5 Chapter 5

"Right this way, madams and sir."

Sasha could not stop gaping.

The interiors were magnificent. High ceilings that felt like the sky with large, glimmering chandeliers elevated the mood of the massive room they entered.

Spaced out with a warm ambience surrounding them, the tables were arranged perfectly. They were large and round with enough space for the delicious and eye-catching food and drink on them. The people that sat at the table were clothed in the finest and most recent trends and talked in easy chatter.

There was a quiet elegance to the place and Sasha felt like she had floated into the most beautiful ballroom.

The waiters were swift and gentle as they walked and there was no noise except the quiet chatter of the wealthy people who ate.

Gorgeous vases of flowers and large painting adorned the sides of the dining hall.

The place smelt like a large rose garden with a mingle of the scent of the delicious food on each table.

Looking up, Sasha gazed at the grand balcony high high above the other diners and wondered at the tops of the heads she could see of the people eating there.

How rich did they have to be to sit at that table?

"Sash?"

Leah and Rayne were already seated at the large, beautiful table with their name on it and a patient waiter stood nearby with her chair held out for her.

She descended softly into the seat and glanced wide-eyed at her cousins.

Rayne grinned, "Nice, isn't it?"

The girls gaped at him.

"Rayne, we're definitely emptying our bank accounts to be here."

"So glad I wore this dress… Maybe another clip, I-" Leah was in a trance, muttering to herself.

Rayne shook his head, "Ladies, this is where the Birthday party is to be held."

The women gaped again.

"That's right," Rayne leaned back into the long headrest of his chair, "This kind of elegance is normal for them… do you understand? We've got to beat this. I wanted to come here to get an idea of things. I talked to their main secretary and he said it would be fine for us to come to dinner."

The girls looked aghast, "We've got to beat this?"

Rayne nodded gravely, "And not just beat this. If we want clients like this to become our everyday clientele, we've got to think of something that'll wow everyone there."

Sasha nodded, a slow anxiety rising in her chest, "Oh Rayne, you're right. There's a good chance we landed this project because of the wedding we organized a few months ago."

"That's right," Rayne said. "That wedding was attended by lots of distinguished guests. All our hard work and good ideas paid off because many wealthy people were there, and this is the result. If we want to prove what we did at the wedding wasn't a fluke though-"

"We need to show them a quality they've never seen before." Sasha finished, nervous.

"That's right." Rayne confirmed.

He glanced over at Leah, "You okay?"

She snapped out of her trance with a smile, "Yeah! I was just thinking of the fancy places I can take Tim once we make it!"

"Yeah," Rayne responded, dryly, "that's great."

"Excuse me," a waiter stood in front of them with a smile on his face.

Others rushed to pour each of the cousins a drink and handed them an elaborate menu.

"My boss has asked if he can have a word with you?"

The cousins looked at the man blankly, "What?"

The waiter cleared his throat, "I am not talking about Ms. Kane, of course. She has not been informed of your visit today but Ms. Agatha has informed the person who will be overseeing your activities and he has just been informed of your arrival."

"Someone is overseeing us other than our client?" Sasha looked upset.

"He oversees most things for the Kanes," The waiter smiled again, "He will be the one you will be reporting to."

Rayne nodded quickly, "I see."

He stood up, "Could you lead us to him? We'll continue dinner once we've met him and introduced ourselves."

The girls hurried to stand up, excited to be starting the project so quickly but nervous as well.

"Oh that won't be necessary," the waiter's constant smile was unnerving, "He has said he will join your table for just a few minutes to make your acquaintance. He has another party to attend to thereafter. Oh- here he comes now."

The trio shifted their attention to the right.

A long, elegant stairway, wide enough to fit a bedroom, travelled up to the balcony.

Stepping off the last of the stairs was a young man dressed in a sharp pale blue suit. It was an expensive three-piece by the looks of it and fit the man extremely well. He was tall and walked with purpose, his dark red hair had been pushed back. His eyes were sharp and showed no emotion and he walked quickly to the table where the cousins stood waiting for him.

---

"Please," Bruce's voice held no warmth as he neared the table of the standing cousins, "I don't wish to intrude on your meal. Please sit down. I will be gone before the arrival of the appetizers."

"We haven't ordered yet."

His eyes looked over quickly to the user of the sweet, bubbly voice.

The easy smile on her soft lips was the first to catch his attention and he felt his heart skip a beat.

His brow creased with a slight frown.

Foolish.

Why did his heart do that?

He nodded at the girl before his eyes travelled down her frame.

She was small, he realized, with a bouncy appearance.

He blinked, catching himself off-guard again.

Why did he think that way.

He seated across from them and nodded. The three people ahead of him looked quite nervous but there was a steely determination in the eyes of the male that he admired.

"Most of the Kanes' activities are governed by me," he began, sounding grand as he always did, "My name is Bruce Slader and I will be overseeing the preparations for Ms. Clara Kane's Birthday celebration."

Out of the corner eye, he could see the small pretty girl pout.

"I wanted to introduce myself to you before we got things underway." He let the fingertips of his hands touch as he set his elbows on the table, "I will escort Ms. Kane to and from the site where you work and will be available to check on progress as things go. Any questions?"

The trio blinked.

"You will be here at the hotel? Where will our office be when we start preparations?" the beautiful blond girl of the three asked.

"You will be given a floor on the top of the building. It is right below where my office for the hotel is situated and you can approach me at any time to inform me of your progress."

The male with the obscene hair cleared his throat, "So… you'll be inspecting our work, basically?"

"That is correct."

Bruce was not one for making excuses or explaining himself. He was organized to a fault and noted, with dread and mounting annoyance, that most people around him were not.

People waltzed through life without a plan, failing to reach the standard set up for them and tried to do the same thing at work and that was not something he allowed under his eye.

The pretty girl with the dark hair spoke up and his eyes flew up to catch her expression.

"Is an inspection necessary? How often will you even do that? We like going at our own pace, you know."

She sounded upset and Bruce's eyes widened.

He hesitated briefly before responding, "I- You've never been on our payroll before."

He swallowed, wondering why on earth he's answered her like that.

He didn't make excuses.

He didn't like explaining himself.

He was always right.

What was going on?