Getting ready for the first event

Christopher managed to suppress thoughts of Emilia for days to follow. But every now and then, a customer, a business partner, a peer from social circles, would ask him about his wife, quickly re-opening the floodgate of thoughts that then would linger for hours if not days at a time.

He knew that the true challenge was to not care for her at all whilst having to appear in public with her. The first event was just around the corner. It was expected for him to show up with his new wife, and he was worried about the attention it would draw to both of them. His only hope was that it was a private event so there was no plan for paparazzi to ambush them. His only worry was that he would have to spend time with Emilia. And every time he saw her, he could not stop seeing her smile pop into his head for a long while after. And these were mere glimpses of her. What will he do after the entire evening with her?

Emilia was anxious about the event too. Patrick called Emilia on Thursday promising his help with organising the little details of the evening "Dr Vincent, I am sending you all of the details for the dinner gala on Saturday. I have reserved the chauffeur for you and I have send for the outfits from which you can choose one that you like. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like. I trust you will be able to arrange your preferred hair stylist and make up."

And all Emilia could do was thank him profusely.

As soon as the email came with the details, Emilia started researching everything she could about it. She managed to find a few people that were attending it too, mostly from their very public online presence, which allowed her to research their backgrounds and work out what kind of people the even was attracting. It was soon clear that it was a social gathering of the upper circle within different business domains, but all operating locally.

Emilia sat down with her notebook and started writing down the notes for the event. Of course everyone there already would know of Christopher's business. They wouldn't be impressed if that was the sole thing about him. She started drafting some ideas of how to represent Christopher well. Her mind was completely blank.

A good distraction was an entire rail of dresses send to her by Patrick. Her mind definitely was occupied by trying to work out what the heck the designers were thinking. Half of the dresses seemed to be closer to underwear with their sheer layers, and another half seemed more like abstract art exhibits. Emilia tried a few tamer options but she hated them. With exacerbation, Emilia went out to the city again on Friday. She was desperate to find something that was not what Patrick send her, but which fit the black-tie dress code. There was only one place that she knew of that night have had something in her style. It was a small tailor shop run by one of her mum's old acquaintances.

And she was right. She came out with a stunning dress that somehow fit her perfectly and in the right places.

It was a black long dress with sweetheart neckline, bodycon shape that flared just below her mid-thighs with a slit in the side, and short flare sleeves made of sheer fabric with embedded crystals. It was simple yet eye catching.

On Saturday, Emilia was rehearsing all that she knew of Christopher Hayden and his company as if she was readying for the quiz.

As the evening neared, she was in a full swing of getting made up for the occasion. She put a fairly natural make up on with a slightly redder lip tint than usual. She curled her hair before pinning it up into an intrigue bun. She had little jewellery consisting of simple small hoop silver earrings. And then she put on her new dress, which she paired with a black clutch bag with silver accents and a pair of black stilettos. Patrick called her when she was almost ready.

"Hello?" She answered the phone with worry.

"I am calling to check that everything is alright?"

"Yes, I am almost ready."

"Fantastic. Unfortunately, Mr Hayden is running late due to his meetings overrunning. I will send the chauffeur scores shortly. Also, if you wouldn't mind telling me which designer you picked, that would be a great help."

"Ehhh… I'm afraid that I haven't picked any of the dresses that were send." Emilia answered warily. Patrick went silent which made her more anxious. "I adhered to the dress code!"

"That's good, Dr Vincent." Patrick agreed with hesitation. "I hope that you remember that your actions are a huge reflection on Mr Hayden tonight."

"Yes, of course."

"The chauffeur holds your invitation. If there's any trouble, do not hesitate to call me."

"Thank you, Mr Cosby." Emilia replied while biting her lip.

After she disconnected the call with Patrick, she found her way downstairs and awaited the driver to appear, which was within moments of her anxiously pacing by the door.

The driver kindly opened the door for her so she could wriggle into the fanciest car she ever saw.

"Did you have a good night?" Emilia started a conversation.

"Yes, thank you, ma'am." The driver looked in the mirror to see her reflection as she nervously held onto her clutch bag.

"A busy day?"

"No, not at all. This is my first drive of the day."

"That's good." Emilia smiled and he reciprocated. "How long have you worked as a driver?"

"Nearly a decade, ma'am."

"That's dedication. Have you driven to many fancy events?"

"They are all fancy, ma'am."

"I suppose. I am not used to that though. It's my first fancy event in a long while. Maybe even the first event of this style at all. I feel like you might have a well of knowledge. What tips would you give someone who is so new to this world?"

"I am sure that you will be fine, ma'am." The driver smiled reassuringly. Emilia nodded and leaned back in her seat. The driver looked at her a few times in the mirror before he realised that she wanted to have a conversation to distract herself. "How was your day so far?"

"Okay. Although, who came up with all of those dressing up rules? Why is it so socially expected that women must wear heels? I already tripped twice this afternoon while trying to rush around. And then, I am sure that I frizzled my hair while curling it with the curling iron which I've set at much higher temperature than intended. Also, that's how I've decided on the hairstyle. I needed to conceal the strands of hair that I've accidentally burnt. I am so not cut out for this."

"Why are you doing it then?"

"I guess I'm trying to make a good impression. It's the first event of this kind. And… I worry what Mr Hayden might think of me if I didn't."

"Why are you worried about Mr Hayden's opinion?"

"Honestly? I need the income. It sounds horrendous, I know, but… I've lost my first big job recently as my company went bankrupt and I need the money as I'm the main Carter to my mother."

The driver looked in the mirror with sympathy.

"What was the job?"

"I was the senior researcher in the pharmaceutical company. And just to make it clear, I did not work in the lab. I did all the data analysis to inform the company about any new and emerging trends so they can take on board and build their portfolio around it. I was pretty good at it."

"Which company was it?"

"The Biocuretech."

"Oh yeah. That was a huge thing in the news the other day, wasn't it? It was a big company."

"It was. And we all have been truly shocked when it happened."

By the end of the journey, Emilia managed to make the driver laugh with some obscure joke, and he was keen to bid her a very good night, whilst passing her the envelope with the invite as instructed by Patrick.