O N E

"SO TELL ME AGAIN WHY I'M NOT SERVING THE PRESIDENT INSTEAD?"

It was an ungrateful question of me to ask, but it had been bugging me for the past few minutes and the dinner party had barely started. All any of us had done so far was roll up our sleeves as we waited on the food to be prepared. Eric, however, happened to pull an all-nighter and got sick so he couldn't come into work today. Since he was our top chef - in other words, our only chef - we were having a bit of a dilemma. Ernie, his twin brother, knew all of the basics of food preparation and we had two other cooks in our crew, so we weren't facing the disaster of the century, but it was definitely a setback.

Thankfully, neither Katie nor I were part of the cooking team, we were just there to serve the guests, so we didn't have to worry too much about how fast we were working. Sure, we had to worry about how fast they were working, but we made a pretty good team.

Katie Jackson was my boss of sorts (the most experienced out of the four servers on our team); a nearing-middle-aged woman with green eyes and bouncy black curls and a bright smile if you didn't piss her off (which made it a treasure to see). She was also in her third trimester of pregnancy, her grey uniform for Happenstance Catering tightly hugging her curves, jutting out sharply where her baby bump started. She originally planned on a maternity leave for herself, but there was no way she would let three novices handle the event we were doing today.

It was a benefit for some tech company apparently, and they had only hired us because we were local to the Philadelphia area and it was a charity event so what better idea was there than to make your company seem well-rounded by supporting a struggling company like they were. I didn't feel like looking into it any further, mainly because I knew we would go back to catering at children's birthday parties or at the Seniors' Bingo Nights at the nursing home upstate in the blink of an eye. Opportunities like this didn't last forever.

But to be completely honest, maybe this wouldn't be the last time we were working in the big leagues. One of our new recruits - a college guy with freckles and a bad attitude - just happened to be the nephew of the attorney general and that alone was able to land him and his crew a gig at the newly instated President of the United States' dinner. In fact, being blond and hot (in his opinion and mine), I was considered for joining that team, however Katie grabbed me at the last minute and here I was.

"Because I," she added emphasis before rubbing her inflated stomach, "have a baby on the way and I could use all the help I can get. It's neither of our faults that all of the experienced workers either left or went on holiday. With only about two and a half weeks on the job, compared to those two" - she pointed at the other two servers, Charles and Rick who could barely seem to balance a platter - "you're the best we've got."

I nodded, although I internally couldn't and wouldn't accept it. When you just happened to major in politics but wind up serving people their food, you obviously begin to feel a bit lost.

And here I was, behind a closed door with a room full of some of the richest people I'd ever meet in my life and while I knew where everything was, I still felt so lost.

"We should serve some more drinks," she said with a slight smile, as if she noticed that I was currently feeling down about my situation. "It'll keep their minds off of the fact that there's no currently food besides bread on anyone's tables."

I looked around at the room we were provided to prepare in; a small kitchen reserved for the Observatory staff who were currently out since the whole space was rented just for this event. It had all of the simple amenities, a stove, a sink, a microwave, a freezer and refrigerator, and it was actually quite cozy. I would've definitely preferred to wallow in the failures of my life in here than out there where people who cracked the code would be able to see me and humor themselves. I was sure they would have a row over Katie showing up to work while she was clearly pregnant.

In all of my dealings with anyone of a higher economic tier, they always ended misfortunately. Be it the kids who were too wealthy for their own good back in high school or the filthy rich who cut me in line at Starbucks because they had 'important business affairs to attend to,' I took no pleasure in doing business to them. Now I was pouring them glasses of champagne and loading them onto a tray so that I would have to actually pass it out to them. While Katie was busy doing the same thing, except facing more complications with her swollen stomach, I quickly took one of the glasses and drank its contents before filling it again so that she wouldn't notice.

"If they ask about the food," Katie said, finally looking up from her busywork, "tell them that it shall be arriving shortly. I'm sure these rich people only know about eating and not the actual cooking."

I laughed, gathering up my tray and making sure I put the bottle on it as well. "I hope you're right, Katie. Because at the pace Ernie is working-"

"Hey!" It was Ernie, who of course had overheard us.

"-this might be the first time they experienced starvation for themselves. Maybe they'll drop a million dollars to feed the homeless or the starving children around the world. That might be the best thing to come out of this."

This made her laugh before she went over and pushed the door open with one hand carefully, making sure the two of us didn't spill any of the drinks. The party was in full swing when we stepped out, even without the food to satiate all of guests. The lights were dimmed, but not all the way, giving the room a lovely glow that reminded me of autumn and the crisp oranges and yellows. Soft music was being played by the band as nearly half of the guests were dancing on the floor at the center of the room if they weren't sitting and chatting at their tables.

"You take the tables, I'll take the dancers," Katie offered but went along with it before I could even give my input. Sometimes, I had to remember that she was my boss and anything she said for me to do was set in stone.

Following by her example, I went around to different tables, passing out as many drinks as I could, even coming back to pour some people seconds because Katie made the educated decision to choose one of the most in-demand champagnes in the business. After a while, I was able to stand back and watch all of my progress as it unfolded before me, being able to see the ballroom like if it were a scene in a movie. All of the people were so debonair and I could imagine all of them talking about business, something I originally planned on majoring in.

I planned to go back inside and check on the food, but I was held back when a hand shot up at one of the tables, which I guess was becoming the official signal for "more champagne" at this party. I made my way over, heaving the tray along with me, slowly becoming used to this despite how much I didn't want to.

The lady who raised her hand was a slender brunette with glossy pink lips and green eyes and a sleek blue dress that hugged her body in all the right places. She looked about seventeen or eighteen, making me feel self-conscious because I was twenty-two and I was wearing a uniform that was big in some places, making it appear as if I had an awkward and uneven figure. While the obvious question was whether she was old enough to drink champagne legally, being around her made me strangely nervous.

It was like high school all over again, being one of the lesser crowd. I flashed her a quick smile before filling her cup halfway and taking a step back from her when a hand at the same table went up. "Miss, I'd like some more champagne, please."

Turning in the direction of the voice, I saw what was probably the most gorgeous man I ever laid eyes on. The lights were dim, but they couldn't dim him, they even accentuated his face so I could make the details of it out clearly. His features were sharp, all angles to him, stubble gracing his chin in the perfect dosage, his black hair tousled and his green eyes fixed on me in a way that could've made the world stop.

He held an air of elegance, just like the girl across the table from him that made it seem as if he were someone important. Of course, if he were here, then he had to have been, but the way he looked portrayed him as someone even more, like he wasn't just a guest.

Half-pulled by my enchantment and half-pulled by my job and status, I made my way over with the bottle, filling his cup with the bubbly drink slowly so as not to spill any of it when I noticed something that made me jerk back an inch or so, causing some of it to stain the pristine beige tablecloth in tiny spots.

"Sorry," I said with an apologetic nod at everyone at the crowded table and not just the man whose drink I was pouring. But it specifically was geared towards him. Because what else could I say when I saw my lipstick stain smudged on his glass? I knew that color from anywhere, especially since I had hastily applied it in Kate's minivan which we all drove here in.

I proceeded to pour for him, the rest of the people at the table - who I assumed to be his family - all returned to their private affairs. As I poured, I noticed how it was even smudged, meaning that he had put his mouth there on accident. I had kissed a man tonight except without even kissing him. I groaned internally at how disastrous of a night this was turning out to be.

"That's enough," he said, making me hold the bottle up so it would stop pouring. "Thank you, ma'am."

Looking at him now, he was smiling mischievously and that was enough to make my heart race. Setting my posture straight, I forced my lips up into a smile, and repeated as I had been trained to, "Happenstance Catering. We aim to please."

-

THE FOOD HAD COME OUT FINALLY, BUT I STILL MADE THE ROUNDS WITH THE CHAMPAGNE.

The party wasn't nearly as bad as I originally thought it to be. Maybe it was the startlingly attractive guy or the nice music, but being here really began to grow on me. Of course, avoiding said hot guy who I embarrassed myself in front of majorly was the key to getting my mind off of things, but to physically see him was still considered a highlight.

As I made my way for the kitchen door with another platter in my hands, Katie reached for my arm and stopped me, a serene smile on her face. "You're done for the night, Fiona. Don't exactly want to get these people too drunk, do you? You should just sit down and have a drink because it ends in about an hour and a half."

Hearing that made me shoot a cursory glance at my wristwatch, reading that it was 10:30 and that I had been here for three hours already. But in any shorter and less humiliating situation, I wouldn't have even waited for an invitation to take a break. Tonight, however, was like magic. All of my apprehensions had vanished and everything became so easy to fall in love with. I wasn't letting any of it go to waste, waiting around for the clock to strike twelve so I would lose all of my magic.

"Just one last round," I said with a smile before walking out. As soon as I was out, I instantly got to work. It was like the less glamorous part of Cinderella, the tale of a girl devoting herself to serving others. It was hardly the life I wanted, but there was something special about tonight, something words wouldn't do justice.

I was making my way for a man who's hand I saw go up when my path was blocked by a tall figure dressed in black. It was the man from earlier, as I should've guessed by now, but in my defense, that would've spoiled the magic.

"You little minx," he said, out of the blue even, for he didn't even properly address me. His voice was quite loud, and a few heads turned our way to figure out what was happening. But I knew exactly what was happening, he knew what kind of lipstick color I wore and left on his glass - Little Minx. I began to think of Katie's advice, that I should've been calling it a night at this point, and I would've made a beeline for the kitchen, had he not been standing in the way and I had a hundred dollar bottle of champagne in my hands on a silver platter, two very heavy things.

"I deeply apologize," I said, "I thought I stored that glass away -"

Midway through my lie, he closed the gap between our bodies, taking the platter from my hands carefully and reaching around me to set it down on a table I was standing by. "Forget it," he said, his voice deep and suave as his hands found my waist. "How about a dance to make it up to me?"

I swallowed, my force feeble and unsure. "Right here? Right now?"

He held out his hand in the small gap of space between us that finally starting to register. "Well, where else?"

I stared down at his outstretched hand as if he pulled a gun on me. Everything happening tonight was spinning out of control and madly so. Maybe, just maybe, this was the only thing I needed to hold onto.

I sighed and slipped my hand through his. At the contact made, his fingers curled around mine and all the blood in me ran to my cheeks, almost making me tear away from him and head for the hills. But before I could, he led me out onto the dance floor, all the lights were green, and I could only think one thing:

Go for it. Go, go, go.