Memoir | Black and White Office Party | Part VI of VI

I was scheduled to meet with Mr. Sadoski, a high-profile government official who worked in my bureau at the U.S. Department of Prominence. There was no topic of discussion on the Microsoft Calendar e-invitation on why I was meeting with him. And his scheduler, JoAnn, was not telling me why I was to meet him. I got scared and worried that my unfiltered words may have inadvertently said something that annoyed one of our colleagues. My moment of reckoning was about to happen, and I was terrified!

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I sat in the reception area, anxious about what type of reprimand I would encounter for whatever in the world I had done. I kept pondering whom I may have pissed off. As we say in government jargon, I am being “called to the carpet,” and I don’t know why. “Called to the carpet” means that one is about to be scolded.

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Mr. Sadoski came out of his office, greeted me with a hello, and directed me to come into his office. He smiled, pointed in the direction of the sofa, and told me to have a seat. He sat across from me in a replica French Louis XV-style burgundy armchair. My heart was pounding out of my chest at that point because I was never in a meeting alone with a prominent official and was about to be berated, or so I thought.

While sitting on the sofa, I could not help but see how good-looking Mr. Sadoski was. He had dimples, brown hair, and soft green eyes. I had sinful thoughts while looking at that man. “I certainly could have an affair with this beautiful gentleman.” He was married.

Still nervous about what was about to transpire, I told myself that I had read too many E.L. James and Jackie Collins romance novels. Hey, a woman can dream of being in love with an attractive man! Surely, other office secretaries had a crush on their handsome and powerful employers.

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Mr. Sadoski was direct and straight to the point. He asked me to plan an event for his principal deputy, principal deputy assistants, and desk officers for their great work. And that I had a 500-dollar budget to work with.

I sighed with relief to know that I was not in trouble!

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Event planning is my forte! My co-workers knew my holiday and office parties were spectacular, so they must have recommended me to Sadoski.

At that moment, a party theme came to my mind. I told Mr. Sadoski that the event will be called The Black and White Office Affair, an elegant yet understated celebration.”

Mr. Sadoski was delighted with my idea!

My concept was derived from the iconic author Truman Capote’s book “The Black and White Ball,” in 1966, it was a masked ball held for Catherine Graham who was the publisher of The Washington Post newspaper. The wealthy and Hollywood elites attended that ball. I read the best-selling hardcover.

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An elaborate email with the details on the Black and White Office Affair was sent to ask that they dress exquisitely in black and white attire.

On the day of the event, everyone was adorned in their finest black and white outfits. And as they walked down the corridor to the large room where it was being held, they leisurely made their way along the ruby carpet, flanked by fern trees sparkling with glimmering white lights.

Mr. Sadoski wore a black and white tuxedo. His three daughters were wearing black dresses, and his wife wore a sleek, white linen dress. The male principals and desk officers were decked out in plain black single-breasted suit jackets or a black pinstriped suit with white stripes, and the female principals and desk officers were wearing sassy black dresses or white blouses and black skirts. I was dressed in a sophisticated little black sheath dress, a pearl necklace, pearl earrings, and black pointed-toe pumps, and I wore CHANEL #5 perfume.

The Black and White Office Affair was a success!

Sadoski wrote my supervisor a statement of praise for organizing the event so that he could add it to my annual employee evaluation report.

Mr. Sadoski is now a United States Senator!

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(Copyright © 2025 by Mia Z. Edwards. All rights reserved.)