Are you my Adonis?

The Gala

I smoothed down my dress nervously as I rode the elevator. I wasn't worried about the gala running smoothly. I had spent too much time preparing and making contingency plans to worry about things going wrong. I was more worried about how people would react to the way I was dressed.

I looked at myself again in the shiny surface of the Presidium's elevator. I was in a floor-length silver sequin gown with a high slit over my left leg. It had a sweetheart neckline and basically no back. It fit like a glove over my bust, abs, and hips, then flared out to the floor. On my feet were strappy heels that matched and were already killing my feet. I remembered how Jacob and Sally stopped arguing and stared when I came out of the dressing room wearing the outfit. Before, they had been arguing about the length and color of the dress I should be wearing to the gala.

I had the makeup artist and the hairstylist meet me in my private suite a few hours before the gala. I had stayed here the last few days to make sure the preparations were just right. The face that stared back at me was so foreign. I was wearing a red lip with brown smoky eyeshadow. My hair was down, styled into soft curls, and clipped into a side ponytail with a silver hair clip. I had ditched my glasses on Jacob's insistence and shoved contacts in my eyes again. I hadn't been this dressed up since prom in high school. Most of the time when I went to formal galas, I wore pantsuits.

The ding of the elevator doors brought me out of my revelry. The doors opened to my Dad in a black tux. His smile widened as he took in my outfit. Mom, standing behind him, nodded her head in approval. I blushed, embarrassed, knowing they would make a bigger deal of this than needed.

"I'm a lucky man. I get to escort the two most beautiful women in the world, tonight," said Dad, offering both his arms to Mom and me. We both took one arm each and walked toward the ballroom.

"Cheesy as always, Dad," I said with a smirk. I'm sure I was blushing red.

" I knew there was a gorgeous woman in there behind the power suits," commented Mom. "I'm sure you'll be the talk of the town tonight."

"Aw, Mom. I want to get this done and over with," I replied shyly.

"Don't you dare, young lady. You worked too hard on this to not have fun tonight. Perhaps tonight you might meet a special young man," chided Mom.

" Your dress is stunning, Mom," I said, trying to change the subject. "Is it a De La Val?

" No, it's a custom design by Cherise House," replied my Mom. " Your Dad had it designed for me."

"All these years together and you guys still know how to be romantic," I said wistfully. "You guys are amazing."

"When you meet the right one, it's hard not to be," said Dad as he looked at Mom warmly. I hoped one day I'd meet someone who could touch my heart like that. Well.... and love me back too.

We walked into the ballroom, and all heads turned to us. We greeted everyone on our way to the stage across the ballroom. I spotted Bill and Sally. Bill was wearing his wedding tuxedo, and Sally had on a magenta mermaid dress with ruffles. A dress like that would be gaudy on anybody else, but Sally always knew how to pull it off. Her honey-blonde hair was coiffed into an updo that brought the look together. A camera was pointed at them. I assumed she was one of the few allowed to live-stream the event. She waved to me, and to my horror, the camera swung to me. I put on a big smile and waved back at her and Billy. Billy gave his megawatt smile when he saw me. He gave me a thumbs-up, and I shook my head. I waved them off as I climbed the stairs to the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fowler Charity Foundation welcomes you to our first annual Charity Gala. I am Amelia Fowler, Co-chairperson of the Foundation and Vice President of Diversify Investments. My parents and I thank you for your generous donations tonight. We have already raised 1.5 million dollars in private donations and corporate sponsorships. Your donations will fund our women's shelter and homeless outreach programs. We hope to start our inner-city education scholarships by November this year. Now, without much ado, I open the ball."

Applause filled the ballroom as I stepped off the stage to mingle with the guests. I smiled politely and tried to eat the sumptuous dinner of truffle risotto, crab and shrimp linguine, and Beef Wellington. The Chef at Christo's really outdid himself. I could only get one mouthful at a time before I was interrupted by this bigwig or that CEO. At this rate, I would only get to eat a third of my plate before the auction started. My Mom gave me a sympathetic look. Foodies like us really didn't like having our meals interrupted for idle chat. However, the Foundation was more important than sating my stomach.

As predicted, I only got to eat a third of my plate before I had to climb the stage again. I sighed, put on my usual business face, and stood next to the podium. Beautiful items from antique collectors' dreams and exclusive designer services were brought out one by one. The grand finale was something that I had a proxy bidder in the wings for myself.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, our final item and the grandest of them all, a cerulean blue sapphire and diamond parure consisting of chandelier earrings, necklace, ring, and bracelet, set in platinum. Total weight of 60 carats; retails at five million. The set was donated to us by Veronica's Jewelry Company. We will start the bidding at 1 million dollars." I open.

Soon, paddles went up so fast I almost couldn't keep up. When the bids went over the retail price, I cut off my bid with a signal to my proxy bidder. I was a little disappointed but happy that the Foundation was benefiting from this bidding frenzy. Soon, more people dropped out as the bid reached eight million. Then there were two bidders left when the bid reached 10 million. One of them had familiar stormy blue eyes that haunted my dreams.

"11 million dollars by Mr Devin Hastings," I announced. "Any more bids?"

"12 million!" yelled out a voice that grated my soul.

"12 million dollars by Mr James Winthrop," I announced the outbid.

"13 million," Devin's deep, controlled voice said. I arched my eyebrow.

"15 million!" James Winthrop yelled in retaliation before I could recognize Devin's bid.

"15 million dollars by Mr James Winthrop," I announced, secretly wishing that James Winthrop would lose. I'm sure such a beautiful set would be adorning some up-and-coming Hollywood starlet in a day or two. "Are there any more bids?"

Devin leaned back in his seat for a moment. Before I could start the countdown, his voice echoed in the ballroom, "25 million dollars." A hush fell over the crowd, and then murmuring started all around.

I regained my composure. "25 million dollars by Mr Devin Hastings. Are there any more bids?" I looked over to James Winthrop, who sat back with a sour look on his face. I really had to steel myself from smugly smiling at him. "25 million dollars once, 25million dollars twice, 25 million dollars sold to Mr Devin Hastings! Congratulations on your winning bid, Mr Hastings." I set down my gavel and eyed the parure one last time. Thunderous applause echoed throughout the ballroom.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, that concludes..." I started closing the auction, but Sally hurried up the stairs and grabbed the mic. I looked at her in confusion and some irritation. I hoped she wouldn't pull a stunt for her channel.

"Actually, there is one more last-minute item that wasn't in the catalog," Sally said into the microphone. Before I could grab the mic back from her, she announced, "A dance and a date with our beautiful MC and Co-Chairperson, Amelia Fowler!"

"What are you doing?" I hiss at her through my teeth.

"Trust me, you have got a lot of comments on the feeds right now. Do it for charity," Sally whispered back.