Nobody's by Rhea Wilde

you?”
    “Um… No, I… I don’t think I could.”
    “Are you sure? The basic steps of a waltz are very simple.”
    “No. I.. I would just embarrass myself.”
    The man’s charming demeanor disarmed me to the point that I was flustered. I looked around and saw that I was completely out of my element. All of these men and women were people who wouldn’t even look in my direction but now I was standing in a room full of them like I was supposed to belong.
    “You know, I haven’t seen you here before. What’s your name?”
    “Angel.”
    “Angel? Angel is that a first name or a last name?”
    “Both.”
    “Well, it’s lovely to meet you, Angel. My name is Anthony Westgate. It’s a pleasure.”
    He took my hand into his and kissed me softly upon the knuckles of my glove. I blushed slightly as he returned my hand to me. His name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place where I had heard it before.
    “Are you here with someone?” he asked me.
    “I’m meeting someone.”
    “Really? Who? I know everyone in the room.”
    Before I could answer, I felt a hand gently caress my shoulder. I turned to the side and saw the man who had hired me standing there in a black and white tuxedo.
    “There you are,” Thomas said as he kissed me upon the cheek. “I was wondering when you would show up. You look radiant tonight.”
    “Thomas,” Anthony said to him. “Why am I not surprised? I talk to a beautiful woman and suddenly you come out of nowhere to interrupt the conversation.”
    “Anthony, you know that I wasn’t interrupting anything important. Besides, I know you better than anybody else. You were no doubt asking her if she was with anybody. Well, here I am. Angel, I’d like you to meet my good friend, Anthony Westgate.”
    “Yes, we’ve already met, Thomas,” Anthony said to him. “But another introduction wouldn’t hurt.”
    Anthony again took my hand into his and kissed it again. I looked down at the ground and tried to hide the smile on my face. Thomas didn’t seem to mind that his friend’s interest in me but it didn’t stop him from asking his own inquiry.
    “Your lady,” Thomas said to him. “You have one of your own. Where is she?”
    “Ah, yes. My most prized possession. Let me introduce you, Miss Angel.”
    Anthony scanned the room before raising his hand up to get the attention of a woman several yards away. She was a young woman with long red hair and a green dress that looked just as elegant as everybody else’s. As she made her way toward us, I could see an inexplicable enthusiasm on her face.
    “Miss Angel, I’d like you to meet the lovely Miss Alina,” Anthony said as I shook her hand. “Alina, Angel is Thomas’s new friend.”
    “Hello,” she said in a warm and cheerful tone. “It’s pleasure to meet you, Angel.”
    “Likewise.”
    “Okay,” Thomas interrupted us. “Now that we’ve gotten all of our introductions out of the way, perhaps we should sit down and enjoy a little food. Please, come this way, Angel.”
    I nodded my head to him and followed him toward a small table at the end of the ballroom. The music continued and the couples danced without a care in the world. The conversations were loud but full of a positive energy. The smiles on their faces signaled that any worries they might have were only frivolous and passing.
    I took a seat at one side of the table, with Thomas and Anthony sitting on the other sides. The blue-eyed Alina took a seat just across from me.
    “I suppose Thomas has told you the wonderful news,” Anthony suddenly said to me.
    “News?”
    I turned to Thomas, who himself turned his attention to a glass of wine. He poured everybody a glass and looked at me with a smile on his face.
    “I don’t think Angel is particularly interested in this type of news,” Thomas said.
    “Really?” Anthony claimed, somewhat astonished. “It would be mighty impressive for a woman not to care about you buying out another significant chunk of the tech