And there were a lot of stars to see. The station and its telescopes looked over the side of a cliff to a sky with no barriers, just a backdrop of mountains and a curtain of stars. It was breathtaking. I had spent many nights in Portland stargazing, but nothing could compare to this.

"Wow," I breathed, taking it all in. "It makes acclimatizing not so bad."

"Not so bad at all," Rawn agreed.

We quickly went to the telescopes and peered out into the horizon. I focused mine on Venus, remembering how the planet had guided me home the night I was lost in the woods. Perhaps the goddess of love had been sending her magic down upon us after all. There was a reason love was attributed to one of the brightest objects in the night sky.

"If we ever find ourselves on the island again, they also have a solar telescope that allows people to look straight into the sun without destroying their eyesight. I've looked through a solar telescope once before; it really puts things into perspective. We are such small creatures in a universe that, for some reason, has set up its laws so that we can exist."

"What other wonders does this place hold?"

I smiled. I knew he meant Mauna Kea, but his question went far beyond the mountain. "The first observatory we're going to see, from what you tell me, helped to substantiate that a massive black hole exists at the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way."

"Our galaxy? You think of things like black holes in science fiction movies, not being part of our own galaxy. This black hole is close?"

"Relatively, compared to other parts of the universe."

"So what happens after this?" Rawn asked. Before, this trip had been for me. But now I could tell he was feeling excited himself. "I know we'll be guided up to the observatories, and we'll be shown all the high-tech gadgets in the control rooms, and parts of the telescopes, some of which Cepheus Scientific built. It's how I was able to book the tour-but what else should I prepare for?"

Once again, I looked up at Venus through the telescope. "I'm not sure what happens next. But I'm certain it will be one hell of a ride."

Chapter Twelve.

Two Months Later "Nothing looks right," I moaned, throwing my coral dress onto the floor of my bedroom. It joined a growing pile.

Why did we agree on semi-formal for the launch? Formal would have been so much better. All formal gowns were elegant. Semi-formal was much more ambiguous. There were too many styles to work with. I wanted to look classy and professional, but I also wanted to make a statement. I wanted to stand out so that others remembered me, but for all the right reasons.

"I thought you were being attacked by a dragon, with all the roaring around in here," Annie mumbled, standing at the door, a towel wrapped around her as she brushed her teeth. "What's up?"

"I can't find anything to wear."

"What about the coral one?" she said, pointing to the floor. "You look amazing in that one."

"It's the color of our couch. I don't want to look like a couch. And my ass looks huge in it."

"All the better," Annie said. At least, that's what I thought she said. It was hard to tell with the toothpaste foaming in her mouth. She left to finish getting ready, leaving me to figure out the issue of my dress.

It wasn't that I had waited until the last minute to figure out my outfit. I'd been thinking about what I'd wear since the semi-formal dress code was announced. I couldn't stop thinking about it, changing my mind a thousand times. I didn't have many clothes, which didn't help matters. And I couldn't simply go out and buy a new dress. My finances were otherwise tied up...

Rawn had offered me a Pretty Woman moment by inviting me to go shopping with him, but I refused. It was a nice offer, and I knew his intentions were sincere, but I didn't want a sugar daddy. A sex master was enough.

We'd made good use of our secret room so far. Between our busy schedules, it was the only time we really had to spend together. We saw each other at the team meetings for the launch, but with Rawn leading the meetings, it wasn't exactly time to throw kisses at each other. Kisses that could land wherever...

The dress, I reminded myself. Focus on the dress. I didn't have much time to finish getting ready. The limousine would pick us up soon.

Technically, the launch was already underway. Guests had just started to arrive, but Russell and I had decided to split our shifts. He oversaw the set-up and early arrivals, and I'd stay until the night was over. However, knowing Russell and how much he wanted to prove himself, he'd likely stay until the end as well.

Suddenly wishing I had gone bargain shopping at the basement of the department stores, even if it meant a late payment on a bill, I flipped through the last of my hangers. Nearly my entire semi-formal wardrobe was on the floor. The only dresses left were a red fitted sex machine, which was lovely but made my tits hang out-not what I wanted at a company launch party-and an awful yellow blob I think I had last worn when I was fifteen.

Thinking I could perhaps cover the girls with a black blazer, I reached for the red dress and slipped it over my head then returned to the mirror. It fit nicely. Too nicely. I would definitely need the blazer.

For a split second I felt my head go fuzzy, but I shook it away. I couldn't worry about anything except the launch right now.

"Hey, Annie," I called, heading into the living room where I could hear she had raised the volume on the radio to a hit music station. "Do you remember that blazer I lent you...?"

I stopped when I saw what she was wearing. Her dress was gorgeous. A light green color, like a tropical sea, it had modest ruching at the top but flowed from the waist down with chiffon that had just a hint of sparkle, sophisticated yet stylish, like something Kate Middleton would wear.

"I love your dress!" we cried in unison. Then, "Switchies!"

Immediately, I pulled the red dress back over my head. "It matches your hair," I praised, tossing it to Annie.

"And this one brings out the green in your eyes," she noted.

Elated, we both ran our separate ways back into our bedrooms to redo our makeup and find matching shoes. That was one area where we couldn't help each other. Annie's feet were crazily small.

I was still in my room applying a coat of smoky eye makeup when my phone buzzed. The limo was here.

"Annie, we have to go!" I called, rushing towards the door, next to which Annie was already waiting.

"We be some hot bitches," she said. "Too bad that you're taken. I, however, am free as a kite."

Making sure we had everything we needed, we went outside to meet the limo. I had been in some pretty nice cars since starting my position at Cepheus Scientific, but the limo was almost at the top of the list, second only to driving the black Ferrari through the countryside of Italy.

A bucket of blue champagne waited for us, as it did the entire fleet of limos out picking up special guests to the launch. Conrad had managed to get some pretty hot names to fly up from Los Angeles. I wasn't sure how. He hadn't been to a team meeting since the day I found the sticky note. I hadn't seen him anywhere near Cepheus Scientific since then.

I guess it made sense. He did technically run his own company. And though it was small, it must be good. Otherwise, Cepheus Scientific would have used its own PR department instead of outsourcing to Conrad. Of course, he's good, I told myself. He got the cast from that Oscar winning movie on space travel to RSVP.

Annie reached for the blue champagne, blue being the theme of the night, but I stopped her. "Let's wait for Mellissa. The limo is going to swing by and pick her up."

"Oh good, she can keep me company while you're off being all important and stuff."

Annie had met Mellissa on a girls' night out I'd organized a few weeks back, one that did not involve raves or near mistakes in an alleyway. At least not for me. The girls had melded together like glue and glitter, which was a relief since Mellissa and I were becoming quite close. We'd steal what we called M and M moments in the bathroom-short, undocumented breaks to fix our makeup and shove chocolate brownies from the cafeteria down our throats.

"At least I got you in without having to put you on coat room duty," I reminded her.

"True," Annie said sprightly. "I would have done it though. Anything to meet Logan Mitchell from that space movie. Damn, that man is hot. And I heard he's got a brain on him as well. But now, instead of sniffing his jacket every five seconds from afar, I can stalk him, up close and personal."

"No stalking the celebrities," I insisted, only half joking.

"You know I won't make a promise I can't keep, so I won't be making any promises tonight."

Before I could protest, the limo stopped in front of a small but adorable one-story house. Mellissa ran outside looking stunning in a dark blue jumpsuit with a strapless sweetheart neckline and loose fitting pants. From the front door, an elderly woman waved goodbye. Her grandmother, I assumed. I think she had said something about living with her grandmother.

"Good choice," I said, admiring her outfit as she jumped in, wishing I had thought of a beaded jumpsuit. "And the color fits the theme of the night perfectly," I added, shaking the bottle of champagne.

"Quick, pour me a drink," Mellissa begged as the driver pulled away. "I haven't had a drop since I started taking those antibiotics for the chest infection. Thank god you girls are good company or our girls' night out would have been a bust."

"Oh yeah. I was already pretty wasted by the time you arrived at the bar," Annie recalled. "I was sober enough to know I liked you, but I hadn't realized you were poteen free. I also didn't notice that lilt you have. Where are you from originally?"

Lilt? I had never noticed a lilt to Mellissa's speech before, but I was legally tone deaf when it came to dialects. I could mistake a Jersey girl for an Australian.

"The South," Mellissa answered. "But that was a very long time ago. I was essentially raised here."

It didn't sound like Mellissa wanted to talk about it.

"You look almost normal height in those heels," I said, changing the subject on her behalf. "You sure you can keep going in them all night? The party is meant to go until pretty late. That way, we can take everyone out the back for the finale-the meteor shower."

"Did you ever think that perhaps you two are of abnormal height?" Mellissa shot back. "Pilgrims were about five foot, like me. Maybe everyone taller is the abnormal ones."

"Girl, then why are you wearing six-inch heels?" Annie prodded playfully.

Mellissa smiled. "'Cause I like tall men."

"Well, keep your fabulously manicured mitts off Logan. He's mine. I plan to be smooching him until the meteor shower finishes. And more after that. Nice touch, by the way," she said, focusing on me. "A meteor shower is way better than fireworks."

"It's why we chose the date we did," I said, particularly proud of the fact. It was my idea.

The limo arrived downtown and turned near to where we needed to be, but traffic was held up. It was practically at a standstill.

"What's going on?" Mellissa asked, concerned. "Has there been an accident?"

"I think we're what's going on," I uttered. We had expected a fair turn out, but this went beyond all our expectations. The sidewalks were lined with people trying to get a view of the famous faces walking the blue carpet. Above, a helicopter hovered with the logo of a local news channel on the side.

Though ecstatic, I checked my phone, concerned at the time. Russell was expecting us now. In less than an hour, Dr. Giordano would be making his speech. I was supposed to be attending to him while he prepared.

"I don't think we're going to make it," I said, biting my glossy lip. "Traffic is a mess."

"Then there is only one solution," Mellissa said, stepping out of the limo. "We walk."

The crowd momentarily cheered as we got out, but realizing we were no one important, they quickly looked away.

"Our fifteen seconds of fame," Annie said, practically dancing through the crowd as we pushed our way around the corner towards the old mansion house we had rented for the party. The mansion was primarily a wedding venue. As such, it had the earthy elegance to it that we wanted for the party-a large, airy function room, a lobby with an antique wooden staircase that twisted up to private rooms, and a small but beautifully decorated Romanesque garden for watching the meteor shower later.

The first thing I noticed when we arrived was just how impressive the blue carpet was. And not just because of the color. More media than I think Conrad even expected were lined up against the carpet, conducting interviews with the scientists and the celebrities. Standing tall against a backdrop with Alessa 3D X100 stamped all over it, along with Cepheus Scientific, a well-known fashion model-who happened to be married to a Nobel Prize winner-had won the attention of dozens of photographers. Their loyalties were divided between the model and the others on the carpet.

"Are we really invited to this thing?" Annie stammered as we headed towards the bouncers manning the carpet. We flashed them our badges.

"We're not just invited. We're running the show," I reminded her.

The crowd suddenly roared loudly. The bouncers pushed us along, their guard up against those without badges. Logan Mitchell and his fellow cast mates had arrived. They quickly followed in behind us, within the safety of the ropes.

As a trio, we squealed.

"I swear Logan just brushed past me," Annie claimed. "I can't believe I'm heading into the same party as him!"

"Believe it," I said. "Because I need to get inside. Dr. Giordano is on in half an hour."

Against my will, my stomach growled. Seeing the huge buffet of food surrounded by tabletop floodlights in an otherwise dim room, I realized I hadn't yet eaten that day. Under the stress of the last minute arrangements for tonight, I hadn't eaten properly in days.

Leaving the girls to their own whimsies, I hurried to the back of the room where I knew an employee station had been set up, hidden behind a colossal cutout of a 3D image of Jupiter. On my way, I passed by a table of Carnivale-style masks painted in shades of blue and silver. Each mask represented one of the constellations-kings, queens, princesses... and lions. The masks had also been my idea, to serve as a party favor. The eye sockets of each contained a thin lens-3D glasses. That way, the guests could enjoy the planetary cutouts all around.

To accompany the cutouts, the room was illuminated by a projector that not only cast a soft blue hue everywhere, but also every constellation in the sky, which rotated around the upper walls and ceiling of the room like a celestial merry-go-round.

"Madison," Russell acknowledged when I reached the station. He immediately handed me a headpiece, which I attached to my ear. "Dr. Giordano is upstairs in one of the private rooms preparing. Go up to him and make sure he's all right. I'll reach you on the headpiece when it's time to bring him down for his speech. Is Mellissa here?"

"She just arrived. Do you need her?"

"Not officially. I know none of the administration staff are working. But on your way up to Dr. Giordano, just ask her to help quiet the room when it's time for him to speak. The problem with celebrities is that they don't want to share the room with anyone else."

Leave it to Russell to find a complaint in a near flawless party.

"I will, but isn't that a job for the event manager? What are we paying him for if we're doing all the work?"

"You would think, but Conrad has managed to charm the event manager so much and put him so at ease, the guy has forgotten he has a job to do," Russell grumbled.

Conrad. He still perplexed me. As far as I could tell, he hadn't done anything untrustworthy regarding the product launch-much to my relief. However, I couldn't simply forget the sticky note, not when it had been so strategically placed.

After doing what Russell asked, I went up the stairs and found Dr. Giordano in his private suite-the guest of honor. I knew instantly that he was outside of his element. He fidgeted nervously with a bow tie, which hung slightly to the side.

"Here," I said, fixing it. "We're quite the distance from your farmhouse."

"Yes, we are."

"Is there someone watching over your donkey?"

Dr. Giordano grimaced. "That old thing? He can take care of himself. Much better than I, apparently."

"You seem to be doing pretty well. We're only here because of you."

He nodded. "In many ways, we're only here because of you."

I stepped back and brushed off his shoulders. "What do you mean by that?"

"Signor Jackman never would have agreed to my terms without your persuasion."

"Well, he would have been a fool not to. Based on the crowd gathered on the streets, your telescope is going to fly off the shelves tomorrow."

"That's all I wanted."