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He took my hand and kissed it.
“Embarrassed to be seen with the most beautiful female in the empire?” he said. “Yes. A little. They will wonder what you’re doing with me.”
“I’m with you for your money, obviously,” I said.
I chuckled as the door was opened. Traes climbed out first and extended his hand to me.
The facade of the building took my breath away. The style was nothing like anything on Earth. It consisted of blocky sharp angles and was made entirely from metal that caught the light and cast rainbows across the tarmac. Shuttlecraft came in to land at platforms at various levels.
I was pleased to see the other female guests wore similar dresses to mine. I didn’t want to do the whole red carpet thing and stand out too much.
The party was everything Traes told me it would be. Back on Earth, I’d never been to a high-class event before and had nothing to compare it to.
I supposed there were rich people like these on every planet, and in every city, throughout the galaxy. The upper classes who always did well.
The music was provided by a string quartet and drinks were offered on silver trays that looked suspiciously like champagne. It occurred to me that perhaps style and grace had the same fingerprints no matter which species you came from.
While Traes approached the investors he’d come to talk shop with, I got stuck with their wives. The translator strip worked perfectly. I understood every word they muttered in their deep drawling voices but the meaning always flew over my head. I had no idea what these people were talking about.
I kept to myself and focused on sipping from my glass. I glanced over at Traes every few minutes. Sometimes, I was rewarded with a glance back.
“Don’t you think, Bianca?” one of the Titan wives said.
I hadn’t listened to a single word she said. Even if I had, I wouldn’t have understood it. I peered around at the other women present and realized they were waiting expectantly for me to say something too.
Oh shit.
Then I thought back to the words of wisdom Traes had told me in the shuttle on the way there:
“A word of advice,” he said. “If you ever get stuck for conversation with someone, always do the same thing. Laugh.”
“Laugh?” I said. “Laugh about what?”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “They’re always trying to come up with something clever and funny to say. If you laugh, it’s like you’re giving them a pat on the back. And it makes you look like you have a good sense of humor too.”
I frowned. It sounded suspiciously like I was being punked.
“Trust me,” he said. “It works like a charm.”
The wives continued to stare at me. I was taking too long to respond. I needed to say something…
I threw my head back and burst into laughter. I shook my head and wiped imaginary tears from my eyes.
“Oh, that’s really good,” I said.
I glanced at the others to see if my performance flew. They shared looks before bursting into laughter themselves in their high pitched, forced voices.
I turned to Traes across the room. I grimaced with a questioning look on my face.
He grinned at me and raised his champagne glass in salute for a job well done.
The rest of the evening passed like that until Traes placed his hand on my bare back and smiled politely at the wives.
“Excuse me, ladies,” he said. “We must be getting home. The little one will be wondering where we are.”
The women nodded their understanding, although I doubted if any of them ever had to worry about getting home in time to tuck their kids in bed. They’d have people to do it for them.
Traes led me out of the function room and onto his shuttlecraft. The moment we were inside, he loosened his tie and melted into his chair.
