The stars and the moon

Chapter 3

Dominance//power and influence over others//

I checked the time as it read 8:15. I was 15 minutes late and only a couple of people seemed to notice. They came up to me and congratulated me for my new company ranking. I thanked them politely and chatted for a bit before excusing myself.  As I looked around I noticed that everyone looked elegant and reserved. There wasn't a lot of laughing or playfulness, it was serious and the conversations being held were meticulous. 

I made my way to the standing bar. Even though the waiters were passing out small glasses of champagne, I had grown accustomed to order my champagne with a couple drops of both lemon and cherry. It was more refreshing than conventional champagne and kept me attentive during conversations.

    I thanked the lady, sipped my drink, and then turned around to observe everyone at the gala, looking for potential conversation targets.

   "Are you looking for someone?" A man in an all navy suit asked me. He was handsome, with brown hair and brown eyes. His tall figure was intimidating and his voice was a type of deep that had the ability to make anyone shiver.

    I finally snapped back to reality and said "No. Just seeing where the kitchen is."

    "Why?" he questioned me.

    "No solid reason. Sometimes it's just nice to escape from the scene."

    "Justifiable enough." He stopped talking, looked at his drink, and then turned back to me again. "What business do you operate?"

    "Arden Engineers." He stepped away, observed me from head to toe, and exclaimed "Ah, so you're the infamous Arden. I was wondering when I would have the opportunity to meet you." He carefully took my hand and planted a light kiss on it. "Bruce Gray. Pleasure to meet you."

   I choked a bit on my drink, and looked at him wide-eyed. "Mr. Graye, please excuse my being so informal."

    He held up his hand and said "Please. You don't have to treat me as if I were a celebrity." I stared back at him confused, questioning whether he was being sincere.

    "Okay...?"

    He sighed and elaborated further. "I don't like it when beautiful women treat me as if I were higher than them or more important."

"And Beautiful men?" I asked slightly smiling.

"What?"

    "Do you also not like it when beautiful men treat you in that manner?"

    He smirked and laughed. "Are you not going to take that compliment?"

     "Nope." I laughed softly and proceeded to look him in the eye. We stayed silent, not breaking eye contact, until I realized what we were doing and diverted my eyes to the drink in his hand.

    "Can I buy you another drink?" I asked, noticing that he had finished his whiskey. He shot me a crooked smile and said sure.

    I got him my favorite drink, which was the champagne with cherry and lemon. When he tried it, he claimed that it had become one of his favorite light drinks. Our conversation flowed naturally and even though there were a couple of awkward moments, we managed to put them behind us and avoid them.

    "Would you like to discuss some of your designs with me over dinner?" He asked smoothly.

    "That would be lovely."

    "Great. Here's my number. Call me whenever you find fitting so that we can set up a date and time." He kissed me once more, but this time on my cheek, before slipping away down the stairs.