Hey everybody, I wasn't originally planning to write the story of Tripp and Sera's night together at the company party, but I just reached the first milestone on Tapas and wanted to thank all my supporters by making a bonus chapter. Sorry it was so long I had to break it up into parts. Enjoy!
“How does this look?” I asked Mason, pulling what had to be the hundredth dress off the rack. I had to get something just right as our company was throwing a huge formal party tonight, I wanted to look good, but also didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard.
Mason barely glanced away from the sales clerk he was checking out. “No.”
I sighed, placing the sequin dress back on the rack. Who was I to think I could pull off sequins.
“You gotta get something that shows off your big ass.” Mason commented, making the sales girl giggle. She was supposed to be over here helping me but Mason had her mesmerized, honestly couldn’t blame her though because on the service Mason was a very good looking man.
“You would probably look good in a tight black dress.” She commented, twirling her hair and smacking the gum in her mouth.
“Hmm I guess that would work.” I checked through the racks until I found a black dress in my size. With my salary I couldn’t afford anything too expensive so I was shopping at a discount dress boutique. The dress I chose was a hundred dollars, I didn’t really want to spend that much on a dress but it looked so damn good on me, especially with the black stilettos that I picked out. I would have preferred to take a female friend with me for dress shopping, but my only friend is Mason so I brought him instead, I left him speechless with the black dress though.
“You sure you don’t wanna go as my date tonight?” He inquired. “That dress makes you look fine.”
I giggled, it was obviously a joke. “No, you’re taking Tiffany, remember?”
He almost looked down. “Yeah that’s right, Tiffany.”
“Listen I’ll see you tonight. I’m gonna go back to my place and do my makeup. I wanna look good. I hear the CEO is gonna be there tonight. Our department needs to look good since we’re competing for that extra funding.
“We can really use it.” He sighed, stuffing his phone back in his pocket. “Alright I’ll meet you there, don’t forget it starts at eight.”
“Yeah see ya.” I took the bag with my dress and shoes to my car as Mason went on his own way back to his car. Honestly, Mason is a good friend, he even came with me to do something as boring as dress shopping, even though I could tell he didn’t want to. We’ve been friends for years though so we do favors for each other all the time. I met him back when I was still dating my ex-boyfriend and he really saw me through some tough times. I developed a crush on him at one point, but it never went anywhere, and I realized we would be better off as friends, really he just flirts with every woman he sees. After my ex, I don’t really feel ready to get into another relationship anyway. He pretty much left me worn out and drained. It was so tiring spending an hour in the morning using makeup to cover up bruises, or pretty much bending to his will spending my life terrified. I was so manipulated and stupid that I didn’t leave until he started cheating on me. In a way I’m glad he did, because it was the final straw.
I pulled out my phone, I needed distractions from the bad thoughts. Anytime I think about how stupid I was it ruins my day. I pulled up cute cat pictures on my phone, I really wish I could have a cat. I watched Mason pull out of the parking lot in his shiny new car, I was almost a little jealous he could afford it, I’m broke after basically starting over again. I ended up spending most of my monthly allowance on this dress and shoes, this better be one hell of a party.
I put my phone away and followed suit, I still had a few more hours until the party so I went home to fix up my hair and makeup.
After I got home I got straight to work fixing my hair, being a mix between wavy and curly it took forever to style. Moving on to makeup I chose a purple eyeshadow deciding black eyeshadow with black mascara and black eyeliner would be too much. I used light foundation, honestly I have no idea how to blend or do any of that fancy makeup so hopefully this looks okay. I only poked myself in the eye with the mascara wand three times, but I finally got it right I think. I glanced at my phone to check the time. “Oh shit! It’s already seven!” I exclaimed out loud. I quickly changed into the dress and heels, grabbed my purse and walked as quickly as I could to my car without tripping all over myself. I don’t wear heels that often so walking is a bit awkward for me. Being short I used to wear heels a lot in high school, but stopped when I met my ex, I was so depressed that little extra effort was hard. Plus I always felt I needed to wear tennis shoes in case I needed to bolt, honestly would have been the smartest thing to do. “I didn’t think this through.” I thought outloud, realizing I’d have to drive in stilettos. Well, whatever. I started the car up and kicked off the stilettos for now so I could drive. I hooked up my phone to the aux cable and jammed out to my favorite punk rock songs to get pumped up.
Finally making it to the hotel the party was being hosted at I could tell I was running behind, as I couldn’t find a parking spot and the valet parking attendants all went inside. It wasn’t yet eight but I guess it was unwritten to come early, only I would be the one to not catch on to that. I had to circle around a few times but finally found a parking spot, it was a bit creepy as it was pretty far away and not well lit. I sucked in a breath, here I go. I popped my shoes back on, grabbed my purse, and headed inside. The trek to the front doors was quite hard when you’re wearing six inch heels, I felt exhausted by the time I got there. I wanted to kick the shoes off and massage my poor aching feet, I made a mistake in wearing these, but I was instantly greeted by coworkers when I opened the door.
Inside the hotel it was brightly lit and beautiful. Everything was made of marble and had gold finishes. Employees were hustle and bustling about with trays and bottles of champagne. Employees hung out in the lobby, most likely to get some space away from where the action was. I would never be able to afford a room at such a place so it was nice I could at least come here for a party.
“Excuse me.” I asked a girl who I knew was an administrative assistant from another department located in the dungeon as well. She had a wine glass in her hand. I’m glad they’re serving alcohol, it at least gives me something to do. The girl turned to face me, her face was a bit rosey. “Can you tell me which way the ballroom is?”
She slurred her words a bit. “Go that way.” She had trouble moving her arm in the right direction, but I could tell where she was pointing.
My heels clacked underneath me as I moved toward that direction. I could feel stares following my direction, making me feel a bit self conscious.
“There you are!” Mason’s friendly voice echoed above the noise and classical music of the ballroom. Tiffany was on his arm but he quickly abandoned her to lead me inside. She scoffed, turning away from me. She obviously didn’t like me, I know a lot of girls Mason dates sees me as competition.
“Wow there’s a lot of people here.”
“Yeah the whole company was invited. Look over there.” He pointed over to a crowd of people. “There’s the CEO and his assistant and the Vice President.”
I’ve never seen them in person before, both the CEO and Vice President were extremely easy on the eyes, especially the CEO. He had a perfectly tailored suit that showed off his muscles and curves of his body perfectly. He leaned on a nearby structure as he casually sipped on his champagne, nodding as he spoke to his assistant. “What was his name again?”
“Tripp Cederick. Can’t believe you don’t know your own boss’s name.” Tiffany answered condensendently.
“Well you know us uncivilized dungeon folk.” I joked, negating her sass. “Look I’ll leave you two alone, go dance or something. I’m gonna hit the open bar and get me some booze.”
“Just don’t drink too much this time. I had to carry your ass home last party.” Mason warned.
“Nothing else for me to do all night.” I shrugged and walked off to the open bar.
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