Bad For You
Page 16
Joseph perked up when he saw me coming, grinning as he held out his hand for me to shake. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, sir. Welcome home.”
“Thank you. It’s good to see you too, Joe.” I shook his hand before motioning toward the group of men my father was now standing with. “Do me a favor and keep an eye on Dad for me, will you? I’ll check in with him myself whenever I can, but I want someone to watch him at all times.”
He inclined his graying head and lowered his voice. “I’ll keep him in sight, sir. Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll have someone find you immediately if there seems to be cause for concern.”
“Thanks,” I said sincerely, offering the man a smile before I turned to find Brittany. “It really is good to see you, Joe. You’re looking well.”
He returned my smile, then folded his hands in front of him again and angled himself discreetly toward my father. Satisfied that I could trust him to keep an eye on the old man, I started scanning the room to find my date.
I hadn’t intended to leave her alone today at all, least of all only a minute after we’d arrived. When my mother had told me my father needed me, I’d considered bringing her upstairs with me. The only reason I hadn’t was because I hadn’t been sure what to expect. Dad wouldn’t have wanted anyone to see him if he’d been nervous or under the weather.
Plus, I hadn’t wanted Brittany to feel like I thought she needed to be babysat. She could hold her own, and I knew it, but I also knew how these people could be. Especially to outsiders. I didn’t want her feeling unwelcome just because they were pretentious snobs.
As I made my way across the room, I was intercepted by various people who wanted to make small talk and welcome me home. I made polite but brief conversation, excusing myself as soon as I possibly could without coming off as rude.
Heaven forbid my mother decided we needed a do-over if she felt like I hadn’t done my part at this party. Along the way, I ran into Faye.
She smiled coyly when she saw me, her maroon-painted lips matching the color on her nails when she lifted her hand in a slight wave. Her white dress had a matching belt cinched around her narrow waist. The look complemented her pale red hair and creamy skin. Even if I wasn’t interested in or attracted to her at all, she looked good.
I told her so when she came up to me, and then I pointed out the son of one of my mother’s friends. “Have you met Alex Woods? He’s not from Raleigh, but he’s a good guy. I’d be happy to introduce you.”
She barely glanced at him before plastering on another smile. “Maybe later. I wanted to apologize to you, actually.”
“To me? What for?” I frowned, focused on her but still looking around for Brittany in my periphery.
“For lunch the other day,” she said, drawing my full attention momentarily back to her. “I asked your mom to set up lunch for us, but I didn’t intend for things to go as far as they did.”
“It’s not your fault reporters saw us together and came to their own conclusion,” I said. “There’s no need to apologize, but I appreciate it nonetheless.”
She let out a relieved breath, then smiled up at me again. “Good, because I was hoping we could catch up sometime, heiress to heir. I’m considering taking a position at my family’s company too, and I’d love to pick your brain.”
“I’d be happy to chat about that,” I said. “Call my office when you’re available, and we’ll set up a meeting.”
“Thank you.” She reached out and touched my arm, letting her hand linger on it for a moment too long.
The gesture made me doubt her intentions a little, but I brushed it off. Maybe she was just one of those touchy-feely people. I knew there were some who thought there had to be some form of touch in every conversation for it to appear genuine. It was possible she was just one of those. Besides, it wasn’t like she’d grabbed my junk or something equally inappropriate. She’d touched my arm. It was no big deal.
After shaking her off, I managed to dodge a few more people wanting to talk to me by telling them I’d be right back, then continued my search for Brittany. I finally found her standing on the patio, her forearms resting on the metal railing as she stared out at the sea.
She looked lost. Out of place. Uncertain. Seeing her like that made my heart clench in my chest. I never should’ve left her alone.
“Hey,” I said, wrapping my arms around her from behind and sweeping her hair over her shoulder to plant an openmouthed kiss on her neck. “What’s going on?”
She relaxed against me but didn’t turn around. Instead, she rested her head against the side of my face and sighed. “I don’t fit in here, Tristin.”
“That’s bullshit.” I held her tighter, my fingers stroking her belly over her dress as I breathed in her sweet scent. “What happened? Did someone say something?”
“No. They didn’t have to.” She turned her head just enough that she could glance up into my eyes. “It’s pretty obvious I don’t belong. People keep looking at me like they’re afraid I’m going to steal the silverware.”
If things went my way—and they would because I didn’t plan on quitting before they did—the silverware would all eventually belong to her. “Ignore them. They just don’t know you. Come make my rounds with me. I’ll introduce you to everyone and make sure they know that you can have anything you want. Silverware included.”
“Don’t joke about this, please?” She let her lids flutter closed before looking at me again. “I just don’t think coming here was a good idea. Go do your thing. I’ll be fine.”
Archer’s booming laughter came from somewhere behind me, and I twisted around with her still in my arms to look for my friend. “Let me introduce you to Archer. He can keep you company when I eventually get pulled away again. If you’d really rather not come in with me, that is.”
I motioned him over as soon as I caught his eye, and he immediately excused himself from some older women I didn’t know to join us. Grinning as he walked up, he raised the beer in his hand to me and came to stand next to us.
“This must be Brittany,” he said, as jovial as always. “It’s so nice to finally meet you properly. You two took off so fast the other night that we didn’t get a chance to get to know each other.”
“This is Archer,” I said to Brittany. “He’s a decent guy, and he won’t think you’re about to take off with the silverware.”
His dark eyes widened, alight with amusement as they came to a rest on her. “Someone seriously thought you were trying to steal silverware? That’s ridiculous. Who would steal silverware when there are so many better things in here you could get your hands on?”
She looked surprised by the comment but then laughed as she lifted her shoulders. “Personally, if I was going to steal anything, it’d probably be some of the priceless art just standing around. I’ve heard those Russian nesting dolls like the ones they have on the mantel can get pretty expensive.”
He leaned in like he was cooking up some plan he would only share with her, nodding as he rubbed his chin between his fingers. “There’s a sword on the wall in the dining room that I think might be encrusted with real jewels.”
“Yeah, but people might start getting suspicious if I walk out of here with a sword,” she replied, tension melting away from her features when she smiled at him. “How about we stick to things that might fit into my tacky purse?”
She held up the bag, and Archer made a show of inspecting it before he shook his head. “Who said it was tacky? At least it can actually hold something. Perhaps you can tell me the truth about clutches. None of the women I’ve asked before have been willing to let me in on the secret, but why do you carry them when they’re so small that most of the stuff you need ends up in our pockets anyway?”
“Beats me,” she said, shrugging as she bent her head conspiratorially toward him. “Don’t tell any of those women that I told you this, but they’re just there to look pretty. Most of the time there’s only a tube of lip gloss in there. Phones used to fit before they
became smarter than we are.”
He let out a burst of laughter, and something eased up in my chest when the two of them hit it off. At least this way, I knew she wouldn’t be alone whenever I got pulled away, and I wouldn’t have to make her come with me when she so clearly didn’t want to. Just having her here was good enough for me. I didn’t want her to feel forced to mingle with the people who made her so damn uncomfortable.
I’d already decided to take her home as early as I could, but there were bound to be a couple more hours between now and then. As if she’d heard my thoughts, my mother appeared at my side with her lips set in a disapproving grimace as she looked between the three of us.
“I’m afraid this won’t do, Tristin,” she said curtly. “There are a lot of people here this evening who came to see you. Walk with me. Mr. Cohen has been asking about you. He’s one of our big suppliers. It’s imperative that you speak with him about a proposal he has for you.”
I groaned, but Selena didn’t spare any of us another glance as she spun around, clearly expecting me to follow her. Archer shot me a sympathetic smile but dipped his head in the direction she’d walked off in.
“You’d better go if Cohen wants to talk to you. Rumor has it he’s been approached by one of our rivals. I don’t know who, but it could be important.”
“Yeah,” I said, tightening my grip on Brittany before letting her go. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, okay? Archer will stay with you. Unless you’ve changed your mind about coming back in with me?”
“No, I’m fine here. Go do your thing. Really.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “These people are important, Tristin. They might not speak freely if I’m around. It’s your job. I get that, so go. Archer and I will keep drinking the free booze and contemplating what else might be of value that I can take.”
I didn’t want to leave her, especially not when my plan of proving to her that I wanted her at my side seemed to be backfiring spectacularly, but Archer was with her. He nodded at me, flicking a hand toward the crowd.
“Go, Ramsey. I’ve got your back,” he said. “We’ll see you later.”
“Okay,” I said finally, vowing as I looked into Brittany’s clear blue eyes that I would come find her again as soon as humanly possible. “I’m sorry about this. All of it.”
She nodded and gave me another forced smile. “Just go, Tristin.”
My mother called my name, and I sighed but went after her. The sooner I spoke to all the people I needed to put in an appearance with, the sooner we could leave. And that was all I wanted to do anyway. We never should’ve come here to begin with. I saw that now, and I wouldn’t forget it again.
24
BRITTANY
As I watched Tristin going off again, my stomach sank to my shoes. I had Archer with me now, which was miles better than being in this hostile territory by myself, but he wasn’t the man I wanted to be with.
Then you should’ve gone with Tristin, a voice chided in my mind, but I shook it off. I hadn’t realized how many people would be here, all clamoring for a piece of him. Having me with him would only slow him down, and perhaps even damage their opinions of him.
“Selena is a demanding taskmaster, huh?” Archer joked, leaning back against the railing with his beer in his hand. “That lady scares the shit out of me.”
You have no idea, buddy. “Yeah, she’s definitely something alright.”
“You look upset,” he said after pausing for a beat. I felt his gaze drilling into the side of my face, but I couldn’t look at him. Not when it was clear he was reading me so well already. “Want to talk about it?”
I shook my head at first, but then the nervousness and uncertainty took over my decision-making. This was Tristin’s friend, and from his lack of questioning about who I was or what the nature of my relationship was with Tristin, I assumed he already knew about me. Which meant Tristin had confided in him. Which—to my angst-riddled mind—meant I could probably trust him too.
The next thing I knew, I was spilling my guts to him even though he was a complete stranger to me. “I hate being here. It makes me feel inadequate in every way. Maybe if I’d known we were coming to the coast for this party, I’d have felt differently about it, but he didn’t tell me. I could’ve packed a more appropriate outfit, at the very least.”
I took a deep breath and then continued my rambling rant, still without even looking at the poor man I was pouring my heart out to. “I feel like he ambushed me with it, and I really don’t like that feeling. Maybe I wouldn’t have agreed to come if he had told me before, but at least then I’d have felt like I had a choice in the matter. We were already here, just down the road, when he told me about the party.
“To make matters worse,” I said, barely pausing to breathe as I picked up steam, “Selena made this horrible comment about how I could’ve at least put in some effort with my clothing. It’s obvious she doesn’t want me here. I shouldn’t have come and knew it.”
Archer was a surprisingly good listener, staying quiet while his eyes and the expression on his face made it clear that he was focused on me. He was frowning by the time I was done, my chest heaving and my cheeks flushed from how upset I was.
“I’m sorry about all this,” he said finally. “Tristin didn’t bring you here to make you miserable. In fact, his intention was quite the opposite.”
He rolled his head on his shoulders, looking slightly pained when he lifted his face again. “He probably should’ve given you a heads-up for packing purposes, but you should know how excited he was to spend the weekend with you. You could’ve shown up here in ratty old pajamas and he wouldn’t have given a damn, but I get it. This is a tough crowd to impress.”
“I don’t even really care about impressing them,” I said honestly. “All I want is to not be the one everyone is looking at and wondering what the heck I’m doing here.”
“Again, I really don’t think that’s the way Tristin is looking at it,” he replied, his dark eyes open and more apologetic than I’d have expected. “He’s proud to have you on his arm regardless of what you’re wearing. The guy has been flying fighter jets not long after he graduated high school. I don’t think he’s given much thought to dress codes at society parties in years. You’re the only thing that’s important to him at this particular party.”
“That might be, but he still has a job to do here, and I feel like an intruder.” I wrapped my arms around my waist, wishing that we could just go back to yesterday.
Everything had felt so damn perfect when it had been just us, the gorgeous rental house, and the beach. Archer might not have known me very well, but he seemed to read me like a pro. After swallowing the sip of beer he’d taken, he pointed the open end of the bottle toward the door.
“If you’re really not enjoying yourself, you should go. He really wouldn’t want you to stay if it’s making you this miserable to be here. Trust me when I say that he doesn’t want to be here either. Go back to the house, and I’ll let him know you’ll be there when he’s done.”
“I can’t do that, can I?” It seemed terribly rude, and it wasn’t something I’d usually even consider, but it wasn’t like anybody would really miss me if I slipped out. “Won’t Tristin and everyone who saw me arriving with him think I’m ditching him if I just leave?”
“Nope, I’ll cover for you with anyone who asks. I know how these things can be. I’ll keep people thinking you’re hanging around. As for the man of the hour, let me handle him. I’ll make sure he knows where you are.”
It took me all of five seconds to make up my mind. “You know what? I think I’m going to take you up on your offer.”
“Want me to give you a ride back to your place?” he asked.
I shook my head, suddenly feeling a million tons lighter now that I knew I would be leaving soon. “It’s not far. If I walk down the beach, it shouldn’t take more than fifteen minutes to get there. A walk sounds like a really good idea to me right around now.”
“
Fine, but let me put my number in your phone. Let me know when you get there, and call me if you run into any problems.”
Dutifully fishing the device out of my purse, I handed it over and watched him key in his number. I kept his contact open so I’d remember to send him a message as soon as I unlocked my phone and saw it there, then sneaked out.
There were two sets of stairs leading off the patio down to pathways that connected in front of the house. I took the staircase closest to us, pretty sure no one even noticed me slipping away. The pathways were covered in vegetation, in some places even forming natural canopies, effectively cutting me off from prying eyes as I made my way to the beach.
I felt bad for leaving Tristin, but he’d barely been at my side, and I didn’t want to hang around like a bad smell while I waited for him. Archer would let him know I was gone and safe, so he wouldn’t have to worry about me while he carried out his duties.
All the way back to our house, I thought about how disappointed I was that the weekend had turned out this way. It wasn’t just the weekend either. It was everything.
The further away I got from the Ramsey mansion, the more I battled with the overwhelming feeling that I’d made a mistake. Just because I’d always fantasized about getting a second chance with him didn’t mean it ever should’ve happened.
Selena had been right all those years ago. I didn’t fit into Tristin’s lifestyle of the rich and famous, and I never would. Despite how easy things were when it was just us, that wasn’t the way life worked.
People didn’t live in these isolated bubbles where nothing and no one else mattered. Especially not people like Tristin. The man was at the helm of a multinational company. His family was very well-known where we came from and for good reason.
I needed to stop lying to myself. He wasn’t just my Tristin, the boy-turned-man who’d been my best friend and my first everything. He was Tristin Lucas Ramsey, the heir to what might as well have been the throne in the aviation industry. A fighter pilot, war veteran, and newly minted CEO who I never even should’ve met. If his grandfather hadn’t had the public school philosophy, I never would’ve met him.