Daylight

Chapter One

"I'm telling you, every woman in this room is gonna have their shoes off in the first five minutes. Then give it an hour and you will be witness to the things we had to sign open non-disclosures for," the tall blonde man standing at the other well of the makeshift bar said to the group. They were all dressed in black, a fixture in the background of what was about to be the Oscars Vanity Fair After Party. He'd very proudly announced earlier that this was his third elite party he'd worked as a bartender. That must be why he was the Team Leader. Dylan... or Derek? It wasn't a name that stood out.

"Avana," he called out, and it took the darked haired woman on the other end of the bar a few moments to turn in his direction.

"Ava," she corrected, a pleasantly Cuban accent in her voice. The first thing that stuck out were her bright green eyes. There was a hint of gold near her pupils that drew in the eyes of others.

"Okay, Ava," he replied with a bit of snide, "have you ever worked at an event like this before?"

"Served drinks at a bar? Yes, that's pretty much my whole job," she replied, raising a brow to the man. Dustin. That was it.

"With celebrities like this," he replied with a roll of his eyes.

"I've worked in bars in LA. Don't worry about me. I know how to behave," she said cooly, brushing a few loose strands of hair back from her face that had fallen loose from her pulled back hair.

It wasn't like that was a lie exactly. Ava had worked in bars in L.A. Just not the ones big names went to. Ava had been sort of a roaming soul for a few years now. She'd tried her hand at many different things while she tried to figure out what she wanted to do when she grew up. Though she supposed she should be a grown up now. She was working on it. So in the meantime: bartending for rich people.

Party guests slowly began to filter in, and at first felt like a strange phenomenon. They all seemed to arrive in small bursts. Photographers are outside, that's why!

Music played towards the left side of the room, undoubtedly some musician she'd only vaguely heard of about to perform. Ava had a beautiful painted smile; her eyes sparkled and she had enough charm to get a good tip. At a lull, she stepped back away from the bar and took a sip from her bottle of water before she rolled her black satin sleeves up to her elbows. Of course a loose black blouse was part of the uniform. It would get a little warm in here with all these people. She was grateful to be on the side of the room furthest from the action.

~~~~~

Arriving in a black four door car, Sebastian stepped out to bright camera flashes and the sounds of fans yelling his name. He nodded and smiled at them as he walked around the car and onto the black carpet that would take him into the party.

He was dressed in a black on black suit, standing tall as he stood for photographers to take his picture. Seb smiled for the camera, posing by leaning to one side or holding his suit jacket in one hand.

When he was able, Sebastian walked inside and let out a small breath of relief. It never got any easier to be in a crowd of people all yelling for him. He walked to the nearest bar and watched as a woman bartender served drinks to a few people on the opposite end.

"One Manhattan and one glass of champagne," Ava said casually with a half-smile on her lips. As the couple walked away, she smoothed her hands over the legs of her black pants and took a breath, preparing herself for the next wave. She rested her hands on the counter on either side of her before she glanced around and caught sight of a dark haired man standing at the other end of her station. Perk up, Delgado.

She took a few steps toward the other end of the bar and met the man's eyes. She recognized him, his face had been popping up more and more in the last few years. Still, the name didn't come immediately. "Can I get you something?" she asked, green eyes bright under the dimmed lights over the bar.