I can't believe I'm here, in the actual White House" Terri says as we get directed to the main room where the event was happening.
I smile at my supervisor as we step through the open door.
The room was ginormous, banquet tables ran along the entire of one wall and tables and chairs lined the walls, leaving a large area in the middle where agents danced in delicate gowns and tailored suits.
To the right of the room sat a large stage where currently an orchestra played.
"Can you see him anywhere?" Terri asks about the man himself, his arm tightening around mine with excitement.
"No, why don't you grab us a drink" I say nodding towards the men walking around with glasses of bubbly. It's not whisky but liquid confidence works in any form.
I take a deep breath as I stand near the door waiting for Terri. God I'm so nervous, I've never been this nervous in my life and I've been an agent for 9 years.
Terri was dressed to impress in his most expensive suit and a bow tie, his hair gelled back into a low ponytail. He had gotten it trimmed yesterday but it was still past chin length, the way I liked it. I, on the other hand, didn't even recognise myself when I looked in the mirror. My mother had caused a big fuss and called me a professional makeup artist who had spent hours applying what felt like layers upon layers of makeup to my face. It was a lot considering I only ever wear foundation and that's only on a bad skin day or if I'm abroad. Here, at the office and the usual day to day I don't bother with it. And my dress, it was gorgeous, although it tried to kill me. With its built-in corset that sucked everything in rib tight, I felt like I was being squeezed, though my mother insisted it's supposed to be tight. It had a sweetheart neckline and was embellished with gold and crystal stones on the pink corset. The skirt that started at mid waist was a deep red and had several layers of organza making it thick and full. It was beautiful and worth every penny spent. My hair was the only simple thing about me tonight, left down and loosely curled.I had a sparkly clutch bag the same red as my dress that hung on a silver chain over my shoulder. I thought it was a bit much but admittedly I liked the outcome.
"You're turning a few heads!" Terri says when he returns, passing me my drink.
I just smile uninterested, the only head I wanted to turn tonight was Leon's, even if I was mad at him for leaving that morning without a goodbye.
"Thank you, Chris, this is exactly what I need!" I hear in a soft tone to my right as I take my first sip
A man and woman step in beside us and the voice must have belonged to the pretty girl with the auburn ponytail wearing a long elegant red dress, on her arm the man was very muscular and quite tall with short chopped black hair.
"Ooh champagne!" She says spotting us stood beside her with our drinks
"You wouldn't mind pointing me in the direction to where you got those could you?" She asks us, escaping from the mans arm
"Just there!" Terri points as the man with her shakes his head
"I can't take my sister anywhere!" He says peering at us
I smile
"Hi, we haven't met. Chris Redfield", BSAA" he says shaking our hands
"I'm Amy Ray and this is my supervisor Terri, we're O.S.I"
"Ahh I've heard about you agent Ray!" He says and I give him a curious look
"There you go" the guys sister says as she returns, thrusting a glass into her brothers hand, he looked reluctant to take it but did anyway.
"Claire, Meet Amy Ray and Terri....?"
"Clements!" Terri answers and Chris nods
"You're the girl Anderson told me about!" Claire says, her lips tighten and it looks like she's sizing me up. I blink at her and Chris laughs.
Suddenly Claire takes my arm with a smile
"What did Leon do to deserve that greeting?" She asks amused and I look to the men before back to the red head.
She must be talking about Russia and how I nearly punched him.
"You know Leon?" I ask her
"Do I, we go way back, the stories I could tell, but first, I wanna hear yours!"
"Claire, stop sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong!" Chris threats
"Hmpth" she huffs at her brother and he gives her a toothy grin
"Why don't you go find your boyfriend!" She teases
"Piers isn't here yet!" He answers with a glare
"So you guys been here before?" Terri asks
"This is my 8th year" Chris admits
"It's a first for me" Claire says as she admires the place
"Same here" I say and Claire smiles at me
"I say us newbies stick together"
I smile at the redhead. I liked her.
Chris introduces us to some of his team members and a few D.S.O agents he knows as we walk around the room before finally me and Terri sit at a table as the siblings leave us to speak to a group of Chris' men, Piers being one of them.
"Well that was, interesting"
"I like Claire" I admit as I watch her from a far, listening intently to whatever Piers was currently saying.
"I'm glad you're making friends" he says and I eye him
"What do you mean by that?" I question with a raised brow
"I'm just saying, your social life isn't exactly bustling"
"My job leaves me little time for friends, I have my close set of friends I see when I can, they're all I need"
"Well a new one will do you good! I worry about you!" He says and I tare my eyes away from him, scanning the room yet again for any sights of Leon. I end up being disappointed.
"I carry a gun everywhere, you really don't need to worry!"
"You know it's not your life I worry about" I sigh and the movement on the stage at the back of the room draws our attention, the orchestra leaving the stage .
A few minutes later the president himself steps on stage from the back, Leon right beside him. He stays back as the president makes his way to the mic at the front of the stage to speak but my attention stays on the blond.
He's wearing a black suit, cut perfectly to his shape, his hands behind his back as he watches the president begin his welcome speech, thanking us all for being here, why we're here and so on, I couldn't take it all in, not with Leon in the same room looking god damn edible.
I still feel anger when I look at him but it's slowly sizzling away the more I stare, every time he gives the room a scan I hope his eyes will land on mine, but they never do.
I think about the night at the hotel, how we played pool and acted like teenagers, how we shared a bed and how he held me in his arms as we slept. It was hard to get to terms with the idea of a man who could be so caring and intimate during a one night stand to have been watching me for 3 days, to know who I was and steal my information, to worm his way into my life, to give me hope of us actually being something then to just leave after sleeping with me. It really didn't leave a good impression.
I notice him nod at someone with a genuine smile in the crowd and my vision goes to the pretty red head. I wonder if they're just friends or if he's slept with her, would she be in his arms tonight?
This feeling was one I hadn't felt in a long time, I was jealous.
"Who's the suit you can't tear your eyes from?" Terri asks causing me to pull my eyes from Leon to the chief of security now making a speech of his own.
"That's Kennedy!"
"The Italian thief!" He says surprised as he now stares at him
I just hum and play with my empty glass
Finally the speeches end and we're all told to enjoy ourselves and my eyes go back to Leon. Seconds later his eyes come straight to mine, like he knew exactly where to look. His look was piecing, then he leaves the stage behind the president.
I clear my throat and decide I need another drink, heading for the open bar.
After finally getting my drink I turn around to come face to face with the president himself, Leon right beside him.
I'm glad Terri is here beside me.
The president smiles at me as words get lost in my throat
"Amy, so glad you could make it!" He puts his hand out for me to shake
"Of course, it's a pleasure to meet you" I reply
"The pleasure's mine, And you must be Terri," Adam says holding his hand out towards him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr president!" He says
"I believe you two have already met" the president says after giving Terri a nod, looking at me and Leon.
"Terri this is Leon Kennedy"
Leon holds his hand out for Terri to shake and I realise I haven't even looked at Leon since his approach with the president, it was understandable that I'd forget about him for a minute with the president looking and speaking directly at me.
He looked even better in that suit up close.
"Terri, how would you like to meet my friend Erik stanson, I believe you two would get on great!" Terri's eyes pop at the mention of the senator.
"Leon, why don't you take care of my V.I.P for me!"
Leon gives the president a look that shows they've defiantly been friends for a long time, his look told the president he's on to him.
The president just smiles smugly and nods at me before leading Terri away, leaving me and Leon.
"V.I.P?" I question and Leon smiles
"Come on, there's something I want to show you!" He says and I find myself following him.
"You look beautiful" he beams as he looks back at me, waiting for me to match his steps and my high of meeting the president crashes down and for some reason, his compliment angers me.
"Save it!" I sneer and he frowns as we walk together
"You're angry at me?" He asks dubiously, like it's him that has the right to be angry at me.
"You left without a goodbye!" I remind him
He turns then to face me, stopping us in an opening near the door.
"You never answered my calls" he counters, his tone sharp, mirroring my own.
I open my mouth to give him a piece of my mind when I hear a familiar voice calling Leon's name, then Claire is standing beside us, her smile slowly fading. She could sense our moods.
She forces a smile and looks at her friend.
"Drinks?" She offers with a hopeful smile and Leon smiles at his friend, his shoulders dropping as the tension evaporates out of him and I feel it again, jealousy towards this pretty redhead.
"I'd love to" Leon answers before looking to me. I hold back my scowl. Was he ditching me?
"But I have something to do first" he admits as he looks back to Claire
"I'll find you later?" Leon offers and Claire smiles between us as I hide my surprise that he's sticking with me and not his longtime friend.
"Sure, take your time, I'll be here, listening to Piers" she rolls her eyes and smiles before walking away.
I watch Leon closely as he smiles after Claire, watching her walk away back over to her brother and Piers.
I want to ask him about her but at the same time, I don't want him to know I'm jealous.
"Come on," Leon says to me with a warm smile as if to soften our moods. I huff a silent breath and follow the man out of the room, curious as to what it is he wants to show me.