At The Masquerade Ball

Chapter 2

Lily was definitely not happy with the outcome of the interview she had looked forward to that job as it was a perfect fit for her, and not to talk about it being her get away card from Reach cafe. This was a terrible loss for her, but she wasn’t going to let it steal her spirit. “Yo. Where are you?” she said to James as she walked down the subway to her train. “Girl, do I have to teach you to be courteous every single time” James playfully scolded “Sorry. Hi, Mr Otaro James. How are you doing today?” she said with a sarcastic tone in her voice. “Much better” James replied “So whats up?” “where are you? I could really need a friend right now.” Lily said in a very soft voice “Well, it's 3pm so I'm at the job that pays me ” “Could you come over to my apartment later? I’m going home” Lily informed him as she was getting o the train back home “Sure thing. How was your interview by the way?” “I’ll give you all the details once you come over” Lily and James have been friends for a very long time. They met in high school and have been friends ever since.

Lily got home and she realized she really did not put her apartment in order this morning before leaving. She leaves in a small apartment in an apartment building on the far end of town just so she can afford her own space without breaking the bank. Real estate in New York has become the new Gold mine. She swiftly set her purse aside, and went straight to work. “Siri, play ‘Suddenly I see by K T Tunstall’ and crank up the volume” she prompted “I need some confidence at this point even if its fake and short termed.” She went ahead to clean her apartment, starting with her wardrobe which she left in a mess this morning in a bid to look for the perfect outfit for the interview “What a waste.” She said to herself as she continued placing things in order. She finished setting her apartment when she heard a knock on the door. She wasn’t expecting anyone except James and this was quite early. He normally gets off work by 5pm and this was just 45 mins past 4pm. “Who is it?” she yelled “it’s your pizza boy.” James said. Lily hurriedly went to open the door to let her friend in. “I wasn’t expecting you so soon? What happened?” Lily asks as she shuts the door behind her after James walks in. “Well, we had an early day today at the company. The executives has an event they are preparing for, and those of us not in charge of or running or preparing anything can just escape home.” James explained. “So how was your interview?” “It was a bust” Lily replied “That bad?” “Nepotism won this time. I thought i had this one in the bag” she said as she goes in for a hug. “There, There, My darling. What you need is a good time out and i got just the one” James said with a bit of excitement in his voice. “Please spill. I need all the distraction i can get right now ” “So the event that my company is hosting is a charity event it holds every year. It hosts CEOs, business moguls and the rest, and this year it is themed as a masquerade ball. So no one will know who we are, all we have to do is get ourselves in.” James suggested. “Say no more. I’m in” Lily quickly answers. “First things first. Let me go back home to change, then we can talk about you.”

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Steven returned back home to his house to prepare for the gala this evening. He already had his butler prepare his outfit for this evenings event and it was already laid on his bed for him. Steven was wearing a three piece double breasted navy blue tuxedo. He changed out of his work clothes and wore his tux for the gala. He picked up his fathers watch end wanted to put it on but he changed his mind and wore one of his gold Rolex instead. He had not received Charlie’s speech all day and he was just sending it now, just some hours to the event. Steven saw the email notification on his cell phone “This guy is kidding himself” he said to himself and made up his mind to just wing the speech. As there was no longer enough time for him to read the speech, work on it and memorize same.

Steven loved any opportunity to show of his status he enjoyed being the main character, one glance at him and the word that comes to mind is ‘exquisite’. He decided to take his Black Chevrolet tonight and he wanted to drive himself so he gave his driver, Carlos, the rest of the evening off. The event was to begin with a red carpet by 6pm, but it was already 7:15pm. Steven loved arriving fashionably late when it comes to events like this. He zooms off to the party.

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James arrived at Lily’s apartment by 6: 30pm to help her prepare for the event. He enters the room in a dazzling black bedazzled suit with a shoulder drape and a cute black bow tie. He wore a half face mask that was beautifully designed with black and gold. “James, this looks really good on you” Lily complemented James looks “It seems you have been planning on attending this for a while now.” “Well...” James says with a smirk on his face. “Enough about me. Lets fix you up.” James said as they both giggle to Lily’s wardrobe.

“so lets see your options” James said to Lily. Lily opened her wardrobe and brought out 3 dresses. The first dress she tried on was a pink floor length gown with ruffles on the shoulders. James stared at the dress on Lily with a complex look. “nahh. This isn’t it.” He commented “You look basic at best. Where did you get this dress anyways?” “It’s the brides maids dress from my brother’s wedding” Lily answered “Well... its obvious that all of you lacked a sense of style.” The second option was a body con yellow knee length dress with no sleeves and one shoulder. “Nahh” James ruled out the option without really giving it a second look “Girl... too sluty. Have some class” James said as they both laughed. Seeing the third option which was a white flowy dress, James decided that none of Lily’s dress would work. “Lily, look at what I'm wearing” James says as he tries to explain why she needs to get another dress “You need to look at least half this good”.

The pair arrived at a dress rental shop, and James went ahead to speak with the store rep. “Hi girl. So we are here to rent a dress for my friend for the evening” “What do you have in mind?” the store rep asked “Something elegant and classy, but also gives off sexy” James answered “we have just the thing for her.”

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The event had already began. Here was Steven mingling with the other guests with a filled champagne glass in his hand. He had just finished delivering his speech and everyone was inspired by it. He spoke on the company's dedication to continue to give back to the society via its foundation for women empowerment and children education. He made a few references to his grandfather who began the company with just a dream and his tools and here they are now.

In the midst of the mingling, he makes up his mind to leave any moment from now as he was already getting disinterested. He spots a beautiful lady, who was a vision in gold. Her hair was made into beautiful curls, she wore a gold lace floor length dress with a low open back and a deep v cut in front, closed enough not to be provoking but wide enough to keep you staring with a trail and long sleeves. She wore a white mask that only covered her eyes. Never before had he been so captivated by a woman. “Who is this masked beauty?” he said to himself as he appr

oached her.