Chapter 4
"East 57th Street," said Betty.
"Come on, Betty. Tell me, where are we going? I'm so excited," exclaimed Matt as he got into the cab with Betty.
Betty gave him one of her charming girl next door smiles that makes his heart flutter.
"You'll see. It's a surprise."
Matt suddenly rolled his eyes and tickled Betty. Betty let at a loud shriek as she tried to evade Matt's tickle attack. They were oblivious to the cab driver that was snickering in front at the two young raucous people.
"What? What are you rolling your eyes for?" laughed Betty.
"You're up to something," accused Matt with an amused smile.
"What made you say that?" asked Betty. Matt eyed Betty's black cocktail dress that reached her knees and her black Valentino sandals. "You said you don't like dressing up and you said black is such a dire colour but here you are, all pretty in black," complimented Matt.
"It's our first month together. I want this to be special," smiled Betty. Matt couldn't contain his curiosity but he didn't want to ruin Betty's surprise.
"Stop right here, Mr. Thank you," said Betty as she handed the cab driver the fare. The cab stopped right in front of the Four Seasons Hotel.
Wooh. Is she ready for this? We barely know each other. But I do know she's special and I love her. If she thinks she's ready, I won't disappoint her. Matt ran his hands through his raven black hair and wiped his sweaty palms on his slacks.
Betty led the way to the lobby of the Four Seasons. There were a lot on her mind and she feels kind of guilty for dragging Matt here on their first month anniversary. He might think she was such an expensive girlfriend who loves fancy dinners but she'll deal with that later. First she must find the right function room. Betty was scouring the hotel for the function rooms but Matt already drawing her to the L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon restaurant. As Matt was about to settle at one of the red and black upholstered pearwood chairs, Betty found the board where the events and corresponding function rooms were listed.
Betty pulled Matt. "Uhm…let's go up," said Betty quite uneasily. She was getting guiltier by the moment.
Shouldn't we wait till after dinner? He swallowed hard as he nervously followed Betty up the elevator. He was unusually quiet. He didn't what to do on his first time with Betty.
He's awfully quiet. He must be mad at me. He probably knows what I'm up to. I'll try to make it up to him next time…If there is a next time, thought Betty worriedly. What if he dumps me because of this? Nah, I'm sure he'll be understanding.
The elevator opened on the fifth floor. "Look, Matt, I'm sorry…" Matt absorbed his surroundings and looked at Betty in confusion. "Where are we?" Before Betty could reply she found the function room. There was the sign The Association of American Lawyers' Annual Cosmopolitan Ball. She immediately pulled Matt and dragged him inside the room.
Matt suddenly laughed so hard his cheeks hurt. Betty was furious. Here she was worried that Matt would be mad but he was laughing! "What's so funny?" demanded Betty.
It took several minutes before Matt settled down. "I thought you were taking me up to the room to make love," explained Matt.
Betty was aghast. "What? Of course not, why would I do that?"
"That's why I was laughing. I feel so silly," he said sheepishly.
Betty flashed him another wholesome smile. "That's okay. We all make assumptions that turn out wrong. Come on, aren't you hungry?" said Betty as he pulled Matt to the buffet table.
Matt looked around quite nervously before whispering in Betty's ear. "Betty, what are we doing here? Isn't this a private function? We're gate-crashing. If you want to have dinner, we can eat at the L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon restaurant at the mezzanine. I can afford it."
But Betty was already taking some salad. "Relax. Mark and Amanda say I'm too uptight. I should loosen up a bit. It wouldn't hurt to stray from a straight line once in a while so just relax and enjoy dinner."
"You know, if you're going to gate-crash, you should've worn a long-gown instead of a cocktail dress so you could fit in much better," observed Matt.
"I don't have a long gown," said Betty giving Matt an exasperated look. She was done filling her plate with prawns and lobsters. She scoured the ballroom while waiting for Matt to finish at the buffet table. Claire Meade wasn't hard to find. She was tall and slender. The long ivory gown she wore was embellished with rhinestone detail and her shoulder-length blond hair was up on a twist held by crystal combs. The one-shoulder neck-line and cape-sleeves and flowing silhouette made her look like a Greek goddess.
Tony Salvatore looked equally charming on his charcoal classic Dolce and Gabbana suit. He pulled the seat for Mrs. Meade and they both settled down on the table near the center. Betty pulled Matt to the table that would give her a full view of Tony Salvatore and Claire Meade.
Mrs. Meade looks stunning but she still looks really restless. Mr. Salvatore looks like a decent man, very charming and gallant. It was nice of him to pull a chair for Mrs. Meade. Wonder what could be making Mrs. Meade restless whenever he was around. In fact, they would really make a charming couple...
Mrs. Meade seem to have hardly any appetite. Her plate was untouched and she had that fake smile plastered on her face the entire night, observed Betty. She was worried that Matt might be in the same predicament. She glanced at him and found him enjoying his medium rare rib-eye steak and mashed potatoes. Betty heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Matt was enjoying himself. She felt sorry for Mrs. Meade for being stuck with a date she disliked. She eyed Tony Salvatore as he was making his speech. His manners were impeccable. He seemed a perfect gentleman, pulling the chair for Mrs. Meade, calling the waiter for her whenever she needed to refill her champagne glass, and he appears to be a well-rounded person and a good conversationalist, judging by how pleased the people were with his company and by how much everyone seem to hang on to his every word. She couldn't understand what Mrs. Meade would dislike about this man. He seemed warm and friendly when she met him in the office, and he wasn't bad looking at all, thought Betty.
"Earth to Betty," said Matt, snapping his fingers in front of Betty, cutting Betty out of her reverie, "you've been staring off into space for the past 15 minutes…"
Suddenly, Matt wiped the tartar sauce off Betty's chin with his forefinger. "You seem to be enjoying your fish," kidded Matt as he flashed Betty a winsome smile. Betty took a little ketchup on her forefinger and patted it on the tip of Matt's nose as affectionate joke. Matt took his revenge by spraying some champagne on Betty and Betty did the same. They were oblivious to the other people seated at their round table watching them in disbelief, and some with displeasure. Betty never had such fun with any other boy. They weren't paying much attention to Tony Salvatore until he uttered his final words that sent Betty sprawling the champagne she was drinking right in front of Matt's face.
"All my success would not have been possible if not for the special woman in my life who has always inspired me to be the best. She is my motivation and strength during those trying times and difficult challenges that I have encountered in this profession. Ladies and gentlemen...the love of my life...Claire Meade."