Golden Boy

T H I R T E E N

Oliver sat on an elevated platform surrounded by women and bottles of champagne. He looked normal enough and non-threatening to the untrained eye. I could tell he had money from the designer clothes he wore and because he wasn't attractive enough to have that many women flocked around him. He seemed like an easy enough target.

Jace pulled me into the corridor where the bathrooms were, passing me a pinkie sized vial with a stopper on it. "All you have to do is get close enough to drop this in his drink. He's super paranoid but only trusts women because he normally doesn't see them as a threat. Don't let him touch you or get too close. Bev is at the bar, and I'll be on the dance floor if you need us. Once you dump the vial into his drink and he takes a sip, send us an air kiss as your signal. If, for any reason, he suspects you of anything, run. He's not fast, so he won't catch up. Take this just in case." He passed me a small black tube of pepper spray that I graciously accepted and tucked into my jean pocket.

"What do I gain from this?"

"My trust and respect."

"I don't know if I want that."

"Just go," he said, throwing me back into the crowd of people dancing. I turned around to glare at him, but he smiled and gave me a thumbs up.

Fuck Jace Mason.

I slowly moved into the crowd, trying to develop the best plan of action to get myself into Oliver's close circle. I moved into his line of sight, attempting to grab his attention. His eyes found mine, and I tried my best not to look away. I wasn't used to embracing my femininity to get things out of men, so this was a very new experience.

He eyed me hungrily and I sent him a smile before ducking behind a group of loud guys, mostly because my nerves were catching up to me, but also because I watched enough movies to know that guys liked chasing after girls. The harder it was to get what they wanted, the more they desired it. I planned on riding that train as long as I could. From behind the group of guys, I could see him actively searching the crowd for me. I counted down from 30 and then reappeared in his line of sight, but I made sure to ignore him this time. I stood by a group of girls and started a conversation with a red-haired girl outside of the circle. She seemed pretty drunk, but I tried my best to understand her over the loud music.

A couple of minutes later, a waitress came over with a dry martini on a plate that she offered to me, pointing to Oliver as the sender. I thanked her and pretended to sip on the drink as I made my way over to Oliver's table. He stood up to greet me, kissing both of my cheeks. I thanked him for the drink and he offered me a seat next to him, pushing over the current blonde girl who sat there.

I tried my best to hide the fact that I was extremely nervous. I tried to convince myself that Oliver was harmless and that this wasn't going to end badly.

"What's your name?"

"Holly," I lied through a smile to seem less suspicious.

"That's a pretty name for a pretty girl." I giggled and thanked him. He shifted closer to me, throwing an arm around my shoulder. I stopped myself from flinching away and leaned into him. His drink was in his hand on his lap. It was a wide-rimmed glass filled with dark liquor.

I quickly came up with a plan to slyly drop the contents of the vial into his drink. I held the martini glass in my left hand and the vial in my right, making sure to keep it hidden as I took off the stopper.

He leaned in to whisper something in my left ear, and I took that opportunity to shift my body into him and angle my right hand over his drink. I looked to make sure I hit the target and pulled back from him after I was done. I laughed at the lame joke he just made and suggested we cheer our glasses. I took a long sip from mine, watching him do the same over the rim. I smiled after he had thrown back enough of the drink.