I’ve held gone six days without jumping Nick around the office. I’ve also gone six days without speaking to my mother and then wondering about my real mother. The whole concept still baffles me to death. I always knew I was different from Tabitha, I just never know how. Now I know and I want to find out more. The only problem with that is that my father will not discuss this Erica woman. He says that they never heard from her again but I have some weird feeling that he may be lying to me for the sake of keeping his “family” together.

Family – ha, the term alone makes me laugh. I don’t belong with half of them. My father was an only child so really the family that I’ve always hated isn’t really my family at all. In a way that makes me happy. It also makes me sad because I don’t know who my real family is or who my birth mother is. I just want to see a picture of her but my father says that there are none. Apparently they didn’t go around photographing their servants. They should have photographed them, or at least have a picture of her. Then again, I don’t think they ever planned to tell me.

My father doesn’t mind telling me to keep my relationship with Nick professional. Sadly, I have. I’ve only talked to him except when its work related except for one day we had coffee together at the café downstairs. My father saw us and nearly had a stroke. He doesn’t like that but insist that I take Nick to these awards tonight to get his name out there. Sure, his name will be out there when everybody thinks I’m dating him. Every time I’m spotted with a guy at a social event, I’m dating him or sleeping with him.

Do you want to know the sad part? Most of the time that’s true but what can I say? Most of the time I can have my pick of any guy I want. Who knows, maybe I will find myself one tonight.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I looked great and I knew that I looked good enough so that nobody of the male sex could tell me no. The short white dress that I was wearing went great with the diamond necklace and bracelet that I was wearing. My hair was up off of my shoulders, showing my neck because Daniel said that was always his favorite thing about my appearance. I had my usual party make up on – heavy on the eyes, soft on the lips, and just enough perfume to make a guy fall under my spell.

If someone I knew well enough looked at me they would swear I was trying to seduce someone. Would I? Just as I asked myself that I heard my doorbell ring. As I walked to the door, I heard someone knock on it. I knew it was Nick. Was he that desperate to come inside my place and see what I was wearing? As I opened the door, I froze completely.

Nick stood there looking like a model, stepping out of a magazine. No, he looked better than that. He looked like Prince Charming coming to get his Cinderella who coincidentally looked almost slutty tonight. His black jacket and loose white buttoned up shirt with jeans. It was a simple outfit, but fine nonetheless. “Wow, you look great,” he said, smiling at me. “Do we take a cab or –“

“Oh no,” I said interrupting him. I took his hand, leading him into my apartment as I laughed. “A limo will be picking us up. I’m almost ready, just have a seat,” I said, walking back into my bedroom to look in the mirror again. Damn, I did look good.

“This is a great place. Why don’t you have a house though?” Nick asked, watching me as I walked out of my bedroom with my small purse in my hand. He was the first person to ever ask me that. Maybe it’s because he’s not that used to being around someone with so much money, or at least being in their home.

“Why do I need a house? It’s just me,” I said, smiling at him. I could tell by the look in his eyes he was taken back by the way I looked. I looked different than what I normally do in the office or even at the club that night. Tonight I wasn’t just club hopping Erin or Erin Davidson, business woman. Tonight I was Erin Davidson, socialite and heiress to Stellar Designs. She was the part of me that was the celebrity and paparazzi wanted to photograph. She was the part of me that sometimes ended up on Page Six of the New York Times. It didn’t really matter what part of me I portrayed tonight, I still couldn’t have anything but a friendship with Nick. “Come on, let’s go,”

“After you,” he said as I smiled, walking to the door. I could tell that his eyes were on me, thinking of me in a not so innocent way. That was good – my plan had worked.

The press and paparazzi tonight were right on cue like they always were. Time Nick and I stepped out of the limo, I was asked by someone if he was my new boyfriend. Apparently the press already got wind that Daniel and I were over with. Why they would care, I have no idea but they do. I had to make myself clear several times there on the red carpet that Nick wasn’t my boyfriend and that he was actually the new designer at Stellar Designs and I was just showing him around.

I don’t think they believed it.

Of course, during the awards, I didn’t believe it either. At one point he wrapped his arm around me, sitting back and watching some little teenage girl perform. I don’t know who she was and didn’t really care considering my mind was totally on Nick. My mind was focused on every single thing about him from his hair, down to his lips and stomach to his legs and toes. In fact, I was completely smitten with him

“So this is a after-party?” Nick asked a few hours later. We walked into some ballroom which was completely decked out for some kind of young party that was thrown by some of the artist from the awards. “Seems exciting,”

“Yeah, it can be a real hoot,” I said, walking up to the bar. I could feel his eyes on me as he followed me. I knew I was going to get in trouble. I could just sense it in my blood. “So Nickolas, do you really like it here in L.A.?” I wanted to purr, watching him shrug his shoulders. He looked so good doing that for some reason, playing that whole confused, sexy look flawlessly.

“Do you wanna dance?” he asked, looking me in the eyes. Before I realized it, I was leading him out onto the dance floor. It was a fast song and time we actually began to dance, a ballad came on. Ah, close and whispering. This was going to be great. “Come here,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me close to him.

I stood there, staring him in the eyes still. He looked into mine as if they were mirrors, and he wanted to escape and jump right in to whatever it was. What it was… was me. I moved both of my arms around his neck and I felt his move around my waist. My heart melted when he smiled at me.

We weren’t talking but it was almost as if we were talking with our eyes. I knew exactly what he was thinking and he knew exactly what I was thinking. “You ready to leave?” He nodded his head yes and I smiled again. “Let’s go back to my place,” I said, leading him off of the dance floor.

Thirty minutes later with no hesitation what-so-ever, we were back in my apartment. I found myself nervous for the first time in recent memory. Maybe it was the way he brushed beside me as he walked in, taking his jacket off. Then again, maybe it was the way he smiled at me as I tuned around, seeing him standing behind me.

There was a little devil on one shoulder telling me to go for it and show him how much of a woman I really am. The little devil wanted me to drag Nick to my bedroom and kiss and touch every inch of his body. The little angel was telling me to offer him a drink and just talk. The angel said that I had to go along with my father’s rule and let Nick just be my friend.

“So, do you want something to drink?” I asked as he nodded his head. Oh no, I know that nod and I know that smirk. It’s the same one that one of my ex-boyfriend’s had every time he wanted to do a little mattress dancing. “Okay then what?”

“I know your father has this rule and I really can’t get you out of my head since that night at the club,” he said, crossing his arms. I sighed, knowing what was about to happen. “This is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do,”

“What?” I asked, before even thinking. I just blurted out and had no idea why I even asked.

“I should just go,” he said, walking up to me. He looked down in my eyes, looking rather upset. “This job is so important to me and it’s my dream job Erin. I like you a lot but…”

“I understand,” I said, looking down. “Sometimes I can’t win for loosing,”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s either guys who want me so they can get a job or money. Then there are guys who are great like you and they can’t be with me because of my father’s rules,” I replied, looking up into his eyes. “But I understand where you’re coming from,”

He smiled, reaching over to hug me. For a second I thought he was about to kiss me but feeling his body against mine, holding me felt better than a kiss. A hug had more feeling than a kiss, or at least it did at that moment. Nick was the first guy that I had ever been out with that came to my place and didn’t want my pants off in 2.5 seconds. If he wanted to sleep with me, he knew that he could but his job was too important to him.

“I’ll see you at work tomorrow,” Nick said, moving away from the hug. As I shut the door, I leaned against it, thinking about his hug and everything that went along with it. I think the fact that he chose my father’s company and his job over sleeping with me made me like him more – if that was even possible.