Hi there! How's this week going for you?

This has been a crazy week for me. A huge typhoon struck our province, and it was crazy madness. I really wanted to help out in relief ops, which I've done several times in other calamities now, but because of the pandemic, it's a no-go. Too bad.

Anyway, thank you so much for 300+ reads! I'm glad you guys are enjoying this book so far. I'm halfway through the seventh chapter as I'm writing this, and I'll be continuing after publishing this. It's been a lot of fun writing this too.

Let's start, shall we? Courtney's POV and see ya!

-/-/-

I love getting dressed, so I sort of took this business as an opportunity to buy dresses I could wear for events. Admittedly, it wasn't the best choice financially, but if you're going to run a business that relies on your acting, you better get stylish while you're at it.

"I don't like wearing blue," Shayne remarks, frowning as he fixes his tie. "It's not a color I wear a lot because it's so hard to match."

"It looks okay on you," I assure him, handing him a comb. "But if there is some sort of blue aesthetic wall there, don't lean against it."

"I could if I wanted to..."

"Don't say it."

"... blend in."

"God, I hate you."

We had met Jace and Emma a week ago and asked them about their preferences for our performance. There weren't specifics, but they did want everyone to have a good time. We wondered why they had invited some A-list people such as company CEOs and even some celebrities. Turns out, Jace was about to inherit a company in the near future, and his father wanted him to befriend said CEOs. Best way to do it was to get them to his wedding, which Emma truly hated but did it anyway. They were the ones who were going to get rich anyway.

"Yeah, so any people we should watch out for?" I asked them as we listed down everything during the meeting.

"Oh, babe, tell them about Eunice and Tyler," Emma told Jace. "Um, I mean... we have these two best friends, Eunice and Tyler. They're actually going to be the maid of honor and the best man, and uh..."

"Nothing's bad about them," Jace clarified. "But my parents don't like them. Her parents don't either. We don't really know why, but we'd like you to keep an eye out for them. We don't know what could happen."

Of course, we didn't really keep much of that, because it didn't seem like such a big deal. Shayne and I take a mirror shot from my floor-length mirror, and we send it to Tommy for documentation.

From: Tommy Bones
Adorable!

From: Court Knees
Thanks! We are.

From: Tommy Bones
Might catch some feelings, Court.

From: Court Knees
Sure.

"Alright, let's go," Shayne says, and we exit my apartment, locking the door behind me. We get into his car, and off we went to the wedding.

Admittedly, I was a bit nervous. We still didn't have any idea how it was all going to turn out, because obviously, this was our first time doing this! The entire idea was still kinda absurd to me, and I don't know how my brain managed to fuel that stuff into actual words when I was drunk. Sure, I liked attending parties that had anything free as well as the loving company of friends and family. But wow, the means we had to go through just to get a bit of cash.

"You look nervous," Shayne says aloud while driving.

"Yeah?"

"Your hands are literally shaking as you type on your phone," he replies, chuckling. "Just take deep breaths, we're almost there."

"I'm just a bit scared that something bad might happen or whatever," I explain. "But that's normal, right? I mean, it's part of life to be scared of what can happen anytime and anywhere."

"So you're saying you're just generally being scared right now," he says.

"Generally speaking, yep," I answer, sighing. "I don't wanna mess anything up. These are our first clients, and if this goes well, it's all uphill from here."

"Yeah," he tells me, smiling. "It's cool. I get it."

We arrive to the resort, and after doing sign-ups (which we were thankfully registered for), we join the other bridesmaids and groomsmen, chatting with them about this and that. All of the bridesmaids were Emma's sisters though, because she had four sisters somehow. I became the awkward fifth bridesmaid, while Eunice was the maid of honor (probably so as to not bias one sister over the other). For the groomsmen, a couple of them were his college friends, a couple of them were his brothers, and then Shayne. The best man, Tyler, was out of sight.

"So you're Courtney," Eunice greets me, shaking my hand. "I'm Eunice, I'm Emma's friend."

"Oh, best friend, right?"

It takes her an odd moment to answer, "Yes. Yeah. Best friend. Super nice to meet you!"

Guests started to file into the beach, all waiting for the aisle walk. It was already 5:30 in the afternoon, and every bridesmaid was with their groomsman, all idly waiting on the carpet with everyone else. Shayne and I, with linked arms, were laughing at Tiktoks while standing there. But then, it was starting to get a bit orange, and everyone was wondering where the couple was. Eunice and Tyler were nowhere to be found too, but everyone just assumed that they were sorting whatever problem the couple had.

"I gotta go pee," I tell Shayne before saying the same thing to one of Emma's sisters so they knew where I was going.

He raises his eyebrow at me. "Uh, do you want me to join you?"

"No, I'm just saying, dude," I say, laughing as I smack his arm a little. "Be right back."

Upon returning to the hotel lobby and getting to the bathroom, I hear an odd sound outside. After washing my hands and fixing my hair, I go outside to see a suit-clad Jace punching the wall across the bathroom, obviously frustrated. His hair was no longer slicked back and held together by gel, and his face was completely red. "Oh, it's you, Courtney," he says, trying to calm down. "I am so sorry you had to witness this."

"Are you alright?" I ask, worried. "Is there anything we can do to help you out?"

He sighs, and I get him to sit down on one of the soft lobby chairs. He explains to me, "I knew it. I just knew that Tyler and Eunice, those bastards, would pull something stupid off tonight. I don't understand why Tyler would do that to me, and Eunice to Emma? We've been practically best friends since college!"

"What happened?" I say.

"Well, there were some company stuff that we were working out," he answers. "You know, money's involved. So is Tyler, because he's my finance officer. Because I trusted him like a fool because he's my best friend. The money came through today, and he took most of it and ran away with Eunice, his so-called one true love. Yeah, sure, steal your best friend's money and then run away with the bride's best friend. Ruin everything. I thought I could go through it, let it pass by just for tonight..."

"But?"

"But then when Emma heard about it and started crying, I didn't know what to do," he says, sighing. "I've loved Emma since we were kids, and today was supposed to be the best day of our lives together. And because I trusted Tyler, I ruined this day for us. She kept telling me that it wasn't my fault, but it is, and I knew that. I just... I just feel horrible. Now, she's getting her makeup re-done, it might take a while. Our problem, aside from the money thing, would be the whole best man, maid of honor thing."

"Hey, there you are!" we hear Shayne exclaim as he enters the hotel, phone in his hand. "Look at this Tiktok I found. Lenny, one of the groomsmen, and I laughed at it too hard."

"Err, not right now," I tell him, taking his phone and putting it back into his pocket. "Uh, anyway, Jace... if Shayne and I could be of any help, we'd love to do so."

"Oh, what's going on?" Shayne asks, now concerned for the stressed out groom, who then explains everything briefly to him. "But the wedding's still on, right?"

"Yep," he mumbles. "Emma's going to be sad though, and I don't know where to find a maid of honor and a best man. I mean, duh, I can't choose my brothers, and I can't choose Lenny or Gavin. And obviously, Emma wouldn't want to choose one from her four sisters. That'd ruin... hey. Wait a second. You guys! You guys are actors!"

"What's up?" I say, slowly nodding.

"Oh!" Shayne exclaims, and they high-five, making me wonder. "Dude, my guy, Jace... we're totally game on this. Come on, Courtney. We gotta start the procession now!"

As Shayne explains to me as we run back to the beach, Jace had entailed us to be the best man and maid of honor. I've been the maid of honor only once, but I've been to enough weddings to remember what to do. We tell the events manager about the changes in the lineup, and the procession was eventually started, with Shayne and I now being at the back of the line as important figures.

It was a weird thing to happen, but when Jace confidently walks down the aisle as if nothing had even happened, I somehow felt relieved. Even more when Emma walks down the aisle with the most beautiful wedding gown I've ever seen, and also possibly the most expensive. Jace had started to cry, and I could chuckle a little when Shayne awkwardly shot me a glance from behind the sobbing groom. I mouthed to him to pat the guy's back.

Eventually, the ceremony had finally started, and as I stood behind Emma, making sure aforementioned bastards Eunice and Tyler were out of sight, I thought back to how much Jace had loved this woman that he wasn't even stressed about the money. It was for Emma. Everything was for Emma in Jace's mind, and he wanted this day to be perfect for the two of them.

"So many things happened today," Jace says during the vows part. "But I am so happy that I finally get to marry you. After 30 years of friendship, of love, and of going through everything together. You are the best part of everything, and I am so happy that somehow... everything just fell right into place, yeah?"

Emma, during her part of the vows, starts to cry again, and I hand her a handkerchief, to which she thanks me. "Jace, thank you," she tells him, sniffling. "Every day with you is something I want to have for the rest of my life, even though I've already had it for the past 30 years. Today is just some sort of transitional day, and tomorrow, we'll be back to being Jace and Emma. And I will still love you tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that, because you are my every day."

After the ceremony, we all head down to the hotel for the reception, where most of the handling was done by the events manager, so we didn't have much to worry about. Thankfully, we weren't given a part to do a speech, and the rest of the night was just playing along to the games, drinking, and talking to a bunch of CEOs about stocks (for Shayne) and to a bunch of old ladies about babies (for me). During the newlyweds dance, as I watch them, I could smile a bit sadly. There would be more of this to come, and even though I enjoyed it, I wondered when I'd get the chance to be the one everyone's watching on the dance floor. With the love of my life... whoever that is.

After the party, Jace had stayed behind while Emma bade farewell to everyone. He tells us, "Shayne, Courtney, this was an incredible evening, and it wouldn't have gone through without your help and support. I thank you from the bottom of my heart, really."

"Ooh, you speak like a CEO now," I remark, grinning.

"Well, it's practice," he replies, chuckling. "Anyway, Emma will hand you a check later, but here's something from me, because you went out of your way to help a guy out." He hands us $200 each and laughs. "That's the only time I'm giving you guys money, but if you need any help, my office doors are always open. Just tell my secretary that you're my saviors."

"Isn't this too much?" Shayne asks, raising an eyebrow.

"You saved the evening," he answers. "You made sure my wife and I had a great time. You deserve it, and also, don't worry. I know a ton of people who have plans on getting married, I'll make sure to refer you two."

When we get into Shayne's car after receiving our check and waving goodbye to the newlyweds, we both sigh in relief. "That was a night!" Shayne exclaims, laughing. "Dude, I'm down for another wedding if you ask me, but probably next week. I'm so tired..."

"But hey, the cash!" I say, laughing. "I totally didn't expect this. This was nice."

"Well, we did our jobs and we went beyond them too, so we're good," he replies. "But for now, you better call Tommy. We have some $400 wings to eat."

"Are we really going to spend $400 for chicken wings?"

"Nah, not really," he says, starting the engine. "But wings! Well, I'm still a bit full, so... maybe not tonight."

"That's the alcohol talking," I tell him, crossing my arms. "Let me drive now, you've had too much to drink."

"Okay," he mumbles, and we switch seats. "Okay, okay... I'm good."

I give him a smile as soon as he dozes off. This was the first of many times I'd be driving us back home, but it was alright, because there were going to be nights when he was the one driving. And for the first time today, I felt so relieved, even though my only company going home was my drunk co-worker.

More to come.

-/-/-