The stranger listened, laughed, and added comments that made her laugh even harder. Emma finally said she didn’t think Diane cared about anyone but herself. He went quiet for a moment, then lifted his glass in a toast to difficult women.
Almost an hour slipped by. Later, Emma would realize the Halloween party kiss really began here, in every careless word she shared with a man she didn’t know.
How One Halloween Party Kiss Changed Everything
When the music grew louder, he suggested stepping onto the balcony so he could smoke. The October air was freezing, and after a few distracted puffs, he put the cigarette out.
Seeing her shiver, he placed his jacket over her shoulders. They talked about their lives instead of work. He admitted he had argued with someone close to him before the party and felt like he couldn’t do anything right lately.
Emma confessed she had spent years trying to succeed without leaning on her father’s connections. He suggested her dad might simply be proud of her, and the thought made her smile.
Then he stepped closer and asked if he could kiss her. She should have asked his name. Instead, she nodded.
The Halloween party kiss started softly, almost hesitantly, before he pulled her close. For a moment, the cold, the music, and the fact that this was her own company’s event all seemed to disappear.
When they finally pulled apart, she was breathless and smiling. Then a woman’s voice came from the doorway, calling him “love” and saying she had been looking everywhere for him.
The Voice Emma Knew Too Well
Emma’s stomach tightened before she even turned around. The woman removed her silver mask. It was Diane.
The man slowly took off his own mask and started to say he could explain. Diane looked at him, then at the jacket on Emma’s shoulders, and told him not to. His name was Mark, and he was Diane’s husband.
What scared Emma most wasn’t anger. Diane looked devastated as she asked how, of all people, it could be Emma.
Emma handed back the jacket, mumbled an apology, and rushed through the ballroom. Her Halloween party kiss had just landed in front of the one person she most wanted to avoid.
The Morning After
Emma barely slept and was certain she would be fired. At work, an email asked her to come to Conference Room Three at nine.
Diane was already there, looking exhausted. Emma apologized and said she truly hadn’t known Mark was her husband. Diane said she believed her.
She wasn’t firing Emma. Instead, she had asked for someone else to supervise Emma’s work, because she didn’t think she could treat her fairly right now.
Emma wanted to defend herself, but she remembered every insult she had spoken on that balcony. Mark must have repeated them. For two days, the Halloween party kiss replayed in her mind every time someone mentioned Diane’s name.
A Secret Hidden in Plain Sight
Then Linda, a senior colleague who helped run recruitment and the leadership program, stopped Emma near the elevators. She said the transfer was a shame, because Diane had been pushing hard for her.
