Page 66 of Ravaged For You

We slowly head down the red carpet towards the entrance of the charity function, Axel stopping every couple of yards to talk to someone new.

“Are you two together?” a reporter asks.

“Yes,” Axel replies. “Her name is Maddie Leaver, and she is my girlfriend.”

I swear there are butterflies in my stomach when he says that.

I’m so inundated with all the craziness around me that I don’t realize someone’s directly asking me a question until Axel squeezes my hand again.

“What is it like dating one of the most eligible and sought-after rockstars on the planet, Maddie Leaver?”

I don’t know what to say to that. My mouth dries up.

Axel squeezes my hand again.

“It’s the most magical feeling in the world,” I reply.

I hope that made sense and I’m not talking gibberish.

There are more reporters and more reporters and more photos and more questions and more people and more smiles and more reporters until we finally reach the end of the red carpet. It’s where I finally feel like I can breathe again, away from the pack.

Axel whispers again in my ear as we step inside the center.

“You were fantastic out there, Maddie. I’m proud of you.”

I blush.

I have definitely gone down that turning point in the road now. There’s no coming back.

29

MADDIE

There are so many famous people here at the charity thing. It really is as Axel described. LA’s glitterati. I’m not the best at spotting celebrities, but I do recognize a few sitting around me. Everyone is either rich, or famous, or both. A table of billionaire CEOs is adjacent to ours. Tech founders. Sitting at a table just two over is the latest Oscar winner for Best Actor. I am in awe.

The charity function goes on well into the night. There’s lots of drink and food and caviar and champagne and performances by music acts. All very hoity-toity.

So many people stop by to purposely talk to Axel. With every celebrity that says hello, Axel makes a specific point to introduce me as his girlfriend. That makes me feel special, but also a bit weirded out considering I’m not really his girlfriend. Sometimes I even have the sudden urge to blurt out that I’m not – that all this is a sham - but I hold myself back like a pro.

Axel leans back in his seat like a king, and everyone treats him as such. A member of Ravaged truly means he’s on top of the world, especially when it comes to the entertainment industry in LA. He’s so freaking confident in these surroundings. He belongs here like water belongs in the ocean.

His confidence rubs off on me, and I find myself finally settling into the seat. My nervousness starts to dissipate. Slowly.

I’m with a man that almost every girl in here wants. I see the jealousy emanating from the surrounding tables. Girls glancing over. The gossipy whispering. I just know that people are curious about me. They’re asking my name. Trying to remember if they’ve met me before.

I bet once they find out who I really am; they are going to be shocked.

I’m not some supermodel, not some actress. I’m merely an assistant.

And yet I’ve secured this man sitting opposite me.

And it’s all… fake.

That makes everything seem so pointless and shallow. I have to keep reminding myself that none of this is real. I’m merely a passing guest in Axel’s world.

But it is fun to entertain the idea that I am his real girlfriend, even if it’s just for tonight.

Our table gets assigned a waitress. I know I shouldn’t care, but she’s… well-endowed and definitely has the hots for Axel. I see her gawking at him every time she comes to get our order. When Axel asks for more champagne, she makes a point of bending over next to his shoulder so that the edge of her tits brushes his skin as she slowly pours into his glass.