All the Ways

xxvii

"So you're telling me I get to go home from work and hurry my ass up to get all done up for a banquet tonight that I was unaware of until five minutes ago?" Vivienne complained.

Sam tried to defend himself on the other line, "Babe. Please. Paige and Amber are coming too! I don't know how I forgot to tell you. Please come."

She grunted, "Fine. You win this time, Samuel Bennett."

"Thank you!" He said excitedly as she hung up. God damn, Sam was quite the handful. He was either completely calm or extremely assertive.

The clock struck five and Vivienne practically sped home. She didn't know what she was going to wear tonight, or what to do for her hair and makeup. The girl was in a frenzy. She couldn't even put a key in the lock the right way. It took her four tries.

Paige was standing in the kitchen with rollers in her hair, holding a broom in the direction of the door. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw Vivienne, "God, I thought it was a robber! I didn't need to die tonight. How was work?"

"Baker & Jones LLP, this is Vivienne. How may I help you?" Vivienne put on her best receptionist voice as she recited her spiel to Paige. Paige just laughed at her.

"You coming tonight?"

"Yeah. On short notice. Is Amber coming?"

"I have to share a date with her." Paige rolled her eyes.

Vivienne broke out in laughter, "I'm sure Sean feels great about Johnny stealing Amber. First Connor, now little Johnny."

Paige shoved a chip in her mouth, "Go get ready!"

The three girls got all done up, wearing their best dresses for the event tonight. It was a Flames Foundation banquet, full of very important people. Johnny mentioned that there were going to be lots of pictures taken, and Paige just rolled her eyes. It was like prom night all over again, which was annoying because they were all well in their twenties--there was no need to relive prom.

Paige wore her hair in an updo, the front of her hair loosely curled and peeking out to frame her face. She wore a simple burgundy maxi dress with it. The dress had a halter neckline and a slit that ended right at her thigh.

Amber opted for a little black dress; one with a strappy caged neckline and a cross-back. It flared out from the waist down, accentuating her waist. Her hair was pinned to one side and curled.

Vivienne wore an off-white skater dress that had a lace overlay and cap sleeves. The dress had an open back, and she wore her hair in an updo similar to Paige's, except without the braids. Her bangs were parted in the middle, framing her face.

Amber grabbed her keys and all of them hopped into her Jeep and set off for the venue. It was in some fancy hotel's ballroom, one they were all unfamiliar with. They didn't even know where to go. Paige dialed Johnny's number, hoping he could pick up.

"Hi. We're here. Where do we go? Oh, there? Just straight ahead? Uh huh. Okay. Bye." Paige led the girls to the ballroom, which was decorated from floor to ceiling with the most expensive items they had ever seen. Vivienne was pretty sure she saw an ice sculpture from her peripheral vision.

The girls ran into Sam first, who was so baffled that he couldn't even speak, "Uh, um, I... Hey!" He hugged Amber and Paige, and kissed Vivienne, "God, you look great. Wow. I'm lucky."

She held his face and kissed him again, "You look even better!" He wore an expensive suit, one Vivienne had never seen before. He wore a white button up shirt, with a navy blue tie and matching navy blue jacket and dress pants. He paired the outfit with brown dress shoes.