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I want to ask why, maybe try to gauge if it was because of his ties with my father or something else, but I don’t. There are eyes and ears all around us and I can almost agree with what Dante has been saying, they look exactly like people who cannot be trusted. After several minutes of scoping the crowd with Marianne, Javier comes to us with a tray of delicious appetizers.
“So good to see you again, Miss Emmie. Would you like to try a crostini? It’s topped with cured Chorizo and fig tapenade.” My mouth is already watering as I take a bite. I am immediately in heaven. I would die to cook like Javier one day. I missed learning from him in the short time that we were together. His knowledge of taste is endless.
“It tastes wonderful, Javier. Thank you.” He smiles a kind smile at me, and I wish Dante could learn from these two wonderful people before me. They are great at winning my trust with their kindness.
“The pleasure is all mine, Emmie. Be sure to try out our Tapas bar. Michael is a master, and you won’t regret it.” He winks at us and walks away. I spot Dante chatting with a group of men about fifteen feet away from us, hating that he looks so dangerously handsome tonight.
“Let's go see those Tapas that Javier mentioned,” Marianne says as she walks us through the crowd towards the canopy tent twenty feet away.
We pass Dante and the group of men that he’s conversing with. He stops us, prompting Marianne to turn around and smile at the men who greet us. They are old and chubby and if I were to take a guess, these were the senators Dante mentioned earlier. I smile as I shake their hands, unable to help but notice how their grips lingered a little too long for my liking. Dante seemed to have noticed too because I could feel his stare burning into my skin before he spoke again.
“Senator Carson and Congressman Williams, I’d like you to meet my stylist and interior designer, Marianne. As well as her assistant, Emmie.”
I nearly flinch at his introduction, trying my hardest to stuff down the pain I feel from the cut of his knife. I rehearsed this, so I shouldn’t feel the sting of his lie, but I can’t help it. He says my name like his mouth is too full, the sound barely making it out. Probably because it’s filled with bullshit instead of the truth. I decide to take my part in this act the extra mile, acting as oblivious and impressionable as possible.
I reach out and shake the men's hands again, this time on my own accord, fluttering my eyelashes slightly as I spoke.
“It’s so great to meet you both! Dante and Marianne never informed me that I would be in the presence of greatness tonight! Although I’m thrilled to be interning with Marianne my final semester in fashion school, I did originally major in political science.”
It’s not a complete lie, I did spend my freshman year aiming towards that major. Thank God Ricky was finally able to talk me out of it. The men laugh with me, sounding both narcissistic and misogynistic, but I kept smiling and nodding my head at what they had to say, catching Dante’s glare in the corner of my eye.
“Maybe we can change your major again for you, Emmie. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done in the long road ahead, and we could use creative minds like yours to navigate it.”
I pretend to gush at their words, laughing over-enthusiastically now. Dante’s stare is no longer a fire, it's Hell itself.
“I appreciate it gentlemen, but for now I am beginning my passion with this wonderful woman's help. Thank you so much for your kind words, I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Marianne smiles at them and I touch their arms softly before walking away with her towards the Tapas bar. She’s almost immediately ahead of me and down the line as Michael gives her recommendations, her head bobbing up and down eagerly as she licks her lips and listens to him with rapt attention. It makes me chuckle as I approach the waiter at the start of the bar, listening to the menu options. Before I can give the server an answer, Dante appears right beside me, acting as if he’s waiting in line too.
“You must know that you’re a terrible actress.” He whispers only loud enough for us to hear. I ignored him and answered the waiter's question about my choice.
“Shrimp, please.” I smile at him, and he starts building my tapa on a bed of fresh vegetables.
“I was only ensuring my safety, sir.” I mutter back to Dante. I feel the heat radiating off of him from here.
“Playing nice with the senator and congressman doesn’t ensure your safety, Esmeralda. It just makes you look immature.”
I scoff at him, the waiter nearly done with my plate as he builds down the bar line of food.
“Maybe it just makes you jealous. They clearly enjoy my presence more than you do.”
I feel his stare burning into me from the side. I want to smile in victory of getting under his skin. It’s become my new favorite thing to do.
“They just want to fuck you, Esmeralda.” I grab the plate from the waiter as he hands it to me, smiling at him before he leaves us to go help the new guests a few feet away.
“Should I just go tell them that you already beat them to it?”
I hear his low growl and walk away, approaching Marianne as she leads us to a table under the canopy. I see Dante brush away quickly and back towards the crowd in the courtyard, smiling at myself before biting into the delicious tapa before me.
* * *
Marianne and I walk around after eating our food, grabbing another flute of champagne on our route. I feel a slight buzz and am thankful for Marianne’s consistent hold around my arm. We are nearing the stage when I notice a group of tall men standing off to the side, about five of them in total. Each of them is in an expensive looking suit and each of them look completely terrifying. I can feel the power radiating off of them even though they are standing several feet away.
Their skin is dark and golden, and though they are older they look well-kept and groomed. I feel a few of their eyes on me and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand. Something about these men wasn’t right, or at least was dangerous by the way they stood and stared at me. The fact that their attention was trained on me alone was unnerving enough, especially as they kept staring when I averted my gaze and attention back to Marianne. She seemed to have noticed my sudden change in energy. Her hand touches mine in comfort.
“Are you feeling okay? We can go back inside for a little while if you’d like.”
I shake my head and smile at her, waving her off as if nothing was wrong, but the hairs stood raised on my neck until they walked away from the stage and into the courtyard. We sip and chat as we listen to the violinist, keeping busy with the minutes that stretch by during this party. My gaze travels over the crowd before landing on Dante again. This time, he wasn’t with the men, he was with a woman instead. A beautiful, dark haired and slender woman that even took my breath away when I looked at her.
