Jessica had learned how to dance back in uni, but it was the first time she actually tried it, and it was with a man who had repetitively come to her dreams for months.
Some of the details from her dream kept coming to her head, and she couldn't help but blush and lower her head, like a child who had done something wrong and was waiting for the punishment to come.
It was not until the dance was almost finished that she realized she and Jordan were the center of attention. The other dancers were also dancing but had been tactfully staying at the outer perimeter of the dance floor.
Some senses came back to her head. She looked up and into Jordan's eyes, "Who are you?"
Jordan smiled, "You'll soon know, but I hope it wouldn't change anything between us."
Anything between us? Jessica's heartbeat accelerated.
He looked at her seriously, "None of those labels you will hear could define me, and I hope you'll still be interested enough to learn more about me on your own instead of being told by others."
Jessica was not a foolish girl. Hearing this from him, she asked, "Are you really the son of a CEO of the company or something like that?"
Jordan laughed, "Who told you that?"
"I just guess. You're obviously too young to be a CEO yourself." Jessica said coyly.
"How should a CEO be?"
"A much older man, perhaps with graying hair?" Jessica said.
Jordan laughed again, "Age is just a concept. If you jump out of its confinement, you would be able to enjoy the immense freedom and possibilities."
Jessica nodded, "True. So you're a young CEO? Wow!"
"Is that very important to you?" Jordan suddenly became serious.
Jessica answered without even thinking, "Yes and no. You would still be you, so it wouldn't matter. Plus, who wouldn't want to befriend awesome and powerful people? But it also means that I would attract trouble if I stay close to you."
"Do you always speak your mind like this?"
"I always try to, but I'm also very considerate to the feelings of people, especially ones I care about."
"Does that mean you care about me?"
Oops! Falling into his trap! Jessica laughed, "You're very smart."
"Same as you." Jordan laughed too.
After the dance, Jordan went and talked to some important-looking men.
Jessica wandered around a bit. A few people started talking to her, very respectfully after they had seen her dancing with Jordan. It confirmed Jessica's suspicion that Jordan was one of the CEOs of the company.
Some girls were fascinated by her dress. And one said, "I saw this dress on the In Vogue magazine. It's gorgeous and really expensive."
Another asked, "It suits you perfectly too. Is it a gift from Mr. Sanders?"
Another said, "I've heard that the designer is new but very talented. Some very important fashion critics said they would really look forward to seeing more of her works."
Jessica felt the joy and also the pressure of hearing this, but before she could answer any of the questions, a high-pitch voice suddenly said, "A gift from Mr. Sanders? She might have stolen the dress."
Everyone fell silent and looked at the speaker. It was none other than Candy, who had a sneer on her face at the moment.
To Jessica's surprise, she was not dressed in the same dress as her, the one she had bought the other day at the shop.
The truth was, after Candy made the purchase, her father got so upset that he had made her go and return it. The salesgirl at the shop didn't forget to finally show her a piece of her mind by not treating her that respectfully again, especially after Candy made it clear that she would not return the gifts she had taken when making the purchase.
"Just a gifts scammer."
The salesgirl's whisper to another girl as Candy was walking away was like fire, burning a deep humiliation mark onto her back.
She had planned to wear it and attract Jordan's attention at the party. Actually, she had come working in the company for this sole purpose.
Her family had always wanted to marry her to someone important and up to or even higher than their rank so that they could grow bigger. Candy had been a beauty since little, and a family like hers never wasted such beauty on trivial men.
So her father had pulled some strings and got her into the company so that she would have the chance to get close to Jordan.
However, Jessica had shown up, who seemed to be more beautiful than her. What was worse, she had had the blind luck to "bump" into Jordan on the first day and successfully get his attention.
She was so mad at Jessica and had taken her as the biggest enemy since day one.
Without the new dress, she had put on another that was also expensive and a "big name", but not as glamorous as Jessica's, which was the new focus of attention.
Also, Jessica had had the full attention of Jordan the moment she set foot in the room. And she had stolen the chance to dance with Jordan.
While she, Candy the beauty, had been standing in a corner like a wallflower trying hard to smile and not to show the boisterous anger inside her.
But then, after a second thought, she started thinking why could Jessica have got the dress.
She was certain that it was the same piece from the shop, the one she had returned, so she knew how much it would cost.
Also, the salesgirl had said it was the last piece, while the magazines had said all had been sold quickly despite the jaw-dropping price.
She had actually done some digging on Jessica and found that she was just an ordinary girl from a poor single-parent family. So how could she have had the money to spend on a dress like this?
A girl had just asked if it was Jordan who had bought Jessica the dress, but Candy guessed it was not, because Jessica seemed still oblivious to the identity of Jordan, and Jordan had always been a cautious man. He wouldn't give such a generous gift right from the start.
So there was only one possibility. Jessica must have got it through some unspeakable means, and she, Candy Simpson, should take advantage of that to eliminate the enemy.
That was why she had said what she had just said, that Jessica had stolen the dress.
A girl asked her, "Whom has she stolen from?"
Candy sneered, "I happened to have bought the same dress a couple of days ago, but it is now gone."
She felt smart about her words. Yes, she did have paid for the dress and the dress was now indeed gone. She was not lying at all, was she?
The crowd started whispering.
But another girl asked, "But it didn't mean she's stolen yours, right? She could have bought it herself."
Candy laughed coldly, "I've heard from one of her schoolmates from uni that all the money her family would spend in a whole year would not add up to the price of this dress. Plus, when I bought it, the shop told me that it was the last piece on the market. The designer had only made 8 pieces, and all 7 had been sold by the time. Despite whether she had the money, she obviously had NOT bought it because she was also checking on it."
The girl who had spoken earlier asked again, "But how could you be sure that she had stolen yours?"
Candy replied, "When I bought it, she was also at the shop hoping to get this dress, as well as a few of my friends. We went on shopping after the purchase, and she must have followed us and stolen it when I was not noticing because I found it gone in the end. It must have been taken by someone who knew its value."
She had said every word with deliberation. The first half was to add credibility to the fact that she had indeed bought the dress. Nobody needed to know that she had later returned it. It had also sent the message that Jessica wanted the dress. And the second half was to imply that it was highly likely that Jessica was the thief.
The whispers in the crowd got noisier.
Another girl asked, "Why didn't you call the police and mall security at the time?"
Jessica faltered a bit, as it was a question she had not thought of, but she quickly came up with an answer, "I was so upset that I simply forgot to call the police. It was obviously the best choice at the moment. Silly me. And I have allowed the thief to escape right under my nose."
Her last words were to emphasize again that Jessica was the possible thief, bringing the attention back to Jessica.
Everyone was now looking at Jessica, waiting for her to defend herself.