I have to admit, J.
Jonah Jameson certainly knew how to live in style.
Having a room in your own house large enough to host a ball was impressive.
Then again, that was exactly what you would expect from the owner of one of the most popular newspapers in the country.
Despite her rather peculiar way of presenting the news, especially when it came to superheroes, and her eccentric personality, the Daily Bugle was insanely popular.
After all, it gave people what they wanted most: a show.
“Pansey, there you are! Almost everyone has arrived already. I was starting to worry you’d be late.”
It took me a moment to realize she was talking to Penny.
The speaker was none other than Felicia Hardy, who had greeted us at the entrance to the ballroom.
Even with my mediocre knowledge of the Marvel universe, there was no way I could have failed to recognize her.
I’d come across countless pictures and fan art of Felicia online.
Most of them seemed particularly interested in one thing: her impressive curves.
What can I say?
Those works of art didn’t do her beauty justice.
I liked Penny and Gwen a lot.
Especially tonight, with both girls dressed up and wearing makeup, they looked absolutely stunning.
But Felicia Hardy didn’t disappear into the background next to them.
Her elegant black dress struck the perfect balance between modesty and sex appeal.
Everything that needed to be covered was covered, yet the dress emphasized every curve of her incredible body.
She wasn’t just beautiful.
She was a bombshell.
I wondered if she’d already put on her costume.
There was nothing online about her being involved in criminal activities, but if I remembered correctly, Black Cat was a thief.
Not exactly the kind of villain who enjoyed appearing in front of cameras.
A thief needed to be quiet and know how to cover her tracks.
“Philippa,” Penny said with a strained smile.
“How could I possibly be late for such an important event?”
“Commendable sense of responsibility.”
Felicia’s lips curled into a mischievous smile.
I had no idea what was going on between the two of them, but Hardy was clearly enjoying herself.
“Will you introduce me to your charming companions?”
“Oh, this is Sam White, my boyfriend, and Gwen Stacy, our friend.”
Penny managed to say “my boyfriend” without blushing or stumbling over the words.
That was a huge improvement compared to how she’d acted before.
“Guys, this is Felicia Hardy, the daughter of tonight’s host.”
“Nice to meet you,” Gwen and I said almost simultaneously.
“The pleasure is mine.”
Felicia looked us both over carefully.
It was impossible to tell whether she liked what she saw.
Her expression barely changed, although that playful smile remained on her lips.
“Well, I won’t keep you. I think another couple of minutes and Mrs. Jameson will have a stroke. She’s already been searching everywhere for her photographer.”
Penny’s face paled slightly.
Was Jameson really that bad?
I didn’t have to wonder for long.
“Parker! There you are, you slacker. Get over here, quickly. You’re going to take a picture of me with Mrs. Hardy!”
Jameson’s voice rang through the entrance as she appeared.
Penny gave Gwen and me an apologetic look before hurrying over to her boss.
“Good luck,” I whispered after her.
Then I turned back to Felicia.
“Well, I guess we’d better go too. It was nice meeting you, Felicia.”
“See you around.”
Hardy gave us a friendly wave before returning to greeting the other guests.
We finally entered the ballroom.
The place was decorated expensively, but tastefully.
She had apparently been the one to negotiate with Jameson about the photographer.
If she had also been responsible for the decorations, then she deserved plenty of credit.
She’d done an excellent job.
Gwen and I didn’t really have anything to do here.
We’d come solely for Penny.
Well, I also wanted to look around and see whether I recognized anyone.
We had no desire to go around greeting guests, especially since we didn’t know most of them anyway.
Gwen grabbed two glasses of champagne from a nearby waitress, and we took up a strategic position in a quiet corner.
As I looked around the room, I realized I’d been too quick to assume I didn’t know anyone.
Fleur Thompson was here.
Thinking about it, her presence wasn’t particularly surprising.
As far as I knew, she came from a wealthy family.
The ridiculously expensive car she drove and the clearly high-end clothes she wore made that pretty obvious.
“Everything okay?” Gwen asked, sounding slightly concerned.
“Hm?”
I raised an eyebrow and looked at Stacy.
“You’re staring at her like she murdered someone.”
Gwen nodded toward Thompson.
“Do you have a problem with her?”
“Not me. Penny does. They… don’t exactly get along.”
I tried to answer as tactfully as possible.
It wasn’t my place to tell Stacy about Penny’s problems.
If Penny wanted Gwen to know, she’d tell her herself.
“I see.”
Gwen narrowed her eyes.
I suspected my attempt at being diplomatic had been pointless.
The murderous look I’d been giving Thompson had probably said far more than my words ever could.
Our conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a rather interesting person.
Wilma Fisk.
The biggest figure in New York’s criminal underworld, in every sense of the word, and a prominent businesswoman on top of that.
I tensed instinctively.
It was unlikely that she’d cause any trouble, but knowing I was in the same room as one of the most dangerous women in the city was still unsettling.
Even so, keeping an eye on her could prove useful.
I wasn’t arrogant or confident enough to believe I could follow her around and eavesdrop without being noticed.
But nobody could stop me from occasionally scanning the room and paying attention to who she interacted with and how they behaved around her.
After all, a young man looking around at wealthy women wasn’t exactly unusual.
If anything, people expected it from me.
And there was plenty to observe.
People reacted to Fisk in very different ways.
Some were genuinely happy to see her.
I made a mental note of those people and tried to remember their faces so I could investigate them later.
Others were tense as bowstrings, or even frightened, although they did their best not to show it.
Interesting.
The Crime Queen was apparently still operating in the shadows as far as the general public was concerned, but the wealthy clearly knew something about her.
Overall, the evening remained surprisingly calm.
Civilized, even.
None of the unexpected incidents I’d been worried about after seeing Fisk ever materialized.
Wilma gathered a small circle of people around herself, and they discussed something that was undoubtedly important.
Felicia fluttered around the ballroom like a butterfly, giving every guest her attention.
Her mother, who looked remarkably similar to her, seemed to be doing exactly the same thing.
Poor Penny spent the entire evening following her boss around.
I was pretty sure her arms were already tired from carrying that damn camera.
But every time, Jameson quickly dragged Parker away so she could photograph her with another important guest.
Gwen and I, meanwhile, were openly bored in our corner, slowly sipping champagne.
Neither of us was drunk yet.
If things continued like this, though, we’d get there soon enough.
“Want to dance?”
Stacy, apparently tired of doing absolutely nothing, suddenly asked me.
“Well, if you’re not afraid I’ll step on your feet, then why not?”
I grinned and took her hand.
I genuinely wasn’t sure how good I was at dancing.
Sam knew how to dance a little.
I, on the other hand, had always been the kind of guy who went to a school dance with his friends, stood against the wall with his arms folded across his chest, and tapped his foot to the music.
Basically, I had no choice but to rely on Sam’s muscle memory.
I really didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of Gwen.
“Ha! We’ll see who steps on whose feet.”
Stacy laughed.
We stepped onto the dance floor, where several couples were already moving to the music.
I placed my hands on Gwen’s waist, while she wrapped her arms around my neck.
At least the dances here weren’t that different from the ones I knew.
We started slowly.
Both of us were conscious of the danger of stepping on each other’s feet, so neither of us rushed into anything.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
Gradually, we picked up the pace to match the music.
“You know, I’m actually a little surprised,” Gwen said once we’d settled into the rhythm.
“Just don’t take this the wrong way. I don’t mean to offend you.”
“What’s surprising?”
“Well, you said you weren’t interested…”
Stacy hesitated.
“But it’s still strange seeing a guy surrounded by some of the wealthiest women in the country, and watching him make absolutely no effort to attract their attention.”
There was no point in getting offended by that.
In a world where men’s greed had practically been elevated into an absolute principle, to the point of becoming almost comical, I really did stand out.
Of course, I wasn’t the only decent guy around.
There were plenty of normal men here too.
But most of them were still interested in money.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t care about money,” I replied, continuing to dance with her.
“But when it comes to relationships, there are things that attract me more.”
I thought for a moment.
“If I had to choose between dinner at a luxurious restaurant and a quiet evening in a cozy living room, I’d pick the second one without hesitation.”
“You’re an interesting guy, Sam.”
Gwen smiled, and that was the end of the subject.
The dance ended soon afterward.
Gwen apologized and promised she’d only be gone for a little while before disappearing into the ladies’ room.
The champagne was clearly starting to make itself known, but I was tactful enough not to mention it.
Penny was still busy.
So once Gwen left, I found myself alone.
Not for long.
“Sam?”
A voice came from behind me.
It sounded vaguely familiar.
I turned around and nearly froze in surprise.
I hadn’t expected to see her here.
How had I managed to overlook her?
Some spy I was.
“Good evening, Mrs. Osborn.”