Next morning I woke up early I was in zombie mode and I was not willing to transform into human anytime soon; even after my shower. It was a Saturday and I was going to be standing a lot while in the clubs so I decided to go with a comfortable outfit. I opted for a simple black dress and black riding boots with a denim jacket. I definitely was not in the mood to fashionize (if that is a word) myself today. The real question was why? Why was I in such a crappy mood? I asked myself that same question while brushing my blonde hair in front of the mirror. I gave myself an easy answer that was: I was tired, tired as hell and I had to walk around clubs preparing Regina’s party but my green eyes told me truth and my brain was getting really angry at that truth hence the crappy mood.
I shook off every stupid feeling or thought I had, grabbed my black bag and went to the house and straight to the kitchen. Miranda was already making some breakfast that I didn’t recognize I went directly for the coffee.
“Good Morning, Lucy,” she said while cooking.
“Good Morning, Miranda,” I said drinking coffee from my cup “Mr. Maynard is already in the dining room,” I nodded, took the paper and a tray with coffee and went out there.
“Good Morning,” I said going to the other room where I found Patrick and Regina both looking at their phones.
“Oh Good Morning, Lucy, so good to see you again,” said Regina standing from her seat and giving me a quick hug. I just smiled.
“Paper,” Patrick took it and I poured some coffee. He drank it all in one sip and handed it to me for a refill. Someone was not in a great mood. He drank the second cup a bit slower than the last time. I sat next to him and smiled at Regina that was in front of me next to Patrick.
“Good Morning,” he finally said.
“Good Morning,” I said and smiled.
“You two are cute,” she said smiling and I decided to ignore the comment by pouring some coffee on her cup. “Oh! Right! That reminds me,” she said reaching for her purse and taking a news paper out of it “Look,” she said giving it to Patrick. I tried to look but I could barely distinguish the name of the paper.
Patrick read something really quick and handed me the paper “I told you,” I grabbed the paper and quickly figured what he was talking about because the first thing that caught my eye was a picture of both of us leaving the restaurant after Regina. He had his arm around me and I looked a bit overwhelmed. I understood why this could be mistaken by a romantic hug when in reality it was just my boss protecting me from photographers. The note on the paper talked about Patrick Maynard having a new lady in his life and of course the story was that I was there with him so Regina could meet the woman he was dating. If only they knew.
“Are we supposed to comment on this or give some kind of statement?” I asked holding the paper. The rumor would be cleared quickly and easy; I was his assistant and he was trying to protect me from the paparazzi.
“Patrick never clears rumors. He lets them die,” said Regina smiling and I turned to look at him.
“It’s easier that way and I don’t let the press know that I read their shit,” he said taking the paper from my hands and placing it on the coffee tray. I took it and was ready to go to the kitchen but Patrick grabbed my hand.
“Stay. Regina won’t mind,” he said looking at me in such a strange way. Black caramel apples.
“Of course not,” she said smiling from ear to ear. For the first time since I saw her today I noticed how she was dressed. When did she do that? At what ungodly hour had she woken up to be here at 8 in the morning after driving one hour from the city? Her hair was made into perfectly soft waves; she had a white sweater dress with a narrow camel belt and camel riding boots. It made me wonder if my outfit was too casual for what we were doing “and on second thought,” she reached for the paper “I want to keep this. It will be amazing to be able to show my future nieces and nephews why they exist,” I widened my eyes and saw Regina smile directed to Patrick who was looking at her with a murderous look “Anyway, I am going to check on Miranda,” she got up and left.
“Just sit,” said Patrick trying to smile at me, and I didn’t have the energy to tell him that I wanted to go to the kitchen and crawl into a ball in the furthest corner of the pantry. I just sat there. What was Regina saying? Did she think that Patrick and I had something going on the side? Did she think that I was trying to get Patrick to marry me? Did she think I was a gold digger? Oh my god. This was bad. I just took deep breaths until she came back with Miranda right behind her with Benedict eggs that were too delicious to ignore even if I wanted to die from embarrassment.
It seemed that Regina liked me because the whole ride to the city she kept chatting with me and Tracy. She asked about my likes and hobbies. That only made my doubts about what she thought of me grow.
We got to the first club and we all walked in letting Regina and Tracy walk around.
“You own this?” I asked Patrick and he just nodded looking around. The club was all in black and gold it had black leather chairs, black leather couches, black leather walls and every single detail was in gold. Golden chandeliers swung from the highest ceilings I’ve ever seen.
“Where do people dance?” I asked looking around. The lounge black leather couches and gold tables were too close together to leave any room for dancing and I knew people still danced at the clubs.
“Come,” he said walking through some doors to the right and I followed him. The room we walked into was a dance floor. Huge gold dance floor with just high tables for drinks I supposed. “Wow,” I mouthed as I looked around. I looked up and saw that the upper floor was not divided into dance floor or lounge floor. It overlooked both sides but there was no wall or door dividing them.
“What’s up there?” I asked Patrick he looked up and took his hands from his jeans pockets “that,” he pointed to upper floor “ is the VIP room,” he smiled.
“Oh, have any celebrities often?”
“All the time,” his smiled was bigger this time.
“Oh my God, Patrick. How many of them have you fucked?” I asked taking my hand to my mouth because I wanted to cover my laugh. I didn’t want him to think it was funny but it was in a way. I mean he was just living up to his reputation.
“I am a gentleman,” he said turning around and leaving the room.
“Liar,” I screamed as he left.
“Not this one,” I heard Regina and ran to the other room to see what I could help with.
“Why not?” Asked Patrick in a tone I’ve come to identify as “big brother Patrick,” tone.
“The black and gold won’t look great with the purple,” she said looking around “I love the chandeliers though.”
“Why don’t we go directly to the one club that is indeed purple, Gina,” said Patrick in a tone that was more like whining than big brother.
“You have a purple club?” I asked excited. Maybe this club touring would end soon.
“Yeah I own a purple club,” he said more to Regina than me. It sounded weird to talk about a purple club but I was all about finding a purple club.
“Just because it’s purple doesn’t mean it’s perfect, Patrick. C’mon Tracy, Lucy, let’s go,” We all followed Regina.
“I tried,” said Patrick and put my hand around his elbow and smiled.
“Yes, you did,” I patted his arm.
We went from club to club my feet were killing me and we still had to try the outfits for the gala; the mere thought of attending a gala brought tears to my eyes. At the end of the long club tour Regina decided that she was using the purple club. Patrick looked like he wanted to kill his sister himself and Tracy had a smile I had only seen that time at the Halloween Party when Patrick asked her to find the tiny orange candy that his friend from high school used to bring for lunch. I know: What the fuck?
“So, the date Gina?” Patrick asked once we were all back in the limo.
“February 14th,” she said looking proud.
“Really, Valentine’s day?” He asked he
r and she nodded “I would be celebrating my birthday in purple! Very original if you ask me?” she smiled again I just shook my head. I guess it would be original.
The whole ride to Patrick’s home Regina and Tracy talked about planning. I was thankful that Tracy existed because I knew in my heart, and not very deep, that I would suck at planning parties; I hated them how was I suppose to plan them.
“Do you want to try the outfits now?” Tracy asked “Yeah, let’s get this over with,” said Patrick and Regina clapped her hands “Can I see?” she asked and I just nodded. Could I say no to her? Maybe, I just didn’t have the energy to say anything but yes.
Tracy had a rack with a lot of dresses and rows of shoes in a beautiful display inside the library. I sat on a leather couch and looked at the dresses from afar. I hate with a passion those flapper dresses. I was going to pick them depending on what color looked better.
“Any preference?” asked Regina sitting next to me and looking at the dresses.
“Not really. What would you choose?” I asked her suddenly feeling a touch of inspiration. Maybe Regina could pick everything and it would be flawless because she never looked anything but.
“Oh I get to choose,” She smiled, I nodded.
“Well...” she got up and went to the rack.
“I definitely would not wear silver,” she grabbed the hem of a silver dress and made a face “Everyone is going to wear silver, gold or black,” She kept on looking at the dresses. “This short ones,” she showed me a red flapper dress that obviously I hated and hoped she hadn’t pick it “they are out of the question. Everyone is wearing them,” I nodded just because I hated the dress. She inspected very carefully each dress; it was serious stuff for her.
“This one,” she said finally with a huge smile on her face. She was holding a long white sleeveless flapper dress. At first I didn’t see anything amazing about it. The top part of it and the straps were in some kind of applications, I want to say beaded but in all honesty I don’t know much about terms.
“That one?” I asked a bit hesitant about it.
“Yes,” she said coming closer to me with the dress in hand “You will look beautiful. Simple make up with bright red lips, an up do and a silver headband,” she said really proud. “Go on try it,” she said pushing me to the libraries bathroom.
“I’ll go and check on Patrick,” said Tracy that had been watching the whole scene from afar.
I tried the dress and I hated to admit but it looked fantastic! It was really long and the frills gave a sensation of being in constant movement. I looked good in it. “How is it?” I heard Regina. I decided to show her.
“I like it,” I said coming out of the bathroom.
“Of course you do. You look angelical,” She went close to me and started fluffing the frills. “My brother is going to die.”
“Your brother?” I asked looking at her intently while she fixed something in the front of the dress.
“Well you look great, why wouldn’t he? Everyone will,” She smiled and I felt that I was missing something on her comments.
“Let’s find you some shoes,” she walked toward the shoes and examined them the same way she examined the dresses.
“So, you and Brian?” she asked while picking up a pair of silver sandals.
“Yeah,”I said looking around. That was awkward.
“How is he as a boyfriend?” she asked again.
“He is not my boyfriend,” I answered quickly. Regina looked at me and smiled.
“Ok. How is Brian in a relationship?” she asked and turned to the shoes again.
“Patient. Very patient.” I said realizing that yes indeed, Brian was very patient.
“Seems that any man that wants to be with you has to be very patient,” She said grabbing a pair of silver pumps and walking towards me. What the hell did she mean?
“I guess. I’ve never been in a relationship before but I can be difficult,” “Try these ones,” I put on the shoes. Of course they fit perfectly because Tracy already knows my size. “Beautiful,” she beams with pride “Now a headband,” she goes to another table that has a lot of hair pieces on a display. “This one,” she picked a wide headband with no feather or anything, just a silver band and I put it on. She nodded.
“Just don’t break their hearts,” she said fixing it. She sounded so serious.
“Their?” I asked and she smiled widely.
“The men at the party, of course.” She said taking a step back to admire my outfit.
“Yes! You are good Regina,” said Tracy stepping into the library. They talked about the dress and I was left with a weird sensation from my little talk with Regina. Did she like me or hated me? I had no idea.
Twelve
Well, Regina was right. With a simple make up and red lips I looked great; I did my hair in a high pony tail and placed the band. It was quick, simple and it allowed me to relax a bit before the party. Regina had stayed for lunch and she was a handful, quite funny and easy to talk to but a handful all the same.
“Oh Lucy,” said Miranda putting her hands on my shoulders once I was in the foyer waiting for Patrick. “This is the best dress you’ve worn so far,” I smiled I had to admit that it was.
“Thank you, Miranda. Do you have any lemonade around?” I somehow was really thirsty.
“Sure, come,” she said and I followed her to the kitchen. Miranda took the pitcher with lemonade from the fridge and I took it from her “I’ll do it,” in that moment we heard the bell ringing.
“I’ll get it,” said Miranda while I drank the lemonade like my life depended on it. It was delicious.
“Well hello, beautiful,” I heard Brian’s voice and almost spit the lemonade “Hey,” I said walking to him and he put his hands on my waist “I don’t want to mess your makeup,” he smiled
“It’s ok, I can fix it,” I kissed him on the lips and wiped the bit of red I left on. I noticed he was wearing sweatpants and a polo shirt. He was not here to crash the party “what are you doing here?” I asked.
“So happy to see me,” he said and I had to laugh at that.
“Surprised,” I smiled.
“I wanted to come and make fun of your outfit but, really, the joke’s on me. You look amazing,” He said pulling me tighter and I felt quite good about myself.
“Brian,” that was Patrick. I turned around to see him coming down the stairs. Damn him, he looked good in everything. It looked so easy to be Patrick Maynard. He was wearing a pinstripe, three piece, navy suit with a white shirt and navy tie. He had the traditional vintage Oxford style shoes in two tones of navy and, of course because he was Patrick Maynard, a cane. Show off.
“Hey Patrick, looking good,” said Brian as they both shook hands. Patrick turned to look at me.
“Well, Pepper,” he cleared his throat “you may hate the style but 1920’s seems to agree with you,” he said and he looked directly into my eyes.
“Told you,” Brian put a hand around my waist while Patrick kept his eyes glued to mine.
“So Brian,” he didn’t break eye contact with me “did you come to see me?” I was sure he knew the answer but still he enjoyed making the moment as awkward as he could.
“Oh no,” Brian smirked “I wanted to see my girl,” he looked at me. I was busy in a staring contest with Patrick. I didn’t know why but I couldn’t stop it.
“Of course,” Patrick smiled; I had a feeling the smile was for me since he didn’t look at Brian at all.
“I’m going to get going now. You’ll probably be leaving soon,” said Brian still looking at me.
“Probably,” said Patrick still with that annoying smile on his face while putting his hands on his pockets.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, baby,” Brian said and I finally turned to look at him.
“Ok,” I smiled and nodded.
“Have fun,” he kissed me and I smiled.
“I’ll try,” I gave him one last hug and walked him to the door where I kissed him again
and watched him get on his car.
“You look beautiful,” I heard in my ear as I closed the door.
“Thank you,” I said turning around and found Patrick smiling. Black caramel apples.
“Let’s go,” he said putting his hands together and the apples were gone. I went and got my purse and before I knew we were already in the limo on our way to the gala. That was one weird exchange.
When we got there I realized that wasn’t a gala, it was a huge fancy party. There were reporters everywhere and a red carpet. When I looked out the window I could see Regina talking to all the reporters and posing for the camera like a pro. She looked amazing she was wearing a burgundy, long, flapper dress that was completely see through on the shoulders and back. She could easily be walking the catwalk.
“Ok, go,” I said to Patrick looking for my lipstick on my purse.
“We go,” he said grabbing my knee. I laughed out loud.
“No, mister, I’m the assistant. We don’t need more pictures of us together,” I applied a bit of red on my lips.
“But you are my plus one,” He gave me the sad puppy look.
“And I will be... once we are inside,” He smiled and nodded.
“Fine,” he tapped the window to let know the usher on the outside to open the door “See you in the other side,” he said.
“I’ll be right behind you,” I smiled and he stepped out of the limo. I could see a thousand flashes that were blinding me. I couldn’t tell what was going outside.
“So, Mike, this kind of galas… are they a regular thing?” I asked while Patrick tried to walk away from the cameras. He was not posing and waving like Regina did.
“Not at all, Lucy. The galas that are going to be more party than gala are never for Mr. Maynard. He never attends,” I nodded wondering what we were doing there then.
“Well, here I go,” I said stepping out of the limo while one or two flashes went out. They were expecting someone fabulous and they got me.
I walked slowly to where Patrick was giving an interview and I stood behind him. He was talking about E-course and that reminded me of the sort of scrapbook I was preparing for him. I nodded at everything he said then stopped. I didn’t want any attention on me.
Unstuck Page 17
