Cailin grinned at her friend in almost a sarcastic manner as she handed her some drink in a martini glass, although from the looks of it, it didn't look anything like a martini. Kayla, Cailin's best friend since the 2nd grade, had convinced her that going to one of Tobias's infamous parties was a great idea. There'd be great alcohol, awesome music and dancing, and most on top of her friend's lists, hot boys. So, the two of them got all dressed up and drove to Tobias's house. Well, house was an understatement. He lived on an estate. Completely alone. The place must have had enough rooms for fifteen people and was oozing with money. Between the imported marble floors she'd been informed about and the hand-crafted stools at his bar, it was hard to determine what he spent more on; the house or the amount of hookers she saw prancing around. Alright well, they probably weren't all hookers but they were sure dressed like some. Cailin had on a tight-fitting black dress that showed off her curves, but it was more clothing than what the girls who were basically begging for a good time with the host himself.
Cailin had a problem with Tobias and always had ever since she heard of him. Although she'd never met him, just his name made her roll his eyes. He was filthy rich and he decided to waste it on frivolous things, girls, and drugs. Ugh. The guy just made her skin crawl.
Cailin excused herself from Kayla, although she didn't hear her because she was completely infatuated with what some government agent was schmoozing about, and scooted her way out of the crowd. She took a sip from her drink and headed towards the back of the house, where she could only assume that backdoor was. Through the foyer/grand hallway, the living room, and the kitchen, she finally came to the sliding glass doors which led to his deck. Although the doors were closed, she slid one open anyways and stepped out onto the deck that over looked at least two acres of land.
Tobias stood in front of the floor-length mirror, adjusting the Tiffany's brand cufflinks with his monogram engraved into them. The knock at the tall solid oak door prompted the brown-haired man to turn around and he was immediately greeted by one of his colleague's daughters. She was tall, about 5'5, with long lean legs and curled brown hair, laying softly on her shoulders. Her eyes, which were normally small, were enhanced by hours of tedious make-up. Despite her family name, she was quite irrelevant. Even though Tobias rarely remembered anyone's name, it took a few moments for who she even was to register with him.
"Most of your guests are here," The girl started. "We've had to turn away over one hundred people already and it's only 11:30!" She exclaimed proudly, slinking over for a not-so-gentle kiss.
Vodka.
Tobias waited the obligatory ten seconds before gently pushing her to arms length. "How about you go out and mingle while I get ready, Melissa." He told her as he squeezed her hand and silently hoped that that was her name.
"Oh I just love the pet names you give me!" She exclaimed before turning around in a hurry and in heels that were so high, he even considered helping her down the long corridor and down the spiral staircase towards the party.
Tobias shook his head and sighed, turning back towards the mirror, giving himself his pep talk and practicing the delivery of a few jokes before he walked down out of the bedroom.
The music and the people could be heard from probably a mile away. As he stood at the top of the steps at the railing which overlooked the party, he smiled. One head turned and then several, everyone cheering and raising their glasses to the man of the hour. Or decade, hopefully. Smile and wave, smile and wave.
Cailin tilted her head as she looked out at all the land. There was a massive pool just below the deck that lit up and had an elaborate blue and gold tile pattern with a hot tub smack dab in the center. Interesting and probably cost a fortune to build. Beyond that was just land. Lots and lots of land. She could only wonder what he was going to do with it all. Or maybe he already was going something that she just couldn't see because it was dark outside.
Inside, she heard cheering and so she turned to peer through the glass doors. Something was going on and although she could guess what it was, she decided to go look anyways. She let herself back in and slid the door shut behind her, then made her way back out to the main party, crossing one long, tanned leg over the other.
Not to her surprise, she saw Tobias standing up on the staircase, smiling and waving as if he was the king of the damn country. She rolled her eyes. It was disgusting how great he thought he was. He could've been giving his money to charity or something but instead he took baths in champagne and screwed girls that he flew in from Europe. Lovely..
She turned from the crowd and walked over to the bar, realizing that this was going to be a long night. It was nearly midnight and the party was just now starting. It was a shame that her friend had driven because she'd be completely fine with leaving now. Kayla made it clear that she wasn't leaving alone tonight though, and she didn't mean that she was leaving with her.
She downed whatever was left in his glass and pushed it over to the bartender with a grin. "Something strong, please," She requested with a shimmering, perfect, straight smile.
As one of the servers bounced up the stairs, Tobias swooped up the tall champagne chute and lifted it to the ceiling in a toast to kick off the night. He smile as he took a sip and quickly handed the chute back to the server. "I hate champagne." Tobias thought began his descent down the steps. He knew he needed something stronger to drink, but what? He wished he could be as carefree as some other people who smiled and danced happily while holding what Tobias thought was the equivalent of grape juice.
Tobias shook hands with everyone, receiving kisses and hugs whether he liked it or not. He made his way to the bar and sat down on one of the custom made chairs.
"I had these chairs flown in from Portugal. They're one of a kind!" Tobias beamed as he ran his hand over the solid granite countertops of the bar. He tapped one of the bartenders on their rear, "Sweet pea, you know what I like." He flashed a half smile and a wink as she rushed to grab a bottle on the top shelf.
Cailin grinned at the bartender who slid her another drink in a shorter glass. "Thanks," She told him, taking it in her hand.
She looked over to her side when she heard someone talking loudly and rolled her eyes when she realized that it was none other than Tobias, bragging about his stupid import chairs. No one cares, she thought to herself as she looked back down to her drink before taking a drink. She made a face. Damn, yeah. That was strong.
She watched as the host touched one of the girl's butts and watched as she rushed to grab him a drink. So degrading.. She wondered how much he was paying them an hour. Probably too much. Hell, he probably just bought them new cars.
She turned her head the other way to avoid looking at Tobias and observed the party. It was almost fascinating how many people were already drunk and making a fool of themselves. Although she rather be waxing her eyebrows or something, she could at least make a night of people watching.
From the corner of his eye, Tobias saw the girl sitting next to him move suddenly. He was so oblivious at these parties that the president could walk in and he wouldn't even blink an eye. Taking his drink he tapped her on her arm. "Hey princess," He smirked, taking a sip of his drink. "Are you from overseas?" Tobias asked. His party planners always had people flown in from all over to attend his events and he never got to know them.
The girl seemed generally disinterested in the party. That was a rarity. Even though it was impossible to greet every single person, everyone he saw always seemed drunk and happy. He wondered what brought her to the party.
Cailin rolled her eyes, listening to Tobias after he tapped her, still turned the other way. She turned around though and smiled at him almost sarcastically, obviously forced happiness. Unfortunately, the man was extremely attractive, even more so up close and personal, and usually that alone would cause her to stay and talk to anyone but she had to remember exactly who he was.
"I'm not interested," She told him simply before getting up from her seat. The idea of Tobias hitting on her made her cringe a little bit. He hit on every girl around so it wasn't like she was even special or that he had an interest in her. It was just his routine.
She grinned at him before turning away and going to sought out her friend. Maybe she could convince her to leave. Something made her doubt it.
Tobias gave her a look and stood up, watching her dissipate into the crowd. "Weird." Tobias thought. In that moment a twinge of heat resonated in his heart. Had he been rejected? He didn't even think he did anything wrong to just be blatantly rejected in the way he just was. Shaking his head, he took the drink and downed the rest of it, the rejection and alcohol burning as they slid down his throat.
"One more, dear." Tobias' eyes scanned the crowd as he tapped on the counter. Checking his watch, he realized that the band would be starting up soon. Some jazz group was scheduled to be playing poolside and most of the partygoers were headed out that way as the sounds of tuning instruments came from the speakers that were attached to the tall pillars. Normally, Tobias was very interested in the musicians, but he honestly just wanted to find that girl. He quickly pushed his way through the decent amount of partygoers to get to the balcony which overlooked the pool where the band was. He knew if she went outside he would be able to find that girl. Tobias searched with determined eyes.
Cailin wandered through the crowds until she found her red-headed friend leaning on some tall, dark, and handsome with a Rolex on his wrist that probably cost more than the car they'd drove here in. "Kayla," She chimed sweetly with a smile on her lips,"Can I borrow you for a second?" She turned to the man "Just one second.."
She pulled Kayla away by the wrist and past a few people so that he couldn't see them. "We should go," Cailin suggested. Kayla rolled her eyes and asked why, and then proceeded to let her know that she was a complete party pooper. The two of them argued back and forth before Kayla was quickly distracted by the moving crowd and squealed giddly when someone walked past her, talking about a band. With Cailin and Rolex in tow, the three of them shuffled outside with the rest of the party. Well, at least she got to get a look at the view before she had to fight her way out of the sea of people they were entering. It wasn't that she didn't like crowds, because she didn't really mind them, it was just this crowd in particular. A crowd that was either just as rich and selfish as the host himself or those desperately wanting to be rich so that they could throw these parties of their own.
Tobias waved to the upright bass player as he tuned up. In a blink of an eye, the patio was filled to the brim. Some of the more intoxicated guests opted to get into the pool to get a seat as close as possible to the band, despite their clothes and the slight chill in the night air. The band played a few chords to get the attention of some of the guests to begin their set.
As he scanned the crowd he saw three people standing close to the pool. Two very drunk and hands people, laughing and smiling to their hearts content and another girl who stood uncomfortably to the left of them. Tobias quickly bolted off the balcony, nearly running over a woman, to get to the steps and outside. As he go closer towards the doors to the where most of the guests had migrated, it was indeed the girl who rejected him just minutes earlier. Tobias straightened his tie and he walked outside.
"I don't think we ever got a proper introduction before you skittered off." Tobias said as he stood beside the girl. He didn't mean to be so close, but with the amount of people he had no choice. "Tobias." He smiled his famous smile and held his hand out.
Cailin sighed outwardly and crossed her arms, sipping on the drink that she had in her hand while watching as the band began to play. They were great but nothing seemed to be able to drown out the obvious fake laughter of Kayla who was trying too hard to impress the guy she was with. She didn't see why. Kayla was beautiful so guys would have talked to her even if she was as dumb as a stick.
She looked over to her side when she heard Tobias's voice. You'd know it from a mile away. It was smooth and full of money and confidence. She glanced past him, to some girls who were turning and whispering about him and giving her the evil eye; they probably wished that he'd pay them attention like he was to her.
Cailin's first instict was to walk away from him but there was no where to go, seeing that it was basically shoulder to shoulder in the space between the patio deck and the pool.
"Cailin," She said simply, glancing at his hand before looking away. God only know what or who he'd been touching today.
Tobias quickly put his hand back in his pocket. "This will be tough." Thought Tobias. He didn't understand why Cailin was so disinterested in him. He hadn't done anything to her to his knowledge. "Your friend seems to be having fun." He said after a few beats of silence. "Friend or sister?" He asked. Tobias honestly didn't care about the drunk girl next to Cailin. He wanted to figure out what was the deal with her.
Tobias felt eyes on the two of them. He glanced around and saw that there were in fact several people looking at the two of them, with envy and with awe, but he didn't care at all. People from business to the bedroom threw themselves at Tobias daily, but Cailin didn't. His mother always told him that he always wanted what he couldn't have and that night, it was true.
"What's it matter? Would you like to get her in bed too?" Cailin responded without even skipping a beat or looking Tobias's way. She could only imagine the reasons why he was asking. Maybe he'd never gotten sisters to sleep with him. Nah, he probably had. If he was trying to make conversation, she wasn't interested. It was kind of funny to see him try though. She didn't see why he was talking to her of all people. It was obvious that she wasn't interested when everyone else in whole damn party was. He could just introduce himself to any other girl and they'd be falling to their knees. So why didn't he.
She titled her head back slightly and downed the rest of what was in her glass, then moved her long, blonde hair which was curled, out of her face and behind her shoulders. It was rather hot standing with all of the people so close together.
Tobias chuckled and shook his head. "Wow you're not taking anything from me, are you?" He shifted his weight and adjusted his watch. "Besides she seems pretty busy anyway." He said as the pair began kissing in a not-so-conservative fashion.
"I honestly just want to know the deal with you. How you got here and why you're staying, y'know." He sighed softly and looked to for a reaction from Cailin. "Do you maybe want to go up on the balcony? You look warm and it's no place to really talk." Tobias suggested. He braced himself for more rejection. Tobias couldn't understand why he was still trying to get her to talk to him. There was something from the start that attracted him to her, and a different kind of attraction, too. He was desperate to find out why.
Cailin looked over at Kayla when he made the comment about her looking busy and nearly gagged. Classy Kayla... Real classy. She made a face and looked away and eventually back to Tobias when he began to suggest going else where to talk. "I came because she wanted to. There's nothing else to know," She informed him with a smile before turning away, obviously denying his offer.
As she turned though, one of her heels got caught in one of the grout lines of the tiled ground and she lost her balance. In her six inch heels, she couldn't recover and went falling backwards into the pool behind her. A squeal escaped her lips and then glass she had in her hand went flying and landed in the pool, where it sank somewhere on the other side. By the time she managed to resurface, not so gracefully either, the band had stopped playing and all eyes were on her. Not because she was in the pool, perhaps, because others were already in there, but because she had screamed. She could feel her cheeks begin to burn and she quickly turned and started the swim to the shallow end so she could make a b-line for the house and leave. Swimming with heels was already awkward and trying to walk in them in shallow end was even more awkward. She probably looked like a dumb newborn doe. Awesome. She pushed her hair out of her face and walked up the steps, mumbling an 'excuse me' to those sitting on the pool's steps.
Tobias ran a hand through his hair and scrubbed a hand down his face. He figured trying to communicate with Cailin was futile, but something wouldn't let him stop trying. He chalked it up to the thrill of the chase.
As Tobias scanned the crowd, everyone seemed to stop what they were doing simultaneously to react to the scream that was let out right next to him. It wasn't the scream of an overzealous party girl, but the voice of none other than Cailin. Tobias grasped the air, too late, trying to save Cailin from her watery demise. His eyes widened and Tobias motioned to the main guitar player of the band to resume their set, trying to get the attention off of the girl. Luckily, everyone who would've made a big deal about the situation was too drunk to even remember what happened. As soon as the first few chords of the next song started to play, the partygoers lost interest in the soaking wet girl and began mingling again.
Tobias pushed his way through the crowd to get to the other side of the pool where Cailin was emerging. He offered a hand to her, "I'll show you to a guest room." He offered. "You can't go home like that. There are plenty of new clothes you can put on."
Cailin had already been irritated and annoyed but now she was irritated, annoyed, and soaking wet. Lovely. She'd made a completely fool of herself. Not that she really cared about making a good impression on the people who were here... It was still embarrassing nonetheless.
And of course the first person that came to her aid? Prince Charming Tobias. She ignored the outstretched hand and climbed onto the steadier ground on her own. She glanced in the opposite of direction of the pool and saw that Kayla, instead of rushing to help her friend in her time of need, was basically gnawing Rolex's face off. She breathed out angrily and looked back to Tobias who offered to show her to someplace with something she could change into. She wanted to reject him but quickly realized that hanging out completely soaking wet wasn't really a great choice either. It was cold outside and considering Kayla drove, there was no way she could really leave. She could call a cab but that just seemed like a waste of money. So, she nodded at him.
"Fine," She agreed, obviously not super happy with the decision. As they began to walk towards the house, she squeezed out her thick hair to the side. Ugh. She hated the feeling of soaking wetness sticking to her body. It made her feel claustrophobic in a way.
Tobias led her inside, grabbing the attention of one of the ladies wearing a neatly pressed navy blue dress. "Esther," He said, the older woman turning on a dime at her name. "Can you go up and start the bath for Ms. Cailin here?" Tobias asked her. With a nod, she darted up the staircase and down a long corridor. Esther was one of Tobias' first housekeepers. Despite the fact that he paid her, they seemed to have a mother-son relationship. Sort of.
"There are plenty of clothes in the guest room. You can pick whatever. And I can have someone redo your hair if want." Tobias told Cailin as they walked up the staircase. "Maybe you should take those heels off?" Tobias suggested as he stopped midway, watching the soaking wet girl struggle.
Cailin resisted the urge to roll her eyes when Tobias told some lady what to do and she went off without another word. "A bath isn't really necessary," She told Tobias. She wasn't looking to soak in his rose water gold bathtub tonight or any other night really. She was really regretting ever coming to his party. She would be much more happy sitting at home in sweats, eating pizza and watching TV.
She began to climb the stairs at Tobias's lead and nodded but didn't say anything of his offer about clothes and hair. She didn't even care about looking super great. Everyone already saw her soaking wet so what was the point of fixing it? It's not like she was going to be trying to hit up any guys... She paused on the staircase when he suggested taking off her heels and with a sigh, she leaned on the banister and pulled the black platform pumps off before continuing barefoot. It was weird being back to her 5'6 self. She was so use to wearing heels to working and out that she almost forgot how nice it felt to not wear heels.
"Really you couldn't change into new clothes without taking a bath first." Tobias insisted. "If you don't want to, it's not that big of a deal. The bathroom is connected to the guest room." He explained. Tobias honestly wasn't trying to get the girl into bed. She really seemed disinterested in him, but Tobias wanted her to be comfortable at least.
He opened one of the first doors with a gentle push. The room was quite spacious and had tall ceilings and the wooden floor was covered by a spotless white rug. Beside the California King sized bed, there were a bouquet of fresh white roses and a bottle of champagne, the label sporting Tobias' monogram and wine glasses to match. With the push of a button alongside the row of switches, a mirror slowly slid open to reveal a well lit walk-in closet. "I'm sure you can find something you'll feel comfortable in. There's everything from ball gowns to sweats in there." Tobias explained. "If you go to the very back of the closet, you won't miss the door to the bathroom." He pointed down the narrow corridor of the walk-in. "You'll find everything you need there."
Cailin supposed that it wouldn't be the worse thing ever. She didn't have anything else to do considering Kayla would probably want to stay late until her new date was as wasted as she was so they could have their fun. Adorable.
Walking into the room just verified all of her assumptions about his money. If his guest room was this opulent, she could only guess what his own room looked like. She gazed around the well-decorated room and cursed him mentally for having such wonderful taste. Even though it was all over the top and extravagant, it was all really well put together. She'd give him that much. She raised her eyebrows as a moving mirror caught her eye and her jaw nearly dropped, seeing how large to walk-in closet was. It was big enough to be a room. "Have all your one night stands gone through this already? I wouldn't want to steal something that they want," She remarked as she took a few steps closer to the closet with a smirk on her lips. It was a sweet gesture but she was almost positive that she wasn't the only one to have been treated this way. Why else would he supply women's clothing? Unless he had a dirty secret. That was a fun thought to entertain. "Thank you though," She told him in the most sincere voice she'd used all night. She even looked him directly in the eye for once. It was only for a second though and then she was turned and heading into the walk in.
Tobias simply opted to respond to Cailin's snippy comments with a simple nod. He did take note of her surprise when the mirrors slid open. "They're always surprised." Tobias thought. He honestly didn't see many girls into the guest rooms. It was normally the party planners who had a bunch of girls lined up. Tobias normally chose one to bring back to his room. There was no rhyme or reason to the girls he picked. He tried to pick the girl with the most forgettable face and name, that way he could more easily detach himself from them.
Tobias was lost in his thoughts about how he chose all of the girls. He didn't even notice that Cailin was gone into the depths of the closet. He couldn't even see her anymore. Tobias walked out into the hall, nearly running into a giddy pair, almost stripped down to nothing in excitement and a drunken stupor. As he scrolled through his phone, he realized he would have to sit in on meeting after meeting in just a matter of hours. Even though he was thankful for the job and the opportunities it awarded him, Tobias would much rather host parties and make people happy.
Cailin began to run her fingertips over the edges of the clothing as she passed. He wasn't kidding. There were gowns that were all gold and sparkly to the floor to sweatpants with Juicy branded all over the butt. It was crazy that someone could have so much money that they could buy an entire wardrobe for someone that he didn't even really have to use it. It wasn't like anyone lived here. At least, she was pretty sure no one did. She'd never heard rumors of Tobias having a girlfriend. People couldn't even joke about it because it was so hilarious. He could never hold more than one girl..
Once she heard the door shut behind him, she headed all the way back in the closet to the bathroom and found herself a bath, complete with bubbles and rose petals, and a set of soaps and towels waiting for her on a nearby, glimmering white counter top. She began to undress from her sticky clothes and made sure to set her phone, which she'd sneakily hid away in her bra, farther away from everything else on the counter so it didn't get wet. She put her wet clothing into the sink to let it drain out, then looked up at herself in the mirror. She wasn't too found of her own body although anyone else would tell her different. Turning to the side, she told herself that she could drop a few more pounds and then headed to the tub. She stepped in carefully, then lowered herself down into the hot water. It wasn't so hot that her skin burned but hot enough that she would gladly sit in it until it began to get cold.