I look out at the view once more, and realize I’m happy to be here. A night out will do me good. Sure, it’s extremely intimidating, but it’s good for me to get out of my comfort zone once in a while. Cassie says I don’t do that enough.
The party is in full motion now. Colton Rossi is surrounded by beautiful women, chatting away and laughing. When I first walked the room, I understood quickly that I was a threat. Everyone here is competition I suppose, and especially me since I’m new. Although they did seem to dismiss me very quickly after giving me the head-to-toe. I’m fine with that since I know I don’t really measure up, and I’m just here for the money… and the food of course since I don’t get to eat good food often. When I saw the server with the crudités, I knew it was a good decision to come here tonight.
I help myself to an avocado appetizer, and I notice that the server’s name tag readsBeckett.
I smile up at him. “Thank you, Beckett."
“Have as many as you like,” he says. “I’m trying to get rid of them. You ladies barely eat.”
I grab another one of course. “Not me. I love eating.”
Orange cat saunters off, and I stand and I walk to the big windows. If nothing else, I can enjoy this view. I think about my pending meeting with Mr. Rossi, and I wonder how it will go. I'm sure I won’t have much to say to him, and vice versa. I am quite curious to see how the rest of the evening unfolds. What exactly happens at these parties? I am not going to do anything that I don’t want to do. I’ll quickly be out of here if an uncomfortable situation occurs.
Just as I am enjoying the view, a very attractive woman walks up to me. She throws her head back, and her long silky dark hair flips in the air as she shoots me a megawatt smile. Her teeth are bright against her dark olive complexion, and she is perfection in every way. “Hello, I’m Victoria,” she says. “You’re new, aren’t you?”
I smile. “Yes… it’s Anna.” We shake hands, and get to chatting. “This is a nice party,” I say, not exactly original, but I am somewhat awkward in social situations so it’s the best I come up with. “Good food.”
She smiles. “Dinner will be even better. Colton knows how to throw a party,” she tells me, “and the games are fun too.”
I wonder what kind of games she’s talking about. I find all this a little strange.
“So what do you do when not attending these parties?” she asks.
“I work at a café,” I tell her. “I also bake.”
Her face lights up. “Oh, wow. Sounds fun. I love eating sweets, but of course I can't do it often because I’m still doing modeling gigs.”
I smile. Of course she's a model. I’m not surprised.
“I’m also studying to be a nurse,” she tells me. “It’s quite the busy schedule.”
“Oh… impressive,” I say, feeling suddenly very unproductive and lazy. Well, I do have a small child to look after.
“I’ve always looked up to anyone who works in the healthcare industry and takes care of people,” I tell her. I misjudged her too quickly, and feel bad about it. I like her a lot. So it’s decided, Victoria is officially my first friend here.
I steal another glance at Mr. Colton Rossi, just for fun. He is definitely the kind of man who gets noticed when he enters a room. The ladies are still throwing themselves at him, lot of hugs and cheek kisses. I would never dream of introducing myself. Instead I help myself to some cold shrimps from the appetizers table. I study him again. He exudes confidence and is well-dressed; dark grey trousers and a dark slim-fitting sweater, probably made out of cashmere.
I keep myself busy, stuffing my face and mentally calculating how much it must cost this man to throw this party every month. There are twelve of us, at a thousand dollars each. That’s twelve thousand dollars, just for the guest list, not to mention the food and all the other stuff.What would I do with twelve thousand dollars?I think to myself, getting lost in all the possibilities. I get so lost, I don't even feel him standing behind me.
“Hello,” he says quietly.
I turn to him, and am completely speechless. He is absolutely stunning. Now that he’s up close, I can see that his eyes are a captivating light blue.
“Hello,” he says again. “You must be Anna Smith,” he says very slowly but firmly.
“Oh, yes… of course I am.” I offer him my trembling hand. “Nice to meet you,” I say, equally as slowly and thoroughly. It’s all very strange and awkward.
“Well, it's nice to meet you too,” he says, and I’m surprised by his voice. It’s not as commanding as I imagined it would be. He is soft spoken, and his smile is very friendly, not intimidating at all. In another life, I would maybe like this man. If only I didn't know so much about him already.
“Nice party,” I offer for lack of anything more interesting to say. I’m still a little shellshocked.
“How are you faring?” he asks. “You are enjoying the food, I see.”
I smile. “Of course. It’s delicious. Everything is top notch.” God, I sound like a homeless woman who hasn’t eaten in days. “So you do this every month?”
“Yep… it's fun.”
Fun.Yes, I wonder what kind of fun we’re talking about exactly. “This is all veryThe Great Gatsby,”I joke.
