I leaned my head back and closed my eyes for a moment. These seats were so comfortable. No wonder people were raving about limousines. This was my first time driving in one and I must say I was still a little bit in awe at the whole situation. I mean, I'm sitting in a very luxurious car, dressed in a suit that probably costs more than my apartment, going to a party, where I am pretty sure I'll be the only one who doesn't own any villas, as a date to one of the most successful businesswomen of the 21st century. She was also hot, blond and as far as I can tell, single, which is totally my type, but I was pretty sure both Spencers would kill me if I tried anything.
All of this wasn't something I expected when I woke up yesterday, but here we are. I was excited and nervous at the same time. Spencer warned me about proper manners and stuff like that. I listened to him intently, because I really didn't want to embarrass me or him.
He was resting his head on the window and looked deep in thought. Faint car light illuminated his face just enough so that his eyes shined brightly. Like diamonds. The tux also suited him like a second skin, which in all reality it probably was, considering how frequently he must wear them. He must have sensed my eyes on him because he turned to me.
"What?"
"I was just thinking. You kind of look like James Bond."
Both Vanessa and Margo laughed while Spencer seemed very happy that I said it.
"What is it, the tux or the blond hair?" he asked and I shrugged: "Both I guess. I only actually saw one James Bond movie."
They all gawked at me.
Vanessa was the first to say something: "How? I don't even like them that much and even I saw at least four of them."
"They're on TV all the time," Margo added.
"I just never really had a need to watch them. The only reason I saw that one was because one of my friends wanted to."
"Which one," Spencer asked with intrigue.
I actually forgot the title: "Uh...It had a poker scene and it had something to do with poker."
"So a poker scene? You really narrowed it down," quipped Vanessa.
"The only other thing I remember was that James Bond was blond, his girlfriend drowned and the bad guy cried blood or something. Oh, and Bond won the poker game with two aces. I think."
"Casino Royale," all three said in unison.
"It's my favourite," added Spencer.
"I liked it, but not enough to actually see the others."
He nodded.
That was when Margo leaned down to get the bottle of water and accidentally let her purse, which she informed me was called a clutch, fall to the ground. It opened and out fell a lipstick and a set of keys. At first, I didn't think any of it, but Spencer looked pissed. He grabbed the keys, his sister tried snatching them back, but he was quicker. He looked closer at one of the keys and only then did I saw why he was angry.
"A universal key!" he practically shouted, "Are you kidding me?!"
Why would she had tha...
Oh.
That was when I remembered what I read a while ago about them.
Oh.
"What exactly are you planning on doing?"
Margo glanced between me and Vanessa and then started talking in a language I didn't understand. Slovenian, I presume.
"Oh no no no no," Vanessa stopped them, "Don't you dare. In English. If you are actually planning on robbing her, I would like a heads up."
Margo sighed: "Fine. For New Year girls and I were invited to Kathleen's' place for a game of poker and I did really well. In the end, it was just me and Kathleen. I had a straight flush and I was sure I'll win."
Spencer crossed his arms and glared at her. Margo avoided his eyes and continued: "She went all in and I was like ˝What is a chance of her having a royal flush?˝. Because I didn't have enough chips, I added..."
She stopped and looked Spencer with a very nervous expression: "Our grandfathers' watch."
His eyes went wide and nostrils flared. I haven't seen him this furious in a while.
"Are you fucking insane?!"
"How was I supposed to know she wasn't bluffing?!"
Spencer grabbed his hair and I thought he will reap a chunk of it out of his skull.
"You-you... YOU GAMBLED YOUR WATCH AWAY?!"
"And 5000$"
"And 5000..." he was having trouble with composing a sentence.
He was breathing heavily, trying to keep his composure.
"Oh relax. We both know you are not angry about the money," she dismissed his freak out.
I probably would be at least concerned if someone lost 5000$ on one game, but she said it in a way like she literally just lost change. Which makes sense, since I'm pretty sure her dress costs more.
"No, I'm not!" he responded with a hard voice "I'm pissed because it's a family heirloom, that went through both world wars unscathed and you managed to lose it in low stakes poker!"
"I have a plan."
"To steal it?!"
"Well..."
"No. Remember what happened the last time?"
"That was a shit show," I said absent-mindedly and immediately realized my mistake. I didn't plan on saying that.
Everything went deadly silent and I had three pairs of eyes on me.
"How do you..." started Margo, but was shushed by her brother.
"What exactly do you know?" there was very noticeable panic in his eyes.
I've seen it before. Right after I found out about his sexuality. I might as well tell him.
"I read the file. You two tried stealing a painting and would get charged for aggravated robbery, which should have given you, in the best circumstance two years in prison. In reality, you would probably get four. But now the report only states, it was just simple shoplifting."
Margo and Spencer looked at each other and then back at me. Spencer was again biting his cheek and Margo didn't seem to be breathing. It was quite obvious they didn't know what to say.
So it was Vanessa who asked: "How the fuck? Didn't your father pay a lot to bury the story?"
"He did," Margo managed, still perplexed.
Spencer looked down at his lap, but then his eyes were on me once again. This time very confident.
"You hacked into a police database," he connected the dots.
"Is tonight a confess your crime evening? What about you Vanessa, have you committed any armed assaults we need to know about?!" he used that high pitched voice of his that always told me he was on the brink of a meltdown.
"Not yet."
"Look, yes, I did. I noticed you pickpocketing because I'm not an idiot, so I just wanted to know what was up with that. And if I asked, you wouldn't have told me."
"You're right. I wouldn't. Because it's none of your business."
"I am sorry. I won't tell anyone."
He went through his hair with his hand in a nervous gesture.
"I know you won't."
Margo turned to me: "You actually did that? You managed to find that report?"
I nodded.
She leaned back in her sit: "Wow. Now I know who to call if I need dirt on someone."
I laughed.
"This is not something you should be getting from this conversation," Spencer mumbled.
"As someone who works in cybersecurity, I am really impressed. And worried," added Vanessa.
"Are actually planning on doing this," he asked Margo.
"Yes, I am. There are only two possibilities. She either has it with her and will show it off, just to spite me OR she will have it in a safe in her room."
"How do you know where her safe is?"
She smiled wickedly: "Victor let it slip. Along with a lot of other things."
She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
Spencer rolled his eyes: "Please don't do anything stupid."
"I'm getting my watch back. One way or the other. So you can either help me or stay out of it."
X
"Morgana Spencer and Lukas O'Neal! Aronus Spencer and Vanessa Savoy!" the man at the door announced to the room.
The siblings both cringed at their names, while I tried hid a chuckle. Not very successfully, if spencers glare was anything to go by.
"Do people still do this announcement thing? I thought it was just in the movies." I asked Margo who had her arm locked with mine.
" It's rarely used. Just for the show. The O'Barrys are one of the few that..."
She stopped abruptly when she caught sight of a woman coming towards us. Her curly brown hair bounced behind her. It was easy to guess this was Kathleen.
"No watch," I said quietly.
she nodded: "It must be in her safe then."
We had to shut up because she was right in front of us.
Margo and her greeted each other and, wow, were they not hiding how fake their smiles were.
She greeted Vanessa and Spencer behind us, this time her smile more genuine. Her amber eyes turned to me and I stiffened. There was something intimidating about her.
"And you are?"
"Oh, I am Lukas O'Neal. Nice to meet you," I extended my arm.
She shook it: "Kathleen O'Barry. So...Margo, another charity case I see."
I frowned but stayed quiet. I heard Vanessa and Spencer groan. Margo rolled her eyes: "Just because he has a job doesn't make him a charity case."
"Yeah," Vanessa chimed in "if he is, then so am I."
Kathleen waved her hand in dismissal: "Don't be ridiculous, it's not the same. You are practically one of us."
Vanessa gave her a very disapproving look, similar to those Spencer directed to me. Right now he just seemed angry, but not surprised.
"If you excuse me, I need to go. Enjoy your evening."
She glanced at me one more time before she strutted away.
"Ignore her comments. I always do."
Margo led me further into the huge ballroom. I knew I was gaping, but I had a damn good reason for it. Everything was in gold and bronze, with glistening chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Very baroque. Margo turned to me: "Ok, I need to find a way to her bedroom, so I'm sorry, but I'll have to leave you. Don't worry, Aron will take care of you."
I glanced at Spencer, who had his arms crossed in front of his chest and I nodded. She started walking away but turned to me again: "And, please enjoy yourself."
"I will. Try."
She smiled: "Good."
With that, she walked away.
"She is unbelievable," Spencer stated with a very displeased expression.
Vanessa rubbed her palms: "I'm getting some food."
Then she left us as well.
"Ok," he started readjusting my bowtie and suit. He seemed nervous, but not necessarily for himself. His hands were just tugging at my clothes without a real purpose. He was completely lost in his head. I grabbed his hands, so he had to stop and look up at me.
"It'll be ok."
"Huh?"
"Stop freaking out."
"I'm not."
For a moment I just stared in his eyes, trying to calm him down. To my surprise, it worked. He stopped tensing, so I released his hands. He took a deep breath: "I'm worried Margo will do something extremely stupid."
"She seems very capable."
"She is, but still...She's my sister. It's kind of my job to worry, you know?"
I didn't. My sister and I were never close enough to actually be protective of each other.
"Ok," he shook his head and tapped my chest "Ok. So don't forget what I told you. Don't get drunk and if you want to dance with someone make sure she doesn't have a ring. Also, these people are masters of condescension and under the belt comments, so beware of that."
"Is that it?"
"Yes. Now, turn that charm on, use that smile of yours, it should do the trick nicely and go mingle. I need to talk to a few people."
"Alright...Wait, what smile were you talking about?"
"You know. That one you do."
I lifted my eyebrows. Very specific.
"I have a lot of smiles," I said and gave him a wide one.
He looked at his shoes and then back at me: "Your secretary smile."
"Uh?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You always use it, whenever a new secretary or anyone female is hired. Hence the name. It's charming, but not in a threateningly predatorial way. Like ˝hi, I'm not hitting on you, but in about two minutes you'll probably wish I was."
He said that last part in one breath. I just gaped at him for a few moments.
"You analyzed my smile?" I asked in utter disbelief.
"Of course I did. For the longest time, it was the only thing not on The Smirk Spectrum,"
"On the what now?"
His eyes got wide and the tip of his ears pink: "Nothing! Ok, good luck."
He tapped my chest once again and dashed away.
I chuckled. He is one interesting individual. I tore my eyes from his now distancing figure. Not a minute after we parted, I heard a voice behind me: "Excuse me."
I turned and before me now stood a young woman. Her hands were on her hips and her freckled face told me this might not be the most pleasant of conversations.
"How can I help you?"
She tilted her hand slightly, brown eyes evaluating me from head to toe.
"So you are Arons' new boy toy."