Treyton Elrod was bored.

His party was, as usual, a success, as the top cream of the entire country was in attendance.
Except for the Hubers..
Treyton smiled with satisfaction, as he thought of how David Huber and his brother Steve, would be speculating about the party tonight, since they were not invited.
They could never gain the crowd or contacts he could, with just a call. They could only cheat, and try to be like him.

There had been no firm leads in his office regarding the leak. But, it was definitely someone who had access to his personal office.
Could Irma be the one? Had she handed over the information? Or maybe one of his board members?
It could be any one of his employees who worked with him on a daily basis..
Treyton was having trouble in trusting anyone these days, and that was making work difficult.
No computers had been used to pass on the information, hindering in nailing the culprit. Calls were being traced, and it was taking its' time.

This party had been planned from before, so Treyton couldn't cancel it at the last moment. And he didn't want the offender to become conscious, so he had been behaving normally with everyone, even having this party tonight.
His detective was also present here as a guest, so he could keep an eye.

People thronged, many to meet him, and talk to him, especially women. He smiled at them, made small talk with them, and laughed at their flirting where he could.
Marissa was showing her jealousy, and instead of him finding it amusing, it was irritating him.
I'll have to do something with this woman..for good..

Treyton ran his eyes around the ballroom, trying to locate the detective, whom he had met two days back, but couldn't spot him in the crowd.
Some couples had taken to the dance floor, and were now swaying to some slow ballad, being played by the live musicians.
There was the sound of clinking glasses, and low laughter, which pleased Treyton. He liked having people enjoy themselves, and usually he did too. But this year, he had other things on his mind, and he was just getting bored.

Suddenly his gaze shifted back to where he had just moved his eyes from. 
A woman.
His eyes focused, and he stared.
She was dressed in all black, a full sleeved sheath covering her from neck, to her toes. There was no display of flesh, yet she looked sexy, the dress accentuating her slim body and curves. Her brown/black hair was piled up on her head in a knot, and the only jewellery she wore were diamond studs in her ears.
What really had her stand out amongst the several beautiful and glamorous women present, was that she looked disinterested in her surroundings. That piqued his curiosity, and wonder, as to who she was.
Treyton was sure he didn't know her, or that he had invited her, and she definitely didn't work for him..did she?

Treyton separated from the people around him, and frowned, as someone caught hold of his elbow. He turned to see Marissa, having forgotten her presence. Giving her a look, which got him his arm back, he moved away.
As he advanced in the direction of the woman, he could feel Marissa's eyes burning on his back. But he was unable to stop, as he stopped to speak to a couple of people, his gaze fixed on that one woman only.
He had almost reached her, when she turned, and leaned her head to listen to her companion.
Treyton stopped for a second, to catch his breath. She was stunningly beautiful, and his heart skipped a beat.
The determination to know who she was, just got stronger, and he reached her side.

The woman was now saying something in a low voice to the man with her, but stopped as she realised that she didn't have his attention any more. She turned her head to see who her companion was staring at in shock.
It was their host, the ever famous Treyton Elrod.

Treyton met her eyes, brown and deep, and felt a flare of attraction. She looked a bit taken aback, and shifted a bit backwards.
He put his hands in his pockets, before he could do something stupid, like reach out and touch her.

'Herr Elrod..'
He shifted his gaze to the voice addressing him, and was surprised.
The man was Julian Finn, his Human Resources manager.

'Finn..'
Treyton said, before glancing back at the woman. She had averted her head again, not looking at him.
Is she his girlfriend?

'Great party, sir!'
Treyton nodded, but kept his eyes on her, so that even Julian noticed.

'Thankyou..and this is..'
Treyton didn't beat around the bush, as he gestured to the woman.

Julian gave the woman a nervous glance, which Treyton noticed.
'Uhm..she's a friend of mine..'

'And does your friend have a name?'
Treyton saw something flash in her eyes, as his eyes made contact with them.

'She is Er..'
Julian stopped as his boss gave him a look.

'I'm sure she can speak for herself..'
Treyton turned back to her.
'I'm Treyton Elrod..nice to meet you, Miss...'

'Sir..'
Julian tried to interrupt again, but he was ignored.

'Er..ica..I'm Erica..'
She tried not to look at Julian, as he sort of stiffened beside her.

Treyton raised his eyebrows slightly at the pause, but only nodded.
'Nice name, although you hardly look like an Erica..but, you are very beautiful..'

'Excuse me?'
She raised her eyebrows, a bit surprised at his directness.

'Yes! You don't look like a native European, or American..'
Treyton speculated, and saw her stiffen her stance, her head lifting defiantly.

'Okay! If you say so..'
She gave him a fake smile, without answering his query, and turned back to Julian, who was looking from one to the other, his mouth open.
'Julian! I think it's time we left..'

Treyton's eyes flared, as she put a hand on Julian's arm, and ignored him altogether.
What the..

Julian put down his glass on a table nearby.
'What...'

'What's the rush?'
Treyton drawled, looking her up and down, before his eyes settled back on her face. He liked the fire in her eyes, that flared at his scrutiny.
'Have dinner, get on the dance floor. Enjoy yourselves.'
Treyton gestured to the gathering.

'We have enjoyed ourselves enough, thankyou..'
Erica gave Julian a look, but he looked puzzled.
'Haven't we, Julian?'
Her tone brooked no denial.

'But we..'
Julian glanced at Treyton, who was suddenly looking amused at her decision, before looking at Erica.
'Uhm..yeah, okay..let's go then..'
He extended his hand to Treyton.
'Sir, lovely party! Thankyou for the invite. Have a great evening!'

'Sure! See you around..'
Treyton shook his hand, but his eyes were on Erica, who was busy avoiding looking at him, realising the suggestiveness in his tone.
He watched them walk away, and saw Erica whispering something to Julian. His eyes bored into her back, and probably feeling it, she turned to glance back at him. Knowing that she would, he gave her a small smile, and a salute with two fingers, to which she quickly turned her head and walked out the entrance.

Interesting..very interesting..
Treyton felt a sense of satisfaction. He had seen that Erica had been just as affected by him, as he had been by her.
Till we meet again...
Because meet her he would, no doubt about it.

***************************

Treyton revved his bike, as he shot through the city traffic, till he reached the highway along the Danube River.
Here, it was relatively calmer, traffic wise, and he slowed down slightly.
His leather jacket flew behind him in the wind.

Treyton had a fad for fast  vehicles, and he owned several. But his favourite was his Harley-Davidson, which he liked taking out on the roads, whenever he got the time. He found that a ride on it, calmed him down, and made him think clearer.

What was going on?
Why was there a delay in finding out who had leaked confidential information?
There had been leads, which only led to dead ends..

Treyton had been seething ever since David Huber's call. The man had sounded extremely smug, as he had the audacity to issue Treyton an invitation to a party he was throwing, for attaining a very golden piece of land. Treyton had wanted to punch his lights out, but had been polite, and had  smoothly declined, on the excuse of having a very busy schedule.
As Treyton had cut the call, he had almost heard the man laughing at him, and that didn't go down well..at all.
He had fumed all day, even threatening to fire the detective, if he didn't do something soon. He wanted to be able to give back to the man..and in such a way, that he would never dare to cross him again!

Treyton gassed up his bike at the thought of being able to show the man what he was capable of.
Once I find out who did this, you Huber, are going to wish you had never crossed my path!

As Treyton crossed a bridge, a sudden image of Erica flashed in his head.
She had been on his mind, ever since the night of the party.
I've known my share of beautiful women, then what was it about her?
Her aloofness? Her ignorance of me? No! I know she felt something that night, like I did. I can tell these things!
Treyton had tried to grill his HR manager, subtly, but he had not been forthcoming at all.
I'll find her..

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he slowed down his speed before stopping at the side of the road.
He took it out, and raised the visor of his helmet, but as soon as he saw who it was, he made an irritated sound.
Marissa.
She had been annoying him ever since the party, when he had cancelled their plans for after the party.
He hadn't been in the mood to sleep with her after having seen Erica, but if truth be told, he was getting fed up of her demands, and her trying to keep a hold on him.
I'll just have to make a clean break! And soon, from the looks of it!

He put the phone back in his pocket, without answering it, before starting his bike again. He was putting down his visor, when he heard the throttle of another motor, in the quiet night.
He turned to look, just as another bike's light came towards him, and he saw another Harley whizz past.
Another rider out to enjoy the ride..
He rode in the same direction, and soon had caught up to the other rider.
The driver turned their head to look as he passed by, but since both of them wore helmets, they just nodded to each other, before the other rider picked up speed, and sped ahead.

Treyton's competitive streak reared his head, and he bolted his bike after it, soon racing alongside.
They continued trying to outdo one another, neither giving up.
The sounds of their bikes lit up the otherwise empty roads, as they twisted and turned along the highway. As they approached a dead end, he saw the other rider spin round in a screech, before speeding back the way they had come.
Treyton was slightly slow, but he silently applauded the driver's skills, as he sped back after the other Harley. He had lost precious time, and the rider had had quite some leeway, because he could see the bike some distance away.
He burned gas, heart racing, as he sped behind it, but couldn't reach it. As he approached the city, he saw the bike ahead, but it turned on another road. Curiosity drove him to find out who had out maneuvered him, and he followed at a slower speed.

He soon lost the rider, because of the several streets alongside the river, and felt a sense of defeat.
But he had had an exhilarating ride, and felt much better.
Turning around his bike, to go back home, he suddenly caught sight of the other bike at the far end of the river. He was sure it was the same, because Harleys were still not so common around here, only the jet set owning them. It had stopped on a small bridge over the river, that was lit by the lamp posts lining it, and seeing that, Treyton stopped his bike to watch. He stopped at a distance, on a portion of the road that was unlit, and cut off his engine. The urge to go near and see who it was, was pulsing inside him, but he wanted to see what the rider was doing.

He saw the rider get off, and stand by the bridge to look down at the dark waters. He frowned, as the person leaned down further, getting up on a step, that was next to the railing.
As he made to start his bike, in case his help was needed, lest they fall, the person got back down from the step, and stood there motionless for a minute.
As he watched, the rider reached up, took off their helmet, and shook their head.

Treyton was left stunned, as he discovered, that the rider who had outsmarted him, was a woman, as her ponytail swung in the air.
He was still reeling from that, when she lifted her face towards the light.
He was pole-axed.

It was Erica, the woman from his party.

To be continued...