1 The Award

Many people loved Alexander Sterling, but Selena Tequila was not one of them.

Selena narrowed her eyes at him as he rose from his seat, the entire hall booming with applause. The spotlight was directed at him, and he walked to the stage, past round tables occupied by glammed-up men and women, he shook every hand thrust in his direction. From every direction of the hall, 'congratulations' 'we love you' and 'well-deserved' flew to him.

Not from her though. Because none other deserved to win the Entrepreneurial Excellence Award except her. She earned it, it was her who was supposed to be strutting to the stage, flashing her megawatt smile, her emerald dress which was custom-made specifically for the occasion shining like a million gems under the spotlight. But no, he was the one stealing her shine, stealing the night she had spent weeks fantasizing about and planning her appreciation speech.

A nudge came to her side, and she directed her glare to the victim. It was her friend, Nancy, clapping away and whistling as if she knew Alexander like a friend. The betrayal.

"You should clap," Nancy said close to Selena's ear. "The cameras are on you and you look like you want to murder him."

"Wrong," Selena said back to Nancy's ear. "I want to murder him slowly and painfully" she said with a hiss.

The applause died down as Alexander was about to give a speech. Nancy tucked away a tendril of her silky strawberry blonde hair behind her ear, fixing a sugary smile on her lips as she leaned closer to her friend.

"You need to look happy," she said. "The cameras could have your jealous face plastered all over the news tomorrow."

That one description made Selena bristle. "Jealous? Me? You and I know that I deserved that award. I worked my ass off…"

She was stopped by Nancy squeezing her hand hard underneath the table. Suddenly, she was aware of the rest of the audience at the table, all sending curious glances her way. Nancy knew how she must look, she's been told she looked like a demon when pissed, and she was beyond pissed at the moment.

But she was well-trained on how to compose herself. So, she fixed a sugary smile identical to Nancy's and faced Alexander speaking on stage.

"Much better," Nancy whispered to her.

"....and most of all," Alexander raised the award, the Golden Beacon, which was a small seal, a circular medallion forged from pure gold with the surface reflecting the lights above. "...I want to also say thank you to my father, for making me the man I am today." He looked in the direction of the cameras, and Selena could not hold back her scoff. "Thanks, Dad." He smiled at his audience again. "I think I'm out of words already, but once again, thank you."

Gold confetti poured from above, and the applause followed him as he left the stage. He was soon surrounded by conglomerates from other large corporations, swallowing him away from the view of others. Selena quickly got to her feet and started walking away. Nancy followed suit at once.

"Selena, where do you think you're going?" She asked carefully.

"To the bathroom, where else?" Selena asked, her voice tinted with an unnaturally high pitch.

Nancy grabbed both their purses. "Let's go."

"I'm fine going alone."

"Oh, I want to use the bathroom too, are you going to stop me?"

Selena rolled her eyes at that and began to march forward. She was well aware of the eyes that trailed after her, and a ghost of a smug smile played on her lips. Alexander, whoever he was, could win the award tonight, but she knew she was the prize that outshone everyone at any event and anytime.

She took her time to walk, intentionally passing by Alexander on her way to the ladies' room. Their eyes locked, but only for a second before he tore his gaze away from hers.

She hadn't expected that. Was there something off about her makeup? Was something smudged? Did she still look like she wanted him dead?.

She hurried off to the bathroom, Nancy's heels clicking not too far behind. Once she stood in front of the mirror, she checked herself. Midnight-black hair flowed in a silky mass down her back, and her eyes, a rare green that was popped by her dress, were lined with kohl, giving her just the balance of intimidation and allure she desired. Her figure in the knee-length, diamond-strappy dress was toned to perfection. She was perfection, and he dared to look away from her?

"Look, how about we just call it a night and go home?" Nancy suggested, her grey eyes meeting Selena's in the mirror.

"Without letting him know he didn't earn that award? Of course not."

"Selena…"

"Don't Selena me!" Selena snapped, turning her angry eyes at her friend. "I worked day and night, bagged every contract out there, was interviewed and praised numerously for my entrepreneurial efforts all through the year, and yet, some ''guy' shows up from under some rock and steals the most prestigious award of the year?"

"He's got a name," Nancy said.

"To hell with his name," Selena dismissed. "All this…," she threw hysterical hands up. "All this is because I'm a woman. Yes!"

"Oh God, not now Selena, please," Nancy could not take it anymore.

"Oh please, you know that's the truth. I didn't sleep my way to the top, not even when that desperate sleazeball called Mr. Tucker cost me that million-dollar project. I kept my thighs closed to them all. Yet, at the end of the day, it's still a man's freaking world." Selena slammed her fist on the sink top, startling Nancy. Her friend knew better than to say anything when Selena got into her one-man, or in her case, one-woman speech.

There was a sound of flushing from one of the stalls. Both their eyes widened as they realized they had an audience with them. The stall opened, and a small woman dressed so casually for the occasion stepped quietly to the sink to wash her hands. Selena sent her a withering glare, and the poor woman didn't even remember to dry her hands before she sped out.

"We need to go after her," Nancy suggested.

"After who?"

"That woman, she heard everything you just said in here!"

"And you think I care?"

"What if she's with the press?" Nancy rested a hand on her slender hip.

"Oh please," Selena straightened and fetched her lipstick from her purse, which she applied generously on her lips and rubbed them together. "Besides, I'm sure she agrees with everything I'm saying, from one woman to another. Because it's the truth. Now, I've got one award thief to handle."

Nancy looked at her warily. "What are you going to do again?"

"Oh nothing," Selena tossed an oily smile at her. "Just going to have him eating from the palm of my hands, that's all."

Nancy groaned but didn't admonish her friend as she followed after her. As her close friend, she's long learned that what Selena sets her mind to do, Selena does,

Selena didn't search for long before she found Alexander standing on the red carpet. She locked eyes on him like a predator would its prey, tossed her hair back, and sauntered over to him. Nancy, for the love of her sanity, stayed a little distance away and busied herself talking with a young CEO of an oil company.

"Hello," Selena greeted once she reached Alexander. He turned to look at her, question in his gaze. Up close, he was handsome, the kind of handsome that must have made him popular in high school and definitely in college as well. His golden hair was styled in a wolfcut, his face sculpted with light freckles dusting his cheeks, and staring right into her soul were the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

"Hello," he responded.

Selena waited, yet he kept looking at her without saying a word. Camera clicks went off, yet she didn't receive the recognition she wanted from him before speaking further.

"Congratulations," she said as a way to further the conversation.

"Thank you," he answered. "I appreciate it."

"So, isn't this the part where you…," she tossed her hair back again.

Alexander looked confused. "Where I…?"

"I mean, usually, I get paid to give the tips I give out, but I was waiting for you to ask the questions…"

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Alexander asked her instead.

Selena's jaw slacked in surprise. Who was she? That was when it clicked, the question lurking in his eyes all along, he didn't even know who she was!.

She stole a glance at Nancy and saw her friend was watching her carefully. She returned her eyes to Alexander and gave a humourous laugh.

"I'll refresh your memory. I was the one who spoke at the Waterway Business Symposium," Alexander looked nowhere near remembering her. Who on earth doesn't know the key speaker to one of the most popular business symposiums in the country?.

"That's great to hear," he said. He checked his watch and pursed his lips. "Nice to meet you, wishing you more success in your lectures. If you need help figuring out anything, you can always reach out to my office. I mentor budding businesses as well Take care."

He left her there, and shock made Selena remain on the spot. It wasn't until she felt the arm around her waist did she remember where she was, and quickly lifted the smile back on her face.

"What did he say? You looked horrified." Nancy said through smiling teeth.

"I think he just insulted me," Selena said, her eyes on Alexander's retreating form.

She was fuming, fuming in the way her blood was boiling. She, a budding business? Asking her who she was. He did not only steal her award, he also insulted her. Who the hell did he think he was?

She wanted to scream out her lungs to get the steam out of her body, but more than anything, she wanted Alexander to feel the humiliation that she had felt. Who was he to waltz into her limelight moment like that?

"Let's head out first" Nancy suggested guiding her out of the hall.

The driver who was already waiting outside stood Infront of the black Rolls Royce . As soon as he spotted them, he opened the door and muttered a greeting. Selena, who was already enraged, ignored his greeting and entered the car. Nancy smiled at the driver," get her home safely" she said and walked back to the hall.

"Let's even see who he is," She punched in the name and the event into her browser, oblivious to the driver sending her wary glances from the front. "Let's see who the pompous, award-stealing, patriarchal…"

Her words died down as his picture and information popped up in her browser history. Alexander Sterling. Son of Ethan Sterling. Founder of Xcel Technologies, a technology company specializing in distribution management software and logistics optimization tools for the beverage industry. She scoffed, his company was just a baby compared to her father's premium tequila production and distribution company, and he dared call her 'budding'?

She didn't need to introduce herself in the business world, she was already known. She was the powerful Selena Tequila, and yet he had wanted her to introduce herself.

"The guts of some people!'" She yelled. She stopped as she was about to slam her phone on something midway, remembering her anger lessons from her early morning meditation audio. She channeled that calm and relaxed back into the seat.

"Ma'am?" The driver began from the front seat. "There's tequila in the car if you're interested."

She didn't answer him. What she truly wanted was out of her reach, and she'd had enough champagne that evening already. She had avoided getting drunk for publicity's sake, and it served her well because she wasn't so sure she wouldn't have caused a scene if she was drunk. The media would gobble up her embarrassment.

She looked at him on her phone again. She needed enough sleep to conjure up the perfect revenge for what he did. Sleep was always essential, and she was sure by the time she woke up the next morning, an idea would be lying in wait for her.

But if she could see into the future, she'd know the next morning had a cruel twist of events in wait for her.