High Society

Chapter 5

Clubbing is now no stranger to Talia Vanderbilt. Tucked away in Paris with no enemies of her father knowing she was there, she had the green light to party her heart away during her college years. 

Dressed in a shiny emerald dress that stops right at the middle of her thighs, she paired the seemingly innocent dress with matching pairs of emerald earrings and necklace. 

Her father and brothers went late to work in the office today so the penthouse was silent. This let her blast her music in her room as she got ready for the night. When she was satisfied with herself in the mirror, she grabbed her white purse and strutted out of the room. Just as she stepped into the foyer to call the elevator, James was standing in front of it. 

"Miss. Talia. Your father has ordered me to escort you tonight." 

Pursing her lips, she replied, "That won't be necessary James. Marco is taking me there." 

"I haven't been informed of any unauthorized vehicles Miss." 

"Well, Marco should be here in five minutes. It's really okay James. Please take the night off. Be with your family." 

"I only take orders from your father, Miss." 

This was going to be a long for Talia. She didn't think that she needed to remind her father that she was 21 now, not 16. 

Just in that moment, Tristen strolled in wearing a suit and rubbing his forehead. 

"What's going on here?" Tristen asked. 

"Tristen, would you please tell Dad that I'm a grown woman now? I have a date picking me up and Father has ordered James to take me there." Talia explained. 

After a moment of examining the situation, Tristen gave in and said, "James you're dismissed tonight. I'll inform my father." 

"But sir..." 

"I've got this James, don't worry. If a head lands on a platter for my father, it'll be mine. Well, ours will be next first if we don't let Talia go tonight with her date." Tristen sighed. 

Gleaming, Talia hugged Tristen, "Thank you for trusting me Tristen, I appreciate it." 

"Alright, alright. Now, do I need to remind you of something called your alcohol tolerance?" Tristen warned. 

Rolling her eyes and smiling, Talia got into the elevator and down to the garage. 

"Now James, I have an alternate task for you. I want you to run a background check on this Marco Perez. If you find out anything other than this successful international pilot, you let me know. Understand?" 

"Yes sir." 

The long line that curls around the clock indicates the popularity of the club in the middle of downtown New York. The exterior and interior did not disappoint. The black leather and intricate designs in the wallpaper immediately embrace customers with a sense of quite luxury. 

After walking through the doors, Talia and Marco immediately identified the group of flight attendants and pilots in the booths. Marco grabbed Talia's waist and introduced her to the group. 

Everyone fawned over Talia as they gushed about Marco finally settling down. It was a happy group of people. Very Marco, Talia observed. It was like you cloned twenty Marcos. Talia giggled at that thought. The group also seemed to never reject any sort of alcohol. Talia struggled to keep up with their appetite. 

By the fifth drink or eighth, Talia excused herself to use the restroom. As she was washing her hands when she was done, a group of girls came stumbling into the room. She couldn't help but overhear their conversation. 

"Yes, oh my gosh. He's so fine. If I get even a minute alone with him, I would be the happiest woman alive."

"I've heard that women flock in and out of his room. You won't stand a chance."

"What? I've heard he rarely gives anyone any attention though. If he did, you're lucky."

"Hey! A girl can dream. If not, I could also try for the other three." 

Confused, Talia stepped out of the bathroom and walked back. Along the way, she stumbled along a set of stairs leading to a metal door. Curiosity overtaking her, she walked up the stairs, assuming it was another level of the club. 

Turning the knob of the door, she was surprised to see that it turned. Letting herself in, she immediately realized that it was in fact, not another level of the club. 

The room was soundproof and had a huge desk in the middle with a combination of modern and vintage furniture lining the walls. The room was large enough to host a conference and there was an area just for couches. 

What caught her eyes was a picture on the main desk. She couldn't make it out in the dim lights but could eye out four figures in the pictures. Before she could make her way over to the desk, a hand behind her grabbed her wrists and pulled her towards them. 

"This area is restricted." 

She turned around and gasped. Staring into the eyes of her other former best friend unexpectedly rendered her speechless. Her gaze also surprised Tyler Clemonte as he was faced with eyes that haunted his dreams for the past five years. 

The two didn't speak for a minute, just stared at each other. 

It was Talia who broke the silence, "Tyler." 

"Talia, I—I don't know what to say." 

Before Talia could respond, a chorus of chaos broke down below them. Tyler whipped his head down and frowned. 

He immediately sprang to action as he started firing instructions to his men to calm down the situation. A drunk man has gotten violent and started to harass the bouncers and customers. 

Tyler ran down to bark more instructions and stop the fight. Talia, shocked by this situation, followed him right into the middle of the fight.

Just as the drunk man pulled back his arm into a punch, the impact of the force of the punch made the bouncer back up straight into Talia. With the height difference, this caused Talia to ram back into the brick wall and collide her head with it. 

"TALIA!"