Bad Intentions

Emma watched Elle enviously. It should have been her in that dress. She imagined how nice she could have looked if she was in that sating evening gown, if she had hundreds of diamonds strung around her neck, and if she was the one everyone was admiring.

'This girl isn't even a real model.' Emma thought to herself resentfully. Anyone could tell. So what right did Elle have to be selected over her? The more Emma thought about it the more unacceptable the situation seemed.

"We need to do something about this." Emma whispered to Suzy.

"About what?" Suzy asked.

"This girl isn't even a model, it's not right that she was selected."

"Adam selected her himself. I'm sure she just made use of some sort of connection with him."

"If Adam selected her himself for this event there's nothing stopping him from selecting her again in the future. You promised me a chance to work with MK, you owe me Suzy."

Suzy looked at the drink in her hand nervously. Emma was right. Adam had never used personal connections in the past, but if he had used them this time, and for such an important event, then nothing would stop him from using them again in the future.

"What do you have in mind?" Suzy asked.

"If we get this girl to make a mistake then MK will never use her again, no matter what Adam wants."

"We can't." Suzy said hesitantly. "This is my event. If she makes a mistake it will hurt MK's reputation."

"A small mistake then." Emma reasoned. "Something the public won't care about but the company won't forgive."

"Her mask." Suzy said suddenly. "The masks were an idea that Adam requested himself. If her mask comes off she'll get into trouble for sure."

While Suzy and Emma were scheming, Elle had grown tired of walking around. She had finally found a spot against the wall to settle into, but even while standing there she couldn't escape people's notice. Elle stood quietly, sipping on a glass of champagne, and trying her best to ignore everyone else.

While resting there she noticed Adam walking towards her. He didn't slow down as he approached. For a second Elle thought he was going to walk straight past her, but he didn't.

He paused his step for only a brief moment when he reached her. Elle didn't dare turn her head to look at him, but she felt his fingers brush gently against hers.

"You did well." He murmured softly. And then he was gone.

Elle knew she wasn't supposed to, but she couldn't help herself: she smiled and turned her head to watch his strong back walk away.

Unbeknownst to Elle, while she was enjoying the night two people were plotting against her.