She Feels So Golden

Chapter One

"Jenny, come on!" I heard Peter shout from the front door.

"I'm coming, Pete!"

I bounded down the hallway, heels in one hand and the hem of my dress in the other. "You were supposed to be coming ten minutes ago." Peter scoffed, glaring at me. He looked disgusted by me; eyeing me up and down like I was a toddler that just said 'fuck' for the first time. "What?" I asked, "what's wrong?" Peter rolled his eyes, "your dress." I looked down at the silky gold floral gown I was wearing. "I thought it looked nice enough." I said softly.

"It'll have to do. No time to change now." Peter said lowly. He grabbed me by the wrist and dragged me out the door. I willingly let him pull me along, knowing we were in a rush. I just couldn't bear to hold him up any longer. I held my head down low as we got into the cab. I watched Peter fix his cufflinks and answer emails, not even glancing at me once. The cab zoomed along, weaving through cars and busses.

We finally came to a stop at tall marble building with columns towering above stone steps. "Here we are." Peter said promptly. He glared at me, "thirty minutes late to my own party." I looked down, feeling ashamed. Peter paid the driver and exited the car. I followed him quietly. We climbed the stone steps; I trailed behind Peter by just a little ways. Once we reached the doors, Peter held his hand out to me in a demanding way. I obeyed and placed my hand in his. "Smile, Jen." Peter said aggressively. Peter nodded at the doorman, who obliged and pulled the door handle open revealing a great lobby filled with people.

The floor was marble with towering columns reaching to the high ceilings. A large black desk sat at one side of the room. On the other side of the room sat a small orchestra made up of about eight people. I could barely hear the music above all the chattering. Over a hundred people talking and mingling. This was Peter's office. Sundance records. The biggest record company in America. Tonight was the office's annual Christmas party and a big night for signing new clients. It was Peter's time to shine.

As we entered the lobby, I smiled as I was asked. Peter waved at people, stopping to talk to the occasional coworker; all the while still gripping my hand tightly. After a short time of walking and mingling we stopped and Peter turned to me. "Alright, babe, I'm off to meet new clients. No need to for you to follow me around." He said, winking at me. He gave my hand a too-tight squeeze before dropping it. "Don't go drinking to much." He added as he walked away. I nodded and waved him off. I watched him disappear into the sea of people before wandering over to the makeshift bar at the receptionist desk.

"Vodka tonic, please. Put a little extra lime in there, would you?" The bartender nodded. I plopped down on one of seats at the reception-bar, feeling like I wanted to bash my head in. Parties were not my scene, but anything for Peter. I grabbed the drink, feeling the sigh forming in my chest.

Before I could let the sigh escape, there was a light tap on my bare shoulder. I jumped - spilling a bit of my drink down my dress, "shit." I muttered, looking from my dress to the man next to me, a smile falling from his face. He had curly brown hair that was combed perfectly into place and bright green eyes that shined with worry at the mess he'd made. "Can I help you?" I said, irritation and confusion filling my voice to the brim. "I'm sorry about your dress." He said softly. I rolled my eyes and looked away, taking a sip from my glass; finding pleasure in the bitterness of it. "Hey, I meant that." He said, sounding slightly offended. "I know you meant it but that does not change the fact that it is still your fault." I said, casting a glance at him. He stared at me with a slightly shocked look on his face before ordering something from the bartender and then looking back at me. "Let me buy you a drink then." He said.

"It's an open bar."

I could feel his eyes narrow at me, but he wasn't angry, the look was edged with challenge. He turned back to is drink, swirling the liquid in the cup before whispering, "what crawled up your ass and died?" I coughed on the drink that I was currently trying to swallow and stared at him. "That's bold of you." I said. He grinned, "you seem like you like bold." He said, gesturing to my dress; the slit that went all the way up to my upper thigh and the bright gold and floral pattern. I gave him a small smile, "as do you." I nodded before taking another sip from my glass and turning back to the wall I had been previously staring at.