CHAPTER 4
After that terrifying night at Code Black with Lucian it had being torture for me. Nightmare after nightmares.
And it affected my sleep in a sense that i had to keep my eyes open in the qualm of Lucian barging into my bedroom and blowing my brains out. The past few days was one of the awful days of 21 years of my life. I even thought of taking at least a week off deliberating on the advice Lyra had given me but I briskly dismissed that thought when I recollected that my pay is near. And I had my tuition to cover up, my rent was also due, I was also out of groceries. I couldn't even make taste this morning because there wasn't milk and butter. Arggh, I don't want to start listing.
Last night I checked my savings details and I learnt i had saved up to 90,000 dollars. I just needed three more months of working for Lucy and my 8 more other bosses, three more months of taking Lucy's nagging, three more months of depriving myself of sleep, and I would reach my budgeted saving.
My phone beeped and Carson's message popped up on my screen. Carson had being trying to get in touch with me since that incident in code black but I'm not just in the mood to speak to him. I need time to think over the deal, no, I deserve time. I shouldn't be accepting this right away, I have every right to go over it again and again and I hope Carson would just read the room and leave me the fuck alone for some time, at least.
I shoved his text notification out of my lockscreen and tossed my phone back into my pocket. Then, another beep went off in my pocket and when I fetched it out again it was Lyra. She was asking me what dress I had picked for tonight's--
Oh shit! I forgot. I had lost a bet to Lyra and she demanded I accompany her to some business dinner I know nothing about as penalty. I felt defeated so I had no other choice than to say yes. When I agreed, I thought I had a load of time to get prepared and pick a dress to wear and now I can't believe that Friday that sounded like 2 weeks later had come by so quick.
I peered at the time hanging on the wall at the other end of the café's counter it read 6:15 pm, I had 15 minute till my shift ends and had 20 minutes to prepare for the party.
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Beeeep Beep Beep Beep
The sound of the horns sang over the extremely loud music in Lyra's car. Every vehicle that passed by will throw eerie glances at us and the annoyed ones will cast us a long disgusting stare. However, we kept bopping our head and singing along to Miley Cyrus euphonious impressive vocals.
One of the things that connected us together was our love for the same artist.
Taylor Swift.
Back then, we would save our lunch money into our piggy banks and would get a Taylor swift album.
We always fought for who would hold it whenever we bought it on our way home from school. I could even recall one time, we saved a huge bunch for her concert and we gave a guy who promised to buy us a ticket because we couldn't purchase it being below 18, he duped us and when we tracked him to his house we had him beaten to a pulp at the front of his girlfriend.
A huge smile creeped across my lips as I recollected the memory.
Soon after, the road was free and we made our drive to the venue in Lyra's G-wagon.
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The venue is definitely not something I had pictured. Okay, I have seen it in pictures but I never pictured myself walking through those gold brass doors.
I never imagined standing before the most eminent hotel in NYC like this.
I never for once thought I would be one of those lucky people to walk through Havilla Hotel gold brass doors.
Wow. I think I can relate when people say places turns out better than seen in picture. Why the hell is it so huge??
And the floors?? Gosh!!
I made an attempt to start counting the floors when Lyra slapped me on my back.
"Girl! How did you--?" Lyra sure knows how to smuggle her way amongst the rich since she was a kid, it was a gift that came with her charismatic look - to command attention with those fierce looking eye, she was intimidating but I don't think she would have used just those to earn her self a pleasurable visit to the most luxurious hotel in NYC.
This is...
Impressive.
Lyra beamed at me, those pretty ocean eye glittering.
I threw her a suspicious look.
"Hey, don't even dare--! I would never fuck for money, Daphne." She cleared her throat, her pretty eye smile returning to her cute round face. "Let's just say we are lucky and then I would drop details later. For now, we are late"
She dragged me along, into the hotel and she didn't even allow me to to take in the alluring moment I walk through those doors.
However, a huge gasp escaped my red painted lips.
This place is extremely divine! Golden! Splendid!
The reception alone dances in glory!
The floor were made of sparkling blue granite showing the perfect reflection of the chandeliers dangling on the ceiling. Although there is only out of the original hangs between the lobby and at the first glance you'd think its a calving or a sculpture but its actually a chandelier.
Its actually a statue. A statue of a woman dancing but it was disguised as a chandelier and it looks so damn familiar.
There was a fountain by the corner - the water is sprinkling in five places in a blue color. There was also a waiting area which had 3 seater sofa. A first-class looking Lady sat comfortable on the sofa accompanied by bichon frise dog.
However, what captured my focus is that chandelier in form of a statue, it looks so much like something I remember.
Something that might be in my memory. It reminds me of--
"Okay, tour is over now. We are fucking late, Lyra!" Lyra's high pitched voice interrupted me, she pulled me along with her but I still kept looking back at that chandelier, at that statue until we were out of glimpse. Where have I seen that?
The event hall was nothing compared to what I had seen in the lobby earlier. It looked like I walked right into heaven. It was like a gallery. Like an exhibition. It also had chandeliers - red and blue which made the hall cozy and cuddled up but instead of being hanged, the chandelier stood like a candle stick behind the walls
They were up to six of them on each side of the room that glimmered brightly.
I don't know but this hall don't seem normal, it looks historic.
It had paintings I can't seem to explain on the ceilings and at the centre there is an italic word I tried to read but failed.
The paintings looked like ancient Greek arts. Archaic paintings, cycladic paintings,I guess. But, I love it.
I admired the hall as I brushed past people entertaining the expensive smell of perfumes and Cologne that flowed through the room.
I nudged Lyra's elbow.
"Did you see that statue in the lobby? Uhm. That one in the chandelier"
"Yeah?" She rolled her eyes, slipping a drink from a waiter passing by.
"Don't you think we've seen it before?"
"What statue?" She pursed her neatly read painted lip. "Look, we are not here for that. You don't want to know what I went through to get us here and then you want me to spend my precious time recounting where I had seen a stupid boring statue. You are ridiculous, Daphne."
She allowed her ocean blue eyes to scan the room properly which she had being doing since we stepped our foot in here. I don't know Lyra's mission here but its probably going to be a bad idea.
Her oceanic eyes finally settled behind me dancing in blissfulness when it did.
"Okay, so what now?" I asked, slipping a drink from a passing server and dropped it in another when it tasted like vodka. I almost spat it out, the taste was too strong.
Lyra swirled me around forcing me to face a group of puissant looking men chatting and laughing at the corner of the hall.
"You see that one with cashmere blue suit?" Lyra asked, whispering into my ears. "He is my target, my 'one-night-stand' target." She shot me a creepy smile. "I need to do this. if I don't we won't be coming here again and you would never see your familiar statue again" Her eyes whirled with desperation and determination. I don't think I've ever seen that look in Lyra's eyes. She looked nervous too. I looked back at the man who was still laughing at the unknown men. He looks familiar though. Why does everything here look familiar??
"He is the CEO of Fins electrons"
Oh, that's why he was familiar.
"And you should also try your luck, Daphne. Get yourself a man it dosen't hurt to cheat just once."
I scoffed. That statement threw me off. Its unperturbed.
"I. Have. Carson" I shot back at her.
"I said a man!" She fired back glaring at me from the corner of her eyes, the guy she told me about minutes ago still had her full focus. The guy isn't all that bad but I can't pin him as someone to be desperate for. Lucian should be given that title.
He is awe-strucking.
He walks like he is taking a model runway. Like, every steps enumerates. He walks with confidence, power, control.
He is handsome and he knows it. He is the kind of man I could get desperate for. But not at this time in my life, I have a boyfriend and I seriously need to stop entertaining images of Lucian in my head. He and I had cut ties - as if there was even any ties to begin with.
"Do you find any of them attractive?"
"Lucian" it slipped out of my tongue with a sloppy smile before I realized what I was responding to.
Lyra burst into a crackle of laughter attaining attentions across the room because the place was super quiet before Lyra's high pitched laugh broke out. You could only see businessmen gathering in twos and threes discussing business in a hushed tone which is weird.
"You have being fantasizing about Lucian Leon??" She freaked out.
"No, its not that. Lyra, I'm--" I suddenly lost composure of words.
"So tell me, do you always touch yourself thinking about Lucian?" She suppressed a laugh.
"Stop! Its not what you think. I was just not in my right mind and the name rolling out of my mouth wasn't my intention"
"Uh-uh. With that smile, huh?" She smirked at me. "Look, its nothing to be ashamed of. I understand."
"There is nothing to understand, nothing is going on, Lyra. I'm not--"
"Hey, he is on the move, gotta go." Lyra cut me shut and slipped away charging after the cashmere suit guy. I sighed and decided to help myself with a shot of tequila. I needed it. The chandelier light, the soft background music and the rich Cologne is already giving me some sort of nausea.
I moved closer to the hall where all sort of drinks are arranged in different color, there isn't a bartender there which gives you the pleasure to choose any drink of your choice. I fished out the blue one i guessed to be tequila and took a sip. It was different from earlier, I think that one was vodka. This one had a sharp burning taste that dosen't appear until you swallowed it. It burned my throat.
I decided to go over Lyra's question earlier. I hadn't pinned down anyone has Lucian kind of handsome since I got here.
I scanned the hall. I think my standard of my definition of handsome had changed since I met Lucian. Oh, obviously excluding Carson. Carson is exceptionally the most handsome to me. I scanned the room once again and freezed when I recognized someone at the corner of my eyes talking to a man. I threw my eyes towards the direction and Lucian comes into my view.
Lucian was by the other bar, meters away from the one I leaned on. He was speaking with a man in his late 50s. And from the way the words rolled out of his tongue, they weren't English maybe Spanish.
His middle center curtain hair occasionally falling off to the edge of his eye and the way he brushed them back with those masculin hands, a silver ring wrapped around his index and thumb finger and his tattoo briefly coming into view from beneath his tshirt.
His tshirt was rolled up slightly and a tattoo on his left wrist slightly peaked out from the tshirt and he had three buttons undone from the top exposing a faint view of his broad chest.
The other man had said something I was really curious about because it made Lucian laugh widely, his dimple moving in sync.
That is really hot if you ask.
Wait...
What???!!?
I'm doing it again!! Swooning over another man! No, swooning over Lucian!
I turned my back against him and began to sneak out before he sees me. This sneaking out be such a great success, so help me God.
I then bumped into someone.
Lyra.
She looked happy. Satisfied.
Her red hair was messy a little bit and her floral belted mini dress had a slight change - the belt had loosen.
She really gets what she wants dosen't she?
"Did you get his number?" I asked fully aware of the obvious answer.
"No. I got an invite to his house. I can stop at anytime" A victory smile pulled on her nude painted lips swinging his business card to my face.
"What is he?" I asked out of curiosity.
"He owns a lingerie company. He and Lucian are business patners"
Lingerie company? Why does it feel like dude is going to be a pervert.
"Where were you tip toeing to?"
Right!
I had forgotten the reason I bumped into Lyra.
I need to be out of here in minutes.
I turned to the direction where I had seen Lucian expecting him to be no longer there but he was there and he caught my gaze and looked away.
Disappointed, I turned to Lyra who was typing into her phone already.
Why was I even disappointed? Isn't that what I had wanted? For him to never recognize me.
But no matter how I tried to brush it off, the sting is still there. So our two nights of encounter meant nothing. Great.
I felt a sting of tears in the corner of my eyes.
"Lyra, I want to go home" I tried not to show the change in my voice. Lyra who was typing into her phone earlier was now looking above my shoulder with an expression I can't explain.
"I don't think you'd want to be home anymore when you--" she cut herself off and twirled me around coming face to face with Lucian who is now few feets apart.
"Nice to meet you again..." He trailed off, eyeing my outfit and halting his gaze at my heel, a mischievous smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "I can see the ball gown is your favorite outfit"
Then I realized I wore the same dress I wore the night I first met Lucian - a black long sleeve top and ball gown skirt which had a floral decoration on the chest and waist area. A black strappy but the only different is that this time my thick blonde was styled in a perfect tumbling waves.
I really wished the ironic statement where people said they want the ground to open up and swallow them was true.
I straightened my position and dropped my dazed expression.
"I thought I asked you to stay away from me" I almost stumbled on my words. If I hadn't slowed down a bit at my few last words I would have stuttered and that would have being the last straw on the camel's back.
"This is my party,Daphne."
He knows my name? A rush of pink shade brushed my cheek and I almost smiled.
Almost. I didn't.
"Well, its a good thing you are here, Daphne."
What??
What does that mean??
A good thing???
"I have an interesting deal for you"
"What's that?"
"I can't possibly enclose that here" he gestured around. He moved closer, his vibrant rich lemon scent brushes my nose and I almost inhaled it. He leaned in, making me take a step backward.
He pulled out a card and handed it to me. I collected it inspecting the gold card. It wasn't a business card, what the hell is this?
"That's the key to my penthouse here. By 10pm tomorrow. 10 seconds late is being late."
He started walking away. "I'll see you later."
And he disappeared into the crowd leaving behind his rich lemon scent.
I think this is heaven giving me another chance.
To make things right.
To make things work.
To seduce Lucian Leon in the right way and make him fall for me.
I stared at his penthouse key and a smirk formed in my lips.