Normal and regular kind of individual will always tag a night like this stressful but to Adrian, it was a normal life routine. After the long gala night event, the city lights glittered like scattered gems as Adrian's black Rolls-Royce slid through the night. Musics from the gala was still replaying in his head, but it wasn't the music that held his thoughts hostage.
It was her.
The lady on brown.
She wasn't in the ballroom in a designer gown. She hadn't been laughing into the ear of an investor or angling for a business card. She had been navigating steadily between the clusters of guests, a tray of champagne flutes balanced on one hand, her hair pulled neatly in a pony tail.
Their gaze only met once, but in that second, something had tugged him.
He didn't quit recognize her, but it lingered at the back of his mind.
It was like catching a faint scent that reminded you of a childhood you couldn't quite recall, it came and was gone before you could place it.
Adrian had meant to look for her later to clear his curiosity. But the Mayor had intercepted him, and by the time Adrian turned back, she was gone.
….
Lisa who was already home, laid on the bed exhausted. after she had dropped her catering heels to the floor with a dull thud.
"I am never doing that again," she said, massaging her sore arches.
Isabella, still in her own brown uniform, came out from the kitchen holding two mugs of tea. "You've said that before."
"I'm really serious this time." Lisa sank onto the edge of the bed. "I already have a good job, Bella. I didn't need to spend my Saturday night weaving through a sea of diamonds and trying not to spill champagne on someone's ten-thousand-dollar gown."
Isabella laughed. "You came because you love me."
"I came because I wanted to see the world from another angle"
Lisa tried to defend herself.
"Exactly," Isabella said smugly. "And admit it, you got to see the other side of the world you don't usually step into."
Lisa didn't respond. She was just staring at the cracked designed ceiling and wasn't ready to tell Isabella about the man in the black tailored suit whose gaze had met hers for a second.
It wasn't just that he was salient, tall, broad-shouldered, with eyes that seemed to scan everything they saw, it was that something about him had stirred an odd, unsettling familiarity.
….
Across the city, Adrian was on call with the ever annoying but irreplaceable buddy on his drive home.
Kelvin is the CEO of KV Corporate World. A multi million dollar company that deals on clothes and fashion. He had been his friend right from high school. He was the only one who knows the lingering feelings and lonely side of Adrian. Kelvin was one of the few people in Adrian's life who didn't walk on eggshells around him.
"So," Kelvin drawled, "how many business cards did you collect tonight?"
Adrian rolled his eye as if he can see him. "Too many." he replied.
"And how many women tried to lure you into talking about 'investments' that just happen to involve beach resorts and suspicious profit margins?"
"Also too many."
Kelvin smirked. "But you weren't paying attention to any of them, were you?"
Adrian frowned slightly. "What are you talking about?"
"from your voice it seems you have something in your mind," Kelvin said, waiting for his response.
Adrian's jaw tightened. "My eye caught someone, and she looks so familiar that i can't get her off my mind"
Kelvin grinned. "Your eye caught someone as how?"
"I don't know," Adrian admitted, and it was true. "I have already told you there was something familiar about her. Like I've met her before."
Kelvin chuckled. "Maybe you have. You've been to more galas than I can count."
"No," Adrian said slowly, "this felt different. I just can't place it."
Kelvin exhaled. "Well, now you've got a mystery woman to think about. Better than thinking about plenty business projects for once."
Adrian didn't answer, but his gaze drifted to the window. The truth was, Kelvin was wrong, he wasn't thinking about her in some romantic, idle way. There was this deeper feeling, very keen, Like his brain was trying to pull up an old file that had been suppressed for years.
….
Monday morning, Adrian was in his office before sunrise as usual. His office sparkling like a piece of shining pearl.
Ms.Marian arrived with her usual efficiency, placing a pile of documents on his desk. "Proposals from last the last gala event sponsors," she said. "And you have charity committee meeting this morning by ten."
Hearing the gala event, the image of the lady from the event flashed back, but he had to brush it off to concentrate on work instead.
"Right," Adrian murmured, flipping a file open without absorbing its contents.
….
Lisa's wasn't a weekend person because of her kind of work.
By seven o'clock daily, she was already her desk in the cafe she manages. After her normal morning routine she would resume in thorough supervision of her staffs, making sure to meet customers demands. But today she found it odd that her focus kept slipping.
It wasn't the gala itself that haunted her, though she hadn't been to a high-end events before in any professional role, never as staff. It was the man. The way his gaze had found her across the room.
She told herself it was nothing. Just a trick of the moment.
…..
Across the A&D Cooperation, the charity committee assembled in the boardroom, the glass walls flooding the space with sunlight.
Peter, head of corporate social responsibility, projected the slides onto the wall. "We've shortlisted potential partners for the Youth Support Pathways Program," he tapped the slide " we are working on a small community center on Eastgate district. They will be offered vocational training, scholarships, and educate them on community events."
Adrian studied the file. Something in the modest photos on the file ignites some feeling inside him. peeling paint, worn benches, he just remembered where he came from.
Adrian nodded and made some correction that are necessary.
….…
After work hour, Lisa stopped by at Isabella working place. She was behind the counter, boxing pastries for a customer.
When the shop was empty, Isabella leaned forward, grinning. " its good to have here Mom." She said, implying that Lisa is always looking out for her as if she was her mother.
"Thanks dear" Lisa replied smiling at her.
Lisa's stomach growled."
Isabella confirmed that she was hungry. "Let me get some cake for you. I wonder why you always get hungry anytime you come here."
Lisa laughed, "Big deal for you?
Isabella smirked. "Maybe you'll have to quit your job and assist me here not like you don't exactly see cake to eat at your office."
Lisa didn't answer. The truth was, she always find it peaceful being around Bella and she can't help it.
…..
Adrian sat in his penthouse with Kelvin, the city spread out beneath them.
"You're still thinking about her," Kelvin said casually, having a wine in his hand.
Adrian didn't deny it this time. "There's something about her I can't shake. It's like… I knew her once. A long time ago."
Kelvin tilted his head. "From before the Donald's family?"
Adrian's jaw worked. "Maybe."
Neither of them said the word orphanage. They didn't need to. It hung in the air between them like an unspoken memory.
Adrian didn't know yet that his instinct was right, that the girl balancing a tray of champagne flutes was the same one he'd once ran barefoot with in the orphanage yard. But the thread between them had already been pulled.
But fate wasn't letting go.