Scandal in his arms

I stood on the street corner, three blocks removed from the apartment I'd just left, staring at the sealed envelope in my hands. I'd stood here a thousand times before. But this time, it was me three blocks from my place, instead of him. This time, it was my name, printed neatly and formally, on the outside of the envelope. As I stood there, street light flickering, I unsealed the envelope.  

By now, you know I'm thorough in repetition. So, I'll do it again, just this once. Focused this time, my eyes slowly scanned the text.  

Negative. 

Stress Related Hormonal imbalance. 

I was now free. That thought had bounced around in my mind, like a stone in a pocket, for days. But now the stone was gone. There was an unknown void in its place. What was I supposed to do now? Media covered the gala. Celebrities had talked to the press. 

My phone lit up with a notification. Liam. 

You know you'll never make it out there without me. Save my number. You'll be back.  

 I blocked the number, and then quickly looked over the message.

My eyes wandered back to the street light as brass horns sounded from a distant car. I took a deep breath and let the importance of the moment sink it. I pressed the paper to my chest and let out the first real breath of air I'd taken in weeks. These had been the worst weeks of my life. 

At last, I was complete free.

I received a call shortly after I posted the ad. They ask, "Valerie Quinn? Silverline Events?" I noticed it was a different number than what I applied to last week. I asked myself why I hadn't heard back from last week. They said there was a huge gala tonight, they were very short staffed and were curious if I was available.

Of course, I said yes before I had a chance to think rationally. I needed the money. I could always sleep on the streets.

Eventually, I received the job offer by email. I grabbed a taxi with the last few dollars I had and proceeded to the address they sent me. I passed the time by staring out the window at the amazing lights of the city.

Once I got there I noticed how pretty the lights around the area were. Soon enough, I could see people in elegant clothes walking in fancy clothes and slow moving up the steps probably never having had to think about how they were going to pay their bills this month. I found the entrance for staff and was offered entrance by a woman who had dark circles under her eyes, also implying that it was likely she had not slept in a few days.

"Serving crew?" asked the woman. I nodded and she tossed me a maroon dress. "Katrina has shoes. Change fast. You're already late."

It was the most nerve wracking room I had been in, but I changed and entered the room they magically appeared in.

The ballroom was another dimension. Crystal chandeliers pierced the darkness and beamed gold light across the marbled floor. Women in gowns more expensive than the last three months of my rent gracefully danced to the music as though they owned the very air. Men in suits laughed effortlessly, a sign of the ground never having swallowed them. Easy music mourned the sounds of well-mannered people.

I carried a tray and kept my head down.

I was lost in my own troubles. That is, until the spill. Wine dribbled onto the table cloth and onto the lap of the gentleman politely wooing the elegant blonde sitting by his side.

The room gasped collectively.

"How dare you?" the blonde's mother said, her voice setting each an every spore on fire. "Out!" 

I froze in panic. I could lose my new part time job and end up with just the clothes on my back and a blocked phone number.

The gentleman looked up. "Calm down, Camille. It was an accident." His voice was indeed calm, but it carried absolute power and control over every single person in the room, including mine. The room seemed to become aware of my existences once again, and all once looked down and away.

Without saying a thing, he placed his jacket on my shoulder. The blonde's mother's red wine soaked most of him. His white shirt was now heavily stained. "I'll come back with your jacket cleaned." Awarded with the most polite gently hushed applause, I quickly exited.

He only nodded. But his gaze stayed on me slightly longer than it should have. I could almost see the files he was creating.

The rest of the night was spent tip-toeing around, emptying glasses, and going out of my way to avoid that table. Every time I was close to it I could feel his eyes on me. It wasn't the hungry attention I was used to from Liam. There was a level of thoughtfulness this attention had that made it feel uncomfortable.

When the event mercifully ended, and I got my payment, and my folded jacket in my bag, I was almost at the back door when he spotted me.

"I think that is mine." He said.

I turned, it was nearly silent without the ballroom and he was much taller than I realized. The stillness that I thought came from nervousness was much more pronounced.

I gave it to him and said 'thank you' again.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Valerie." I said.

He repeated my name slowly like he was thinking of something. "Do you want to get a drink?" He asked.

This was when my stomach chose to really speak its mind. I turned bright red. His almost smile was almost reluctant.

"Come on." He said.

I should have said no. I had built so many careful instincts over the last three years. It screamed at me to run as soon as I received payment. But I took the expensive wine, and dove into a black car tinted with windows to ride off to where he chose. 

The silence in the car initially felt strange after the chaos of the ballroom. He poured wine that I guessed was over two months rent down my throat.

He finally broke the silence. "You looked like you were barely holding yourself together earlier."

I almost gave him the real reason. Millions of thoughts flashed through my mind about the envelope I received, the key, the apartment, the years of shrinking myself, and almost, almost, I said the truth. "I'm better now".

He carefully rested his hand on my cheek. He was waiting to see if I would push him away. "I want you to feel better, Valerie."

He said my name in a way that made me feel something low in my chest. Not a demand, but an offer. I had totally forgotten about these things. "Do you want to leave?"

Go ahead, get in the nice car with tinted windows, wine, and a man who wants to make you feel something. Do you want to feel better?

I replied pretty quickly, saying "yes". 

As the car started to move, I was looking out of the window and could see some of the city lights as beautiful lines of gold and white. I was sitting next to a stranger and there was this weird feeling that I was more comfortable with that than with having to go back to the apartment and most importantly with Liam waiting for me to come back. 

I wasn't quite aware of this at the time, but he was actually the one person there that could erase what little life I still had.

I couldn't stop thinking about the moment the wine glass spilled, the eye contact, the way he offered me the jacket. Now I thought about everything that had happened that night, and for the first time something I had once believed was unfortunate, was now something I was afraid of. I was more afraid of that than I was of the empty street.