Ava's mood instantly soured.
It was quite obvious from her perspective… anyone's perspective actually. The way he arrived at the party with law enforcers, it was plain as day that he was given information about their heist today, and he'd rushed in just to save Evie Alrosa.
Ava unconsciously fixed her gaze on him. 'Is she his girlfriend?'
"Is something the matter?" Eitan asked, a bit curious.
"It's nothing." Ava looked away with a sad smile. "I just wanted to thank you. You're… nicer than you look."
Eitan raised his brows, amused. "...I've never heard that before."
"Then you're being under-appreciated." Ava said, taking a bite out of another sandwich cookie. "What's this, by the way?"
"It's called a macaron. It's a french snack." Eitan answered. "This one in particular is rose flavoured."
"Macaron…" Ava echoed softly, then smiled. "I like it. I think I've found a new favourite snack."
"...Does that mean you'll change your mind if you try something better?" Eitan was curious.
"Of course." Ava answered without hesitation and he nodded, amused. "Isn't that how it's supposed to be?"
Eitan's lips twitched. "Most people aren't wired that way."
"Well I'm wired that way." Ava stated as she bit into another macaron.
"Of course you are…" Eitan said, taking two wine glasses from a passing waiter and handing one to her. "It doesn't have much alcohol."
"Thank you." Ava appreciated as she took a sip. "It's good."
"I see you're a fan of sweets." Eitan noted, taking a sip of his own wine.
"...Yes." Ava answered lost in thought as she rounded the mouth of her wine glass with a fingertip. "But I don't get to eat them much…"
Just as Eitan was about to ask why, his phone buzzed. He took one look at it and shoved it back into his pocket.
"It seems our time ends here, Miss?" He prompted.
"Ava. My name's Ava." She responded quickly.
"Eitan Berger… though I'm sure you already know." He said with an outstretched hand and Ava took it. "Hopefully we'll see each other again."
'We probably never will…' Ava thought as she smiled. "Of course. Take care Mr. Berger."
'Well… time for work…' She mused as she watched Eitan walk away. She didn't even get to blink once before another male voice came from behind her.
"Care for a dance?"
Ava's breath hitched first, then her heart sank and she turned to face the man behind her with a strained smile.
He was a tall man, almost as tall as Eitan with dark eyes and hair styled in a wolf cut. He looked roguish and out of place even in a clean black suit and tie.
Anyone who saw him would definitely be suspicious of his origins.
"Vince… you're here." She voiced.
"Where else will I be if not here?" Vince asked, peering at her through hooded eyes. "You seem to have been enjoying yourself with that man earlier…"
Ava felt nauseous. She pursed her lips and held her wine glass tighter to keep her hands from shaking. "Don't be ridiculous… you said we should gather information."
Vince blinked once, then he burst out laughing, making Ava stiffen. "I did, didn't I?" He mused. "Well? Did you get anything?"
Ava shook her head. "No… he's tight lipped."
"As expected of Berger… that one." Vince agreed. "I'm sure you did your best but speaking to talkative people will make the job easier, don't you think?"
A familiar tingle ran down Ava's spine. "Right."
"Ava... you seem a bit pale..." Vince stated, attempting to brush loose strands of hair behind her ears.
Ava unconsciously leaned away from his hands and strained a smile. "But you look breathtaking as always."
Ava smiled stiffly. "...Thank you, Vince."
"Care for a dance?" Vince smirked, as he moved to caress the back of her gloved hand, making her shiver. "I still have some time before I get back to work."
Ava swallowed. "I'm… I'm sorry." She responded in a low voice. "My legs ache. I can't dance."
A shadow of a frown crossed Vince's face before he broke into a wide grin. "I understand. We'll just have to do it another time then."
The moment Vince left after he gave her one last meaningful look, Ava's legs grew weak and were about to give out but a strong grip caught her by the arm.
"Hey Cookie…" She heard a familiar voice from above her head. "You'll be fine."
"Kyla…" Ava called softly, relieved.
"Tsk." Kyla grit her teeth as she rubbed Ava's back soothingly. "How shameless can a man be?"
Ava laughed nervously, wrapping her arm around Kyla's and resting her head against her shoulder fondly. "Well, it doesn't matter. After all, he can't do anything reckless as long as you're around."
Kyla snorted. "Wanna sit? You don't look so good."
Ava looked up at her with grateful eyes. "Yes, please. I'll be even happier if you carry me."
"Your jokes get sillier by the day." Kyla laughed. "Come on."
"Did you get anything good?" Ava asked on their way to the sitting area.
"Nothing." Kyla sighed. "I've eavesdropped on so many conversations and listened to over fifty rich people brag about themselves yet I didn't hear anything important."
Ava looked doubtful. "That has to be an exaggeration."
"Think what you will of it." Kyla shrugged. "But if we don't get something meaningful out of this party, we'll be in trouble."
Ava pursed her lips. "Right..."
"... and yet no one knows the organiser of this party." A feminine voice sounded from the area behind them just as they took their seats.
Kyla's eyes widened. "Oh? This seems like it'll be good."
"Shhh!" Ava hushed.
"What? The organiser is anonymous?" Another female voice asked. "I thought it was the Alrosa girl."
"She isn't the one. She just happened to end up as a target for assassination–"
"Oh, that wasn't a coincidence at all." A different lady chimed in.
"Huh? Then do you know why she was wanted dead?"
"Certainly."
"Hah! She's bluffing."
"If she really knew she would have said it already. She doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut."
"Shall we make a bet then?" The woman's voice from earlier sounded forcefully, silencing the other ladies around her. "If what I'm about to tell you is true, you owe me a thousand dollars each."
"Haha. By all means."
"But what if what you're about to tell us isn't true then?"
"Then I will tell you the name and whereabouts of the jeweler who carves my jewelries." She responded promptly.
"Hmph. That's such an unfair deal… you must be quite certain of your information then." Another woman's envious voice echoed.
"Fine… Tell us."
"You see…" The woman started slowly, her voice soothing. "I've heard that the Alrosa's and Berger have joined hands in a recent business venture."