Lost in Miami

Chapter 1

My mother asked me to get ready for a banquet dinner which was very important to my father as there were so many investors coming. I got ready and drove to the Palmer House Hilton, one of the most famous luxury hotels downtown Chicago. I made my way inside the banquet room. The Grand Banquet c*m Ballroom was downright romantic with glittering chandeliers and ornate golden ceilings, but it also looked like a dreamy setting for a corporate event. There was a grand balcony wrapping the entirety of the ballroom, creating a private tier where I could see guests mix and mingle.

As I made my way inside everybody turned their eyes at me and were looking at me from the top of my head to my feet in awe. I was wearing a royal blue ball gown which was backless with beads around my neck. And my hairs were tied in a neat classy bun. It felt a bit uncomfortable standing there and been watched, but soon my mother came to my side and took me with her to where my father and a man who was same age as my father were sitting. I acknowledged my father and the man sitting next to him and took my seat beside my mother. Suddenly there was a lot of commotion near the entrance which was hard not to notice. An incredibly charming man made his way inside the banquet. He was so handsome that every girl in the room was practically swooning at the sight of him. He was wearing a tuxedo which from the look of it seemed one of the limited edition of Gucci. Unbelievably, even I found myself staring at the man without even blinking my eyes. He was looking ahead of himself and suddenly his head snapped in the right direction and those smoldering grey eyes were staring into my blue eyes. I was so embarrassed that I wanted to look away but there was something that held my eyes to his and at that moment it felt impossible to take my eyes off his. He was staring at me with the same intensity as mine and his lips curved upwards in a sexy smirk which could melt anybody’s heart.

At this moment my mother called out to me and I snapped out of my personal passionate moment. She told me to accompany her to the powder room. She led the way and I was beside her. We stopped on the way to greet Mrs. Miller. She was the wife of one of my father’s investors. She was accompanied by her two twin daughters probably ten- twelve years old who were looking at me shyly and peeking at me while hiding behind their mother. I made a funny pig face at them and they both laughed. I smiled looking at them. It would have been great if I had a sibling.

We bid farewell to Mrs. Miller and once again made our way to the powder room. While I was washing my hands I heard two girls coming in giggling and talking.

“Did you see him? Oh my god! I cannot believe I got to see him here.” The girl with the black dress said.

“Absolutely! A Greek God… that face…. That body!!! Ugh!”

I looked back and walked toward the tissue cabinet to wipe my hands. And the other girl who had a lipstick which was too red for anybody’s lips continued to talk,

“But I heard that he never attends such banquets? The Williams are far too busy to be attending such petty events. He must be here for some purpose. Do you think we can go talk to him? Maybe ask his contact……..” The girl continued to talk but I paid no attention afterwards as my mother was done and we came out.

So he is Austin William. The heir to the William Enterprises. No wonder he made such a terrific entry. The Williams are well known in the States and practice in many sectors such as telecommunication, fashion, industries, automobiles, construction and stuff. Now it really felt odd to me as well. Why was he here? It’s just a small banquet after all. We came back to our table where I saw another person sitting with the two gentlemen. He was young maybe twenty four- twenty five. When he saw me, he stood up from his seat and extended his hand as a greeting and I placed my hand in his. He lightly kissed the back of my hand and pulled my chair out for me to sit. Wow such a gentleman! But when I saw the faces of other people sitting on the table smiling, it gave me an off vibe. Like something here is not right. My father broke the ice and started introducing me to the gentleman.

“Rachel dear, this is Alex. He is Mr. Montez’s only son and the future heir of the Montez group.” By Mr. Montez I assumed the man sitting next to my father because he was nodding his head towards me. “Honey, prepare yourself….” My father continued to me, “next month you and Alex are getting engaged”

WHAT THE ACTUAL f**k?

When did this happen? Why wasn’t I asked or at the very least informed about this? I stared at my father in shock and then to my mother who had a small elegant smile on her face giving nothing away. She pressed my hands under the table maybe worried that I would talk back or worst case scenario create a scene in front of everyone. I looked at her and she gave me a ‘we’ll talk about it at home’ look and everybody chatted away about the engagement and the future. But what about me? Isn’t anybody gonna ask what I want? Or whom I wanna marry? And all of a sudden all this was too much for me to take in.

I excused myself from the table and ran to the balcony for some fresh air. On the way I took a glass of champagne. On the balcony away from all the noise I took a deep breath and gulped down the champagne in one go. Hmm it’s sweet. A gush of cold wind came out of nowhere and I shivered involuntarily. “You shouldn’t be standing in the cold wind with a bare back.” A deep voice resonated in my ears.