"I am glad you bestowed us with your presence, Mr William," Derby cheered, sipping on his drink.
"Believe me, Derby, I had no reason to not come. After all, I have longed to see the fruit of your unmatchable tries," William embraced the man in a manly hug, Patting his back twice. " Now that you have set foot on this track, I wish you a thousand more milestones."
"Thousand sets a limit, Mr William. I am a man of spurring ambitions, my success knows no bounds!" Derby stated, feeling a sense of pride surging through him.
"True, indeed!" William laughed along before gulping the content of his glass.
"By the way, Derby, I suppose you haven't met my son yet?" He asked, but before Mr Derby could tell him that indeed he had not, Lara Maxwell interjected, placing a perfectly manicured hand on her husband's shoulder and passing a gentle smile to Mr Derby,
" Perhaps, you are talking about the next man to dominate the Entire New York with his Alluring looks and extraordinary abilities," she said only to have Mr William smirk to himself, proudness taking hold of his body. William was now quite, simply cherishing the praises his wife and colleague sang around him.
"Oh yes, Mrs Williams! It couldn't be put better in words... after all Maxwell family always had the looks and dominance in their hand. I am sure, my friend, Mr William here, must have set an easy path for James to follow. He just has to enter and succeed like his father," said Mr Derby, " After all, he is the son of the man who has been Mr New York for last nine years without a break!"
"Make it ten, Mr Derby for I am sure this gentleman here lacks nothing that could prevent him from getting his picture published on the front of Mr New York magazine," Lara said, sparing a glance at her husband before raising her neck in arrogance.
" Why wouldn't he? I am glad you are going to complete a decade this year, William. I can't see any way your image could go downhill," Mr Derby complemented.
"Luck? I have always had that in my hold Derby. Alas! Lara and I have already planned a grand dinner to celebrate my achievement. Need not to say, your presence will make our day."
"I and my family will always be by your side William. We can never forget what you did for us in our times of distress," Derby stated, his words carrying an edge of honesty as if he really meant those words. "Anyways, where is this young man?"
"James!" William called out to a young man, his back facing towards them. Upon hearing his name, for a trillionth time a day, he swirled around, flashing a heart-throbbing smile to his father. As he walked to them, he could see a few ladies at his side literally drooling over him. Keeping his head straight, he made his way to the group, not bothering once about the attention he was receiving from across the room. He was handsome and he knew about it. Those Dark brown hair were set just perfectly, the colour complementing the ocean-blue shade of his eyes. His plump, pink lips were drawn in a breathtaking smile, which looked quite rare to see from afar for he had a face of more of a cold-hearted man considering that sharp jawline and his habit of engaging his lips in a vicious smirk. But anyone who knew him well would say that's far from true. Since he was tall, fair and had the looks of a model, it is no wonder that he was tagged as New York's most eligible bachelor! Naturally, all the attention comes with it.
He grabbed a glass of drink from the nearby waiter before he continued heading to his father. The moment he took a sip, he regretted. It was awful, to say the least. Rich people had the most insipid taste! He knew he wouldn't be able to gulp another sip of this foul mixture of what felt like egg mixed with ketchup! As he walked past a money plant, he averted his gaze to see if anyone was watching him. Sure they were! Lowering the glass to the level of the pot, he dumped the drink on the soil, all the while making sure no one noticed it.
"Father,'' James stood by William waiting for him to introduce the man to him.
"Ahh James! meet Derby, the man with courage that no one can match!"
James shook hands with Derby yet spoke nothing_he had nothing to say. This was just a rotten sentence his father always uses whenever he introduce him to any of his pals.
"So I see James, you intend to be the next owner of Maxwell cooperation? Tell you what, you are going to love the chair," They laughed, most of all, Mr William. Tonight he was proud of his son but it didn't last much longer.
" Well, no doubt Mr Derby, I already love the chair but I have no such intentions," James said, now being the only one bearing that smile. " I wish to start from the grass-root level, to learn about business tactics rather than get them infused in me," He completed, looking at his now fuming father from the corner of his eyes.
Big trouble for tonight!
"Excuse me please," with that he walked away, not giving his father an opportunity to bash at him. He was already experiencing a total upset of emotions, his father's aggressive lecture was the least he wanted for the night. Adrenaline surged through his body at the thought of what he had planned tonight. She was sure in for the biggest surprise of her life!
As the announcements were made for the guest to take their respective seats in the auditorium, James couldn't help but scan the area around him. She had messaged him earlier to wait for her outside before joining the others in the auditorium. It was a bit unusual though for Jenna Berry was a woman of courage and bravery, both the qualities he had always sought in a woman and need not say, he adored her for it.
Jenna was a professional dancer, not just any dancer but an acrobatic dancer. The way her body moves with the flow of the rhythm can only be described as magical, enchanted and utterly magnificent!
He never forgot the way she had left him mesmerized at the opening ceremony of local and quite ordinary Drama festival. He still believes it to be the only plus point about that whole functions. The ridiculous face he makes whenever they talk about it never fails to send her in fits of laughter.
James smiled to himself as the porch started to get vacant. Jenna Berry was everything he liked, bold, confident, headstrong and also a shy, easily frightened, typical girl. Performing at such a grand function was something she had always dreamt of. 'It was an opportunity for a lifetime', she had said once.
She must have been a little nervous, that's all.
"James," for a moment he had to close his eyes shut upon hearing his name being called out for trillionth and one time this night...but this one time had filled him with internal satisfaction. He turned around to face a rather nervous Jenna.
The sight of her had him stunned for a fraction of moment. perhaps because she looked absolutely stunning in the floor-length navy blue maxi she had on... or maybe because of the paleness of her skin. It was probably the latter. He had expected her to be nervous but not frightened and shaking.
''You look gorgeous," he complimented, slowly walking to where she stood. He could see the fakeness behind the smile that she put up. However, ignoring it, he took her hand in his and placed a gentle kiss, all the while looking intently in her eyes.
"Is there something you would like to share sweetheart?" He asked, snaking his arm around the small of her back. He could see her struggling with words. She was behaving quite unlike her and James couldn't help but wonder what was this all about.
"N..n...no. Y..yes actually. I...I wanted to ask you i...if I...should perform to...tonight?" It was more of the way she stuttered then the words she uttered that left him dumbfounded. She could panic, scream, cry, shout or do anything when she is nervous but not stutter! It wasn't just in her.
"I thought you loved this?"It came out more like a question.
"I still do! But...maybe...you...your fa...father won't appreciate it," she started, her stutter getting worse. " I mean he already disapproves of you being with just an ordinary dancer," she completed, hastily, sighing a breath of relieve for probably not stuttering again.
James drew his hand back and looked at her with eyes filled with affection. But the reason she put forward wasn't convincing him enough yet he decided to push through. "My dear, you aren't a dancer, you are a performer to start with and in my eyes, it's no less than an art! Second, you don't have to worry about silly things as this when I am here to take care of everything. I am his only son, his blood. He won't put up with this grudge for long"
"But-"
"No buts! I will be waiting for you to take over the stage with your brilliance," with those words, he placed a soft kiss on her cheek before making his way inside the hall.
His eyes roughly scanned the jammed-packed auditorium before they landed on his father and Mr Derby seated in the front most row. The ceremony had already begun but he could care less. He was only interested in her performance, the rest did not appeal to him once.
Mr Derby was a movie director. He had directed about ten or such movies yet they all were a failure. None did justice to the money he invested on them. He was almost near the state of bankruptcy but the stubborn man refused to give in that easily. He had taken loans, sold his lands but never gave up. The end was that he finally produced a blockbuster film casting Liam Hutton. So tonight he had gathered around a crowd of his close fellows to memorate his struggle and glorify his achievements.
It was just a matter of seconds that the light dimmed to a fluorescent blue shade and the music busted from all around the hall. Just as the beam of swirling lights focused on the stage, women came out, swaying with the rhythm but she was yet to come.
The auditorium busted with applause just as a woman, dressed in what one could call a peacock maxi graced the stage with her presence. He smile. She had finally overcome her anxiety and was now back to taking the stage with her awing performance.
No wonder how the audience admired her acts, James couldn't wither off the unusual feeling in his gut. To all the rest, she was doing wonderful but to him, she wasn't herself that night. The aura around her didn't carry the same charm as it usually is. The smile she put on contradicted the look of fear with which she watched him all the while. He had it in his mind to talk the matter through once they leave.
The performance was about to end with the last few steps Jenna did while standing in a small balcony at quite a hight from the stage. Just as the music stopped, Jenna spread her arms, breathing heavily. Everyone stood and applauded for the marvellous performance that had left them sitting at the edge of their seats_ most of all James Maxwell.
Just then the fire emitted from either side of the stage, blinding the viewers with the spectacular view. The crowd cheered even more. But in that fire display, James could have sworn he had caught a glimpse of a lady falling from the balcony! And it was no one other than his fiancee,
Jenna Berry!