His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 280: Upper Class Fun

** Harper **

Harper had never heard of a venue named Garden Royale for all the four years she lived in Davenshire. Now she understood why. The place wasn’t a lounge, a restaurant, or even a nightclub, but rather an enormous rooftop ballroom overlooking the harbor and the entire city’s skyline, accessible only from the VIP entrance of the hotel below.

She took a deep breath as the maître d’hôtel led them out the elevator and through the tall double doors, stepping into a great hall dazzling with classic painted ceilings, gilded walls, carved marble pillars, and huge crystal chandeliers hanging throughout the space. A mahogany grand staircase curved down from the entrance foyer to the dance floor, where guests had already gathered in small crowds of black tuxes and beautiful evening dresses. Somewhere in the background, a duet of piano and violin was playing, the music drifting softly above muffled conversations and the clinking of wine glasses.

The sophisticated air suddenly made the scene in front of her feel like a Cinderella moment ... and Harper wasn’t quite sure if she could handle it right.

"Look up and simply be yourself, love." Eli’s voice came in a light whisper against her ear. "People’s eyes are on you, just the way they are supposed to be. You’ll get used to being the center of attention by the end of the evening, so be proud and smile."

Harper blinked, instinctively searching the dance floor in front of them for those people’s eyes. Eli was right. A few guests had casually looked up from their conversations, and when they saw the two figures at the top of the stairs, they stopped talking, examining the newcomers with impressed expressions. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

She wasn’t sure if those expressions were for her or Eli, but she took it as a decent first sign. Smiling up at her companion, she squeezed his arm affirmatively, and they slowly descended the stairs to mingle into the crowd.

"Oh my goodness glorious gracious, who is this gorgeous princess over here?" A familiar voice sounded behind them, along with the fast clicking of heels coming closer by.

Harper whipped around. "Chelsea!" A grin spread across her lips at the sight of her friend. But then the grin quickly turned into a surprised gasp when the person behind Chelsea showed himself. "Wait ... Tyler?"

Last time when the four of them were out for dinner together, Eli had given Chelsea the invitation he secured for the event, which turned out to be a rare one for a main guest. Chelsea would be able to bring her own plus-one with such an invitation ... but did this mean she actually brought Tyler?

Had the match-making effort already seen its fruition so fast, after only one dinner?

"Surprise surprise, meet my plus-one for the night." Chelsea tapped Tyler’s shoulder, suspiciously familiarly. "An awesome orientation party for a first-timer in Davenshire, isn’t it?"

"Only because my job started too late and missed the invitation deadline," Tyler replied, with a hint of sourness that seemed to be his new norm in the past month.

Harper chuckled. Well, it was her brother’s loss to have gotten into a cold war with her boyfriend. Otherwise, the extra invitation could’ve easily gone to Tyler in the first place. "That’s so nice of you," she said to Chelsea. "My brother must’ve stumbled upon some really good luck, especially considering he got to be the first one to see you in this incredible dress."

Chelsea had opted for a bright red gown tonight, with a simple style featuring plain satin fabric with a modest flaring skirt. The no-frills design let the bold color make its statement, and it worked amazingly well with her blonde hair curled into glam waves, turning the full package into an Oscars-ready look.

"Talking about me? Did you see yourself in the mirror, girl?" Chelsea, apparently not feeling smug enough to focus on her own outfit, walked around Harper instead in a full circle. "My God, I really have no words for this dress. The marvelous design! The seamless fit! The perfect vibe that suits you two hundred percent! It’s like it’s made just for y—"

She caught herself suddenly in the middle of that sentence, turning to Eli with widened eyes. "Oh I see I see. You must’ve found a designer to make this gown especially for her, didn’t you?"

Eli smiled. "You’ve got sharp eyes there." A cocktail server passed by just at the right time, and he picked up a flute of champagne to lift to Chelsea in a toast.

"Ah, we should indeed all toast to the occasion." Harper, trying not to grin too obviously from the pride of being the recipient of Eli’s special treatment, followed suit and hid her face behind her own champagne. "To a great evening for all of us! Wish Chelsea and I enjoy our lovely gowns and drinks and upper class fun, while Eli and Tyler go do whatever you business people do at a dress-up career fair."

Chelsea beamed. Eli smiled again indulgingly. Tyler rolled his eyes, though the look he darted Eli seemed more approving now, probably for the thought and effort that the latter had put into bringing Harper here as his official date.

The four of them shared a toast and moved to a high table closer to the piano and violin duet, chatting idly as they enjoyed the music and drink. Harper glanced around some more, studying the marble sculptures and towering flower displays that filled every corner and turn of the room. Upper class, indeed. She was probably going to get a much better idea of what Eli always meant by "the pretentious elite circle" at the end of tonight.

In between conversations, her eyes passed over the growing crowd, pausing occasionally on interesting dresses that caught her attention. Suddenly, when her gaze swept over a table on the other side of the piano, she stopped, blinking a few times to make sure that she saw the figures there correctly.

It was ... Eli’s father? And Emory?