I have never been so nervous in my life. Tonight is when I find out if our company Chick Clicks is going to win the Blackbourne Award. If we win, we will have enough money to keep our business running for a long time. We will be able to write articles that help people instead of the pathetic articles that ClickIt writes. My girlfriend Leah has even more riding on this night than I do. If we win the prize money tonight, Leah's sister Andi will be able to move in with her permanently. I would really love this because I have come to love that wild teen almost as much as Leah. That is not surprising to me since Andi is a part of Leah. All of those thoughts in my head would drive me crazy if Leah weren't holding my hand now.
The main drawback to going to this fancy party is that I will be meeting the people that I used to work with. I am not looking forward to meeting Martin again because of what he did to make me quit my former job. He wanted to make me go out on dates and torture them just so I would have click bait. I couldn't handle that so I pushed Martin into a chocolate fountain. There is the snarky TJ who propositioned me every chance that he got. It made my skin crawl every time he hit on me. There were times when I was tempted to punch him in the nose.
The main reason that I am dreading the Blackbourne Gala is that I am not looking forward to meeting Leah's ex Camilla again. That bratty oriental somehow twisted my poor Leah around her finger when they were going out. There was a time when Leah wanted to break up with Camilla, but they wound up going on an exotic trip instead because of Camilla's manipulative actions. I know that shrew has a passionate dislike towards me since I am dating Leah now. It is perfectly fine if Camilla doesn't like me since I am not too crazy about her either. She had her chance and I am going to give Leah everything that Camilla wouldn't give her. Just the thought of that shrew is enough to tense up the grip I have on my girlfriend's hand enough for her to feel it.
"Are you okay?" Leah asked with a look of concern on her face.
"Yeah, I guess... I don't know..." I grumbled.
"Do you want to try again?" Leah admonished while giving me a stern look."You do know how much I value honesty."
"I have never been so keyed up before. If someone tapped my shoulder, I would probably fly to the moon."
"I feel the same way, but you shouldn't forget about the wonderful support system that we have no matter what happens," Leah consoled me while glancing at a spot behind me.
I looked behind me and caught a glimpse of all of our friends who were here to support us. They were all wearing their best clothes. I was kind of surprised to see Sereena dolled up in a pretty black dress since she hardly ever dressed up. I wonder if she put on a dress just for the occasion or if she did it to impress her long haired girlfriend who was latched on her right arm. The only one of our friends who stood out was Horatio who was wearing his beanie hat. I think that he would rather die than take it off. You have got to love that beatnik. I can even see newcomers Keo and Andi in the group. My posse just keeps on growing and it pleases me very much.
"Ready to go inside?" Leah wondered while wearing a peach chiffon dress.
"Sure," I gave in while Leah gave me a kiss on the cheek for encouragement.
I took a glance at my purple dress studded with sequins to steady myself as my date leads me into the fancy banquet hall. The place is well lit by a chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling and by all of the fixtures on the walls. There are several rectangular tables covered by white table cloths. Each table has eight chairs around it. Leah leads me to the table reserved for our company where our food experts Felix and Isabel are already seated. Felix is wearing a sharp black tux and Isabel is wearing a stunning blue dress.
"So, I hear you two are an item now," Isabel commented.
"I also hear that there was a lot of competition for your heart, Sadie," Felix added.
"It took me a while, but I finally realized that Leah was the only one that I had any real feelings for," I explained.
"Well, I'm happy..." Isabel started to compliment us.
I looked around for the reason that Isabel stopped talking so suddenly and it did not take me long to find it. The ClickIt gang were approaching us with Martin in the lead. I couldn't help but notice that Camilla was trailing the pack and she had her eyes fixated on me. Her smile might have conveyed happiness, but I was not fooled. Her eyes seemed to shoot lasers towards me. I knew that if looks could kill, I would be dead. It is no wonder that a frigid wind has passed over me even though I am attending the fancy Blackbourne Gala. It is surprising to me that I am feeling a chill since I am attending the most fancy and regal party of my life. I am sure that a banquet hall as rich as this has an adequate heating system. The real source of my chill is actually coming from one of the people standing in front of me. I am not worried about Martin even though I have had a dislike for him ever since he announced that he had plans to ruin the quality of my blog writing at his yacht party. I am not TJ even though he was a complete sleazeball to me all through my tenure at ClickIt. He thinks that he is God's gift to women, but he is actually nothing but a pathetic little troll and is not worth me worrying about.
There could only be one reason for the chill in the air and that is Camilla. She is the one who dated my girlfriend Leah before me and made her life absolutely miserable. The only reason that she is here at all is because Martin hired her shortly after Leah and I quit just to mess with Leah's mind. She is pretending not to be interested in anything in particular, but I can tell that she is looking at me out of the corner of her eye. She is playing a mind game with me, but it is not going to work. I am not going to let that shrew know that she is having an effect on me.
"Sadie!" Martin barked.
"Huh?" I squeaked as if I was waking up from a dream.
"I have been trying to talk to you, but you seem to be someplace else," Martin complained.
"Sorry, I must be experiencing a case of nerves," I apologized.
It looks like that I have lost Camilla's mind game and that is quite obvious because of the grin that has appeared on her face. Now I have an idea as to why Leah was trapped in her web for so long. Whether or not you like Camilla, you can't help but notice her when she enters a room. I might have lost the mind game, but I will not lose the game that matters. Camilla will know that Leah is mine by the time this night is over.
"What did you want, Martin?" I asked.
"I wanted to know if you were enjoying yourself at this fine party," Martin clarified.
"Yes, MY GIRLFRIEND and I are having a lot of fun," I responded while taking Leah's hand in a way that would perfectly tell Camilla what the score was.
"It is a shame that a pretty woman like you had to become a lesbos," TJ ranted. "I could have shown you a few things."
"I owe you five dollars, Leah," I sighed.
"Yes, you do," Leah laughed while grinning at me.
"What's going on?" Martin had to know.
"I unfortunately bet Leah that TJ could restrain himself from doing something stupid at a fancy party like this," I explained. "I apologize for underestimating you, TJ."
"Yeah, you'd better apologize," TJ sneered just before realizing that something was going on that he did not understand. "Wait... What?"
I could not help but throw my head back and let out a loud joyful laugh because of what the idiot did. I could tell that the idiot was steamed because of my reaction.
"Oh, so you think that I am funny?" TJ growled while taking a menacing step towards me as if he wanted to start something with me. I of course had a contingency plan set up for this possibility.
"Before you do something stupid, there is something that you might want to know," I warned the idiot.
"What?" the idiot demanded.
"Do you see that table over there?" I questioned while pointing at the table where all of my friends were sitting and watching me.
"What about it?" the idiot snorted.
"Those are all my friends or my posse if you will," I explained. "They look out for me. If I so much as tug on my right ear, they will all come over and bury you. The newest arrival to my posse is this huge firefighter who could pound you into mush all by himself. If we all act professionally, then we can enjoy this party. If anyone gets the idea to do something stupid, that person should realize that my crew is bigger than your crew."
"This isn't worth my time!" TJ whined while storming off.
"Well played, Sadie," Camilla complimented me.
"Thank you," I acknowledged in such a way so that she knew what I that thought of her compliment.
"Good luck," Martin spoke while extending his right hand.
"Good luck to you too," I replied while shaking my old employer's hand.
"I am surprised that you are being so polite, Sadie," Martin commented.
"Even though I don't like you, I am still grateful that you gave me my start in this business," I reasoned.
I breathed easier when my annoyances left to go a table on the other side of the room. I looked at my wristwatch that I wore on my left wrist and saw that I had a few minutes before they announced who would win the award that we were nominated for. I decided that I needed a drink.
"I think that you handled that rather well," Leah complimented me while kissing my cheek. "You have some nerves in you."
"I'm going to go for a walk," I let out while starting my walk towards the bar.
"Don't go too far," Isabel warned.
"We can't have one of our founders wind up missing in case we win the award," Felix added.
"You got it," I agreed while wandering off.
I was made it to the bar on the other end of the room, but I did not order a drink. My destiny was changed when someone tapped my left shoulder. I turned around to see Leah's little sister Andi. She looked so cute in her blue formal dress and her black hair hanging down her face.
"You look nice, Andi," I commented.
"It's only because you bought that makeover for me," Andi answered with a smile on her face. "Thanks."
"Anytime," I accepted.
"I want you to know that I am so happy that you are going out with Leah," Andi gushed while hugging me. "You have made her so happy. I feel like we are a family."
"I feel that way too," I cried out while rubbing Andi's back.
I realized that I did not need a drink because of Andi's treatment so went back with Leah to await our fate. I was on pins and needles until the ceremony started. Fortunately I didn't have long to wait because the award we up for was first. I definitely recognized the presenter since he was one of the men that I dated for my only ClickIt article. He may have been rich was he was way too snobby for my taste. He said that he was going to give a speech, but he elected not to because he was in a hurry to get to a date. He opened the envelope and started to read it which caused me to go into tunnel vision.
"And the winner for most innovative blog is... CHICK CLICKS!"
I don't believe it! We won! My dreams have all come true now. I grabbed Leah in a hard hug and we both headed for the stage. I briefly look at the table where all of my friends were seated and see them all going nuts. The presenter handed Leah a check for $250,000 and a trophy. He then handed me the microphone to make the first speech.
"I would most of all like to thank my business partner and the light of my life Leah. I would like to thank all of my friends who have always supported me through good times and bad. I would like to thank Blaire Hall who gave us the seed money to get us started."
I finished speaking and passed the microphone to my girlfriend.
"I would like to thank my sister who I have worked so hard for. I would like to thank Sadie because this company started because of a woman who would not compromise her ideals. Lastly, I would like to thank Felix and Isabel who write our food articles. We would not be up here if it weren't for you so you should be up here with us. Would you two get up here so they can take our picture."
Our other two coworkers joined us after much prodding from us. When our picture was taken with me standing next to Leah, I had the biggest smile of my life. When it was all over we all went to join my friends for one big party. I guess immense happiness makes a person very thirsty so I stopped at the bar for some champagne. I only got to drink half of it because I saw Camilla talking to my Leah as soon as I turned around. I left my glass at the bar and went into shark mode.
Andi's POV
I can't believe it Chick Clicks won the Blackbourne Award. Now my sister and guardian Leah will have enough money to take care of me. It has been a long time since I have been so happy. My family is whole again and I have mainly Sadie Hawkins to thank for it. She has given my sister all of the love that she can handle and made her so happy. I wish that I could find some way to repay Sadie, but I know that it is impossible.
I look at all of our friends and I get sucked in by everyone's level of elation. Now it is truly a party. I am looking at Horatio most of all since I think that I think he is cute. Maybe it is his beanie hat. I would never do anything about it since he has a girlfriend who just happens to be sitting right next to him. I know that my crush is silly anyway. I was just about to say something to the hunk when I felt a chill in the air. I turned my head to see that skunk Camilla making a pass at Leah. I am so outraged! Leah is Sadie's girlfriend! I was just about to put a stop to the ugly scene when Horatio put his hand on my right arm to stop me.
"Why did you stop me?" I demanded.
"If you look behind Camilla, you will see that the problem will be over long before you get over there," Horatio explained.
I looked at the the spot that Horatio indicated and I leaned back in my chair with an evil smirk on my face. I watched a killer shark quickly approach Camilla with much glee. This going to be interesting.
"Camilla, is your life insurance paid up?" Brooke asked the shrew.
"Why in the world would you ask that question?" Camilla insisted.
"No reason!" Brooke chortled.
Sadie's POV
I was glad that Camilla had her back to me so I could surprise her. I did not hear all that was said but it ended with Camilla saying that Leah should work with her instead of me. I couldn't handle it so I harshly tapped my enemy on her right shoulder to get her to turn around and face me.
"WHAT IN THE H-E-DOUBLE HOCKEY STICKS DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" I shrieked with my face contorted with anger.
"I... uh..." Camilla squeaked like a pathetic mouse.
"It looked to me like you were hitting on my girlfriend!" I interrupted.
"Oh, oh," Cole interjected.
"You don't deserve someone as beautiful and kind as Leah!" I ranted.
"You tell her, Sadie!" Andi cheered.
"You had your chance and you blew it!" I continued. "Kindly bug off and never bother Leah or myself again!"
I stared into the queen jerk's eyes to drive home my point. I was not going to give her the satisfaction of blinking. The louse quickly turned around and headed for the door with her tail between her legs. It was only then that I let out my breath to let my anger go. Leah rewarded me for chasing Camilla away with one of her best hugs.