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“It’s quite a party,” a woman spoke next to me.
“Yes. It’s a lovely venue.”
“You’re Nadia Sokol.”
My head turned toward her. She had a beautiful head of white hair, well coiffured into a bun. Her lined face lifted into a dazzling smile that I couldn’t help but return. “Yes, I am. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m Christina Ralls.” She presented herself, but her tone made it seem like I should recognize her name, but I didn’t.
“I’m sorry. Have we been introduced before?”
Her lips turned down in a frown. “You don’t recognize my name? Well, I suppose you wouldn’t know everyone on the lawsuit. You do clean up nicely—so nicely, in fact, that I’d have thought you were someone special instead of an escort.”
I stiffened. “I’m most certainly not an escort.” I moved to walk past, but she caught my arm.
“My husband was on the yacht for a business meeting with his friends. He had no idea what you and your ilk were up to.”
“I was up to nothing. Let go of my arm,” I said in a sharp tone.
“I will, but I need you to listen.” She let go. “Louis has been fired from his job as CEO of Technologies Pharmaceuticals. He’s in the hospital being treated for depression, but here you are, out partying. So many good men are having their reputations ruined because you used your body to allure him, and while pregnant, too.”
My skin heated. “I, too, was tricked into attending that party—”
“Nice story; too bad no one believes you. He swore he saw you partying and pregnant. I mean, how could you not know you were pregnant?” She snorted.
I narrowed my gaze at her. I wasn’t supposed to talk to anyone about this, but I couldn’t take being talked down to by a woman I’ve never met before. She didn’t know me. She had no right to judge me. “I don’t know why you feel you have the right to say these things to me. I was almost raped, I miscarried, and my life was threatened. And it was by men like your husband. Yet, you’re attacking me?”
“You’re obviously fine.” She gestured down my body. “You were prancing down the runway today, hardly the vision of someone who’s distraught. And because of you, good men have lost their livelihoods.”
I clenched my jaw. “Sure. Those same ‘good men’ were trying to have sex with underage girls there. Did you know there were girls as young as fourteen? Your ‘business party husband’ ruined their lives. Where is your concern for them?”
Gunnar had shared that at least three of the girls were that young. They were trafficked in for a certain clientele by Landon. The boat party had been much more extensive and illegal than the original Lollipop gatherings. The party attendees never expected to be found out, and they wouldn’t have if Isabelle hadn’t pushed for me to come to the party. Nausea churned in my stomach.
Her face drained of color and her eyes darted around. “This is no place for this conversation.”
I pressed my hand to my chest and could feel the hammering of my heart. “Oh, but it’s fine to blame me for being hurt?”
“Christina, what are you doing?” Hayden appeared behind us.
“Oh, nothing.” Christina smiled. “I was just asking Nadia here some questions.”
“You did more than that, you were cruel,” he said in a terse tone. “I want you to leave.”
Her face turned bright red.
“No, actually, I’ll go. It’s been a long day. Thank you, Hayden.” My words rushed out of my mouth and I quickly walked off to the lobby. There, I took out my phone to text Laurence.
Nadia: I’m where you dropped me off. I’d like to leave now. Would you please pick me up? Thank you.
Laurence: I’ll be there in five minutes.
Hayden caught up with me. “I had no idea Louis was on the boat, or she wouldn’t have been invited tonight. I’m sorry.”
I lifted my shoulders and sighed. “If it wasn’t her, it would’ve been someone else. That’s my life now.”
He rubbed his jaw. “I hadn’t realized how hard things must be for you, but you handled it with grace.”
“Thank you,” I murmured.
