"will you be my date to the gala?"

"what happened to victoria?"

"she can't make it. she came down with a bad case of food poisoning."

"oh..still..i'm not sure it's a good idea to take her place. plus i'm not sure victoria would like it."

"it was her idea, i'm positive she doesn't mind."

"seriously?" billie asked confused.

"she said you'd know what to do, since you helped her prepare. and it would be wrong for monet enterprise to have an empty seat at the table."

"what about the boys? we can't leave jason and jacob alone."

"carter offered to keep an eye on them."

"alright. then yes. i'll be your date to the gala."

"alright great."

"so what exactly does one wear to a fancy event like this?"

"funny you should ask, i thought it'd be nice if we matched colors tonight." ana said as she presented billie with a red burgundy dress.

"holy shit. this is beautiful."

"youre beautiful. doesn't matter what you wear, it can be a whole garbage bag and you'd look good."

ana smirked at billie before excusing herself to give her privacy.

when they arrive at the gala, billie steps out of the limousine with anastasia and they're immediately taken back by the flash of cameras from the paparazzi.

"woah. the press is even crazier than at your engagement party." billie said shocked.

"just smile and nod. that's what I always do."

"anastasia! anastasia monet! who's your date? where's victoria rousseau?" one of the paparazzi asked.

"shes got such style! look at that gown!" a reporter said.

billie smiled and struck a pose.

"give us a quote, sweetie! what're you doing here? what happened to victoria?" another paparazzi asked billie.

"no comment. now, if you'd please excuse us..." anastasia said as she saw billie get nervous.

billie entered the ballroom and looked around in awe, anastasia led her across the room to their table, where her parents were already seated.

"billie? what a delight to see you here. you look wonderful in that dress." katherine said.

"thank you so much." billie said smiling.

"where's victoria?" jason asked.

"she wasn't feeling well, so she stayed home. luckily, billie was free to help us fill the table." ana said.

"lucky, indeed."

billie looked across the table to see an empty seat.

"are yall expecting someone else?" she asked.

"unfortunately, jade couldn't make it at the last minute either. but never fear, jasons old secretary should be along soon to take her place." katherine said.

billie nodded before turning to ana and lowering her voice.

"you weren't kidding about the empty seat thing huh."

"hah nope..." ana said before her eyes tracked someone from across the room.

"that's miles houston. I recognize him from victoria's flashcards...why are we staring at him?"

"I've been trying to convince him to collaborate with us on a new project, but he's notoriously un-schmoozable. care to help me with that?"

"of course."

anastasia and billie made their way across the room, and billie could almost see the moment ana slips into work mode.

"anastasia. you look wonderful." miles said with a smile.

"you as well. billie, I'd like you to meet miles houston, a fellow technophile and unrepentant geek. i'm hoping he might brainstorm with me someday." ana said smiling.

miles looks at billie up and down, she's glad she took the time to get ready.

"pleasure to make your acquaintance. do you work at monet enterprise as well?"

"i... freelance alongside the company in a limited capacity, but i'm inches away from committing full time."

"oh? why do you say that?"

'what the fuck did the flashcards say?' billie thought to herself as she tried to remember what he liked. 'right. he likes meditation and hates waste.'

"I love how the waste and energy efficiency are top notch. it's important to be conscious of your environmental impact, even on a small scale. like how after a company event, anastasia herself stayed behind to recycle every last can."

"oh? its hard to find a CEO willing to do the work instead of cutting corners. i'm glad you care about the environment."

anastasia's eyes widen slightly as she sees her window of opportunity. "as you know, we'd love to bring you onboard. you could be instrumental in making sure we hit our environmental goals with the latest nightingale update."

"I admit, I've been on the fence, but after tonight, I'll be in touch." miles shakes ana's hand and gives billie a soft smile, then walks away.

ana turned to billie with a huge smile. "I can't believe you just schmoozed the un-schmoozable."

billie gestured over ana's shoulder, where a woman billie recognized as selene d'torte is in a heated discussion with jason and katherine.

"we'd better rescue them."

"selene, you cant just back out like this out of the blue. it'll make the other shareholders panic!" jason said angrily.

"that's not my responsibility. I just want to sell my shares and be done with the whole market!

"pardon the intrusion. it's good to see you again, selene. may I introduce you to billie o'connell? this is her first gala, and I'm trying to show her a good time."

" I couldn't help but overhear- are you really going to sell? monet stock has been so stable, even trending up."

"I just dont trust the game anymore. I wouldn't expect you to understand..."

"I understand, and it reminds me of something kierkegaard said. life must be understood backwards but lived forwards. if you dump all your investments now, you'll just be living 'backwards."

"I did feel like I had a talent for investing, but I was so wrong with medishade."

"maybe you've been burned in the past, but life is about observation and adaptation. that's all what philosophy is, right?"

"you're absolutely right. we should live every day of our lives, and take risks."

"exactly. I'd hate to see you lose confidence in your judgment because of one mistake."

selene considers billies words for a long moment... then finally smiled. "I suppose it would be hasty to make a decision right now. anastasia, let's meet next week to discuss this further."

billie let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as selene walked away.

"that was- "

"impressive." katherine said finishing jasons sentence.

"you're perfect." ana said quietly.

before billie could respond, the music changed, and the dance floor starts to fill with couples. anastasia offered billie her hand.

"dance with me? you've earned a break from all the business talk."

"I'd love to."

anastasia draws billie to the dance floor, billies heart flutters.

"I don't know how to waltz... or whatever this is."

"just follow my lead. or I could follow yours, if you prefer."

"meaning what? if I twerk, you will too?" billie asked laughing.

"sure." ana said laughing.

anastasia pulls billie closer, smiling at her.

"follow my lead." billie said.

billie twists her body on beat, making sure she rubs against anastasia with every little movement...

"what's this move called?"

"the billie?"

anastasia braces her hands on billies hips, following her lead.

"I think I'll enjoy doing billie."

billies cheeks immediately turned red.

anastasia chuckled at her own joke.

anastasia spins billie around, so her back was against her own chest.

"are we doing the ana now?"

"mhm." ana said as she slowly ran her hands down billies sides and spun her back around. "walk with me?"

billie nodded.

-

"hurry up, just put it in."

"i'm fucking trying."

"well try har- fuck!"

"shut up before they all hear you."

"it's not my fault your dick is so big."

"it's your fault you can't take it quietly."

anastasia grabbed billies hips and started to fuck her from behind.

"fuck!"

"shut up." anastasia muttered quietly.

billie covered her mouth with her left hand, still holding herself up with her right.

"god look at you." anastasia yanked billie up by her hair, making her look at herself. "you're so pretty."

billie's mouth fell open as she saw herself get railed from behind. "fuck ana, i cant!" she whimpered as her body started to shake.

"you were practically begging for this. so are you gonna be a good girl, and take it?"

"yes ma'am."

-

after they were done, they quickly put their clothes back on, and fixed their hair in the mirror.

"i'll go first." anastasia said as she looked at billie.

"huh?" billie asked confusingly.

"we don't want people suspecting anything now do we?" ana said with a faint chuckle.

"oh right."

billie felt a pang in her chest, obviously she knew they couldn't walk out holding hands but it still hurt.