Carlos smiled at Crystal. "Do you like talking to me?" he asked.
Crystal shrugged, took a sip of wine, and looked around. "Where's your girlfriend?"
"She'll probably be late," Carlos replied.
"You know how she is. She likes to make a dramatic entrance. Anyway, did you hear my question? You should know that I'm breaking up with Joyce. She's too needy. Do you know what I mean?"
Crystal was a bit shocked by what Carlos said, but she didn't let it show. "That's not any of my business," she said. "Especially if she doesn't even know yet…."
Of course, the only reason that Carlos had said this was because he was still attracted to Crystal. He looked her over, and his heart began to race. "I did talk to her, but she's having a hard time with it," he said. "If we do break up, though, could you give me another chance? We used to be good together. Don't you think so? We were perfectly matched..."
"Perfectly matched?" Crystal scoffed. "Even if we were, you betrayed me! I will never forgive you for what you did, so you might as well give up. You are wasting both of our time!"
When Cecelia saw them together, she wandered over. She looked at Carlos and said, "What are you doing with this bitch? Aren't you afraid that Joyce will be jealous?"
Suddenly, Joyce appeared. She had overhead what Cecelia had said, and it made her laugh. "Why should I be jealous?" she asked. She was wearing a big red dress with a deep cut that pushed most of her breasts precariously out the top. Her lips were red, and her eyeliner was dark black. She thought that she looked like a queen, but Crystal and Carlos thought she looked more like a streetwalker.
Joyce hugged Carlos intimately and said, "I'm sorry for ignoring you. I had something to deal with. I hope you aren't unhappy."
Joyce offered Crystal a fake smile. In her heart, she wanted to kill Crystal. She thought that Crystal was behind Carlos, wanting to break up with her. She waited for Carlos to say something, and when he didn't, she began to pout. He didn't notice that either, so she patted his arm and said, "Dear, I need to talk to Crystal alone. I will find you later."
Carlos nodded and walked away. Once he was gone, Crystal turned to Joyce and said, "I'm here. Now, where's the video?"
Joyce smirked, and her eyes shone mischievously. "You just got here," she said. "I didn't promise that you would get it right away. You have to do everything I say while you are here. Then, at the end of the party, you will get it."
Crystal: "What do you want me to do? Aren't you afraid that if you fuck me over, I will fuck over The Henry Group?"
"I am sure President Davis would not allow that!" Joyce scoffed. "It's just not good business, and we both know it. Brilliant Group has already lost so much money because of your shitty decisions. I doubt he would let you lose any more."
Crystal had never thought about the losses that the Brilliant Group had suffered because of her actions. All she had thought about was Henry Group.
Joyce laughed and said, "I can't imagine why Mr. Davis would be interested in a reckless woman like you. All you think about is yourself. If you weren't so selfish, you would have realized that he is actually a very poor man." She pointed to a man that was sitting at the bar. "Anyway, take a look at Shawn."
"Shawn...?" Crystal was confused. "What does he have to do with anything?" she asked. Shawn Walker was a fat man with very few redeeming qualities, and everyone in school had always made fun of him. He had asked Crystal out once, but she had refused him. That night, he had attempted suicide. He had survived, but after that, he hadn't returned to school.
Joyce: "I want you to kneel and lick his shoes. Then I want you to apologize for rejecting him and laughing behind his back. Lastly, I want you to ask him for a second chance."
Crystal: "Why do you want me to do this? You must have a crush on him! Does Carlos know about it?"
Joyce was caught off guard by Crystal's resourceful retort, but it had little effect on her. "If you want to keep the video private," she hissed, "you will do as I say."
Crystal sighed and said, "Fine. I'll do it." Crystal got up and walked towards the bar.
When she got close enough for Shawn to hear, she called out his name. Shawn turned around, as did everyone else in the room. They were all curious to see what Crystal was up to. They all assumed that she would make fun of Shawn, like in the old days, so they were surprised by what actually happened.
Crystal knelt in front of Shawn, looked him in the eyes, and said, "Master Walker, you pursued me in High School, but I rejected you. I was wrong, but now Joyce is doing something worse. She said that you should kneel in front of me, like I'm doing, and lick my shoes. She sees you as a joke, but I see you as an inspiration because you didn't kill yourself. What do you think about that?"
Before Shawn could respond, like an angry bull, Joyce charged. "That's bullshit!" she roared. When she rushed forward, though, her breasts broke free from her dress and swung back and forth like two wrecking balls. Unfortunately for Joyce, she was too upset to notice her little "Wardrobe Malfunction."
"I told you to lick Master Walker's shoes!" Joyce shouted. Suddenly, everyone began to whisper to each other, and Joyce realized that she'd been tricked into saying far more than she'd intended to say. Everyone had always thought that she was kind and considerate, but now they were beginning to see her in a new light.
Joyce glared at Crystal.
Crystal did not look at her, though. Instead, she looked at Shawn.. She smiled and said, "Master Walker, I apologize for my actions and the actions of my peers, even Joyce."