He saw her first before she spotted him. She arrived in a baby pink satin evening gown on the arms of the same guy he saw the other day at the park. She looked so beautiful tonight that there was room to feel riled up about her escort, he might as well not existed. When Jake was finally able to locate Van he was pleasantly shocked at the revelation that she was Felix Montenegro's daughter. Nothing of the sort had come up in his first background check on her. When the invitation to tonight's party came Jake found himself both ecstatic and nervous, he had no way of knowing of their first encounter after being separated would be like. Does she still hate him?
Jake watched her expressive eyes surveying the guests before they finally landed on him and he watched them widen in surprise as she fumbled. The guy beside her asked her something and she nodded, her eyes tearing away from him for a second before they returned again.
"Are you okay?" Ash asked when she suddenly rigid.
"I'm fine." She said still shaken. What was Jake Calloway doing here? Her heart was pounding out of rhythm.
"You don't look okay to me." Ash observed.
"I'm fine." Van almost snapped at him before she reminded herself that it wasn't really him she was riled up about. Her mouth went dry as she turned back to the guests half expecting Jake to vanish, half expecting that she'd only imagined him. But he was still standing there holding her gaze.
Jake Calloway.
He really is here. After all these time they spent apart, Van thought it'd be easy to face him again, that she could look him in the eye and not feel a thing but she was wrong because it still hurts like it was yesterday. He was still painfully handsome. Van saw him move forward and it took a moment to realise he was walking towards her. Panic began to set in.
Oh no. What was she going to do, she's not ready to face him yet. And as if the universe heard her a man in a grey suit stepped in front of him blocking his path to her and she almost sagged in relief.
She would not lie to herself or try to pretend that she was okay because she's far from it. She bring herself to feel shame either because there was a process to these things.
It wasn't long before she put Jake out of her mind as her grandfather took the podium. Her grandfather was a formidable man, well respected in the business world and the executives and employees have positive things to say about him but ever since Van found out she was related to him she never had anything positive to say about him, they're always either butting heads or he's lecturing her on how irresponsible she was. Karl was starting to get along with the old man and he had offered to train him personally which Van thinks is the positive thing to come out of this whole debacle.
"...I would like to introduce my granddaughter Vanessa Montenegro and my grandson Karl Montenegro." Van felt like a deer caught in a headlight because she hadn't the faintest clue what he had been saying before that.
"Well go on, there's nothing to be scared of I'm right here." Ash gave her a nudge. Van smiled as she walked to the podium.
"Please treat them with the courtesy you've bestowed on me." He was smiling brightly at Karl but spared her only a fleeting glance. After that Ash introduced her to the various executives, business partners and investors in attendance.
"This is Jake Calloway CEO of Galatea."