Sinful Lies

Chapter 5: COSTUME PARTY

“Whitney, I need to be there before the guests arrive, that’s the whole point of being the host!” I whined as Whitney pulled the threads of my dress and tied them behind my back.

Whitney is a good friend of mine, I was introduced to her by my assistant to be my stylist for the very first Gala that I had to attend after I started working here. We instantly had this connection and have been best of friends ever since.

“Hold still! I won’t be able to tie it straight if you keep moving around!” she bit out, literally yelling at me. You see, Whitney is the sweetest when she is not pissed but when she is pissed, she can be an absolute b!tch and God save you if you were to make an enemy out of her!

I have seen the things that she does to get her sweet revenge and I can bet my $6000 Jimmy Choo’s that no one, would want to be on the receiving end of her wrath.

I sat as still as a statue as her team worked on my make – up and my hair “So, did you see him again after that evening debacle in front of your apartment?”

A sigh wanted to leave my lips but just then Alex, her make – up artist, decided to work on my lips “No?” it came out more as a question coz even though I have not seen him, I cannot be sure that he has not been watching me!

“So, you are not sure that you saw him?” she finished tying my straps and took over from Alex.

“I have not seen him but can’t say the same for him!” I finally let out a sigh “I have seen that car with that very same number plate a lot of times at the places that I frequent, so can’t say that he has not been watching me. I will not be surprised if I were to find him camping out there, outside your place right this minute!”

She peeked out of the window narrowing her eyes at something “Is it a black and white Range Rover with the number plate ending with 98?” her gaze flickered between me and outside the window.

“Oh… yeah… that would be him alright!” I mumbled and coughed when Alex sprayed some stuff on my face “Don’t tell me that he is out there! You better call the cops and tell them that there is going to be a murder happening tonight!”

She turned to me and rolled her eyes at my dramatics “Don’t be such a drama queen! Ignore his sorry as$ and go about your work or maybe just give him five minutes to say his piece before packing his as$ and kicking him back to where he came from”.

“I wish it were that simple and that easy!” I heaved a sigh as I mumbled to myself “Alright” I looked at my reflection taking deep breaths “Let us get this show on the road!”

When I stepped out of her studio, there he was, sitting in his car like it was some god damn stakeout, watching me. I could see him clearly through the windshield that did nothing to hide him as he was parked right below a streetlamp “Son of a b!tch!” I hissed loud enough for my friend to hear.

Hiking my dress up, I was about to storm off to his car and rip him a new one, but my friend grabbed my elbows and stopped me from turning into a murderer “Leave it, Anya. We got places to be and people to meet to save little children, come on”.

“Arggggghhhhh… that fu@king as$hole!” her words effectively managed to stop me “I can’t even fu@king get the cops to warn him as all he does is sit in his car and watch me like a blo*dy stalker. Apparently, it is not reason enough for them to trouble ‘An innocent citizen’ Innocent Citizen my as$!”

“Ok, calm down monster maniac, this version of you is scaring me!” this new nickname managed to make me smile.

“Monster Maniac? Really?” a chuckle escaped me as I glanced at her, sitting next to me with a horrified expression that made her look funny.

“Oh, you got no idea!” a beat passed, and we both ended up laughing like two crazy women, our chauffeur, Mr. Langford joined in too. I needed this, this joy that my friends bring into my life and manage to make me smile through the hurt and pain, it is coz of friends like Whitney that my heart healed a little, scarred but still beating.

**************

“You look absolutely stunning, Anya” Mr. Sanchez, or as he insisted on me addressing him with his first name, Aiden, was waiting for us at the entrance, looking all handsome in his Charlie Chaplin suit complete with the hat and everything.

Even in the Charlie Chaplin suit, he looks like a model that stepped straight out of a GQ magazine “You know how to clean up and might I add, you have done a blo*dy excellent job of it! We might get a good bidding if we were to auction you, Mr. Sanchez”.

He lifted his hand to probably rake it through his hair but managed to stop in time when he remembered that he has a hat on his head “I would have agreed to it, if only you were the highest bidder or the ONLY bidder!”

I rolled my eyes at his words “Always the smooth talker. You are wasting your charms on me, Mr. Sanchez” a glint of challenge sparkled in his eyes ‘I might be imagining things!’

But my doubts were confirmed when he spoke “Are you challenging me, Ms. Smith” his whispered words made me feel unsettling and though I liked this unsettling feeling, I knew better than to want it.

I shouldered past him into the venue but just as I took a step away from him, I heard him “Running away already Ms. Smith?” and though I didn’t want to pay heed to him, his words managed to catch my attention.

Without turning to him, I spoke over my shoulder “I am only making sure that I don’t step in that trap you seemed to have laid out for me, Mr. Sanchez”. Having had the final word, I hurried inside the venue before he could say anything else.

“What was that? It was as if you guys were having a word foreplay and damn if it wasn’t fu@king hot!!” I looked at her with narrowed eyes, challenging her to say another word more, and she finally seemed to have caught on to what I was thinking as she made a gesture of zipping her lips “Won’t say another word!”

I was finally able to look at the venue and damn if I was not blown away, it was elegant, classy, and yet had a hint of fun to it “It is absolutely… beautiful” Whitney and I managed to breathe out the word ‘Beautiful’ together.

“I am glad you think so” I heard Aiden’s voice next to me.

“This is FAAAARRRRR better than what I imagined,” I said dreamily looking at the lights, the balloons, flowers, and ribbons that were decorating the whole venue. There was also a face painting booth, a cotton candy booth that served cotton candy in a non – traditional way, and a gift shop booth where parents could buy stickers or little trinkets that their kids loved as the shop had stuff that kids between the age of, well, almost all ages.

The whole booths thing had a hint of a carnival going on with a mix of elegance as round tables were set up in the center, each table was set up with beautiful cream and gold coloured theme tablecloths and napkins, a vase filled with pink coloured roses adorning right in the center of the tables.

“Mr. Sanchez, I feel like I walked right into one of those royal galas in fairy tales where the prince or princess meets their soul mates and fall in love” I heard Whitney say dreamily and who would not, the whole thing looked like just as Whitney said.

I chanced a glance at Aiden and in that instant, he had this boyish look with his cheeks dusted with a shade of pink, he looked handsomely cute, that man had looks that could get any woman into trouble and I am a woman “Ahh… all the credit goes to my team” ‘modest, I see!’ “If you ladies would follow me, I want you to have a look at the food that will be served for tonight”.

Aiden was sensible enough to limit the menu so that food is not wasted, the portions were small but blo*dy tasty, he made us sample the items and boy was I hungry for more “Oh… wow! This is mind – blowingly amazing” I could not stop myself from moaning when the little bite – size fish starter hit my tongue.

Aiden heaved a sigh tucking his hands into his pockets “You are cruel” his words got me confused but I let it go since I was in an ahh – mazing mood.

We still had about thirty minutes before the guests would start pouring in, so I checked the security and all the other itty – bitty things with Aiden, double – checked myself in the bathroom mirror. The first car drove into the entrance “Ok, it's time!” I said to myself, plastering a smile as I greeted our company’s CEO.

It didn’t take long for the whole venue to be filled with all our guests and every one of them loved the whole thing “I should have brought my Tommy, he too would have loved it!” Mrs. Bridge said with a smile and so did many others. We did mention in the invite that they could tag their kids along.

Some of them had their children tag along with them and they were glad that they did coz the kids were having a blast. Just when I was enjoying the party, I felt that familiar prickling sensation running down my body, when I turned around, there he was, dressed in Black Panther costume minus the mask, his eyes trained on me ‘How the hell did he get an invite?'