CoWrite: The Dance and the Distraction

I showed up late for CoWrite today, and was pretty distracted by the internet through most of this story. In fact, only the first sentence and the last three or four were mine. The rest were written by our fearless leader malie and the excellent PromptedInk. This version is my own edit, but you can certainly go and read the original on the website.

The Dance and the Distraction

"Let's dance," he said, holding out his hand.

Jessica smiled. She would have loved to hear these very words, but not from her brother. All the evening her eyes were turned toward William, who was cutting a fine figure in the suit he’d had tailored just for the occasion.

After waiting a moment for her response without receiving any, Jim took Jessica's hand and spun her onto the dance floor. As they swayed, he leaned close and spoke into his sister’s ear: "I already relieved the two ladies over at the bar. We only have about half an hour left."

"Let's make some figures to get everyone’s attention. And then you take William. Sound good?"

"I have the projections ready," Jim said, gesturing towards William. "The rest is up to you."

The song finished abruptly. The crowd hushed as the DJ got on the mic. Jessica’s face went white when she heard the DJ say William’s name. "Every birthday needs to be celebrated, and we have prepared a very special party for our beloved leader, CEO, and founder of AllStuff Industries, Sir William Jones!" Jessica cursed silently; now everyone’s attention was on her target.

Jim let go of her and whispered, "You know what to do."

He stepped away from his sister and looked towards William, calling out, "Before you make your speech, I hope I have the opportunity to tell everyone what you've done for this company!" Jim nonchalantly took the microphone from the DJ. As he began to list William's merits, Jessica walked toward her target.

The crowd was laughing along with Jim's anecdotes, and though occasionally people still glanced at William, he was no longer the center of attention. Jessica was able to slip up to him and shake his hand. "Congratulations tonight," she said quietly, going up onto her toes to kiss his cheek. He seemed to hardly notice her, but cordially shook her hand and thanked her. 

He also didn't notice that she had swapped the microchip that had been in his pocket.