"Man, this is good coffee," said Eric after he took a sip. "I wish we knew about this place a long time ago."
"You should thank Angel," said Leo as he took his coffee cup from the counter after paying. "She suggested that we come to this place."
"Now that I think about it," Eric turned to look at Leo as they approached the door of the café, "didn't her mum own a bakery before she died?"
It soon dawned on Leo like a revelation, and he turned to look at Eric. He remembered the look Angel gave him this morning when she directed Bill to this café. That must be it, he thought. "I should think so. But this can't be it, can it?"
"Maybe we should ask her. It might have been a bakery and also served as a café."
Eric has two coffee cups in his hands, so Leo had to open the door. When they walk out, they find Angel standing outside the car, leaning on the rear. They had left her in the car when they had gone inside and were surprised to see her standing there. She had her back to them looking across the road. Leo and Eric stood there in silence, looking at her.
"What do you think she could be looking at?" Eric asked, breaking the silence.
"I think we already know the answer to that," Leo answered.
They approached the car and Eric went on even closer towards Angel. "Hey," he said, coming into her view. "Your mind seems to have wandered off. Are you okay?"
Angel turned to look at Eric. "Yeah, sorry," she said. "I was just looking at the shop across the street."
Eric looked over at Leo, who also looked back at him. They both shifted their eyes across the street and there stood a shop. Just by looking at its huge display window, they could tell it was once a bakery. But now, the lights inside were off, and the place looked deserted.
"That was mum's bakery," Angel said as she went back to look at it. "But along with the house, the bank also took it away."
Eric gave Angel a sad smile. "Do you ever plan on getting it back?"
Angel scoffed. "To be honest, I was never really interested in baking like my mother was. Business was going well for a while until we started to go through some financial issues. I used to help out whenever I can before I found a job at the editing company to try to support us."
Angel now sniffed. Talking about it made her eyes start to water, but she fought back the tears as she passed her finger below her right eye. Leo couldn't help but look. For some reason, he felt a weird feeling in his chest. What could it be, he wondered.
"We can talk about that later if you want," said Eric. "It won't look good if you cry here in the street."
"Yes, you're right," said Angel as she tried to pull herself together. She took a deep breath and put up a smile.
"Here, the coffee is amazing," Eric held up the cup for Angel.
"I know, it's why I suggested we come here," Angel said with a laugh as she took it. "We used to serve coffee as well, but when this place opened, we tried it out. We couldn't deny that they serve very good coffee. Better than ours, to be honest."
"Well, you were right to come here," said Leo. "Dad also complimented that their croissants are good too."
Angel smiled at him. "They serve great pastries, no doubt."
"We better get a move on," said Eric. "Traffic is already starting to build."
"If you haven't noticed, Eric, there's already traffic," said Leo as he opened the driver's side of the car and went in.
Eric playfully rolled his eyes and Angel couldn't help but chuckle. He opened the back door for her, and she went in. She is greeted by Leo's angry stare.
"What?" she asked, trying her best not to burst into laughter.
"You were laughing at me, weren't you?" he asked.
"No," Angel puts her cup on her lips to conceal her smile. She knew Leo didn't buy it, so when Eric sits in the front passenger seat, Leo starts attacking him.
"What did you say outside?" Leo asked.
"What did I do?" Eric asked, looking puzzled. "That look of yours almost scared me. I would've spilt my coffee."
"Whatever. You said or did something silly out there."
"And what makes you say that?"
"Because Angel looks like she's on the verge of laughter right now."
"No, I don't," Angel tried her very best to sound serious, but she quickly thought she should try and keep her mouth shut.
"You see?" Leo pointed at Angel.
"Start the car, will you?" Eric proposed. "We need to leave. And like you said, we're already in traffic."
Leo didn't argue any further as he put his plastic coffee cup in the cup holder, inserted the key in the ignition and started the engine. Eric and Angel continued to look at him in silence, but Angel soon burst out laughing. She just couldn't hold it in any longer. Eric soon followed. Leo shook his head as he put the car in reverse.
"You two are hopeless," he muttered.
Eric and Angel continued to laugh. Leo did his best to ignore them as he reversed the car slowly into the road when there weren't any cars coming. When he was finally on the road, he put the car in drive. He looked up at the rearview mirror to see if there were any cars still heading his way. Angel was in his sights. She is still laughing and Leo looked at her for a second, before refocusing his eyes back on the road. For some reason, he found himself smiling. After realizing it, he felt like slapping himself for doing so.
"Okay, this coffee is good," said Eric after taking a few sips. "We should be stopping by that café in the morning for breakfast."
"I don't think so," said Angel. "We found Kim here this morning. So it's pretty obvious that she also comes here."
"Aw," Eric cooed as he turned his head to look at Angel. "Are you looking out for Leo now?"
"What are you saying?" Leo asked, giving Eric a brief glance. He felt his cheeks slowly heat up.
"Angel is so thoughtful, that she's even looking out for you, you sour puss," said Eric, giving Leo a light punch on the shoulder. "You should feel thankful."
"Maybe," Angel said as she looked out the window. "If you do come here, then either Eric or me should be getting the coffee. We already know how Leo easily gets irritated just by the sight of Kim."
"Yeah, I hear you. We don't want to hear a case of someone burning someone's face with hot coffee."
"Seriously, I wouldn't go to such an extent," Leo defended himself.
"But Angel does have a point. Kim is still upset. And in this case, I was actually picturing Kim burning your face, not the other way around."
"Same here," said Angel.
Leo shook his head as Eric and Angel both chuckled.
"Okay, it's settled," said Eric. "Leo, you're off limits from entering that place. Unless you don't have much of a choice."
No one said anything afterwards as Eric switched on the car radio and there came pop music from one of the radio stations he tuned in. Leo found himself looking up at the rearview mirror and his eyes fell on Angel. He replayed the conversation about Kim and the café, and he couldn't help but feel that Angel is indeed looking out for him. The thought of it made him feel some weird sort of comfort. The kind that could make anyone feel like they are being cared for. Does Angel really care about his whereabouts? He didn't want to think much of it, but the thought stuck with him. He concluded that the only reason she brought that up is because he's dating Carly and would do anything to make sure she's safe.
Maybe that's it, he thought. There's nothing to it.
He looked up at the rearview again and this time, he finds Angel shaking her head to the famous pop song that's now playing. She had a smile on her face, showing she really enjoyed it. Leo looked over at Eric, who looked out at the side mirror. The passenger window is wide open where Eric had a clear view of Angel in the backseat. He looked at Angel with a smile on his face. Leo rolled his eyes, trying his best not to think of what he has just seen. However, he can't help but conclude that Eric really looked like an idiot.
He looked up at the rearview mirror one more time, and he cleared his throat, looking back in front of him. He might not have realized it at the time, but the corner of his lips was raised up into a smile again.
***
Carly looked around the dressing room. The walls looked like they were coloured pink when there were wall lights above the room, making it appear so. At the end of the room stood a white dressing mirror table. There were all kinds of makeup tools and products. So too were hair products. Next to it is a mobile clothes hanger and Carly could tell that all the colourful outfits are skimpy. She hoped she could've the liberty of choosing an outfit. It won't be the first time she'll have to dress in such clothes.
She approached the dressing room and sat on the white plump stool in front of it. She can't start dressing up yet as she had to wait for further instructions from Red Lion.
As she looked at herself in the mirror, she couldn't help but get lost in her thoughts. At this time, she would've been home, obviously having a bath and relaxing until supper is ready. Not only that, but she would've joined Angel in her room and asked how her first day went and if she and Leo had an argument. The thought of it made her chuckle. They probably didn't have a go at each other since they were in a public place, she thought. But whatever frustrations they had had during work, they would probably take it all out at each other at home.
The thought of missing out on all those moments and to whatever may be happening back at the McDonell mansion made Carly sigh. It might not be her home, but she felt comfortable there, despite Mrs. McDonell constantly watching over her and Angel.
She felt her phone that she had in her hand beep. She has a message. It's from Leo telling her that he was told about her not coming home early. He also wanted to know how she's doing. She could call him, but it would be suspicious if he came to realize that she's in a quiet place and not where it's lively like a party.
Carly texted him back, telling him that she's fine. She also added that she missed him and couldn't wait to ditch the party a little early to come back home. But she knew as much that it isn't going to happen.
After she sent the message, a knock came at the door, and she told whoever it is to come in. She hoped it was Red Lion. She couldn't wait to get her instructions as she wanted all of this to be over. But she knew this night was going to take a lot longer than expected.
To Carly's disappointment, Alex appears from behind the door as he swings it open. She silently growled as she quickly turned her head to look back at the mirror.
"Here she is," she hears Alex say and that makes Carly turn again. Behind Alex is a middle-aged woman with wavy blonde hair that she let fall down her face. She wore a black blouse with matching black pants and boots. Carly couldn't help but notice that she had a pink makeup box in her hand.
"Carly, meet Jane," Alex introduced the two. "She'll be your makeup and hair stylist for the evening."
"Nice to meet you," said Jane as she made her approach towards Carly. "You naturally look very pretty."
It's not a comment Carly hasn't heard before. She smiled at Jane and said, "thank you. The pleasure is mine."
Carly couldn't help but notice the look Alex gave Jane after she complimented Carly. He didn't look surprised at all, but there was something in his expression that made Carly wonder what he had in mind.
"Now that you've been acquainted," said Alex, "I'll leave you to it. Red Lion will pass by as soon as you're done and give you a set of instructions, Carly."
"He better give it to me in full detail and not leaving a stone unturned," Carly emphasized. "You all have a tendency of not telling me anything."
"You should be telling that to Red Lion, himself. I'm just following orders. And if you think any of us really get to know the full details of his plans, then you're wrong. Just like you, he only tells us what we have to do. So do yours, okay?"
Carly folded her arms and pouted her lower lip. Alex thought she looked like a stubborn little girl who didn't like to take orders from anyone. He looked at her one more time and looked at Jane.
"Tell me if she gives you a hard time, will you?" Alex demanded.
"I don't think she will," said Jane as she smiled at him.
"In case she does, just do."
Alex turned around to leave the room, closing the door behind him.
"Well, that was quite a conversation," said Jane. "Have you two known each other for a long time?"
Carly scoffed as she turned to look back at the mirror, upset with Alex over their conversation. "No," she answered Jane.
"Mm, the two of you look that way. Anyway..." Jane came closer behind Carly and ran her hand threw Carly's hair. "Let's get you looking pretty. Red Lion wants you looking like the most attractive woman in the room."
"Pssh," Carly rolled her eyes. "Anyone can look like the most attractive person in the world with just a bit of makeup."
"Oh, honey," Jane cupped both of Carly's cheeks. "Red Lion knows I can make it happen. If I want to, I can even make you look far gorgeous that you can ever imagine."
Carly looked up at Jane through the mirror and didn't say anything. She decided to watch and see how things pan out.
***
Miranda laughed alongside Candy at a joke one of the girls had shared. Miranda held up her champagne glass and a blue-haired girl sitting across from her with the bottle of champagne poured the drink in her glass that it was full to the brim and over-flowed. Miranda giggled at the sight of champagne flowing down her hand. She took a swing of her champagne and gave a howl that the others did the same. Music played in the car and all the ladies were having a real good time as they danced. With the luxury they were having in the limo, Miranda knew she was about to have a good time at the actual party.
Miranda looked out the window as Candy, who is usually the loud mouth, captured everyone in some funny story about a certain client. Miranda wasn't really listening as she looked up at the dark night sky. It was then, that she realized that they were no longer in downtown New York. Strange, where could they be heading to, she wondered.
"Hey, Miranda, are you listening?" Miranda felt Candy shake her shoulder, bringing her attention back inside the limo.
"Huh, what is it?" Miranda asked.
"We were asking if you knew who this client is," said Candy. "The one hosting the party. I won't lie, he's really spoilt us with all this champagne."
"No, I don't know who he is. Walters didn't give me details."
"Well, as long as we have all this champagne to fire us up, I know I'm going to be paid well," said the blue-haired lady called Bubbles. She had her hair long tied into pigtails.
"I just hope we don't get to have weird customers over there," said Emma, a lovely brunette and the oldest among the five.
Candy laughed out loud. "You know that we will always have weird customers."
"I just hope they aren't criminals or gangsters, is what I really mean."
Everyone now grew quiet with only the loud music filling up the void of silence among them.
"Wow, what a nice way to spoil the mood, Emma," said Candy as she frowned.
"What makes you think they are criminals?" Bubbles asked, taking a sip of her champagne afterwards.
"I've been in this business longer than you have," said Emma. "Trust me, it might all seem like fun and games until you see the owner of the party give a speech with a gun raised and shooting in the air like it's nothing."
Miranda swallowed as she pictured it. Emma couldn't be serious, could she, Miranda thought to herself.
"Aw, you think too much," said Sandra who sat beside Emma as she brushed aside her long, blonde hair. The long fake lashes on her eyes, flickered up and down every time she blinked. She had glittering blue eyeliner, and with her lips painted in the same colour, she looked like a Bratz doll. "Didn't you tell me that story? It happened a long time before you came to work for Walters, right?"
"Yeah, even if it did," said Emma, "we should all be careful."
"But Walters has never taken us to such dangerous places, has he?" Candy asked. "You're just being paranoid, Emma. I bet wherever they're taking us, it will be fine."
The limo soon stopped moving and Miranda looked out of the window to see where they were. They were close to the New York harbour. She raised an eyebrow. Strange place to throw a party, she thought.
"Are we already here?" Candy asked as she leaned against Miranda to look out of the window.
"It doesn't look like it," Miranda answered.
The door to the limo soon opened, and they noticed the chauffeur bend his head over to look at the ladies inside.
"Hey, are you all having fun?" The chauffeur asked.
"Of course," said Candy, being loud as usual. "With all this bubbly champagne, who wouldn't?"
The chauffeur gave them a flashing smile. "That's good. The boss wants you all to have a good time, but there's a small favour that he wants from all of you."
All the ladies looked dead serious at the chauffeur. He might be smiling like a handsome school-boy, but his last statement made them realize that what he was about to tell them is pretty serious.
"And what is that?" Bubbles asked.
"He would like that you put these on," the chauffeur held up in his hands black blindfolds.
"Huh? This is silly," said Candy as she gave the chauffeur a disdainful look. "What do you take us for?"
"It's his request. I'm just following orders."
"Then why does he want us to wear these blindfolds?" Emma asked as she folded her arms. "I'm not wearing it until I get a reasonable explanation."
"He's a very strict and private man," the chauffeur answered. "He doesn't want anyone knowing where he's holding his party."
"But it's not like we'll come by once the party is over," said Sandra. "We know the kind of job we do and trust me, I don't think any of us would fall for our clients, right, girls?"
The rest responded, but Miranda's wasn't that convincing, and she knew that herself. Luckily, the others are all annoyed at the chauffeur to even notice it.
"Then I'm afraid I better turn back," said the chauffeur as he straightened himself. "If you walk into those premises without them, he'll have me fired on the spot. He's a difficult man to please."
Just as he was about to swing the door closed, Sandra who was close stopped him.
"Wait, give them to us," said Sandra as she held up her hand to get the blindfolds.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Emma asked as she raised an eyebrow at her.
"Do you really want to miss out on this party just because we couldn't abide to this little rule? Well, I'm not. I want to have a good night and get paid. If you don't like it, then you can walk on home."
"As much as I don't like this, I agree with Emma," said Miranda. "And remember that Collins gave us an instruction not to ask too many questions. Besides, it's not the first time we've gone to a place where we never knew where we were. There's that time for the van, remember? We couldn't see where we were going, and it was really uncomfortable."
"Screw it, we've been through worse," said Candy. "Give us the blindfolds."
"I'm afraid I'll have to put them on you, so if you don't mind, kindly step out of the vehicle," said the chauffeur.
Sandra sighed in frustration as she quickly got out of the limo first and the rest followed. The chauffeur blinded Miranda first, and she couldn't help but feel a little frightened with what's going on. The thought of the party being hosted by some criminal gangster came to her. Could Emma be right about this? But Miranda has been in these situations before. What made this one feel so different?
Afterwards, Miranda felt Candy who has been standing next to her help her back into the limo. She sat there, knowing fully well that she's right next to the window. She felt Candy come and sit next to her. It wasn't hard to tell who came in after the other, and as soon as Sandra was settled in, the chauffeur said:
"No one takes their blindfold off until we get there. We won't be long, so hang on tight."
He closed the door and walked back to the driver's seat. The women remained silent for a while until they felt and heard the car move.
"Goodness, this has ruined my mood completely," said Bubbles.
"I don't think it's that bad," said Candy. "That's only if I could find the champagne bottle. I remember putting it around here." Miranda felt Candy grope around looking for it.
"We might be dealing with a criminal after all," said Emma.
"Oh, don't start with that," said Sandra. "The guy would've pointed a gun at us if we refused to abide."
"Well, he should have. I really have a bad feeling about this."
"We can tell the chauffeur to stop the car. Is that what you want?" Candy asked.
Emma only scoffed and Miranda could imagine her folding her arms. When she didn't say anything, Candy laughed.
"At the end of the day, you know you need the dough more than anything," Candy continued to laugh, this time a little louder.
"Shut up, Candy," Emma snapped. "You aren't doing anyone any favours by laughing so loud."
"Yeah, she's right," said Miranda, nudging Candy with her shoulder. "If the windows were open people within a five-mile radius would hear you."
"Please, you're exaggerating, and you know it," Candy sounded irritated. Bubbles chuckled.
"Let's hope this party is worth going there blindfolded," said Sandra.
"Oh, trust me, something tells me it will," said Candy. "Isn't that right, Miranda?"
"Totally," said Miranda with anticipation this time. She came to the fact that she had mixed feelings about this, even though she was scared. But she knew that whatever came her way, she'll have to figure out how to deal with it.
***
"How is everything going on your end, Alex?" Mr. Walters asked as he came up behind him in the empty hall.
"So far so good," Alex replied as he turned to look at his employer.
"If it's not too much trouble, I would like that you take care of the group of ladies who will be coming from the club. They will be arriving anytime soon."
"Let me guess, they will be blindfolded as usual?" Alex had his eyebrow raised.
"Red Lion likes to be cautious." Mr. Walters shook his head. "Even our most important guests will be coming in blindfolded. If you ask me, it's silly."
"I heard him explain he's trying to make it more like an element of surprise."
"Well, no one needs to be brought in here like it's their surprise party."
Alex scoffed. "Can you blame the man? He's trying to make this party more intriguing."
"For those who don't know who he is, he's making himself look more like a gangster or who doesn't want anyone knowing where he holds his parties."
"Well, on his part, it's all for his protection."
"But not for those who truly know who he is. It's quite absurd. Anyway, just get ready to receive the girls. They will be here soon."
"Yeah, sure."
Before Alex could turn around, Walters said, "Alex, you and Red Lion have been talking a lot lately." Walters shortened the distance between them.
"Well," Alex shrugged his shoulders, "it's because of this party, right? We've been meeting a lot because of it. Why? Is there a problem?"
"Oh, nothing. If you ask me, he seems to have confided a lot in you these last few days."
Alex raised an eyebrow at him. "If I'm not mistaken, Mr. Walters, you're the one who brought me here, and told me to help in any way I can."
Walters sucked his teeth. "I know. However, after this job, I'm afraid he will realize how efficient you are. More efficient than his closet goons, Carlos and Hugo."
"It's just this party thing and that's it. Remember, I only follow your orders. If you don't want me working with him on any other project, then I won't."
Walters titled his head. "Good. However, he might call for you once in a while, and it will be tough since he can be persistent."
Alex continued to look at Walters, and he couldn't help but feel his employer was trying to get to something. He just hoped that it wasn't what he thought it was.
"I'll be heading downstairs to check on the women," said Alex, marking the conversation over.
"Sure, you do that. We'll talk later." Mr. Walters turned around and went back the way he came.
Alex looked at him before he also turned around. And he couldn't help but feel Mr. Walters might be up to something.
***
"Ah, there you are," said Jane as she smiled brightly at Carly. She gently cupped Carly's cheeks so as not to ruin her makeup. "Do you want to see yourself? You look like a Barbie doll."
"Let me see," said Carly, wanting Jane to move aside.
Jane did just that, turning the chair Carly sat on so that she could face the mirror. When Carly saw herself, she couldn't help but feel she was staring at a whole different person. It was her, but with the peach and glittery eyeshadow and eyelashes, she looked different. If anyone who knew her were to see her right now, they wouldn't even think that it's her; that's if they look really hard enough.
Carly pulled the chair to get a little closer to the mirror to look at herself. She can't believe it. Jane is a very good makeup artist. She could barely believe that it's herself staring back through the mirror.
"I know, I'm fantastic, aren't I?" Jane asked, sounding flustered. "It's the reason why Red Lion hired me."
"I won't deny it," said Carly as she tilted her head to look on the right side of her face. "You're superb, Jane, really."
"Aw, thank you, dear. Red lion will be more stunned to see you."
Carly rolled her eyes while looking in a mirror, and it made Jane giggle at how pretty Carly looked when she did that.
"I wonder why he wants me looking like a Barbie doll," said Carly. "With this makeup, I look like an entirely different person."
"He wants you looking like the prettiest woman in the party and also for anyone not to recognize you as you."
Carly turned in her seat to look at Jane. "He doesn't want anyone recognizing me? Could there be people he's inviting to the party that might?"
"Maybe. I'm just doing what he ordered me to."
"Seems strange for him to want to hide my identity." Carly looked back at the mirror. "I almost feel like a performer in a mask."
"A perfectly designed mask if you ask me."
A knock came at the door and Jane quickly turned around to open it. Red lion soon walked in, and when he saw Carly's reflection in the mirror, he stopped to take in her alluring presence.
"Oh, my, Jane," said Red Lion as he approached Carly from behind. "You really went all out, didn't you?"
"This isn't my finest of works, but I'm glad that I've managed to impress you, Red Lion," said Jane as she gave him a huge grin.
"You really do look beautiful, Carly," Red Lion with a genuine smile. "All the men will drop dead when they see you."
"Thanks," said Carly, not sounding grateful over the compliment.
"I had Jane pick out a dress for you as well," said Red Lion. "Within an hour the party will begin. The guests have already started to arrive."
"I thought I was going to pick out clothes from there," Carly pointed at the clothes hanger by the corner of the room.
"You, Carly, need to look more refined like your makeup. Jane, bring in the dress for her."
"Oh, yes, the hanger is just right in the hall," said Jane. She walked out through the open door.
Red lion continued to look at Carly through the mirror and Carly in return, looked away, feeling uncomfortable.
"I'm only here to give you your set of instructions for tonight."
"Well, it's about time," said Carly as she took an eyebrow pencil on the dressing mirror table.
Red Lion could already tell that Carly isn't in a good mood. He came to stand next to her, making Carly feel even more uncomfortable.
"You sound a little cranky," said Red Lion as he looked down at her. "Alex did warn me to be careful with you tonight. And that's not the right mood for this party."
"I'm sorry if my mood doesn't suit yours, but if you did talk to Alex, then you'll know that I'm not happy with the way you go about your plans and don't tell me until the last minute."
"Yes, I was told, and I apologize." Jane soon entered the room with a black garment bag. "It's a big party after all, and I've been busy."
Carly gave Red Lion a look. He knew she didn't believe him.
"What are my instructions?" Carly asked.
"Ah, hold your horses," said Red Lion as he turned to look at Jane still holding the garment bag. "Let's see the dress Jane picked out for you, alright?"
"I thought you would never address it," said Jane as she grinned. Carly turned a 180 in her chair to look at Jane who had already started to unzip the bag as she held it up the hanger. Carly raised her eyebrows when she saw the dress.
"Beautiful, Jane," said Red Lion, sounding so exhilarated. "With the way she's looking and this outfit, no doubt she will stand out."
"That's the whole point. I knew you would like it. And I made sure to bring in matching shoes too. Don't you like it, Carly?" Jane now looked at Carly.
"It's gorgeous, Jane," said Carly, putting up a small smile. "You really know how to pick a dress."
"I know, don't I? If you'd like, I can be your personal clothes designer."
"Thanks, but there are a lot more rich people out there who would love to have you."
"Now, back to the topic at hand," said Red Lion as he turned to look at Carly. Jane went to hang the dress on the hanger in the room. "Your instructions."
Carly slowly turned to look at Red Lion. "I hope it won't be complicated."
Red Lion scoffed. "I should've warned you before that working with me is complicated."
Jane giggled. "It's true. He's not like any straight forward man."
"I was also born complicated," Carly looked at Jane through the corner of her eye. She looked squarely at Red Lion, and this time, she had a deadly stare. "What are my instructions?"
Red Lion smiled after seeing the look in her eyes, and he knew from then on that she was going to take her role seriously.
***
"We're finally here, sir," came a voice of a man with a strong British accent. "Have you enjoyed your ride so far?"
"Pssh, enjoyed it? I rather hated it. Can you remove this blindfold now? Before it gets me on my nerves."
The man soon got what he wanted as he felt the chauffeur come up behind him and remove the blindfold covering his eyes. He had to blink a few times for his eyes to adjust to the lights. There stood floodlights that shone brightly on him. He shielded his eyes with his hand.
"What the heck is this?" he asked. "Am I on some show or something?"
"You always complain about everything, don't you, Andre?"
Andre turned to where the voice came from and approaching him was Red Lion in a stunning black cocktail suit. Andre raised his sharp eyebrows at Red Lion, but a smile soon came across his face as he went over to greet his comrade.
"I'm glad you could make it, brother," said Red Lion as they gave each other a brotherly hug.
"Well, I couldn't ignore your invitation," said Andre after they broke away from each other. "You do throw the best parties."
"Coming from you, I feel glad," said Red Lion as he patted Andre on his shoulder. He looked down at his smart red jacket and black pants. "You look good today."
"Well, look at you," said Andre, staring down at Red Lion in the same way. "I knew you would look great, so I told myself I had to do the same."
Red Lion laughed as he looked at the vehicle Andre came in. The British chauffeur brought out two beautiful Mexican ladies out of the car also in blindfolds. Two other black cars were lined up behind the first car and Andre's security detail also came out, removing their blindfolds.
"I see you brought some ladies with you," said Red Lion as he looked at Andre.
"Well, yes," said Andre as he turned to look at them. "Just showing them a wonderful night." He now looked at Red Lion. "That is if there are even prettier girls at the party."
"Oh, there are," said Red Lion. "Come. Sorry for all the floodlights, since it gets dark out here. But then, I want my guests to feel like superstars."
"What are you getting at, Red Lion?"
"You feeling like a celebrity is what I mean. Follow me, please."
Red Lion led the way in the direction in which he came and Andre now noticed what he meant. They were now walking on a straight red carpet with the floodlights on either side. The ladies he came with, quickly came to join him in their short glittering black dresses. Andre hadn't noticed this before, but besides him and the security detail that came behind him, Red Lion's men were all around. Other guests had also arrived and were also walking down the dock covered by a red carpet ahead of him which led to a huge cruise ship.
It looks like the party will be great, Andre thought to himself.