Chapter 13 - Sam

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HER

HE WAS STARING AT ME WITH BLANK EXPRESSION ON HIS FACE.  But the moment he saw me looking back at him, he averted his gaze to Carla.

"Hi Mr. Montecarlo! Nice to see you here! Small world!" Carla flashed a smile at him. She was about to stand up, but Tristan told her not to by waving his hand.

"You do not have to stand up, Ms. Reyes." He smiled at her. "And by the way, just call me Tristan."

"I'll call you Tristan if you call me Carla." She grinned. He smiled and nodded.

"By the way these are all my friends, Jill, Raine, Raffy, Jake, and of course, you know Alecx." Carla said.

He smiled at everyone but again, he did not bother to look at me. 

           "So, do you really guys go out on Thursday nights? This is life here in the city, huh!" He asked but it more sounded like a statement.

           "Oh no! It is Raine's birthday that is why we went out." Carla said lying. She is really a good liar!  Raine was about to say something but I saw Jill nudged him on his side to silence him. I guess Jill understood what Carla was trying to do.

"Happy Birthday, then!" He greeted Raine.

"Why don't you join us? Celebrate with us! Let me get you a chair.  Or better yet, you can sit on my lap!"  Raine was flirting with him and gave Tristan a seductive look.

Tristan grinned at him while all of us were trying to suppress our laughter.

"Oh no, thank you. We are about to leave. We just came for dinner." He politely declined.

"We? Are you with someone?" Raine asked while looking around. Suddenly, there was a girl who came behind Tristan.  As soon as she came into our view, all of us kept quiet.  This girl looks stunning!

     She held on to Tristan's arm affectionately and said, "There you are! I was looking around for you."

           "Sorry Hon, I was waiting for you by the bar, but I saw them and just wanted to say Hi. They work at Mr. Archer's firm." He explained. 

He then looked at all of us and continued, "By the way, I want all of you to meet Samantha, my fiancée." He said proudly.

"Just call me Sam.  It is nice to meet all of you. Seems you guys are having fun!  Is there any occasion?" She asked while keeping a big smile on her face.  She looks friendly.  Her beautiful face compliments her warm personality.

"It's my birthday! Why don't you join us! It will be fun! By the way, I am Raine and it's a pleasure meeting you!" He stood up and hugged Sam.  She hugged him back warmly as if they were friends for a long time and greeted him Happy Birthday.

I want to throw a pillow at Raine and hit him on the face!  Reynaldo! I am shouting out loud in my mind!  He really pretended that it was his birthday and went along with Carla's lies! We are going to get in trouble for this! 

Carla looked at me apologetically while I glared at her giving her dagger looks! See what you got us into! I am telling her in my mind!

And to make it worse, I already saw Raffy and Jake pulling the nearby lover's seat in our spot so Tristan and Sam can join us! All the 3 couches are now surrounding our table!

          "Hon, what do you think? Why don't we stay, even just for a little while? I love meeting new friends." She asked Tristan.  I bet she liked Raine. He has this vibrant personality that will lure you to him.  There is never a dull moment with crazy Reynaldo/Raine! 

Tristan smiled at her and nodded. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and motioned her to sit down on the couch.  I felt a twinge of jealousy seeing Tristan giving affection to another girl. 

"Are you feeling better? Were you able to get a power nap?" Raffy looked at me and asked.  I nodded and smiled at him.

"By the way, now I know Raine! But I don't know the rest of you!" Sam looked around all of us while leaning forward from her chair. Her genuine smile is still plastered on her face.

"Then, let me introduce you to the Gang!" Raine said excitedly! "This is Jill, Carla, Jake, Raffy and Alecx!" Raine motioned to us one by one so Sam can keep track on who's who.

Her gaze finally stopped at me when Raine said my name.

"Alecx? Alecx Rivera?" She asked curiously.

I smiled at her uncomfortably and nodded. I am not sure if she knows about me and Tristan. I saw Tristan from the corner of my eye putting his arm around Sam.

"Yes, Hon. She is Alecx Rivera. The architect who made the hotel design." Tristan replied to her.

"Wow! You are Architect Alecx Rivera!  It is so nice to finally meet you! I saw the design layout of the hotel and it looks amazing! You have a brilliant mind!" She said admiringly.

That gave me the confirmation that she does not know anything about Tristan's past.  Both of them are now looking at me.  Sam was still smiling while Tristan kept a straight face.

            "Thank you. That's so kind of you to say that." I said shyly.

"I really mean it.  The way you made the details of the building impressed me.  You can integrate the outside look, the aesthetics, but also the functionality inside.  I even saw the materials you are planning to use for the hotel. You are amazing."  She said genuinely.

All of them are now staring at me.  I wonder even with the dim lights if they can see that my cheeks are getting red. This girl is very nice. Probably, that's why Tristan fell in love with her. 

She is not afraid to say her thoughts, completely my opposite.  I do not openly admire somebody; I keep it inside.  Not because I am a snob or conceited, but I am just not good with saying praise words.

"She is not good with compliments, Hon." Tristan said tartly.  Sam glanced at him and said, "How did you know?"  She questioned.

"Look at how red she is. You are making her uncomfortable." He replied jokingly.  Sam turned again to me.

"Oh! I hope you did not find me weird.  I say my mind, I say what I feel.  I hope I do not offend any of you here."  She looked at all of us.

"I like you, Girl! Just say whatever is in your mind. We do not care!" Raine teased.  Everybody laughed at his remark.

"So, the hotel that you guys are talking about, will that be built on the huge lot 1 block away from Wall Street?" Jake asked curiously.

           "Yes. How did you know?" Tristan turned to Jake with a wondering look.

         "You know how gossip mills circulate around here.  Even though we are busy everyday watching stocks, we have little birdies that keep us posted on what is going on around the city. New properties being built, future building projects, among others." He replied.

"I think that will be a perfect location.  I cannot wait to see that hotel.  It will be a great addition to the city.  And, knowing it is one of Alecx's creation, I bet it will soon become a landmark hotel here in NYC!" Raffy said proudly.

"Agree!!! Let us all drink to that! And Happy Birthday to me!" Raine exclaimed. 

All of us raised our glasses and shouted, "Happy Birthday, Raine!"  The gang all continued to pretend that it is really Raine's birthday.

I never imagined Carla's way of cheering me up would turn out this way.  Now that I know that Tristan is engaged, I do not like how it is making me feel.  This will be a long night for me....


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