by Jodi Cooper
“Think of the money, Jasmine,” I whispered under my breath as I brought out another plate. “Think of the money.”
Chapter 11
For the next hour, the inappropriate behavior got worse.
I’m no prude, but I felt like a dressed-up waitress at a strip club.
I could hear cheers and squeals from the drunken girls every time I went back into the kitchen to get more food for the partygoers, and I knew that it signified another girl had taken off another article of clothing for Bradley.
I felt jealous and hurt watching Bradley reacting to the beautiful girls while I hopelessly tried to finish my work.
I thought at first that the strip poker game would end when the girls’ tops had been removed. Surely one of them would have the decency to stop the madness. I imagined that these women were at least wholesome and honest, having come from good families.
But they continued on with their game until many of the girls were sitting around the table and crossing their legs so that the wait staff couldn’t see their intimate feminine parts.
I was shocked to see all six models without their dresses on. I felt like I was in the middle of a girls’ locker room back at high school.
All those feelings of inadequacy came racing back.
These women were not only beautiful, they were also perky.
Damn.
I wish I were born with that sort of body.
Lucky bitches.
Amongst all this, the wait staff was just expected to continue delivering the meal one course at a time.
I saw that Bradley also was completely naked at some point.
I tried not to look, but a few times my curiosity got the best of me, and I couldn’t help but look.
Wow.
His body was like a work of art.
He was ripped in all the right places, muscles bulging out of his arms and chest.
His body looked exquisite with the lights of the brilliant chandelier shining down on him.
Every curve made my body ache for what I couldn’t have.
While I was in the kitchen again, two of the women evidently moved to sit on Bradley’s lap, one strategically placed on each leg.
I tried to stop the images of him and the girls in his bed from invading my brain, but they crossed my mind anyway. I nearly threw up in my own mouth when I realized what a player he was. The sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach sucked away every last ounce of respect I had for the guy.
When I brought out the dessert – the dessert that first caught Bradley’s eye – I saw him looking at me from the corner of his eye.
He looked my body up and down seductively as if I didn’t have any clothing on either.
He licked his lips, as if he were trying to tempt me.
But I wasn’t taking the bait.
I wasn’t one of those girls. I couldn’t stoop to the level that this guy and these girls had stooped to.
I had values and morals and I would never do something like this just to catch some guy that maybe wasn’t even worth catching.
It made me wonder if the news crews were going to come in and take photos of the naked girls to place them in Playboy magazine later or something. This whole situation was completely out of my realm.
Or maybe this was all normal for these people?
Maybe this is what they did all the time?
Eventually, I couldn’t take the crazy games anymore.
I snuck a bottle of wine and a wine glass from the spread when no one was looking, and I crept into the first floor bathroom.
I needed to do something to calm my nerves for the rest of the night.
Due to my high levels of stress, the tonic didn’t take long to work, and the warmth spread throughout my body.
After about ten minutes, my head felt a lot lighter, and the serious migraine that was tugging at my brain earlier was almost just a faint memory now.
Then I heard a knock at the door.
“Jasmine, are you all right? You’ve been in there quite a while. Are you feeling ill?”
It was Gretta, calling me in a concerned voice.
My cheeks flushed, but I couldn’t tell if it was the wine or embarrassment at my behavior. I had never been a closet drinker, but maybe today was a good day to start.
“Yes,” I answered quickly.
My voice crackled, and I started to worry that she was sent by Bradley to check up on me. I put the cork back into the bottle and thrust the wine into the linen closet to hide it.
“I’m sorry, I was just feeling a bit of a migraine coming on. I’m okay now…” I stammered as I walked out the door, trying not to breathe in her general vicinity.
“Miss Jasmine!” she exclaimed suddenly. “Have you been drinking!?”
Now she was starting to sound like my mother, and I got flashbacks of stumbling home late after drinking at some underage parties. I shook my head and followed her back to the servants’ kitchen.
Once I stepped foot into the kitchen, my boss from the restaurant also noticed that I was a bit tipsy. Wow. That wine hit me quickly.
I dropped the Chardonnay bottle on the kitchen linoleum.
Luckily, it didn’t smash.
It was a good thing we hadn’t popped the cork to open it quite yet. Both Gretta and my boss stared at me suspiciously.
“Pull it together,” I whispered to myself as I bent over to pick up the bottle.
I had to finish out the night at least, and then I could go home and back to my normal life.
I couldn’t afford to lose this job, nor could I afford to lose the job at the restaurant.
Great.
This was just way too much excitement for me.
Even dull Jim looked like an improvement to hanging out in this joint.
It was upsetting that Bradley didn’t respect my feelings.
I was even more upset that he would think to invite me to something like this. I had no idea why he thought I would be game for it.
Did I come across that way to him?
Was I just some pawn in his game?
I thought that he had more respect for me than this.
When I first met him, he seemed charming, suave, and sophisticated.
Now, he just seemed like a big dumb jerk.
After the feast was over, it was expected of me that I see the girls out. I was actually surprised that it didn’t turn into a full-blown orgy, but I could imagine that I would only be seeing out five girls – not six.
But I didn’t stick around to fulfill that duty.
By the time the beautiful girls had started to look for their coats at the end of the night, I had returned to my room to grab my luggage and belongings.
It was almost like musical chairs – whoever was left sitting on his lap when the music stopped would be his bride.
And I wouldn’t have to wonder which one it was either. Almost certainly it would be splashed all over the newspaper headlines by morning.
Exiting the mansion, I felt ignored and humiliated. I had never felt worse than when I walked down the staff steps to my car.
I felt completely inadequate.
Before I started the car, I looked down at the check in my hand, and somehow now it didn’t seem like the effort had been worth what I had gone through. I chastised myself for not keeping my emotions in check.
It was always a weakness of mine and probably the reason why I couldn’t keep a nice relationship going.
I thought I heard Bradley calling out to me as I climbed into my car, but I just kept going.
On the slow drive past the gates, I could see the girls talking to the media, as they got ready to leave.
I’m sure they had a lot to tell.
As for me, I was simply happy to drive away from the embarrassing evening and forget about it.
Forever.
Chapter 12
The more I drove, the more the sadness hit me.
By the time I was making it back to my suburb, tears were flowing freely down m
y cheeks.
I was too upset to go back to that crummy apartment to sit alone on my crummy couch.
I called Brianna to see if she was free, but she said that she was out at a club. I didn’t tell her about my hard night and didn’t show her how upset I was.
She works hard – she deserves to be out having fun. She doesn’t need me to pull her down.
Of course everyone should be out having fun; it was Saturday night.
I knew that Jim would be out bowling tonight with his friends as well.
The dinner party kept playing over and over on my mind. I couldn’t get the sleazy party out of my head. How could he do that?
No matter how much thought I gave it, I couldn’t figure out why he would invite me there.
Was it because I rejected him – and this was his way of showing me how great he was with the ladies? Was it supposed to make me jealous?
Or was it supposed to make me feel rejected – the way I might have made him feel?
That made the most sense. It was Bradley’s way of hurting me.
And it certainly worked.
The night cut deep.
I called Brianna back and asked if I could meet her in the bar, and she was more than happy to have me come along.
Maybe a night out could help me forget how much it hurt.
Chapter 13
I haven’t been out that much in L.A. so when I walked into the bar, the thumping of the music surprised me.
How is anyone supposed to have a conversation in here?
My head was already aching, and the music just had it feel like it was going to explode.
My footsteps were heavy and I wasn’t in the mood to be judged by everyone here. I only came here because I didn’t want to be alone.
The loud voices and laughter of the other patrons were annoying me. I just wanted to find a quiet spot and sulk with a friend.
“So, what’s up with you?” Brianna asked as I walked up to her table.
A lot of her friends were sitting around laughing and drinking. I noticed that Anne was also here with her, and she was shooting pool with her husband. I nodded in her direction to acknowledge that I had seen her. Then I pulled up a chair and sat down at the table.
Brianna leaned in closely so she could hear me over the other people and the loud music.
“I’ve just been through the worst experience of my life,” I said to her.
“Why? What’s wrong? Do you want to talk about it?” she asked, taking a sip of her beer. “Is it Jim? Did you guys break up?”
I flashed her a funny look. “I’m not dating Jim, Brianna!” I said, defending myself. “We’re just friends…”
“Anyway, what is it then? Didn’t the party go well?” She looked at me, excited to draw out the details.
The bartender stopped to ask if I wanted a drink, and Brianna paid her to get me a beer.
I took a sip, but it made my stomach churn. Beer wasn’t my drink of choice.
I closed my eyes briefly and had a flashback of the night’s activities. I could hardly hold back the tears.
I was almost ashamed to say what had happened out loud to anyone.
“I went to his mansion to work…”
“Yes…” Brianna pushed me to continue.
“When I first got there, everything was fine. He was sweet, the kitchen staff was fun to work with, and the mansion was beautiful…”
“And you were paid well, right?” she asked.
I nodded and quietly showed her the check.
Her eyes were as big as saucers.
“Wow! Must be nice!” she said, with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
“Well, not really.” I took a deep breath.
“Why… Did he do something bad to you?” she asked, worried.
“He… asked me to set a great ambience for his guests. I did everything he had asked of me, but I was surprised to find out that the party was for six beautiful models.”
She paused and looked at me with a curious gaze.
“When it was time to serve them dinner, each time I went into the dining room to put food on the table, I realized they were taking more and more clothing off.”
“Oh no! What!” The look on Brianna’s face was just as stunned as mine had probably been. “So he had a big orgy at his house!? Get out!”
“No, I mean… I think they were playing strip poker.”
“Oh…” Brianna looked down at her drink and seemed to be deep in thought for a moment. “I’m sorry… I really thought that he liked you.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
She embraced me in a hug and struggled hard to hold back the tears.
“I guess I’m not sure why he asked you to go then. Strange.”
“Yeah, I was pretty humiliated.”
“Strip poker? Does that mean he was naked too?”
“Brianna!”
“Well, just asking!” I could tell that her eyes were wandering, and I noticed that she was checking out a cute guy playing darts. “Well, it wasn’t a total loss. I mean, at least you got paid, right?”
“Well yeah… but I left the mansion. I mean, I was so uncomfortable and so upset. I’m not a piece of meat like those girls are. I couldn’t believe not one of them stood up for themselves or had an ounce of respect.”
“Yeah, they sound like a bunch of skanks,” she agreed.
“Hey, you girls want to play pool? We’re up next.” I recognized the man as one of Brianna’s neighbors.
“Hey, Trent. Sure,” she answered.
Brianna got up and found a suitable pool stick, then went to work chalking the tip.
“Do you want to play?”
I nodded, and we took turns.
“I know just what you need to forget all about your little predicament,” she chided, motioning towards Trent’s single friend.
After a few more drinks, I got up the nerve to try to talk to the eligible bachelor. I gave up and went home once I realized that he was checking out Trent’s tight butt.
Men.
I had zero luck with any of them.
I returned to my apartment and consoled myself in my carton of ice cream once again.
At least ice cream would be nice to me.
Back to life as I know it.
Chapter 14
Knock, knock.
Damn.
Just when I had sat down to a morning coffee on my couch, someone was at my door.
I couldn’t function without a hit of morning caffeine.
But I raised my behind off the chair to go and answer the door – good luck to the person on the other side. If it’s someone selling me something this early in the morning, I’m going to rip their heads off. How dare someone interrupt my morning coffee!
As I pulled open the door, my face recoiled in disgust.
Not surprise, but disgust.
The only thing that would have made me more upset would be if Bradley Clifford was at my door.
But it wasn’t Bradley.
It was his driver. Bradley didn’t even have the balls to come up to my door.
What a prick.
I took a deep breath and reminded myself that the driver was just an employee – I shouldn’t take my anger out on him.
He’s not Bradley…
But if Bradley was here, I’d rip his balls off.
With my teeth.
Then I’d serve it to him at dinner.
That’s how I feel about him right now.
I couldn’t believe that the driver was dumb enough to climb the three flights of stairs again. You’d think the guy would just get my number and text my cell phone instead of sending his driver back to my place.
“Bradley is requesting your presence. He seems to think there was some sort of misunderstanding last evening and he would like to clear it up.”
His little moustache wiggled as he talked.
“Sorry…” I sighed.
I couldn’t believe the ner
ve of these guys. Why would Bradley think I was even remotely interested in hosting another party for him?
Prick.
“Please, Ma’am.”
“Sorry but I am not going to another vulgar party of his. That was not a very nice place to work. I’ve worked in some pretty poor conditions but that was on another level. I have never seen anything so disgusting in my life. I can’t believe I even made it through the last one! You know, it would have been nice if someone had worded me up about what was going to happen. I would have liked to have been ready for that.”
“I’m sorry, Ma’am.”
“Don’t be. He is who he is.”
He nodded knowingly – indicating that he completely understood my pain.
“And the offer, Ma’am?”
“I’m going to have to pass on your offer. Despite the money, I’m not up for that sort of thing. I’m sorry but I can’t do that – no matter how much I need the dough.”
“Bradley is not hosting a party like last night. This party is going to be different,” he tried to explain. “This is a private party for two.”
“Yes.” I sighed. “I understand that it is a party for Bradley and his future wife. I’m happy for him. I really am. It’s not how I would choose a bride if I was him, but I hope they have a wonderful life together doing whatever they do.”
“Future wife, Ma’am?”
“Yes. One of those six ladies was clearly going to be Bradley’s future Mrs. and that’s fine. I just hope the poor model will be prepared for what she is getting into.”
I wondered for a moment which of the six beautiful girls he had chosen to be his bride.
Was it the tall blonde with perfect breasts, or the leggy brunette with prefect hair?
I would have chosen the brunette with the long legs, I think. She seemed the nicest of them all.
Oh, who cares?
I could barely tell them apart anyway – they were all so perfect.
And whichever one it was, I didn’t want to be any part of it.
“No,” he corrected me. “He is requesting only your presence and it is not for work. No one else will be at the dinner table tonight. It is a dinner for you and him only…”