Book of Imagines

9. Man of the Hour (Jacquees Imagine)

[The setting takes place in a banquet-gala type event at night. You managed to get an invitation to this black-and-white affair but went by yourself. Although you may come off at most elegant, there's no one who catches your eye at first.. // Denise.]

Hers..

It's the event of the century, or so it's been told. From all the hard work I put into my job, I busted my ass to be able to even step near this place. It took a lot of ass-kissing to my boss to get me an invite to something this exclusive. When my boss caught on, he cut me some slack and gave me his mistress's invitation. The details of his situation are completely out of my reach and none of my business. Business.. What business do I have at an event that I wasn't directly invited to? To build connections. Hopefully. Financially. I don't have time for romantic connections.. not if there's work to be done. Especially if I work all the time. Plus, there's no one I'd expect to give the time of day at an event of stuffy rich people. I guess you just have to fake it 'til you make it.

The clock struck 8:02PM. Although the event starts at eight, it's nice to be fashionably late, but only if you look good. Like, "better-than-most-of-the-people-there" good. My gown highlighted my body's every angle and curve; It gave off a princess feeling and it felt impossible to be missed if I left my house. By the time I got to the event, it was around 8:30. At this point, a good amount of people should already be here. I let valet handle my car so I could blend with the other rich folks. How would I look parking my own car right now? Luckily, I stopped by the ATM to pay for the dude to park my car lord-knows-where. Regardless of where I'm from, first impressions are a big deal to me. Go big or go home.

I showed my invitation to secruity and that was about it. I was in. Everything looked like a fairy tale. Diamond chandeliers, marble floors, spiral stairs, lengthy tables full of food, plates of champagne, elegantly dressed people.. It's hard to take it all in within one glance. There was so much going on but I felt looks from a lot of people. I made my way down the spiral stairs; each step was the equivalent of more sets of eyes and hushed conversations. No one knew who I was; that's what made people wonder. It got awkward after the first few minutes so I walked around, exploring the room. Looking at the tables of food made me reevaluate how not to stuff my face. Suddenly, something caught the corner of my eye. Dreads.. braided to the back into a low bun. What a weakness. This was a black and white affair. Most men were in black tuxes with the white shirt but he was the negative. White suit. Black shirt. Black bow tie. Brown skin.. like chocolate.. oh my God. I cannot lie but I was dazed. Mouth cracked open, on the verge of drooling to be honest. He was pretty short but his look was at an all time high. What broke my daze was realizing why I'm even here. Not to holla, but to make connections. I turned back to the food table and grabbed a glass of champagne, because that looks cool, right? I somewhat saw the dread head noticing me, or maybe I'm exaggerating. Either way, he's ignored. Just a distraction. He probably has a date anyway.

I took a couple steps into the middle of the room but I heard a yell behind me. "Excuse me!" Is that for me? I glanced behind me and it was the dread head. The distraction. Just play it nice and maybe he'll go away. "Yes?" I asked with a fake smile, walking back. "Sup? I'm Rodriquez, but people call me Jacquees." He held out his hand for a handshake. He seems kinda thuggish.. I should probably move onto someone else, I guess. I shook his hand so I wouldn't seem rude, "Denise. Nice to meet you."

"I'm usually not use to this.. Parties like this. You don't look like you are either." I'm just gonna act like I am. Remember. Connections. Just not with him. "I am. I don't what would make you think that."

"Oh.. Well, I just had to tell you what it is."

"Hm.." Time to make a run for it. "So, who you come wit?" Damn it. "Who did you come with?"

"Eh, don't worry about who I'm runnin' with." I rolled my eyes and turned back into the crowd. I did it on reflex and I don't regret it. Sadly, he followed behind me like a tail. "Hey, where ya goin'? We the only young people here so might as well stay together!"

"No, I'm fine, thanks!" I shouted back without turning around. It came out sounding like such an attitude, and it was. I was already bringing attention to myself as is, but this guy wasn't making it easy to play off. With a name like his, it made me wonder why he was even here. 

An hour or so went by and I was building conversations with people. I ended up getting to talk to the president of my company. The boss of my boss. He said he was looking forward to seeing me excel at work. Others complimented my dress, hoped to see me again and simply just talked. I was loving every moment. Eventually, an announcement was being made and everyone was hushed. A man stood at the top of the stairs, tapping a glass of champagne with a fork. I thought they only did that in movies. Looking at him longer, I remember his face. The CEO. The boss of all bosses in the business. He looked like he was in his mid-50s with some gray hairs in his trimmed beard and his hair. He was tan but he looked like just a light skin black person. "May I have everyone's attention please?" he asked. The room slowly grew silent. "As you all know, I'm retiring--" (Black don't crack. He looks like his mid-50's but the man is retiring. Amazing.) "--and I still have yet to choose someone to take my place as CEO of the company. I'm up here to say I have finally taken it upon myself to pass on my title to my nephew. Not because he is family, but he's earned it and is ready to take on the challenge. Please give a round of a applause for my nephew to come up and honor us with a speech." The room filled back up with applause as asked. I would've expected another stuffy white guy to take the job but that's nice. Eventually I saw a man walk up the steps to speak; That's when I got nervous. When I saw the white suit and bun of dreads, I face palmed myself. He stood there with a beaming white smile, waiting for everyone to quiet down again. "Well uh. I'm Rodriquez Jacquees Broadnax for those who don't know me. I usuaIly just go by Jacquees.. uh. I didn't get a speech ready because I actually didn't expect this but uh.. this is cool. I won't let y'all down. I have alot to learn but I have people to learn from so don't worry.. That's it. Have a nice evening!" Wow, that speech sucked. Another uproar of applause came about. He came back down the stairs so I guess that was my queue to apologize for my attitude. I quickly pushed through the crowd to get to him. People were shaking his hand and patting his back out of congratulation. Finally, I got to him. "Heeeey.." I awkwardly said. You could hear the regretful embarassment in my voice. He smirked because he knew he had something over me. "Oh, it's you again. uhh.. Denise, right?"

"Yea, that's me. Listen, I just want to--"

"No need to kiss up to the new boss. Ima let it slide because you're lookin' good in that dress tonight." He smiled and began to walk around me. Suddenly, he stopped before walking away, "But know that after tonight, you still working for me. You're all about work and no play but Ima work to get witchu." He winked at me then disappeared into the crowd. Was I hooked? No. However, work just got alot more dramatic.