Solace and Sage rolled the cart down the corridor, a pep in their steps and stealing shy smiles.

"I can't believe we pulled that off," whispered Solace, heels clicking with rapid speed. They had to get out of here now and present the painting to Sage's boss. It was almost nine, sparing them three hours before the clock hit midnight, but she wanted to be done with this as soon as possible.

"For a second, I thought we were goners," agreed Sage, almost giddy. The relief rolling off him was palpable.

Solace flipped open her application mirror, swiping her mouth to fix her lipstick. Remnants of Sage's lips on hers. There wasn't much damage, but she would need to reapply. She glanced over at him to see pink tinges of lipstick on his lips. "You have..." she said and motioned at her lips.

His gaze fell to her lips, but Sage seemed to quickly realize what he had done and moved his sights back to the cart. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "Better?" he asked gruffly.

"Uh-huh," she muttered, twisting the rings on her fingers. "What you did back there, the..." faltered Solace, unable to speak the words into existence. Heat licked at her neck and cheeks. "That was smart." She hid her frown and the disappointment that came along with it. Sage had kissed her for the sake of the mission. But last night, he wanted something to happen between them, right? She was the one who had pulled away.

He halted in the middle of the hallway. She followed in suit, confused. Appearing almost torn, his shoulder sagged, and his grip around the cart tightened. "Solace," started Sage, her name a beautiful thing on his tongue. She looked up at him hopefully. "I kissed you so the guard wouldn't be suspicious."

Solace's heart fell. She curled her hands into fists, chiding herself for thinking otherwise.

"But that wasn't the only reason."

She turned to him, eyes expectant, needing him to say more.

Sage opened his mouth, the two trapped in one another, the noise of the party a faint buzz. She focused on his breathing, how it came out in shallow tones, the small bit of lipstick under his bottom lip, and how far he was compared to mere minutes ago.

"Solace," called out a voice. She jolted at the sound of her name, despising the fact it was not flowing off Sage's lips. "I've been looking all over for you."

Miles had the worst timing. Solace gritted her teeth, attempting her best smile, but all she could think about was murdering him on sight. "Just went to the bathroom," she said, her skin prickling from Sage's curious eyes.

"What are you doing over here?" barked another man, and beside him another waiter. The bald man with premature wrinkles and grey hair seemed frustrated. It seemed like he was talking to Sage.

"I was leading Ms. Laurent to the grand hall," Sage lied.

The man waved his hand dismissively. "You should be out front, serving drinks and food. Guests want to see a handsome face unlike this young man," he pointed to the mousy-looking boy beside him. The poor waiter turned bright red, although Solace was unsure with his acne-prone skin.

Miles lightly touched her arm. She did not miss Sage's hardened gaze. "The senator is looking to speak to all of us," he murmured.

Solace could not pay attention nor swat away his hand as she was too caught up in the second conversation taking place.

Sage nodded. "Absolutely, I just need to return the cart to the kitchen." He moved, but the man stopped him in his tracks.

"Angelo can do that." He handed Sage the platter of small tarts. "You need to go now."

"Solace?" Miles urged.

"Hold on," she muttered, beginning to sweat from having the painting taken away from them. Solace spared a glance at Sage, his jaw clenched as if he would rather knock everyone out unconscious than play waiter for a moment longer.

"It'll only take a moment," promised Sage.

"Nonsense, you need to go now," pushed the man.

Angelo moved to grab the cart, and it must have taken all of Sage's depleting will to let go. "Of course," he said through gritted teeth.

Solace swallowed nervously, trying to catch Sage's eyes. He appeared worried, just like her. She was sick of the hurdles being thrown their way. For once, why couldn't have things gone according to plan? Right now, the best they could do was mingle and blend in with the crowds until they found the right opportunity to leave and retrieve the painting.

"Let's go," she told Miles. He nodded, and as they walked by the cart, Solace locked sights with Sage, swiping her thumb against her bottom lip. Pink tinged the pad of the finger, and she swiftly wiped it against the white cloth of the cart. Now, they would know which cart to look for.

"Are you liking the party so far?" asked Miles, leading her back to the great hall.

Solace's shoulders were stiff, and as much as she tried, she could not relax knowing the 100-million-dollar painting was in the hands of a random acne-prone teenager. "It's nice," she entertained. She'd rather him speak and fill the silence. "And you?"

"One of the best parties I've been to," Miles agreed, his grey suit fitting his form nicely. Solace had never quite realized how attractive he was when he wasn't sneering or sucking up to Moore.

She preferred her golden-eyed waiter.

"Did you see the acrobats? They were amazing. One of them blew fire out of their mouth," he said in awe.

Solace sidestepped a woman, who she swore she had seen on the Forbes list. "No, I didn't," she muttered, her attention taken away by the great hall. Remnants of the performance were left from a girl in spandex twisting and twirling on an aerial ring. The acrobat moved with swiftness and delicacy in a way that reminded Solace of the ocean. Dinner tables were set with candles placed on green oak needles as the centerpiece, a few guests already having claimed their seats and some swaying on the dancefloor to the tune of the orchestra.

Miles gently grabbed her arm and began to pull her. Solace looked his way to see them walking to Moore, Everly and Wyatt surrounding him.

Senator Moore smiled, a glass of whisky clasped in his hands. "I see we have the last of our group here, now," he remarked. He did not sound exactly unfriendly, the alcohol having ebbed his usual distasteful behaviour.

"That was my bad," Miles chimed in, earning a curious look from Solace. Why was he covering for her? "We got lost as your manor is so big." That sounded more like him.

"You should see my Paris Villa," chuckled Moore, four fake laughs ensuing. Solace was not sure why she was still keeping up with these antics. She would be leaving once the holidays were over. That was one more thing to look forward to; handing in her resignation letter and never having to see Moore's face.

Everly nestled closer to her. "Where were you?"

"Selling paintings," Solace murmured. It was not exactly a lie.

Moore cleared his throat. "I merely wanted to check up on the four of you to see how you were doing," he said, giving each of them a pointed look. It lasted a second too long on Solace. What Samuel was really saying was 'have you done anything to embarrass me?'

"We're having a great time, Senator Moore," started Wyatt in his blinding orange suit. He looked like a walking highlighter. "Thank you for inviting us."

Solace drifted away from the conversation, catching sight of someone. Her eyes always found him in a room. Sage sauntered in, a platter in his hands and a poorly disguised scowl on his lips, the reason undoubtedly being the man from the hall following closely behind. He seemed to have his gaze on Sage. Solace watched as he handed out tarts, the lingering stares of guests resting on his beautiful face. Just like what she was doing now. She simply hoped Sage was smart enough to stay away from Everly's sights. They could not have him recognized.

She was knocked out of her thoughts by a nudge.

"And you, Solace?" Moore questioned with raised brows. "Is this party up to your standards?"

A firm thump to his head by her clutch would do nicely. Rather, Solace grinned. "It is everything and more than I imagined," she complimented.

Moore hummed, sipping his drink. "Well, I'll leave you four to it. I have some guests to entertain."

Solace sighed when he walked away. "You'd think he'd be less horrible during the holidays," she remarked to the group.

"One could only hope," Everly retorted.

"I think I see the Gates," whispered Wyatt. "I'm going to go introduce myself." He fixed his suit and tie and stumbled off with the grace of an elderly man but the pretentiousness of a king.

Everly gulped back her drink, resting it on a passing platter. "And I see the Treasurer. I'll see you two later." With the brush of her dress, she was off.

Solace glanced over at Miles stiffly, about to excuse herself when he spoke.

"Would you like to dance?" he wondered apprehensively.

Her immediate answer was no. There was not a single part in her that wished to dance with him. If anything, Solace wanted to be dancing with Sage, but he was out waltzing around as a fake waiter. But Miles had taken the blame for her and spent his time looking for her. Besides, it would only look suspicious if she left the great hall again in the span of ten minutes.

"One dance couldn't hurt," Solace said and slipped her hand into his waiting one. She placed her clutch by the windowsill, unworried about someone stealing it. The people in this room made more money than she would in a lifetime. There would be no thieves here.

Except for her and Sage, of course.

Miles led her to the dance floor, the two becoming one of the many swaying pairs. She rested one hand on his shoulder, the other in his hand as he slid his palm firmly around her waist.

The entire time she wished it were Sage's arms around her.

It was unsurprising that Miles knew a thing or two about ballroom dancing. He piloted the dance, and Solace clumsily followed along, a smile tugging at her lips at how horrible she was at this.

"I'm not the best dancer," Solace said. She enjoyed the arts, but merely the kind that involved a paintbrush.

Miles grinned, his eyes meeting hers now that they were at eye-level with her heels. Sage still had a few generous inches on her. "Don't worry, I've seen worse," he promised.

Solace laughed when he twirled her, the air whipping around her body and her braids whirling. She steadied herself, dizzied by the spin, only to catch Sage's eyes on her. Most specifically, a glare aimed at Miles. As she moved with Miles, Sage's gaze would travel with them as he served drinks. If she didn't know any better, she would think he was jealous.

That brought an improper sense of joy.

The song was soon coming to an end, and for a moment, Solace did not worry about the painting. She was all too focused on Sage's scowl and how pleasant it was to dance as if she truly was part of this upper-class society.

"You're not as bad as I thought," Solace mused to Miles. From the last few months of interning with Moore, she had never had a delightful conversation with him. It was always about work and his disgustingly rich tendencies.

Miles's hands slumped to his side when the tune of the orchestra came to an end. "That is the nicest thing you have said to me," he smirked.

Sage's arrogant smirk flashed in her mind, and she followed her intuition to the corner of the room to see the one and only staring at her. He jutted his head towards the door, clearly impatient and annoyed. Playing pretend was over.

"Thank you for the dance. I'm going to go find Everly," excused Solace, already beginning her jaunt to grab her clutch and head to the exit. "Happy New Year, Miles."

"Happy New Year, Solace."

It will be once I have the Servus Autem Fortuna in my hands.

***

Author's Note:

Hello everyone!

So far, the plan isn't going smoothly and it's only going to get worse lol. Like really worse. Can't wait for next week!

I have about about 4 more chapters to write. I have a lot more time this semester as my clinical rotation is at a psychiatric unit compared to a med-surg one. Hopefully I'll be able to release all the chapters in two weeks.

Until next time - m.k.t