The Daughter In the Corner

Introductions

Dillon was used to being treated like an accessory. Like all the Farley men, he pampered his sister, although unlike them, he didn’t do it out of his own volition. Having finally shaken his sister off, he set off to find his friend.

Amara stood beside her parents and took in the sight. The charity event was being held at the Roger International Hotel which her father owned. It boasted a massive hall that hosted tonight's event to raise funds for orphans around the world.

Men were already crowding around her father to talk business, pushing her out of the way, not that she cared. Her eyes were already roaming the hall sifting through the myriad of faces in search of someone she knew.

Like finding a needle in the haystack, she grinned from ear to ear when she saw Derrick chatting with some other men.

“Mom! I found Derrick! I’m going to go say hello.”

Amanda nodded. “Okay but be careful. There are a lot of people milling about. Our table is over there. Make sure you are back before the event begins,” she called out behind the quickly disappearing Amara.

***

“You still play polo?” A young man with auburn hair spoke.

Derrick shook his head. “No time for that, I’m afraid. I have been taking over the family business. It’s a lot of—“

He cut off when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning he saw nothing. Then another tap from the other side. Again he turned but this time he turned a full 180 degrees catching a glimpse of a woman dodging his line of sight.

Amara bumped into Derrick’s colleagues as she tried to evade Derrick’s eyes. “Oh! Pardon me! I’m so sorry!”

The auburn-haired young man who caught her steadied her before speaking, “It’s okay. Hey, Derrick! You know this lively little sprite?”

Amara smiled at Derrick, “Hello old friend!”

Derrick broke into a wide grin as he looked at her from head to toe. “Wow! Amara you’ve grown up! Guys, this is my childhood playmate I’ve told you about, Amara Roger. Amara, meet my friends from school. You don’t need to know their names.”

Amara nodded towards them and put on a polite smile. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you!”

The men bristled at the half-assed introduction but Derrick laughed it off. Taking Amara’s hand, he walked away. “See you guys later! I need to catch up with my old friend.”

Amara blushed and bowed her head with a shy smile as she let Derrick lead her away.

Meanwhile, somewhere in a corner of the room, three young men congregated sipping cocktails. Women flocked nearby but were intimidated by their aura and didn’t dare to approach carelessly. They stood like birds preening their feathers hoping to catch the men’s eyes. But to no avail, one of the men with glasses stared across the hall, his eyes trained on a moving target.

“Earth to Hunter! What are you looking at?” Dillon tried to follow his gaze but Hunter broke off eye contact and turned back to the other two.

“Nothing.” He pushed his round glasses up further on his nose bridge.

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t you do Lasik surgery a few years ago? Is your eyesight getting worse again?”

Hunter shook his head. “It’s nothing serious.” Truthfully, the glasses were just props, the lenses were just plain glass. He wore them in hopes that Amara would recognize him straight away as the last photo he ever sent was from a few years ago. But like always, she only seemed to notice Derrick.

He shifted his attention to Peter. “So when are we signing the lease on the building?”

Peter sighed. “As I was saying, we sign next Tuesday and can move in immediately. I can’t believe after five years, we finally made it.”

The three clinked glasses.

Hunter and Dillon met in a class during their first year of college and became fast friends. Dillon recognized Hunter as a brilliant mind in software development and later introduced Hunter to his brother, Peter, who was in the works of starting his own AI company. Peter, being five years older than the two, became the stoic ringleader of their little group. After four years of sleepless nights, they were finally past their development stage and launched their AI robotics company. Now they needed to add headcount so they pooled their resources and bought an office space downtown. Things were looking up for the trio of entrepreneurs.

Hunter raised the glass to his lips and tilted his head back, his eyes roving across the crowd searching for his little book fairy.

Peter noticed his subtle gestures but kept quiet. He wasn’t one to pry into the private matters of his friends and family.

***

Amara and Derrick talked over a glass of champagne.

“How have you been all these years? Thanks for sending me all those postcards.”

Amara blushed. “You’re welcome. It’s been good. Dad has me learning the ropes of the business so I interned at his subsidiary in Bern, Switzerland.” She tucked a loose strand behind her ear exposing her earrings.

Derrick nodded. “You look good! You’ve grown so much.”

Amara smiled brightly. “You’ve grown taller and more mature. Remember how we used to climb trees and chase squirrels?”

Derrick chuckled. “How could I forget? That was the best summer I ever had.” Noticing her red face, he raised a brow. “Hey, let me go get you a glass of juice. I’d hate to have Mr. Roger breathing down my neck for getting you tipsy.” Derrick walked away leaving Amara staring longingly after him.

“Amara? Is that you?”

Amara turned and flinched unconsciously when she saw a beautiful blonde woman walking her way accompanied by a tall man.

“Hi, Jenny. Long time no see.”

Her half-sister, Jenny, smiled and drew her into a hug. “You’ve grown so much since I last saw you. Dad’s been raving at how good you are in business.”

Amara lowered her head and replied humbly. “It’s nothing. Everyone knows how successful you are in the industry.”

She glanced at the handsome man beside Jenny and gave a small nod. “You must be my sister’s fiance. I am so sorry I missed your engagement ceremony.”

Nathan clasped his hands behind his back and nodded in greeting. His eyes twinkled as he smiled. “Hello, Amara. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Amara clutched her shawl in place covering her lightly exposed chest and bowed slightly in return. “Nice to meet you too Mr. Al Saad. Congratulations again; you two make a fine couple.”

Nathan nodded and looked away, keeping his eyes on Jenny.

Although the exchange was brief, Jenny still felt a tinge of jealousy. She knew Nathan would never look at another woman longer than necessary but even a glance at Amara was a second too long. Her eyes trained on the young man who found his way back to Amara’s side nudging Amara playfully in the arm. Amara looked up and beamed a bright smile taking the glass of orange juice from his hand.

Jenny looked at Amara expectantly, “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

Amara jolted. “Oh! I’m sorry! This is my childhood friend, Derrick Sinclair. His father is in the oil business. Derrick, this is my sister Jenny and her fiance, Nathan Al Saad.”

Derrick smiled and shook hands with Nathan. “Hello! It’s a pleasure to meet you in person!”

He turned to Jenny and his eyes widened as he stared like a fool. Jenny smiled and raised a hand in greeting.

“Hello. I am Jenny, Amara’s sister.”

Derrick stared for a second longer before he caught himself. Laughing awkwardly he shook her hand. “Ah, I didn’t know Amara had a sister.”

Jenny looked at Amara with a pained look, “Is that right? I’m a bit sad to hear that.”

Amara scratched the back of her hand feeling an itch she couldn’t quite get. “Um, so we’re going to catch up a bit before the event starts. Excuse us, please.”

With her free hand, Amara grabbed Derrick and dragged him away.