Behind the mask

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

Stated bold and clear in the letter are the terms and conditions, time, and venue of the exclusive masquerade gala Nora is expected to attend tonight. How bad can a first day of work in a new city go? Or, how adventurous can an investigative journalist be?

Nora pouted with a smirk, her shock melting away as she reminisced about all the adventurous tasks she had handled in her small town at Cambridge, here was the big opportunity to showcase her competence and stand a chance of getting herself promoted. Moreover, the media house paycheck is fat enough to get her into work.

Now, she has just five hours to plan for the night. Anything can go wrong and she is fully aware of the consequences.

****

“What took you so long, baby?” Ava asked, eyes fixed on her phone screen and her long manicured nails struggling to scroll through.

Andrew closes the door, striding in with a briefcase in his left hand while ignoring Ava’s nonchalant attitude. His blue eyes make a scan of the sitting room, shaking his head in disapproval at how things are disorganized.

“Do you ever look away from your phone for just a second?” The question causes Ava to sigh, looking up to behold Andrew's intimidating height and body buildup. She stood up and made her way closer to him. “I am very sorry baby, I was just trying to fix something. You know I work from home most of the time,” she whined, standing on her toes to match up with Andrew’s height as she kissed his lip.

“Hmmm,” Andrew moaned, pulling her closer with his right hand to gain more access to her mouth as he kissed her. The chirping sound of incoming messages in both their phones disrupted the moment, they broke apart, both looking at each other with curiosity before reaching out for their phones.

“A message from…”

“An invitation to an exclusive tech masquerade gala?” Andrew cut Ava shut and she nodded in agreement to receive the same message.

Ava smiled as she watched Andrew ascend the stairs to his bedroom. She has known him almost all his life, they did preschool together, attended college together and now they are engaged to be married in a few months. She has taken up a career as an i********: influencer because of their relationship. They are known as the perfect A’s, a ship that’s loved and looked up to by millions of her followers in the gram.

Andrew looked at the message he received a few minutes ago again. Why did his mentor keep this a secret from him? He is returning from his office and all they discussed was business, tech, and women. He didn’t mention the tech gala that’s happening tonight, hosting techie’s from the State and beyond. He wondered if this gala was just another tech gathering to discuss new discoveries in the tech industry and to have fun as the manner of their tech events is.

Aside from successfully building his tech company headquarters in Boston, Andrew has also been able to spread the branch of his company to five other states in the United States of America. He has been a founding member and the managing director of Nathan Ryn tech companies for six years, gaining experience and setting the pace to start his tech journey.

Andrew shrugged off the feeling, dropped his phone, and began undressing. It has been a very busy day and he could give anything to have a very sound sleep after the shower but he has barely two hours to call in favor of his designer, his makeover artist, and his assistant before the gala tonight.

He arrived at the exact location in his new limousine, the latest of the brand’s products he purchased weeks ago. One could simply guess his quest and taste for new tech products. Andrew stepped out of the car with Ava following suit with her bodycon sleeveless purple gown that was just above her thighs. Holding onto her diamond-made gold purse, she takes a picture with her phone flaunting her new pair of artificial dentitions.

The venue of the exclusive gala lay in all its glory, majestic and elegant, exuding beauty and class, just a place perfect for this kind of event. It was a familiar location to Andrew and Ava as they made their way to the elevator, he entered the 12th floor on the elevator button and waited patiently as the elevator began moving up to the destination.

***

Nora chose a gold round-neck gown, the only dress in her closet that looked something close to classic and expensive for such an event. She wore black heels that elevated her height with a gold necklace and bracelet, a pair of jewelry gifted by her mum on her twenties birthday. Her jaw dropped in shock as she beheld the white and tallest building in front of her. Indeed, this place oozes a kind of aura that makes her feel both excitement and fear. What if something is terribly wrong tonight?

“Welcome to Bell Classic house ma’am,” the security greeted with a smile, taking her card to confirm her invitation. She returned the smile by muttering a “thank you” to him after he handed back her card.

“12th floor, the elevator is by the left,” the security guy announced with a point in the direction. Nora smiled gently at him again before heading in the said direction. She appreciates his smile and her nerves are more relaxed as she punches in 12 on the elevator button.

It was exactly 9 pm when she checked her wristwatch. She exhaled when the elevator stopped at the particular floor, she stepped out and headed to the hall which is also by the left side of the building. The ambiance on the 12th floor is completely different from the other floors of beauty. The lighting is dim, rotating, and displaying colors of blue, red, and golden lights. The soft music chiming from the hall in front of her caught her attention as she drew nearer.

“You can't go in?” a voice said, causing her to turn back to behold a guy in his early thirties dressed in all black, shoulders up and his big brown eyes scrutinizing her body. If he’s checking her out then he is very obvious, Nora sighs in realization.

“Why, if I may ask?” she drew a purse closer to her torso with her two hands holding it tightly.

“You need to be checked by the boss,” he directed her with his eyes to where the boss was seated.

“f**k!” she mumbled as she made eye contact with the boss.