A Little Variety

Saturday PM.

When I walk into the Studio Bar, I gasp. It's posh and stylish. From the entrance, I can see that there is an outdoor area past these floor-to-ceiling windows. The lighting, which I guess was brought in by those guys in suits, definitely sets the mood. Although I am in pretty formal attire, the other people that have started mingling in the area look a lot more elegant.

To calm my nerves a bit, and to make myself look busy, I decide to grab a drink at the bar. The specialty cocktails look delicious, and I decide to get some fancy drink with elderflower liqueur in it.

I sit there sipping my drink and watch the people chatting around me. A little bit later, I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn and see my boss.

"Found the place okay?" he asks.
I nod, as I am mid sip with the straw from my drink in my mouth.
"Thank you again for doing this. I really appreciate it. Like I said, you'll get paid overtime. And the event is until 11:00PM, but we stay until midnight. Drinks after 11:00PM are on the company, so if you have a friend, invite them, and enjoy the rest of the night."
My eyes must look like saucers, open wide, because my boss lets out a loud chuckle.

"I mean, I had no idea what I was signing up for, but this night is shaping out to be much different than I expected!" I say in shock.

Then, I continue, "What exactly is this event?"

He laughs again, "Oh yes, sorry. I guess it completely slipped my mind to even explain what we'd be doing. My mind has been all over the place since the planner cancelled. Our company wants to become a corporate partner with the museum."

I continue nodding, because I'm not sure exactly what to say.
"There are just a lot of client engagement activities that we can do through the museum once we build this bridge."
"Oh okay," I finally say. "What do you need me to do?"
"Ah, just some basic stuff. I have this portfolio here. If you don't mind just taking a brief look through it right now to see what we've got in there, I just basically need you there to hand certain documents to me when I ask for them. I also may need you to make a little small talk with some of the partners or wives of the corporate sponsors, if you don't mind?" he requests with a question.

I'm not so great with small talk, but I am getting paid overtime, and although I have no one to invite after this, a few drinks post work sound great. It'll make the rest of my evening a lot easier not having to think about much.

"Yeah, that's fine," I answer.
He pats the back of my shoulder, "Great. Thank you again. They haven't shown up yet, so why don't you take a look through this, and when they're here, I will come and get you to introduce you."