Hanging on (Jessica Brodie Diaries #2) (28 page)

Oh, sorry,
filthy rich!

“Hi,” I said, entering the semi-circle with Lump and Adam again on opposite sides. It actually looked like Adam wanted to get lost all together.

“Done already?” Claire asked.

“No, William is gossiping about me. Adam, what’s up? Other places to be?”

Adam slightly shook his head and looked out a distant window. “Jess, them girls is talking about PMS. I don’t need to hear about none of this stuff.”

“It’ll help if you ever get a girl,” Jane stated.

“Might not want a girl after this conversation.”

“Might just help you get a boy, then. A femy-pretty one. That suit you better?” Claire asked with a smirk. “I met all kinds when I lived in San Fran.”

“Jess,” Adam whined.

“Guys, leave Adam alone. He’s one against four. That is a lot of estrogen to throw at a cowboy.”

I got shrugs and a beer.

We talked and laughed, largely avoiding everyone else. Most of the crowd was older and paid us little attention when they wandered into the big room. I had a feeling they weren’t accustomed to hanging out by a bar. They found chairs and couches and ordered drinks through a waitress that tried her best not to look bored.

About an hour later William came to find me. He was drinking champagne when he entered, which was being passed around by servers, but quickly changed that for a beer when he reached the bar. He exhaled loudly and looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.

"Are you ready?" he asked me.

"For what?"

"We need to walk around together for a bit. There are some friends of my mother that want to meet you, plus... there are a couple girls here that my parents... my mother, tried to set me up with in the past. They will want to know who you are. I wouldn't trust them if I were you, but that is your prerogative."

After I gulped, I nodded, and finished my beer, getting a supportive pat from Lump. Instead of another beer, I asked for a Champagne. It looked better. Not to mention it would give me more courage.

William and I headed out, the girls in toe by twos. They planned to stay relatively near me in case I was cornered by a mean, scorned woman. I needed to remember to thank Gladis and William yet again for the girls this weekend; I would have been a mess without backup.

When we got to the made-up parlor we were confronted by hoards of elegant people politely chatting and sipping their drinks. The money in this room was insane. Jewels adorned all the ladies, along with designer labels galore. The men were spiffy, often drinking some type of brown alcohol straight, or with an ice cube. Most were either William’s parent’s age or older, but there was a spatter of younger people mixed in. As we entered, more than a few eyes turned our way, caught William, then glued to me.

I kind of wished I had Fred by my side.

I let William lead, knowing that if I was in charge, I'd hea directly out the front door. He took us first to Trudy and Dennis since they were close and I knew them, and we were received with delighted smiles.

“Hi Jessica! So glad to see you again!” Trudy exclaimed. “When are we going wine tasting? I have a club of women that want to join! I’ve simply
raved
about you. They all want to meet you.”

“Hi Trudy, Dennis. How are you?” I asked politely.

Trudy gave me a fleeting confused expression, then looked around her. She probably wondered what was up with the reserved attitude. Based on the fact that everyone was glancing at us and talking amongst themselves, I had a feeling she caught on quickly.

Then she proved it by adopting her own guarded manner. “Well, I hope to see you and William very soon. You have to come by for dinner! I had such a blast the other night.”

“We will,” William affirmed before smiling, nodding, and asking that we be excused from the conversation.

Everyone wanted to meet me. Then judge me.

So far I was not having any fun.

We meandered on. I met some people and said hi to the ones I knew through Gladis. All in all it was going well as far as horrible, intense pressure and scrutiny could go. The girls were engaged in conversations with random people, and William and I were being received well.

That was, until I met the Ex.

We were talking to one of William's work associates when a pretty girl walked up. She was shorter than me, had blond hair, wide set brown eyes and pouty lips. She was attractive, though no Lump, and had probably been stunning in her youth before age snuck in; her beauty wasn’t ever-lasting like Denise’s (thank fuck!).

To my nearly expert eye, she must’ve already had work done and she probably wasn’t much older than me. There was something about her, though, that made you take notice. It was the way she carried herself teamed with the fact that her outfit and jewelry probably cost more than the car I would be buying. She knew her worth and she was her own best marketer.

Needless to say, I was daunted. She was out for blood—I could tell.

"Willie," she said in a breathy, sultry voice. She was slightly overweight but had a great rack to hide it.

His face went blank immediately. His eyes got a bit tight around the edges and he was clenching his jaw. I got nervous. This usually meant he was trying to stifle intense feelings. The butterflies I thought were dying returned with frenzy.

I saw Denise casually saunter closer. She might not like me, but she would be damned if I embarrassed her son or her family. In addition, Ami was gently dragging a confused Adam toward us, followed by the rest of the troop. The big show-off was about to begin, and unfortunately, everyone would notice if I took the coward’s way out and sprinted from the room.

“Hi Dez. How have you been?”

She leaned in and up with her cheek gracefully extended, obviously expecting him to come down and kiss her in greeting.

He complied slowly, and she threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. I realized I was holding my breath as my stomach tightened. Throwing up right now would not look good.

Hiding my fear and worry as best I could, I silently let my breath out as I maintained an interested look.

When they were done with the prolonged hug, she promptly ignored me as she asked, “How is that pet project of yours? Bulls or dogs or something, wasn’t it?”

His face still blank, William nodded. “It is going surprising well, actually. I have five bulls in the major rodeo circuit. By the way, this is my girlfriend Jessica. Jessica, this is Dezeray.”

She looked at me for the first time, taking in my height, my body, my clothes… and finding me wanting. I might as well have been a dirty cockroach. She daintily extended her hand anyway, looking down her nose, and I gently shook it.

She turned away from me without a word.

“When are you going to give up those silly games and focus on business?” she asked William. “I hope you aren’t still riding those animals, Willie! They are positively
dangerous
. Your family and I wouldn’t want to lose you.”

She
wouldn’t want to lose him? She was obviously going to try and get him back, thinking me no contest.
Bitch.

But why now? Why wait five years? Why wait until he has someone to turn tricks?

She was right, though. It was obvious she belonged in his world. She knew all their family friends, because they were her family friends as well. She knew William from years ago—this was obviously the long term relationship he was talking about, and he hadn’t been with anyone long-term since, except me. He must still have a deeply embedded candle lit for her, and it could only help her cause.

I had no connections, had a wild streak and no history with money. In a side-by-side comparison, I wasn’t hitting heavy.

“What are you doing these days?” William asked, changing the subject.

“Oh, this and that, as usual. I am currently single again, though not for long probably.” She smiled sensually and gave him a seductive look.

“Are you still helping your dad?”

“Oh God no.” She elegantly waved away the suggestion. “No. I am currently remodeling the house. It is a lot of work to pick out the right color scheme, tiles, drapes. It is a
big
house so there is a lot to do.” She glanced at me when she spoke of the size, hinting at expense. She knew I wasn’t from wealth.

“And speaking of,” she said, finally turning to me. “What is it
you
do...Jessica, is it?”

“She wor--”

“Willie, I asked
her,
” Dezeray said firmly, cutting him off. “Surely such a pretty trophy can speak for herself?”

Did she just say what I think she said?
I bet Lump would kick her ass if I asked nicely enough. Hell, I didn't need Lump, I could totally take her!

Dezeray leaned in to me like we were best friends and said softly, “He talks for you as if you weren’t educated.” Her laugh sounded like aluminum falling down stone steps.

I smiled sweetly through clenched teeth. “William, always the gentleman.”

Her smile faltered when I called him by his full name. Taking the slight advantage, I spoke up for myself, as instructed. “I currently work in upper-management in the Finance department for his family’s company. It wasn’t until after I met him and Tom that I learned they owned it.”

Hearing that I actually
worked
for a living, her smile turned victorious. “She is a factory worker for you, then, Will
iam
?” She made a mockery of his full name, implying I was a boob for using it.

His eyes clouded over.

I’d just lost the battle. It was inevitable. She obviously didn’t have to work. I did. I had performed so well today, not embarrassing myself once, but I should have known it would eventually come to this. This high-class woman was bringing out the reality of the situation for all to see. I wasn’t even a trophy. I was the rich guy slumming with the hired help. I was exactly what Denise didn’t want for her son.

I wanted to run. To walk from the room and let myself succumb to tears. Instead, I bottled it up for later. I slightly lifted my chin. I might not be good enough for William, but I was good enough for me, and I would not let anyone make a fool of me.

“The finance department works out of an office building,” I responded, not giving William a chance to answer, “but yes, I work for William’s family. I just graduated from UCLA and moved out from California. I could have branched off into acting—I have been in commercials and small roles in films, so it wouldn’t have been a big stretch to break into more mainstream roles, but decided I would rather put my intelligence to use in the work force. I chose a lucrative company growing exponentially within the industry that had sufficient potential for personal as well as business growth. The rest is history in the making.”

I smiled bigly, grabbed William’s arm, and leaned toward him as I pulled his arm so I could kiss him on the cheek. I turned back toward her as if I had actually won this dual. Let people say I was dense and ignorant; I wasn’t going down like a dog that just got kicked.

She’d feel so stupid when Fred bit her in the ass later!

“Anyway, I’ll let you two catch up, okay?” I emphasized complete trust in William with my smile. A trust I would be a fool to feel. “Dezeray, it was really great to meet you. I enjoy meeting people from William’s past! We should do dinner one night.”

With a twinkle in my eye and a hop in my step, I waited for her to nod with a fake smile, slowly turned, and walked to the first familiar faces I saw, which were Adam and Ami.

I greeted them warmly and asked if they were having a nice time. I could tell the entire room had been watching the discourse, and I was desperate to be out of the room, but I would not let myself run with my tail between my legs.

I was using every fiber of my being to keep the lid tightened on that bottle of desperation and emotion inside.

Ami responded that they were having a great time and asked would I mind showing her where the bar was? She didn’t know the layout of the house and knew that I was more familiar with these surroundings. She said this loud enough for Dezeray to hear.

Adam extended his arm for me to take, Ami on the other side, as we slowly sauntered from the room. I was holding my breath in intervals, and breathing deeply when I could. Anything to keep from breaking into uncontrollable sobs.

It wasn’t just that I was thoroughly embarrassed in front of all these people. It wasn’t even the unmistakable issue that I didn’t belong in this society. It was that William was better off with that high class girl that knew him and his family so well. It was that I would lose him to a girl not worth half of me in value, but worth a hundred of me in status, money and birth; the things that capitalism valued.

We went to the bar and ordered a champagne. Ami and Adam were talking quietly, but I had no idea what they were saying. When Lady came in a short second later, I couldn’t even look at her. I couldn’t look at anyone.

Instead of checking on the bar supplies, she went to the far corner of the room, pushed a large tapestry aside, pulled a lever, and revealed a little room.

She left it open, put the tapestry back, and went to the bar. She asked a few questions about bar supplies then said, to no one in particular, “Sometimes it is best to step away for a moment and get your bearings. Maybe get some fresh air without being seen going outside.”

The bartender looked at her like she had gone mad. Before he could ask what she was talking about, she was walking from the room. Ami immediately pulled me to the little room, Adam in toe, and we stepped in.

It was actually a passageway big enough for two to go abreast. Well, two of Ami and I. Adam had to both stoop and walk on his own. We followed it and saw that there were little passages off to the right and left as we made our way, which probably led to other rooms in the house. Following it still, it led to a little doorway. I felt like Alice in Wonderland as we ducked out onto the expanse of grass in the back of the house.