Love and Party

Maeve stood on the first floor of the house, holding on to the railings as she stared at the decorated living room below her. It was absolutely beautiful and she couldn’t help but smile to herself with pride. She had really outdone herself – although, she actually didn’t do it herself, she obviously paid someone to do it. But she spent a huge sum of money on it, so she was allowed to be proud of herself. She glanced down again. In few hours, the house will be crowded with guests from different places. She had invited who was who in town – the businessmen and women, the most popular artistes, actors and actresses, popular influencers. She had even sent out messages and invites to different blogs, magazines and newspapers. This party was going to make the news by tomorrow; in fact, it would be the trending topic for the next few weeks – she’d make sure of that.

“Miss Casalengo?” a voice called and Maeve turned to see her stylist – a middle aged white woman with auburn hair, standing behind her. “We should start getting you ready for the party,” She said.

“Of course.” Maeve straightened up. “Where is Imogen? And Noelle?” She asked.

“They are both in the dressing room waiting for you,” The woman answered as she turned and began to walk away, obviously expecting Maeve to follow her. “I have a couple of outfits line up for you,” She said. “All you have to do is take your pick and we will get started on your hair and make-up.”

“I know how this is done,” Maeve said flatly. She didn’t like the woman’s tone. This wasn’t her first tie dressing up for something like this. She practically grew up in this lifestyle, she knew what she needed to do. Brushing past her, Maeve sauntered into the room where her best friend, Imogen, her assistant, Noelle Gentry and two other people, hair make up artist and hair stylist, were waiting for her.

“Miss Maeve,” Noelle said, rising to her feet, the moment Maeve walked in. She pulled out a chair for her to sit in front of the dressing mirror.

Maeve promptly took her seat without a word, waiting for them to start fussing all over her. She had a stoic look on her face, the kind she kept for her employees, but her insides were fluttering with joy. She was finally hosting a business party, a party her father actually approved her – not the kind she used to throw before she left for Spain; the ones that involved crazy drinking and dancing and random people making out on her counter. This party was going to be grown up and mature.

“Maeve, you never showed me your guest list,” Imogen said, as she stood in front of the second mirror, adjusting her hair.

“Why do you need to see the guest list?”Maeve asked, her eyes roaming over the dresses my stylist placed in front of her. There was a long, yellow floral dress, a blue lace dress, a short sleeveless pink dress with an amazing neckline and a long red dress. She pointed at the pink one. “That will do,” she said and the woman nodded, carting the clothes away.

Imogen shrugged her shoulders in response to my question. “I just thought as your best friend, you would run it past me or something,” she said and I rolled my eyes. “Anyway, I can’t wait for the party to start. I need to scout out the hotties tonight.”

“Behave yourself, Imogen,” Maeve chided her friend. “This is a business party. You are not hooking up with anyone.”

Imogen snorted. “Oh please. I’m definitely going to hook up with someone but we’ll stay out of your way.” She winked at Maeve who just rolled her eyes.

“Stay out of the bedrooms too. Take your shenanigans somewhere else,” Maeve told her as she leaned down to select from the shoes that were placed in front of her. She stared at them critically, then, went for the stilettos. Maeve loved a good high heel. They accentuated her already long legs and made her feel sexier than she already felt.

“Bedrooms her overrated, we’ll do it in the car,” Imogen answered and a loud laughter burst out of her mouth at the horrified look on Maeve’s face. “Come on, don’t tell me you’ve never done it in a car,” She said. “Maeve Casalengo!”

“Shut up,” Maeve said, her face red. Of course, she had had sex in a car. She just wasn’t going to admit in front of her stylists, make up artists, hairstylist and personal assistant.

“Noelle, have you ever had sex at the back of the car?” Imogen suddenly asked the girl, who was just sitting on the chair, watching Maeve and waiting for the next order.

“Ma?!” Noelle squeaked, her face going red at the question.

Imogen turned to her, a teasing smile on her face. “Oh, come on. I don’t believe you have never done it in a car before. You look like you’d like that kind of thing.” She wriggled her brows suggestively at Noelle who had turn redder than before if that was even possible. She was grinning from ear to ear, watching the poor girl squirm around at her question.

Maeve stared at Noelle in the mirror and sighed. “Noelle, get me a glass of wine,” she said and watched as the girl jumped out of the chair and fled the room.

“Drinking before the party starts,” Imogen observed. “Um, is someone nervous.”

“Yes, and you are making it worse,” She snapped at her friend, shocking even the hairstylist who paused her hand movements on Maeve’s hair for a while, then, rapidly continued. Maeve raised a hand to her forehead, massaging it with the tips of her fingers. “I’m just really…..nervous,” She said in a softer tone, talking to Imogen who was looking at her intently. “I need this party to go well tonight. I feel like my whole success is banking on this. I need these people to love me.”

“Of course, they will love you,” Imogen said softly as she walked closer to her friend. “You are amazing and you are charming and you are smart. You know what you are doing.” She placed a hand on Maeve’s shoulder, rubbing it kindly. “And if they don’t love you, you’d at least make them respect you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Maeve waved if off dismissively. She glanced up at Imogen, forcing a smile out. “I’m fine, I’m going to be fine.”

That was the mantra she kept repeating to herself few hours later when Noelle walked in to tell her that the guests were starting to arrive. Maeve stood in front of the mirror, admiring herself. She was dressed in a short pink dress that stopped in the middle of her thighs, and a pair of six inches heel. Her hair dropped down gorgeously on her shoulders, curling at the tip. There was a single gold necklace hanging down her neck and a pair of golden earrings attached to her ears. She was beautiful. But that did nothing to dispel her nervousness though. She could feel her insides quaking, which was stupid because she was Maeve Casalengo. Nervousness was a foreign concept to her. She was a confident woman, so why where are fingers trembling and her legs shaking like jelly? She knew why though. She needed this to work. She needed to be successful, to make her impact as the new COO of the company. She couldn’t afford to  disappoint herself and her father. That wasn’t an option.

Maeve turned to Noelle. “What is it like downstairs?” She asked, hoping her question did not betray her current state of nervousness that she was trying so hard to hide.

“Most of the guests are already here,” Noelle answered. “It’s okay, really. They are talking and eating. It’s fine,” she said in such a calm voice that made Maeve wonder if she knew she was about to shit her pants right now.

Maeve turned away from her. “Go ahead,” she said. “I’ll be right there.”

Noelle nodded and obediently walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Maeve took another glance in the mirror and sucked in a deep breath. She could do this. She was beautiful and smart and lovely and she could make everyone in this house love her. She turned away from the mirror and made for the door. She pushed it open and walked out of the room. The moment she stepped to the passage, she could hear the loud, yet soft music blaring from the speakers. She could hear the whispers of the guests in the living room below her. Heart thumping in chest, she turned towards the stairs and began to descend.

As she walked down, she was aware of how are presence captivated the people around her and it boosted her confidence. She stopped at the foot of the stairs and waited a beat, taking a look around. She stopped a steward and grabbed a glass of champagne from his tray, waving him off. She took a sip of the champagne, her eyes roaming around the living room, observing the guests, trying to make a decision on who to start schmoozing up to.

Her gaze landed on Dylan Bass and a smile lit up her face. At least she could start with someone familiar. She took graceful steps towards him, her smile in place. “Uncle Dylan!” She exclaimed as she got to him. The both of them wrapped their hands around each other in a hug. “I’m glad you honored my invitation,” She said, her eyes, dropping to the brunette beside him, looking everywhere with fascination.

“Of course, I’ll never miss your big entry into the business world.”

She smiled. “Well, I’m happy you are here, and hopefully, we can talk about that project before you go,” she said, raising her glass to him.

“Focused, as usual.”

“Gotta keep my eyes on the prize,” She answered as she began to move away while raising her glass at him in salute. She glided away from him, stopping to greet the other guests, chatting with them, laughing with them. At some point, she began to feel relaxed. This was actually fun and the guests were receptive. There were also a couple of photographers and reporters around, stopping every minute to take her picture, which just served to make her confident.

As Maeve stood, talking to a middle aged man and his wife, Noelle slid up to her. “Miss Maeve,” She called in a small voice.

“Excuse me one moment,” Maeve said to the man, turning away from him and to her personal assistant. “Yes, Noelle? How can I help you? Is there a problem?” She asked, aware that her heartbeat was starting to drum up. Was there a problem? Everything had been going smooth so far but what if that was just a flake? What if something had actually been going wrong while she was kissing up to her guests?

“No.” Noelle flipped her pad. “Everything is perfect,” She said. “I just think you should make a speech as soon as possible.”

“A speech, right. I will….” Her voice trailed off as she raised her head, her words getting stuck in her throat the moment he walked in. “What the hell is he doing here?” She asked, her voice harsh and aggressive, her entire body was shaking and her heartbeat was starting to increase. Just when she thought her party was problem free, he had to show his face. His stupid, disgusting face. Maeve stared at him, watching as a waiter handed him a glass of wine, which he took and turned away without a thank you. Her blood was burning with fury. She watched as he took a lazy sweep of the room with his eyes before his gaze landed on her. The moment his lips lifted in a small smirk, she knew she was going to lose her cool.

“Hold this.” She shoved her glass into Noelle’s already occupied hands. Then, she stalked over to him, ready to give him a piece of her mind.

She was going to make sure she threw him out of the party.