by India Lee
If only she could get rid of her nerves over Ian.
She had spent hours trying to justify her decision after signing the contract at Yorke Tower yesterday. He’s been ignoring me, so what difference does it make if I signed a contract that bans me from seeing him? We wouldn’t see each other anyway. He’s MIA. I was going to try and find him, but he probably doesn’t want to be found. Right?
“They’re being cautious with me because I’m a new hire. And I don’t want to do anything to upset them because this is such an incredible opportunity,” she had said in the rueful voicemail she eventually left him. “I’m sure that once everyone forgets about the fight in L.A, we’ll be able to hang out again. It’s just in the meantime, we can’t.”
Amanda shuddered at the memory of the message. She wasn’t at all sure how long “the meantime” meant – it was just the most diplomatic way she could word things. Ugh. Her stomach turned with that familiar guilt again. But a timely distraction came from her driver, whose merry voice rang like a bell to stir her from her thoughts.
“Lincoln Center,” he announced, parking the car.
Amanda stared out at the familiar scene – a grand staircase preceding a plaza of white buildings with towering windows, a circular fountain in the center of it all. It was yet another place that she’d seen in countless movies growing up – generally the setting for some sophisticated gala or ballet premiere, where people dressed in Chanel suits and strings of pearls.
And you’re here, Amanda told herself. Not only that, her name was on an exclusive list at the door. The fact alone was thrilling enough to give Amanda’s racing conscience a rest. She suddenly remembered how excited she was to see Dylan, since she was completely ready for him this time – free of drama, impeccably dressed and officially single.
By the time the driver opened her car door, Ian had been relegated to an afterthought. The buzz outside was palpable as the luncheon guests made their arrivals. Crowds of tourists began forming to watch. Gazing at the parade of cashmere, tweed and fur, Amanda was practically content to just watch herself. The only thing that reminded her to get out and join was the proffered hand of her driver.
“Look! There’s another one of them,” a girl whispered urgently, directing her family’s eyes from the posh guests over to Amanda as her heels clicked up the stairs. Their unblinking wonder remained as she gave them a smile and headed for the entrance of Avery Fisher Hall. Another one of them, Amanda repeated the girl’s flattering words as she joined the stream of fashion and society figures entering the building.
~
“This is what happens when they serve too much alcohol at an estrogen-fest,” said Kelly, the senior beauty editor at June Magazine. Her beaded tassel earrings grazed Amanda’s shoulder as she leaned in and lowered her voice. “All the tipsy ladies start flirting with whichever straight guys they can find. There’s usually a grand total of four, so prepare to witness the ambushes.”
Amanda laughed as she observed the bustling scene. Held in a palatial event hall with 75-foot windows, the luncheon had hosted over five hundred guests and wasn’t at all the intimate setting she had anticipated. By its end, she had yet to even spot Dylan. But she didn’t mind. She preferred to stay seated and get to know her June Magazine coworkers at her table. They were humorous and not too patronizing as they provided Amanda deliberately lifeless summaries on all the guests, pushing alcohol at her and apologizing for how boring the luncheon was. For fear of appearing unsophisticated, Amanda decided not to reveal that she was thoroughly enjoying herself. She thrilled in the things that they found standard or mundane – like posing for photo calls, drinking pear champagne cocktails and listening to socialites talk about themselves. Her favorite thing of all was just sitting at a table amongst professional women. Though their occasional condescension showed that she’d yet to fully prove her worth to them, she still liked kind of feeling as if she belonged to some glamorous and witty sorority. It was most certainly a different scene, but she was sure she could get used to it.
“Amanda, dear,” Wendy sang when she returned to the table. She plopped down in the French garden chair next to hers. “I found Dylan, but our interview is being momentarily delayed.”
“Oh, okay. Why?”
Wendy laughed. “Because our subject is currently being held hostage by lusty rich women,” she answered, nodding towards the escalators, where an eclectic mix of middle-aged socialites and waifish models were cornering someone – Dylan. Amanda burst out laughing, though at the same time, her stomach did a little flip. Seeing just the top of Dylan’s head through the crowd was enough to make her heart pound. His hair looked undone, almost messy in the way it had been when she last saw him – when he had nervously tousled it while confessing his crush on her. Amanda wet her lips and blushed at the memory.
“I’d intervene since we have to get going, but the grand high priestess of socialites is there, so better not,” Wendy said dryly, holding her hands up in the air. The other girls cringed before craning their necks to look. Though Amanda didn’t ask, Wendy explained. “That’s what we call Gabrielle Yorke, as in Yorke Publications. As in Arthur Yorke was her great grandfather, and her dad is our publishing director.”
“You piss her off, you piss him off,” Kelly translated bluntly before heaving a sigh. “So I guess we’re stuck sitting here until the heiress is done flirting. Unless we can somehow grab Dylan without her seeing,” she snorted.
“Ugh. If only.”
Amanda only nodded in response to it all, aloof. She had been half listening while reliving her last conversation with Dylan – the good parts of it, anyway. Her coworkers had distracted her sufficiently throughout the luncheon, but now her mind was back on him. Her body was reacting too, her heart still thumping and her limbs feeling restless. But for once, it wasn’t nerves or the Dylan Hardy Effect – she simply couldn’t wait for him to see her. Gorgeous dress aside, she had a hunch that he was anxious to talk to her after the way they’d left off. “Well,” she cleared her throat, standing up from the table. “I think I’ll go freshen up while we wait,” she said before heading off.
She had no idea where the bathroom was, but it didn’t matter. She could hear Wendy correcting her on which direction to go, but she ignored it, walking towards the escalators and towards Dylan. She planned on simply strolling into his eye line, catching his attention, and continuing on her way. He would follow her if he saw her – she was convinced of it.
Her pulse felt like it was thudding in her ears by the time she was just twenty feet away. When one of the girls shifted to flirtatiously touch Dylan’s shoulder, Amanda finally caught a clear glimpse of him. He looked strikingly handsome as ever in his slim charcoal suit, its single button fastened over a crisp white shirt and crimson skinny tie. She could’ve spent even longer just staring at him, but one of the girls suddenly turned around and looked directly at her.
Amanda blinked, snapped out of her trance. Only then did she realize that the girl was only staring at her because Dylan was. He exhaled when she caught his gaze and his lips moved to say something, but he quickly grew impatient with his speechlessness and stepped right between the women, parting them to follow Amanda as if she possessed a gravitational pull.
“I’m so sorry, excuse me for a moment,” she heard Dylan’s manners catch up to him as he apologized to his admirers, including Gabrielle Yorke, whichever one she was. Amanda didn’t turn around to guess, but she did eye the June Magazine table on her way out the entrance. Wendy laughed and clapped riotously while the rest of them simply watched with their jaws hung open, positively dumbstruck. Perhaps she hadn’t proven her worth yet, but she’d certainly impressed everyone with her deft maneuver. Amanda couldn’t help the satisfied grin spreading her lips as she continued swiftly down the escalator, Dylan’s footsteps trailing behind her.
~
She heard him gaining on her, but she didn’t turn around until she reached the lower level.
“Hi,” she breathed, rev
eling in the visible awe lighting Dylan’s blue eyes. She tried to keep her cool when he finally reached her and reflexively put his hands on her waist, as if catching her. It lasted all of a second before he released her in a hurry.
“I’m sorry,” he murmured, blinking. He shook his head a bit as if trying to awaken himself from a fog. His eyes locked on hers again. “I didn’t know you’d be here, you look incredible,” he said all in one breath.
“Thank you.” She watched him as he blinked a few more times, seeming to come to.
“That was cruel, what you did over there,” he laughed.
“What did I do?”
“You caught me completely off guard. I had no fair warning that you’d be here.”
“Why do you need warning?” Amanda teased.
“Ah…” Dylan rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to formulate a good answer. He winced and laughed. “Because I’ve made a habit of turning into a bumbling idiot when I’m around you, and I need to mentally prepare myself for our meetings.” He silenced for a moment as a barrage of people began descending from the escalators. With the lobby swarming with exiting guests, Amanda took Dylan’s hand and excused herself politely through the crowd, backing up until she was against the window, where they’d have at least a sliver of privacy. He looked down at their intertwined fingers for a second. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you since Los Angeles,” he said quietly. Amanda tried not to melt at the way he pronounced it. Los An-geh-lees. “I just didn’t know how to handle the situation once I heard that you and Liam split. I didn’t want to intrude during a difficult time and I was a little afraid that our situation had something to do with the breakup… as presumptuous as that sounds.”
Not presumptuous at all. Her back against the window, Amanda looked up at him. She blushed at their sheer proximity to one another. “It wasn’t related,” she lied. “And don’t worry about it. Any of it. We can pretend that night never happened.”
“Believe me, I tried,” Dylan said with a quiet laugh to himself. “Since you were attached but I couldn’t stop thinking about our conversation. And since it’s useless to fantasize about somebody else’s girlfriend.”
A wave of heat rushed to Amanda’s cheeks. “Isn’t that the point of a fantasy?” she asked, trying not to look as giddy as she was over the fact that he’d fantasized about her at any point.
He opened is mouth to answer, but they both silenced for a moment to let a cluster of people walk by behind him. They pursed their lips into slightly awkward smiles as the swelling crowd pushed his body up against hers. He bit back a sheepish grin as he held her by the waist to keep his torso from pressing flat against hers.
“I’m so sorry,” he breathed.
“That’s okay,” Amanda giggled.
He paused. They were still and silent for a moment before he lowered his voice to a whisper. “I feel incredibly awkward right now because I just realized that I admitted to fantasizing about you.”
“You did, yes.”
Dylan exhaled and closed his eyes, a smile of disbelief spreading his lips. Amanda tilted her head to savor the expression. “Again, brilliant.” He opened his eyes only when he heard her giggle again. “I assure you it was nothing improper.”
Kind of wish it were. “’Kay,” Amanda replied quickly to quell her own thoughts. Her brusque response made his cheeks flush even more. “Stop,” she laughed. “I believe you,” she insisted, trying to relax him. It seemed to have an opposite effect though, and only when his mouth dropped open did Amanda suddenly realize that her hands were on his chest, slipped underneath his suit jacket. She froze as she stared at her flattened palms, which a second ago had been stroking in gentle circles. Her fingers instinctively curled with embarrassment, her nails lightly scratching him. Dylan’s lips parted as he let out an audible breath.
Ho…ly shit. His chest was a lot more muscular than she’d anticipated. Wow, okay, stop. Rather than suppress her lustful thoughts, she’d inadvertently intensified them. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, dropping her arms from him and holding back her nervous laughter.
“Really, don’t be.” She could hear the smile in his voice. When she finally looked back up at Dylan, she caught him briefly biting his knuckle. She considered then that she might have just intensified his lustful thoughts as well. He dropped his hand from his mouth when she saw him. “Anyway…” he started with an awkward chuckle, making her giggle.
“Yes, anyway…”
He grimaced a bit. “I have a feeling it would be in poor taste to ask you out so soon after breakup, but – ”
Amanda interrupted him. “You should be allowed to do something in poor taste for once.”
Dylan blue eyes glowed at her flirtatious smile. “Thank goodness. Then please allow me to take you to dinner because I’m truly not going to last two weeks again without seeing you.”
AMANDA NATHAN WASTES NO TIME GETTING OVER LIAM BRODY
The Durt
February 27
Amanda Nathan may be new to the city, but she’s getting pretty darned familiar with its pace. Dumped just a few weeks ago, the latest ex of Liam Brody has already moved on with an amazing new job and possibly… an amazing new man?
At today’s Thierry Marc luncheon, Amanda made her debut as the newest and youngest contributor to June Magazine. Her first assignment? Oh, just interviewing former Thierry model and eternal pride of England, Dylan Hardy. According to spectators, Dylan appeared quite taken when he first spotted Amanda wearing a stunner from Thierry’s Fall collection which debuted just this month. Not only that, the two were seen flirting it up against a window before their interview, which they apparently exchanged googly eyes throughout. Said an onlooker, “The flirtation was actually very sweet. They looked like the perfect, down-to-earth couple.”
Well, color me jealous! Perfect for a ridiculously handsome, Oscar-nominated silverscreen prince? Working with June Magazine and the legendary Yorke Publications? From total nobody to almost A-list? It was unlikely, but Amanda Nathan has climbed – or really, scaled – the ranks of Hollywood in just a little over a month. In January, you couldn’t pay us to take a walk in her hand-me-down shoes, but now we want her freaking life.
AMANDA NATHAN TO ATTEND DYLAN HARDY FOUNDATION OPENING GALA
February 27
Celeb-o-Matic
Looks like Liam Brody’s ex is moving on to more classy and sophisticated parties! According to a few event-planning sources, Amanda Nathan’s name has been last-minute added to the exclusive guest list for the Dylan Hardy Foundation opening gala, hosted at the Guggenheim Museum. Not only that, Dylan put in a specific request for where to seat Miss Nathan – at his table!
According to its website, The Dylan Hardy Foundation is a charity providing disadvantaged youth early engagement in the arts, primarily Shakespearean theater, which Hardy has spent many years performing and often cites as his inspiration to pursue acting. Attendance at the gala is expected to include the biggest names in New York arts and society, along with many of Hardy’s own Hollywood friends.
Sounds fun! And after being caught flirting for hours at a celebrity luncheon on Saturday, this news also sounds like a confirmation that Nathan and Hardy are exploring a possible - or rather, probable love connection. We can’t wait to watch this one pan out!
Amanda spent the three days between the luncheon and her first date with Dylan in grueling preparation for it. It wasn’t by choice – upon hearing about her plans to attend Dylan’s foundation dinner before going with him for drinks, Thea Zeigler had stepped in, inviting Amanda to the office for “just a little chat.”
This time, her smile wasn’t forced or awkward – it was real, full of delight. Pride, even. It made Amanda suspicious, but she disguised it as she sat across Thea in her portrait-adorned office.
“I was so thrilled when Wendy told me that you’d be going to Dylan’s charity gala. And sitting at his table? Oh, I just wanted to type this whole situation in a memo and blast it to everyone in my a
ddress book. ‘See what good happens when you do exactly what Thea says?’” she tittered with delight. “How grateful are you that I sent you to that luncheon?”
Amanda blinked. “Very grateful,” she answered, since that was obviously the correct answer.
“Alright, now about the gala. It’ll be a crowd very similar to the luncheon’s, but bigger, with more cameras and media,” Thea said. “How are you feeling about it?”
Amanda’s eyes shifted. She wasn’t sure about the correct answer to this one. “I’m… excited. Especially after interviewing Dylan and hearing so much about it. He was so passionate, it was kind of contagious,” she said truthfully, smiling at the memory.
“Mm-hm,” Thea said, uninterested. She clapped her hands together. “Well, anyway, the reason I called you here today was to give you a bit of… training, if you will. I just want to ensure that you’re one hundred percent ready going into this event. And by ready I mean perfect with everything like posing for pictures, speaking with the media, remembering to mention the magazine, promoting us in conversation – but in a non-pushy way, of course! And I’ll tell you what to say,” she said buoyantly, as if that last few sentences made the tasks less daunting. “See, you’re representing June, which I’m actually quite thrilled about, so I just want to help you make us proud. An event like this can raise your profile immediately, and I just want to tweak you in all the right ways so we can achieve that.”
Amanda stared, unsure of how she should feel about everything Thea had said. She was fairly certain that she wasn’t pleased about having her speech so precisely dictated, or about the fact that her first date with Dylan had become a night of work.