I walked into the ballroom of The Plaza Hotel, stopping myself from showing how impressed I was with the extravagance of the event. It was a twenties theme with an art deco kind of flair and the women were all wearing sleek flapper inspired dresses. I had bought one that was hand-embellished with black beads over a gold, body hugging slip dress that went to the top of my knees.
My dark brown hair was pinned up on one side with the rest of it left to cascade in waves just past my shoulders. I had my makeup done and I felt more than confident. I held onto my black, beaded clutch as I walked through and looked for Rose. Not many of the other analysts were invited to this and I did my best to overcome the awkwardness I felt at not knowing anybody.
“Alison! What are you doing here?”
I heard a familiar voice from behind me and turned around to see Jasper, an analyst I worked with when I first started. He had a huge crush on me and I would never date anybody I worked with, though I was ready to make an exception for one person and one person only. But could you really call revenge seduction dating?
Jasper was nice enough and handsome enough but I had tunnel vision. I didn’t have time to date anybody. I didn’t have time to be a normal person. I was there on a mission.
“Jasper! Hello! I could ask you the same question!” I went up to hug him and hid my relief that I now knew somebody there and wasn’t dependent on Rose. “What happened? I assumed you left to pursue your writing career or something.” I had heard about his writing ambitions ad nauseum.
“Nah, the money is too addictive. I got poached, switched companies. It was a mess with the contracts but it all got figured out in the end. I’m over at JP Morgan now.”
“Wow, that’s great, Jazz! Good for you. Do you miss us?”
“Only you Alison. Only you.” Jasper leaned in with a tipsy smile and put his arm around my waist. “We don’t work together anymore, you know?”
I put my hand on his shoulder while slowly and gently pushing him away so that he would stop moving so close. I didn’t want to embarrass him by completely unraveling myself from his grasp in fast motion but I also didn’t want him to even get a hint of the wrong idea.
“That’s true, Jasper but I just got promoted and will be at more of these things, so it looks like we’ll be seeing each other a lot anyway and I really don’t want that awkwardness.” I smiled as continued to push. He was holding strong but at least I stopped him from getting closer.
“Alison, Alison. These things are full of people. Look around. We would be able to avoid each other easily if things went south.”
“Looks like somebody started pretty early with the champagne tonight.” I laughed as I tried to push him away even harder.
“Alison? Is that you?” I heard a strange voice behind me and saw Jasper’s face turn to surprise. He immediately let go of my waist.
I whipped around to see none other than Christopher Ward standing there, saying my name. I stammered for a second as I was taken by complete surprise during a moment where I was getting frustrated trying to pry myself away from Jasper.
“H…Hi, Christopher. Hey, I was looking for you.” I recovered my composure quickly and hoped that Christopher hadn’t noted me losing it in any way.
“I was in the sea of people. Now that I’ve found you, shall we?” He put his arm out for me to grab so he could escort me away. I was still getting my composure but happily took his arm.
“It was good catching up, Jasper. I guess I’ll see you around at other functions!” I smiled sweetly as I hung onto Christopher’s arm.
Jasper started to say something but Christopher pulled us away and we easily walked through the crowd as people moved out of Christopher’s way when they saw who was coming.
“Thank you. I mean, I would have gotten myself out of that just fine but thank you.” I wasn’t going to be a damsel in distress. I knew that men liked that “saving and protecting” thing with women but I just couldn’t let myself be so vulnerable to this man.
“I’m sure you would have Alison. No need to thank me. I was looking for you anyway. Here, let’s go to the makeshift terrace. Less noise.” And with that, Christopher Ward whisked me away.
I let him lead me to a part of the ballroom that was set up to look like an outside terrace. As soon as we found a quieter spot, I immediately let go of his arm. I knew I had to seduce him but remembering why I was doing all of this, remembering why my stepbrother and I wanted revenge, it made me feel so much rage.
“Alison Bishop. I would like to formally introduce myself. Christopher Ward.” He extended his hand for a handshake. I took a firm hold of it and shook it while I forced myself to smile up at him. I reminded myself that this was for the greater good, well the greater revenge.
“Pleased to meet you, Christopher Ward. I may have heard of you once or twice before.”
“Yes, if you read the trades, which, to be this level so quickly, I’m sure you have.” This man was super cool, refusing to acknowledge his celebrity.
“Right, the trades. That must have been it. Nowhere else it could have been.” I winked at him to let him know I wasn’t going to gloss over his celebrity status quite as quickly as he would have liked. “So, Mr. Ward. I must know both how you know my name and why you were looking for me.”
“You are direct, aren’t you? You saved my company money. I like to thank people in person when they do that.” His blue eyes looked dark in the twilight lighting and somehow that made them more attractive.
“You must be a very busy man, thanking people left and right with as many people as there are saving you money every day.”
“Not me. My company. But, I must admit. I don’t make the rounds to every single person who saves my company money, no.”
“Oh, so I’m special. Well, what an honor.” I tried to stop myself from sounding too sarcastic. My contempt for what his family did and yet my building attraction to him was starting to compete.
“I think you know you’re special, Alison.” Christopher leaned in and moved a little closer to me. I thought I would have to put just a little more work into seducing him; now it looked like I was going to have to play hard to get. He was keeping me on my toes.
“Of course I am, Mr. Ward. But everybody thinks that. It’s when other people notice it that validates it.” I winked at him again and smiled as I grabbed a glass of champagne from a server walking by with a champagne tray.
“Alright, I’ll admit it. Not everybody who saves me money has emerald green eyes that sparkle in the sunlight.” He downed the rest of the champagne that was in the glass he already had and set it on the tray, replacing it with a new one.
“So, we are going to talk about the staring contest then?” I kept up my aloof act but was intrigued that he alluded to it.
“How could we not? I don’t often have staring contests at work. Not that kind, anyway.” He smirked as he moved a little closer. I backed up a bit towards the column behind me.
“Oh, not at work, huh? Where else would you have staring contests, then?”
“Oh, you know, bullfights, Hell’s Angel meetings; the usual.”
I laughed despite myself and took a drink of champagne as I noticed him edging a bit closer. I walked back just a bit and felt the column close to me. I leaned back slightly to see if I would touch it and made contact. He had me backed up all the way. Yet, I felt like I had him right where I wanted him.
“Your eyes are sparkling again. Now, what would make them sparkle without the sun?” He put one hand on the column next to me, halfway closing me in with his head leaned down towards me. All of his attention was focused on me. That attention that I both wanted and abhorred. It was so confusing but I had no time for confusion. I reset myself with a mental reminder of why I was here.
“It’s the champagne.” I smiled into my glass as I took another drink.
“Oh right, that must be it.” He stared down at me. I couldn’t read him. I knew he was attracted to me but I wasn’t sure if he was being predatory or if he was being protective. Sometimes there wasn’t much of a difference.
I held his stare even though every cell in my body wanted to look away. If I looked away, he would see a crack in my shell. I wouldn’t allow that.
“So why were you there yesterday? What was the reason I lucked into a staring contest with such beautiful eyes?”
“I was promoted. You are now looking at one of the newest Vice Presidents in your company.” I rested my head against the column as I continued to look up at him.
“Congratulations. I’m happy to hear that. Much deserved.”
“You’re telling me that you found out my name but weren’t told about my promotion?”
“I only ask about what interests me. Who was the person who saved me a few million dollars in one day and who was the woman who made me split my focus in an important meeting? Imagine my surprise when they were both the same person.” He leaned in and almost whispered the last sentence into my ear. I felt chills go through my body, both in arousal and disgust.
“Well, now that you know, what are you going to do with that information, Mr. Ward?”
“Whatever I want. Stop with the formalities. Call me Christopher.”
“Alison? There you are!” Rose’s voice was all of a sudden next to me and I momentarily lost my bearings as I jumped at the sudden intrusion that interrupted the building intensity. “Oh, Mr. Ward, I didn’t realize that was you. I’m so sorry to interrupt.” Rose’s eyes went wide when she realized who I was with. I had never seen her take on a submissive posture like that before.
“It’s okay, Miss Lee. How are you?”
“I’m well, Sir. Thank you for asking. I was wondering if I could borrow Alison here for a few minutes, if you don’t mind. I have a few people I’d like her to meet for her new position.”
“She’s all yours.” Christopher made a move to back away but swiftly, almost ninja-like, leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “For now.”
My back shot straight up as I felt his breath in my ear and took in his words. I looked up at him and his eyes were piercing through me. It definitely had an effect on me and I was starting to get tipsy, so I wasn’t sure if I was showing that effect or not.
“To be continued, Mr. Ward.” Regaining my composure, I made sure to punctuate the last part to let him know that I didn’t slip with continuing the formalities but I chose to keep them up even though he told me not to. In my mind, I was punishing him for making me feel vulnerable. I wondered if he picked up on that.
“Definitely, Miss Bishop.” He laughed as he downed the rest of his champagne.
“Thank you, Mr. Ward. Sorry, again, to interrupt.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Lee. It’s important for Miss Bishop to meet the higher ups she will be dealing with.” He continued to lean against the column as he watched us go.
Rose grabbed my arm and pulled me through the crowd. She looked back at me with a look that told me that she would be asking me every detail of my exchange with Christopher. I had never seen this side of her. He must have this effect on a lot of people. I kicked myself for being just as easy as the rest of them and resolved to have a stronger shell. I knew I needed to get him to trust me but I just couldn’t let myself do it in a way where my ego felt compromised. Not with him.
Rose pulled me to a corner that was far enough away that we weren’t in earshot.
“Okay, spill little girl. What just happened? How did you end up with the CEO of the company eyeing you like prey?”
“I honestly don’t know. He just came up to me. He already knew my name. It was all unexpected.”
“Oh boy. You are in his sights now, Alison. He’s like a target missile; he won’t stop until he gets his target.” Rose nervously looked around as if she were worried somebody would overhear us.
“Something tells me that you are speaking from experience? Is there something I should know?”
“No, not me. Just rumors from sources I trust. Just be careful, okay? You have a bright future in this company. Don’t let temptation ruin that. I have seen more women like you end up as trophy wives or worse and lose their sense of self.” She threw back a big gulp of her champagne.
“Trust me, Rose. You do not have to worry about that with me.”
“I’m sure you really believe that. We’ll see.” Rose sighed and looked worried for a split second before straightening up and bringing herself back. “Okay, enough of that. Let’s go introduce you to some of the higher up VPs who you’ll be dealing with on a more regular basis.”
Rose took me around the rest of the night, introducing me to higher ups and other Vice Presidents who would be my colleagues. It was fun to mingle and feel the air of my new position. I stopped drinking champagne so that I wouldn’t lose too much control but I was high on the excitement of everything. Ward was still in the back of my mind but I let myself enjoy the attention, being the fresh meat and pretended like I was a normal person for a while. It was wonderful and what I needed.
The number of guests started to dwindle and I was getting tired. I said my goodbyes and said thank you to Rose for introducing me around. It was nice to be able to meet a lot of these people before starting my new position on Monday.
As I was waiting for my jacket at the coat check, I felt somebody come up behind me. I turned around to see Christopher Ward standing there.
“We have to stop meeting like this, Mr. Ward.” I fanned myself dramatically, poking fun at his effect on people.
“What are your plans now, Miss Bishop?” He seemed amused but didn’t laugh.
“Well, it’s 11:45. So, I better get home before my dress turns into rags and my cab turns into a pumpkin.”
“Does that make me Prince Charming?”
I laughed and took my jacket as it was handed to me.
“You are whatever you want to be, Mr. Ward.” I gave him a satisfied smile as I tipped the coat check person. “Have a good night.”
I walked out of the ballroom not looking behind me but I knew he watched me leave. It was hard to leave like that and yet it wasn’t. Tonight wasn’t the night. I had too much emotional baggage haunting me and it would have been a disaster.
I called Mac as I got in the cab.
“Hey, it’s me. It wasn’t the right time tonight.”
“Why? What happened? Did you at least get his phone number or arrange another time to meet?” Mac’s voice was concerned.
“I just couldn’t, Mac. Okay? It wasn’t the right time for any of it.”
“What if you don’t get another chance like this, Alice? What if that was your only chance to get in with him? You promised.”
“Listen, Mac. It won’t be my only chance. I promise. I just need more time. It’s not that easy, you know.”
“But, Alice, we prepared for this. We talked about all of this.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to be face to face with him. You don’t have to deal with all the emotions swirling up. You don’t have to be nice and seduce the man whose family killed our parents.”
Mac started to talk again but I just hung up and shut my phone off. He would get over it. He would have to. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I looked out the window as they started to run down my cheek. My mother’s anguished face haunted my thoughts.