Book Read Free

One Night

Page 11

by Best, Victoria J.


  “All right,” she said, her tone clipped but soft.

  The tone stung but I held back a flinch. Her demeanor was my fault; I had to keep reminding myself of that. This whole affair was my fault.

  Taking a deep breath, we started off towards the banquet room, the lights too bright and the people too loud. After being alone in relative silence with Liza for the last thirty minutes, it was hard to deposit myself into such a crowd, especially since crowds weren’t my thing. Liza clung to my arm, her grip getting noticeably tighter as we entered the room. Of course, everyone looked our way when the last thing I wanted was to be the center of attention. To our benefit, they had not started serving dinner, only the salad course, and relief made me audibly sigh.

  “We’re over here,” I whispered to Liza without pointing and instead steered her with my arm.

  The table was crowded and only our seats sat glaringly empty. As we approached, I saw my aunt, uncle, and Henry look up at us, a pinched look of disapproval on my aunt’s face.

  “How nice of you to finally join us, Jackson,” Aunt Bea said in her affected Upper West Side dialect.

  “You know how I love to make an entrance,” I said sarcastically and Henry snorted, almost spitting out his drink.

  Aunt Bea was not amused though, and she blinked her eyes in a way I knew meant she was pissed at me but didn’t want others to know. “Well, why don’t you have a seat and introduce us to your date.”

  Liza shuffled uncomfortably next to me, pulling her hand from my arm and clasping them together in front of her. A smile was on her lips but I could tell it was fake because it didn’t reach her eyes. She took a step forward and to my surprise, stuck out her hand to my aunt.

  “My name is, Liza Deveroux, ma’am. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” My aunt shook her hand, looking at me with an almost imperceptible smile.

  She liked Liza. Something inside of me relaxed a little more.

  “A pleasure, dear,” Aunt Bea said. “Please, call me Beatrice.”

  I guided Liza to her seat and we settled in just before the servers brought our dinner. My aunt kept looking at me with disapproval, probably because I wasn’t wearing a jacket, but I didn’t let her get to me. She was always much more critical of me than my cousin Henry, who I noticed was already drunk.

  “Had enough, Henry,” I muttered to him under my breath as the waiter placed a plate of filet in front of me.

  He chuckled, loudly, before answering. “Never, cousin.”

  I scowled at him and his recklessness, again, but didn’t reprimand him because it wouldn’t make a difference, and if his parents didn’t see a problem, then I would try to ignore it as well.

  “How nice to see you again, Liza,” Henry said with sarcasm in his voice, and I scowled at him harder.

  He knew about my lie but didn’t know I told Liza all about it.

  “Hello, Henry. How are you?” Liza asked as she eyed the thin, blonde woman next to Henry, who was downing a glass of champagne while hanging on his arm.

  Henry watched her eyes, and emotion I never thought I’d see from him flickered across his face—anxiety. If I didn’t know about his womanizing ways, I would almost think he was worried Liza would tell Nicolette about the emaciated blonde.

  “How’s Nicolette?” he asked suddenly and I shook my head at his idiocy.

  If he didn’t want Liza to mention it to her friend, why in the world was he bringing her up?

  “She’s well,” was all Liza said, looking at the woman next to him again.

  I almost laughed at the look she was giving him, especially since the wrath was directed at someone besides me for once. There was no way Liza wasn’t going to mention Henry’s date to her friend now. Panic appeared in Henry’s gaze as he glanced to the woman at his left before turning back to Liza. He leaned closer to me—across me, in fact.

  “I asked her to the benefit before I met Nicolette,” he whispered, only loud enough for the both of us to hear, his voice filled with desperation.

  Liza nodded, her lips pursed, but she didn’t answer him. I couldn’t care less about Henry and his drama with women, but if Liza was upset, that was a problem. It would be in everyone’s best interest if I changed the subject. Turning to Liza, and blocking her view of Henry, I opened my mouth to speak but was beat out again by Aunt Bea.

  “Liza, Jackson hasn’t told me much about you. Are you from New York?” Everyone at the table turned to look at Liza, and I could see a bit of a flush creep up her cheeks at the attention.

  With a nod, she began to speak. “I was raised on Staten Island. My dad is a New York City firefighter,” she said, and I could hear the pride in her voice as she mentioned her dad.

  “Really? How noble. What do you do in the city?” Aunt Bea asked. She had a way of making people feel like she was belittling them, even when she wasn’t, and I had the sudden urge to apologize to Liza.

  But Liza didn’t miss a step or even blink before responding. “I teach kindergarten at a private school in Brooklyn.”

  “Oh?” Aunt Bea sounded surprised Liza was middle class and not a socialite, but to her benefit, she didn’t sound disgusted. “And you live uptown?”

  Clearly, she had seen the tabloid that was put out earlier this afternoon, and I ground my teeth against a response. I was wondering what she was getting at, but figured I’d let the scene play out a little longer.

  “I do. With my friend, Nicolette Fowler,” Liza said, and I could tell she was name dropping but didn’t understand why. Liza wasn’t a groupie or fame seeker, so it was unlike her.

  “Fowler? As in, Danny Fowler, the real estate mogul?” my aunt asked her with surprise.

  Liza nodded. “Yes, we’ve been friends since college.”

  And there it was. Liza admitting that when she met Nicolette and befriended her, it wasn’t for her name. I relaxed a little because I finally understood. She wanted my aunt to know she knew people in Manhattan, but she didn’t take advantage of them.

  “Well, that’s interesting. I knew Jackson was set up with the Fowler girl, but wasn’t sure how he met you. Now I know,” Aunt Bea said, also showing her cards.

  “I think Nicolette hit it off with Henry instead,” Liza added, to my surprise.

  I covered my mouth to hide the smile that formed at her words. She was throwing Henry under the bus.

  “Is that so? Henry didn’t tell me about her.” Aunt Bea gave Henry a scathing look and the eye blink and he sighed loudly.

  Her gaze then turned to the woman next to Henry and I thought I saw her roll her eyes, but it was such a small gesture I may have imagined it. She didn’t approve of his date and was sending the message that Nicolette would have been a better choice.

  “Yes, Mother,” Henry said in a voice that was more like an insolent child than an adult man.

  “Well, maybe you will bring her to the next one,” she added with a backhanded wave.

  I stifled a chuckle. Sometimes I forgot how savage my aunt could be. Nobody else spoke after that because it was clear Henry was chagrined and there was nothing left to say. We ate our food in silence. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Liza wasn’t eating her steak, only pushing it around the plate while she ate the vegetables and rice.

  “Is something wrong with the steak?” I said quietly in her ear.

  She looked at me with an apology in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I don’t eat red meat, chicken, or pork. But you couldn’t have known that.” She continued to push the food around her plate.

  “Do you want me to ask for something else?” I asked her.

  Liza shook her head quickly. “No, no. Please, I don’t want to make more of a fuss.”

  I wondered what she meant by “more,” but didn’t ask.

  “All right,” was all I said because seemed reluctant to continue the conversation.

  As the food was finished, the rest of the table picked up in conversation. I remained silent because I had things I wanted to say to Liza and Henry, but now was not the
time for any of it. Add to that the waves of discomfort that were rolling off of Liza, and I didn’t much feel like talking to anyone. I reminded myself I was the reason for her discomfort, and scolded myself mentally.

  This whole thing was a bad idea.

  After finishing up my food, I wiped my mouth, set my napkin on my plate, and looked up. Aunt Bea was staring at me.

  “Jackson informed me this morning that this hotel is actually his hotel,” she said, her eyes boring into mine. I wondered when she was going to bring it up.

  Everyone at the table looked at me with surprise, including Liza.

  “Really?” Liza asked me quietly, and I could see her connecting the dots about why I had brought her here the last time.

  “You’re doing quite well for yourself, young man,” an older man, who I didn’t recognize, sitting next to my uncle said.

  “Thank you, sir. It was my vision to have an industry of my own to get into and when an opportunity opened up for me to create this hotel, I jumped on it. We have plans for a few more in the works.” There were several nods and murmurs at the table as I spoke, followed by a series of questions.

  I answered everything, while my aunt looked at me with a smug smile on her face and Henry nursed what was probably his sixth or seventh drink. Liza was silent next to me as everyone else spoke and I stole a glance at her. She looked confused and uncomfortable, her hands in her lap and her plate almost completely full. I wanted to grab her hand and take her away from here, to make everything right, but I wasn’t even sure the right way to do that. Liza was unlike any other woman I had met—strong, beautiful, and opinionated, yet still vulnerable and timid in a lot of ways. The urge to protect her from the society I grew up in—and on occasion, despised—increased, but how was I going to protect her from them if I couldn’t protect her from myself?

  I vacillated between wanting to take her home with me and never let her leave and wanting to be rid of her for good, not for my sake but for her own.

  Just as I was explaining my business plan to my uncle and the older man, whose name I found out was John Baxter, Liza stood up.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” she said, dropping her napkin on the chair and grabbing her small purse before walking off.

  I watched her retreating back as she headed towards the area where the bathrooms were, my stomach flipping with the possibility she may run again. I almost followed her but John Baxter was talking animatedly about his real estate development business, and I knew it would be foolish of me to alienate a new connection for my growing hotel chain.

  Anxiety filled my gut as the minutes ticked by and John was still talking. We discussed the possibility of investment and I took his card. After enough time had passed and it didn’t seem like I was skipping out, I stood, excused myself, and tried to walk as calmly as I could towards where Liza disappeared almost fifteen agonizingly long minutes before.

  Despite his drunken state, Henry mumbled something under his breath that was unintelligible, but I knew was related to the fact that I was going after Liza. I scowled at him but didn’t answer; I didn’t have time for him and his shit. I balled my fist as I walked towards the restrooms. For all intents and purposes, I looked calm and regal, while on the inside, I was bursting into flames because I didn’t know if Liza was still in the building or not. The servers were bringing out dessert and I had to dodge a number of them on my way to my destination, gritting my teeth in irritation.

  When I finally reached the doors for the restrooms, I stopped to debate how appropriate it would be for me to burst into the women’s bathroom looking for her. Most of the guests were eating dinner in the banquet room, but with my luck, I’d burst in on the wife of the man I was trying to close a business deal with and all hell would break loose.

  Opting to play it safe, I leaned against the wall closest to the women’s bathroom door and waited. Since fifteen minutes had already passed, I wasn’t even sure if Liza was still in the bathroom, but I had no other information. So, I waited. Tapping my foot with anxiety, I looked at my watch and growled. Only a minute had passed since I left the table and yet it felt like I had been waiting an eternity.

  Just as I was rethinking my decision to remain outside of the women’s bathroom, an older woman pushed her way out the door and startled as she saw me standing there.

  “Oh, my. I didn’t expect to see anyone as I came out,” she said, putting a hand on her chest.

  “I’m so sorry, ma’am. I didn’t mean to startle you. Was there, by any chance, another woman in the bathroom, about my age, with red hair?” I figured it didn’t hurt to ask.

  The woman nodded quickly. “Yes. I thought it was odd because she’s been sitting on the chair in there for quite some time. I asked her if she was all right, but she just nodded. The poor dear. Is she your wife?”

  Obviously, the woman didn’t know who I was because if she did, she would know Liza was not my wife. I almost told her Liza was my wife, but I shut my mouth again just before the words escaped because it would have caused even more of a disaster than the one I was presently in.

  “No, ma’am, my girlfriend. She wasn’t feeling well and I came to check on her. Was anyone else in the restroom with the two of you?” I decided if Liza was in there alone, I was going in.

  The woman shook her head this time. “Just the two of us. I hope she’s all right.”

  I thanked the woman and she walked away, glancing back at me with confusion before rounding the corner. Hopefully, she forgot the whole exchange once she was back at the table, but that wasn’t likely. The old ladies in this circle had selective memories.

  Taking a deep breath, and with one last glance behind me to be sure I was alone, I opened the bathroom door and went in.

  “Liza,” I said loudly to announce my presence before turning a corner.

  In front of me was a sitting area, with mirrors on one side and bathroom stalls on the other. Liza was perched on the edge of a chair, her long legs crossed at the ankle and her tiny sequin purse in her lap.

  “You can’t be in here,” she said, her voice going up about two octaves.

  “It’s my hotel, I can do whatever the hell I want,” I snapped.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “Oh, right. I forgot about that. The great Jackson Radcliffe is untouchable.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked her.

  Here I was, worried, and she was pissed at me.

  “Nothing, never mind. I think I’m ready to go now,” she said with an exasperated sigh.

  “Were you going to hide in here until this thing was over?” I asked her with confusion. Nothing was making any sense right now.

  She shook her head. “No, I was just about to come back out. This whole thing is exhausting. I feel like I’m in a play or something.” She waved her hand in a sweeping motion.

  I laughed, loudly, throwing my head back, because she was exactly right. This was the reason I rarely went to any events or benefits.

  Liza looked at me like I was foolish.

  “I usually don’t come to these things for that exact reason,” I said, once I was able to pull myself together.

  “I find it hard to believe you don’t like all the attention,” she said with a smirk.

  “Well, you’re wrong,” I growled at her with irritation. What exactly was she getting at? “My aunt tries to drag me to every society dinner on her calendar. She was thrilled when I asked for last-minute tickets to this one.” After the words were out, I knew my mistake.

  “What do you mean, last-minute?” Liza stood, smoothing her tiny dress, but not before I got a healthy eyeful of the curve of her ass.

  I went instantly hard, which ratcheted up my irritation and desire to leave.

  “When I told you I had a benefit to go to, I wasn’t really planning on attending, until I needed someplace to take you.” I left it at that. She already knew about my initial lie, there was no point in rehashing it.

  “Oh, right.” The smirk fell from her lips,
as if she just remembered all of the horrible reasons she had to get away from me. “Back to my original statement. I’m ready to leave.”

  “I’ve been ready to leave since we walked in the door, but I can’t leave just yet.” She was not going to be happy with me.

  “Why not?” Her eyes narrowed, and I could tell she was wondering if I was making something up to keep her here longer.

  “When I told my aunt I wanted to come, she made me promise to speak about the charity,” I said with a shrug.

  Liza let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, please tell me that’s happening soon.”

  “After dessert, which they are serving right now.”

  She let out a breath and walked towards me. “Okay,” she said again, without any indication about how she was feeling.

  As she moved past me, towards the door, her scent wafted towards me and the erection I just got rid of came back full force. This woman was going to kill me. I balled my fists again to prevent myself from grabbing her and bending her over the chair she just vacated to push inside of her. If only she knew how badly I wanted to leave this place and get her alone again.

  I shook my head as I followed her to the door, adjusting myself as I went. It seemed no matter how many times I promised to keep my hands off of her, and keep this a business-like deal, I couldn’t forget how she felt under me.

  “Why did you leave the table to begin with?” I asked as she pushed the door open to exit the bathroom.

  Liza stopped in the hallway and turned to me, so suddenly I almost ran into her and had to grab her arms to steady the both of us. She gasped at my touch and the current of energy that passed between us made me dizzy.

  “Because of this,” she murmured, and I knew exactly what she meant without explanation.

  She was afraid of the connection between us, I wasn’t the only one. Something profound was happening and it was scaring the shit out of her. I couldn’t say she was alone in that thought.

  “What are you afraid of?” I asked her because maybe if she said it out loud, we could put all our cards on the table.

  “You, me, everything,” she said in a voice so low I could barely make it out.

 

‹ Prev