The Mischievous Mrs. Maxfield

by Ninya Tippett

  "What do you think?" I asked her as I stepped back and inspected my work on the mirror.

  Tessa's brown eyes lit up. "It looks pretty good actually. It looks like it's part of the original design."

  I grinned. "Good. Now you just have to pull it off. If you believe that it's perfectly natural for it to be there, then no one will doubt it."

  Tessa turned to me and smiled. "Thank you, Charlotte."

  "Anytime," I said, returning her smile. "You ready to go back out there?"

  She nodded. "I think so. How about you?"

  I shrugged. "I just need to freshen up and then I'll be right out. I'll see you there, okay? Go dance some."

  I was still smiling after Tessa left. She was really a nice girl once she got over her initial reserve and having her warm up to me was worth more than the beautiful dress I'd just ripped. Oh, well.

  After freshening up, I left the ladies' room but instead of walking back to the ballroom, I stepped out in one of the quieter balconies along the hall that led to a view of the moon-lit gardens.

  I was singing softly when I heard a pair of gasps as soon as I walked deeper into the balcony.

  "Oh," I said awkwardly as I saw two shadowed figures huddled in one private corner pull apart.

  "Sorry, I didn't realize someone was in here," I said apologetically, backing up a step. "Uh, continue, like I never intruded."

  "Oh, crap. She's going to tell Brandon."

  I paused at the hushed female voice that sounded familiar and whirled back around just as Anna peeled herself off the man and stepped into the light.

  "Anna?" I asked, walking back to them, concerned because even in the dim lighting of the balcony, I could sense her distress. "Are you okay?"

  "Of course, I'm okay," she snapped before taking a deep breath. "I mean, I'm fine. What are you doing here, Charlotte?"

  "Getting some fresh air," I answered, my eyes drifting to the guy who came to stand next to her. He was tall and lanky but handsome in an intellectual kind of way. "You?"

  "Same," she answered briskly.

  The man looked familiar and I dug around my memory for a name. "And Jason Reid is doing the same too?"

  That's right. Jason Reid was the city's most prominent architect and a good friend of the Maxfields. And according to Felicity's profile book, he was married to an anthropologist. I remembered this clearly because I mentioned to him earlier, when we were introduced, that it must be so exciting for his wife to be digging up history finds in her current expedition in Malawi.

  Yes. He was very married. And his mouth looked quite red and swollen for a man whose wife was thousands of miles away.

  I turned to Anna whose lips were a near match of Jason's and she met my eyes with a steely gaze as if daring me to say something.

  It wasn't my place to judge despite the optics of the situation. If neither of them wanted to offer an explanation, I wasn't going to stomp my feet until I got one. For once though, I sympathized with Anna. Not because I liked home-wreckers but because for once, she suddenly wasn't perfect in my eyes anymore and she knew it.

  I took a deep breath and smiled. "Well, I've gotten all the fresh air I need. I'm going to head back in. See you guys, later."

  The dancing was in full swing when I arrived back at the ballroom.

  I spotted Bobby dancing with Becca and I grinned, about to make my way to them when Tessa appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me by the arm.

  "Charlotte, stay with me," she said, barely concealing the urgency in her voice.

  I frowned and stepped to her side. "Okay. What's going on, Tess? Is Bessy giving you a hard time again?"

  She shook her head and led me slowly away from the dance floor. "No, no. Nothing like that. I thought we should hang out."

  Okay. So I knew that Tessa had warmed up to me but her insistence at hanging out all of a sudden was out of character.

  "I was just going to say hi to my friends and then find Brandon for one last dance before we head out," I told her gently, craning my neck around to look for my fiance. "I'm beat and I'm ready to call it a night."

  She tugged at my arm almost as if to drag my attention back to her. "Not yet. I saw Jake and he said he still wants another dance from you."

  I groaned. "My feet are killing me and I only have enough energy left for one dance. I should have it with Brandon, don't you think?"

  Besides, I wanted to patch up with him. He seemed stressed and despite my inital irritation, I realized that this couldn't have been an easy night for him, parading about a fiancee he didn't really want in the first place.

  I caught a flash of blond hair and smiled. "Oh, look. There's Jake."

  I watched him stride along the edge of the dance floor, looking grim and determined. "He doesn't look too happy."

  My brows furrowed in surprise when I saw him approach Brandon who was tossing back a glass of something. Brandon turned and glared at his friend and they both seemed to be exchanging pretty serious words.

  "What the hell is going on with those two?" I muttered in confusion. Just earlier, they were ribbing at each other good-naturedly.

  "Nothing, I'm sure," Tessa insisted. "Come on, let's find a seat somewhere in the back."

  I shook my head. "I think I need to go over there and break up the two before they start shoving at each other. They look pretty mad."

  I started walking when Tessa yanked back my hand. "Charlotte, no! Please, just stay here."

  "Tessa, what the hell is going on?" I demanded, turning to glare at her. Her brown eyes were large and anxious. "Something must be if you're acting like this. What is it?"

  "She's just trying to spare you from the painful experience of being introduced to your fiance's real love interest."

  Bessy appeared out of nowhere, smiling haughtily at me, gesturing to the dance floor with her hand. "Why don't you take a look at the stunning Simone Clark? She's a former fashion model before she married her first husband. She's divorced now and runs her own organic food business. Rumor has it that she and Brandon have been involved in a torrid affair in the last six months although they've kept it on the down low. She's probably here to make it very clear as to who owns Brandon's heart."

  I followed Brandon with my eyes as he stalked away from his best friend and walked up to a tall, glamorous, breathtakingly beautiful woman dressed in an elegant red Grecian-inspired column dress that accentuated her impressive height and perfect figure. Her dark hair was swept into a sexy updo and even from the distance, I could see that her face was befitting that of a goddess.

  Something churned inside me—like I ate something bad and I quickly realized that it must've been my heart which had sunk into my stomach and started getting eaten away at by the acids.

  No one had ever mentioned her to me before but it was clear from the smile on Brandon's face and Simone's intimate hand on his chest that they knew each other very well.

  "They already danced earlier," Bessy added, relentless in her determination to cut me up into pieces. "Jake already told Brandon off in your defense. Maybe if it doesn't work out with Brandon, Jake can comfort you. He probably won't mind Brandon's sloppy seconds."

  "Bessy, you are way out of line here," Tessa said through gritted teeth.

  "You shouldn't have come," I heard Anna's familiar voice say from behind me. "You should've listened to me."

  Bessy scoffed. "And miss all this drama? Not for the world. Just imagine what everyone here who knows is thinking. Brandon dances and holds in his arms the real woman he's crazy for during his engagement party to some lowly diner girl who fancies herself Cinderella."

  "Don't listen to her, Charlotte," Anna said, falling into a step beside me. "I'm sure Brandon has a perfectly good explanation for having her here."

  "I'm sure he thought he could get away with it after he brought in Charlotte's friends to distract her," Bessy added with a snort.

  Hot tears were stinging my eyes but I quickly blinked them back.

  There was nothing Bess
y said that hadn't already run through my mind in the last thirty seconds but I didn't need her to further hack my heart apart.

  I whirled around to her and said in a low, cold voice. "Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. Here."

  Bessy's smug smile faltered a bit as she got a good look at me but then she tossed her head up and smirked. "I will now. I've seen all that I wanted to see."

  "Forget about Bessy," Anna said after Bessy left. "She's just a raging bitch sometimes."

  I laughed hoarsely, hearing the bitterness in my voice. "What great taste you have for friends then."

  I forced myself to tear my gaze away from the dance floor where Brandon had led Simone to once again. Green eyes caught mine from across the room, concern clear in them even from a distance. I gave Jake a weak smile before turning to the sisters.

  I forced the hurt back down as I'd so expertly learned during the days of my father's neglect until I temporarily felt nothing.

  "Can you please make sure your Dad doesn't see this?" I asked in as calm a voice as I could manage. "If he knows about them, he's not going to be happy. I don't want to upset him."

  Anna looked at me for a moment. "He went home with Mattie half an hour ago. He didn't want to disrupt your dance with Jake and Mattie was already sleepy."

  I smiled even though I suspected it looked pretty brittle on my face. "Good. He doesn't have to know. Can you promise me you won't tell him?"

  The sisters glanced at each other.

  "Charlotte, are you sure?" Tessa asked gently. "Maybe you should talk to Brandon about this first. It's probably just a misunderstanding—"

  "It's none of my business who he screws, remember?" I reminded Tessa, instantly regretting my sharp tone. "I'm just going to get Gilles to drive me home. We have to drop off some of my friends. Have you seen Aimee and Rose?"

  "Gilles already drove them home a while ago," Anna answered.

  I groaned and kneaded my temples with my hand. I was so distracted, having a grand time being Brandon's fake fiancee that I completely took my own friends for granted. As fun as this gig was, I couldn't forget the truth and who I really was and the life I was coming back to once this was over.

  "Charlotte, hey."

  I turned around and saw Jake walking toward me, his handsome face etched with concern. He stopped and glanced at me and the sisters and realized that we all knew.

  "I'm going home," I told him as I took out my phone out of my clutch and dialed Gilles. "I have a headache."

  "Yes, Ms. Samuels?"

  "Can you drive me home, please, Gilly?" I asked, aware that the three of them were watching me.

  "I can," the man answered. "I'm just driving Ms. Brightside home right now. She wasn't feeling well and Mr. Maxfield sent her home. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

  "Is Felicity okay?" I asked, frowning. My assistand and friend was sick and I didn't even notice.

  "She's just dizzy and tired," Gilles answered. "She said she just needed rest."

  "Okay. Get her anything she needs and then go home and rest yourself, Gilly," I told him. "Don't worry about tomorrow. Take the day off. Tell Felicity the same thing. I'll find a cab tonight. Okay?"

  "But, Ms. Samuels—"

  "Goodnight, Gilly," I interjected in a firm voice. "Thanks again for all your help. Bye."

  I shut my phone off and slipped it back into my clutch.

  "I can drive you home, Charlotte," Jake said, drawing surprised looks from the sisters. "I've only had one glass of wine to drink. I don't speed."

  The anxious, serious look on his face was a hilarious contrast to my current situation that I threw my head back and laughed. "Just what a girl needs to hear to take you up on your offer."

  He smiled sheepishly. "Well, I wanted to reassure you as much as possible considering you only met me tonight."

  I turned to the sisters. "Can you guys vouch for him not being a total psycho?"

  Anna smiled. "Is Jake a heartbreaker? Yes. Psycho, no."

  Tessa though didn't look like she approved. "Brandon isn't going to be happy to hear that Jake took you home."

  I snorted. "Brandon can go fuck himself."

  I turned to Jake and grinned at him as I looped my arm through his. "Can we stop by for some cheeseburgers and fries on the way? I'm starving?"

  And we did.

  We slipped out of the ballroom unnoticed and got into his car. We stopped by a drive-thru and parked by the empty parking lot.

  I had just taken a second bite of my cheeseburger when I burst into tears.

  "Brandon is such an asshole," Jake swore angrily as he handed me a wad of paper napkins. "I'm sorry, Charlotte. I tried to get him to send her home when she arrived but he said she was harmless. That there was nothing for me to worry about. I usually trust his judgement but I had a feeling it was going to be a disaster if you saw them together."

  I furiously scraped at my face with the paper towels, more pissed that I was crying. There wasn't a lot that made me cry anymore. Not for years.

  "I honestly don't care," I told Jake, wiping my nose.

  He looked at me. "Why don't you care? You're marrying Brandon, for God's sakes."

  Because he's paying me a million dollars. Because he made it clear from the very beginning that he was free to pursue extra-marital affairs with other women. Because I signed a goddamned contract.

  Before I could answer, my cellphone rang and I answered it.

  "Charlotte, where the hell are you?" Brandon demanded. "Anna said you took off with Jake. Where are you? I'm coming to get you. I've turned the ballroom inside out looking for you in the last half hour!"

  I grimaced and moved the phone away from my ear.

  Jeez. You think the man could lay off on the indignation considering he's been having the time of his life with his mistress in our engagement party.

  "Leave me alone, Brand," was my belligerent reply. "Jake's drivng me home. Don't interrupt your partying for my sake."

  "Charlotte!"

  I pressed a hand over the mouth piece of my phone and said to Jake, "He's really yelling at me now."

  Before Jake could reply, I pressed the phone back to my ear. "Relax, Brand. Jake and I just made a quick stop for some cheeseburgers and fries."

  Silence answered me that for a second I thought he'd hung up.

  "You got cheeseburgers and fries?" was his low, even response.

  "Yeah," I answered with a shrug, too exhausted at this point to feel hurt anymore. "I told you I would."

  "You said you would get cheeseburgers and fries with me!" he bellowed on the other line.

  Anger clenched at my heart and I took a deep breath to calm myself down. "Well, you were a little busy so I went with someone else. Now I want to get back to eating it so goodnight, Brandon Maxfield."

  With that, I turned off my phone and tossed it to the floor.

  Jake said nothing about it as we sat in silence and finished our food.

  It was almost midnight when we arrived at my house.

  A town car was parked out on the street, Brandon leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest.

  "I'll walk you to the door," Jake said, hopping out of the car before I could argue.

  "It's about damn time you got her back, Jake," was Brandon's menacing growl as he straightened away from the car and marched over to us.

  Jake pressed me up against him protectively. "Don't be an ass, Brand. You don't want to have this fight right now."

  Brandon shoved his friend on the shoulder that was touching mine. "I dare say I do."

  "Cut it out, Brandon," I snapped, glowering at him, faltering for a moment when I saw the rage in his eyes in the shaft of light that shone down on us from the street lamp.

  I turned to Jake and smiled. "Thanks for driving me home, Jake, but you should probably go."

  Jake glanced between me and Brandon. "I can wait until you get inside."

  I sighed. "That would be nice but I can't trust the two of you not to pummel each other to the ground.
I'll be alright, Jake. He won't hurt me. He needs me."

  A confused frown marred Jake's forehead but he wisely kept his mouth shut.

  He turned an annoyed glare at Brandon before walking back to his car.

  Brandon and I watched in silence as Jake drove away.

  When he was gone, I turned to walk up the steps, taking my keys out of my clutch.

  I heard Brandon open his car door and slam it shut before rushing up behind me.

  "Hey, I brought some cheeseburgers and fries," he said gently, coming up beside me as I inserted my key into the lock.

  I turned to him and saw him holding up a brown take-out bag, his face anxious, almost hopeful.

  I got angry all over again.

  Does he think I'm some kind of emotional punching bag?

  "Go to hell, Brandon," I said before pushing the door open, stepping inside and slamming it close on his face.

  Without pausing, I kicked off my shoes, zombie-walked my way to my bed and threw myself on it, pressing my face down on my pillow as the tears came.

  Chapter Nine: The Curse of a Conscience

  I have a quick temper but I have a hard time holding grudges.

  I'd spent the night crying until my pillow resembled a mural with the smeared mascara and the lipstick soaked through its case. I eventually fell asleep from exhaustion and when I woke up this morning, I had a completely different perspective.

  I hated saints because they suffered needlessly most of the time and reveled in the rightness of it. I hated them more each time I found myself doing the same exact thing because wouldn't life be so much easier if I were just always looking out for myself?

  Try as I might, I just couldn't stay angry—especially since I realized that my anger was mostly unsubstantiated. Brandon was crystal clear when he told me that he expected to be able to pursue his own personal affairs even when we were married. It was written in plain text in black ink on the contract I signed. I couldn't really dispute that.