Sweet, delicious revenge. Sweet, delicious revenge. Sweet, delicious revenge...
The words kept echoing in my head.
Did I just transform into a stereo? Because I swear I turned mute when the president said those threatening words to me. I couldn't say anything. Damn, I couldn't make a caustic comeback! I just sat there, stoned, looking blankly in the stage with my neck tingling due to the closeness of his mouth.
"But don't worry, I won't collect it now, " he said, giving me a false sense of security.
Yeah, right. Like that would make me feel at ease bastard!
"Com'n Ms. Rosecraft, smile. Your face looks constipated."
He pulled away and straightened in his seat. I heard him chuckle lightly then and that's the time I was able to pull myself out of my momentary mute spell. Glaring at my plate, I was battling whether or not I should shove my half-finished lamb chop on his mouth. Or maybe not the lamb chop, but the blunt knife in his cold heart.
I sighed deeply in the end and buried the thoughts away. I am not a murderer.
But I wanted to. God, I wanted to put the lamb chop in his mouth so that his barbs wouldn't infuriate me even more.
As my retaliation, I smiled kindly on his way, but my eyes showed a blaze of willpower.
Bring in on Mr. President! All you've got! I won't back down!
Then, my attention was diverted to a form behind him. It was of a man, definitely not our personal waiter because this man was wearing a yellow turban amidst him donning a white American tux. He didn't say anything. He just pulled out a chair next to us and then sat down.
Judging from the appearance and the way the man dressed, I think he is an Indian. He has short raven black hair, slender neck and to-die-for long lashes. He had a five-o'clock shadow trimmed sexily and I bet women swoon over it endlessly.
It didn't have any effect on me though, but I found his brown eyes captivating.
Wait.
If I remember correctly, this man is the one who smirked at us earlier in the second floor foyer!
Mr. Erik seemed to notice his arrival and turned to look at him with a neutral face. Gone was the smugness of it while we were alone.
"Rohan, you enjoy being fashionably late are you?" he asked, tapping his fingers in the rim of his glass.
The unknown man just smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "You know me, " he said, "I am in demand. I don't normally join parties like this but hey, there's something interesting going on in this table that I just had to sneak in."
Something interesting? What is he talking about?
The president seemed to catch his drift because I saw him pinch the handle of the glass. That made the Indian man grin.
"May I know who this gorgeous woman is, Mr. President?" the man named Rohan said. He tilted his head to the side and glanced at me, showing his white smile.
If I'm not mistaken, I think I just noticed a British accent right there.
My heart immediately fluttered. I think I am going to like this guy. He seems friendly enough unlike this villain next to me.
Mr. Erik though kept himself silent and acted as if he didn't hear Mr. Rohan's question. I waited for him to introduce me, but he did not!
Prick.
In order to relieve the awkward situation, I chose to shot my hand across the table and said with a smile, "Hi! I'm Daniella Rosecraft."
Rohan cocked a brow then. "Oh, of the Rosecraft Weddings and Events Concepts?" he asked, widening his eyes.
"Yes, you are correct, " I nodded and then we shook hands, disregarding the fact that the president was in between us. He watched as our hands linked and I could see his jaw clench oddly.
"Well, I'm happy to finally meet you Ms. Rosecraft, " Rohan said when he withdrew. "I've always wanted to see what kind of a woman you are."
Woah, halt! What does he mean by that? Am I that popular? I know that my family business is, but me? I doubt it very much.
There was a discreet exchange of looks on both of them which I didn't miss out. There must be some kind of information they have that I didn't know about and it made me wonder what it is.
"I'm Rohan Yash Maharaj Ambani by the way, Secretary of the Fancy Pants Club and a Kamasutra Guru."
I blinked like many times. Now, that, I didn't expect to hear at all!
First was knowing that he is a member of the club and second is him being a guru?
"Kama— did you just say Kamasutra guru?" I questioned. I believe it wouldn't hurt to clarify things.
"Yes, I believe I did, " he showed me another luminescent smile.
"Oh, " I watched him and then to Mr. Erik, who was looking at the stage (or acting like he was), and then back to Rohan. "I'm—I'm sorry for looking stunned, but it's just that, it is the first time I've heard about that. I know about the concepts of Kamasutra, but I never knew there is actually a guru for it."
I heard him chuckle then. It was melodious.
He took the wine flute our personal waiter had given and drank the liquid in half.
"Believe me, Ms. Rosecraft, " he then said, looking at me with mischief, "there is and it is in demand...always."
My throat dried. Wow. I mean, wow! That profession is...interesting.
"I believe this innocent woman here doesn't want to hear the details of your work, Rohan. You can spare her the awkward moment, " and the devil spoke.
I seriously thought he was in a silent mode. Well, now at least I know he was listening in our conversation and not acting snobbish.
"Oh, no, I do not believe that at all Erik, " Rohan said and patted his shoulder briefly. "Almost all people in this age understand the topic of sex and sex positions. I don't think that this beautiful woman is innocent at all, unless..."
Then two pairs of eyes immediately fell on me and that ultimately placed me in the hot seat. Just my luck, now I can see them getting suspicious of the status of my V-card.
I released a smile, a strained one, and then shifted my eyes towards the stage.
"Ahahaha! Now look at that, I think they will be slicing the cake now." I redirected their attention away from me into the bride and groom who now descended the stairs and strolled towards us. It was expected since the six-tier wedding cake was a couple of feet behind Rohan.
Good thing these two Fancy Pants men took my bait and turned their attention on the program.
God, I am so grateful the lights are dim, otherwise they would have seen the virginal flush creeping in my cheeks!
We watched as Ms. Elaine and her husband sliced the topmost cake and then took turns on feeding each other with the small slice. The audience applauded again and so did we (except for Mr. Erik Almighty who looked bored watching them.)
Gosh! Show some respect will you? They are your customers! They pay you ridiculous big bucks to rent the roofing of your chateau!
But I guess, that is just how this kind of president rolls; acting unfeeling and all. It suits him anyway.
"The Rosecraft Company is really good with wedding concepts huh?" Rohan spoke when the newlyweds returned to their table and the program continued with the toasts. "This place is just breathtaking and the program is well laid out. Are you assigned in here Ms. Daniella?"
I focused my attention on him and smiled. He is commending me! Yes!
"Yes, I am, " I answered feeling good about myself, "I am actually the head of their wedding reception."
"Hmmn, I see." He bobbed his head whilst scanning the whole area. "Then, I believe you deserve my praise."
"Thanks, Mr. Rohan, " I said, my cheeks heating up.
See?! See?! This man has taste! Not like the president here who keeps on criticizing my work!
"Please, just Rohan. Or you can just call me Guru if you like, " he stated to me.
I simply chuckled. "Rohan suits just fine. Thanks."
"And as for Mr. Stiff here, " he patted the president's shoulder again and said, "you can just call him Erik or..." he suddenly contemplated on something and watched the ceiling briefly, "Honey if you like."
That made me violently shook my head then. "I think I would prefer calling him Mr. President."
It was at least the proper way. We are not in good terms anyway and besides that, we aren't in the friend zone, so calling him that is certainly better than calling him by his first name.
In a heartbeat, I heard the one addressed grumble. He looked at me coldly and stated in a voice so frank, "Call me whatever you like, woman. I don't give a damn."
"Ahhh, " Rohan sighed in an instant, "You should be more careful with your words in front of her, Erik. You don't want her to think of you as a villain."
Huh! Too late now. I already do.
"I thought you were her savior, my friend."
I pulled my eyes away from the president, breaking our eye contact, and glanced at Rohan.
"What savior?" I asked, "Are you talking about what happened this afternoon? Because I think I never would have fallen in the ladder if he didn't pull my leg."
Rohan drank all of his champagne and puckered his lips before replying, "No, I am pertaining to another event where—"
"Shut it Rohan, " Mr. Erik abruptly interrupted. He didn't give a glare of warning towards his secretary, but I could feel the aura of threat projecting towards the poor man.
Just what are they hiding anyway? Now, my curiosity has heightened especially when I saw Rohan raise his hands in defeat.
I would have investigated further, but a female voice appeared from behind me.
"Boss!"
It was from my ever-trusted team member, Ericka. With her presence now, it means there's a problem with the program flow.
"Ericka, is there a problem?" I asked quickly; my face immediately showed concern.
She eyed me with her own share of worry, but before she answered, she glanced at the two men in the table with surprise.
For sure, she is going to interrogate me at our Saturday nightout tomorrow about them.
"Well, yes, " she answered after regaining her composure, "uhmm... the violinist for the last dance...he can't be here because he is stuck up in traffic."
"What!" I exclaimed, realizing albeit too late that my voice was loud enough for the guests to hear.
I watched the people around me quickly and found that they didn't find my panicked voice odd. Lucky for me. But upon watching Mr. Erik and Rohan, I saw their brows knit in confusion.
"Uh, well... excuse me, gentlemen. I need to fix this problem, " said I, standing in haste and bowing my head low.
"You go on ahead, Ms. Daniella, " it was Rohan who said that, "I will accompany the President for you."
Showing a relieved smile, I said a thank you and left with Ericka tailing behind me.
"I told him to be here early! Now look what happened!" I yelled inside the center backstage as I arrived there. My right hand was pressed on my forehead in desperation while my other hand rested heavily on my waist. I tried to pace along the available space but that didn't seem to calm me at all.
But, seriously. I can't be calm right now knowing my original plan of having a live violin play the last dance wouldn't happen! It was one of Ms. Elaine's highlighted requests! I can't have a Youtube violin music play their last dance as an alternative. That just can't happen! I bet if my heirloom ring is still in my finger right now, I wouldn't have this kind of problem at all.
"Oh, God, what should we do boss? I don't think we will be able to replace the violinist on time!" Ericka worriedly expressed. She was hunkered down the floor with her arms crossed in her chest.
The violin we hired is a world-famous musician. I remembered him telling me that he has a show before this wedding reception, but he promised that he would be on time before the last dance starts. It is just so unfortunate now that the Beverly Hills traffic isn't on our side.
"I don't know..." I said, "I just don't know... Uhggg this is so messed up!" Instead of banging the wall to release my anger, I chose to drop on the floor just like Ericka did and wrapped my arms around my chest.
This kind of position actually is soothing. It makes one feel a lot less stressed because of the sense of security the fetal position provides. However, this is just a momentary solution to our problems, and sooner or later, we will have to pick ourselves back up and solve the problem.
I waited for a few minutes just like this, closing my eyes and thinking on how to come up with a solution. Then, I remembered my mom having a long list of contacts on musicians. I bet she could give me a violinist that lives around the area, hopefully... no matter how unpopular he or she is, but I guess it is worth a shot.
Just as I was about to take my Company service phone that Ericka was holding, a man poked his head on the backstage door and said, "Hey."
I glanced up and gave him a sad face.
"Mr. Ross... I'm sorry but there's a problem, I—"
He raised a hand to stop me then.
"Don't worry, " he said, "someone called for a replacement violinist for you."
"Really?!" I darted up and rounded my eyes. I saw Ericka did the same. "Who did it?" I asked.
Mr. Ross stepped inside and handed me a piece of paper with a cellphone number written in it. To whose? I don't know, but I have an inkling it is the violinist's number.
"It doesn't matter, " he stated with a knowing smile, "What's important now is that the violist is coming here. This will ultimately solve your problem."
"Oh God, thanks! It will really solve my problem! But wait, is the violist living near the chateau?" was my curious question then. If he is, then he wouldn't be stuck on traffic just like our original violinist and that he would arrive on time for the last dance.
Mr. Ross shook his head. "No, he is living here."
"What? You mean to say he resides here? As in here?"
I couldn't really believe it. If the replacement resides in the chateauthen that means...
"Yes, Daniella. He is the Vice President of the Fancy Pants Club, Mr. Vincent Dominico Altair."
My mouth dropped open for the effing eighth time this day, and yes, I actually counted it.