Emily's POV
"The ball starts in two hours, ma'am." Freda said through a creak in the door.
She's the new assistant I just got.
"A ball?" I asked, surprised.
"Yes." Freda replied, opening the door slightly to reveal her face. "It's a ball, a masked one. "She added. "I email-ed you the details last night."
"Guilty." I said in an undertone. I sucked at checking my mails. Not even four years in college, nor three years working for marketing agencies and growth firms changed me.
"I hear there will be a lot of dignitaries. Key players across many industries." She said,
"And who's throwing the ball again?" I must've missed that part.
"It's anonymous." Freda smiled. She was beginning to feel at ease around me, and I loved it.
"Is that a good sign?" I asked her.
"It's a masked ball, so I think so." She smiled.
"Would you like to come with me?" At twenty-seven, I still had cold feet when I had to be in a room filled with people I didn't know. I knew it was just gonna be worse when everyone is masked.
"Yes! " Freda squeaked in delight.
"And what's the purpose of this ball again?" I asked her.
"Networking." She beamed, "Blind networking."
"Blind networking." I chorused. "Sounds dumb."
"I think it's great, it's different." She quipped.
"Do we know who else is invited?" I don't know what I was thinking about, asking her that, but I knew it was most likely negative.
"We don't." She said, beaming.
"Oh well!" I sighed. "What do you have planned?" The perks of being a boss was that there's a lot of things I didn't have to worry about, sometimes, even my dressing.
"I sent styles to the designer two days ago, and asked her to come up with something bold and creative for your mask." She said,
"I'm excited to see what you have in store for me." I said, sarcastically.
Freda chuckled, and was soon out of my office.
I sighed, and leaned back.
It's the last working day of the week, a Friday.
Most often than not, Friday nights saw me lounging in my tub, taking a deep shower, reading, or just organising the house.
But I wanted to start doing things differently.
There's no one in my life, except Freda of course. She's the closest I have to a friend, and she's five years younger, more like a junior sister, one I never had.
Sometimes, I think about how things would've turned out if Zyna and I still spoke.
And that's the best I could do, wonder. Our crossing paths is an event, whose probability I'd reduced to bare minimum by switching cities.
Crestview was home while it lasted, but for my sanity, I moved about eighty miles away, to Mount Leigh, a smaller, but equally busy city.
I specifically sorted a place away from everyone and everything I didn't want to see. I wanted to be a human, among humans. It's all I ever wanted anyway.
"The ride is downstairs, Emily." Freda's voice broke into my thoughts.
"I'll be with you in a minute. Where are we headed?" I asked her
"Tammy's Fashion House." She replied to me.
"Alright." I didn't know who or what that was, but I'd take every opportunity I get to interact with anyone, females especially.
"I'll pack your bags." Freda said, so I made my way downstairs, and waited for her in the car with the driver.
The ride to the fashion house was short, and soon, we were standing in front of this gigantic building with a lot of mirrors and glass panes.
"This must send all the heat and sun back at us." I squinted, it was as if the day had suddenly become too bright.
"I should have warned you, Tammy is excessive." Freda smiled nervously.
"That's alright." I put her at ease. I had no issues with that, so long as she wasn't a werewolf, doesn't know any, and most certainly does not know Damon, it's perfect by me.
"Hello, ladies." A girl, of about Freda age greeted us, beaming her braces leashed set of teeth.
She looked everything Freda said she was, and more.
"This is bigger than I expected." I complimented her, smiling and half-hugging even though we'd just met for the first time.
"Do you think it's too much?" She asked me, smiling and maintaining eye contact.
She was far more bold than Freda.
I chuckled. Who was I to say that to her?
"I don't." I said. "I think it's just what you want it to be, which is what matters." I smiled.
"Freda was right, you're so sweet." She locked her fingers together and made puppy eyes. "So to the business of today…"
"Yes." Freda and I chorused.
"Freda's idea was something bold, a little revealing, terrifying." She said, "And it made me think long and hard. She said it was a ball, a masked one, so you had to make a statement with your dress. And I thought, since you're a consultant, into marketing, what better way is there, than for you to market what you wear, and invariably, yourself! Which is why I came up with….this!" Tammy split the curtains to reveal the most dramatic dress I'd seen in years.
It made tears well up in my eyes. It brought memories, memories I didn't want to have.
The last time I wore something like that was to an end of the year party, with Damon. The party where he and Zyna kissed, in front of the whole world. I endured media backlash for over six months after that.
"I'm sorry, I cannot do this." I answered the expectant wide eyed ladies. "Your work is great, trust me, perfect even, it's just, I can't."
"Why?" They asked, their hopes had been dashed.
I was the centre of attention. Even Tammy's workers who were moving to and fro were already throwing glances my way.
Apparently, the dress was in one of the biggest showrooms in the building, and they all were expecting me to be head over heels in love with it.
"It's not my style." I offered.