Her eyes widened but she didn’t dare speak. Surely, the figures I was tossing at her head seemed astronomical.
I was silent for a moment, trying to read her expression. A few of my other flings had looked like vultures any time I spoke about my riches. Melanie, on the other hand, was different. Money didn’t seem to be the driving force in her life. Well, other than getting enough money to help her mom through rehab.
Again, a pang of guilt tightened around my chest.
What was I supposed to do about that? The money wasn’t an issue – I could have given Melanie as much as she wanted. But knowing that her mother had promised to go to rehab as an incentive was terrible – I knew she’d never keep her end of the bargain.
“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here? I mean, I’ve never really done anything like this before. I don’t want to ruin anything for you.”
“You won’t.” I squeezed her thigh in a comforting gesture. “But just to make it a little easier for you, I can give you a run-down of who’s who. Victor Ramos is difficult. Very difficult. As soon as he gets some drinks in his system, there’s no reasoning with him. Omar Tavares is just as difficult but that’s just because he’s as stubborn as a mule. The old man should have retired years ago, but he refuses to give up control of his business to his grandchildren. Then again, the Twins, as everyone calls them are a couple of redheaded vixens. They’ll bleed you dry in a heartbeat. Trust me.”
Melanie raised an eyebrow in question, but I wasn’t about to confirm or deny her suspicions.
“Henry Winters will bring his mistress. She’s quite the woman. Would have made a much better wife. Paul Juniper will try to flirt with every woman he sees. So if he tries to talk to you, just ignore him. He’s harmless but still pretty annoying.”
“Okay.” Melanie took a deep breath. I could see that she was getting overwhelmed.
“In terms of clinching a deal, we’re going to need Lisa Frankford on our side. She’s got quite the tongue. Can convince a man to do just about anything.”
Again, a dubious expression painted her face.
“It seems you know all these people rather… intimately.”
“I guess you could say that.”
And we were silent for the rest of the drive. When we arrived at the party, I was quite surprised with the way Melanie was conducting herself. It almost seemed like she was born for this role. She was kind and attentive to everyone, navigating the crowd with the utmost ease. There was no sign of the shy, nervous girl who I’d seen in the car.
Obviously, I was impressed.
Leaving her with a group of my associates, I walked off toward the bar and ordered us each a glass of the most expensive champagne on the menu.
“Here you are, sir,” the bartender said with a smile.
Before I could head back, one of the Twins walked up to me. “Who’s the new girl? I haven’t seen her around. Escort service?”
“No,” I answered through gritted teeth. After a short, unsuccessful fling with the Twins, I had learned to resent them. They were nothing more than a couple of leeches looking for their next paycheck. I didn’t have the time to spend on the likes of them.
“She’s cute,” the other Twin chimed in, dressed in an identical outfit to her sister. It was eerie how similar they looked. Maybe they weren’t twins at all but clones.
“Yeah, that’s what I was saying.”
“Where’d you find her?” Tabatha asked. She was the older of the two.
“It’s none of your business. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
“When will you learn that this is a party?” Tammy giggled. “If you work too hard you might just give yourself an aneurysm.”
I shot her a deadly glare. When I was younger, I probably would have humored her insult with a remark, but I had learned over the years that the best way to piss them off was to say nothing at all.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the grimace on their faces. That’s it. Walk away.
I rejoined the group of businessmen and handed Melanie her glass of champagne.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“Of course.”
As the conversation continued, I noticed how laid back and down to earth Melanie was. She had this way of calming the situation. It felt like so long as she was there, nothing bad could happen.
Back home, I had told her to leave all the talking to me, but now I was glad that she had ignored my advice. She was effortlessly mingling with professionals, all of whom had advanced degrees from Ivy League institutes. She was acting like she had done this every day of her life.
I honestly had no idea how she was doing it.
I listened to her chat up my associates. Her words were like honey, casting a spell over me and everyone who listened to her. To be honest, I didn’t quite know what she was saying but I knew that whatever it was, she had everyone hooked. Everyone who looked at her had a certain spark in their eye.
They liked her.
It was no surprise. She was magnetic, yet sweet. Gorgeous, yet approachable. I felt a smug satisfaction when I realized everyone was jealous of me for having her on my arm.
Plus, it probably helped that she looked stunning wearing the diamond necklace that Nancy had managed to pull out of thin air at my request.
I couldn’t keep my eyes off her.
And then it hit me.
I was falling for this woman.
I was falling in love with her.
Holy shit.
Chapter Thirteen
Melanie
Fuck.
I was nervous – very nervous. I could feel the prickling of sweat along the back of my neck and my cheeks felt very warm. Why was it so hot?
Still, I did my best to play the part. Tonight, I was Aaron’s million-dollar arm candy. It felt strange to think of myself that way but deep down I knew that was exactly what I was.
An accessory.
A million-dollar accessory.
The thought made my stomach churn. What if that was all I meant to him? A superficial companion he could drag to business parties to make other men jealous.
No.
There had to be more than that. When we looked at each other, the air turned electric. Any time we kissed, my heart skipped a beat. I couldn’t be the only one feeling these things.
Surely, he felt it too.
At least, I hoped he did. Already, the thought of leaving Aaron and going back home made me sad. And as much as I didn’t want to dwell on it, I knew the three months would eventually come to an end.
What would happen if Aaron didn’t love me back?
I struggled with these thoughts for most of the night, trying my best to hide the turmoil I felt inside. At one point, I found myself chatting with the mistress of one of Aaron’s business associates. Her name was Elizabeth.
“How do you like it so far?”
“Hmm?”
“The ball. You’re new here, aren’t you? This is your first time attending a Golden Ball.”
“Yes.”
“So what do you think?” she asked, sipping on her wine. Elizabeth was stunning. She had a perfect figure and flawless features. She moved with a simple elegance that made it hard to look away.
“I think it’s quite nice. Everyone is very friendly with one another. It’s exciting to hear about everyone’s ideas.”
She nodded. “Ah. You still haven’t run into trouble. Don’t worry, you will. Each year, there’s at least one scandal that becomes the talk of the community for a few months before it’s replaced with another. But you seem like a sweet girl. I’m sure it won’t happen to you.”
I didn’t quite know what to say in response to that, so I just smiled politely. “If you’ll excuse me,” I said with a nod, turning to go.
“Wait. Stay a moment.” She reached out and touched my arm.
I hung back, brows raised.
“I’m enjoying your company,” she explained. “Doesn’t happen that often.”
“You are?”
She nodded. “It’s refreshing to talk to someone who’s removed from the drama that circulates among my so-called friends.”
“Oh.” I felt slightly awkward just standing there as she looked at me with this intense, expectant gaze.
“So who are you here with?”
“Aaron Black,” I answered in a neutral voice. Elizabeth shot me a weird look.
“Really? So he’s finally found someone? Good for him,” she said with a smile before taking another sip of her champagne. “It’s been quite a while since he’d attended one of these events with an escort.”
The word ‘escort’ almost made me flinch. Did she mean escort as in date, or escort as in a paid companion? Who knew? I decided to ignore it.
“Do you know a lot about him?” I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about my patron. I honestly didn’t know how well I could trust this woman, but it was worth a shot.
“Quite a bit, actually. He’s my boyfriend’s business associate.” She pointed her thumb across the way to a blonde gentleman engaged in conversation with Aaron himself. “They were almost business partners at one point in time.”
“What happened?”
“Aaron is more of a lone wolf. He prefers to do things on his own and I appreciate that. I’m like that myself. I recently launched my own clothing line. It took me five years to do so.”
“Wow, that’s impressive.”
“Of course, I could have launched it much sooner if I had opted to collaborate with some of my colleagues, but I wanted to do something on my own so that the success or failure would be my own and no one else’s.”
“That’s awfully brave of you. Weren’t you scared?”
“Of course,” she nodded. “Fashion lines fail more often than not but it’s been my passion since I was a little girl. I couldn’t let the opportunity slip through my fingers just because I’d face some obstacles along the way. If you want something then you have to be willing to fight for it because, darling, nothing good comes easy.”
Instead of learning about Aaron, I had been bombarded with life advice. I wasn’t complaining. Her words made me remember my own passion for artwork. Maybe if there was money left over from the million, I could convince my mom to put it toward my college education. That way I could finally get an art history degree like I’ve always wanted. And from there, I could work at a museum or become a curator. I smiled, lost in my own thoughts.
“But, enough about me. I’ve gotten carried away. You were asking about Aaron.”
“Um, yes,” I murmured.
“Well, I can tell you he’s one of the most decent guys in this place. First of all, he’s never been caught cheating. He works hard as hell. Motivated. Smart. He’s the complete package. So, if I were you, I’d do my best to hold onto him because you don’t know when you’ll come across someone else like him.”
I nodded, glancing in his direction. I smiled. I knew, deep down, that she was telling the truth. Aaron always treated people with respect. He loved to snuggle up near the fireplace and read at night. He had a great sense of humor. Everything about him seemed perfect.
Maybe he was too perfect.
It had me worried. If he was so amazing, then why was this happening? Why had he paid my mother a million dollars to be with me when he could just as easily pick up any girl with his smile alone?
“Anyways, I must be going.” Elizabeth excused herself, returning to her lover.
I headed for the buffet table where I sidled up to one of the wives. Casually, I placed a few pieces of fresh fruit onto my plate.
“You’re with Fredrick Rice, aren’t you?” I spoke up, doing my best to remain confident in both my stance and speech. This whole experience was utterly nerve-wracking for me but at the same time, I wanted to prove myself.
“I’m his wife, yes.” Her response was stiff and unnatural.
“He’s a very intelligent man. We spoke about his newest idea for green energy and I’ll admit, I think it’s absolutely mind boggling that we haven’t tapped into this sooner.”
“I actually helped him come up with the idea. I used to be a chemist in college.”
“Oh, really? That’s fascinating. I had no idea.” I smiled at her. “Men rarely want to give credit where credit is due.”
“You got that right,” she laughed. “I’ve been trying to get Fred to put me on the design team for years but as far as he’s concerned, I’m just his wife.”
“That’s not fair.”
“No. But, he’s a good husband, don’t get me wrong. He takes good care of me and does everything is his power to keep me happy, but he just can’t accept the fact that I might be a better innovator than he is.”
“Why don’t you start your own company?” I suggested.
She blushed darkly. “Oh, no, I could never do that. I’m not very good at the financial aspect.”
“I’m sure you could find someone that could help you. I could talk to Aaron if you’d like.”
“Oh, you’re here with Aaron Black, are you?”
“Yes.”
“I should have known,” she said with a smile. “I wouldn’t expect anything less from Aaron. He’s a genius. One of the most successful men in this entire room and that’s saying a lot.” She paused. “Don’t tell my husband I said that.”
I drew a finger across my lips, miming a zipper.
“I’m sorry, but I never got your name.”
“Melanie.” I smiled. “Melanie Carmichael”
“I’m Kristine.”
I popped a chocolate-covered strawberry in my mouth. It was delicious, and I finally felt that I was starting to relax as I chewed and swallowed. I’d been so busy mingling and socializing that I hadn’t eaten much, but the buffet table was loaded with delicious-looking food.
“Just a word to the wise. You might want to avoid Elizabeth.”
Kristine’s words snapped me back to reality and I looked at her with a frown.
“What do you mean, exactly?” I asked.
“You seem like a nice girl. I wouldn’t want you to get caught up with her ilk. Elizabeth has a bit of reputation. She jumps from man to man, acting as a mistress and destroying marriages. It’s horrible.” Kristine shuddered. “There are a lot of other women just like her. Their only objective is to seduce rich men and ruin their lives. Then, they’ll run off with all of the money. I wouldn’t want people getting the wrong impression about you.” She looked me over. “You aren’t trying to do that to Aaron, are you?”
“No! Of course not!” I answered immediately. “I would never dream of doing such a thing,” I said firmly. “Not to Aaron, or to anyone else.”
“Good.”
“But,” I trailed off and frowned. “Elizabeth seems like a very friendly woman. She’s just nervous. She knows that she doesn’t fit in. Trust me. I think it’s worth giving her a chance. Have you ever tried to get to know her?”
“No.”
Before Kristine could say anything else, I waved at Elizabeth and signaled for her to join us.
A few other women had migrated to the buffet. Somehow, I managed to gather everyone into a group and start up a conversation among them.
“So is it safe to assume that everyone’s seen the latest episode of Seaside Jewels?” I asked, referring to the new TV drama that everyone was raving about.
The wives looked at each other, as if scared to admit they watched such a thing. With their pearl necklaces and fancy evening gowns, they couldn’t possibly be fans of such a trashy show.
Elizabeth spoke up first. “Joseph is as good as dead, if you ask me. There’s no way he survived that shipwreck.”
“I’m not so sure. He’ll probably show up in a couple of weeks, washed up on the shore, sporting a beard and amnesia.”
Kristine groaned. “Don’t say that. I hate when character come back with amnesia. It makes it so frustrating to watch. Why can’t Missy just open up her eyes and realize that Joseph�
�s madly in love with her?”
“Wait a minute,” another woman chimed in. “Missy doesn’t deserve him. She’s been fooling around with Liam.”
“Well, Liam is just trying to get to her money.”
“But he’s never going to find it. I don’t even think it’s in the safe anymore. If you ask me, her father moved everything,” Elizabeth hypothesized. “You have to give it to the show for packing so much drama into thirty-minute episodes. I’m glued to the screen for every minute of it.”
“You and me both,” I agreed with her. “I just started watching the show and I’m absolutely hooked. I’m all caught up now and it’s killing me that I have to wait a week between episodes.”
“Sometimes there are leaks online,” Kristine spoke up.
“Sure, but they are terrible quality,” Elizabeth countered. “If I’m going to watch the show, then I want to do it in HD.”
“I steal my husband’s 4K TV,” one woman giggled.
“Me too. Jake was so angry with me when I kicked him out of the living room during one of the big games. He was forced to watch it on his laptop. We slept in separate beds for a week, but it was worth it. So what do you girls think about Pauline? She’s definitely up to something, isn’t she?” someone asked, once again referring to the show.
I smiled, glad that I had found a topic of conversation where everyone could chime in and contribute.
A few drinks later, everyone seemed to be on good terms with each other. People were laughing and smiling. The deadly glares had melted away.
After a while, I slipped away, feeling exhausted. The rich and their cliques were just as difficult to handle as my mother and her drinking buddies. Sure, I was surrounded by gorgeous, toned women who were dripping in diamonds and pearls, but they weren’t any less judgmental than Mom’s white trash friends.
Buying A Bride Page 11
