The dinner ended up being a lot fancier than I'd thought.

Or, as Jonah had properly called it, Le Diner des Entrepreneurs. Or however you said it. I never really took French in school. I was a bit busy doing other things.

Such as going to fancy dinner parties with tons of middle-aged men and women. Obviously, my favorite part of my job.

It wasn't exactly that I hated coming to these - they were great and all. It was just that there were so many people, and very few who I could actually relate to. Almost all of them had already gone through some expensive college and had come up with their spectacular idea later in life. Nearly all of them were a couple decades older than me.

Which meant conversation usually was really awkward.

Doubly so, when none of the people even knew who I was.

Even at these kinds of events, I stayed as anonymous as possible. When people asked for my name, I simply stated that I worked for Barnes and Co. Little did they know that I created the company. It was better that way - it kept my identity secret and made it so I didn't have to start talking about my inventions with them.

On the other hand, it gave them more time to talk about themselves with me. That was another problem I had: a lot of these people were a little bit self-obsessed.

And okay, I get it, I probably was, too. But I wasn't walking around bragging to people about it.

As my limo parked just outside the entrance to the massive stone and glass building, I noticed plenty of paparazzi standing just outside the weak rope boundaries, cameras at the ready. I sneaked by, as much as anyone could sneak by paparazzi. Sure, maybe they'd have photos of me, but they would have no clue who I was.

I needed to find Jonah. He was literally the only one in this entire place that I felt I could relate to.

Plus, he was my only friend. Well...my only close friend. I did tend to make friends with some of my employees that worked closer to me.

And of course, I knew two other people who would be at the dinner tonight. I smiled to myself as I thought of them. They would already be inside, though.

As I cut past plenty of elegantly dressed party guests, all either posing for pictures or speaking with each other, I finally found Jonah near the doors.

Well, he wasn't alone.

He was standing right next to a reporter who was interviewing him on his latest design. My eyes widened, and I immediately backed away. I know what he would do if he saw me.

Too late.

Jonah's eyes locked onto my figure and his mouth broke out in a wild grin. I could see the mischief in his eyes. I glared at him briefly, knowing I would soon have to paste on a false smile and pretend it was all good. I'll kill you later, I telepathically told him.

Not literally telepathically. Don't worry,  I haven't found anyone who's invented that yet.

Jonah laughed as I came to stand by his side.

"Ahh, and who's this?" the interviewer asked, shoving the microphone up to my face. He had a cheery fake grin on his face. His brown hair was slicked back and he wore a plain black suit as to not take away from anyone else's appearance.

I smiled tightly. I didn't know what to say. Thankfully (or not thankfully), Jonah thought of something and pulled the microphone to his lips instead. "She's a little camera shy...she's one of my close assistants." He winked at me imperceptibly.

Boy, was I going to murder him.

Sometimes, I really hated how much Jonah loved attention. It contrasted quite directly with everything I was.

I nodded pleasantly, backing what he'd said.

"There's nothing to be afraid of!" the interviewer replied with a quick laugh. "But that's all right. So..."

The interviewer returned his attention to Jonah and I quickly scuttled away from him as fast as possible. I'd catch up with him later.

There were still two people I was waiting to see.

I hurried up the stairs, lifting the hem of my silky green dress to avoid tripping and falling flat on my face. The doors at the top were hovering open and I immediately noticed who I'd come up here to see.

A smile broke out on my face as I rushed towards the two of them, trying not to trip in my white high heels.

"Mom! Kenzie!" I called out as I reached them and threw my arms around them. They were both a little shocked, but immediately hugged me back. I didn't always get to see them. We didn't all live in the same house anymore - Kenzie resided in an apartment in the city - a very nice one, despite her protests - and my mom stayed in a mansion of a house that I'd paid for with my other five siblings. Personally, I stayed in my own house, on the edge of the city, which wasn't as big as a mansion, but was nice enough. I sometimes had my siblings over - especially Kenzie. Otherwise, I kept my maid, a girl only a few years older than me named Gina, to keep me company.

My mom immediately inspected every detail of me. "You look beautiful," she finally said. "You have been eating enough, right? I know how much you like to forget everything else and just work on your projects..." She looked a little concerned, but still had a smile on her face.

I laughed and shook my head. "Of course I have, Mom. I've been taking care of myself."

"You better be," Kenzie interjected, before hugging me again. She seemed ecstatic to see me. She looked just as nice as I did, wearing a red velvet dress and matching heels. Her makeup was done perfectly - red lips and a smoky eye. Even though I'd only seen her two days ago, I still missed her. Usually, I would stop by after my job every day, but yesterday I'd gotten sidetracked by a particular boy with the last name rhyming with "blunt".

"It's great to see you...I'm sorry I couldn't stop by..."

Kenzie just laughed and rolled her eyes. "Please, I can do without seeing you for a day..."

My mom glared at her. "Kenzie! Don't say such a thing." She knew we were both joking.

"It's okay, Mom. I hate her, too."

My mom let out an exasperated sigh, before grabbing both our hands and beginning to lead us towards the table. As I followed her, I noticed the streaks of gray present in her hair. She was usually good at dyeing it black every single time, but it seemed she was letting up a little. I'd always felt bad for her...being a single mom with six kids was a tough job. Even so, I knew she could handle all of us all the time.

She sat down at a table a little far from the stage, and I was grateful. She knew me well enough. The people in the front would be getting the most attention. Kenzie took the seat next to me, with my mom on the other side of her. 

Kenzie glanced towards me, her hands folded in her lap. "So...how's it been?" she asked, whispering the question, so I knew exactly what she was talking about.

No matter how much I loved and trusted her, I didn't think it would be a good idea to bring up last night. She would definitely not approve.

I just smiled tightly, trying not to give too much away. "It's fine." She looked at me with suspicion, but gave it up when someone at the stage started speaking through the microphone.

"Welcome guests! We are happy you all could make it..."

I started to space out as the guy droned on, until I heard the chair next to me squeal as someone sat down.

Jonah grinned at me, but I knew him. He wasn't grinning because he was happy to see me, or because he'd called me his assistant. He had something in mind.

I gave him a look. I wasn't sure now was the best time for this.

He smirked at me. "Trust me...I know you didn't want to come to this event anyway."