My Ex Showed Up at a Gala, So I Used a Stranger as a Human Shield — Not Knowing Who He Was

Part 1

The charity gala was packed with the city’s most influential people.

This was supposed to be my big night.

My design firm had barely survived the last six months, and rebuilding it took everything I had.

I was finally ready to network and show my face in public again.

Then I saw him.

Craig.

My breath hitched in my throat as he strolled through the grand double doors.

He looked as arrogant and self-assured as always.

Draped over his arm was the assistant I had caught him in bed with half a year ago.

The memory of that humiliation hit me like a physical blow.

When we split our joint design firm, he manipulated most of our top clients into staying with him.

I had been left with empty office space and a mountain of debt.

Now, he was heading straight toward the bar where I stood frozen.

I needed an escape route immediately.

Panic surged through my veins as I whispered a frantic plea to myself to just breathe.

I could not afford a public meltdown in front of potential clients.

My eyes darted frantically around the crowded room.

Near a massive marble column, a tall man stood alone.

His back was facing me, yet his posture radiated quiet confidence.

With no time to second-guess my impulsive decision, the rest of my champagne disappeared in one gulp.

Depositing the glass on a passing tray, my feet carried me straight toward the stranger.

Sliding an arm through his, my weight leaned into his side with practiced brightness.

Pitching my voice to sound casual and familiar, the words tumbled out about looking everywhere for him.

The man went rigid for a split second before turning his head to look down at me.

His eyes were a striking, unsettled shade of blue.

They studied my face with a mixture of confusion and amused curiosity.

He let out a low, smooth chuckle.

He asked if I really had been looking for him.

A faint, knowing smile played at the corner of his mouth.

I threw a desperate glance over my shoulder and saw Craig closing the distance.

I leaned in closer to the stranger’s ear.

I urgently whispered that my ex was coming this way and begged him to play along.

I promised I would explain everything once the coast was clear.

A flicker of understanding crossed his striking features.

Instead of pulling away, he smoothly shifted his stance to block me from Craig’s line of sight.

He extended a hand in formal greeting and introduced himself simply as Tyler.

I exhaled a shaky breath of profound relief.

I introduced myself as Brenda and muttered a frantic thank you.

I swore to him that I was not completely unhinged.

He let out a quiet laugh, noting that the jury was still out on my sanity.

For the next ten minutes, we put on an award-worthy performance.

Tyler played the role of an attentive companion flawlessly.

His easy demeanor helped the ice in my chest melt away.

He casually scanned the crowd over my head and quietly asked if the imminent threat had passed.

I risked a tiny peek around his arm and let out a sigh when I saw Craig had moved across the room.

I admitted the coast was clear, but suggested we shouldn’t break character just yet.

He asked what catastrophic event would have occurred if I had faced my ex.

I admitted it wouldn’t have been catastrophic, just utterly humiliating.

I explained that he had left me for my assistant.

I confessed that tonight was meant to be my triumphant return to society.

Tyler’s expression shifted from playful to deadly serious.

He stared at me with an intensity that made my skin warm.

He stated firmly that it was clearly my ex’s loss.

He pointed out that I was clearly resourceful in a crisis and highly creative.

I asked him what brought him to the charity event.

He gave a vague nod and mentioned an interest in education initiatives.

I explained my work as an interior designer and told him about my firm’s pro bono work.

I admitted it was a way to rebuild my reputation after losing my clients.

Tyler seemed genuinely intrigued by my story, claiming most people would have just given up.

We spent the next half hour talking about design, travel, and books.

He even helped me network, smoothly dropping compliments about my design vision to potential clients.

Everything felt entirely too perfect until my friend Megan grabbed my wrist.

She yanked me behind a towering floral arrangement.

She hissed a frantic question about the man I had been clinging to all night.

I tried to play it cool, telling her he was just some guy I met.

Megan loudly informed me that he was not just some guy.

She revealed his full name was Tyler Hayes.

He was the CEO of his corporation.

My blood turned to ice water.

She gleefully shared that his company had just purchased the historic downtown building for their new headquarters.

They were actively hunting for a design firm to handle a massive renovation.

The floor felt like it was dropping out from under me.

I had just spent an hour using a billionaire CEO as a human shield.

Humiliation washed over me in a suffocating wave.

I told Megan I had to get out of there immediately.

I practically sprinted back to the ballroom floor, needing to apologize to Tyler.

But when I reached our previous spot, he was gone.

I scanned the crowd in a blind panic.

I finally spotted him near the exit, deep in conversation with his executive team.

As if feeling my stare, he looked up and met my eyes, but he didn’t smile.

My phone vibrated violently in my clutch.

I pulled it out with shaking hands to find an email notification glowing on the screen.

It was a direct message from his corporation.

They were formally requesting a meeting with me for 10:00 a.m. tomorrow.