The hotel's entrance was buzzing with the guests' arrival. Besides security that was busy regulating the reporters swarming the entrance, waiting for their chance to get a shot of the attending guests, onlookers could be seen eyeing the entrance too.
Olivia eyed the crowd unenthusiastically. Watching the crowd, she recalled the reason she never bothered with the invitation before.
"I might have been rash earlier."
Carlos frowned. It was clear that Olivia was losing her interest and he couldn't help noticing it. "Because?"
"I'm starting to feel bored."
Carlos suppressed another sigh. "I wish you can at least pretend to not be, miss."
"I tried," she shrugged nonchalantly.
"And you were looking forward to this too just a few hours back."
"I know."
Carlos didn't bother stopping his sigh at her response. He could sense a migraine coming if Olivia kept on with her devil-may-care attitude for the evening. He needed to make sure Olivia stayed at her best behavior to avoid any problem later, since she would be the one irritated if that happened. As her aide, he would be the one that need to face her irritation most.
Not that he minded it, but he preferred not to.
"I may sound out of line, but I would really appreciate it if you can find your earlier enthusiasm." He pleaded sternly. It was for the sake of many to have her on her best behaviour, and not following her ever changing whims.
Olivia lifted a brow. Carlos rarely used that tone when talking to her besides when he was very annoyed. An amused twinkle lit her eyes. "I shall do my best to keep your words at heart, Carlos."
All those while, Vivian that was seated next to Olivia was praying for their quick arrival. She couldn't stand the prickling tension emitted by Carlos and the obvious amusement from Olivia over the situation. It suffocates her. When they finally have their turn to enter, Vivian silently said her fervent thanks.
"Vivian." They were waiting for Carlos to open the door. Olivia regarded Vivian with a serious look.
"Yes, Miss Olivia."
"You're here as Carlos's partner tonight. Try to look the part."
Vivian was a very serious person by nature. Olivia was fine with it, since her job as Olivia's maid and also as the family's caretaker had required it. But for the night, she wanted Vivian to put it aside for a bit. She felt tired from just looking at Vivian's rigid posture.
Vivian reluctantly nodded. Relaxing herself, she forced herself to drop her working persona and instead donned on a composed expression. It was hard but as long as the words came from Olivia, she would see that it gets done if it was within her mean.
Olivia nodded approvingly. She needed Vivian at her best, and having her wound up tight in her work etiquette wouldn't help. Deciding to have her personal maid act as Carlos's partner had better not be a waste, she thought silently.
Carlos opened the door shortly and nodded at Vivian, a signal for her to exit the car. Once she was outside, Carlos turned to face Olivia. "Miss Olivia."
Olivia took Carlos's extended hand and got out of the car. The sight of her caused a small uproar among the reporters and the other attendees once she was out. Despite being slightly off scheduled, they were greeted by throngs of people. Many tried to have her attention and among them, there were always some that went overboard.
"Miss Queneviere! Please!" Shouts from many echoed around her.
Despite the securities best effort to manage the crowd, a stray reporter managed to slip pass them. Before the reporter could be dragged away by the security, Olivia was approached boldly. Trying her best to look the part, she immediately and proficiently pulled out her gadgets. "Miss Queneviere-"
Olivia had her eyes locked on the reporter's face and that was enough to freeze her on her feet. Despite the surrounding noises, everything appeared still to the reporter.
When the reporter remained silent, Olivia cast a glance to her side in slight annoyance and managed to silence a few more. Even the securities that were nearby felt the iciness of her stares.
Carlos stepped forward and did his best to remove the reporter out of the way while warning off the others. He would prefer it if Olivia wasn't angered. She already has close to none interest in the event. Another push and she might wreck havoc in ways only she could.
And he honestly dread that.
"My apologies, miss," Carlos said as they continued to walk down to the door. He was sincerely apologetic. And obviously wary.
"Forget it." Olivia waved it off. She could sense Carlos tensing, and Vivian wore an identical look. Rolling her eyes, she called them both. "Calm down. I won't go biting off anyone's head. Especially not yours. We're here tonight for business, and I plan to get what I'm here for."
Carlos and Vivian nodded obediently. They squashed their lingering doubt and prayed for the best. There was no guessing with Olivia on her temperament, so their best bet is to hope that everything would be alright.
Once at the greeting desk, Carlos pulled out Olivia's invitation card.
"I am here as Miss Queneviere's representative." He handed the invitation to the receptionist with a smile. Standing to his side was Vivian, who also gave the girl a polite smile.
"M-May I have your name sir?" The poor girl stuttered and fumbled as she pushed forward an attendance sheet for him to fill in. She was staring wide eyed at the two.
Olivia gently nibbled her lip, attempting to hide a grin. She couldn't blame the girl since even she ought to admit those two made a good picture of sophistication. Although, they probably had no idea since they were too busy keeping an eye on her.
Carlos replied with a polite smile that seemed to melt the girl even more. After he was done, he was shown inside and reluctantly entered with Vivian on his arm. The two of them anxiously turned their head to the counter as they watched and hoped for no problem to occur.
Olivia simply watched as Carlos moved into the hall and was humored over their apparent worry as she was left alone at the desk. That far into the building, she didn't have to mind about any reporters or such thing attacking her so she supposed she would be fine.
She stared at the receptionist who was busy perusing something on the computer screen. Without looking to her but with a polite smile on, the receptionist asked, "May I see your invitation, Madam?"
"I don't have one," Olivia said as she shook her head.
The girl finally looked up to her. Olivia smiled. "I'm supposed to be here as Cedric Faust's partner, but I haven't seen him anywhere. Do you think I can enter first?"
The girl kept on staring. Olivia frowned. She couldn't understand why people always stared at her weirdly whenever they first met. Last she checked, she was sure that she's normal; no extra limbs or anything weird on her face. Gently tapping the desk, she got the girl's attention back on her. "Is it possible?"
The girl's face turned red. She murmured an apology and asked Olivia to wait. When she found what she was searching for, her face became confused. "But Ma'am, Mr Faust had entered earlier with his partner."
"What?"
The shock in Olivia's seemed voice seemed to have caused the poor receptionist frightened that she began to apologize profusely.
Olivia assured her she was not angry, simply surprised, and apologized for raising her voice. As calmly as she could possibly do, she pulled out her phone to call Cedric, before Olivia noticed the long line behind her. She decided it best to step aside for others to proceed, and also to avoid curious eyes in case she decided to shout at the phone —or throw it at the wall.
The first thing she heard when Cedric picked up was his guilt-ridden voice. "I am really, really sorry, Queen."
"Of course you are, or you're dead." She said sweetly. The way she managed to convey her words so kindly yet lethally was very frightening. "And now what?"
It was more of a statement rather than a question. Cedric sighed wearily. He saw Carlos a moment ago with Olivia's maid, which mean that Olivia did not have an invitation for her self. He had hoped against all else that Olivia would have entered with Carlos, against all odds, to no avail. "Give me five minutes."
"Five minutes is long, Faust."
"Please Queen," he begged. He was already busy searching and scanning the room for the event hosts.
"Anything can happen in five minutes, and I'd rather not waste it waiting for you."
"Three minutes. I'll get you in. Please Olivia. I'm sincerely sorry, but I was-"
She could hear the sincerity but still, smoothly interjected him mid-sentence. "Then I'm even more sorry, Cedric."