The car parks, and Troy offers to take my hand. Does he want to walk me into the party? What is he trying to do with all these charades?

Does he want to use me to make his ex-girlfriend jealous? Considering his age, she is probably his ex-wife.

I let the thought slide and walked with him into the hall. Whatever Troy has planned for tonight, I know it will be over.

Troy stops midway and brings out a golden mask for me. “It isn’t called a masked party for nothing.”

He smiles as I motion to take it from him, but he holds me back, moving behind me to tie the mask around my eyes.

His cold hand touches my neck as he straps on the mask. I find it hard to breathe for a few seconds.

When he is finally finished, I can take in all the air I need. Troy's eyes rest on mine.

He takes a minute before he diverts his eyes. "I think you look amazing today," he says. That's it? He thinks I look amazing. I decide to take it as a compliment rather than the other way out.

My forty-five-year-old boss may need to be more modern in complimenting women.

It makes me curious about his past or present love life - if there was or is any. If he ever had a woman in his life, I wonder if this is how he complimented their looks.

“I have to be somewhere,” Troy says as he disappears into the crowd.

I am alone now; everyone is masked up, and you hardly know who is who until you get closer to them.

Now, I hope to see Amelia in the crowd. I have no problem recognizing her; I will know Amelia even if she is fully masked.

The party is truly a big one. The men wear the kind of tuxedos that would take months of my salary, and the women stroll graciously about.

I stand in the corner of the hall, picking a cup of champagne from a waiter's tray.

I can't recognize anyone except for Troy and his look-alike brother.

The rest of the guests are probably the most influential people in all of Richmond.

"Camile!" I hear a high-pitched voice behind me. I know instantly that this is Amelia, the beauty of the masked party.

You know people when they speak, but Amelia knew it was me from my back view.

“Amelia!” I cry and hug her tightly, like I have been expecting to see her. She pulls off away the hug and tells me I look amazing.

Amelia looks wonderful too. She wears a white silk dress that brings out her curves. She has a few golden hairpins on her neatly packed ponytail, and she holds a golden purse that compliments her stilettoes.

Someone walks up to us: a blonde man in a suede tuxedo. I thought he was here for Amelia, but he can't get his eyes off me.

"Mother nature brings the best of her gifts," he says, referring to my green dress.

“I wonder what the god of masculinity has for me behind that mask,” I reply to his compliment.

He smiles before nodding in Amelia’s direction.Does he know Amelia?I wonder. Who is this behind the mask?

Amelia clears her throat to get our attention. "I think I will go find Henry." Amelia takes a raincheck, leaving me with this stranger.

“I am perturbed at the mask concept,” he says, stopping a waiter and taking a cup of wine from his tray.

"Why is that?" I ask, locking my eyes on his light-green orbs.

He takes a sip from the wine in his hand, leaning closer to speak into my ear. “Because the mask is hindering my eyes from seeing the beauty before me.”

I blush. This man right here has a charm I can't quite resist. Do rich, famous, and influential people have irresistible charms like this? But I remember I have a boss who has brought me here - someone who finds it difficult to compliment a woman.