Chapter 3

"Oh Sash, today's date was great!"

Sasha rolled her eyes before nodding, her hands slowly curling Leah's silky blond hair with a curling iron, "That's great, Lee, but did you hear what Rayne told you about this new project?"

"Of course!"

Leah sounded happier than she had in months and Sasha smiled.

"I feel like I'm floating!" Leah smiled into the mirror where the two pretty cousins stood getting ready for dinner.

Leah sighed, "Is this fancy dinner necessary? Can't we get straight into planning the event? I'm so excited!"

Sasha grinned at her cousin through the reflection, "I thought the same thing, but Rayne is right! It'll get rid off all the nervous excitement we have and establish a sense of determination in us for what is to come! This could be our gateway into arranging more elaborate events for the rich and famous, Lee!"

Leah laughed, "You're right. We're probably going to talk about this project all through dinner anyway!"

"Yes!" Sasha gushed as she set down the curling iron and put her gentle hands onto Leah's shoulders, "Look!"

The girls stared at their reflection in the large mirror in front of them.

Sasha was dressed in a baby pink wrap dress that hit right above her knee. Her bouncy dark hair had been pinned up one side with a beautiful sparkly pin. She had her favorite pink lipstick on, and dark pink shimmer decorated her eye.

Leah looked stunning in blue. Her golden hair lay in waves over her shoulder and her pale skin set off her beautiful, glam makeup.

"We're going to enjoy tonight," Sasha encouraged, "And continue to hit it out of the park for the rest our lives!"

Leah grinned as a thrill ran through her. How long had it been since she had been this excited.

She couldn't remember Tim or any of his conversations or kisses as she got up to rush down to where Rayne waited in his car.

---

"Next time I tell you guys to get ready for dinner, remind me to book a rocket to mars and tour in the meantime?"

Sasha hit his hand from where she sat in the seat behind him in the car as they cruised quickly through the dark roads.

"We didn't take that long!"

Rayne groaned, "No, you're right. Me falling asleep in the car and almost passing out in the cold outside was totally only for ten minutes."

Leah laughed in the passenger seat and Rayne and Sasha exchanged happy smiles.

It was nice to hear their cousin laugh like this again.

She had totally become robotic and quiet in the years she had dated Tim and it made the cousins glad to see she could still laugh at things outside of her day-to-day activities or busy, neglectful boyfriend.

"Ah," Leah relaxed into her seat, "This is so fun! Rayne, is it okay to go this fast?"

"Well," the lean male swiped at the sweat on his forehead and reached to bring the heater down, "We're twelve minutes late for our reservation so yes, yes it is."

The ladies giggled.

"Where are you taking us anyway?" Sasha leaned over, her seatbelt struggling against her chest, "Anywhere we know?"

Rayne shook his head, "You'll love me for this. I'm not telling you until we get there."

Sasha glanced over at Leah who looked surprised.

"How much longer?"

"Five minutes."

Sasha bit her lip.

She really wanted to know where they were going.

Rayne rarely dressed up and he was now rather dapper in a dark red suit with a casual black shirt underneath. His dyed green hair was slicked back and a large silver watch adorned his wrist. His tan made him look spectacular and Sasha wondered why he still didn't have a date to anywhere.

"Do you think we work too much, you guys?"

The three cousins groaned, "We do. We really do."

---

The bustle at the table was light and warm. Whenever silence intervened, however, the table could feel the tension in the air.

At a balcony high above the general dining tables, sat a large round one with heavy velvet tablecloths draped luxuriously over it. The centerpiece was a magnificent glass swan and cut up fruit piled up on it sides, arranged magnificently.

Several long candlesticks adorned the large table and the ornate working on the the table's legs captured people's attention.

The people seated at the table were few but important, dressed up elegantly and speaking only when required.

The lady at the seat of importance was a young woman with regal features but a naïve smile. She laughed loud and happily and set the guests at ease. In a silver, low cut gown, she was striking with her pale blond hair piled up into a perfect top-knot. The slit on her dress peaked a shapely leg that wore extremely expensive shoes. The jewellery she wore could buy at least five mansions and she radiated happiness and confidence.

She was not the reason the guest were nervous however, it was the man that sat by her side.

Adonis Kane was always the center of attention. He was a blackhole.

Although he was always silent and rarely said two words to anyone, his presence alone could put knots in any man's stomach.

He had an aura that one could only explain as murderous.

He sat still but radiated an immensely menacing energy that most people feared to look directly into his eyes.

The man was tall and strapping. His dark, silky hair was slicked back at all times and his gaze could burn you. He had a dark beard that cut exactly like his jawline and strong chiseled features. Expensive, dazzling diamonds hung from his left ear, cut to exquisite shapes despite their tiny size.

The man exuded an overwhelming air of extravagance and danger.

Adonis was not one to speak much and could not usually be seen anywhere public either. 

When he did speak, however, his voice was extremely low and resembled a growl. It was difficult to hold direct conversations with him and his reputation and the way the rumours moved discouraged most people from trying to meet him.

He sat to the left of his sister Clara, who laughed happily and raised her glass, "I'm so glad all of you could come! Today is the day we have finally found the Event managers who organized Minister Arnold's daughter's wedding! We've asked them to organize by 20th Birthday bash and they've accepted!"

The people at the table made a noise of excitement.

"Yes!" Clara gushed, "It's so exciting! Did any of you visit the wedding? It was so dreamy and perfect!"

The people at the table nodded and agreed.

Rayne's teacher had married the important political minister late in life and asked Rayne if his business could handle the wedding preparations of her step-daughter.

Rayne had agreed without missing a beat and the cousins had worked day and night using the extensive budget perfectly to bring about a result that had completely surprised high society.

This had been several months ago.

Clara flushed, "I meet the owners tomorrow with Bruce! I can't wait to invite you all to a party that will annihilate the party of last year's!"

"Oh, you're party last year was nothing short of perfect, Ms. Kane!" An older lady in a dazzling gown gushed.

The others weighed in, throwing exaggerated compliments at the rich heiress.

Clara laughed, "You're all so kind! Just wait until you see what's coming this year!"

Adonis was silent.

He raised his eyes slowly to eye the man who sat opposite him.

Dressed in an expensive three-piece tailored to perfectly fit his fit body, the man raised his eyes to meet Adonis' gaze.

He nodded very quietly before tapping the silent instructions into his phone.

Rayne's business had gone through a vigorous search and analysis by Adonis' security personnel. The records seemed clean. The company was run by three cousins who worked hard. Nothing suspicious had turned up but what remained was that they were absolute nobodies with little experience in hosting wealthy events.

Bruce was Adonis' right-hand man and head of top operations.

He had been given a new task on top of all of his existing ones: For the next one month, his job would require checking each activity of the new Event Managers extensively.

Anything wrong, even the tiniest of slip-ups and Dearcrofts would be fired, no matter how much Clara pleaded this time.