A woman brushed by me, looking me up and down before continuing on through one of several sets of double doors to the dark auditorium beyond. I crossed my arms and huffed. So what if I was the only one wearing black in a vast sea of ladies decked out all in white?
Will, a good head taller than anyone else here, gazed across the crowd. “How many people are here? There have to be thousands.”
Heidi looked smug and shouted to be heard above the murmur of voices. “I told you it was a big deal.”
A magically amplified voice rang out over the general din. “Please take your seats in the auditorium—welcoming night speeches will commence shortly. Please take your seats in the—”
“Ee!” Heidi gripped my arm. “It’s starting—come on, let’s try to get good seats.”
Will sniffed. “I think that ship’s sailed.”
“Not before I get some food.” I rose on my toes, spotted a waiter moving by with a magically hovering tray, and pounced. Once I had a little handful of crab puffs and bruschetta and Will was double fisting champagne flutes, we were ready. Or as ready as we could be for the sales pitch Heidi had paid for us to attend.
We edged in at the back of the mass of perfumed bodies that jostled and shoved their way into the auditorium and ended up taking spots way in the back. We slid down a row of black auditorium chairs, tripping over feet and bumping into knees, until we found three seats together. I dropped into mine and sighed, grateful to get off my feet.
The whole place buzzed with people and conversation and energy. I raised my brows as I chewed a huge mouthful of crab. People were really into this—who knew?
Will squirmed in the too-small seat, while I slumped down in mine. Heidi wiggled between us, perched on the edge of her seat, eyes fixed on the stage far ahead of us. The house lights faded, and everyone took their seats as the murmur of voices quieted.
Heidi’s hands shot out and gripped our wrists. “It’s starting!”
“Oh goodie,” I deadpanned around a mouthful of cheese and prosciutto. The middle-aged woman to my left shot me a look, and I raised a brow at her. What? She jerked her gaze back to the stage, and I continued to chew. Yeah, that’s what I thought.
A deep, magically amplified voice cut across the vast, dark auditorium. “Welcome, consultants, to the third annual Potent Potions summit. Please give a warm hello to your founders, Pearl and Ralph Litt!”
Deafening applause hit the auditorium like a thunderclap. Women all around me leapt to their feet and screamed and whooped. Ow! I glanced over. Heid’s grip on my wrist had tightened to the point I thought I might lose blood circulation.
Her glossy eyes reflected the purple and blue magical lights that swept across the stage and the crowd. “It’s them.”
I curled my lip. Snakes—the girl looked starstruck. I turned back to the stage and leaned to the side to see past the standing women in front of me. I squinted to make out the figures better. Heidi was impressed by these two?
She released my wrist from her death grip and jumped to her feet with the rest of them. I leaned back to flash my eyes at the equally shell-shocked Will, then turned back to the stage.
A pudgy blond woman who, even from this distance, I could tell had caked on the makeup, teetered across the stage in stilettos. She walked hand-in-hand with a big-bellied man who sported a white beard that stood out against his tanned-to-the-point-of-being-orange skin. I frowned and leaned forward. And was the man leading a pig by a leash? A glittering crystal leash?
As they reached center stage, the woman drew her blinged-out wand from her jean jacket and held the tip to her lips. “Oh, y’all are too much.” Her magically amplified voice bounced off the walls of the auditorium.
The cheering grew louder, and she appeared bashful, waving it off and clapping her hands to her rouged cheeks. She shook her head at her husband, who raised their clasped hands in the air, then planted an exaggerated kiss on his wife’s cheek. Wow. These two liked attention. I glanced around. It was like being at a Banshees concert—I half wondered if a mosh pit was about to break out.
Eventually the fanfare died down and the thousands of women who’d lost their minds over these two sank back into their seats. The woman brought the tip of her wand back to her bright pink lips.
“Why, what a warm welcome y’all gave me.” She scrunched up her face into mock disapproval. “But I do have one complaint.”
Her orange husband, wand raised to his own mouth, cocked his head. “Now what’s that, dear?”
She planted a fist on her hip. “Well… we were introduced and welcomed, but what about the most important person on this stage—our sweet little pet, Buttercup?” She gestured a hand decked out in rings at the pink pig who happened to be sniffing her husband’s blinged-out jeans.
The woman to my left burst into hysterics. Clapping and laughter rang out all around the auditorium. Snakes. What were these people on? And where could I get some?
I leaned over to speak around Heidi to Will. “How are people into this?”
Without taking her eyes off the stage, Heidi shushed me.
“Well, let me just start by saying, y’all know you should call me Mama Pearl and—” She gestured to her husband. “Papa Ralph.”
I snorted. “Not creepy at all.”
Will snickered, but the woman beside me shot me a look.
“Because we’re all a big family. That’s what I love most about this company that we’ve built—not the money or the fanfare or the fame.” Mama Pearl strutted about stage, fingers, dress, and jacket all glittering with crystals and gems. “No, it’s the community, that’s the backbone of our network of connectedness.”
I frowned. Did that even make sense?
Didn’t matter to the crowd though—they
