by J. J. Bella
"Woooow," said Olivia. "You look like a princess!"
"Thanks," said Ashley, stepping into the living room, seeming to Scott to be a little unsure of herself in her glamorous outfit.
"You look wonderful," he said, his tone sincere.
Ashley smiled, but before she could speak, a rapping sounded on the front door.
"That's them!" shouted Olivia, springing from her seat and running to the door.
She opened it, revealing a pair of young girls who Scott recognized as friends of Olivia's from school. As soon as they laid eyes on Olivia they began beckoning her out with them with loud, girlish voices. Scott and Ashley said their goodbyes, and suitcase in hand, Olivia left with them.
"Well," said Scott, his eyes on Ashley's body. "Shall we?"
"We shall."
The car was waiting for them out front, and during the forty-five-minute drive down to Santa Cruz, the two enjoyed a glass of sparkling wine, as they talked in excited tones about the future that lay ahead of them in their business.
I brought this girl on as an assistant, Scott thought to himself as he watched Ashley place her full lips on the rim of her glass and take a slow sip, but she's got more of a business sense in her than she realizes. She could go far in this city.
Just about the time they finished their wine, the car pulled up to a massive, multistory beachfront home, a large, curved driveway in front that was lined with luxury cars. The sun was dipping below the ocean, brilliant oranges and whites swirling in the air around it as it sunk beneath the horizon. Looking out of the window of the car as they pulled in front, Ashley could see dozens of well-dressed men and women gathered here and there. She at once felt as though she was entirely out of place.
"Are you sure I'm going to fit in here?" she asked, her eyes scanning the crowds.
"You'll be fine. Just stick with me and I'll do the talking. Just remember: we met a few months ago at a coffee shop in the Haight, and we've been inseparable ever since."
"Got it," said Ashley as their driver parked the car, got out, and opened their doors.
Scott walked around, and in true gentleman fashion, helped Ashley out of the car. She slid her arm around his as they walked towards the house.
I know this is all pretend, thought Scott, but I have to admit- there are worse girls to have on your arm.
Ascending the stairs that led to the large front doors, Scott saw the eyes of the nearby men lock onto Ashley. Just as he thought, she wasn't going to go unnoticed this evening. Two members of the serving staff pulled open the front doors as the two approached, revealing a mansion interior that was as opulent as it was spacious.
Stepping in, Ashley gasped at the wealth on display, from the Ancien Regime furniture to the crystal chandelier that hung overhead, bathing the dozens upon dozens of attendees in soft, orange light. A grand, spiral staircase led to the upper floors, and a chamber orchestra filled the space with classical music. It was a party of class and sophistication that stood out in stark contrast to the new money flash that Scott was used to seeing in the valley.
"Scott! Ashley!" called a familiar voice.
The pair turned and saw that it was Michael, a glass of champagne in one hand, his other arm wrapped around a dark-haired, blue-eyed girl of delicate beauty and Eastern European features who scanned Scott then Ashley, her eyes in scheming slivers.
I wouldn't have figured Michael to be the cradle-robbing sort, thought Scott, noting that the girl looked to be around Ashley's age.
"Welcome, welcome," he said, beckoning them to come closer. "Glad to see you both here on such short notice!"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," said Scott, shaking Michael's hand.
"And look at you," Michael said, giving Ashley a hug followed by a kiss on the cheek. "You're the picture of loveliness."
Scott watched as the girl at Michael's side shot Michael a quick, harsh glance.
The jealous type, I see, thought Scott.
"Both of you, I'd like you to meet my wife, Karen," said Michael.
"Pleased to meet you both," said Karen, her voice laced with a Slavic accent.
"Come, come," said Michael. "I'd like you both to meet the owner of this place. Great connections to be made here."
"Actually," said Ashley. "I think I need to, ah, freshen up. Long car ride."
"Oh, of course," said Michael. "Ladies room is just down that hall."
He pointed to one of many hallways that led from the spacious entry room.
"I'll be just a moment," said Ashley.
Ashley weaved through the crowds, feeling slightly overwhelmed by the whole affair. She kept her clutch held tight and close to her body as she made her way to the restrooms, trying to ignore the pair after pair of eyes that fell onto her body. Soon, she reached the hallway. Looking down it, she saw that it ended in a pair of glass doors that led out onto a small terrace. Ashley decided that stepping outside and getting some fresh air was just what she needed.
After taking a brief trip to the ladies room, Ashley made her way to the glass doors. Opening them, she sighed with contentment as the cool evening air touched her skin. She shut the doors behind her, silencing the din of the party, and stepped out onto the small, gray-stone terrace. A few couples were out there already, all watching the sun set into the ocean. Ashley placed her hands on the cool stone of the chest-high wall and looked out and allowed her thoughts to collect.
But before she could regain her bearings, a voice called out to her, a familiar voice.
"Ashley? Ashley Wilson?"
That couldn't be…thought Ashley, spinning around on her heels.
But it was. Standing before her, as striking as she'd ever been, was Regina.
Chapter Ten
"I can't believe it's you!" said Regina, stepping towards Ashley with her long legs, wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug, a small amount of the champagne in her slim flute sloshing onto Ashley's bare shoulder.
"Same here!" said Ashley, still stunned.
Regina ended her embrace, stepping away from Ashley and giving her a good once over. Ashley did the same, noticing that Regina still had the knockout figure that she had when they were friends, her curves and ample breasts poured into the elegant, black gown she was wearing.
"Damn, girl, you got hot!" Regina said, her green eyes wide, her copper-red hair straight and shiny.
"Thanks," said Ashley, feeling suddenly awkward.
"Oh my God, it's so good to see you," said Regina, shaking her head before taking a sip of her drink. "It's been, what, four years?"
"Something like that," she said through a tight, forced smile.
This is the last thing I needed tonight, said Ashley. Figures I couldn't have bumped into Regina the day before today, when I didn't have to lie about being engaged to her ex-fiancée.
"I just…can't believe you're here!" she said, shaking her head again. "I mean, I didn't think that, well, this was your kind of scene."
"What, rich and successful people?" asked Ashley.
"No, I mean, well, fancy, uptight types. You were always a more…casual kind of girl."
Well, this definitely seems like your type of place, thought Ashley. Plenty of rich guys to sink your teeth into.
"Things can change," said Ashley.
"Indeed they can."
"So, who are you here with?" asked Ashley, eager to get the subject off of herself.
"Oh, my fiancé," she said, looking through the glass doors, trying to spot him. "His name's Richard Townsend; a brilliant finance manager out of London. We're here so he can hobnob with these Silicon Valley captains of industry; there's just so much money in this area. Anyway, we just bought an apartment in the West Village that you just have to come see some time."
"I'd love to," said Ashley.
"And you? What brings you here?"
Oh, shit, thought Ashley. No way to get around this; might as well just rip the Band-Aid right off.
"Um, well, I'm actually engaged, too."
"Oh really?" Regina said, her sparkling green eyes widening once again. "And who's the lucky man?"
"Um, you know him, actually."
Ashley took in a deep breath.
"It's Scott Everest."
As soon as the last syllable left her mouth, the color drained completely from Regina's already-pale face.
"Who?" she asked, as though she misheard the name.
"It's Scott. That Scott."
"You're engaged to Scott Everest? Are you fucking kidding me?"
The eyes of the other guests on the terrace flicked over to Regina. Ashley's skin went red.
"After what that asshole put me through, you just went right behind my back and got engaged to him?"
Regina's eyes boiled with anger. Ashley wondered if she might just take her apart limb-from-limb right then and there on the terrace.
"Well, you guys had been out of contact for a while. We bumped into each other at a coffee shop in Haight, and we just hit it off."
Regina shook her head. "That's not the kind of shit that friends do to each other, you know."
"Well, it's not like you and I were still in contact! I hadn't seen you for years! How long, exactly, do you get to claim some guy you were engaged to like that? Five years? A decade?"
Ashley was surprised at how heated she was getting; she was acting as though she actually were engaged to Scott.
Maybe a career on stage is something to think about if this gig doesn't pan out, she thought.
"I don't know! It's just…" said Regina, defeated.
Regina leaned back against the stone barrier, her eyes downcast.
"He was just such a jerk, you know?" she said, her voice taking on the tone of a child who had finally accepted that she wasn't getting her way.
Regina downed the rest of her wine and crossed her arms under her ample bosom. Not knowing what else to do, Ashley took a place next to her against the stone barrier. Casting a furtive glance around the area, she was relieved to see that the attention seemed to be off of them.
"You never did say what exactly it was that Scott did to you," said Ashley.
"Because it was so stupid," she said, sound more and more a petulant teenager.
"Well, let's hear it."
Regina swiped another glass of wine off of a passing server's tray. Finishing her own, Ashley did the same.
"It's that little brat of a daughter of his," said Regina.
"Olivia," said Ashley, curious as to where this was going.
“She was, I don't know, six at the time? And she was just a little monster. She never listened to me, she never showed me any respect. And her mom, Scott's ex-wife died of cancer or something, so this kid was around all the time."
"Anyway, one night Scott was out at some meeting or something and I had to watch her. And, like usual, she was being out of control. It might've been because I had a glass of wine or two, but my patience was extra thin. So, anyway, she was doing her little bratty act, and I kept telling her to cut it out. And she wouldn't listen. Not only that, she was doing it worse the more I told her to cut it out. So, finally, I got up gave her a little slap across the face, and grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her until she quit."
"You slapped her?" asked Ashley, her tone disbelieving.
"Like, barely," said Regina. "It was just a tap. But, of course, she had to be a brat about that, too. And of course, right then is when Scott came home. She was crying and whining, telling Scott what happened. He took her to bed, then asked me if it was true, that I hit Olivia. And I was like, yeah, I did. You know? Because someone's gotta discipline that kid."
"But Scott wasn't having any of it. The next day, he told me that the engagement was off. And I was like, ‘just like that?' And he was like, ‘yeah, just like that.’ He got me an apartment for a few months, sent my things off, and that was it. He broke off our relationship over something as stupid as that."
Pretty telling that Regina still doesn't think what she did was a big deal, thought Ashley. Was she always this self-centered?
"That's…um, too bad."
"I know, right?" asked Regina, her voice indignant, as though she were describing a terrible injustice. "And what was worse is that not even a month after we were done he was already out with those airheads that were always flirting with him. It's like I didn't even matter!"
Ashley looked down at Regina's drink and saw that she was already nearly done with this one, too.
"But whatever," she said, wiping away a tear with the tip of her index finger, "I don't have to deal with that asshole anymore. My new man's just as rich, and you know what? He respects me. And he doesn't have any kids to deal with. So, as far as I'm concerned, Scott's all your problem to deal with."
She downed the rest of her drink, Ashley noting the wine's dulling effect; Regina's typically sparkling green eyes now had a dimmed sheen.
"But," said Regina, sticking a finger towards Ashley, the digit wobbling a bit, "you can't change a tiger's stripes, or whatever that expression is. He was a womanizer when I met him, and he'll be a womanizer when he's married to you. Men like him don't settle down, you know. And why would they? Girls are just throwing themselves at them. Only a matter of time before they give in…"
Ashley opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, the door to the terrace opened.
It was Scott.
Standing at the door, a glass of bubbling wine in his hand, he regarded the meeting of the two women with his usual nonplussed demeanor.
"Regina," he said.
"Scott," she said, her voice laced with venom. "Speak of the goddamn devil."
"Was I interrupting something?"
"Nope," said Regina. "All done."
With that, Regina stormed on unsteady feet past Scott, blowing past him and rushing back into the house. Ashley stood still for a moment, having a hard time believing what she'd just taken part in.
"You girls get a chance to catch up?" asked Scott, his tone wry.
"Something like that."
Chapter Eleven
The rest of the evening passed with far less dram. Scott led Ashley through the party, introducing her to various influential men and women in the Silicon Valley tech scene. Scott kept an eye out for Regina, worried that she might after another glass of wine or two be encouraged to create a scene. But though he continually scanned the crowd for her wild man of red hair, he didn't spot her once during the remainder of the evening. He figured that if she was indeed still there, she was making herself very scarce.
But as the night drew on, Scott could see that despite the sunny face she was putting on for who he was introducing her to, Ashley was preoccupied with something.
What did Regina tell her? Scott wondered. If she spun another one of her lies…
After a time, Scott could sense that the prolonged socialization was wearing Ashley out.
"I think I've had just about enough meet-and-greets for one night," he said, leaning in close among the crowd of tuxedo and gown-clad men and women.
"I couldn't agree more," said Ashley.
Scott found Michael in the crowd, thanked him for the invitation, and he and Ashley bid him and his wife a good evening. Minutes later, they were in the back of Scott's car as it drove north towards San Francisco.
But during the drive, Ashley was quiet and stone-faced.
Something's definitely going on with her, thought Scott. Better to get to the bottom of it now, rather than risk letting whatever it festers, especially since it likely has to do with her conversation with Regina.
"You OK?" he asked, undoing the tight knot of his bow tie and buttoning the top button of his dress shirt.
"Yeah, fine," said Ashley, her tone flat.
A moment passed, the lights from the highway pulsing the back of the car with thin, white light.
"You sure about that?" asked Scott.
Ashley sighed and tightened her expression, as if debating whether or not to say anything. Finally, after several more moments, she spoke.
"No, I'm not," she said, turning to Scott. "It's…Regina."
"I figured as much," said Scott. "What's up?"
"She told me about what happened between you two."
"Oh?" asked Scott, wondering if what he was about to hear was truth or another one of Regina's lies.
"She told me what she did to Olivia, that she slapped her."
Scott felt his teeth instinctively clench at the memory of that day.
"Yeah, she did do that," he said.
"But then she said that you were a womanizer who only cared about yourself."
Scott said nothing for a moment, letting the accusation sink in.
"And what do you think about that?" he asked.
"I don't know," said Ashley. "We've only known each other for a short time, but that's…just not the impression that I get at all. You seem dedicated to Olivia and your work, in that order."
"And you'd be exactly right. Sure, I've played the field, but never when I was with Regina; not once did I step out on that girl."
"That's good to hear."
"And her hitting Olivia in that way was something I couldn't get past. Sure, it may've been a little slap then, but there's no way I'd risk letting someone who'd do something like that in anger be near my daughter."
"I agree," said Ashley. "I'm not a parent, so I can't say, but that sounds entirely reasonable to me."
Then what's her issue? thought Scott.
"But…you seem upset," he said.
"I am. But it's not about you, it's about Regina."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I'm just feeling so…stupid for thinking of her the way I used to. Back in high school, she was one of the pretty girls, one of the girls who all the boys wanted. And I could see why. Something about her seemed…I don't know- magical. I know that sounds stupid, but I was only seventeen. Then she decided to be friends with me. At the time, I had no idea why a girl like her would want to be associated with someone like me; it didn't make any sense. Although, looking back, it was obvious."
