POV: Daniella
"So who are those men in the table with you last night Dan?" Ericka asked me the moment we were alone in our cubicle. The rest of our friends (my team) were in the dance floor shaking their booties and grinding with other men. Mason, Ericka's beau, went to the bartender station to order some flaming margarita for us. We are in a night club called Lotus Spade in upper downtown, outside of the fabulous Beverly Hills city.
It is our last day here in the city since tomorrow we will return to New York. Good thing Ms. Elaine granted us an extra day stay in the chateau, all expenses paid by her and her husband. Since it is a Saturday, after taking care of the wedding decorations and flowers for the whole day, we decided to celebrate our successful and trouble-free wedding event last night by coming in this club. It is also timely that it is mine and Ericka's nightout day.
Everything in the reception went as planned (well... except for the violinist but that was already solved thanks to Mr. Vincent Altair). After his Allegro Moderato piece, the newlyweds requested another one since they loved hearing him play. After that, two more requests arrived to which Vincent was kind enough to play. The audience was so captivated with his mini concert that they almost forgot that it was a wedding party. They actually asked for multiple encores in chorus. Luckily, the host was skillful enough to transition to the next part of the program and dismiss Vincent out of the stage without a problem.
I never saw Vincent after that again because he left the area through the other side of the ballroom.
Right after the reception, Ms. Elaine and Mr. Aaron congratulated me. They said that they will recommend me to their friends if they needed a wedding planner. Not that I would need such advertisement from them since...you know, the Rosecraft Company is already popular, but it is always great to know that through my efforts more credits will go to the company which I will inherit someday.
"Ah, those two?" I gave Ericka an innocent face. The lights of the club were playful. The colorful lasers swayed all over the place. I could see her grooving to the beat, but her attention was still on me.
"Yup, " she said whilst throwing a peanut in her mouth, "those two with you in the Fancy Pants Club table."
I pressed my lips as I recollected my time in that particular table. In no way am I going to mention his name because it will only bubble up my suppressed irritation. "Weren't you in the party last night too? I'm sure you know who the man next to me is. He was in the stage giving a message to the newlyweds."
"Uh, na ah, " she shook her head. "Remember you assigned me in the entrance door. I never got the chance to see the whole of the program."
My eyes widened in realization. "Oh yes, I forgot."
Ericka then leaned closer to me and gave me a hopeful look. "So? Who are they?"
She really is determined in juicing up an information.
"The one with the yellow turban is Rohan, " I started after a sigh. "He is the secretary of the Fancy Pants Club."
"Uhuh, I'm listening, " Ericka noted.
"And...the one next to me is the president, Mr. Erik Romano Fancii."
I saw her roll her eyes then. "Well duh..." she voiced, "it is a no brainer. Look at the rhyming words. Fancii and Fancy. Get it?"
I chuckled at her statement. She can be a comedian sometimes. I took my glass of tequila and drank it in one gulp. The liquid immediately stung my throat in the most desirable way.
"But he is stiff, " I heard Ericka say then. "He needs to loosen up a bit."
"Oh, believe me, " I stated, "I so agree with you with that."
She tapped a finger in the corner of her lips and leaned back on the cushion chair as if she was thinking. "The other one though, Rohan, is that his name? He seems easy to get along with, " she remarked once done.
"Yes, he is. Can you believe that he is a Kamasutra guru?"
I don't think it is an information that needed her attention but I guess I was wrong.
"Oh yeah? He is?" she straightened; eyes lighting up. "Can you ask him how much is his fee?"
I gave her a perplexed look. "Why are you asking?"
She bit her lips then and confessed, "Because I'm planning to take Mason with me for a session."
Wow. I never expected this straight-A college student would be courageous with regards to this kind of topic.
"Kee, you know you don't need to tell me that right?" I said feeling my cheeks blush. I so don't need an image of my friends making out or getting hot and horny right now.
"I know, " she sighed, "but I want you to feel the burn too."
Oh my Lord, I believe the burn she is talking about meant desire.
"I think it's high time you get a boyfriend, Dan."
There she is again, playing cupid. We had talked about this several times and it always ended up with me saying 'graduate first before love life.' But now, I can't do that anymore since I have graduated.
"Hmmm, sorry, I don't plan on having one anytime soon, " is what I just replied.
Ericka gave me a skeptical look. "Huh, I bet you'll swallow your words when someone makes a move on you." She tossed another peanut in her mouth and eyed me mischievously. "Like perhaps...the vice president?" she added.
If I'm going to weigh it down, I think the reason why she said that is because of what happened last night; those two kisses in my hands that weren't necessary for a man who I just met. But I believe Vincent is just being a gentleman. I guess Ericka saw it in a different light.
"What? Vincent?" I suppressed a laugh. "Oh...he is too beautiful for me. I think you are aware of that."
She chuckled and then placed an elbow in the table while supporting her face with her hand. "I know right. He is so dreamy and such a gentleman."
Huh, she just took the words right out of my mouth. I scooped my share of peanuts and started eating them whilst contemplating on our subject. Vincent Dominico Altair is a hot man. Like hot just like his two other club members. But his type is what women would call a lucky catch... a prince charming. I don't see him as my prince charming though. I prefer my man...
"How about the president?"
I coughed out a peanut as an image of Erik flashed in my mind.
"Oh goodness Kee, I think I'm gonna puke." The glass of water instantly relieved me as I drank it. "Why would you have that kind of idea?"
She shrugged her shoulders then. "Nothing... just intuition I guess."
"Well that intuition of yours is messed up. It needs fine-tuning because believe me when I tell you, that man is untouchable with his oh-so-perfect principles in life and his roguish attitude."
She giggled and rolled her eyes Ericka-style. "You seem to know him quite well even just for a few hours together."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "One minute. One minute is all I need to know that that man is a no-go."
"Mhmmm, that sounds like a challenge, " she nodded towards Mason's way as we saw him approach our cubicle with two salted margaritas in hand. "And I happen to know you love challenges, boss."
I rolled my eyes. God, sometimes her keen sense of things make me shiver.
"Oh my God!" she suddenly shouted and stood up, "Is that him!"
"What?!" I scrambled from my seat too; stretching my head to make sure I could see. I could feel my heart pounding like crazy. "Where?" My brain honestly assumed that Ericka was pertaining to Erik, but I think it was just out of panic that it did so. "Wait, who are we talking about?" I crossed my arms in my chest.
"Oh my God, Daniella. Look at your face!" she burst out, then danced in a silly manner, making heart shapes with her hands.
I can't really get angry with my friend, so instead of dissing her because of her prank, I plopped myself back on the sofa and said, "Zip it Kee. I'm not patronizing this topic about him anymore."
She stopped and smiled evilly on my way. "You're cute, " she said, wriggling her brows.
"And you're bossy."
"You are the boss!"
And then we both laughed. Mason, who now joined us, looked confused. "What's this girly commotion in here?" he asked whilst hooking an arm around Ericka's waist.
"Nothing, " I said, then grabbed my friend's wrist. "You wouldn't mind me stealing your girlfriend for a dane right?"
He raised his hands and said, "No problem at all, boss. Go ahead."
A few minutes of dancing together with my girls had me in a great mood. It was fun and at the same time liberating. Because we were in the middle of the dance floor, I could see the whole of the club. It was spacious. There were balcony-type cubicles and private VIP rooms in the second floor, a wide stage in the center that had band instruments set up and more cubicles on the first where ours was too.
I found that this club has a lot of customers. Probably, I can say that the class of people that come here are in between the middle and high class. Most wore designer clothes and had blings dangling in their necks and wrists.
The dance floor was alive because of the many people crowding up including my team and me. It would have been a normal event for a club but the way the people danced, including those around us, were out of the ordinary. They actually looked like they were in a high.
Weird.
I would have opened this up with Ericka, but before I could tow her out of the dance floor, I felt my cellphone vibrate in my hand.
Now, who would call me at this hour?
After tapping Ericka's shoulder, I shouted in her ear, "I'll go out for a sec! My phone is vibrating!"
"Sure!" she answered loudly.
And there I went, out of the club managing a flight of stairs before passing the tall, scary-looking bouncer with a braided beard.
Unknown number?
My mind blurted out as I checked on my cellphone screen.
Seeing a classic lamppost a few feet away from me, I went there and answered my phone. This location is right. It is enough that I can hear the caller's voice amidst the booming sound of the club music.
"Hello?" I answered anxiously.
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