Chapter 80: Role Play

Chapter 80: Role Play After leaving the mall, Stefan suggested they go to a restaurant with a nice ambiance where they could just sit and talk over wine. Although Genevieve wasn’t very keen on talking since she wasn’t sure about the kind of questions he might ask and how much he would want to know about her, she agreed. As Stefan drove them to the restaurant, following Genevieve’s direction, he thought about his conversation with Jamal. And he couldn’t help but remember first conversation with Genevieve in her office the previous day and the glimpse of vulnerability he had seen when she had spoken about trying to get her father’s attention. Was she pretending to be Dawn because her father made her to? That had to be it since there was no way she could have just taken over Dawn’s identity without the influence of an adult. And she seemed to have a case of low self esteem too. He wasn’t so sure she liked being Dawn that much. Or perhaps she liked the benefits but not the work or expectations that came with it, he reasoned. "What are you thinking about?" Genevieve asked when he had been silent for a while. "You," he said easily. "Oh!" She exclaimed softly, her cheeks growing warm. Stefan stole a glance at her and when he noticed the blush on her face he chuckled, wondering why she was blushing instead of asking him what he was thinking about concerning her. "Don’t you want to know what I’m thinking about?" He asked, but she shook her head. "No." He raised a brow, "Why not?" "If it’s something bad, I don’t want to hear it. If it’s good, then it’s fine as long as you’re thinking it," she said, and Stefan merely shook his head without saying a word. As they walked into the restaurant, Stefan held out the door and when they were led to the available table, Stefan pulled out a seat for her. "Thanks," Genevieve said with a soft smile. It was the first time a man was treating her with such respect. She didn’t know such gentlemen were still in existence. She really would love to have him for herself if it was possible. She hoped it was possible. She wanted it to be possible. As Stefan sat down, Genevieve looked at him, "You’re such a gentleman." "I am?" He asked with an amused smile, and she nodded. "Yeah. I thought such men only existed in movies and on novels," she said, and he scoffed. "What kind of men have you been meeting?" He asked, but then realized that if he had not been around men like Jamal’s grandfather and his uncle, he would probably not pay attention to things like this. Not everyone was lucky enough to have such positive influence around him. "Not gentlemen," she said with a grin that made him chuckle. She picked up the menu on the table and as she perused it, he perused her, trying to figure her out. "Have you decided on what to drink?" She asked as she raised her head to meet his gaze. "I do not have a particular preference. Just a glass of not very expensive wine," he said, and Genevieve raised a brow. "Why not so expensive?" She asked in confusion. "Because I’d like to not be Jamal right now. And I’d like it if you can play along and not be Dawn. I want you to just be Genevieve. Let’s act like we are not two childhood best friends. We are not wealthy. We are just average people and we are meeting for the first time," he said, since he believed he would be more comfortable this way. He had a feeling she would be too. "Really?" Genevieve asked, liking the idea of not being Dawn and Jamal. "Yeah. Are you in?" He asked, and when she nodded, Stefan signalled to the waiter and they placed their order. "So, if you’re not Jamal right now, who will you be then?" She asked, after the waiter left. "Stefan," he said without hesitation. "Isn’t that the name of your assistant?" She asked, and he shrugged. "He doesn’t have to know I’m borrowing it right now, does he?" He asked, and Genevieve laughed, "Not everyone is lucky to have two names like you," he said, and her smile faltered for a second. "So, right now I’m Genevieve and you’re Stefan? This feels like a role play," she said, and he raised a brow. "Do you like role plays?" He asked, and when her eyes widened slightly, he laughed, realizing she had misunderstood his question, "I didn’t mean that in a sexual way. Do you like being out of character some times? Pretending to be who you are not?" he corrected, wanting to see how she would answer the question. Genevieve tensed a bit. Wasn’t that what she did everyday? Pretending to be Dawn? "No, I don’t." She really hated it. "Really? Tell me something, who would you be if you weren’t Dawn? And you weren’t the daughter of such a wealthy and powerful father?" He asked, and her brows knit together as she thought of it. "I don’t know," she confessed, suddenly feeling sad. "Let’s find out. What do you love to do? Something out of character for Dawn? Something you can’t do now because those in your social class would frown at it?" He asked, and she pursed her lips as she thought about it. "I’ve got it!" she exclaimed excitedly when it suddenly came to her. "Probably a hairstylist and makeup artist. I have a knack for both," she said, and Stefan raised a brow. "For real?" He asked amused by the excitement on her face. She nodded, "Yeah. My mom does..." she trailed off when she remembered she wasn’t supposed to talk about her biological mother. "What about you? Who would you be if you weren’t Jamal?" Stefan laughed, "Jamal’s assistant," he said, making her laugh. "You must love being Jamal so much that you want to hang around yourself," she joked and Stefan chuckled. "You could say that," he said as the waiter arrived with their drink. After the waiter left he looked at her with interest, "Would you say you’re a good person or a bad person?" He asked as he picked up his glass. "Hm," Genevieve hummed as she contemplated his question. She raised her glass to her lips, took a sip and then she shook her head as she set down the glass, "I don’t think I’m a good person. I’d like to be, but I’m not. And I don’t think I can be even if I tried."