“Let’s get a drink,” Katherine suggested and Ben smiled, leading the way to the bar.
“You are by far the most beautiful woman here. But I knew you would be,” Ben whispered in her ear as they walked through the party.
Women were dressed by the finest designers, in heels so high they defied gravity. The men all seemed stuffed into the same box—wearing different variations of the black suit. Men like Ben stood out for their extraordinary handsome stature, but for the most part, all attention was split among the women of the room.
Katherine was the show stopper, drawing more attention than Ben was used to. She was oblivious to the attention, though. He could tell by the way she flirted with him as if no one was watching. How could she not know how important he was to the room of people? To her he was just a man she enjoyed spending time with, and that meant more to Ben than all the prestige his lifestyle afforded him.
“Let’s go find our table,” Ben said, after receiving their drink order from the bartender. They had each ordered a Manhattan, and started sipping the liquor as they made their way into the larger dining area.
Covered in white fabric, the room was filled with round tables draped in white tablecloths. White roses decorated the walls and centerpieces of every table. Will could transform a space and make it a stunning dining hall in a way that few others could.
“This is beautiful,” Katherine gasped, as we entered the dining area. “I just can’t believe I'm here. Not to mention that I’m on your arm,” she shook her head in disbelief, and Ben pulled her in close, smiling at her modesty. Katherine had no idea that she was the star of the night and it tickled Ben to no avail.
“Mr. O’Leary, you’re over here,” a young brunette pointed to a table where Ben saw Rachel and Will chatting away.
Although they were only a few feet away, neither of Ben’s good friends took notice of him, lost instead in their own conversation. He smiled watching them, knowing how much each of his friends deserved someone special.
With Katherine on his arm, it felt like everyone had gotten the partner they needed, and Ben led Katherine to the table, excited to introduce her to his friends. When they arrived, Rachel finally looked up, jumping to her feet as she rushed to meet Katherine.
“I cannot tell you how excited I am to meet you. I have been pestering Ben all day to make sure you were coming,” Rachel admitted with blushed cheeks. She was so e
xcited to finally see Katherine, the woman she had heard so much about from Been, who so rarely talked about his life.
She knew how important Katherine must have been to not only occupy his time, but now be introduced to the people who meant most to his professional life, which to date anyway, had been pretty much his life.
Rachel treated Katherine like she was just as special as her boss made her out to be, and the two were fast friends, deciding to sit beside each other at dinner, with Ben on the other side of Katherine.
“We’ll be serving dinner soon,” a woman announced, before moving to the next table to deliver the same message. Glancing around the room, Ben could see that the crowd was moving in from the cocktail hour, settling in to see how good of a ticket their donation had bought them.
His table sat in the middle of the floor, because although he would never allow it to be announced, Ben was always the top donor to every charity event Will hosted. He believed in supporting his friends and reinvesting into the communities where he lived and did business.
“Would you like the steak or the lobster?” A woman asked, and Ben and Katherine quickly ordered.
“Steak or lobster?” She repeated back to him before adding, “That’s fancy!”
Ben laughed, shaking his head at her act. He knew Katherine was the type who had been raised around money. She had too much class and poise, but enjoyed pretending to be new to everything, so he played along.
“Which did you get?” he asked.
“Lobster,” she answered, batting her eyes as he searched her face.
“You are so beautiful,” he repeated the compliment that rolled off his tongue so freely around her. It was the only time he’d ever used those words to describe a woman, but with Katherine it just felt fitting.
“You're making me blush, Mr. O’Leary,” she teased.
“Don’t call me that,” Ben whispered into her ear, before tugging at her ear lobe with his front teeth.
She must have noticed everyone greeting him so formally. It was normal for dinner events to remain quite formal, especially from people hoping to pitch him ideas as the night went on. These types of events were known as the perfect place to meet an angel investor or silent partner.
But Ben wasn’t interested in hearing about any new businesses or making any more money. All he wanted was to watch Katherine enjoy her night. She was his only concern, and his heart smiled looking down to see her and Rachel chit chatting. Rachel was his oldest and dearest friend, so her connecting with Katherine meant a lot to him.
Dinner arrived just as Will made his way to the stage, introducing himself and thanking everyone before announcing that dinner would be beginning soon.
As everyone made their way to their seats, Will gave the audience a description of the night’s events. After dinner they would be entertained by a violinist, and meet with a young woman running for a seat on the local council. There was a full list of events, and Ben sighed thinking how long it would be before he got to be alone with Katherine.
She was now his measure for time. Before committing to any plans, he needed to calculate how long it would take him away from Katherine and decide whether it was worth it. As much as he loved watching her experience something as close to him as charity donations, Ben was ready to return to his house and throw away the key.
When the waitresses arrived with the dinner dishes, he remembered how Will kept everyone engaged with spectacular dishes and insightful entertainment. Before long the tuxedo wearing servers were picking up their empty plates and bringing out the next course of dessert followed by a cheese platter.