Tell me your secret

Richard Parker

"I'm curious, is there a real reason you invited us all here?" Miles Herring asked.

Richard smiled at the man. He looked so obviously to be a weather man on a local staton. He would likely wonder why he was invited, as well as many other people in attendance. Not many were of particularly...dazzling backrounds.

"What, an important man like myself can't sit down to a nice dinner with the people of the city he serves? Think of this as a sort of...thank you from me for all the work you do and an invitation to perhaps make some excellent connections." Richard explained.

Miles was obviously shocked at the detailed answer. Richard smiled again at the man and took up conversation with the woman sitting next to him. "Are you enjoying the meal?"

-----
That can be anyone. =)
-----

Nicole Stone

The evening had already started off well. Even though the guests seemed wary of Richard. They should have been wary. Though Nicole hadn't figured it out yet, Richard had some sort of scheme in his head. Nicole wasn't going to rest until she had it figured out.

"Excuse me." Nicole excused herself from the dinner table she had so graciously been invited to join and left the room.

A visibly angry man stalked down the hallway towards Richard's extensive garages.

"Norman!" Nicole called to him.

He turned and looked at her, and waited for her to catch up. "Yes, Ms. Stone?"

"Norman, call me Nicole." She told him for the thousandth time.

"Yes, Nicole?" he said again.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about the guests Mr. Parker has invited do you? Is there any sort of connection between them all? You've seen their cars, they're parked in the garage aren't they? Could you possibly tell anything from them?" Nicole asked.

**Yay! Conversation! ^_^**

Mary-Ella

Ella kept fidgeting. Either pulling on the hem of her dress or twiddling her thumbs. She was restless and bored. This was on the verge of being more disatorous than her job.

"Are you enjoying the meal?" Mr. Parker asked.

Mary-Ella plastered her best, fake smile on her face and nodded. "Of course," she lied. Well, it wasn't completely a lie, she thought. After all, the meal itself was okay it was just everything else.

He gave her a funny look. "Are you sure about that?" He asked. Ella's confidence faltered. How had he seen through her smile so easily?

"Um, yes," she frowned a little. She couldn't even find the courage to fake another smile.

Miles went back to his steak with a frown. Like he needed connections with anyone Parker would know, especially given his lack of ambition. He was a weatherman, and a good one, but he liked being in the Podunk local news. Besides, branching out might attract unwanted attention.
---

Norman shrugged. "Their cars tell the same story we've been hearing all night; these people have nothing in common. There's a beat-up station wagon, a pick-up truck, and a Jaguar all parked next to each other in there, each one property of a guest. They aren't even from the same social circles."

Nicole's face was inscrutiable. "I see."

"Why does Parker want to know about their cars for anyways?" Norman's eyes narrowed slightly. "Or is it... he didn't tell you either, did he?"

((I'm leaving tomorrow night to go to Colorado and won't be back until Sunday.))

Rafael started playing with his tie again, until he realized what he was doing. Sighing, he let his hand drop back down, staring across the table. Standing from his position in the doorway, he could see that all the guests sitting at the table with Mr. Parker. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, but that didn't mean much. This entire event was not ordinary. Mr. Parker would not normally invite anybody here.

Still, he supposed, this would just have to go with things. Looking up, he saw Norman and Ms. Stone speaking. Deciding that maybe Mr. Parker's assistant would know more about what was going on, he decided to head over.

Nicole Stone

"This is not something Mr. Parker wanted to know." Nicole said.

Norman's expression changed to one of shock. "So you are just as out of the loop as everyone else." This seemed to amuse him. "Great assistant you must be."

Nicole rolled her eyes and turned away, but was immediatly confronted by Rafael. "Hey, so you wouldn't happen to have any more information about tonight would you?"

Nicole sighed. "No, I do not."

"She's not a very valued assistant." Norman interjected. "Unless she maybe has some reason to be mistrusted?" This second line was merely a joke, but it sparked an idea in Nicole's brain.

Nicole turned back to Norman, and was about to tell him off when it clicked. Unless she maybe has some reason to be mistrusted. Could that be it? There was certainly a good reason for Richard to mistrust her, but that had been kept secret. Could he have found out?

The scene of the server leaving with the food designated to Richard played in her brain again. Something was wrong with the food. Richard didn't trust the server.

"Excuse me..." Nicole mumbled and pushed past Norman, heading for the garage. There was something she needed to check.

Richard Parker

The view from the floor to ceiling windows along the dining room wall was magnificant. Snow was falling at record speeds and was quickly piling up outside. Not only was it piling up, it was drifting.

"Woowee." the weatherman said as he noticed the snow. "Looks like a snow emergency is probably already in effect. Hope the roads clear up quickly."

As if to echo the weatherman's statement, one of Richard's servants came to the table and whispered to Richard. "The roads have been declared unsafe, snow is drifting up to three feet in some places."

Richard put on his best smile and stood. "Excuse me." he said loudly, silencing the dinner conversation. "It seems as if the snow has fallen more than expected, and the roads are too bad to drive on."

Worried looks were passed around the table. Richard could see in their eyes their minds working to find some way home.

"Do not worry though, you are all welcome to stay here until the roads are cleared."

A man near the other end of the table raised his hand. "When do you think that will be, Mr. Parker?"

Richard smiled. "Please, call me Richard. And it is uncertain, but my home is open to you all until the roads are pronounced safe to drive on."

Richard sat back down and returned to his meal. Nervous conversation picked back up between the guests. It was like music to Richard's ears. His plans were coming together excellently.

*Hope*

I walked into Richard's house, my mind calculating why he had invited me here. He didn't like me, and he hadn't invited my father, so why me?

I walked calmly and kept my face expressionless. It was one of my best defenses. That and my acting skills. His house was beautiful, as it had always been, but it meant nothing to me. If I had anything to do with it, he would lose his precious house, car, power, everything. I would be the one to take Richard Parker down.

I strode into the dining room, where a few people I knew sat. That weather man who spoke too fast, the weedy store owner, the power-hungry reporter. I didn't know some of them, but there was one that I did know. Nicole Stone, personal assistant to Richard Parker. I had seen her many times before, but never really spoken to her. Once she had tried to make small talk with me, but I shot that down with cold civility. Anyone who was a friend of Richard's was an enemy of mine.

The dinner had already started, but that was fine by me. I wasn't planning on eating anything anyway. A soft piano was playing in the background, and the guests were chattering amongst themselves, mostly about the weather outside.

I tapped my stiletto heel on the marble floor, looking for a place to sit. No one had noticed me yet, but it didn't bother me. It gave me time to calculate my whereabouts, although I didn't need it. I had grown up with the oldest of Richard's children, and at one time, before I hated Richard completely, I was over here all the time. I knew the layout like the back of my hand.

Finally, I saw Richard notice me, and he put on that fake smile, and strode over to me. I don't think that he knew how much I hated him, but I think he did know I didn't like him. That smile was meant to antagonize and patronize, but I threw it back at him with my own plastic smile.

"Hello Hope." he said, his voice coated with sugar.

I did the same thing. "Hello, Richard."

Thanks Lauren! Didn't know we'd started already! :S Please don't mind if it's bad - I'm a little confused.

Brian Kent

He stumbled into the lavish dinning room, his beige trousers soaked up to his knees and melting snowflakes sprinkled over his thin hair. He looked immediately to Richard.

"M-Mr. Parker. S-so sorry I'm late - my car broke down a few miles back and I-I've had t-to walk." He muttered to himself: "Useless piece of junk."

Richard' smile broadened. "Mr. Kent! So glad you could come! Please, take a seat." He gestured to the dinner table where his other guests sat.

Brian eyed them uneasily. What was going on here? The looked from all sorts of backgrounds, people who wouldn't find themselves mixed normally. Why had Richard invited them?

"S-sure," he stuttered, teeth chattering. He found an empty seat and sunk down into it, flicking nervous glances at the other guests.

"You look half frozen!" Exclaimed one guest to him.

"Th-thanks," he murmured, only half-listening.

**Please, someone find it in their hearts to talk to this miserable, pathetic man!

"You look half-frozen!" Miles looked at Brian, concerned. "You gonna be alright? Walking around in weather like this is a bad idea. Last I checked it was 3 degrees above zero, and that's without the windchill."

Mr. Kent mumbled something.

"Here, take a seat. Maybe Mr. Parker's cook could whip you up some soup to warm you up."

Brian took a seat next to him, still shaking and soaked.

Miles waited for Kent to say something, but it didn't happen. The man kept casting nervous glances around the room, particularly at Parker, and didn't seem like he was about to start a conversation.

"Uh, so... how d'you know Parker?"

*there's really not much for Stella to do except play*

Stella Thomas
I finished the melody, that flown through my fingers almost by memory, and searched for a new tune. Yiruma would do. Not exactly classic, but beautiful, and the guests on the dining table were so involved in their conversation I believed they barely even noticed my music.

Richard Parker

Fantastic, two very important guests had finally arrived. Richard smiled as he turned back to Hope. The woman didn't like him, in fact, she loathed him. It only made her more entertaining.

"I'm so very glad you could make it." Richard told the young woman.

She smiled a very noticibley fake smile. "Yes, I'm sure. It was very difficult to get here tonight."

Richard nodded. "Yes, it looks as if it will be nearly possible to leave. Of course everyone is welcome to stay here. I have an extensive guest wing, but of course you know that."

"Yes." Hope said, a hint of unhappiness was evident in her tone.

Richard led the young woman to the table. "So, do tell me, how is your father these days?"

Ahh! I need to get back in here O_o

Maia-

I slunk back lazily in my chair. My, this certainly was dull. What was going through my mind when I had decided to come, I would never know. I exhaled deeply and glanced around the room. Some guests were chatting away busily, some listening, some looked half asleep. I rested my head on my hand and sighed again.

"You look bored," someone said.

"Do I?" I asked.

---

Someone please talk to her

**Sure**

Mary-Ella

"Yeah, most people do, actually," she smiled a little.

"Hard to imagine why," she responded sarcastically.

"I'm Mary-Ella. Just call me Ella though," she said, extending her hand.

"Maia. Just Maia," she smiled, slightly.

"So what do you think of Mr. Parker. Do you know why you were invited?" Ella asked trying to make conversation.

*Hope*

I couldn't stop my eyes from narrowing slightly. "He's been fine." I said, my voice as stoic as my face.

He obviously knew of the troubles at home, because he wouldn't have mentioned it. He knew my father had a drinking problem, and he knew that I hated my father. He just enjoyed rubbing it in.

He smiled, knowing he had just won a small victory. "I'm glad to hear it."

I decided to hit him with a blow of my own. "How has your marriage counseling going? I hear you've been having some problems. I just hope you'll be able to figure it out."

His eyes went cold, but his smile never left his face. "Things are coming along quite well."

I smirked. "Glad to hear it." And then I sat down.

Richard Parker

"So how is the ol' wifey tonight? Not here I noticed. Kids are gone as well." Hope continued on with her interrogation. Richard knew the comment about her father had hit her hard. He had expected such a response.

"They are all off on a week long ski trip in the mountains." Richard explained. "They phoned me just earlier tonight, having a blast they say."

Hope nodded, her eyes were probing mine. Richard could almost read her thoughts. She would be wondering what sort of scheme I had planned by now.

Richard then noticed that the conversation had become more dominant, and that there was no longer the intermitant clinks of silverware against plates. Bits of conversation Richard could catch were all filled with worries over returning home. Not tonight. I'm not done with any of you quite yet.

"Well," Richard spoke over his guests, calling them to order, "I suppose some of you will be wishing to settle into your rooms for the night as it seems none of you will be leaving."

Brian Kent stood up, and looked quite terrified. "Why won't we be leaving?" he asked.

Richard laughed. "Why the snow of course. It isn't possibly safe to travel in these conditions. You yourself know, your car broke down on your way."

This sent Brian right back into his seat. He didn't seem entirely upset to leave though, but he wouldn't. He had his own suspicions about Richard, and was obviously ready to make some acusations. Most everyone present was prepared to acuse Richard of some thing or another. Little did they know, they wouldn't be getting a chance.

"Now," Richad put on his most charming smile. "Once anyone is ready, they may follow one of my employees here to a guest room. If anyone needs anything, do feel free to ask."

Nicole Stone

Nicole had stumbled upon the greatest evidence possible. She knew this must be the reason all these guests were invited here tonight. He's going to dispose of anyone who could hinder his climb to power.

As she continued down the hall to the garage, another thought hit Nicole. Unless he somehow convinces them to join his side. Yes, he could offer them all the power in the world. But no one could possibly want to take up that offer, could they?

Before Nicole could think about this any longer, another one of Richard's mechanics stepped out of the garage.

"Johnathan." Nicole greeted him. "What have you been doing? Shouldn't you have gone home hours ago?"

Johnathan nodded. "Just heading out m'am." he said. "Mr. Parker just wanted me to get some work done first." He then pushed past her and headed towards the nearest exit.

Suspicious...

Nicole was about to investigate when one of Richard's maids grabbed her shoulder. "Ms. Stone, Mr. Parker would like you to return to the party. His guests will need guiding to their rooms."

Nicole smiled fakely at the maid. "Certainly." she said. I'll have to investigate later tonight...

((I'm going to be gone until Sunday, so do what you will with Miles and Norman until then))