Side Effects

Chapter 20

We hadn't even left the hotel, and Alaya was already causing problems with her outfit. Once we'd gotten dressed up, and Alaya had added a little makeup to her already perfect look, and I had a mini heart attack at the stunning vision, we headed down to the limo that was scheduled to take us to the gala. That meant walking through the lobby, where one man walking past us collided with a wall as his eyes followed Alaya, and another man had the woman he was with slap him as he couldn't stop his gaze from being trained on her as well.

It was going to be a good night!

The limo ride was a little longer than expected, if only because there was a line of other cars waiting to drop off their passengers at the venue. But Alaya and I didn't mind. She loved to people watch, and I just liked to hold her hand and watch her. That was all I'd need tonight. The event was being held at the Palazzo Brancaccio, a gorgeous 19th-century baroque palace used for weddings and events, that also contained a museum of Asian art. I was happy to see the magnificent architecture as it made the evening even better.

When it was finally our time to get out, their flashbulbs were lighting up the night, taking in the sight of my girl, though they had no idea who she was. Hell, they had no idea who I was either, just another foreign business man who shelled out the money to come, and that hoped the charities supported by the gala got a good amount of money from it.

"Every year, they do this gala, and people pay a million dollars a head to come here. The money goes to various medical research grants to study any number of diseases, and hopefully they'll pay off some year with cures," I whispered to Alaya as we walked up the red carpeted stairs. Her hand was perched on my forearm, though I really wish my arm was around her waist instead. This felt much too formal.

"What kind of people will we see here?" she wondered. "Anyone I'd know?"

"Maybe. It depends on who is in the area. Mostly Europeans. We'll see a lot of people who work for our competition, and many who are just here to be seen and show off their money."

"Like us?" she wondered with a polite smile.

"Not exactly. We're here to, in theory, make some connections for the company, and remind people that if the research works, we'd love to help cure whatever is found. There will be other health ministers from the neighboring countries too, potentially some from the World Health Organization, and then some people who are celebrities but were in the area and thought a million dollar party sounded like a good tax deductible cause." It really was hard to predict who would show up. In some years I'd seen several famous Hollywood actors and actresses who were in the area filming, or were merely nearby on vacation. In other years, it was the same boring people that I'd expected to see this year, though with COVID being less of a threat now, it wouldn't shock me if the crowd was bigger than normal.

I just hoped to have a good night with Alaya, and the rest didn't matter too much. '

As expected, Alaya's dress brought a lot of attention to us. We'd been in the main hall for less than a minute, and already had half a dozen men come up to greet us, their eyes covetous, and I had no idea who a single one was. Any health minister I'd know on sight, as I would have heard if one had stepped down, but these men were all here for other reasons. There were a few other people in the same job as I was from the competition, and I usually knew them on sight. In some cases, we had a good relationship, though not a friendship, and in other cases it was just an avoidance, because one of us had beaten the other into a market. I was very good at my job, so it was usually them who were angry at me.

I was okay with that.

"Alaya, I know you thought I was kind of kidding when I said I'd never leave you alone again after Malaysia, but tonight I'm escorting you to the ladies' room whenever you need to go, okay?" In this I was completely serious. She looked stunning, and while I didn't think anyone would be crazy enough to do anything here, I hadn't thought that last time either. I wasn't ever risking her safety again. The dress choice had been inspired. Not only was the cut and fit immaculate, but the color was unique as well. The gala was filled with gold and silver gowns, with many black and red as well. But she had the only yellow one. So, in addition to being drop dead gorgeous, she was also visible from across the room, so I was sticking by her.