expensive gambles

0.02

ACT I : SCENE II - "a very costly dinner"

- VALERIA sighed softly as her makeup-artist worked on her lips, applying a rosey-nude to highlight her skin tone and accentuating her natural cupid's bow with a light shade of pink. Her hands busied themselves with the rings she had been adorned with, like playing dress-up with a doll.

She was dressed in a floor-length, satin-white dress with a square neck and spaghetti straps; her right leg was displayed by a slit that began mid-thigh and ended as the dress did. Feeling unnaturally uncomfortable, Valeria tried to ignore Alisa's constant gaze and unending rambling, but failed due to her piercing eyes.

The Rockefellers, Astors, DuPonts, and Hawthornes had been invited to an important dinner party shortly after Tobias Hawthorne's death. It was said to be in honor of his life rather than his passing, but Valeria knew it was just another opportunity to get the press involved and make the poorly family seem more interesting than they actually are.

She hadn't wished to attend, but after Alisa's nagging and Alexander's taunting (he claimed Valeria was too depressed to move and would resort to excessive eating), she decided it wouldn't kill her to go through the hours of hair, outfit and makeup for a night.

Her dark, brunette hair was curled at the ends and pinned into a half-up-half-down style, showing off her blonde highlights and displaying a clear image of her face. A soft ivory blended into the crease of her eyes, and a wing (of a darker shade) extended half an inch upwards. Her lashes were long and seemed to flutter whenever she blinked, and a line of white was drawn on her lower lash line.

Valeria found it stupid; all of this — the makeup, hair, outfit — went against everything she knew the old man admired. Aside from being, well, old and most definitely a fan of playing dress-up, she knew he hated those who pretended to be someone they were not.

"Val! Jamie's at the door for you!" Alisa Ortega's voice broke her from her distraction, drawing her attention to the mirror where she could see Alisa's head poke in from the edge of it. "Should I let him in or do you wanna surprise them all with your final look?"

It wasn't until Valeria looked at herself that she realized her crew had already left. The face that returned her gaze looked odd - like herself, but pinker and with features more defined than natural. Her eyes appeared to be bigger, her lips thicker, and her nose looked smaller. It never failed to surprise her how much someone could change with just some simple adjustments to their appearance.

With a long sigh and a quick and small (fake, too) smile, she responded: "You can let him in."

Alisa nodded quickly and grinned, fully opening the door and allowing Jameson Hawthorne to enter through the large entrance. Valeria glanced at herself in the mirror once more before she stood, taller than usual due to the two-inch heels she wore.

She could feel Jameson's eyes on her even before she gazed at him, and with a "click" sound, the door behind them was locked. A low snicker escaped past her lips as she slowly turned to face the Hawthorne grandson.

"What's so funny, Rockefeller?" he taunted, his nude lips turning up slightly into a cocky smirk. He trailed closer to her, his steps confident yet teasingly slow. "Something you found humor in?"

This time, a chuckle left her throat. She covered her lips with her gentle hand, every other finger decorated with a few simple rings.

"Nothing, Hawthorne. Why are you here? Actually, why aren't you dressed?" she mused, her brows furrowing closer together as Jameson stopped just before her feet. A foot or two was between them, and Valeria knew exactly why.