by J. P. Comeau
Eva’s eyes bugged out when she saw the gown, and then she screeched so loud I was sure the crystal chandelier above us would burst, thereby causing shards of glass to scatter all over the immaculate marble floor.
“Oh, Ginger! You would look like a movie star in this gown! Please try it on!”
The sales associate smiled at Margo, waiting for her opinion. Tears formed in Margo’s eyes while sipping on expensive champagne. “I completely agree with Eva. Ginger, you have to try that one on. Even if you don’t go with it, just put it on for fun! Oh, look at all the crystals!”
Get yourselves together, ladies. It’s not even for a real wedding!
“Fine, we’ll put that on the rack to try on.” The sales associate winced at my lackluster, monotone voice while placing it on the rack. I didn’t mean to be so curt, but it wasn’t exactly my idea of a fun way to spend an afternoon.
As soon as she was out of sight, Margo addressed the elephant in the room. “Ginger, I know all of this is a ruse, but you should at least have some fun. Look at where we are! Do you realize how many women would love just to be allowed into this place?”
They had a point. The owner of the shop, Natalia, was from Italy and only catered to the elite. Several celebrities had gotten married in gowns that she had designed too. I’d caught Eva eyeing a number of them in gossip magazines at work.
You usually had to book an appointment months in advance, but the second I had dropped Jorge’s name, she asked if I could come down that day.
“I guess so. It just seems like a waste of money for a dress that I’ll probably never wear. I mean, look at this price tag, you guys!”
Eva’s eyes bugged out when she saw the six-digits.
“Well, I’m sure you can wear it someplace else.”
“Where else would I wear this dress, Eva? Grocery shopping?”
Margo chuckled while sipping her champagne, and Eva shrugged, realizing that I had a good point.
“I just can’t believe that I’m going to so many lengths over some guy.”
Margo tilted her head at me, seemingly confused all of a sudden. “But I thought you said that you were in love with Jorge, Ginger.”
I am in love with him. That’s the problem.
“Let’s just get this thing over with. The less time I spend trying on wedding dresses that I’ll never wear, the less I have to think about all of the hoops I’m jumping through for Jorge and a wedding that isn’t real.”
Eva set down her champagne glass, walked over to me, and took both of my hands. “Ginger, I’ve never seen you this happy. Obviously not at this moment, but in general. Try not to be so upset at Jorge. He might be asking a lot of you, but it’s only because he loves you.”
Margo put her hand on my shoulder. “Eva’s right, Ginger. Chase is always telling me how much Jorge has changed for the better. You two are meant to be together. So let’s pick out an expensive wedding dress, and then use his credit card for a bite to eat afterward.”
“Now, I’m starting to feel better,” I said while smiling at them. “But only because we’re going to eat after this and Jorge is paying.”
After the sales associate put another few dresses on the rack for me to try, I went into the dressing room, donning each one. The first few didn’t suit my figure at all, and the next two weren’t nearly as pretty on me as they were on the rack. But the final dress, a stunning, cream-colored satin number with a long, floral train seemed to be the winner.
As I stared at myself in the mirror, the sales associate kept looking at my jewelry. “That ring and tennis bracelet are gorgeous.”
“Thank you,” I said while admiring both of them. “All of my jewelry is from my fiancée.”
She clicked her tongue while straightening out my train. “He’s obviously a keeper because I can tell that neither of those has fake stones. Good for you.”
I smiled while admiring both the ring and bracelet and how they glistened from the light beaming off the chandelier.
“Her fiancée is a diamond broker,” Eva said while pouring herself another glass of champagne.
I shot her a dirty look, begging her not to talk any more than absolutely necessary, especially since she was hitting the complimentary champagne pretty hard and hadn’t eaten that day.
The sales associate’s mouth fell open. “Oh, my. No wonder Natalia told us to take extra good care of you.” For a woman who worked at a bridal salon and seemed to know a lot about diamonds, her hands sure were bare.
“That was sweet of her. So, what about you?”
She waved while admiring the dress on me. “I gave up on love a long time ago, which is odd, seeing how I work for a bridal designer. But I just love everything that has to do with weddings.”
I knew Eva would chime in with her thoughts about love.
“It’s hard finding the right guy, but everybody has a soulmate. You just have to keep putting yourself out there.”
“She’s right,” Margo said. “I found mine with Chase, and we had a pretty rocky start. If I gave up every time I wanted to, then I wouldn’t be happily married with a baby.”
All three of them turned toward me as I continued standing in front of the mirror. I knew what the ladies were waiting for me to say. They wanted me to tell them that Jorge was my soulmate. But if he and I were destined to be together, then why was I having to go to such great lengths to be with him?
“The dating scene can be rough,” I finally said, “but if you let your intuition be your navigation system, then you’ll survive.” It might have been one of the corniest things I’d ever said, but it was all I could come up with.
Until Ria was finally out of the picture, I refused to believe that Jorge was my soulmate. I would only be setting myself up for disappointment.
Once the sales associate was out of sight again, I slipped out of the dress and threw another few into the dressing room. Even though it was for a fake wedding, I wanted to make sure that I picked out the best dress. I wanted Ria’s eyes to pop out of her silicone face when she saw me wearing the most elaborate gown in Miami. Because once that fake wedding ceremony was over, I would make sure that she never came between Jorge and me ever again.
Two hours, three bottles of champagne, and dozens of dresses later, all of us were officially exhausted and in dire need of some food. Eva had worked up a significant buzz and was in urgent need of something to soak it all up, while Margo looked like she could fall asleep at any moment. Our sales associate had given us some space, and as I stood there, looking at myself in the mirror, Margo piped up.
“I know we told you to have some fun with this whole thing, but aren’t you a little too invested in this bridal gown?”
“Yeah,” Eva said. “I think that one from two hours ago, with the crystals, is what you should get.”
I reached for it on the rack, held it up to my body, and nodded.
“Sold. All right, let’s get out of here. I’m about to faint from lack of food.”
The sales associate’s eyes lit up when Jorge’s credit card was instantly approved, and I knew what she was thinking: gold digger. Sure, she had been courteous and treated us with nothing but respect, but I would think the same thing in her position. It wasn’t like I had acted even remotely excited about the process, so I was sure—from an outsider’s perspective—that I came across as shallow.
I considered taking the wedding dress home first, but all of our stomachs were grumbling so loud that I knew it wasn’t an option. So, I hung it in the backseat of my car, deciding that we’d ask for a table outside. That way, I could keep an eye on it, especially since it was impossible to hang it without exposing the price tag.
We pulled into the parking lot of Seafood Divine, the same restaurant that Jorge had taken me to the other night.
“They have the best cheddar-stuffed lobster here, you guys.”
Eva ran her hand up and down her stomach. “I’m just gonna stuff my face with biscuits until the food comes.”
“Y
ou and me both,” Margo said as we made our way into the restaurant…and stopped dead in our tracks by the sight of Ria coming out.
She took one look at me and smirked. “Ginger, what an interesting surprise. Seafood Divine isn’t an easy place to get a table, and you usually need to drop a name just to get a seat. And it looks like it’s just you girls. Well, maybe they’ll—”
Ria stopped talking as her eyes landed on the wedding dress. Her high heels clicked along the pavement as she made her way over to it, obnoxiously pressing her face against the window to see the price tag and designer name.
I was not in the mood for her games. “Can I help you with something, Ria? Or do you make it a habit to look into everyone’s car?”
She turned back to us, pulling her sunglasses off and glaring into my eyes. “You’re really marrying Jorge, aren’t you?”
“Of course, I am, Ria. I don’t know why you’d ever doubt that in the first place.”
She looked at Eva, who was standing next to me with her arms folded across her chest.
“I’m Eva, her maid of honor.”
Margo stood on the other side of me, also with her hands folded across her chest. “And I’m Margo, one of her bridesmaids.”
Ria’s face instantly went pale as she was overcome with shock. She started shaking her head while tears streamed down her face. Usually, I’d reach out to a crying woman, even ones I didn’t know, but this bitch had it coming.
“Why else would I spend money on a wedding dress if I weren’t getting married, Ria? You saw how expensive it was. Even Jorge wouldn’t blow that kind of money away for something that wasn’t real.” My heart was beating a mile a minute, but I somehow found a way to remain calm on the outside.
I’ve never been good at lying.
“I can’t believe that I’ve wasted the best years of my life on that jerk! Good luck with that rat bastard, Ginger! I hope he treats you better than he’s treated me!”
All three of us watched as she rushed over to her car and sped off.
“Did I just convince Ria that Jorge and I were actually getting married?”
Margo and Eva gave each other high-fives, while I stood there motionless, shocked that I had inadvertently found a way to get Ria out of our life.
“I’d say so,” Margo replied. “Now, let’s go celebrate with some seafood. I’m wearing my stretchy pants today.”
18
Jorge
My employees were busy working from my downtown office, scurrying back and forth while holding documents. I watched them from behind the glass door to my office, my hands shoved deep into my pockets while waiting for Barry Livingston to answer me. Everyone seemed engrossed in their work, completely unaware that I was on a conference call with my lawyer, asking how hard it would be to create a fake marriage license.
I had Googled how to do it myself, but it was too much of a risk. Ria might have been a condescending, ruthless woman, but she was smart as hell. It was one of the reasons I’d gone into business with her in the first place.
After pounding away on his keyboard for several awkward minutes, Barry finally spoke up. “Look, Jorge, obviously I can show you how to make a passable document. Hell, I could create a believable one in less than an hour. But you’re asking me to do something that could cause me to lose my license.”
I knew this shit would happen.
“Obviously, I would never do that to you, Barry. All I’m asking is to show me how, and I’ll do everything on my end. Nobody will suspect a thing, not to mention the fact that nothing will come of it. Ginger and I aren’t trying to screw the government over by pretending to be married. As soon as Ria sees it and she’s out of my life, I’ll chuck it right into a burning fire.”
“Well, you’ve seen a marriage certificate before, right Jorge? Just copy something you find online. Ria won’t know the difference.”
I closed my eyes while shaking my head. “We’re talking about a woman who flew all the way to Miami because she wasn’t convinced that I was engaged. This is the same woman, mind you, who still doesn’t believe it after seeing the engagement ring for herself. If I show her a fake marriage license, she’ll laugh, and then I’ll never get rid of her!”
Barry typed some more, and I wondered what the hell he was even doing. He wasn’t a lawyer who specialized in divorces, but he had handled several of them over the years. He could spot any fake document within seconds, and that was one of the reasons I kept him on retainer.
“I get it, Jorge. You want it to be believable. The problem is that if this ever got traced back to me, the legal system would have a field day with my showing someone how to forge legal documents.”
With all of the money that I give you, can’t you do me this one favor?
“Rest assured, Barry, that I would never let that happen to you. The only place this is going to be seen is between Ria, Ginger, and myself. There’s no legal reason for Ria to take this to a courthouse to have it verified, either. Especially—”
I paused, realizing that I didn’t want Barry to know about the embezzlement. If he found out, then I’d have to move forward with charges, and Ria would ruin my reputation somehow.
“Especially what, Jorge?”
“Never mind, I was going off on a tangent. Anyway, as you can see, I’m in quite the bind right now.”
He obnoxiously exhaled, causing me to roll my eyes yet again. “I just don’t understand why you’re going to such great lengths to get rid of a woman, Jorge. I mean, I’ve dealt with difficult females over the years, but this is insane. What could she have possibly done that has you shaking in your shoes? You’ve never been that kind of a man.”
Oh, she only embezzled about a million bucks out of this company…That’s all.
“You know how women are, Barry. She’s one of those psychotic, clingy types who won’t leave you alone without solid proof that you’re not interested. Ria could physically see my erection go limp just by looking at her, and she’d still find a way to try to stay in my life.”
“Yep, I’ve been there, my friend. I made the mistake of having an affair, and my side piece wouldn’t leave me alone. She kept texting and calling me at all hours of the night, begging me to leave my family for her. Until she saw me out to dinner with my wife and kids one night. Once she noticed how happy I was, that was all it took for her to stop contacting me. Something clicked in her head. So believe me, I get it. And I’ve been faithful to my wife ever since.”
I instantly thought about all of the evenings I’d spent with Ginger, stealing kisses over dinner while gazing into each other’s eyes. Not once did I ever want to do that with Ria. “I only wish it were that easy with Ria. Ginger and I were all over each other at The Spicy Pineapple, and I thought she bought it after storming out of the place. But sure enough, I woke up to a nasty email from her the next morning. Anyway, I’ll make it up to you however you’d like, Barry.”
“Are you going to put on a wedding ceremony too? With pictures and all?”
My mind started racing as I thought about how that would even happen. We’d have to invite enough people to make it look real, but not so many that word got out it was all a hoax.
This is a nightmare.
“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet, Barry. But I gave—”
Ria suddenly barged into my office, which I’d forgotten to lock, with tears in her eyes. I stood in front of my desk so she wouldn’t see that I had my speakerphone on. Whatever she had to say, I wanted my lawyer to hear. Screw worrying about my reputation being ruined by this woman. I needed her out of my life ASAP.
“You son of a bitch! Do you know how much time I wasted on you? Get your checkbook out, mister, because I want a lot more than your original offer! If you think that a measly half a billion dollars is enough to keep me from ruining your reputation, then you’ve got another think coming!”
I cleared my throat while adjusting my tie, but she spoke again before I could say anything.
“I saw Ginger at S
eafood Divine with a wedding dress hanging in her car. How is it that I can give you the best damn sex of your life and that bitch gets a million-dollar engagement ring, a diamond tennis bracelet, and a six-figure dress that only someone with my body could pull off?” She pointed to her breast implants, which I found utterly repulsive, then continued ranting. “I just can’t believe that you wifed her up so fast! You two were speaking on the phone for a year, and then within a month of coming home, you’re engaged! Who does that sort of thing?”
I shrugged while smiling at her, realizing that the tables had finally turned. “What else can I say, Ria? When you know, you know.”
Before continuing her rant, she patted her hair while quickly checking herself in the mirror hanging on the wall. “And yes, I took just under a million dollars from this company, Jorge. Do you know why? Because I never got as much money as I deserved! You have always gotten the bigger checks, even though we did the same amount of work.” Ria rubbed her knees. “Although, I did a hell of a lot more physical work if you know what I mean.”
“Please don’t remind me.”
“Whatever, you jerk. You know that Ginger bitch will never be as good as me. Oh, and good luck with this stupid-ass company because you’re gonna need it once I’m gone. Do you realize how hard your job is about to become? You can’t just let anyone else slide into my position, Jorge. Oh, and your precious reputation in the diamond community is about to be ruined if you don’t double your original offer!”
I swallowed a huge lump in my throat as she got closer to my face. She came within a few inches, daring me to speak. But I knew better, and that pissed her off.
“Well, aren’t you going to say anything, jerk-wad?”
My lawyer loudly cleared his throat after several minutes of silence. “This is Barry Livingston, Mr. Stein’s attorney. If I understood you correctly, ma’am, you just admitted to embezzlement. Is that correct?”