The letter read:
Dear Leia Sanders,
With great pleasure from us at Clayton's Events, we cordially invite you to the 25th Clayton's charity gala.
Date: 25th March.
Address: Swiss Milton Grand Hotel, F City.
Time: 5pm for red carpet and 7pm for the main event.
Dress theme: Nature's Beauty.
Please respond to this invitation using the email at the bottom of the page.
Looking forward to your amazing presence.
Signed
Hilliard Clayton
MD Clayton's Events.
I read and re-read the letter over and over again. Then just to be sure I wasn't imagining things, I handed the letter to Ellen for her to verify.
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as she asked me "You just got an invitation to the Clayton's Gala?!"
"I think so. Isn't that what they said on the paper?" I asked, still finding it hard to believe.
Now, let me give you the background. Clayton's Events is the biggest event company in the nation with so many medium and smaller sized companies scattered all over the country. The headquarters of this event company however is here in F City, the nation's capital.
As a tradition, Clayton Events host a charity gala annually and invite all the country's big shots, billionaire businessmen, politicians, actors, musicians, sportsmen... To attend this charity gala in order to raise funds to support certain causes. This gala was usually the talk of the town for weeks and a media sensation.
It had always been my parents' dream to be invited to Clayton's but they never got the chance. Now here I stood with an invitation being addressed to me.
"I can't believe this is happening. You know what this means right?" Ellen asked, her eyes shining bright with excitement.
The cog wheels of my brain began to spin rapidly as I thought of the possibilities.
Going to the gala could help me expand my circle and gain connections with a lot of important people. Then I could get them to donate to my school.
In fact, only attending the gala was enough. If the media should capture the fact that I was there at the gala, then I was pretty sure the donors would come running to me in order to boost their social image. Either way it was a win for me.
"An opportunity is knocking." I answered, the corners of my lips almost touching my ears.
"And what do we do with opportunities?" She asked me back, taking my hands in hers as we both jumped up and down.
"We take them and make the best out of them!" we both squealed together. This was our way of encouraging ourselves.
After squealing a good amount, we tried to calm down. Ellen went through the letter again while I slumped into the nearest bean bag chairs, trying to catch air.
"Wait! There's something we're missing." Ellen said. She was usually the one with the most brains, so if she called my attention to something, it was usually quite important.
I sat up immediately, my senses at alert. "What is it?"
"The charity event is usually a couples affair, and singles who are invited are paired with other singles to be their dates for the night."
I nodded in realization. I had no idea who I was being paired with but I knew it was one go the single males who were invited.
"How am I going to find out who the person is?" I asked Ellen like she would know the answer.
She shrugged first, then she gave it a thought. "it says here to respond using the email address at the bottom of the page. You can make your enquiries from there."
"That's so genius." I snapped in her direction. Then I went ahead to ruffle her short brown bob. "What would I do without your brains, Ellen."
She rolled her eyes and pushed me away. Soon we started to make plans for the even which was just two weeks away. What would I wear?
I wanted to wear something that would stand out. Ellen suggested wearing something that didn't stand out too much because it would make me look like I was desperate for attention. And that was not the impression I wanted to give my potential donors.
"When do you want to go dress shopping?" Ellen asked me.
"Isn't that too soon to worry about?" I asked, peering into my laptop. I had already started to make the research I needed to be able to make the most out of this event.
"You know you're not like all these celebrities who have private designers. You'll have to take your time browsing through stores to find the perfect dress."
10 points to Ellen again for her impeccable logical reasoning.
"You're right. I'll start this weekend."I said, making a mental note and hoping I could remember.
Ellen and I went to get lunch from a nearby restaurant and afterwards, I returned to my small studio apartment to rest. My mind was still reeling and I couldn't still believe that I was going to the biggest event of the year.
I plopped on my bed, brought out the invitation card from my bag to read it once again. What my parent haven't achieved in 25 years...
This should let them know that I don't need them. I was very capable of making something out of my life all by myself. They could keep their trust fund and connections to themselves.
My phone vibrated from a call and I picked it up to answer it.
"Good evening, Miss." a masculine voice I didn't recognize said. I hadn't really checked the caller ID.
"Good evening, Sir. How may I help you?" I asked uncertainly.
"Am I speaking to Miss Leila Sanders?" He asked in a warm but business like tone.
I nodded. "It's Leia."
"Huh?"
"You called my name wrong."
"Did I? I was pretty sure I called the right thing." The man at the end of the line mused.
"Anyway, my name is Lawrence Cooper, I am the secretary to the president of Sterling Holdings. I'm guessing you recently received the invitation to Clayton's?"
I nodded again. "Yes. I did." a secretary from Sterling Holdings?
"That's why I called, Miss. You happen to be the lady that was paired with my boss, Ethan Sterling for the charity gala. My boss asked me to inquire from you if there is any challenges in your preparation for the gala."
I shook my head. "None. Thank you for your concern."
"Well, if you encounter any problems in your preparation for the event, do let me know. You can reach me on this number."
"Okay." I replied. The line beeped
My partner was the Ethan Sterling? Ellen needs to hear about this.