13. Yasmeena
Chapter 13
Yasmeena
M y CFO is late. He’s never been late to an event but the more I look at Jeeves, the more I can see the sweat forming on his forehead. He’s not wrong to try and avoid me but soon enough, it’ll be an issue.
I give Enrique the benefit of the doubt because he’s never late as I work the room talking to everyone including investors.
“Yasmeena, Enrique and Emily are here.” Matthew whispers in my ear.
My eyes turn to them and Enrique isn’t exactly glaring at me but he’s not exactly not. I eye both of them head to toe taking their outfits in but I know what others think I’m doing when that happens. My therapist says it looks like I’m judging but to judge, there would have to be some sort of attachment; there isn’t.
Without moving around, I wait as Enrique and Emily make their way to me. Her gold and black tulle strapless dress fits her and her heels match the dress with her hair straightened. She matches Enrique’s all black tux which seems to really point out his light green eyes. I’ve noticed that depending on what he wears, his eyes tend to seem like they’re changing color but they’re not. A trick with the light, maybe.
Enrique towers over me even when I wear heels but it makes me realize that when I wore the flats, he was much taller than my 5’8 stature that seems to only appear when the heels are off. But when the stilettos are on, I’m almost chin level to his 6’3. It doesn’t change much but it’s an observation I've come to notice now.
He is also very handsome. I’ve never told him because it didn't matter to me, it still doesn’t matter to me but I do have eyes. His dark hair coiffed out of his face shows his pronounced jawline more and his brows bring out his eye color. This weekend might be the first time I’ve seen him without a shirt on but through the way he wears fitted suits, I knew he had a medium built body but I didn’t realize that it came with abs and biceps and defined shoulders.
Clearing away from that, Enrique is offered some champagne and he takes one for him and Emily as they continue towards me.
I sip my glass that isn’t champagne but it looks like it. Really it’s ginger ale but I have to keep up appearances.
“Ten minutes and how many seconds again, Matthew?”
Matthew looks between us but I arch my brow. “And 50 seconds.”
“Ten minutes and 50 seconds. New record. You two look nice.”
I say to them. Enrique stares at my flute for a minute too long, glaring as if he wants to snatch it out of my hand. He blinks because it seems to just now notice that I’m attached to the glass. He slowly eyes me up and down as if we never met then his champagne flute slips out of his hand.
Recovering quickly, he turns to glare at Jeeves once everyone hears the crash, “Be careful, Jeeves.” Jeeves looks at him confused for a moment. “You knocked the glass out of my hand.”
I don’t remember seeing Jeeves bump him.
Jeeves’ confusion quickly clears with a quick glance between Enrique and Emily. “Sorry about that boss. I’ll get you a fresh one.”
Enrique's shoulders relax a little. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll get another later.”
“Do you need flats, Enrique?” I ask him.
He smirks and shakes his head. “Speaking of flats…” he lets the statement float between us while he stares at my shoes.
“This outfit does not speak flats. My designer would go to an early grave, if ever.” Before Enrique could respond, I lift my hand gesturing to the room of people. “Shall we go and see if what you signed off on is making sense now?”
“Wait, what’s with the flats? Or is this another question that can’t be answered,” Emily asks sardonically.
Enrique’s eyes get big as he looks at his fiancée. “Emily.” he warns.
“It’s fine. I don’t need a lawyer to answer this. The flats are for me to wear because I’m always on my feet in stilettos. Anything else?” I ask and my eyes look at her left finger with the engagement ring that she’s holding the flute with. “I see you didn’t go through with the fire engine red. This nude makes your ring stand out. Good choice.”
I’m aware there’s no smile on my face and that everyone near me thinks I’m going to say something worse but sometimes, I’m aware of the situation. My gaze lands on Enrique, “you two do a few rounds and introduce yourselves. Matthew and I will check on the investors. See what they think. Jeeves, check in with the influencers and make sure they’re not posting things that we haven’t approved of.”
Enrique clenches his jaw like he wants to argue but I’m not sure which one of us he wants to challenge. Instead, he walks away leaving Emily behind. Jeeves nods in acknowledgement and ushers Emily in the direction for her to follow Enrique.
After a while of working the room, the music is on and everyone who wants to dance is dancing. The pangs of pain start up again indicating it’ll get worse, I lean against the high table trying my best not to move. The wave of dizziness I get takes a moment to settle and when it does, I do the last thing I want to do but I know he’s the only one who can help me.
Me: I need temporary flats .
I hope he understands what I mean and what it’s a signal for. My hand grips my cell as another wave of pain hits me. It’s a bit harsher this time. I breathe through it.
“Dance with me, Yasmeena.”
Before I can protest, Enrique whisks me away to the dance floor. “I just need a second to adjust and then I can go upstairs.”
“Use me as necessary.”
“Okay, I need you to hold me up. I can’t do it by myself right now.”
“Don’t worry. I’m here for you. Rest your head on my shoulder.”
I don’t think twice as I do it while he leads the dance. The pain takes over and I can’t hear or think about anything but Enrique’s scent momentarily seeps through the pain and calms me.
“Breathe for me, Yas.”
“Okay.”
I breathe and the pain begins to pass. Everything seems to come back into focus. The music, the people talking and the dancing.
“Good girl.”
“Funny.” I say as the music ends. “I’m okay now. I’ll just go up and get my medicine.”
Enrique studies my face for a bit as if he’s looking for verification of my words. Once he’s satisfied, he lets me go.
“Okay,” he acknowledges but still lingers like I’m going to pass out any second.
“I’m fine, Enrique. It passed. If I have any issues upstairs, I’ll let you know.”
I walk away from him and don’t stop to speak to anyone as I go upstairs. I didn’t lie but I didn’t exactly tell him the truth, the pain is a dull ache for now but I know if I don’t drink my medicine, I’ll be in more pain.
Once I get upstairs, I beeline for the toilet, I throw up whatever I had today. It hurts but I’m fine after. There is this sudden feeling of anger that takes over as I see the puke on my dress. I don’t think twice as I practically rip the dress off.
“It’s too tight!” I yell with no one in the room. I leave the bathroom and discard it on my bed along with my bra.
Everything is hurting me, the lights, my body. I remove my heels as I don’t think about how I haven’t turned on the lights. I follow the dimly lit path back to the bathroom. My body forces me over the toilet again and I grip anything I can to let the momentary pain pass. Once it does, I wash my face and rinse my mouth but as I look at myself in the mirror, there isn’t any point to what I’m doing anymore, is there?
“Why are you doing this to yourself, Yasmi?” I ask myself.
The tears start flowing and I look away. This is weak. Baba would be so disgusted with my behavior. I drop to the floor crying my heart out.