Devil's In The Details

2. Chapter Two

Allegra's POV

Today is the day of the party that I have to attend at the Anderson's mansion. I am really nervous going there as more than at least a hundred people are expected there as the company deals with numerous companies, here and abroad and as it is the top company in this field, I am sure they all will come to meet the new boss, who will be taking over soon enough. 

I went shopping the other day and bought a nice dress which is royal blue in color and had shimmery look. It has a slit on the left side which runs till my thigh, exposing my skin. It has full sleeves so it covers my entire hands, saving me from cold. I will still be wearing a cardigan over this but keep it in my car before going inside. As for my hair, I styled it in a low bun, near the nape of the neck, with a few loose strands covering the side of my face. I places some beautiful pearl hairpins in the bun, to make it look more attractive. I kept the make up at minimum, with a dark blue eye shadow, to compliment my dress, nude lipstick and kohl. 

"Don't panic, Allegra, Derek is going to be there too", I give myself a pep talk before huffing a breath and looking at myself once more, checking if everything is fine. Even though I work at a multimillion dollar company which deals with too many people to count, I still get nervous when I am to face a lot of people in one room. I won't say I am claustrophobic or something, but I definitely am not a people's person. I get along with limited people and for others, I plaster a fake, sweet smile. I know it is rude and all, but I am just this weird ass person who doesn't know, how to deal with too many people. 

I place my lipstick, compact powder and kohl in my clutch, along with my phone, car keys and some money, before leaving the apartment, locking it behind me. I own a beautiful matte black, Audi R8. It has been my dream car since I knew about cars and I finally saved enough money to buy it. It is the latest model and I bought it last year. The matte black color is what attracted me to it the most and I love her so much, that even a little scratch on it, is like a nightmare for me. 

I zoom out of the parking lot and follow the location on the google maps. From everyone out there, I might be the worst person when it comes to directions. I cannot seem to remember the roads, at all. I cannot even pin point a location for you, even if I know it. At the company, I may be the person you ask if you need any file, or any details but when it comes to directions, I am the last person to ask. 

I reach the destination in no time and my eyes widen at the size of their mansion, no wait, scratch that, its a f*****g palace just not that big but you get the gist, right? Anyway, I show my invitation card to the guard and they scan my car once before letting me in. I find it a bit weird but shake it off. The extra security detail is probably because of the important guests that are coming tonight. 

"Good evening, ma'am", a man opens my door and takes my car keys, handing it to the valet, who bows once and leaves to take my car with him. I just hope he takes good care of it but I know he will, he is trained to do that anyway. 

"Just go up these stairs and someone will help you out there", the man tells me and I thank him, before climbing up the stairs, still trying to take in the entire place. The decorations are gorgeous and I honestly am in love with this place and I could live here forever, if I could. 

"Good evening, ma'am. May I please take your coat?", he helps me slide it off and neatly folds it before placing it on the stand. 

"Enjoy the evening, ma'am", he bows lightly and I smile at him before stepping inside and my eyes widen at the beautiful place. A huge chandelier hangs right in the middle, illuminating the entire room. The light from it forms sparkles all over the room, just like when sunshine hits glass and produces beautiful colors. There are several tables arranged in the big room, while the food is placed on the right side, a huge buffet with numerous options to consider. My mouth waters at the amazing aroma of the food but I stop myself from salivating like a f*****g i***t and decide to roam around a bit. 

"Would you care for a drink, ma'am?", a waiter asks me. He caries numerous glasses with different drinks filled. 

"Just a glass of champagne, please". 

"Surely. Here you go ma'am. Have a nice evening", he hands me a flute and leaves to serve others. 

"Ms. Tyson", a voice calls for me from behind and I turn around, just to come face-to-face with Mr. Jamal, a multimillionaire and a frequent client of Anderson Industries. I smile at him and approach him while he takes in my appearance, like the p*****t he is but I don't let him know that I know he was checking me out. After all, I am a nobody while he is a very important person. 

"Mr. Jamal. Nice to meet you", I raise my hand to shake his but her takes a hold of my knuckles, kissing them lightly before smiling at me. 

"Pleasure is all mine, Ms. Tyson. I must say, you look absolutely alluring tonight", his lips twitch once and I let out an inaudible sigh but keep the smile intact. 

"Thank you. You look great, too", I compliment him, not wanting to sound rude.

"Thank you. Do you care for a drink?"

"I already have one, sorry", I politely decline his offer and he nods, not looking happy but smiles nonetheless. 

"Save me dance, will you?"

"Sure, Mr. Jamal", I smile at him and thankfully, someone, calls him and he excuses himself, attending to that person. 

"Allegra", I hear Derek call for me and I turn to face him and his wife, Annalisa Anderson, the only woman close enough as my mother. She has given me love since the day I met her and I swear, I never felt deprived of the mother love whenever she was around. 

"Hey sweetheart. You look gorgeous", Annalisa hugs me tightly, and pecks my cheeks while I do the same, smiling brightly at her. 

"I missed you, Anna". 

"I missed you too, sweetheart", she whispers before leaving me. 

"How was the trip?"

"Delightful but it could have been better if he came with me", she fake glares at Derek and he smiles at her. 

"Just a few more days, babe, then we can go wherever you want", he says and she grins at him. 

"How are you, Allegra. Looking beautiful", he hugs me pats my head in a fatherly manner. 

"Thank you. You look handsome in the suit and Anna, you look absolutely stunning", Anna is wearing a lavender colored off shoulder dress, which is like a gown and ends just below her ankles. Derek is dressed in neatly pressed black suit, with a white shirt and a lavender tie, to match with his wife. They are an adorable couple and they are pure goals. I wish to have a love like theirs. They have set my standards high when it comes to love and if I remain single, I am blaming them. 

"Thank you, honey. Now enjoy the party, okay?", he says and they leave to tend to the other guests and I go straight to the buffet, to take a look at the deliciousness they are offering. 

"Hello. Would you like to try some, ma'am?", the girl asks me and I nod. She smiles before serving me some in a plate and I almost moan at the amazing taste. 

"What is this called?", she answers it with some really long name, well, it wasn't really that long, but I just couldn't remember it, so I smiled and thanked her before moving on. In no time, I stand in front of the deserts where numerous cupcakes, cakes and number of other things are kept. I take a chocolate chip cupcake and I was about to taste it when a voice interrupts me. 

"Well, if it isn't miss. smart mouth", the annoying voice my to-be boss interrupts me and I roll my eyes before facing the man and for a minute, I forgot how to breathe. He looks ravishing in the dark blue suit, a white dress shirt and black tie. His hair were beautifully messed up and his eyes held a look of dominance. 

"Good evening, Mr. Anderson", I wish him politely, not wanting to commit the mistake that I made before. I don't want to ruin the party by angering him. 

"A good evening indeed, Miss. Tyson. Glad you could make it", he doesn't smile, I gathered that but he likes to smirk, something that looks sexy on him. I shake my head to remove the thoughts that I was having about my boss. 

"Having fun?"

"I am not really a people's person", I don't know why I just said that. His smirk deepens and I regret saying that. 

"Not a people's person? How will you handle my clients, Miss. Tyson?"

"Don't worry about that, Mr. Anderson, I am really good at my job, you don't have to worry about that. You can talk to your father about it". 

"He has nothing but praises for you, Miss. Tyson but if you are worthy enough of those praises, will be decided by me", he suddenly leans in, his hot breath fanning my ear. 

"And Miss. Tyson, I am really good at reading people, so it won't take me long to understand you", he says and places a kiss on the pinna and bites it lightly. A shiver runs through my entire body and he withdraws as quickly as leaned in. 

"I have my eyes on you, Miss. Tyson", without explaining any further he turns around and leaves me in a dazed state of mind. I come back to reality once the waiter offers me another glass and this time I choose the wine. 

"Thank you". 

"Most welcome, ma'am", the waiter leaves and I am standing in the middle, with no one to talk to. 

"Good evening, ladies and gentleman, I request you all to take your respective seats", I am placed on table no.3, so I approach the table and see my name card on one of the chairs. As I was about to pull it out, someone does it for me and I turn around to see a handsome man standing their with a easy smile on his face. 

"M'Lady", he says and I chuckles before thanking him and then taking the seat. He pushes the chair in and takes the seat besides mine. 

"Peter Harold", he extends his hand and I place mine in his, shaking it. 

"Allegra Tyson". 

"Uncle Derek's secretory?"

"Yes. How do you know that? I haven't seen you in the office before", whenever I see a face, I remember it but I haven't seen his and trust me, if I would have, I wouldn't forget it. 

"I am his cousin brother's son. I recently shifted back here and I will join Aiden in taking care of business now". 

"Oh, that's great", I reply and Derek clears his throat and catches everyone's attention. 

"I extend a warm welcome to all of you who came here, respecting our invitations. As you all know, I am retiring now and handing all the reigns to my son, Aiden, who, I know will take everything to much greater heights and achieve everything I couldn't. Over to you, son", he pats Aiden on the back who still has that, 'do not f**k with me' face on and I mentally roll my eyes. 

"Thank you father. My father has set pretty high standards when it comes to running everything successfully and I plan on surpassing them and of course, in this journey, I expect all your loyalty towards me and the business. I promise you, if you are loyal to me and The Anderson's, you would never have to worry about a single thing", he ends the speech at that note and I swear, it is the worst acceptance speech ever. It felt more like a threat rather than a speech but who am I to say anything.

"That was crappy speech", Peter muses and I chuckle, silently agreeing with him.

After the speech, it was time for my favorite part of the evening, dinner. A number of dishes were served and I swear, I almost melted at the sight. I didn't even know half of the names but everything tasted so good. I even have a food baby right now, but everything was totally worth it. So worth it.

"Will you dance with me?", Peter asks as people start gathering around the makeshift dace stage. 

"Sure", I place my hand in his and he leads me to he dance floor, taking the lead. 

"You are a good dancer", he compliments and I blush. I have always had loved dancing and I took lessons as well. I still go down to the studio whenever I can and just practice what I have learnt. It has always been one of my passion. 

"Thank you. You are not bad either", he chuckles and we continue dancing for a few minutes and a throat clears beside us. I peek at the person and it is none other than the crappy speech giver. 

"Mind if I cut in?", he asks though it sounded more like a command. Peter sighs and asks me if I am okay, by raising one eyebrow. I shrug and he hands my hand over to the man, before stalking towards the table where many people are sat. 

"Well, Miss. Tyson, what did you think of my speech", he says as he snakes an arm around my waist and holds the other in his. I place my left hand on his bicep as his shoulder is above my reach. He is extremely tall, like 6ft or more while I am shorter and I barely reach his chest. 

"It was nice, I guess". 

"You are a bad liar, you know that?"

"I have to be", I reply with a smirk and I have no idea where I got that confidence from. Its probably the little amount of alcohol in my system. 

"As I have said before, you intrigue me, Miss. Tyson and I am going to enjoy working with you".

"Uhuh. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get home". 

"Don't let me keep you, then. Good night, Miss. Tyson". 

"Good night, Mr. Anderson", I leave him there and walk towards the exit, keeping my head high. I can still feel eyes on me, but I don't turn around. I am not sure I will be able to face him without making myself look like stupid anymore. 

"Thank you", the man gives me my coat the valet brings my car around. Thankfully, I drink too much and I have a bottle of water in my car so I chug it completely, the water sobering me up and that's when I realize that I smart mouthed my boss, yet again. 

"s**t".