"Bethie, see you at the party tonight?" her friend asked the blond as they walked out of class. Elizabeth Drake, known as Bethie to her friends, shook her head.

"Sorry, wish I could but I have that stupid party of my father's to go to. I bet he's going to try and fix me up with another one of his business associates," she sighed, truly wishing she could go to her friend's party instead. Her father had been trying to set her up with prospective suitors for years, well since she started college. Her mother had expected her to find a husband at college. "What was point of going to college if you weren't looking for a husband?" she had asked Bethie on numerous occasions.

Her friend shook her head sadly, this wasn't anything new. Bethie was asked to attend these parties more often then she would have like. They waved good-bye and went their separate ways.

Her father, Kyle Drake, was the owner and chief executive office of Dragillion Enterprises, one of the largest companies in the world. While it seemed unlikely that she would inherit the business, her brother was more interested in it than her, her father still expected her to marry someone who would be convenient or advantageous to the company, which she didn't want. Whether it be a naive notion or not, she would prefer to marry someone she loved, or even liked. Not one of the money grabbing ass-hats that usually pursued her.

She made it back to her apartment, having moved out of her family home two years ago, after her freshman year. The 21 year old proceeded to shower and start to get ready for the party. As much as she didn't want to go to these parties, she still enjoyed dressing up for them. Putting on her silk robe, she blew her hair dry, making the blond waves curl just a little bit. She pulled her hair into a messy bun, allowing some strands of hair to fall out and frame her face. She then put some make-up, just enough to accent her silvery-blue eyes. She moved to her bedroom and put on the little black dress she had picked out before hand. She strapped on her too high heels, giving to 5'4" girl several more inches of height.

Grabbing a matching wristlet and her keys, Bethie left her apartment heading for her car. She blasted music during the twenty minute drive, not lowering it when arriving at the party venue. Her father had rented a hall at an exclusive club. "Your invitation...oh, never mind," the guard started to ask as she rolled her window down. Most knew who Bethie was. She parked and entered the hall, sighing, this party was going to be the same as all the others.

((Hope this is okay, I figured they could somehow meet at the party...))

Kyle Drake. THE Kyle Drake. That was a well-known name that made Alec's stomach churn a bit - though he would never admit it. Of course, it wasn't because he was afraid of the man. After all, what did he have besides a couple million dollars, air tight security, and connections all over the world? Oh yes, and surely he had some gun laying around here and there. Or everywhere. But none of that made Alec nervous. Despite being a rather young assassin at twenty two years of age, Alec was confident in his skills. Some might argue that he was a bit overconfident, in fact. The fact of the matter, though, was that he could get things done. It was consequences of this particular job that had his nerves running wild. He'd never gone after somebody quite this renowned or quite this powerful.

You learn something new every day, right? Or die trying to.

Alec Michaels had been in the business of assassination for years now and it wasn't necessarily something he was proud of. But he was under contract and for his hesitations, there was somebody - a higher up - who was more than willing to snuff out this boy's life if he decided to change his mind or run away. Alec had begun to grow depressingly accustomed to this lifestyle, though, and blending is was now simply a way of life. He had never been the biggest fan of violence and even on the job, he would do quite a bit more strategic planning than violently jumping the gun like so many others in his "profession" tended to do.

That tedious planning was exactly how he had managed to talk himself into getting an invitation to Kyle Drake's party. All it had taken was a charming smile, some gentle whispers, and a clean kiss to the cheek and he had a silly woman wrapped around his finger. After that, finding the right paper and ink to forge the invitation with was a piece of cake. The next step was presentation. Alec remained in his apartment for a good hour and a half - his subtle love for fashion taking over as he threw on a suit before replacing with another, and then another. Finally, he had settled with a slightly more casual look. He needed to look expensive, but he needed to look approachable as well. To complete his ensemble, he hid a convenient little shotgun within his clothing as well as a couple of other lethal trinkets he carried with him on his jobs.

Next step - the arrival. Finding a car was no easy task, and for once Alec was rather baffled. He'd ended up taking a cab and getting himself dropped off around the corner. The young man approached the man guarding the door, each step accompanied by its own feigned personality. Alec's unnaturally bright blue eyes landed directly on the man as a smile tugged at his lips and he handed the forged invitation over to him. It had only been studied for a couple of seconds before he was waved inside and Alec was able to let out the breath he had been unknowingly holding in.

He was inside.

Bethie entered the hall, it was decked out to the max, as usual. Her parents didn't like to do anything small, in fact Bethie would have been slightly disappointed if they had. The was a light crowd, people were still doing their best to get through security. She felt this would be the best time to get through and talk to her parents; she wanted to get that part of the night over with. She picked up a glass of champagne on her way over to them. Dealing with the was always better with a drink.

"Hello mother, father," she said, hugging them each in turn. "Bethie, dear, look at your hair. How are you supposed to attract someone when you look, so frumpy," her mother said, trying to tuck the stray hairs back into her bun. "Mother, please. My hair's fine," she said, suppressing an eye roll. Those got her no where with her mother. Nothing did in fact, she could never do anything completely right in her mother's book.

"Anna, let Elizabeth be, she looks beautiful tonight," he father spoke up, handing her mother a drink. "Now Elizabeth, there are several people I'd like you'd to meet tonight, so don't wander off." That got an eye roll from her. There was no way that she was going to be anywhere near these people. Most would probably be sons of potential business partners, who by definition she wanted nothing to do with. Instead of trying to argue, which was impossible with Kyle Drake, she went to her old stand by, the nod and smile. She'd agree to meet with them, but nothing more.

As more people arrived, more wanted to talk to her parents, which gave her an excuse to slip away. She needed food. There were several table with hors d'oeuvres, which she made a small plate of the finger food. It was decent food, but she only took enough to get something in her stomach. She planned on drinking, a lot if she was to meet people, but experience told her that doing it on an empty stomach was a bad idea.

She watched the crowd as she ate, standing to the side of the hall, trying not to be noticed. That was difficult. Some of the people who couldn't get to her parents approached her and attempted to talk to her. She blew them off as gently as she could, she had no say in her father's business dealings. Her mother would get angry at her later and she knew it. Standing to the side and looking bored out of your mind was not the was that she should be presenting herself.

Then again, she really didn't care at this point.

It didn't take long at all to spot his target and Alec's eyes lingered on the man across the room who was far too busy greeting his associates to notice an unfamiliar young man among the crowd. He couldn't help but notice how joyful he looked at that moment - Ah, but Alec went through this with almost every target. There was always that brief moment of connection before he acted upon his orders. The young assassin didn't plan on making his move just yet, though. In a place like this, that wouldn't exactly be the smart thing to do.

Shoving his hands casually into his pants pockets and pulling his lips together into a fine line, Alec let his eyes drift from the target's and move across the room - surveying his surroundings and the people that made up his surroundings. There were faces here and there that he recognized from Media. And then, of course, there was the Mr. Drake's wife. Alec had been provided with all of the family photos when he had first been handed the contract. There was a third face, though, which he had not yet come across. The daughter.

Ah. And there she was. Alec finally spotted her standing off to the side of the hall by the appetizers. There were people hanging around here and there nearby, but she seemed to have been able to gently shoo them away the best she could. A slight smirk tugged on the corner of his mouth as he questioned whether or not she could do the same to him. A mixture of curiosity and the desire to carry out a plan further filled him and Alec took the first step forward, beginning toward the young Elizabeth Drake.

"You're not very social tonight, are you?" Alec said with a casual tone and a charming smile as he approached, his pace slowing a bit as he got closer. Soon enough, he was by her side, those startling blue eyes peering at her in his peripheral vision as he began to pick at the appetizers a bit. This job had its perks, that was for sure. "You're Elizabeth Drake, right?" he questioned briefly as he eyed her once more before turning back toward the appetizers.

Bethie turned when a new voice spoke up coming towards her. There was a boy, around her age. She didn't recognize him, but that wasn't really saying anything, she met so many people at these things, she couldn't possibly keep all their names straight. She simply assumed he was the son of one of the many business partners her father had. "Its just one of those nights, I guess," she told, doing her best to be charming. She wouldn't want it to get back to her mother that she was rude.

She was startled by his second question. What game was he playing? Everyone at these parties knew exactly who she was, to a point where it was annoying. "Yes, I am," she replied, now rolling her eyes. People had tried this approach before and it was her least favorite. It was a stupid to pretend not knowing who she was in order to try and get close.

"What do you really want? Introduce you to my father? Tell all about some brilliant plan you have?" she asked scathingly. She really didn't want to put up with this kind of thing at the moment. Well, she didn't want to be there at the moment. She looked at him, getting a good look at him. She definitely didn't recognize him. Those eyes of his were rememorable.

Since he seemed interested in the appetizers, she left the area, moving somewhere where it would be obvious why someone would approach her. As she walked someone she recognized approached her. The son of one of her father's biggest partners. "Bethie, there you are! Let's dance!" he called out to her half way across the room. "Let's not, I'm...eating. And don't call me 'Bethie,'" she replied as he came up to her, showing him the food and glaring at him. She could not stand him at all. He took a hold of one of her wrists and took her towards the dance floor in the back of the room. There were people already there, but he parted the crowd to make room for them.

"Let me go, Chris," she hissed at him.

The moment Elizabeth had spoken up, Alec's eyes suddenly shifted their attention back to the girl. Well, she certainly was in the worst of moods. He wasn't sure he really wanted to sit here and deal with her poor attitude, but who was he kidding? He wasn't exactly a fan of the charging and in and blindly shooting method. It may have been effective in the movies, but here in the real world it was a surefire way to get yourself killed or in a cell. Alec had done a fantastic job staying out of the jails and he wanted to keep it that way. And, for that reason, it looked like he would have to deal with her.

"Brilliant plan? Something like that," he muttered in response, an amused smirk tugging slightly at his lips. Ah, the irony of the question. His eyes shifted back to the food. He hadn't wanted to give her too much attention since that may not have been the best way to make somebody feel comfortable. It seemed, though, that may have been a bad idea. The moment he'd looked away, Elizabeth had turned to leave. What a fantastic first impression.

Alec turned his head to follow her path just in time to see a rather eager man approaching her and grab at her wrist, practically dragging her along with him toward the dance floor. The assassin's eyebrows perked upward slightly in interest as he studied that which he could see of her expression of protest. It was obvious she wasn't having a good time, so with as much subtle charm as he could muster up, he began to follow the couple.

"Excuse me," he chimed in, catching up just in time to catch Elizabeth's demanding tone. Alec's eyes - suddenly confident and demanding - immediately fell upon the well dressed man, Chris. To complete the look, though, he pulled a smooth smile onto his face. "I believe Ms. Drake here already promised me a dance tonight," he added as he slipped his own hand gently into hers, maneuvering easily around Chris' arm.

Bethie was doing her best to get away from Chris, without physically struggling. That wouldn't have gotten her anywhere, the man was much larger than her. "Chris, please let me go," she hissed at him pleadingly. He just grinned at her and continued to pull her away. He was enjoying this too much, as he always did at these events.

A somewhat familiar voice spoke up, stopping them. She looked around and saw the young man from before. She took his hand gratefully and nodded. "He's right, I did promise that," she lied quickly, not looking either man in the eyes. She was a poor liar and knew it. Chris let go of her grudgingly. "Fine, I'll catch you later then, Bethie," he winked at her before disappearing into the crowd, causing her to shiver.

"Thank you," she mumbled to the man, as she looked up at him. She hadn't looked at him properly before, but she noticed that he had startling blue eyes. She had not seen anything like them before. Despite that, she didn't recognize him.

"Who are you?" she asked him. She put her arms around him, starting to dance. She might as well dance with him, since he had saved her. Plus Chris was most likely watching them, upset at the man besting him and at Bethie for picking this man over him. Then again she would have most likely would have picked anyone over Chris.

Alec's efforts had been immediately successful, which he hadn't been entirely surprised about. Sure, he was overconfident at times, but he had always had a way with people. He could smooth talk them, he could intimidate them. Really, it was all part of the act either way and he seemed to putting on a pretty good one right now. He caught sight of Chris glaring grudgingly at him, but Alec's eyes only brightened tauntingly before the opposing man finally let go of Elizabeth and stalked off in the other direction.

"No problem," Alec said, turning back to Elizabeth, his smile remaining. The moment he felt her arms around him, reluctant at first, he placed his hands gently on her waist and the duo swayed with the music. He could easily feel Chris' eyes on them from the side of the dance floor and Alec couldn't help but be a little bit proud. After all, he did have a beautiful young woman in his arms and he had only said about two sentences to her so far.

Who was he? Who was he, indeed? Thinking fast wasn't difficult this time around, though, since he'd had to come up with plenty of aliases in the past. "Eric," he began, reminding himself of an older alias he had used. It would have to be slightly altered, though. "Eric Palmer. My father worked with yours a couple years back. Mine couldn't make it, though, so he sent me in his place." He shrugged his shoulders slightly before smiling once more. "Pretty good excuse to enjoy some great food and some lovely company, right?"

Bethie listened curiously. Eric Palmer? she thought. The name didn't sound familiar, but then again her father worked with many people. He seemed to talk about even more of them. It was no wonder that she didn't recognize them when she ran into them, there were too many to remember when only meeting or seeing them a few times a year.

"It would be," she agreed, continuing to sway with the music. In truth she didn't agree, but that was because of the fact she was pretty much forced into coming to the party. She just didn't want to make him feel bad, after all he had rescued her from Chris. Looking up at him, she noticed his smile. It was rather infectious. "The food is rather good here, though I wouldn't call myself good company after how I spoke to you earlier," she admitted, giving a small smile.

That wasn't something she was used to doing at these parties. At least not real ones. She would force them to appease her parents. It made her life easier. "So, Eric, thank you for the dance and saving me from the clutches of that ass-hat," she said with a slight nod of the head as the song ended.

Alec let out a brief chuckle and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as they continued to sway with the music. He wanted to say that it had been a long time since he had last danced with a woman - perhaps that would make his act seem a bit more real. He may have managed to weave a convincing web of lies that Elizabeth had yet to see through, but he could never quite seem to convince himself. And wouldn't that just complete the scene?

"Don't worry about that. With the number of men you attract, it's completely understandable," he said matter-of-factly as he glanced around. "I couldn't count the number of jealous men watching you right now on both hands. I guess that makes me lucky." He turned back to her, catching her gaze with his blue eyes. Suddenly, though, the song was coming to an end and he could feel that empty disappointment coming on. He did enjoy a good dance.

"You're very welcome. And, Elizabeth, thank you for making this long night just a bit more bearable." Alec liked parties, but even that statement wasn't entirely a lie. The people in the room were rather ... foul in personality. Not to mention, many of the young men seemed to be acting like refined vultures. It wasn't particularly attractive.

Bethie looked around at his comment and grinned. He was right, there were plenty of men watching them, with most of them looking pretty angry. She sort of liked their anger. They were pissed because she willingly danced with Eric, compared to her usually grudgingly attitude.

"Its my pleasure then," she smiled, having actually enjoyed the dance. She didn't usually, then again she was typically forced into dancing with people against her will. She broke apart from him and noticed her mother beckoning her over to them. She signed, finding herself wanting to spend more time talking to him. She walked through the crowd, avoiding the eyes of the different people who looked as though they wanted to speak to her.

"Yes?" she asked her mother when she arrived before her. "Who is that boy you were just dancing with?" she asked Bethie. "He said he was Eric Palmer, the son of someone dad used to do business with," she explained. Her mother nodded, like Bethie not knowing the name of everyone her father worked with. "Well, just be polite to him," her mother said, dismissing the girl. Bethie suppressed another eye roll and left her parents again.

It was getting stuffy in the hall, so she stepped out into the balcony. It was cool outside, especially compared to the heat generated by all the people in the hall. It was always like that, but it was still hard to get used to. She crossed her arms and exhaled.