Julian's POV
The stage lights were blinding, glare at me in a way that made the sweat on my neck feel like ice. I could feel the eyes of every power-broker, socialite, and predator in the state drilling into me.
"Put on a smile," Lucy whispered, her voice as sharp as a needle against the roar of the applause. She leaned in, suffocating me with her perfume. "I'm talking to you, Julian. You had better listen or you leave me no choice than to report to Richard you're being difficult. You know how he gets when things aren't perfect."
I didn't look or blink at her. Looking at her could actually make me throw up. Her presence, her voice and her face, everything about her now irritated me.
"I am being serious, Julie," she hissed, her fingers digging into the fabric of my tuxedo jacket. "Everyone is watching, you don't want them thinking that your dad is lying about us. So pleaseee…"
"Just smile," she added with a tight voice.
