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1
PYPER
I had too many glasses of champagne. I knew that was the case because my face felt hot, and there was a little flutter in my belly.
I reached up and ran my fingers around the feathers that lined my eye mask. The company party was a masquerade, and we had every employee present in a massive banquet hall of a fancy downtown hotel.
The French doors were open, which led out to the gardens where string lights surrounded the stone patio. A large chandelier hung above the polished dance floor. The open bar was off to the side, where a line of people always seemed to be in place.
I didn’t bother with the mixed drinks and just snagged champagne flutes off passing waiters’ trays.
The company I worked for dealt with corporate events, organizing auctions, holiday parties, and any other professional business celebrations. We landed a rather large account with one of the biggest banquet centers in North America. And because of it, the bosses had thrown a company-wide party to celebrate. It was a little “thank you” to all the employees for helping make it possible.
I personally had no hand in making any of this possible. Hell, I stayed in my little cubical and did data entry. But I wasn’t going to pass up quality food or free champagne.
And if I weren’t here, then I’d be home watching reruns and eating takeout, which was my favorite thing to do, if I were being honest.
But a girl had to get out and not be an introvert all the time.
I could mostly tell who was who at the company… well, at least their rank.
The ones who were CEOs, executives, hell, even their personal secretaries, all wore extravagant gowns, tailored suits, fancy-as-fuck masks, and jewelry that was too gaudy, even for an event like this.
The employees like me—people who were lower on the social totem pole of the company—weren’t in glitzy outfits. Our masks were something you’d get from a party store, or in my case, one I made myself.
But God, my mask was classy, with crystals, feathers, and satin trim.
I’d only been at the company for six months, so I felt out of place for celebrating a new account that had been in the works for over a year. But my ass wasn’t going to turn down a buffet and free booze.
I wasn’t stupid.
I finished off my flute of champagne and set it to the side before snagging an hors d’oeuvre from a passing waiter. Soft music played overhead, and my focus landed on the dessert table across the room.
I didn’t really know anyone here, and that wasn’t because they were all wearing masks and I couldn’t really make out their identities. My position kept me in my own cubical in a small office on the third floor of the company building. Everyone who worked with me kept to themselves. And truth be told, I wasn’t a very sociable person. Aside from my best friend and my mother and father, who I saw frequently, I didn’t much care for interaction in the outside world.
I much preferred staying in, watching TV, and eating takeout.
I made it to the dessert section. There was a four-tier display of macarons, candy-coated fruit, parfaits, mini tarts, cupcakes, and liquor-infused chocolate-covered cherries. Best believe I snagged several of the latter, along with macarons and the tarts.
The room was becoming thick and suffocating, but I blamed it on the alcohol and not so much the bodies crammed in the banquet hall. The air felt stifling and overheated. I went out to the patio and sat down on the stone bench, staring out at the gardens.
The landscaping lights illuminated enough that I could tell the shapes of the trees, bushes, and what looked like a rose garden off in the distance. And then I just ate my dessert, listened to the music, let the night air cool me down, and talked myself into staying for another half hour before silently slipping out.
This event was quickly reaffirming I couldn’t stand these fucking things.
A deep voice spoke from the other side of the patio, breaking me from my reverie, and I glanced up, not seeing anyone right away. It was then I noticed a large body unfurl from the stone bench across from me. He wore a full-on mask, unlike mine that just surrounded my eyes.
I looked around. Surely, he wasn’t speaking to me. At this point, my buzz had turned into full intoxication. Warmth moved through me at a steady pace, and my fingers and toes tingled. My face felt hot to the touch, and overall, I just felt free and light.
So when he came close enough to me, leaning against the railing of the garden patio, I didn’t move. His presence instantly affected me in a way I’d never felt before. It sounded cliché as hell, but the truth was the truth.
The night was a little bit breezy, so his scent carried in the air. It seemed to surround me, and I inhaled deeply before taking another long pull from my glass. I could smell his cologne, and it tightened my skin and had the hairs on my arms standing on end.
Oh yeah… the champagne was champagning.
He wasn’t looking at me, so I let myself appreciate the very size of him. He had broad shoulders and a massively strong-looking frame. The suit he wore didn’t hide the very clear, muscular, masculine physique he sported.
I wasn’t someone who usually sized up other people, but this man had to be easily six-foot-three with the build of a linebacker.
