About a month later

It was the day of the charity ball, and I found myself more nervous than I’d expected. This was my first night out with Alyss, not counting my graduation party. And that didn’t count, because she wasn’t my date then, we’d simply danced together. This time, she was my date, and in the public eye, that meant we were a duo, a force to be reckoned with. Being seen with someone in that capacity at an event like tonight’s was more impactful than I’d imagined. It certainly seemed to bother me.

I knew deep down that I was still planning on declining AUT’s offer. Surely, we could find a better way to fund my campaign, right? Wasn’t there a way that I could have what I want and Mea too? I tried to think, and though I came up with no clear answers, I was sure it was out there. I had to stay true to my heart, and my heart led to Mea – of that, I was sure. I was doing this for her, anyway. To be Prime Minister was to give her everything she wanted. Although she hadn’t been speaking to me lately. I hadn’t seen her since Sheen and I found her location through the WaComm, and I hadn’t heard anything else.

I was standing in the foyer of the family mansion, impatiently waiting for my date to come down. She had met my stepmother here earlier in the day and had been getting ready for this evening ever since. We would all ride to this charity ball together, my father, my stepmother, myself and Alyss, to the downtown hotel where it was held. We were even making use of the limousine that we kept for special occasions like this. At least I would be riding to hell in style, as expected of a Montgomery.

Footsteps, gentle and soft, tapped at the top of the stairs, drawing my attention. She stood at the top there, a sweet, demure smile on her perfectly painted lips. She glowed; her blonde hair done up in a tasteful twist, an elegant yet understated jewel glittered close to her throat, and her dress was a silky blue, trailing behind her. I couldn’t deny she was a beautiful woman, a fact I admired as I watched her tiptoe down the stairs – carefully, as her dress’ train threatened to overdo her at every step.

I met her at the bottom, extending my arm for her to take. I wasn’t taller than average, I would say, but she made me feel almost a giant. Her height was barely just above my shoulder. It made me think of Mea, and how she could look me straight in the eyes without tilting her head up to meet me. My heart fell, wishing she was the one on my arm instead. But of course, I remembered my father’s words, and what work I had left to do. My public image could not afford to be tarnished, and spending time with anyone other than those of elite social status would do exactly that. I wondered if Mea was spending her evening alone, in her small tidy house, or if she was leaned against the wall of her shipping container office, doing whatever it is she does there. I remembered the shady man she’d been speaking with when I’d interrupted her with Sheen. Was she with him right now? I scowled.

“Is everything all right?” Alyss asked, a look of genuine concern on her face.

Startled, I smiled to reassure her. “Of course,” I said. “You look beautiful tonight, Alyss.”

Shyly, she smiled down at herself. We walked out the door and to the car, where my father and Cerise were already waiting. Ms. Wela, the assistant, held the limousine door open for us.

“Have a wonderful night,” she said as we climbed inside. “Come home safe.”

The ride was a quiet one, though fortunately, the limousine had been well stocked with premium champagne. As soon as we began to move, Cerise handed out glasses, popped the bottle, and filled each of ours up, one by one. The car was as smooth as I remembered, barely causing ripples in the bubbly liquid as we sped through to the city. I could feel my father’s eyes on me, and though he said nothing, I knew what he was thinking. He needed me to be on my best behavior tonight, and I knew I would try. But it felt like he could see inside my soul that I wasn’t planning on accepting this deal, didn’t want Alyss, didn’t even really want to try to know her. Though I wanted to please him and do what he asked of me, I knew I had to follow my heart. However, I also knew that now wasn’t the time. I had to get through tonight, and then I could deal with those consequences.

The ball was at the Grand Patterson Hotel, right in the center of the city. It was a short building considering it sat in between several skyscrapers, but what it lacked in height it made up for with its extravagance and luxury. The architecture was reminiscent of traditional Arugan classics, complete with marble columns, swirling and detailed decoration everywhere one looked, the outside lit up just enough to highlight the buildings best features. Everything looked expensive, as well it should. It was the most famous and oldest hotel in the city; only the most prestigious and wealthiest of people could afford to stay there, making it the only natural place for the Prime Minister to host a charity ball for the Aruga Police Department.

We stepped out, Alyss on my arm, Cerise on my father’s. Photographs flashed as we left the limousine, taking photos of us and the people who were entering in front of us. It was a line of the most wealthy and fortunate people in the city – the country, even – and they were all arriving in droves. The police would be doing well for themselves, I reasoned, if everyone gave a small amount. And I knew how everyone behaved there. The larger the amount donated, the better the person looked. It was all a game, I knew, a game of playing at generosity and kindness, all for saving face in front of the crowd. The Montgomerys were slated to donate a hefty check, ourselves.

The inside of the hotel was stunning. I’d been inside once before for a similar event as a teenager, but I certainly hadn’t appreciated it at the time. The marble columns shone, just like the ones outside. The floor was also marble, and the walls adorned with extravagant classical paintings depicting tasteful landscapes. The entryway was overshadowed by a huge chandelier, glittering down on the guests below with magnificence. Beyond the entrance, a swirling staircase hinted at the floors above. Beyond the entryway, statues dotted the walls here and there, each of marble and in an elegant pose, leading towards the ballroom where the event would actually be held. People mingled in the entrance and the hall, chatting in excited whispers about what the night might bring. I couldn’t help the infectious excitement that sprung within me, picking up the pace in my step as we made our way to the dancefloor.

A butler met us at the ballroom’s wide doors, leading us to our assigned table. Circular tables draped in thick, luxurious white tablecloths edged the dance floor in a crescent, all in view of a stage, yet allowing for space in the center for people to dance. We were near the center of the crescent, facing directly toward the stage. At the moment, the stage was mostly empty, save for a solo pianist, who delicately plucked an elegant tune from the keys. Other instruments littered the stage, however, and another musician was prepping them. I assumed a live band would be playing once the party began in earnest. I found myself looking forward to it, even though I couldn’t share this experience with the one person I really wanted to.

Thinking of her made me sad, though, remembering her lack of communication, and how I hadn’t seen her since she’d cooked us breakfast at her house. I glanced at Alyss; she was arranging her long and unwieldy dress around the chair as we sat, so as to not be so tangled. Thankfully, she hadn’t noticed my sullen mood. Somehow, that made me feel even more sad. She had noticed my distress earlier; was I so invisible now? It seemed that all of the women in my life were determined not to notice me. First Mea, now Alyss, too.

We had just sat down at the table, but as soon as that had happened, someone approached and stole away my father. Cerise stepped up to join him with an apologetic look, and suddenly, it was just Alyss and me. Alone. I gave her an uneasy glance and a nervous smile.

She smiled back from under thick eyelashes.

“So, uh… what have you been up to lately?” I asked dumbly.

She smiled. “Working in my father’s company as an assistant. You?”

“Oh, apprenticing under my father. Sort of similar…” I trailed off. I wasn’t sure where else to go with that.

“That’s nice,” she said politely. “Have you been enjoying that?”

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“Yeah,” I said, the tension and awkwardness building up. I felt stiff. “I’ve learned a lot, and it’s only been a month. I’ve got a long way to go, though.” I eyed the waiter that was making his rounds to the table, dropping off bottles of champagne and other drinks on request. He was only a few tables away. “Um, how about you? Liking your work?”

The waiter moved a table closer.

“Oh yes, of course,” she said enthusiastically. “It’s nice to be in the thick of things, although I can’t wait to have more responsibility. I feel like I’m mostly stuck making copies.”

“Mmm,” I said, nodding. I didn’t have to make copies; it seemed that my experience apprenticing under my father’s trade was a bit more in depth than hers was at the moment. Though I had a graduate degree, she only had a bachelors. Maybe it was only right, as she didn’t have the know-how or experience just yet.

The waiter approached our table, setting down the bottle of champagne with a gentle thud, dulled by the heavy tablecloth. I politely waited until he had turned around, but as soon as I did, I snatched the bottle up, promptly popped the cork, and poured it hurriedly into our glasses, sloshing some as I did so. The bubbles nearly overflowed from my hasty pour, but thankfully, it didn’t cause too much of a problem.

I downed the first glass like it was going out of style. When I tapped the glass back onto the table, Alyss grinned at me. I was so surprised by her reaction, I nearly knocked over the glass. I’d expected her to be shocked, or taken aback. Instead, she followed suit, and threw back her drink just as I had.

“To an eventful evening,” she said, lifting her now empty glass for me to fill again.

My jaw fell open. This might be an interesting night after all. Dumbstruck, I refilled our glasses, earning another mischievous grin from the woman I evidently knew so little about. Something moved on the stage, catching my attention as we each sipped from our freshly filled glasses. The musicians were finished setting up, it looked like – a live band had replaced the lone pianist. A moment later, and the live band was playing their version of a popular song, although it sounded much different than when playing through the feeds.

“Wanna dance?” I asked, gripping my drink tightly.

“Sure,” she said, an easy smile still on her face.

Her ease in the situation calmed me, making me feel less nervous about the whole thing. She really was a pleasant girl, I thought. I stood, holding my hand out for her to take. Like a gentleman, I led her out to the dance floor where a few other couples were already dancing. The song that was playing was a good one for simple slow dancing, but nothing too heavy or romantic. It was a great song to set the tone for the evening, and for mine in particular.

I placed one hand on her tiny waist, my fingers brushing against the silky cloth of her dress. I had to stop myself from caressing the soft fabric. My fingers flexed in tension. My other hand held hers in the air, her fingers delicate and dainty in mine. We twirled slowly, effortlessly, as two people who’d been trained for years as children to dance in situations like this. Again, what we had in common as far as our upbringing was showing again. I couldn’t help the thought of wondering what Mea would think of an event like tonight. I had no doubt she could look the part; the woman had an air of classy confidence about her no matter where she went, but would she feel at ease as Alyss does here in my arms, now? I soured again, thinking about Mea. What I was doing being bothered with a woman who couldn’t be bothered to talk to me? I was better off to distract myself.

And here was a beaming distraction right in front of me, draped in fine silks, glittering like a fresh cut jewel, and smiling as I held her near me, swaying to the music. I just had to get through tonight, I told myself. My father expected me to get to know Alyss, to give her a chance. It didn’t matter that my heart was stolen by another woman, no matter how she treated me at the moment. The least I could do was to be open minded and humor them all. Alyss didn’t deserve to be mistreated; she seemed like such a sweet, nice girl.

“So, remind me what you went to school for?” I asked her.

“Business, minor in math,” she said nonchalantly.

She didn’t sound excited about it. “Is that what you wanted to do?”

“Yes,” she said. Then, she refined her answer. “Well, yes and no. I would’ve done engineering if I had the option.”

We spun some more, the music picking up in volume as we neared the stage. “Oh? I thought you wanted to be involved in your father’s company?”

“I do. Which is why I chose to major in business,” she said, looking me in the eye. “But if I had the option to pursue a passion? Engineering.”

“That’s interesting,” I said. And it was. Most of the women in our social circle went to school for filler degrees, something to easily take home and frame. Hell, most men I knew were the same way.

“How about you? Obviously, you have a master’s degree in sociology. Is it something you enjoy?”

“It is,” I said, surprising myself at the sudden melancholy that I felt. “Sociology is a unique field. Unfortunately, I won’t be doing much with it in politics.”

“I wouldn’t say that’s true,” Alyss said. “Sociology has allowed you a perspective you might not have otherwise. You can always bring that to your decision making. You’ll help the people, Torven. I can feel it.”

I blinked, surprised again. She thought that of me? Her eyes were so sincere, her mouth so tantalizingly sweet in a concerned pout, her entire face lighting up as she told me she believed in me. She was beautiful, gorgeous, perfect. Her nose was straight and pert, her cheekbones highlighted effortlessly, her hair shiny and blonde and dotted with tiny pearls, accentuating each curl.

“You’re staring,” she said, her lips curled into an uneven smile.

“I can’t help it,” I said. “You’re stunning.” It was the truth, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t really seen it before. I knew she was a nice looking girl, I had eyes, but I hadn’t really noticed just how beautiful he really was. Maybe there was something more here, after all. Maybe I was just so distracted by Mea that I couldn’t see what was going on right in front of my face.

“Thank you,” she said demurely. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

I couldn’t stop the rush of pleasure as she complimented me in turn. Had Mea ever told me she thought I was handsome? I decided I wouldn’t give her any more thought tonight. She didn’t deserve my attention, my anger, my heartbreak. I would forget about her, even if it was just for the evening.

“Torven?”

“Yes?”

“I know about the deal my father offered you,” she said, her eyelashes fluttering, long and thick, shadowing her deep blue eyes.

“How much do you know about it?” I asked slowly. Did she know she was an incentive to the deal, as her father surely saw it?

“All about it. I just want you to know… I don’t expect anything from you. I understand, and I would like to get to know you. But I won’t demand a single thing.” She sighed. “This sort of… arrangement… is pretty common in our lives. You know this. What if I suggested our own sort of deal?”

I raised my eyebrows. This girl had more depth to her than I had initially ever thought, a realization that was growing more and more with each minute I spent with her. “I’m listening.”

“I want to run my father’s company someday. If you keep an open mind about this deal with my father, you and I can each get what we want. If we get married – and I’m not saying you have to do that at all – then you get to become Prime Minister. On the condition that you allow me to run Aruga Tech, instead of you.”

I paused in our dancing, the music slowing down, the song fading to an end. “I… must admit, I wasn’t expecting this.”

If I married Alyss, I would technically inherit AUT, which was a thought that hadn’t occurred to me. Typically, for a situation like mine, it would mean that I would appoint a board to run the company for me in my interests while I did my higher priority occupation. But Alyss was suggesting that she wanted me to appoint her, instead of the traditional board. At least she wasn’t asking me to marry her. I owed her an open mind, as she had requested, but I didn’t owe her anything further than that.

“I know it’s strange… but if they can make a deal without us, can we not make a deal without them? Just give it a thought.”

“I'll tell you what,” I said. I’d already decided; I knew I wasn’t planning on taking this deal with AUT, that I wanted to be with Mea. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t do this favor for Alyss, no matter how small. “I think you and I should get to know each other better. I think that’s a smart idea. And if it goes well enough to get married – great. You can have charge of AUT, I promise you that. But if we decide not to get married, that’s that.”

“That’s all I can ask for,” Alyss said, the look of hope clear on her face. “I’m looking forward to learning more about you.”

“As am I,” I said. It wasn’t a lie. Mea held a strong grip on my heart, of that there was no debate, but this sweet, innocent, kind and considerate girl deserved a chance.

The song had ended, but we still held our dancing posture. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed several people watching us. My peripheral vision showed that it was none other than Zack Bateman and Jakob Mentel, from Aruga United Tech, who were chatting with my father and Cerise and eyeing us carefully. No doubt they were talking about the same deal Alyss had just mentioned.

I cleared my throat and dropped her hands. “Let’s go back and get a few more drinks, shall we?” I knew I needed more social lubricant if I was going to make it through the evening, pleasant company or not.