne she had consumed already, but she couldn't help herself.

'Did you forget my name, Joey?' She asked, smiling sweetly.

The two men laughed, as did Joey, seemingly enjoying the banter. 'How could I ever forget your name, sweetie.'

He let go of her waist, and turned his back to continue talking to the two men. Clearly, it was her cue to leave.

'What's my name then, Joey?'

He turned around in surprise, followed by a flash of anger in his eyes. He smiled politely at the two men, before leaning in to Lucy's ear. 'Leave it, sweetie, run along now.'

The anger burned Lucy's face. 'My name is Lucy!' she almost hissed, making a several people nearby turn their heads to see what was going on. Joey raised his hand to apologise to them, before shooting her a menacing look.

Furious, Lucy turned on her heels and headed towards the bar.

She grabbed another glass of champagne, and downed it, trying to calm her nerves.

She felt so humiliated - she'd literally spent the past month in his bed every single night, staying up late, chatting. And he couldn't remember her name?

She was snapped out of it by the feeling of a hand on the small of her back.

She span around, to come face to face with a butler. 'Madam,' he whispered almost inaudibly, 'Sir Leonardo has asked for you to leave.' He looked sheepish, and couldn't look her in the eye.

Still, he kept his hand on her back, and subtly escorted her out of the ball room.

She went without bother - she was far too shocked to comprehend what was going on.

The butler escorted her all the way up to her bedroom, before wishing her a good night.

As she sat down on the bed, she began to burn with shame. How embarrassing it was, to feel like a naughty child who had been sent to their room for showing up her parents.

She didn't quite know what to do. The anger she felt at him forgetting her name had died down, and now she felt a desperate urge to apologise, to beg him to forgive her.

He was a very busy man, who knew literally, thousands of people, if not more. And he momentarily forgot the name of the girl he'd been nothing but gracious to?

He literally pays for everything and expects nothing in return. Who the fuck does she think she is?

Just as she was about to die of shame, her door flung open so hard, she thought it was going to snap off of the hinges.

And then there was Joey, looming over her.

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