Capítulo 16: The Davies Group's Ball
The Davies Group's reigning CEO, Mr. Garrett Davies, was known for his penchant to host extravagant parties and balls almost every weekend. People who came to said events were mainly those who already had established relationships with the Davies Group, and those who sought to get to know the esteemed host.
The masquerade ball took place on that Friday night at Blue Lagoon Hotel and Resort. The luxurious, five-star establishment was located on the outskirts of Varmount, just close to the beach. The hotel rooms had been booked four weeks in advance by guests who wanted to make sure that they had a room to pass out in after a night of heavy drinking.
At 7 PM sharp, a red Ferrari stopped at the resort entrance. A valet opened the car door and out stepped Irene, gracefully draped in a red mermaid dress that hugged her slender figure.
"Welcome, Mrs. Dwayne," the valet greeted her.
Irene flipped her glorious brown hair backward and flashed the valet a smile before handing him her car keys.
"Good day, Wyatt."
A short walk later, Irene arrived in front of a long passageway. It was decorated with wisteria flowers that hung down from the frames. The fragrance of the flowers accompanied guests on their way to the ball venue.
The chilly October wind did nothing to dissuade Garrett Davies from having an outdoor party.
The event took place in an open hall that was warmed by portable fire pits in select corners. Owing to the meticulous planning done by the event coordinator team, the guests did not have to freeze at night.
At the center of the hall was an elevated stage. An ethereal beauty stood in the middle of the stage. Swaying slightly in her strapless dress, she sang sultry love songs in accompaniment of several musicians in the background.
A dancing area was reserved between the dining tables and the stage. One by one, couples rose to their feet to dance when a certain song tugged at their heartstrings.
Soft light from the chandeliers fell upon the dancing couples and guests that were standing or sitting outside of the dancing area.
Although everyone was wearing a mask, it was not difficult to find the main characters of the ball.
Scarlett Davies, wearing a yellow dress with a floral pattern, was dangling from her father's arms. The two people were chatting animatedly with guests that came one by one to offer their greetings.
Irene pushed her rimless glasses up her nose and started going around the hall to see whether everything was running smoothly. On her way, she snatched herself two wine glasses and walked toward Mike Gathersby, one of the cameramen at work.
When the young man saw his boss, he beamed and waved at her.
"Mrs. Dwayne, I thought you couldn't make it!"
Irene passed him one of the wine glasses.
"Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Thanks. I am parched."
Mike downed the whole glass as if it were nothing but normal drinking water.
The two of them stood by a pillar and watched the masked guests interact with each other.
"This event is yet another success," Mike remarked while snapping pictures one by one.
"Certainly. Every single one is," Irene remarked while sipping at her wine.
Next to her, Mike furrowed his brows when his stomach started growling. Not because of hunger. He needed to go to the restroom as soon as possible!
Turning to speak to his boss with an ashen face, Mike was extremely apologetic when he had to excuse himself.
"Mrs. Dwayne, I am so sorry. I need to take a toilet break."
The culprit who put laxatives into Mike's glass of wine was stunned, but she gracefully replied, "Not a problem at all! Let me take over your duties for the time being."
Mike was so touched that he almost broke into tears.
How many bosses in the world were as nice as Mrs. Dwayne???
"Thank you, Mrs. Dwayne. I will hurry, I promise!"
Mike handed his camera over to Irene and hurried in the direction of the nearest restroom.
"Oh, take your time," Irene said with a smug grin across her face.
She tapped at the side of the camera and extracted its storage card. The thin electronic chip was then inserted into a card reader by her waist.
"Copy everything into this card," she typed her command to Angela through her special robotic glove.
Once the data transfer was complete, she inserted the storage card back into the camera.
Just in time for Mike to come back from the restroom.
Handing the camera back to the man, it was Irene's turn to excuse herself to go to the restroom to powder her nose.
Instead of going into the nearest one just outside of the ball venue, Irene walked back to the hotel and went into the restroom on the ground floor.
When she went in, two cleaning ladies were just complaining about a certain cubicle that was occupied for an hour or so.
"Is something wrong, ladies?" Irene asked.
"We think that someone is passed out inside, Mrs. Dwayne. We knocked and called but no one answered. Should we break in?"
"Heavens, no," Irene made a dramatic gasp at the suggestion. "Let me handle it."
After the two ladies left, Irene scaled the door and climbed into the cubicle swiftly.
Inside, the real Deanna Dwayne was curled up in a fetal position.
Irene took off her disguise and woke the lady up with smelling salt.
"Oh, God," Deanna exclaimed as soon as she opened her eyes. Once she realized where she was, she was outraged. "How did I even land here? This is so embarrassing..."
"I believe you had a little too much to drink, Ma'am," Irene replied smoothly.
Deanna eyed the beautiful woman who was beautiful enough to be a first-rate model and yet clothed in the cleaning lady's uniform.
Life could be so cruel sometimes.
The woman cleared her throat. She reached into her purse and took out a twenty-dollar bill that she pressed into Irene's hand.
"Don't tell anyone," she said in a low voice.
"I would never," Irene promised her sincerely.
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