CH 70

Thankfully, as the sun slowly sinks below the horizon and the three-course dinner is served, the conversation starts to get a little easier, largely thanks to all the alcohol they’re consuming. The collection of empty bottles and glasses on the table has begun to accumulate into quite the impressive hoard.

They’re all taking turns getting up and ordering rounds of drinks for everyone at the bar, and they even had Riven take an extra turn, stashing an extra round of beers at the table, since the bars will be temporarily shut down during any of the CEO's speech and the awards presentation.

Isabella feels a deep pang of sympathy for all the employees hired over the past year who are attending the gala for the very first time and are unaware of this fact.

The dance floor always opens up right after the award presentation is done—and seasoned professionals like maybe Alan, Dara and even Archibald are always well-lubricated enough in time to hit it right away.

Luckily, it seems like Archiba