by Linda Verji
“Can you believe that he’s only twenty-four, and he’s got all this?” April asked as they swept past the double doors to emerge in the pool area.
“I know, right?” her friend agreed. “I feel like I wasted my whole life.”
The pool area was more crowded than the interior of the house, but the people there were no less glamorous, or young. Most of them looked they were in their late teens to early twenties. In fact, this looked like a college party gone rich. The all-white theme was the perfect complement to their exquisite tans, chiseled young bodies, and the gleaming jewelry they were wearing.
Considering the number of exceedingly tiny swimsuits running around, April felt over-dressed in her white, strapless, thigh-length dress. Even worse, she and Vina seemed to be the only ones who’d bothered to bring presents. Everyone else seemed to have had only one goal in mind – to take full advantage of Javier’s generosity.
Obviously April wasn’t the only one feeling out of place because Vina sighed. “I feel old.”
“At least you don’t look old,” April reassured as she gave her friend a once-over. Vina had pulled her long, luxurious hair into a high bun that made her look much taller than she was. To further add to that height, she’d worn gold, strappy heels that matched her hoop earrings and the thin gold straps of her white camisole. She looked quite glamorous.
Right then a bone-thin girl in a swimsuit passed them. Well, swimsuit was a generous term for the small triangles that covered her non-existent breasts and lady parts. The back was worse; just a thin strip of fabric that had uncomfortably wedged itself between her butt cheeks.
Both women turned to watch her go in open-mouthed shock. April picked her jaw off the floor to whisper, “What. Is. She. Wearing?”
“Dental floss?” Vina posited with a huge grin.
April laughed. “I feel like I should cut part of my dress and-”
“April?” A deep male voice cut into her words. Both ladies turned to find Javier coming towards them, a wide grin lighting his face. Like everyone else he was dressed in white, but he’d, thankfully, eschewed the tiny, tight swimsuits and instead gone with a shirt that was open at the throat and tucked into white chino shorts. True to his flamboyant nature, he’d finished the look off with a gold chain and a pair of gold-rimmed sunglasses balanced over his comb-over.
His eyes lit up with pleasure as they landed on April. “You came?”
“I came.” She smiled as she gestured towards Vina. “And I brought a friend. This is Vina.”
A glint of disappointment flashed in Javier’s eyes, but when he turned to Vina that disappointment disappeared behind a beaming smile. “I know you. You’re the Executive Chef at Roman’s place.”
“I am.” Vina nodded with a smile. “Good memory. And excellent party planning skills.”
“Thank you,” Javier preened before turning back to April. “You look amazing in that dress.”
“You look good too,” she complimented.
“I try. I tr-”
“Javier, my man,” someone cut into their conversation. They all turned to find a young man with two girls on his arms coming towards them. The young man said, “I’ve got to give it to you. You know how to throw a party.”
“Nicky Valentino. Who the hell told your ass about this party?” Javier grinned as he moved away from April and Vina to greet his friend.
Soon Javier was fully occupied with partygoers seeking his attention. April and Vina excused themselves from the throng to go mingle with everyone else. They introduced themselves to a couple of people and chatted with many while sipping on drinks.
Most people seemed to have found a group they could hang out with, but one particular lady seemed completely lost. The dark-skinned, voluptuous woman was seated on one of the pool chaise lounges all alone with a drink in hand while her sad, bespectacled gaze swept over the other partygoers. April and Vina took it upon themselves to cheer her up.
“Hi,” April greeted when they stopped beside the lady’s seat.
Startled, the lady looked up at them. A hesitant smile creased her plump face as she greeted. “Hi.”
“I’m April.” April smiled. “This is Vina.”
“I’m Eva,” the woman introduced herself.
“Great to meet you, Eva,” Vina said. “Do you mind if we join you?”
“No. No.” Eva gestured towards the seat. “Have a seat.”
April took the seat beside Eva’s while Vina took the one to the left of April. April asked, “Great party, isn’t it?”
“It is. Javier knows how to throw a party.” Eva’s eyes lit up with curiosity as she asked, “How do you guys know Javier?”
“Oh, he comes to our restaurant a lot,” April explained. “Tellers.”
“Tellers.” Eva’s forehead creased as if in thought then a knowing light suddenly glinted in her eyes. That light immediately dimmed when her eyes landed back on April. “Oh, you’re that April.”
April didn’t miss the sudden cooling in the girl’s demeanor. She asked, “You know me?”
“Javier talks about you all the time.” Eva smiled as she drew her feet onto the seat and pulled her long maxi dress to completely cover her legs. “He says you’re a very nice person.”
April wasn’t blind or an idiot. It was obvious that Eva was putting on a brave face. Given that the younger woman even knew who April was, it was obvious that she and Javier were close. It was also obvious that she had a thing for Javier. Immediate sympathy lanced through April. Coming from a ten year crush, she certainly understood how it felt to like someone who didn’t even see you. Men could be so obtuse.
“Javier and I are just friends,” April reassured. “We’re not dating.”
“Oh, cool!” Eva smiled. April’s reassurance seemed to ease her because the smile was more genuine this time, and she got even cheerier the more they talked. The three women stuck together for most of the afternoon, talking, chatting and stuffing themselves with the delicious hors d’oeuvres and drinks that were being passed around. It was going on six p.m. when Javier finally pulled away from his other friends to stride towards April, Vina and Eva.
His grin widened and his eyes lit up as he got closer. “I see you’ve met the birthday girl.”
“The birthday girl?” April and Vina looked around in search of that mythical birthday girl.
“That would be me,” Eva drew their attention.
“It’s your birthday?” April and Vina turned surprised eyes at her.
“She didn’t tell you?” Javier took Eva’s hand and lifted her to her feet. “Eva here just hit the big twenty-two.”
Eva was only twenty-two? She seemed so mature compared to everyone else around here.
“Then this yours?” April handed the young woman the gift she’d brought her. Now she was glad that she’d had the foresight to bring a gift that could be used by either sex. “Happy Birthday. It’s just some stuff for your bathroom but I hope you like it.”
“Happy Birthday, Eva,” Vina gave Eva the blue shopping bag she was carrying.
Eva gave them shy smiles. “Thank you.”
“Come on, time to cut the cake.” Javier led the three ladies to a long table that held the massive birthday cake. It seemed that they weren’t the only ones who didn’t know whose party this was, because there was a lot of surprise going round when Javier introduced Eva. However, everyone cheerily joined in the birthday song, with April and Vina singing the loudest.
By nine p.m., the party was still going strong. Unfortunately, April and Vina were working women. They made their excuses to Javier and Eva, and after April promised to call him as soon as she got home, they left. April got to her place at around ten. By then she was too tired to do anything other than take a quick shower then settle on the couch to catch up on her favorite reality show. She completely forgot that she was supposed to call Javier until her phone rang at around eleven.
“Javier.” She gasped. “I’m sorry, I completely forgot to call you bac
k.”
“I was beginning to think you were kidnapped.” He chuckled. “Did you get home okay?”
“Yeah, I did. Thanks for checking up on me.” Settling more comfortably on the couch, she said, “And thanks for inviting me to your party. I had a really great time, and your friends are great. Especially Eva.”
“She loved you too,” Javier said. “You really shine around other people. You’d make a great entertainer.”
“Would I?”
“Yeah,” he insisted. “The first time I saw you I thought you were a movie-star or a singer.”
April laughed. “Flattery, flattery, flattery.”
“It’s not flattery.” Javier’s voice lowered as he added, “You’re a very beautiful woman.”
Warmth fluttered in April’s chest and she smiled. “Thank you.” But to keep the conversation from going in the direction she knew Javier might take it, she changed the subject. “So is the party still going on?”
“Yeah.” Javier chuckled. “This thing looks like it just started. In fact a couple more people just walked in.”
“Then what are you doing on the phone with me?” April asked. “Go enjoy yourself.”
“I enjoy talking to you more.”
April’s smile widened. “You’re great to talk to too. But you’ve got guests to attend to. Go.”
“You just gon’ kick me off the phone like that, huh?”
She laughed. “Goodnight, Javier.”
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “Fine. Goodnight.”
Smiling, she kept the phone to her ear as she waited for him to end the call. Only he didn’t. So she asked, “Are you still there?”
“I’m waiting for you to hang up,” he said, the amusement in his voice clear as daylight.
“Okay.” She hung up.
Seconds later, her phone rang. It was Javier and he sounded outraged. “I can’t believe you hung up.”
“You just told me to hang up,” she protested.
“Jeez! I was angling for a ‘you hang up, no you hang up’ moment,” he complained.
“Boy, you need a therapist.” April laughed. “Bye.”
Long after the call ended, her smile persisted. Javier wasn’t bad. He wasn’t bad at all.
*
ROMAN KNEW ABOUT the party. How could he not when it was all his staff seemed to be interested in talking about? And saying it irked him would be an understatement. It annoyed him – it annoyed the hell out of him. He didn’t even care that he hadn’t been invited to the party. What pissed him off was that Javier had invited April. The guy had just met her recently; he had no business inviting her to his house.
As if Roman didn’t have enough to be annoyed about, news of April and Javier’s little dalliance was now causing a stir outside the restaurant. Apparently, Javier had liked April’s Twitter page last night. If it were anyone else, that action would’ve gone unnoticed. But he was Javier Consuelos, baseball star. Everything he did was scrutinized, analyzed and debated. Ever since morning, the paparazzi had been trying to sneak into Tellers, trying to catch a glimpse – or rather a photo – of April.
Roman stopped at a table where a rat-faced, casually dressed man with stringy hair was seated and glared at him. “Get out.”
“What?” Nervousness flashed in the man’s eyes when he looked up at Roman.
“Get out,” Roman gritted between his teeth. He’d been in this business long enough to know a paparazzi when he saw one. “No paparazzi allowed.”
“I’m not a pap,” the man protested despite the badly hidden camera on his lap. “I’m just trying to eat.”
“Get the hell out.” Roman’s voice was low but there was no mistaking the threat in his words as he added, “Or I’ll have you forcibly removed.”
The man looked like he wanted to protest but one look at Roman’s face and he ended up standing up. As a final ‘screw you’ on his way out, the man threw over his shoulders, “If this how you treat customers, then I’m never coming back here.”
“Don’t let the door hit you on your way out,” Roman mumbled under his breath as he watched the man stride out.
Every reporter in town knew that Tellers was a no-camera zone, and usually they wouldn’t be this brave. But Roman knew exactly who was to blame for their newfound bravery. April. He searched the dining room for her, and saw her by the corner next to the stairs talking to one of the waitresses. In a few angry strides, he reached them.
“It doesn’t matter what she said,” April was saying to the pouting waitress. “You can’t be rude to our diners.”
The waitress said, “But she’s the one who-”
“April,” Roman cut into the conversation. “Can we talk?”
“I’m a little busy here.” April pointed to the waitress.
“Don’t be rude to the diners or I’ll fire you,” Roman said to the waitress, then turned to April. “There. Now you’re free. Can we talk?”
April gave him an annoyed look before turning to the waitress, “Just go. We’ll talk later.” Once the waitress left, she turned her attention to Roman. “What’s up?”
“Not here.” He cupped her elbow and led her up the stairs. “My office.”
Perhaps he’d been too abrupt because worry streaked through April’s eyes as she allowed him to guide her to his office. “Is something wrong? Did something happen?”
Roman didn’t answer her question until they were safely ensconced in his office and facing each other. “Have you noticed all the paparazzi down there?”
“Paparazzi?” April seemed genuinely surprised. “What are you talking about?”
Roman eyed her. “You’re telling me you haven’t seen all the people trying to take a picture of you?”
“A picture?” Her eyes wide, she pointed to herself. “Of me? Why?”
With an annoyed huff, he pulled his phone from his pocket then quickly navigated to her Twitter page. He lifted the phone to her eye-level. “Because of this.”
Frowning, April plucked the phone from his hand so she could swipe through it on her own. A fresh spurt of surprise crossed her features as she scrolled through her page. “Whaaat? Javier liked my page?”
“You didn’t know?”
“Of course I didn’t know. I hardly ever go to Twitter anymore.” She chuckled. “Look at that, I have five times the number of followers I had last month. Awesome.”
“Awesome?” Roman stared at her in shock. “How is that awesome?”
“Who is she? She’s really pretty? Are she and Javier dating?” April read through some of the comments on her wall then laughed. “Look at these busybodies.”
“Are you enjoying this?” His disbelief reverberated between them.
“Of course not,” she denied but her wide grin when she handed the phone back to him belied her words.
Roman shook his phone. “This is why I told you to stay away from Javier. Look what you’ve done now.”
“What have I done?” Her grin faded into annoyance as she folded her arms over her chest. “I didn’t tell him to like my page and I certainly didn’t call the paparazzi here.”
“You might as well have,” Roman grumbled as he glared at her. “Stop playing with that guy or things will get worse.”
April’s perfectly arched eyebrows shot up. “What makes you think I’m playing?”
“Aren’t you?” He paused before saying, “We both know you’re into me, so what are you doing with that kid?”
She stared at him for a long uncomfortable moment before giving a short chuckle. “I think you’re mistaken. I was into you.” Her voice was full of derision as she added, “And now, I’m over you.”
He leveled a narrow-eyed glower at her. “You know you’re not.”
“I know I am,” she countered tightly.
“You’re just mad at me, but you’re not over me.” Even to his own ears, Roman sounded like an egomaniac. But he couldn’t help it – he refused to believe that April could move on from him so easily. “You can’t ju
st stop loving someone so suddenly.”
She canted her head and glared at him. “And yet I did.”
“No, I don’t believe it.” Roman shook his head slowly as his gaze remained locked on her. “You know what I think?”
“I don’t care what you think,” she retorted sharply, anger evident in the depths of her brown eyes.
He went on anyway, “I think you’re pretending to be interested in Javier so you can look like you’re over me.”
“Is that what you think?” She snorted. “You’re delusional.”
“Am I?” He reminded her, “You loved me for ten years. You can’t just get over me like that.”
Roman didn’t even know why he was goading her into admitting her feelings for him. All he knew that there was this really hot ball of emotion in his chest that seemed to burn every time he so much as thought of April with Javier – or any other man. Right now that ball was inflamed and its heat was scorching a path through every inch of his body and burning his rationality as it went.
April rolled her eyes. “Think whatever you want. But I know how I feel, and I feel nothing for you.”
“Are you sure?” He took a step towards her.
She stood firm and lifted her chin. “Yes.”
“Are you really sure?” He took another prowling step towards her, steadily closing the distance between them.
Frowning, she stepped back. “Yes.”
“You don’t love me anymore?” he asked as he took another step forward.
“No, I d-” She paused, his proximity clearly unnerving her, and took a step back and straight into his desk. Her ass bumped against the desk’s edge, forcing her to sit down. “What are you doing?”
He pressed on until his knee knocked hers, then he moved even closer. The moment he felt her inner thighs lightly graze the outside of his legs, his cock jerked in immediate awareness.
April’s breath hitched and panic flashed in her eyes as they flew to his. “Roman, what are you doing?”
The air seemed to crackle all around them. Roman was suddenly very aware of the thrum of excitement pounding deep in his stomach as he lowered his hands to her thighs and forced them apart so he could fit his body even closer into hers. “You don’t love me anymore?”