We posed at the red carpet like the happy couple we were not before we entered the hall that had been rented for the occasion. It was a place I'd been before, back when the company had clocked a year, two people had been invited, but I was the only one that had been able to make it, so the place didn't bode happy memories for me.
I felt Danielle intentionally relax her body as the host, Kostas Dimitri, a man I would refer to as anxious and jobless, came to welcome us with a glass of wine in his hand. I wasn't a judge by any means, but he was the son of two conglomerate families that had gotten married, and the only reason why he hosted parties like this was to remain functional in the world of the elites.
"Hi, my friend. Long time no see." He greeted in a loud voice and hugged me. He turned to do the same to my wife, but I angled my body. He stopped and smiled. "Ah, still protective? Δεν ήξερα ότι μπορούσες να παντρευτείς."
I laughed and removed the hand he had placed on my shoulder. "Τι ήξερες για μένα για αρχή;" I responded in fluent Greek, and he tilted his glass.
"Touché."
He winked at my wife and then walked off, probably to charm the next unfortunate woman. I wasn't going to allow his reputation as a womanizer to touch my wife."
"You didn't tell me you spoke Greek." Danielle hissed when he left, and I smiled, leading her to the bar.
"You never asked. Plus, like I said. So many people do business with so many people, so it's not strange to be bilingual."
I heard her murmuring something inaudible, but she kept quiet as we got closer to the group of women that were drinking.
"What did he say? And what was your response?" She asked curiously and, seeing no reason to keep it a secret, I told her.
"He said he didn't expect that I was going to get married, and I asked what he knew about me to begin with."
She stopped making me stop walking. "Aren't these people your business acquaintances? Like friends? That didn't sound like a conversation friends should exchange." She muttered the last line.
I smiled. "Not really. We're business acquaintances, but not friends. In business, connections are very important, which is why I attend these parties. Eventually, I will need the help of these people, and they will also need my help."
She nodded, taking my words in, and then frowned. "Then why was a party thrown to celebrate our marriage?"
"These people always look for a reason to throw parties and show the world how wealthy they are. The news of our marriage spread and quite a lot of people know me here and want to work with me, so, the decision was made. Any other questions?" I asked with raised eyebrows.
She shook her head and started towards the women again, taking my arm.
DANIELLE'S POV
So the man could speak Greek, I thought with envy. What couldn't he do?
"Hi." The youngest looking woman among the group of five, dropped her glass of champagne and gave my husband an air kiss, then did the same to me. Not knowing what to say, I smiled awkwardly.
"It's been a long time." She greeted with a heavy Greek accent and Jonathan nodded.
"Same. How have you been?"
She laughed and waved her hands. "You know, the same." She eyed me. "Is this your wife? She's pretty." She complimented, staring directly at me and I put on my big girl panties. I wasn't an introvert by any means and even though I didn't feel comfortable completely among total strangers, especially in a different country, I wasn't a wildflower, and I wasn't going to make myself look like one.
I smiled and dropped Jonathan's arms. "Thank you. I could say the same about you."
The woman threw her head back and laughed. "I'm Eleni. Nice to meet you, Danielle."
I didn't raise an eyebrow over the fact that she knew my name. She wasn't an airhead like she appeared to be.
She grabbed my arms and turned to my husband and said something in Greek. He nodded. "Thanks. I heard your husband wanted to see me."
Jonathan bent until his lips were almost touching mine. It's an act, it's an act, I repeated in my head. "She's the least harmful here, so you can relax. Remember, the goal is to not be disturbed."
I nodded, trying my best not to roll my eye. Like I've said, no, thought before, I wasn't a child. "Got it, sir."
He narrowed his eyes at my catty tone, and with one last look at the woman, he left. I turned to the woman, and she sighed, her eyes on my ring finger. "How sweet. Most times I hope I can forget I have a husband. Come on, let me introduce you to the rest of the women. Be careful, they can be bitches. She grabbed my arms, and we moved towards the other women who had been staring curiously.
Eleni picked a spoon and clicked her glass. "Alright, ladies. Meet Danielle."
The women started chatting in Greek, and I was a hundred percent sure I was the focus of their conversation. I just couldn't tell whether it was a positive or negative focus since I didn't speak a word of Greek. I ignored their rude behavior and busied myself with my phone when one of the women turned to me.
"You don't speak Greek?" She asked in perfect English.
I smiled. "Yeah, I wasn't exactly expecting to have to speak a language I had no knowledge about to someone who spoke fluent English." I responded, and she smiled, a fake one.
"Sorry about that. We got momentarily distracted." She half turned so she was facing the women mostly. "So you succeeded in bagging the man, right? What does that say about you?"
I frowned, not understanding. "I beg your pardon."
Another woman picked it up. "Oh, she means the fact that he's so handsome and hot, and you're just... you."
I smiled. "Thanks. I agree. He's so handsome and hot." I made myself look star-struck. "I don't really know how I did it. Especially when so many more gorgeous women agree with me."
Eleni laughed. "Don't mind her. She's married and just jealous."
I laughed loudly, drawing stares. "I wouldn't have guessed. Congratulations. I look forward to seeing your husband."
I smiled in victory as the woman gulped the rest of her wine and left the bar with her other friends. One thing I knew, mostly from books I'd read, was the fact that women that belittled other women, always had something they weren't proud of in themselves and from the bitter look she had given me, I had hit a nerve.
Eleni grabbed a glass from a waiter and shook her head at me, smiling in amusement "Come on. Let me show you around."
I took the glass with a smile and took a sip and nodded, looking at the glass again. "The wine tasted like nothing I'd ever had before."
"Delicious right? You will need more to deal with all the jealous people in the room."
I glanced at her curious, and she smiled. "For some reason, I like you. Come, let me introduce you to people. Your husband told me to do so."
She sighed at the word husband and gave me a sleek smile. "I also admit he's hot. Unlike mine, but that's my cross to bear."
I gave her a compassionate smile and followed her to the middle of the hall, already garnering attention from the whispers in Greek and stares. I put a smile on my face. "Let the chaos begin."