Gwen’s Crazy Idea
Leon Carusso had dark hair and a face that was a blend of European and Latin features. Now it was clear that he was taller than Nora had expected.
He must be more than 5 feet 11 inches tall, Nora thought, while she herself is 5 feet 4 inches.
As she observed him, Nora noticed his striking facial features.
His nose was straight and pointed, complementing his square jawline. His eyes were dark brown like autumn’s evening.
The high cheekbones added some strict impression to his handsome and dashing appearance, while the perfectly arched eyebrows framed his eyes with an undeniable aura of confidence.
Nora was mesmerized.
Leon, who was observed, turned his head. One eyebrow was raised. "Are you okay?"
Nora who was caught in the act stammered. "Yes... yes. Of course."
Leon nodded. "Good. Because I saw your mouth gaping when you looked at me just now."
His comments with sarcasm, left Nora feeling with red cheeks.
“I hope my face isn't too shocking."
Nora, who felt confused, shook her head. "No, not at all. I was just... uh... surprised."
"Surprised? Ah, interesting."
"I mean, I didn't expect... um... to see someone I know here." She tried not to look nervous.
"Someone you know? Really?" Leon, raised his eyebrows.
Nora, feeling increasingly embarrassed, nodded. "I mean... uh... recognize. You look familiar."
He nodded with a cold smile. "I see. It's a small world, isn't it?"
Nora, wishing she could disappear right then, could only nod. "Yes, of course."
Leon reached for his drink, which was placed in front of him by the bartender, and took a sip.
He turned his attention back to Nora. "So, have we met before?" His eyes narrowed as he asked.
For some reason Nora felt there was tension in the man's voice. He was probably annoyed that such small talk was often used by people, especially girls, to start conversations with attractive men.
Small talk that develops into flirting and ends up in bed.
She herself had done it a time or two at these parties, to some guys she found attractive.
She just considered it a game, and not all of them ended up in bed. But she wasn't thinking of playing that game with Leon Carusso.
He wasn't just a wealthy man. He was a government official. And he looked dangerous with those cold, and chilly eyes.
Nonetheless, there was no denying that she was attracted to Leon.
Given her desperation to capture a rich man tonight, she should have started flirting and making advances, but her instinct was that her efforts would not work against Leon Carusso.
"No, I don't think we've met. My apologies," she replied.
Leon raised an eyebrow again, “You don’t need to apologize. It’s a crowded party after all. It’s easy to mistake someone for someone else.”
Nora nodded with relief that Leon didn’t seem offended. “Yes, that’s right. It’s quite crowded here.”
She took a sip of her Mojito, hoping to ease the tension she felt between them.
The situation was saved by Sarah Lansing’s cheerful voice.
She suddenly appeared to Leon. “There you are! You love to prank me by suddenly disappearing, and you’ve been doing it since you were a little snot-nosed kid.”
“My poor aunt, I was just looking for a drink, while you were busy greeting your guests.”
Nora notice Leon’s tone change during the conversation with her aunt. He sounded warmer, and it showed that the man had two different sides.
That made him even more intriguing in Nora’s eyes. It made her curious about the diplomat’s life.
The problem was, their initial conversation was not very favorable to her position. Instead of being charming, she’s an embarrassment to him.
Sarah noticed Nora's presence. She looked delighted. "Oh, you're here too! Were you chatting with this handsome man earlier? Are you acquainted with each other?"
Nora could only smile. "Actually, we haven’t introduced ourselves to each other yet," she said.
“Well then. Please forgive my impoliteness.” Leon bowed slightly, pretending to be apologetic. But Nora saw the corner of his lips twitch slightly. It seemed he enjoyed to seeing Nora flustered.
“Then it would be my pleasure to introduce you to each other. Nora, this is Leon Carusso, the Assistant Secretary for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Who happens to be my nephew. Leon, this is Nora Williams. She’s a famous influencer, who will one day inherit her family’s mining company.” Sarah looked at Nora.
“The diamond mining in South Africa, right?”
Nora nervously nodded. It was indeed the identity she had been touting to her fans on social media.
“I see...” Leon nodded. He extended his arm to shake hands. “Nice to meet you, Miss Williams.”
Nora accepted the hand and they shook hands. Leon’s grip was warm and tight.
Nora could feel the man’s great confidence. She swallowed hard and tried to compose herself.
Somehow, she felt that this man was a threat to her false existence. Leon’s sharp eyes seemed to peel away layer after layer, exposing her lies.
“Leon served in Africa for a few years,” Sarah said suddenly. “Oh, I just remembered that! It’s possible that Leon knew your parents. What’s your father’s name, dear?”
Nora gasped. What? No way, she thought anxiously. She never imagined the day would come when she would meet someone who was from South Africa or had lived there.
Not now. Not in this place where her lies could be exposed.
Stifling panic, she casted her eyes around.
A group of influencers were chatting in the center of the room. She relied on her lie to be part of them.
However, Sarah’s question awaited an answer. So he was forced to repeat his lie in front of Leon. “My father... Arthur Williams. He and my mother are actually from England.”
“And isn’t your mother still related to the British royal family?”
“Uh... yes.” Nora nodded.
Leon, upon hearing Nora’s answer, maintained his polite yet calm face. “Interesting,” he said simply. “England must have a special place in your family history.”
Then, he turned to his aunt and smiled. “But Africa is a big continent, Aunt Sarah. Unfortunately, I’m stationed in West Africa. In Nigeria, to be precise. So of course I never heard of Mr. Williams.”
“Oh, my goodness. Well, I never really liked Geography.” Sarah Lansing chuckled. “What time is it? Should we start the auction now? I think the invited guests are all here. Come on, Leon. You must accompany me to open the event!”
Sarah led Leon away from the bar. The man briefly nodded to Nora before his aunt dragged him into the center of the group of chatting guests.
The man’s departure left Nora with a strange feeling. A kind of emptiness that she didn’t understand. A kind of dejavu, as if she had felt this way before.
“What the hell?” She cursed her silly behavior.
------–-
The wooden stage was arraigned by numerous bouquets of fresh flowers with solitary gold crowns in the rows acting as natural decoration.
Gracefully, a series of luxury items were placed on several displays such as precious jewelry, a vacation package to luxury destinations and more.
The master of the auction host was standing on the stage, with the white handkerchief raised as a signal to continue the selling or put up a new one.
The posh and the high-brow seemed to be at peace, making the donations of the right amounts for the charities cause.
Sarah Lansing also stood in the center of the stage.
“All my friends! We so good folks” said Sarah with shaking voice to release the atmosphere in there. “It would be great news to announce our welcome to out charity event of the year. It is summer, it means both a fun time and an opportunity for all of us to give back to those in need, mostly. Are the generous help of the whole community, we will set the tone to the charitable person tonight! Now your wallets should be filled and let us make it a successful night.”
She stuffed enthusiasm to the brim of the room, inciting everyone to both donate and take part in the stellar charity auction.
Nora has attended Sarah’s charity parties several times. She knew how wonderful Sarah was at stirring up her guests to donate.
Wealthy celebrities wouldn’t hesitate to spend a fortune on a spa package in Hawaii. Those executives wouldn’t think twice about crunching the numbers for a vacation to the Bahamas, even though their business meeting schedules were already overbooked.
And glamorous influencers will happily scramble to come up with a price for a very limited edition luxury bag.
All the guests applauded when Sarah came down from the stage. Beaming, she walked up to Leon and took his arm.
Since it was an auction event that was designed to be informal, the guests simply stood around the stage.
A large screen was set up at the back of the stage, displaying the luxury items and exclusive experiences that would be auctioned off.
A Sarah’s staff who served as the auctioneer came forward and introduced herself.
She held the microphone, giving a brief description of each item to be auctioned, while several other staff members assisted with the auction process.
Interested guests stood in front of the stage. The room was filled with the sounds of bids, laughter, and cheers of excitement as the prices of the items increased.
Some guests discussed enthusiastically, trying to win the highest bid for the items they wanted.
Every time the gavel was raised, signaling a successful sale, there was a loud applause from the guests who were proud to have participated in this charity event.
Nora had never once bid at any charity party she attended, because she didn’t have as much money as those people.
Usually, she would stand at a distance, slightly hidden so that people wouldn’t wonder why a wealthy heiress wouldn’t donate her money.
“Nora dear, why are you standing here?” Gwen suddenly appeared next to her, holding a glass of cocktail.
Two men followed behind her. Nora recognised them both as notorious playboys in their social circle.
Gwen waved her hand dismissively toward the two men. “Well, you have met David and Zack, haven’t you?”
David Duckstein, a property entrepreneur like the Carusso family, but his success was far below that of the family.
Nora dislike Zack, as he had called her several times to ask her out. The problem was, with his bad reputation, Nora didn’t want the carefully constructed image she had built to be tarnished.
That’s why she always looked for excuses to turn down his date invitation.
“You’re not in the auction?” Gwen asked probingly. “They had one limited edition Serenade Royale from Chanel.”
Nora’s eyes widened. “Really?”
Serenade Royale was Chanel’s latest handbag released with only 5 pieces available worldwide.
The design was unique.
Nora desired it, but of course only in her dreams, even for the imitation. Since it wasn’t mass-produced, it would be very difficult to fake it.
“I prefer shoes.” Gwen smiled. “But you really love handbags, don’t you? You should join the auction.”
“Come on. How about I accompany you?” Zack offered.
Nora racked her brains for an excuse. "Uhm, I’m not really into bags right now," she said. "I'm tired with all that stuff. It feels like we're being controlled by unreasonable consumerism. I need something different."
Gwen laughed. "Oh, that's the problem of being too wealthy. Because you've always get what you want, you crave something different?"
Gwen’s eyes flashed and a smile played on her lips. “I have an idea to make this event more interesting.”
“What ideas? Gwen, don’t tell me you have weird ideas.” David laughed.
“Oh, no. It’s going to be fun. Trust me.” Gwen grinned hilariously. “Come on, you guys come with me! We need to find Sarah.”
Gwen grabbed the confused Nora by the arm and dragged her to the auction area. In the distance, they saw Sarah watching the exciting offers from her guests.
Next to her, stood Leon Carusso.
“Hey, Sarah! Listen, I have an idea.” Gwen didn’t even feel the need for small talk.
Sarah saw the arrival of the four people and smiled. “Oh, what idea, Gwen?”
“Nora said she was bored, even though there’s a super-limited beautiful bag being auctioned off today. Well, I have an idea to make this event more exciting and lively.”
Sarah raised one eyebrow with a curious look. “Oh yeah? Tell me about it.”
Gwen cleared her throat. “How about we auction ourselves off for a fantastic one-day date?”
Sarah looked both surprised and intrigued. “Interesting idea, of course if you’re willing. You said we... you mean...” Sarah glanced at each of the individuals.
Gwen laughed. “Certainly not these two gentlemen. I mean, just me and Nora.”
“What?” Nora, who had been confused all along, was now shocked. “You didn’t discuss this with me first, Gwen!”
“Hey, relax. This is just for fun. We know almost all the guys here anyway. It’s not dangerous. It’s fun.”
Nora looked around and her eyes landed on the men in expensive suits that gave off an aura of wealth.
Isn’t that what she came here for? To snag a wealthy man who would help her fall escape poverty?
But not in this way, auctioning herself off. A fantastic one-day date? She glanced at Zack who had been trying to stick to her all this way.
The man’s face lit up with excitement.
“You don’t have to worry about going on a date with a stranger, Nora. I’ll win you. You’ve known me for a long time.”
Nora closed her eyes, trying to push away her disgust toward Zack and her frustration at the dilemma she was facing.
Meanwhile, Sarah cheerfully said, “Alright, then I’ll announce it now.”