by Carsen Taite
“Why should you mind if I want to date one of your castoffs?”
“I don’t get why you’re pissed at me. What did I do? So I dated her first. Do you think I might have ruined her for you?”
“Give me a break. You’re jealous because I can get the same girls you can. All our lives, you’ve told me who I should and shouldn’t date, and you’ve made sure you get the best ones for yourself. It must be killing you that Rebeca chose me.”
“You think I’m jealous?”
“I think you’re consumed with it.”
Jordan channeled her fury into a penetrating stare. Despite her anger, she knew Mac was partly right. She was jealous, even consumed with it, but not for the reasons Mac thought.
Her earlier plan to share her feelings with Mac over an intimate birthday dinner for two dissolved into images of Mac sharing intimate moments with Rebeca. Her anger deflated and sorrow settled in. All she wanted to do was leave, quickly. Her hand on the doorknob, she faced her best friend and willed herself to show no sign of her feelings. One final thought needed to be spoken.
“Mackenzie, you don’t know me at all.” She left the room without registering a response.
Spying the tall redhead stalking down the hallway, Nick rushed to Mac’s office and entered without announcement.
Mac was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the door.
“Nick, I need a minute.”
“Sit down, Mac.” As if he didn’t trust her to follow his command, he pushed her gently onto the couch. “I heard.”
Mac’s eyes shifted downward and she shuffled in place.
“You’re not embarrassed, are you? I can’t believe that Blixen bitch had the gall to show up here tonight. I called the front and told Sally to make sure she was escorted out of the building and told never to darken these doors again.”
Mac barely registered his words, but she felt comfort in his presence. “Nick, I think Jordan left the party.”
“Are you mad at her?”
She could tell he genuinely wasn’t sure. “I don’t know what I feel right now. Maybe some anger mixed with something else. What am I going to tell everyone if the birthday girl isn’t here?”
Nick hugged her close. “We’ll say she ate lunch at that new place and contracted horrible food poisoning. We provide a plausible explanation for her absence and put the competition out of business at the same time.” His grin was devilish.
Mac managed a smile in return and poked her friend in the ribs. “You’re bad. Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you?”
“No time to be sappy. Get up.” He pulled her to her feet.
“You have guests who want to eat, drink, and be entertained. If you provide enough of all three, they’ll forget they were here for a birthday party in the first place.”
Mac knew he was right. She couldn’t hide in her office all night, hoping against hope that the party guests wouldn’t notice the hostess and guest of honor had both disappeared.
Steeling herself, she followed Nick down the back hallway toward the bar. Pausing before the swinging half doors, she surprised herself with a brief touch of optimism. Maybe Jordan hadn’t left after all. As frustrated as she was about their fight, she hoped her sweeping survey of the room would reveal the redhead. In her very core she knew, before she finished looking, Jordan was not in the room. No way would her proud friend have stuck around after the nasty exchange between them. She was probably on her way to Sue Ellen’s right now, seeking solace for her ruined birthday. Well, she resolved, I’ll have to salvage things on my own. Determined to make the best of the situation, Mac returned to the party, nearly jumping out of her skin at a touch to her shoulder.
“Mackenzie, have you seen Jordan?”
“Oh. Hi, Grace. I didn’t know you were here. Actually, Jordan had to leave.”
“Dammit. I should have talked to her before tonight. I should have known something like this would happen.” Grace seemed to be talking more to herself than to Mac. At Mac’s puzzled look, she said, “I brought Jacob. She saw us together and I think she misunderstood the context.”
“A common problem tonight.” Mac added with a whisper, “Jordan and I had a misunderstanding of our own. She’s pretty angry and I think she left.”
“Where do you think she went?”
Mac held back on announcing her theory, deciding her irritation at Jordan’s departure didn’t justify trashing her friend’s reputation. Though Grace surely knew Jordan well enough to know she was most likely on her way to soak some of her woe in a bottle of Scotch.
“She’s resourceful. Frankly, Grace, I don’t care if it’s her birthday. She was a jerk. I plan to tell everyone she was called to an emergency and I had one of the wait staff take her home.
A blatant lie, but everyone may as well have fun since the party’s in full swing. No sense letting all this hoopla go to waste.”
Grace frowned. “I don’t know, Mac. I think she’s feeling very hurt right now. As impetuous as she is, I’m worried about leaving her to her own devices.”
Mac shrugged. “I hear you, and I don’t want Jordan to be alone with her hurt, but I’m a little hurt myself.” At Grace’s questioning look, she responded, “I don’t want to get into it.
Look, I know her. She’s probably on her way to a bar. She doesn’t have her car. Probably the worst thing to happen to her will be a colossal hangover. Call her if you want, but I can’t talk to her right now without risking some serious damage to our friendship.”
“Who’s damaging whose friendship?”
Mac and Grace both looked up to see Aimee and Megan approaching. The exchanged glance sealed a tacit agreement that Mac would be the one to respond. She deliberately ignored the original question and flashed a fake smile at her friends.
“Hey chicks, having fun?”
Aimee responded, “Sure, but the guest of honor has slipped out and it didn’t look like she was coming back. What’s going on?” Mac sighed. “The official story is she’s responding to an emergency.” She paused, thinking it wasn’t entirely untrue that Jordan was responding to her own private emergency by running away. Bracing herself for the onslaught of questions from their friends, she said, “But the real story is Jordan and I had a fight right on the heels of her seeing Grace in what she thought was an intimate moment with her father.”
She knew this last revelation wouldn’t have the same impact for her friends as it did for her. They didn’t know the history behind Jordan’s tenuous relationship with her father, and she was too worn out by the drama of the night to fill them in.
“Is she okay?” Megan asked.
“I think she just wants some time alone,” Mac said. “Tell you what. I need your help to make sure this party goes on as if nothing’s wrong. We’ll have brunch Sunday and I’ll fill you in on all the details. I don’t have the energy to process it all right now. Deal?”
Megan and Aimee nodded, obviously dying to know more, but resolving to wait for answers. Megan spoke first.
“Let’s get you back to the party. Get everyone’s attention and I’ll announce Jordan had to leave, but we’ll blow out the candles and cut the cake in her honor.” Megan grabbed Mac’s arm and steered her toward the bar. Aimee took up her post on Mac’s other side and Mac relaxed into the solid support of her friends.
The rest of the evening was a blur. Haley and Megan, at Nick’s instruction, drove Mac home. He promised to make sure her Jeep made it home sometime before morning. After a blip of disappointment from the guests at Jordan’s sudden departure, the revelers had resumed enjoying the party. The fact that they’d all stayed into the wee hours of the night was a testament to the party’s success and, thankfully, their lack of awareness of any underlying tension among the major players.
Dressed in her boxers and tee, Mac leaned back on the propped-up pillow of her bed, unable to sleep. Haley and Megan had insisted on coming in with her and she knew, from their reluctance to leave, that they were worried abo
ut her.
She assured them she was exhausted and would go straight to sleep.
An hour later, sitting in bed wide awake, she knew her assurances had been a lie designed to allow her to be alone with her thoughts. Now those thoughts were proving to be poor bedfellows, and she wished she had a real person to talk to.
Her blinking laptop offered personal contact, but Mac shunned its false promises. Resigned to her insomnia, she reached for the book on her nightstand and lost herself in the fictional love lives of Shannon and Dylan.
Dylan wasn’t the type to wait for rejection. She knew, the moment Shannon clothed herself, that their romantic interlude was over and she’d been silly to hope she’d found someone to share the joys of life with, who was content with nothing more. She had no desire to reason or explain. It was time to move on.
Why, then, was she feeling sudden resistance to her usual path away from the reaches of love and commitment? Shannon’s profession of love had lit a fire inside her, but surely it was only the flame of lust she felt licking at her intransigence. Dodging the danger sure to encase her should she stay to find out, Dylan dressed quickly and left. Her departure was acknowledged by nothing more than a steely gaze.
Jordan was alone in the lobby. Despite her strong buzz, she knew where she was, but she didn’t recall the trek downtown.
She stared back through the glass doors and contemplated the starry night beyond. The revelations of the evening still swam in her head. She was angry and lonely, and she wasn’t sure what to do about either emotion. During the past couple of hours at Fuse, she’d consumed one iced vodka after the next as if the act of drinking was her life’s purpose. The rooftop patio had been buzzing with activity befitting a Friday night.
Couples stargazed, singles mingled, and everyone was dressed to see and be seen. Normally, Jordan would have focused her attention on the many attractive women in attendance, but tonight her focus was inward. The presence of people was merely a buffer to the loneliness she felt within.
Pressing the button to Rebeca’s loft, she waited for the occupant to respond.
“Yes?”
“It’s Jordan. I’m downstairs. Buzz me up.”
A click signaled the glass door to the elevators was open and Jordan pushed her way through. When she reached Rebeca’s door, she paused. What the hell was she doing here?
Ignoring the question, she rang the bell and hardly had time to draw a breath before she was staring at Rebeca. A short blue silk robe clung to every curve, leaving no doubt she had nothing on underneath. Yet she stood in the doorway as if fully dressed and ready for anything.
“Good evening, Dr. Wagner. I thought you might be making a house call.”
Not the response Jordan had expected her visit to elicit.
She’d worked up her anger on the way over, ready to unleash it on the woman who’d played her so masterfully. A little leg wasn’t going to dissuade her from her original mission.
“What the fuck were you doing with Mackenzie?”
“Why, darling, are you jealous?” Rebeca batted her eyelashes.
“Jealous?”
“Oh, you are, aren’t you?” Rebeca crooned. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jealous. You should know you’re the one I want to be with.”
Jordan was confused and wasn’t sure whether to attribute it to the many drinks she’d had or whether Rebeca simply wasn’t making sense. She stared at her, attempting to understand what was going on. Rebeca reached out and gently put one arm across Jordan’s shoulders. As she did, her robe slipped slightly, revealing more than leg.
She whispered in Jordan’s ear, “Let’s take this inside. I don’t want to share you with my neighbors.”
Jordan, exhausted by the evening’s events, allowed herself to be led into the living room. She sank down on the leather couch. Rebeca curled up next to her and began whispering enticements.
Jordan shed her fatigue and sprang from the couch. “We went out twice. Where do you get off thinking we have a relationship?” Increasing anger elevated the volume of her exclamations. “You said you weren’t looking for a relationship.
No strings attached. All play, no love.”
Rebeca looked genuinely surprised at Jordan’s anger. “I lied,” she said simply. “Don’t get me wrong, play is nice. But what kind of woman wants nothing more than to fuck around?
You didn’t mean all that crap in your profile, either, did you?
I saw through your façade and I could tell you were trying to ward off all but the truly worthy. Right?”
“I’m not hearing this.”
Rebeca didn’t seem to notice Jordan’s mumbled reply, intent as she was on pleading her case. “You needed a little encouragement to realize how you feel about me. When you stopped taking my calls, I decided to take matters into my own hands.” With no sign of a response, Rebeca continued, “I figured all I had to do was make you jealous. What better way than to date someone close to you, so you’d see what you were missing?”
Jordan’s anger was as much for herself as for the woman standing before her. “You think you are ‘truly worthy,’ huh?
Well, I have news for you. If it’s me you’re holding out for, you’re not worthy of much. Mackenzie is a better person than either you or I could ever dream of being. Anyone who hurts a friend of mine hurts me, and I’m not only an unworthy catch, I’m also a completely unforgiving bitch.”
She paused to catch her breath while Rebeca looked at her like she was an alien who’d landed on planet Earth to spread tidings of ill will. Jordan decided it wasn’t necessary to expound on the subject. Rebeca wasn’t getting the message and she probably never would. Why, oh why, had she ever gone out with this crazy, manipulative she-devil? Walking toward the door, she refused to look back or respond to the spiteful epithets Rebeca hurled her way. She was thankful to reach the hall and escape the building without having a heavy object thrown at her.
Catching a cab in downtown Dallas was an iffy proposition at best. Jordan decided to make her way back to Fuse and let the valet attendant work his magic in exchange for a generous tip. As she walked, Rebeca’s words echoed in her head: What kind of woman wants nothing more than to fuck around? You didn’t mean all that crap… Putting aside the fact that Rebeca was a master manipulator, she turned the words over in her head, looking for signs of truth in the blunt proclamation. Had she really meant everything she’d written in the profile for Skin Deep? No strings, no love, no relationships? If so, the question about her worth was valid.
But she hadn’t a clue as to the answer.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
“It feels weird having brunch without Jordan.” Megan glanced around. Mac had been clear when they arrived.
Jordan would not be joining them for brunch this Sunday morning. She had been purposely vague, though, about the reason for Jordan’s absence.
“Mac’s in the kitchen,” Haley said. “You gals have a few minutes to gossip freely.”
Aimee threw a breadstick across the table. “You, hush.
We’re not gossiping. We’re merely worried about our friends.
Does anyone have a clue about what happened the other night?
I haven’t been able to get a word out of Mac.”
“Easy with the breadstick projectiles,” Haley said. “I know you’re both concerned, but Mac will share when she’s ready.
Obviously, whatever happened at Jordan’s party set them both on edge.”
“You’re right, honey,” Megan conceded. “It’s hard not to wonder, though.”
“Wonder what?”
The question wasn’t Haley’s, and Megan mentally berated herself for letting Mac sneak up on her. She decided she may as well plunge right in. “We were wondering what happened between you and Jordan.”
Mac braced herself. She knew her friends had been waiting for an explanation. She wasn’t sure where to begin, nor was she sure she had the energy to tell the tale. She’d thought long and hard about the scene
in her office the night of Jordan’s party and had concluded that Rebeca had played them both.
Still, she felt a lingering sense of doubt about Jordan’s true feelings. Was she jealous that Mac could also attract beautiful women? She’d never felt Jordan was anything but supportive of her, but perhaps she’d taken too much for granted.
A breadstick-turned-wand captured her attention. “Hocus pocus, we need you to focus.” Aimee, making use of the projectile from earlier, tried to rouse her from her spell.
“Jordan and I had a big fight. A bad one,” Mac blurted out. “We figured as much.”
“Do you want to hear this or not?”
“Now you want to fight with us?” Aimee put a hand on Mac’s shoulder and pulled her close. “I’m teasing. Sweetie, we’re here for you. Tell us as much or as little as you want.”
“I don’t know where to start. Rebeca, the woman I met online and went out with a few times, showed up at the party.
Well, she wasn’t invited. As it turns out, Jordan had met her online too, and slept with her the first night they went out.”
“Ouch.” Aimee spoke for the group. “I’m guessing you found this out at the party?”
Mac nodded. “Sure did. In a crazy, jealous throw down.
Jordan walked in when I was telling Rebeca I was irritated because she’d shown up uninvited. Jordan assumed I was trying to hide something and that I didn’t want her to know I was dating Rebeca. Meanwhile, I had no idea the two of them had gone out before. There I was, introducing them to each other.”
“What did Rebeca do while you two were fighting over her?”
“That’s the weird thing. She flirted with both of us. And when I told her to get the hell out, she tried to get Jordan to leave with her.”
“Weird is an understatement,” Aimee said. “What did Jordan do?”
“She told Rebeca to get lost, and then she left. For all I know, they hooked up later.”
“Do you think they did?” Megan looked dismayed.
“I don’t know what to think. From the moment Jordan walked in my office, she was looking for a fight. I’ve seen her that angry before, but not at me. It was almost as if she was already worked up about something.”
