Chapter 12 - Company party

"I don't know, Julia..." Alice Williams sighed and took a long sip of her mojito.

"What don't you know, Alice?!"

"How can I be sure that Jack Deschanel is not doing it simply to improve his statistics? Think of it, not only is he finally promoting a woman to a top position in the company, but an African American at that!"

Julia was watching Alice with disbelief. She put down her drink and faced her colleague.

"Alice, you know very well that you are one of the most competent, experienced and talented people in this company. There's no one better for this position. Now quit that nonsense and better tell me what Davonte thinks of your promotion?"

Alice pondered on Julia's words for a moment, but in the end sent her a wide grin.

"He already bought the tickets to the next Chicago Bulls game! So you can imagine his enthusiasm."

"And how is Peter Wyatt treating you?" Julia asked. She knew from Zoey that Peter had been so shocked that he hadn't gotten the Chicago job that he hadn't said much during the meeting with her and Jack.

"He hasn't congratulated me. If that's what you're asking. I think he still cannot believe what's happened," Alice said with a chuckle. "He is not in the office much. I mean that's nothing new, so..."

"Screw him then!" Julia exclaimed a bit too loud. "Let's drink to the new Brand Today Chicago Director!"

"Let's!"

"And tomorrow you can properly celebrate your promotion at the company party!"

"Oh, I intend to, Julia, believe me!"

Julia had been staring at her own reflection in the mirror for the last thirty minutes. She was so deep in thought however that she stopped seeing the beautiful Valentino dress she put on and that she'd bought especially for the company party.

The black flared skirt was starting from a high waist and flowing down in rouches to her ankles. The bodice was a contrasting pink covered with a floral black lace and it was hugging her curves perfectly. The decollete and sleeves made of point d'esprit fabric gave Julia an etheric air.

All of that paired with black stilettos, which for now remained in her hands, and she'd be ready to go. Somehow though she couldn't force herself to leave the safety of her apartment.

For the last week or even two Julia had a feeling she was being watched. That well known panic that she'd felt in Seattle was creeping back up into her mind.

She hated that feeling and what it was doing to her. She'd become jumpy, she was losing focus. Julia knew Lizzy and Josh were starting to notice that.

Was she getting paranoid, or was someone really watching her?

The cell phone ringing brought Julia out of her masochistic reverie.

"Julia, where are you?!" She heard Lizzie's panicked voice.

They were supposed to meet at the venue, three hours before the party. There were only two hours left till the party and Julia was.... well, not there.

"Sorry, Lizzie, I'm on my way. I had... some problems with the dress," she lied. "I'll be there in twenty minutes." Julia felt that was a lie as well; there was no way she would get to Manhattan in twenty minutes in the afternoon traffic.

She put on the stilettos, grabbed her purse and ran out the door.

***

She looked breathtaking... Jack couldn't help but be constantly searching for Julia in the crowd, and every time he'd locate her, he would just stare.

The party was in full swing by now; everyone seemed to be having fun. Contrary to the Brady Corp. party, their company event was all gowns and suits, but it seemed no one minded. Jack was even sure that the women from Brand Today were happy to get a chance to dress up.

Julia was always busy, always talking to someone, solving an issue, answering questions. She just couldn't find a moment to relax. Jack had a feeling though that this was how she wanted it; for some reason she was not allowing herself to catch a breath, to stop and think.

He'd gotten to know her a bit better over the last weeks and knew that the smile and positive attitude she was showing to everyone tonight were just a pretence. Something was going on in that beautiful head of hers, something she was trying to hide even from herself...

Jack forced himself yet again to take his eye off Julia and continued skimming the happy crowd.

Alice Williams was glowing. She was the star tonight; it seemed everyone wanted to talk to her.

Jack thought back to the moment he and Zoey had informed Alice about her promotion. He knew she'd come to the meeting sure that they would have told her no. That utter shock on her face, that look of disbelief had been clear proof of that.

Tonight he could see pride and confidence in her gaze. That just reconfirmed that he'd made a good choice.

Surprisingly Peter Wyatt seemed in a good mood too; talking to everyone, dancing even. Jack wondered whether he was just pretending or actually did not care...

"Care to dance, Jacky boy?" Zoey approached him with a wide smile.

"What do you think?" Jack answered with his brow raised.

"You're so boring..." Zoey sighed. She started swaying to the music slightly and shot a side glance at Jack. "It's great, isn't it?"

"I assume that you're talking about the party? Yes, I agree, Julia and the team did a great job. Again."

"Finally!" Zoey raised the glass she was holding. "Jack Deschanel openly admits that Julia is great at what she does."

"Yes, Zoey," Jack sighed, "I do admit that. Actually, now that you mention it, I wanted to talk to you about creating a new department that would be dedicated to event organization, and that Julia would be heading."

Zoey now fully turned to face her brother, with her jaw slightly dropping. That earned her a chuckle from Jack.

"Jack, that's a wonderful idea!"

"Julia, doesn't seem to think so..." he said, remembering her reaction when he'd first broke the idea to her.

"Yeah..." Zoey did not seem surprised.

"Any chance you could change her mind?"

"I don't know, Jack. I don't know..."

They both looked at Julia across the dance floor explaining something to Lizzie who looked quite panicked. She must have felt someone was watching her as she looked up. Realizing that the Deschanels were looking straight at her, she sent them a surprised smile. Zoey and Jack raised their glasses at the same time. Julia shook her head laughing and went back to her discussion with Lizzie.

"Just talk to her, Zoey," Jack whispered.

"Well, I can for sure try...." She didn't finish, as the music died down and the DJ's voice was heard from the speakers.

"I can see you are having such a great time, my lovies!" They guy called out.

From the emails Julia was sending him, Jack knew the DJ cost them a lot. He was great at what he did though; not only did he pick the right music, he was constantly interacting with the crowd, he was genuinely having a great time.

"I'm told that your bosses want to say a couple of words to you!" the DJ continued. "We better listen them out, he? They are the ones paying for this great party after all!"

The crowd started laughing.

Zoey and Jack crossed the dance floor. As they were walking up the small stairs leading to the microphone stand, the DJ played Eye of the Tiger for them.

Laughing, Jack shook his head at the guy's impertinence.

***

Julia was surprised at how smoothly the party was progressing. Besides a few broken glasses and two totally wasted employees (one of them puking his guts out in the bathroom) there was no major drama.

Darius, as always, was great! He was actually leading the party. With his jokes and comments and just the perfect music, he made the crowd fall in love with him. Every hour he would announce a new competition: a song quiz or a dance contest. Right now he just started the 'how well do you know your colleagues' quiz, where he would read out some crazy facts about some of the Brand Today's employees, expecting the rest to guess who he was talking about. Josh had helped with coordinating that; finding people in the company that would be crazy enough to share such information about themselves. It paid off; everyone got engaged in the guessing game.

Julia sat at the bar, finally having a moment to catch a breath and have a glass of wine. She tried very hard to focus on what Darius was saying, but the moment she'd stopped running around and tried relaxing, her brain brought back all the thoughts she'd managed to push back throughout the evening.

Was someone really following her or was it just her imagination? Was she still safe in New York...

"This one is for all you hard working ladies out there!" Darius' words finally got to her. "Do you ever get the feeling that no matter how hard you try to show your worth, you are judged not based on your brain, but another part of your body...?"

Julia almost joked on her wine.

"Fuck," she whispered, turning to Darius.

She completely forgot what their plan had been. She'd asked him to play the song when she'd been still angry with Jack, had thought him to be a complete chauvinist. But Jack had proven otherwise. With everything that had been going on she'd simply forgotten to call off the plan. And to make things worse Darius had to start this off with that dramatic speech of his...

I would be complex

I would be cool

It was too late now; first tones of the song were heard and most of the girls ran to the dancefloor. Were they really cheering?

They'd say I played the field before I found someone to commit to

And that would be ok

For me to do

Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you

I'd be a fearless leader

I'd be an alpha type

When everyone believes ya

What's that like?

Julia took a deep breath and looked at Jack. He was leaning casually against one of the pillars, a bottle of beer in his hand. He seemed relaxed. At least this is what Julia thought until she moved her gaze to his eyes. He was staring at her. Was he pissed? She couldn't tell as his eyes were cold and emotionless. Julia slowly turned back to the bar.

"Fuck!"

I'm so sick of running as fast I can

Wondering if I'd get there quicker

If I was a man

And I'm so sick of them coming at me again

'Cause if I was a man

Then I'd be the man

I'd be the man

I'd be the man

"Double fuck!" She drank her glass empty.

That's definitely the last party I've ever organized for Brand Today... Julia thought, signaling to the bartender that she wants a refill.

"You are sooo bad, Jules..." Zoey crept up behind her with a wicked grin on her face.

"Shut up, Zoey!"

"Wait, you did not plan this?" her friend asked, surprised pointing to the DJ.

"No! I mean yes, but long ago! And I totally forgot about it...." Julia sent Zoey a tormented look. "Well, if I knew Jack would pick Alice Williams for the Chicago job I wouldn't have asked Darius to play that song obviously..."

"Obviously..." Zoey was trying not to laugh. She put her arm around Julia and added, "think of it as a future investment, Jules. The fact that we picked a woman for a director job does not mean that Brand Today has suddenly become a company treating men and women equally..."

"I bet I'm not going to be around to see when that happens," Julia sighed. "Jack is going to ban me from the office after that."

By now Darius got to the point when he would turn the volume down, so that the dancing crowd could sing the lines.

Julia's plan worked out perfectly, the problem was she didn't want it to work out anymore.

"Jules, it's really a wonderful party," Zoey concluded, giving her friend a hug. And then she was off to the dance floor.

Traitor.

Finally the song was over. Julia wondered if anyone would notice if she went home... Lizzie and Josh seemed to be having everything under control, so as the beats of the next song filled the room she slipped off the bar stool and moved towards the door.

Suddenly a voice stopped her.

"I believe you owe me a dance, miss Stiles."

Julia turned around already knowing who she would see.

Jack stood just inches away from her.

Were his eyes always that dark blue? Julia couldn't help but wonder as she looked into Jack's orbes. He was still giving her that cold stare. A chill ran down her spine. She was surprised to realize that it wasn't an unpleasant one.

Jack didn't wait for her to answer. He just grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor.

Mark Willkinson just started singing I'm on fire...

Julia took a deep breath and looked around panicked. Some folks shot her and Jack interested glances, but most of them were simply dancing.

Jack pulled Julia close, putting one hand on the small of her back, the other continued squeezing her fingers.

They were so close she could smell his cologne and feel the muscles under his shirt.

Julia couldn't quite believe how good it felt to be in Jack's arms; it made her feel safe, it gave her a strangely familiar feeling, as if... as if she belonged there?

"Would you care to explain?" His words pulled her out of her reverie.

"Hmm, what?"

"The song, Stiles," he added with his brow raised.

"Ah, right! About that..."

"I'm assuming you wanted to make a point?" Jack did not seem pissed, which greatly surprised Julia. He actually seemed... interested.

"No, I didn't! I mean, yeah, originally I wanted to make a point, but that's not needed anymore...clearly..." She stopped, seeing confusion on his face. Rolling her eyes, she continued, "I was so mad at you, Jack, when you tried proving to me that Peter Wyatt is the best fit for the job, I was so mad I wanted to show you..."

"Are you still mad at me, Julia?" Jack interrupted her banter.

"No," she sighed, "Not anymore."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Was she imagining things or did his arms actually wrap tighter around her?

Only you cool my desire

Oh, I'm on fire

They continued dancing in silence. Julia knew the song would end soon. Why didn't she want it to end?

"Do you think, Stiles, we could stay like this?" Jack interrupted her reverie.

"What?" Julia asked out of breath, afraid that he'd read her mind.

"Can we stop being mad at each other?"

"I'd like that," she said, meeting his dark blue gaze.

They stopped dancing and just kept staring at each other. She knew that lasted slightly too long, but she couldn't help it.

Julia cleared her throat and forced herself to speak.

"The song is over, Jack."

"So it seems..." He looked around. Did she notice disappointment flash through his face? No, she must have imagined it. "Great party, Stiles. You have a good night," he added and walked away.