Mozart! He was one of my favorite composers, not because of his melodious tunes, but the nobility and purity of heart he showed throughout his suffering. Although he was never comforted by the outside world, he was willing to use his soothing melodies for the relief of others.
After playing a short piece of Mozart’s, I stood up gracefully and smiled gently at Shawn Donovan, a well-known man at the party. He held my hand gently and kissed it, saying, "Thank you for your music! It's so beautiful, just like you.”
"Thank you,” I responded with a polite smile.
"Give me a chance?" he gripped the hand that I almost wanted to pull back. His huge palm was hot, but it couldn’t warm my ice-cold heart.
I pulled my hand away, smiling and apologized to him politely, "Sorry, please tell Irene that I have work to do, I have to leave."
"I can bring you the same joy and satisfaction that a piano can give you..."
"The piano never gives me any pleasure," I said.
Perhaps he would never know that I had been using the piano to forget the happy days I once knew. After refusing to dance with Shawn again, I left. A waiter was coming towards me. He was sneaking a peek at the men around me, holding a note in his hands saying, "A gentleman said, he would like to invite you to have a snack after the party."
I glanced at the note and was not impressed by what had been written on it, but the fancy signature...Jonathan Li, it caught my eye. I remembered that name...I looked around in a shock, eagerly searching for the familiar figure from my past! After just a few seconds, I found him on the sofa sitting in the corner.
It was two years since I last met him. He had not changed much at all, still handsome, ambitious, and composed.
Ladies who didn't know him could never guess his age. And even after having been accompanied by him for eight years, I was always confused by his true age.
Other than a few posh bodyguards surrounding him, there were several men standing together whispering.
Judging from their expressions, they might have been gambling. They looked at me with curiosity, waiting for my reaction, but Jonathan seemed totally oblivious, looking down at the red wine glasses!
I took a deep breath to let the air fill my chest. I took the note and wrote my hotel and room number on it. And then opening my handbag to take out a nickel, I smiled and said to the waiter, "Please tell him, I'm interested in him, and I hope he can come to my hotel room for the night... Thank you!"
I guessed my words were too revealing, they shocked the waiter, as he seemed quite surprised.
"Desiree! It's not a joke, especially with him!" my friend, Amanda, said. I was not in the mood to care about what she was trying to say, because I was so nervous waiting for Jonathan's response, that I forgot to breathe.
Walking up to Jonathan, timidly, the waiter gave him the note and the coin and said a few words. As he read the note, he had hardly any expression on his face, only a faint hint of a sneer in the corners of his mouth.
Shawn saw his reaction and became even more worried. So, he caught up with me on my way back to the hotel and said, "Desiree! You are in big trouble! He is Jonathan Li, a notorious gang leader! Haven’t you heard about him?"
"Yes, I have. So, what?" I said. No one knew him better than I did.
"He's no ordinary person." Amanda said as she lowered his voice, "Nobody dares to provoke him, let alone women! A superstar or a famous model, no one dared to refuse."... "I felt a pain in my chest, and I couldn’t understand such pride to never dare say no. "
Amanda continued to inform me about him, “Recently, he switched to legitimate trade, but kept his reputation, even now the most powerful men in the black market would refer to him as 'boss.' Now, if you ever dared to offend him, it would be too reckless and a rash of you...if he found you were playing him, he would definitely torture you to death. "
When Shawn saw that I was silent, he thought that I was frightened by what she said, then quickly comforted me and said, "It's all right. I'll explain it to him for you. Then you can apologize to him politely. He will surely forgive you and forget it!"
Before I had a chance to say anything, Shawn was already dragging me over towards Jonathan. He greeted him politely and tried to explain, "Mr. Li, I'm sorry! My friend is always joking, and she is not serious, I hope you don't mind!"
Jonathan glanced at him, stared at us, held hands, looked up at me with his gruesome and cold eyes, and said, "This joke is not funny!" I didn't think it's funny, either. And I pulled my hand away from Shawn.
