CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 61

Julian’s POV

The bathroom door swung open suddenly, and in walked what could only be described as a vision straight from the pages of Vogue magazine.

My hand froze halfway to my lipstick as my eyes took in the absolutely stunning woman who had just entered the restroom.

"Oh. My. GOD!" I gasped, as I spun around to fully face her. "Are you kidding me right now? You’re Sabrina Castley!"

The blonde goddess paused mid-step, her teary face filled with surprise.

"I literally cannot believe this!" I continued, pressing my hand to my chest. "I’ve seen you on the cover of Flaming hot magazine at least six times this year alone!"

Behind me, I could practically feel Oliver having a silent panic attack in her stall. Poor thing was probably wondering if her day could get any worse. Spoiler alert: it absolutely could.

Sabrina blinked, clearly taken aback by my enthusiastic recognition. "I... thank you?"

"Oh honey, don’t sound so surprised," I said, moving closer while subtly positioning myself to block her view of the stall where Oliver was hiding. "You’re practically royalty in the fashion world. And speaking of royalty..." I leaned in, lowering my voice to a whisper. "I’ve also seen you in those gorgeous paparazzi shots with a certain devastatingly handsome CEO. Are you actually dating Maxwell Wellington?"

When Sabrina nodded, still looking bewildered by this unexpected encounter, I let out another dramatic gasp.

"I KNEW IT!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together. "The chemistry in those photos was absolutely electric! You two are like the power couple of the century!"

But as I looked more closely at Sabrina’s face, my excitement faltered. Even with her flawless bone structure and expensive makeup, it was impossible to miss the red-rimmed eyes and the way her lower lip trembled slightly.

"Oh sweetie," I said gently, "what’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying, and honey, that is a crime against humanity because you are far too beautiful to be wasting tears on anyone."

Sabrina stared at me for a long moment, her gaze traveling from my hair down to my designer shoes and back up again. Then she looked around the bathroom, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Wait," she said slowly, "am I in the men’s restroom?"

I could practically feel Oliver praying from inside the stall.

"Oh darling, no no no," I said with a dismissive wave of my hand, moving even closer to Sabrina while continuing to shield the stalls from her view. "This is definitely the ladies’ room. I was just passing by on my way to see the boss man himself when I realized my lips were absolutely parched. Desert dry, honey. So I thought I’d just breeze in, touch up my gloss, and breeze right back out. Plus, I honestly didn’t expect to encounter any females on this floor."

As I spoke, I kept backing toward Oliver’s stall, trying to make my movements look casual. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the tips of oversized men’s shoes peeking out from under the stall door.

*That girl has got some serious learning to do,* I thought exasperatingly.*And her first lesson is going to be squatting on top of toilet seats in situations like this. Those ridiculously oversized shoes are practically screaming ’fraud’ to anyone with half a brain cell, boo!*

"I mean," I continued smoothly, pulling out my own compact mirror and pretending to check my reflection, "it’s not like I haven’t used a ladies’ room before. Sometimes a man needs proper lighting and counter space for touch-ups, you know?"

Sabrina seemed to be warming up to me, her posture relaxing slightly as she watched me apply my lip gloss.

"You know what, honey?" I said suddenly, snapping my compact mirror shut. "You look like you could use some emergency touch-up services yourself. May I?"

I gestured toward her smudged mascara and the faint puffiness around her eyes. Sabrina hesitated for a moment, then reached into her designer purse and pulled out her own makeup bag.

"Here," she said softly, handing it to me. "I... I could use some help."

I accepted the bag like it was a diamond tiara. "Oh sweetie, this is going to be therapeutic for both of us. There’s nothing I love more than fixing a beautiful woman’s makeup while she tells me all about whatever drama is making her cry."

As I began working on her face, I pulled her into conversations about fashion, beauty trends, and celebrity gossip - anything to keep her focused on me and not on the bathroom stalls behind me.

"So," I said casually while touching up her foundation, "what’s got our power couple in crisis mode? Because honey, I might be a man, but I know everything about a woman’s emotions."

Sabrina was quiet for a moment, then let out a shaky sigh. "What’s your name again?"

"I’m Julian Miller. Head of PR and part-time miracle worker."

"Julian, I need to ask you a question."

"Go on, Princess."

"Have you seen Maxwell with any women lately? I mean, besides me?"

I paused in my makeup application, her question catching me off guard. I hadn’t expected that. Everyone in this building knew Maxwell never looked at a woman twice.

"Honey, this place is basically a boys’ club. The only women I ever see around here are the secretaries and the occasional client, and trust me, Maxwell Wellington is not the type to fraternize with the poor help. That man treats human interaction like it might be contagious."

I watched as relief washed over Sabrina’s face, her shoulders relaxing as if an invisible weight had lifted from them.

"I’ve always seen him as someone who doesn’t really like women in general," I continued, applying a subtle layer of blush to her cheekbones. "He’s got that whole ’ice prince who’s too good for mere mortals’ vibe going on. Very untouchable, very detached from normal human emotion."

Sabrina’s face brightened immediately, a genuine smile enveloping her.

"That’s my man," she said with satisfaction. "He only has eyes for me and no one else. I know I’m not his first love, but he still loves me regardless."

My hand froze halfway to her face, my eyes widening with shock.

"EXCUSE ME?" I gasped loudly, "Did you just say that the emotionally constipated ice sculpture that is Maxwell Wellington had a FIRST LOVE?"

Sabrina nodded.

"Oh honey, you have got to spill this tea right now," I demanded, abandoning all pretense of makeup application. "Because I have worked in this building for three years, and I was absolutely convinced that man was carved from marble and powered by pure spite. Who could possibly have melted that frozen heart?"

"Well," Sabrina began, "It happened ages ago, and her name was Olivia. She ..."

"SABRINA!"

A male voice called from somewhere outside the bathroom, interrupting our juicy gossip. I watched as she immediately started packing up her makeup, putting everything in her purse.

"That’s Gabriel," she said, already moving toward the door. "I have to go."

"Wait!" I called desperately. "You can’t just drop a bombshell like that and then leave! Who is this Olivia person? Is she the reason for your relationship drama?!"

But Sabrina was already out the door.