My Online Boyfriend Lives In The Next Room Chapter 12

My Online Boyfriend Lives In The Next Room Chapter 12

Three months later, the assessment results arrived.

I scored first in the class and got my invitation to the global finance gala. They even asked me to deliver the

keynote speech.

Alistair received an invitation as well.

We coordinated our flights and checked into the hotel hosting the event.

That afternoon, I tried on the dress I’d brought. I had spent two thousand dollars on the white silk gown.

It fit perfectly.

Without my glasses, the woman in the mirror looked different-sharper and more determined than I

expected.

But the dress itself was too simple. The cut, the fabric. You could tell. It wasn’t enough for a room like this.

The doorbell rang, and I opened the door.”

Alistair stood outside. His gaze landed on me and stayed there.

He walked in carrying a sleek garment box. “I had something made for you. Try it on.”

He lifted a black gown from the box. Clean lines, but you could feel the quality the second you touched it-

the kind of dress that didn’t need to try.

When I put it on, even I didn’t recognize myself.

The girl-next-door was gone. The woman looking back at me owned the room.

The comments drifted in. [Alistair already knew that Laurel was studying finance.]

[He had this gown custom-made for Laurel three months ago.]

[The gown is an exclusive haute couture piece. You literally can’t buy that off the rack.]

I’d never been to anything like this. The right dress made all the difference. I needed that armor.

I stepped out in the new gown.

Alistair went still. “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you, Alistair.”

The comments went wild. [Alistair just eye-kissed every inch of her.]

[This unresolved tension is chef’s kiss.]

That evening, Alistair and I arrived at the gala.

He looked like he’d been born to command rooms like this. People who knew his father kept coming over to

greet him.

“Go ahead. I’ll look around on my own.”

Alistair nodded. “I’ll come find you later.”

Sloane walked in on Graham’s arm. Graham looked like he was sweating through his suit, desperate to

network. She spotted me and turned to Graham. “Dad, I see someone I know. Be right back.”

She crossed the room toward me. “Laurel?” She looked genuinely confused. “What are you doing here?”

Sloane must have been dropped from the fellowship. She had no idea I’d finished first.

She looked me over, chin tilted up. “Let me guess.”

“You came as Alistair’s plus-one? He gave you his guest pass?”

Every guest was allowed a plus-one. Sloane was here on Graham’s ticket; she wouldn’t have qualified on her

own. She assumed I’d done the same.

“I was invited.” I met her eyes. “Weren’t you?”

Sloane’s face darkened. “That’s impossible. There’s no way you got an invitation.”

A classmate from the fellowship walked over. He smiled wide. “You’re Laurel, right? The one who got the top

score? I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

I smiled back. “Hi. And you are…?”

“Eric.” He held out his hand-blond, blue-eyed, easy smile. “Seriously, your scores were insane. I can’t wait to

hear you speak.”

I shook it. “I remember you, Eric.”

Alistair was watching.

His gaze dropped to our hands, still clasped together, and the air around him turned lethal. There it was: that

possessiveness the comments kept talking about. Raw and barely contained.

Sloane’s mask cracked. “You got the highest score? And you’re speaking tonight?”

“Yes.” I nodded.

Sloane’s lip curled. “You really think someone like you belongs at something like this?”

“I can’t wait to watch you get up there. Try not to choke.”