Page 39 of As the World Falls

I wasn’t much of a partier, and Tobias and the wordpartyin the same sentence was a big red flag, but he assured me it was a more elegant work-related party. At first, I wanted to say no. Hell no, in fact. I didn’t want to chance running into James so soon after our altercation yesterday. But I knew I had more investigating to do. I wanted to lurk deeper into the secrets he keeps hidden inside his world. I want to overtake the king, so to speak. This party was simply just another chance to try and get some more information.

I was surprised that Tobias invited me in the first place. That notion in itself had me second-guessing everything once again. Was I being crazy? Could I actually be taking things too far, and he is just trying to prove that everything is okay? My gut told me no, even if my heart wanted to convince me otherwise.

Even worse, I had to pretend I wasn’t already in the city and act as if I rode the train this afternoon and booked this hotel for tonight when it’s been the one I’ve been staying in for over a week.

So here I was, standing on the curb at the last minute, dressed in the fanciest dress I could find in my price range. It was a dark blue velvet dress with short puffer sleeves that reached the middle of my shins. It had a lighter blue velvet floral design over the entirety of it, and I paired a light blue pair of heels with it to match. I had the top half of my hair pulled back to accentuate the pretty, sweetheart neckline of the dress.

Tobias pulls up to the curb in front of me, and I smile, opening the door and sitting inside. He looks over me, his eyes shooting up appreciatively.

“You clean up nice, sis.”

I take in his light beige suit, which makes his dark eyes pop. “You do, too.”

“Here,” he says, opening the center compartment and pulling out a large flat box. “Put these on.”

My brows draw together as I take the box from him and open it, a gasp catching in my throat. A diamond necklace and matching earrings sparkle back at me, and they’re so shiny and clearly expensive looking, so I slam the box shut, tossing it back into his lap.

“No thanks.”

“Lia,” he grumbles, aggressively setting it back in my lap. “This is a work event. I’m bringing you as my date, and I can’t have you show up without wearing a couple of pieces from Labyrinth.”

I clutch my teddy necklace at my neck. “What’s wrong with what I already have on?”

“It’s not Labyrinth.”

“That’s what makes it so nice,” I coo, patting the charm.

He sighs. “Please, Lia. I’m trying to let you in a little here.”

I frown, looking down at the box again. “I don’t even have my ears pierced.”

“They’re clip-ons. I figured you still never bothered to pierce your ears.”

I look at him, giving him a defeated smile. “Fine, but what about my necklace?”

He pulls a small key from the inside pocket of his suit jacket and leans over me, unlocking the glovebox. “Just put it in here. I’ll lock it up, and you can get it later.” I shoot him a skeptical look. “It will be fine. I will have the key on me all night. No one will be able to get in here, and even if they did, I doubt they’ll want your necklace.”

“Hey,” I gripe as I reach my hands behind my neck and unclip the necklace. “It’s a nice necklace. Anyone should feel so lucky to have it.”

“Right,” he mumbles after I place it inside. He shuts it, locking it and slipping the key back into his pocket. “Now put those on,” he demands, glancing at the jewelry box. It goes with your outfit, too, so it works out.”

I open the box back up, looking back down at the necklace. It is a small row of diamond flowers with teardrop leaves and matching teardrop earrings that look like a vine of leaves with a flower hanging at the bottom. It was a part of their last summer collection they launched a month ago that they were celebrating the success of tonight before they started work on the winter collection. It was pretty and dainty. It's not something I would expect to come from any of Labyrinth’s collections. I put it on and try to ignore the glamorous way I feel as I look in the car visor mirror, seeing the diamonds glisten back at me and making me look ten times more sophisticated.

When we arrived at the party hall, I was surprised by how intimate the gathering was. I expected a massive event full ofbigwigs like Investors, local businesses, and city politicians. I anticipated that James wanted to show off his business and launch by showing off to everyone and reigning in money wherever he could. But it was small. It was a decent turnout, around two hundred people, but…small. Not the gala I was expecting.

I fist Tobias’s jacket in my hand, keeping ahold of him as he leads us through the crowds of people. There was nothing but activity swirling around us. Servers walking around everyone, serving trays of fancy finger foods and flutes of champagne. People dressed in fancy attire as they talked and laughed with each other. Fancy round tables adorned in beautiful linens and centerpieces with people enjoying meals. There was even a full bar in the back of the room with even more lively characters enjoying themselves and a small stage where soft live music played, keeping the atmosphere alive and flowing.

“This is so nice,” I rave, looking everywhere.

“Just one of the many perks of working for Labyrinth. You can always come to events like this with me,” Tobias boasts.

“I don’t think I could always handle this level of elegance.”

“If I can, then you definitely can. This is a new era, Lia.” He looks down at me with pride, and I feel it all the way into my bones. He was proud of himself, and I couldn’t help but be proud of him too. But the feeling quickly faded to guilt because I was here with ulterior motives, and he had no clue.

“Who’s all here?” I ask, changing the subject.

“Just everyone that works at the headquarters and friends and family. James prefers launch events to be more intimate.”

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