Three Stages of Love: Attraction (19 page)

I nodded as Alexander continued, but I knew what was coming next.

“Tomorrow, we’ve been invited to the Beverly Hills Social Club for the afternoon. And though I already told Tom that we couldn’t attend, I am going to call him in the morning to say that our plans have changed. It will be good for you to just hang out and bullshit with people other than Ms. Gina and the salespeople at the stores. I want them to see the Evangeline that could put a room to a standstill as she makes her entrance. I need you to pull out from deep within you the girl who knows how to have a good time and the woman who can entertain.”

The motivational speeches by Alexander Mason, ladies and gentlemen, left me breathless and mute every time!

“OK, Alexander. We’ll go.” I waved my finger and warned, “But if those bitches cross me—”

He stopped me. “If those bitches so much as breathe the wrong way in your direction, I’ll…I’ll…” Alexander looked down smirking, with nothing in his words but false ferocity.

“You’ll cut them bitches,” I returned, sprinting up to slice the air.

“Yeah, that’s right. I will cut those bitches.” He agreed in a tone that was too poised to have had said the words to begin with.

I nuzzled my face back into his chest. “You are such a white boy sometimes. It’s too cute.”

“Am I not thug enough for you?” he joked.

“You’re not thug at all, but if you want to pretend, we can pretend that I’m on fake-cation with my whitey-thug boyfriend,” I snickered.

But Alexander fell silent, suddenly making me look up at him.

“That is the first time you called me your boyfriend,” he said, staring down at me, warm of heart and joyous as ever.

I nodded and smiled and then leaned in for a kiss.

We stayed silent in the room for a while after our relationship status was released into the night air. It felt good to feel safe and open with the man lying beside me. And I also felt at peace knowing I would soon see Samantha. Knowing I would embrace my little sister took precedence over the unfortunate plans I had agreed to for tomorrow.

“Alexander, thank you for inviting Samantha, for understanding and accepting my craziness. And if I could, I would thank your parents for having brought you into this world for me.” I divulged my heart’s sentiments, and it felt easier than breathing.

“I love you, Evangeline,” Alexander spoke softly.

And though I hadn’t the courage to respond—finding my heart in my throat—his
I love you
carried me into a welcoming and euphoric sleep.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Morning found me rested and serene. That is, until I remembered having agreed to go to the Social Club that day.

I decided I would try to think positive, but I internally prepared myself for a shitty day with people I didn’t quite like.

When we arrived, Leila and Missy were out by the tennis courts playing doubles with two other women. And Tom and Steve were smoking cigars with the men who I assumed were the husbands of the doubles pair playing tennis.

“Hey there, stranger; you finally let him out of the bedroom, I see.” Tom welcomed us with a delighted smile.

“Yeah, sorry, Tom. It’s taken a little getting used to. My apologies. I hope it doesn’t reflect poorly on us as friends, especially since Alexander was not at fault.” My apologies to Tom were sincere, especially since I felt so bad that he was married to such a conniving bitch.

Tom smiled wider as he shook Alexander’s hand. “She’s a keeper. My wife throws me under the bus whenever she can.”

Alexander shook his head and pulled out a chair for me.

“Eva, the girls are almost done with their match, but if you want to get a little girl time with Cat, she’s reading a book out on the veranda,” Tom offered.

“Or you can stay here with me,” Alexander chimed in.

I rubbed Alexander’s arm, appreciating his protection. “Actually I wouldn’t mind chatting it up for a while with Cat. If you will excuse me, gentlemen. Alexander, you know where to find me.” I perched myself on my toes and kissed his soft, newly shaven cheek.

“Don’t get into trouble,” he said low enough so the men couldn’t hear. “I know that look on your face all too well.”

I giggled and skipped away, knowing exactly what I was doing: getting the dirt on the boss of the desperate housewives.

Cat was as Tom had said, seated cross-legged on an accent chair, reading a book under the covered veranda. She looked pensive and peaceful. I almost felt like I would be disturbing her haven.

As I turned to walk back to where Alexander was, Cat spotted me. “Eva, is that you? Oh, I’m so glad you made it. Steve said Alexander had cancelled.” She stood from her chair and embraced me tenderly.

“Yes. I’ve been a little bit of a hobbit: getting things set around the house and settling in. You know,” I said.

She showed me to an adjacent chair, and we both sat.

“Yes, I do know how it is. I know it’s not easy. I wanted to call you, but I didn’t want to intrude. It’s just that being the new girl in town and having left work and family behind—I’ve been there. I had hoped to offer some friendship.”

I knew I had liked Cat from the first words she spoke to me. And now I was certain of it.

“Oh, I wish you had,” I released in a sigh of relief that she understood. “I could have used a female friend. But, Alexander and I are building on our friendship, so at least it’s something. But, it’s never the same as a girlfriend, I have to admit.”

Cat laughed, “No it is not. But it is better than nothing. So, how are you settling in?”

Now how do I respond?
I contemplated.

“It’s difficult to find the words without trashing the whole experience, I know,” she said. “Take it from me: as long as you are intelligent enough to know who is a friend and who is a foe, you can live anywhere in the world. You have the love and respect of a great man, and you, my friend, are no docile ingenue. You will be just fine. Just make sure you strive for what you want and not what others make you think you need,” she said with disparagement and anger.

I leaned in closer to her, fearful that the plastic sisters would return. “Can I be frank with you, Cat?” Cat nodded in response. “What is the deal with Leila and Missy? Are you friends or enemies or frienemies…What’s the story?”

Cat looked around awkwardly and lowered her tone to an almost silent whisper. “Here’s the deal in a nutshell. I come from a wealthy family who put me in the best of schools. But they also taught me to value what we had and what it means to earn your keep. So, I worked hard in school, and I worked hard at getting my own job in a Fortune 500 company. I was successful and living a good life. My father’s company relocated to LA, and instead of staying in Texas, I wanted to be close to my parents. So I moved with them. And that is when I met Leila and Missy, and Steve shortly thereafter. I met Leila one day shopping…How shocking, right? Leila was always the wannabe millionaire searching for a man with the minimum of a trust fund. And Missy was, well…a little twit who fucked everyone in sight and made out well for it—with John. He was the sucker who fell for the beauty and forgot to ask about the brains. But they were all tied together because of the old family money connections. Steve worked with Tom, and Leila was Steve’s secretary. So Leila slept her way into a multimillion dollar bank account via Tom and then introduced me to Steve.” Cat shook her head in disbelief. “He convinced me to give up my job, my independence, and any value I held as a woman—all for him.”

I felt terrible as I listened to her grief. “Cat, you don’t have to tell me this. I know it hurts you.”

“Thank you, Eva, for caring. But I want to make sure you don’t make the same mistakes I made. So…”—swallowing hard, she proceeded—“present day, we find ourselves with Leila, Missy, and Steve. John is painstakingly pretending he still loves Missy, but he suffers to avoid the shame it would cause his family if he leaves her. Tom is clueless to the fact that Leila is a malevolent fake. See, she has made herself such an icon and known name and face in these parts that no one wants to have their reputations ruined or to be shunned because Leila Nest said so.”

I straightened my shoulders, ready for battle. “But what gives her this power and such importance?”

“When you fuck the right people, you can gain all types of notoriety. Anyway, she is someone you either need to steer clear of or pretend to tolerate,” She added and took a sip of the mimosa she had ordered for us. “And then we have Steve—my cheating and unfaithful and detestable husband. We have been married for fifteen years, and all I have left to show for it is this wedding ring. He has almost cleaned our bank account out, and we haven’t had sex in two years, but we stay together for appearances’ sake.”

“Cat, you don’t have to do that. You are so much stronger than those women. Get back on your own two feet,” I urged her.

Sitting quiet and in a daze, it took Cat a moment before she responded. “I’m fearful of being alone and self-sufficient after all these years of not doing anything but planning benefits and shopping and lunches. I am not the woman I used to be. I was young and spunky and fearless to grasp all that was in front of me, but I deserted all that I held and all that held value for me.”

I suddenly felt vomit rise to my throat as I saw myself in Cat’s body, ten years from now, drowning in regret and with nowhere to turn.

“You can make things right for you; just make sure you don’t lose sight of what you want. If you want to eat cheesecake, don’t turn it down just because Alexander orders crème brûlée. And most importantly, don’t let anyone ever make you give up what you love, whether it’s the man you’re with or your career. You are the determining force for the rest of your life. You can’t blame anyone else for the choices you consciously make.” Cat lifted the glass as high as she had to in order to take the drink down as fast as she could.

I couldn’t take my eyes off of her glowing skin and glorious presence. She was never wrinkled by her pain merely perfect and poised. “How can you stand pretending? How do you carry on so well and stay put together when you are consumed by so much regret and sadness?” I asked. But, realizing how bad I had made her life seem, I regretted my words promptly. “I didn’t mean it the way it came out. I’m sorry for my crudeness.”

“No apologies necessary. Deep down I feel as bad as it sounds to you. But, I have worked hard at my flawless exterior so that I don’t appease those who are waiting for me to break into pieces and fall apart. I don’t know how much longer I can put up with this or how I will escape it. But the last thing I will do is give Leila and her misfit the satisfaction of self-destructing.” Cat’s inner beauty filled with a tiger’s will voiced its strength.

“I just don’t get how someone like Leila—”

But just then the devil herself appeared.

“What is it that you want to know about me, Eva?” Leila pronounced loudly and annoyed.

My eyes bulged out of my head, fearing what she might have heard. “Leila, it’s so funny you joined us at the perfect time. I was just asking Cat for your beauty regimen. I just can’t get my tone even enough, especially after the summer months. Your complexion always seems so perfect—I just can’t imagine there not being a secret to your flawlessness.”

I swallowed what seemed like a tennis ball!

“There is no secret, my dear; you have to be born this flawless, as you said. If I could bottle it, I would! So, Cat, scoot over a bit; the sun comes right down this side.” Shooing Cat to move to the chair on the other side of me, Leila sat down and flipped her hair off her shoulders and fanned herself with a handkerchief.

Missy, who had not yet said a word, carried a tight brow, surely surprised and irritated by my presence. She puckered her sour lips and sat beside Leila—right in front of me!

“So, Eva, have you guys been here long?” Leila inquired.

I shook my head. “No, only about twenty minutes or so.”

Leila raised Cat’s now empty mimosa glass and raised it to get the waiter’s attention and held up two fingers with the other hand. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did either of you want another?”

Shaking her head no, Cat stared out the veranda windows. I had no response for her blatant disregard.

“So, twenty minutes, huh?” Leila pressed. “Have you learned anything interesting about our gorgeous city while talking to Cat?”

Yeah, I learned that you are a dirty, malicious bitch whore!
She was digging for info, but I wasn’t as dumb as Missy. “I wouldn’t say interesting. Cat and I were talking about all the things we have in common. We are both so close to our families, and we love our jobs.”

“Loved is more like it. Cat hasn’t worked in over a decade, and thank God! Who would take the time to organize all of my fundraisers if she went back to work?” Leila persisted in reminding Cat and everyone at the table that she was the HBIC! “So, have you seen the sights? Met any new people? Has Alexander taken you to their corporate office yet?”

I assembled myself in an interrogative position and contemplated which question to answer first. But I couldn’t get past the thought of,
Why all the questions? What does she have up her sleeve?
“No…” I said, “I haven’t been to the corporate office yet. Alexander has really dedicated himself to showing me around and getting settled into the house.”

“Oh, you really should go see the headquarters. I helped design the lobby—it’s exquisite. I’ll tell you what. If I’m not available, I’ll make a call to my friend, and she’ll show you around. Chloe would be delighted to meet Alexander’s love—I’m sure!” Leila sipped her mimosa but never dropped her gaze as she watched me through her glass.

Missy snickered under her breath and wore a Grinch-like smirk on her plastic surgery pamphlet of a face.

“I’m sorry. Who is Chloe?” I asked.

Leila put her glass down and returned with the expression of utter shock. “Wait, you don’t know who Chloe is? I would have assumed that Alexander told you about her. She is Alexander’s personal assistant. They have known each other forever. Hmm, that’s strange,” she ended, leaving me more confused than ever.

“I don’t understand why he would have to tell me about—”