The billionaire's reluctant mistress

Chapter 7: Just a dance

“Will you guys take a taxi there or what?” – Lisa asked.

“Yeah, we can’t take the train dressed like this, can we?” Katy answered as she zipped up her deep-cut dress.

“How about asking Alex to take you there? The Jaguar he borrowed from his dad looks way cooler than a yellow taxi. You can't look like a princess then show up to the Sheraton in a shitty cab.”

“You think Alex won’t mind taking us there?”

“Sure, not at all.” Lisa then raised her voice to talk to Alex, who had been playing video games in the living room for the last hours, “Babe, would you mind taking Rachel and Lisa to the Sheraton?”

“Not at all.” He replied without taking his eyes off the screen. For the last few years, he had almost been the third roommate in the house. Luckily, Rachel and Alex got along quite well. He was a really nice guy, very caring, very sensitive and more importantly, he was totally in love with her best friend.

An hour later, Katy and Rachel appeared in front of the Sheraton. They immediately attracted attention. The young doormen welcomed them with a big smile and beckoned them inside. As they walked towards the fancy hotel hall, Rachel heard Alex calling. She turned back and saw the window glass slowly roll down. Alex was holding her purse, and said cheekily, “Forget something?”

“God, I can’t believe I almost left it there!” Rachel walked back to him on the driveway, “I don't know what to do without you and Lisa.”

“It's OK. By the way, how will you get home later?” He asked.

Rachel reached out for her purse, “Don't worry about me. I can ask for a lift from one of my colleagues or get an Uber. Enjoy your night with Lisa.”

“OK. Right, I should go now, I think the guy behind is a little bit pissed off.” He said as the black Maybach kept flashing to hurry them.

“OK, see you later.”

Rachel's sight followed Alex's car driving away. When she was about to leave, she realised that the man sitting in the back of the Maybach was her boss. There was almost no expression on his face. He looked so cold; Rachel thought. He should look happy, or excited at least. At the end of the day, it was his company's anniversary.

Dalziel Albanese was not alone. Another man got out of the car after him. They both dressed  in expensively-designed black suits, but their temperament was in contrast. The other man was as tall as Dalziel, and as handsome, if not more since he had the friendliest expression ever. It was too late for Rachel to just walk away.

"Mr. Albanese.”

Dalziel finally looked at her and dryly nodded while the man next to him gave her a warm smile. He clearly checked her out, his eyes sparkling with excitement but somehow it didn't make Rachel feel uncomfortable as usual. He just seemed to be a funny, flirty, but gentle man. Sure, his attractiveness helped. This man must be a lady killer.

“Dalziel, you have to introduce me to this lovely lady.”

“Stop what you are thinking. She is my receptionist, don't mess this up.”

Dalziel's words didn't stop him from offering a Rachel handshake: “Hi, I’m Kyle.”

Rachel took his hand and gave him a smile: “I’m Rachel.”

“What? You R an Angel? Is it your name?”

His cheesy joke actually made Rachel blurt out a giggle.

The three entered the Winter Garden - the celebration space. The garden was located in the centre of a complex of luxury restaurants and hotels, now decorated with thousands of small twinkling lights. It was almost dark, and in the twilight, the garden looked like a shining jewel, eminent against the purple sky. Fresh white flowers and golden balloons were arranged alternately, matching the colour on the real estate company L&R’s logo. The garden had been cleaned up neatly to make room for a dance floor. On the stage, harpists discreetly played soft melodies.

Dalziel's appearance seemed to bring the whole space to a halt. Acquaintances began rushing to greet him. Rachel quickly stepped aside so he could chat with them.

She looked for Katy in the crowd and then walked over to where she was standing near the stage.

“Rachel!” Katy exclaimed excitedly as she approached, “Where did you just disappear to?”

Rachel just smiled and didn't answer.

“Rachel, you look gorgeous today! I really like your eye shadow!” Rachel's colleague said as she stepped forward.

“Thank you, it's all thanks to Katy. She insisted on giving me a makeover.”

“Everybody is so beautiful today. I almost didn't recognize anyone, I thought I was in the wrong place." Katy looked around, smiling excitedly.

While waiting for the official ceremony to begin, Rachel silently listened to her colleagues discussing the clothes and cosmetics they used. She suddenly felt a sense of loneliness. It was not that she didn't care about fashion, it was just that she suddenly realised that she still hadn't really connected with the people around her. It was not their fault.

Suddenly the conversation of the female colleagues turned to Kyle. 

“Is Kyle also in the real estate business?” Rachel asked a colleague who looked like she knew some insider-gossip. 

“You haven’t heard about Kyle?” The colleague was surprised.

Katy then said: "When Rachel started working at our company, Kyle was busy establishing new branches in America. He has just returned to the country. It makes sense that Rachel never met him.” Katy turned to Rachel: “Kyle is a major shareholder of our company.”

“Yes, they seem to be too young to have that much money. When will I be as rich as them?" Susan lamented.

“Kyle is one of  the Schylers. The share he has in this company is nothing compared to his family's fortune!"

The Schylers! Rachel inhaled deeply. They owned EN bank - one of the oldest banks in Europe. It was surprising that their company was linked with such powerful families.

Together, the girls stared at Kyle and Dalziel across the dance floor. Side by side, they stood out from the crowd.

Katy smacked her lips and said, "If he proposed, I'd immediately say yes."

The girls burst out laughing. Rachel laughed too. What a beautiful prospect. All the girls in the world dream of being Cinderella so that, in the end, they can live with their prince, happily ever after. Here, it turned out that the prince was real, but unfortunately there was no Cinderella. He would end up with another princess. Rachel wondered how perfect a woman needed to be to hold the hearts of people like the Kyle Schylers and Dalziel Albaneses of the world.

The winter garden was filled with guests. Dalziel started the party by taking the stage with a brief speech. He thanked everyone who had come, including employees, friends, and business partners. The bright spotlights accentuated Dalziel's tall figure and angular face. He looked straight into the crowd with a calm, confident expression. His face looked warmer, happier than usual. Dalziel's eyes met Rachel's, they stared at each other, and he paused for a second, then moved away.

The speech quickly ended. A round of applause rang out and everyone raised glasses of white wine to congratulate the company’s anniversary. The party had officially started.

They were served amazing dishes from the Sheraton’s most professional chefs. Good food, good wine, young ambitious people gathered in the warm atmosphere of an early summer evening. Everything was perfect. Colleagues comfortably talked about both work and their private lives; everyone seemed to be more relaxed than normal. After one or two glasses  of wine, Rachel began to feel tipsy. She joined the conversation at the table and burst out laughing at the witty jokes. It had been a long time since Rachel had felt this happy.

After eating and drinking, everyone started pulling each other to the dance floor. The band started playing faster tempos. Rachel was quickly offered a dance by a male colleague. She happily agreed. Greg, 23, had just graduated from college and joined the company at the same time as Rachel. He was too young for Rachel's taste, but she found his talkative face cute, like a sly little brother.. The male co-workers were more flirtatious than usual, but that didn't bother Rachel. It had been a long time since she had allowed herself to relax and enjoy the fact that she was a young, single girl. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Dalziel on the dance floor as well. His dance partner was an old woman, but still beautiful and vivacious. She had never met the woman, she must have been one of the company's business partners. Dalziel said something and the woman laughed. Rachel wondered if older, more experienced women were his thing because he clearly didn’t care much for the young women at the company. Their eyes met again. Lost in thought, Rachel let herself linger in his eyes for a long time.

At the end of the dance, Rachel returned to her seat. Soon after, Kyle, with a big smile, walked over:

“So, we meet again, my lady. I wonder if you would mind dancing with me?"

From across the table, Rachel could clearly see Katy's eyes widening at her with excitement. Katy's head nodded to encourage Rachel to accept the invitation. She laughed because her friend was more eager than herself.

"Okay. Why not?"

They chatted a bit  while waiting for the next song to play.

Kyle flirtily asked: "So, how long have you worked for Dalziel?"

“Only about half a year.” She replied.

“It's been half a year! And I’ve only just met you. I need to visit Dalziel's office more often."

Kyle's bold display made Rachel laugh. She knew he wasn't serious and she wanted to let herself be free tonight. People like Kyle would never take Rachel seriously, no matter how beautiful she was. She was well aware that they were from different worlds. Girls in Rachel's position may find their way into bed with guys like Kyle, but class differences would never work out for them. After all, the Cinderella story was a lie and women suffer in unequal relationships.

“Hey, you haven’t said my name once. You’ve forgotten my name, haven’t you?" Rachel asked Kyle.

He made an apologetic face, smiled and replied, "Oops, you got me. Sorry, I'm terrible at remembering names. But I remember faces very well.”

He also flirted with other girls around the table and mesmerised them completely. Rachel laughed at Katy's witty response to his teasing. Katy was not easily bullied.

"Kyle." Suddenly a deep, manly voice spoke from behind Rachel. His voice gave her goosebumps.

Kyle raised his head: "What's the matter, Dalziel?"

“Mrs. Robert wants to speak to you privately."

“Is that so?” Kyle immediately stood up as if he was still waiting for this, but, then remembering something, he hesitated, “But I asked Miss Evan to join me for the next dance. My beauty, I'm so sorry, I have some important things to do, I will have to revoke my request to dance with you."

Rachel calmly replied, "It's okay, we can dance next time."

Kyle guiltily looked at her, and then his face lit up as if he had just come up with the best idea ever: “I can't just leave. Dalziel, can you do me a favour?”

Rachel's stomach twisted.

"What?" She heard Dalziel's cold reply. She dared not look at him.

“Can you finish the next dance with Rachel, for me?”

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest. Rachel thought he'd say no, but he said, "Fine."

Kyle beamed at her: “My love, you don't mind dancing with Dalziel, do you? Just close your eyes and imagine his dry, stone face as my radiantly beautiful one.”

Before Rachel realised what was happening, she nodded.