Scars

Chapter 5: Patty

"Yeah, do make sure you get in everything in order, and I don’t need excuses I
need the champagne all round not only at the mini bar okay?"
"Yes Ma'am"
"This night is a big one, make sure you don’t screw up or it'll be bad for us all" I
instructed one of the waiters we hired for the occasion, our guests had already
arrived and still so many were on their way, I felt my heart beat so fast I was
excited and nervous at the same time though I had every right to be since planning
a huge night like this was in your hands you just had to give it your best shot and
make everyone look good.
I stood in the center of the room taking it all in admiring the work put into it, it was
gorgeous, when looking up in the room it looked like the perfectly designed dome
of a cathedral from within, although it looked more different since it was rather
made of reinforced glass that made you appreciate the night sky while looking up,
though I’d pretty much doubted anyone would pay attention to the night sky when
there were pretty chandeliers draping down and reflecting the lights in the hall, and
the marble flooring below and a few roman pillars designed with bits of small
looking tiles, I know builders and all the people in the building sector would
probably be grumbling I don’t know what am saying, but hey a girl’s gotta try
right?
I was snapped back from appreciating the architecture and designs in the hall that
was now filled with our guests wearing masks everyone giggling as they walked
in, you sure could see the magnificence of this ball tonight, the men looking all
sweet and sexy in their tuxedos of which some I was guessing would cost almost
the price of my car, And then the ladies, As you would expect the radiance was
displayed in each and every shiny costly looking ball gown and saying the ladies
“dressed to kill” would be an understatement. I watched as flawless gowns of
different and magnificent embroidery made their presence known and almost made
me awe struck and sincerely amazed at this grand night, the sound of stilettos on
the marble floor almost rhymed with the little background music the D.j was
playing, the sound of high horse powered vehicles arriving the venue and dropping
of definitely a few celebrities and high ranking contacts of the board, there were
even a few paparazzi who’s flashing lights were almost blinding, I watched as the
staff ushered in dignitaries of this night
“Jeez snap out of it once more patty” I heard someone tap me and speaking to me
as I turned and looked to see Ella, she was the fairest of them all…okay yes I know
it’s not a fairytale but she looked exactly like that, with the smile on her face and
her radiant beauty and not to mention the wonderful jovani dress she wore, Ella suggested earlier that she needed to braid her hair which I thought was a great idea,
and guess what? I was right! She did the halo braid that fit so perfectly she looked
like a princess ready to address her subjects, I couldn’t help but see that Kristin
was right about her dress, it had chosen her from the very neckline of this beautiful
blue gown the solid gem toned color Matched with the ornate adornments that
branched into a fine line of a magnificent sleek looking style and beautiful layers
of royal blue satin sheets which perfectly transformed into a floor sweeping
silhouette which graced the marble floor and her sweet pair of heels, Ella was a
glitzy glamour tonight as I looked back up to meet her gaze where i also saw her
beautiful necklace and….
“Hey snap out of it already Patty!” I heard Ella snap me again out of my
appreciative inspection which I had done a couple of times today before getting
here, for some reason today I was just off
“Jeez I am the one doing some presentation tonight and I am not as tense as you
are patty”
“Huh? What no am not tense…..am I tense?” I replied and asked at the same time,
okay tonight was definitely off
“It’s gonna be okay patty we’ve had this whole thing planned out and I believe
with everyone helping out, it will be a huge success” Ella reassured me
“Hey that’s my line, I do the reassuring around here not you” I smiled and nudged
her a bit, I felt quite better with Ella around
“And hey one of the reasons I signed up for this is because i am positive we might
get someone for you” I winked at Ella who was now pouting like a little sister
would, I felt like awwww she looks so cute, and with these killer looks I was
definitely sure she’d grab a load of attention
“Besides you look absolutely stunning tonight am sure everyone is probably gazing
at you right now” I was joking around with her to make feel uneasy, but when I
turned to look I found out that what I said was true, a couple of Gentlemen in their
masks were looking in our direction it almost felt like they were put under some
type of spell, particularly that tall straddling gentleman.
“Like that Cute Gentleman with the mask that looks like that of Batman’s” the
mask he put covered his eyes only which made his gaze all the more sharper as he
smiled our direction with a couple of gentlemen there as well who shared drinks.
  “Yeah, how do you know he’s cute when he’s wearing a mask?, and besides that
mask looks like Robin’s Mask than it does of batman” Ella asked and corrected
“Hush now don’t question patty the great, besides how would he know you are
cute when you putting your black butterfly shaped mask” I asked her as I adjusted
my little mask as well, we turned and found Mrs. Hamilton and some of the board
members headed our way
“Good Evening ladies, my, my don’t you look spectacular Ms. Chase” Her British
accent filled the air as she reached her hand and shook Ella’s
“And I must say the same about you Ms. Turner you look gorgeous” she shook
my hand as we exchanged hugs with other members of the board, Mrs. Hamilton
and a few members of the board didn’t put masks they deemed it “ridiculous” as
Mrs. Hamilton called it, she wasn’t so bad though her gown was a glittery black
gown with a few adornments even though I knew she’d cared less about fashion
she still looked like the proper C.E.O
“I really must applaud your effort ladies for what you’ve done with the place, it
looks better than I expected it to be” Allan Grayson looked around admiring the
whole place as we stood
“I concur Mr. Grayson” Mrs. Hamilton replied
“Thank you Ma’am for trusting us with it” I replied her with a smile on my face
in all efforts to make her proud, must’ve worked because I saw her smile.
“Ms. Chase You do have a little to say to everyone here tonight, I believe you’ll
do us proud dear” Mrs. Hamilton addressed Ella with a smile
“I’ll be sure to do so Ma’am”
“This will be a night to celebrate to stride” Allan took a glass of champagne from a
waiter as did we and we all gave a toast and drank to that
“You do realize you’ll pay for that sir it’s a fundraiser” I teased, and we all
laughed, hey even Mrs. Hamilton was laughing, I guess this was my lucky Night
and it wouldn’t be so bad after all
“Mrs. Hamilton ohh do you look stunning, ladies you look dashing and filled
with style, and should I say good evening to you Sir Allan, even with the mask on
I’d still know you” A woman walked up to us, I didn’t seem to recognize her nor as did anyone of us except for Mrs. Hamilton, the woman looked as if in her
Midthirties probably 35, although she put on a mask I could tell this much from her
looks.
“Samantha, I see you made it” Mrs. Hamilton replied
“Ohh yes I honored the invitation, I must say your staff did quite a good job with
the place and the fundraiser was really what stride needs so far, good thinking” She
pulled a glass of champagne from another waiter passing with a tray of champagne
glasses, as she took a swig of the champagne.
“I must say you called in the right card, by putting together this fundraiser, its
been quite a while, stride has been stuck in the doldrums for too long so much that
another name for doldrums could be stride” she laughed sarcastically, wow like
that was even lamer than a third grader’s jokes, this lady was really getting on my
nerves saying something like this.
“You do realize that by making such an utterance against this company….”
Allan was responding to her nasty comment when Mrs. Hamilton lifted her hand to
interrupt.
“Asking you what brought you here would be stupid, but I’ll ask you this way,
what’s your main purpose of being here asides honoring the invitation or claiming
you support the company?”
“ohh surely am here to show my support but, I came here to tell you and your
people, you’d wish you were stuck in the doldrums for as far as you could be,
because right now I think with the markets and stocks rising, those of us that
actually know how to run a business like this are ready to squash anything from
rising again, that would mean eliminating every form of competition” she smirked
“I think you do underestimate the power in a company and its shareholders and
stakeholders, it is because of our very trust in our business partners that we are
comfortable enough to run this company and having this fundraiser tonight, and as
you can see people did turn out to support us” Allan Grayson replied while I and
Ella stood without a word because it looked like a tug of war between board
members, barging in right now would be a bad idea.
“Mr. Allan I am one of those people, You see Mrs. Hamilton and I have a long
history but am not making this personal, it’s just how the business works, so I’d advice that you tread carefully and stay off the naughty list” she took her last sip
from the wine glass and then disappeared into the crowd
“Samantha” Mrs. Hamilton murmured under her breath
“Surely one hell of a night” Ella started
“But this was bound to happen, besides it’s the business industry, you have to
do stuff to survive and thrive” I added to lift the glum mood on the faces of Mrs.
Hamilton and Mr. Allan.
“Excuse me, Ms. Chase you’ll be on in 10minutes” Maddie called Ella’s
attention; I guess it was probably time for her presentation
“Thank you Maddie” Ella replied, and the board members wished us good luck
before finding themselves caught in discussion with some of our guests for the
night
“Well I guess I gotta head there and say a few words, but you better be
watching” Ella remarked
“I will always be watching” I smiled and tapped her shoulder in reassurance
that she wasn’t going to be alone, the gesture almost made me feel like an elder
sister to her, with that she disappeared into the crowd of people of whom I
observed were looking at her in awe as she moved graciously past them, the
silhouette of her fabulous looking dress graced the marble floors as she went out of
sight
“Ms. Turner, There’s someone outside, A Mr. McLaren he said he needs to
speak to you, he says it’s urgent” a staff drew my attention and probably guessed I
wasn’t ready to deal with this right now, what was the whole point of an
invitation? Why should someone outside try calling me when I was inside!
“If he wasn’t invited, he should stay out” I replied him
“Yes ma’am we tried to stop him and get him away but he insisted and is
probably causing a scene, which I guess wouldn’t be good for any of us”
“Fine, let me see this person” I walked towards the main entrance and stepping
out of the ball room wondering if I ever knew someone by the name of McLaren
but I still couldn’t quite figure it out as I reached the main entrance with the staff
who had escorted me here. There were still a few paparazzi around standing and waiting for a fabulous moment to take something juicy they could media out, I
walked and well to my shock the one person you’d least expect to show up
“Logan McLaren, Why didn’t I get that I never knew any McLaren’s in my life
except you”
“Patty Turner, Nice to see you”
I watched his eyes like the treacherous snake that he was, good looking but
venomous, full of deceit, his name brought a bad taste to my mouth, I watched as
the bouncer let him through at my command, not letting him into the party but
away into the street, I wasn’t letting this maniac anywhere near that party, Not
when my best friend was in there having a good time, we walked a little further
from the entrance.
“You’d better start talking Logan, why in the world are you here? Of all places
if you wanted to die Logan I bet it’ll have been better you climbed the rail tracks
and get knocked down by a train then have your remains cremated and then thrown
in the Atlantic , but I guess you never really heard me back then huh?” I felt like
exploding and ripping him apart
“Patty it’s been almost two years, and you’re Mauling me over with scenarios
of how you’d probably want me to die, at least we should shake hands and say hi
before you went forward to give me my death sentence” He spoke almost as if he
thought I’d hug him and instantly forgive him for the problems he put Ella through
“Ohh hi Logan, How’s your whore friend? And umm how was hell? I hope you
don’t mind me asking because I feel you’ll be number one the list there, did you
die and come back?” I put a sarcastic fake smile even though I did feel my cheek
twitching, how could I blame myself for feeling that way, the guy didn’t give me
any cause to smile so I clearly couldn’t .
Clearly he couldn’t do anything about my attitude either, he sighed under the
cold breeze that blew and the slow music coming from inside the building, He
stood with his hands in his pocket and started
“I came to see Ella….”
“You came to what?! I should have you…”
“Listen just hear me out okay, I don’t mean any harm, I just wana see her”
  “And you think after all you did I’d just simply let you in and let you see her?
Shatter all the happiness I built into her life after you destroyed her in a split
second? No way, that’s not happening Logan” I replied him, my voice filled with
so much bitterness
“Patty I get it, I was stupid and naïve, never really thinking straight, not a day
goes by that I don’t curse the night I did that to Ella, till this day I carry the weight
of that day on me knowing that I hurt her, I really want to make things right” He
looked so sober about it, a kind of truthfulness that filled his eyes I would’ve been
fooled by it and feel totally sorry for him, except I knew Logan all too well, a
world class actor when it came to emotions, I wasn’t taking any chances with him
“Make things right? Yeah right not gonna happen, Logan you were done long
time ago and you will never see Ella ever again, you got me? She doesn’t want
you, so I suggest you go on to look for all the poor girls who would fall for your
pathetic charm”
I sensed he wanted to say something but somehow couldn’t because the voice
that came from speakers around sent chills down our spines, Ella’s voice which
was now echoing round the premises just reminded me that she was now on stage
giving her presentation, it sent a sense of guilt through my gut knowing that I
promised to be there watching her to reassure her I was there to support her, but
here I was with a now dazed Logan who looked like a child who just saw a candy
bar and didn’t have money to buy it.
“She’s here! I have to see her!” he exclaimed
“You try that and I swear it’ll be the last thing you’ll ever do Logan”
He put his hand on his face as if cleaning his face with his palm; obviously he
looked so disturbed, as to why I wouldn’t let him get to Ella
“Patty if it isn’t for me, then please for your company Patty. Stride is sinking and
you need all the help you can get, I’ve studied the plummeting values of Stride and
I know this isn’t going anywhere, Patty I could be a stakeholder, a part of this
company that redeems it from a final shutdown, I want to do this for Ella.” He
looked so sincere as he replied me but the thing is I’ll never trust him
“Nice try again, but Logan how can you become a stakeholder? You’re even
barely able to save any amount of money you get, and that’s why you were always
broke back then”
   “This time it’s different, I was able to get a contract, the Nets signed me and
I’ve already started enjoying the privileges of being on the team” Logan was
feeling all tensed hearing Ella’s voice, I stood there watching him in disbelief
though He was a basket baller quite ok, there was no way he could make it as a
stakeholder in our company, hell not while I was around, I despised Logan, and for
all I cared stride should rather drown than have any help from Logan.
“Logan you should go. I don’t want to see you around; I am not taking any more
of your nauseating lies”
“Patty if you would just consider…”
“I will not consider a word you say Logan, please leave. I don’t want to see your
face again”
“Any problem here Ms. Turner?” the security man walked up to us
“No Jackson, Mr. Mc. Laren here was just leaving, please do see him back to his
vehicle” I smirked at Logan and turned away.
“Yes Ma’am...Right this way sir.” The security man escorted him away, as I
Found my way back inside where a worried looking Tyler Now turned and rushed
toward me. Wait did I forget to mention Tyler my boyfriend was invited to the
party? Wow I am such a klutz at narrating. Anyway he was at the party hanging
out with some of our distinguished guests while I had to attend to this evening’s
arrangement to make sure all went according to plan.
“Are you okay babe I looked all around for you and I was worried when I heard
you were called outside” The concern on his face made me feel loved once more,
he was so special to me, and a big part of my life, I wanted that happiness too for
Ella and I wasn’t going to give up on that.