Silk
I can just feel the crisp paper invitation within the pocket of my heavy, black wool coat, my fingers sliding over the material at my hip to feel the starched envelope within. I'd received it in the mail one week ago at my request. Clearly my application to attend had been successful - not just anyone is invited to an event such as this one.
The taxi chauffeuring me through downtown Washington DC is making good time. I'll be there perhaps ten minutes after the doors open. To be fashionably late is to be on time with this crowd. The roads are covered with slush, the recent heavy snowfalls only just starting to melt. It's going to be a cold, brief walk from the vehicle to the hotel, but that's all part of the game, you see. I'm at the party now. Or, rather, I
am
the party.
The palatial facade of the Adamant hotel stands out from the other equally splendid restaurants and establishments. If you want to hold an event to impress in this city, you hold it here, at the Adamant. Other taxis arrive, and I even spot a few limousines, where well-dressed men step out onto the street, dressed in tuxedos, cummerbunds, and white scarves draped over their shoulders. Smaller details make the man when one looks closely - cuff links, different colors tastefully included here or there, a different silk pocket square. But they are more or less the same. That is their uniform.
Mine is quite different.
As I exit the taxi, my black leather stilettos, each so highly polished as to be reflective as they hug my leg from toes to knees, press into the small coating of slush left on the sidewalk. Millimeters only, but every foot step squeezes the mire out from under me, leaving severe, unmistakable footprints in my wake. The men in tuxedos turn their heads towards me, some looking nervous, while other, more seasoned patrons, smile at me invitingly. My own rose-tinted lips curl with subtle greeting, my dark eyes glancing their way for only a moment before I head inside.
The lobby of the Adamant is coated in hard, gleaming opulence. Gold, marble, ivory, brass, and glass catch every sparkle of light and enhance it, illuminating the huge, two story room comfortably without requiring too many lamps or sconces.
There is no sign for the event, per se. Most in this hotel wouldn't even know it's occurring, given that the location is a presidential suite rented out by one Mr. Smith. Last year it was rented out by Mr. Doe. The members of this group feel no compunction to use real names, and the establishments in this city would lose considerable business if they pressed the point. Cash is an acceptable form of payment, after all.
I step into the elevator and press the Close Door button with a gloved finger. The gleaming brass panels slide shut in silence, leaving me caged within walls made entirely of mirrors. The invitation indicates the suite on the tenth floor, so I select that button and feel the car begin to ascend. My reflection is studied as I pull my gloves off, fold them, and place them in my pockets, and the person looking back at me is a svelte woman with dark features, fair skin, and gleaming black hair combed over to the left to exposed how the hair along the right side of my head is impeccably neat and short. It's a mohawk, but a glamorous one, grown out and styled to look like a pixie cut on the long side. Delicate earrings fashioned of a pearl set into gold hang from each ear, highlighting the elegance of my bare throat. The only other feature visible is my woolen overcoat, with a large, plush collar of fur rising almost to my ears, and broad black buttons that keep the material fitted to my curves.
My dark eyes slide to the door once more as the car comes to a halt, and a chime alerts me to my arrival at the tenth floor. The doors slide open to reveal a plushly-carpeted hallway, with silk paper in a deep red on the walls. There is only one door at the end of the hallway, and I can already see two large men dressed impeccably in suits and earpieces standing to either side of it.
Neither of them look at me until I draw the invitation from my pocket and hand it to them. The one on the right looks it over, his expression chilly and observant, and then he hands it to the man on the right, who looks even more inscrutable. He nods, then hands the invitation back to the first guard before pulling a radio from his belt and murmuring into it. I wait patiently, looking at the door rather than them, until at last the second man nods and reaches for the door knob, twists it, then pulls it open to let me inside.
The atmosphere within is warmer and more humid than it was out in the hallway. Colognes of the highest quality just mingle with the scents of wine. A cool draft slithers in from one of the side rooms (and there are many), carrying the scents from the outdoors, along with the faintest hint of cigarette smoke. Clearly the gentleman running this event has taken the addictions of some of his friends into account without forcing the rest of us to saturate in it.
While nearly all eyes turn towards me, whether it halts conversations or not, I attend to no one at first. I'm not expected to, of course. Again, that is the game. They wait, and their patience will be rewarded. First I take a look around the suite. A sitting area near a fireplace has room enough for six people, and various couches lined about the walls and floor provide room for many more. The space I'm currently in is only the living room of the suite. From my vantage point I can see a hallway on the right and to the left, leading off to a study, a den, a smoking room of course, and likely a few boudoirs and bathrooms. There's a kitchen as well, neatly tucked in behind a serving station furnished with all manner of savory and sweet.
At first I head into the bathroom, ostensibly to check my lipstick and makeup. Everything is perfect, of course, my eyeshadow subtle but smoky and inviting, and my lips full and equally tantalizing. Instead I pull out my phone and check the account I used for my patron's deposit. It's there, safe and secure as of ten minutes ago, so I needn't worry about being taken advantage of. Or, rather, I don't have to worry about that. I can't speak for these other gentlemen.
When I exit the bathroom, I cross the length of the living room, slowly unbuttoning my coat. Slender fingers attend to each button, my glossy nails loosening the garment slowly until, at last, the front is open, revealing only my midline.
It's enough. Now conversations are grinding to a halt as eyes rake down the strip of naked, exposed flesh revealed. I'm wearing no clothing beneath it, though I keep on my boots for the look and for the safety of my toes amidst all this close company. Once I have all of their attention, I slide out of the garment entirely, rolling my shoulders until the sleeves pool at my elbows, and from there I slip my arms out of it and hold it only with a finger hooked into the collar. One of the waitstaff comes by and takes it from me, and I watch as they move it to a locked cloak room. I will obviously not be needing a number, as I am the only woman here.