Chapter Thirty-Eight Ella
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ella
Zola, Katy and I held hands anxiously as we headed up the iconic Met steps in complete silence.
I knew the stalker’s message had affected us all, despite our best attempts at a pep talk.
The Met had put down a red carpet and hired security, while photographers lined the staircase, snapping away as we headed into the building and made our way towards the courtyard.
Violin music played elegantly as we entered, and I turned to my friends to watch their reactions as we stepped into the courtyard.
It had been transformed. The night sky made the glass roof even more beautiful, and the small pools of water rippled with the sound of laughter and music.
‘Wow,’ Katy gasped.
‘You seriously outdid yourself, girl,’ Zola said, hugging me tightly.
‘It’s amazing,’ I agreed, my eyes skimming the crowd until I spotted Jimmy in his tux, entertaining guests. ‘You two good?’ I asked, wanting to see Jimmy and show off my new dress.
Katy looked nervous, but Zola rolled her eyes and put a hand on Katy’s back. ‘She’ll be fine. Go mingle with your man!’
I smiled at my friends, then darted across the floor, weaving between the tall pop-up cocktail tables intertwined with elegant statues until I found Jimmy. I tapped him lightly on the shoulder as he was mid-sentence, and he turned.
‘Wow, Ella!’ He kissed my cheek, then stood back to take me in. ‘You look sensational.’
I grinned, watching his eyes dart up and down my body like he couldn’t wait to undress me.
‘So do you, Mr Link.’ I leaned forward and kissed his cheek, smelling his deep Tom Ford cologne that immediately caused my clit to double in size.
‘Uh-hum.’ One of the gentlemen Jimmy was standing with cleared his throat and side-eyed the pair of us.
Jimmy laughed, and I felt his warm hand touch my lower back.
‘Lucas, this is Ella. She’s one of the creators of Stars and Swipes, and she’s the person who has arranged this whole evening, in fact. Ella, this is Lucas, one of our biggest investors at the company.’
‘It’s so nice to meet you, Lucas.’
I held out my hand to shake his. He was a plump man in his sixties with a grey beard and expensively cut suit. He held my hand and kissed it firmly, taking a second to pause as it touched his lips.
‘Welcome to the city that never sleeps,’ he said.
I felt my creepy radar hit one hundred, so I pulled my hand away as politely as possible and rested it on Jimmy’s.
‘I must say, this venue, this evening, it’s quite the thing,’ Lucas said.
I smiled, knowing he was probably paying for most of it.
‘This app deserves a big bash. It’s a belter.’ I grinned, feeling Jimmy’s hand gently rub my back again.
Lucas and Jimmy exchanged a few more words before the older man drifted away to another cluster of people. We stood gazing around the room, watching as guests socialised and the champagne flowed.
‘This is perfect. You are perfect.’ Jimmy kissed my cheek again.
‘Thank you,’ I said, looking into his eyes.
‘Ella!’ Fee’s high-pitched voice echoed through the room, as she came charging towards me. ‘OK, you have killed this. This party is insane!’
‘And?’ Jimmy prompted.
She took hold of my hands. ‘And I’m sorry I doubted you. I just . . .’ She shrugged. ‘I was nervous that you’d pull it off, but this is absolutely incredible.’
‘Thank you!’ I laughed, knowing I had smashed it out of the park. ‘I’d have been nervous too if I were you. But I always keep my promises and we all know that this app deserves the very best parties!’
Travis strolled up to join us, and I managed a fleeting smile towards him.
‘The media are heading in just now,’ he said.
I scanned my eyes across the venue, watching Katy and Zola chat with Ethan. ‘I’m gonna go get the girls. We’ll do our first speech in a few minutes.’ I squeezed Jimmy’s hand and walked across the floor towards my friends.
‘Hey.’ I smiled at them as they laughed with Ethan.
‘Party looks cool,’ Ethan said.
Zola grinned. ‘You hate parties!’ she teased him, then she and Ethan laughed together. She’d actually made Ethan laugh. I noticed a twinkle in her eye that I hadn’t seen in a long time. Was she flirting with the techiest tech dude ever? I wondered.
‘He hates socialising but can obviously spot a well-run event, right?’ Katy chimed in.
‘Exactly,’ Ethan said stiffly. ‘If I weren’t on the board, I wouldn’t be here, put it that way.’
I turned to Zola, and our faces both wore the same expression. ‘I didn’t know you were on the board!’
‘Me neither!’ Zola said, sounding more shocked, as if it were something he should have brought up.
Ethan nodded. ‘Yeah. Department heads all get a seat. It’s pretty boring, honestly.’
‘So, wait. Is Britney on it too?’ I asked, scanning the room again. I hadn’t seen that traitorous bitch yet.
Ethan sipped his champagne. ‘Britney, Fee, Travis, Jimmy, me, and a few finance guys too.’
I wondered if he knew about the company’s financial troubles. Surely he had to, if he was on the board . . .
‘I only attend the meetings when it’s absolutely compulsory,’ he said. ‘You know how those situations make me feel,’ he said, turning to Zola.
I felt a tight grip on my arm, as Katy gasped loudly. ‘Ella, isn’t that . . . the guy . . . the weird Texas guy from . . .’ She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘From that crazy speed dating.’
I swivelled my head and immediately recognised the cream suit. My eyes dropped – Jesus, that extra-large bulge was impossible to forget. I felt my chest tighten and my face flush.
‘Fuck, that’s Leo!’ I gasped the words so loudly that my exclamation drew stares from the guests nearby.
‘Yeah, Leo’s a major investor in the city,’ Ethan said. ‘How do you know him?’
The three of us – Katy, Zola and I – shared an awkward glance and, acting in silent agreement, each chugged down another glass of champagne. We stood watching Leo swagger around like John Wayne at the party. What a small fucking world, I thought.
A moment later, I felt a light tap on the shoulder.
‘The mics are set up for you all.’ Brooke smiled, edging us towards the front.
‘Great.’ I nodded, looking at Katy and Zola. ‘You ready for this?’ I asked, suddenly feeling a ball of nerves fly around my stomach.
‘Of course!’ Zola added. ‘C’mon, we’ve worked so hard on this. Own the moment, ladies.’
‘OK, let’s go.’ I led my friends towards the front of the stage. ‘We need to speak slowly, remember?’
Zola laughed. ‘You’re the one with the accent, babe. I got this.’
The three of us stood centre stage overlooking the courtyard packed full of investors, press and influencers, who all seemed to have their cameras at the ready.
We waited until the music naturally ended to begin. I could see Jimmy front and centre, beaming up at me encouragingly, alongside Fee and Travis.
Zola lifted her mic and, as confident as ever, she began.
‘Welcome, everyone, to the pre-launch party of the world’s latest way of dating. My name is Zola and joining me on stage this evening are my two best friends and colleagues, Katy and Ella. Tonight we are going to introduce you all to our innovative and unique new dating app – Stars and Swipes.’
A polite round of applause filled the space, and I felt myself grin widely. I couldn’t believe we had actually pulled this app off in such a short space of time. I stepped forward to continue my part of the introduction speech.
‘I’m sure many of us in the room have had the unfortunate experience of using dating apps, which come with so many obstacles.
Does the person you’re meeting look like their photographs?
Is this stranger safe to spend time with?
Does anything they say on their profile have even a passing acquaintance with the truth?
The problem is – we simply don’t know. It’s all down to chance.
It can be downright scary to open yourself up to the possibilities of heartbreak without all of these unknowns muddying the waters even further.
’ I paused for a second, glancing down at Jimmy, who was nodding after every word I said.
‘But what if we could have a way of answering our most important questions up front? Stars and Swipes is a brand-new app built on an AI tool that enables users to research each date before meeting them in person and, what’s more, to access crucial feedback on the past experiences of others.
With this app, we’ve formulated a safe way to date, opt out of time-wasters and avoid dangerous individuals. ’
Katy stepped up beside me for her part. ‘Not only does Stars and Swipes expose the untrustworthy men and women of the dating scene, it also offers users far more information than the generic dating apps out there. We’ve done our research, extensive research, and included the vital data points that are important to all Americans, like religion, goals, political affiliation, right down to favourite basketball team – or whatever sport you guys like to watch.
’ A few bursts of genuine laughter filled the space, and Katy’s face lit up.
I watched Travis grin as she spoke. ‘If you would all take out your phones and scan the QR codes set out on each table, we’d love to give you a demo on how easy and accessible Stars and Swipes really is. ’
People began rustling in their pockets and handbags, pulling out their smartphones.
‘Smashing it,’ Zola muttered under her breath, noticing how engaged and receptive the audience was.
I nodded happily, agreeing with her and giving Katy a nudge of encouragement too.
Suddenly, a swarm of message notifications fell over the phones in the room.
A cacophony of beeping and vibrating filled the packed space.
I watched guests nudge one another, pointing and tipping their heads in our direction.
Some gasping, some giggling. I looked at Jimmy as he glanced around, attempting to shush the rapidly rising noise level.