Parisian dawn was as breathtaking as she remembered and its beauty took away a little bit of the sting that she was enjoying her champagne breakfast alone.
She had taken a good look at herself in the mirror before leaving the room and had almost cried with embarrassment. Her bleary eyed, tear streaked visage looked as if it belonged in a horror movie. If memory served there had been a very handsome young stranger in her room last night.
She had rebuffed him, even after doing the whole doe eyed thing with the Grey Goose Martinis and the cute little burp. It had seemed like the perfect rebound thing- a quick fuck to get over Dan Humphrey who had stomped all over her heart. The pain of the break up was magnified by the news of Nate's engagement and a persistent voice in the back of her head that said it should have been her. Or it could just be the fact that she hadn't seen Chuck, with whom she'd admittedly had the best sex of her life, in three years and she was still distraught by the fact that she hadn't been able to change him.
She hadn't been worth the price of all the other women she demanded he give up in order to be with her, she hadn't been worth the Vanderbilt ring and she hadn't been worthy of the boy from Brooklyn either. It was all very tragic and disheartening.
The day was not slated to improve. She had a meeting with her agent at 5. There was a high profile party next week that she was expected to attend and her performance there was to determine the future of her career. A stellar act and the coveted Vanity Fair gig was hers,
Dan was supposed to attend it with her and for once he would fit right in with the image she wanted to project. Literary and smart. They had joked in bed about it bed amidst her thousand count sheets, laughing over how appalled Eleanor would be if she knew that association with a lowly Humphrey was actually good press now that he was a hot shot writer.
So after four Audrey movies and a new pair of shoes, Blair finally felt up to keeping the appointment. She waltzed down the stairs, primped to perfection ready to break the news.
"Oh, thank God you're here, Blair," cried Lorraine, the moment she laid eyes on her, "I have terrible news."
"What's wrong?"
"There's another contender for the slot. You're slot. It's Georgina Sparks, honey and she's bringing out the big guns."
"What?" Blair blanched, her alarm growing with each passing second. How could it be that even a thousand miles away from home the New York bitches were still messing with her! Could Georgina even spell Vanity Fair?
"She's bringing some rock star to the party. Thank God, you have your writer boy. We need someone like that. Dark, smouldering and brooding. If this Mr Darcy of yours really is as special as you made him sound it will make her little stunt seem cheap and trite in comparison."
"About that..." Blair attempted to interject.
"Look, honey. I know you want this job. But you're Blair Waldorf and you're conservative and classy and that's excellent but they don't want anyone stuffy. It's bad for their rep."
And all of a sudden there are tears welling up in her eyes because Lorraine's words are an echo of what Yale's Dean said. Once again, the picture perfect charade that she had so carefully maintained was failing her.
"Where's this Norman Mailer of yours?"
Through the drumming in her ears, she could hear a newspaper rustle and fall to the floor and the hands that had let it slip were now hooked around her waist. Her head whipped around as her almost lover from the night before tugged her small body into his frame.
"Hello, gorgeous," he whispered in her ear and she thought she really must be desperately horny if his voice could flip her stomach even when her entire future was on the line, "This nice lady bothering you?"
"Oh my God," yelped Lorraine- surprisingly short of words for a woman who spent all her days refusing to be shut up.
"Jess Mariano" he introduced himself, pleasantly, turning on the charm.
"Blair, why didn't you tell me that Mr Mariano was your date?" Lorraine seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilation as she shook the man- Jess' – hand rather violently.
Since at the current moment Blair couldn't concentrate on much besides the chine pressed into her hair and how good the Mr Mariano behind her smelt, she only nodded in bliss. The repetitive motion shook her out of her trance. Jess Mariano sounded like an awfully familiar name.
The paper back on her bedside table and the memory of last night's events hit her with full force. Oh Lord. That Jess Mariano. And then just as it seemed her knees were about to give way beneath her that very same Jess Mariano tightened his hold on her.
This was going to be one hell of a party.