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Lucian leaves my room, and when I hear the apartment door shut, I get up. My head is splitting, and I need something to drink. The kitchen is full of bright sun, and it makes my head hurt even more. I grab a bottle of water and gulp it down. I did something last night that I haven’t done in a long time, drink to excess. Lucian is right. I need to deal with Lana’s reappearance more constructively.
A week later, and it’s the children’s hospital fundraiser. Eltech has long been a donor of this fundraiser. I’m not in the mood to go, but I dress in my tux, looking in the mirror to comb my hair. I rented a limo for this since I might need some drinks to steel myself for seeing Lana. It will be especially hard since she will be with Declan instead of me.
In the limo, I sip champagne as we head to pick up Serena. I took her shopping for a dress on Wednesday. I wanted her elegant, not slutty. She made sure to make me pay for it too. The dress she chose was over fifteen hundred dollars and the shoes, four hundred. I gave her a few hundred to get her hair and makeup done. She had a bad habit of using too much eyeliner. I wanted her to look like she belonged rather than someone who was heading to a club for the evening.
When we stopped to pick her up, I was pleasantly surprised. She looked classy and demure. The long medium blue gown gently hugged her curves, and the neckline was just low enough to show a hint of cleavage. She had a white shawl that covered her bare shoulders. Her makeup was subtle yet tasteful.
“Serena, you look beautiful.”
“Keep the comments coming; you just might get lucky tonight.”
I knew I would, anyway. Serena’s sexual appetite even exhausted me. She could have orgasm after orgasm and still want more. If she played the part of the interested and pleasant girlfriend, I would owe her big. I wanted Lana to be jealous.
“I usually don’t have to beg.”
She threw her head back and laughed, “You know me so well. So what is this woman like that we have to impress?”
“I don’t want to impress her. I want to make her jealous.”
“She is marrying Declan Blair, what does she have to be jealous about?”
“She doesn’t have me.”
“Do you think she cares?”
I gave her a hard stare. “She cared enough to come to my office last week. Think about it. Why would she do that if she didn’t care?”
“You told me it was because she didn’t want you to cause a scene in public.”
“It was an excuse. I own a company. People know me in this city. Did she think I was going to make a scene? It makes no sense.”
“So, you think she came just to see you?”
“I think she came to see the response her presence would have on me.”
“Were you calm?”
“I tried to be, but it was complicated. Lana is complicated. She always was.”
“I wish you could forget her.”
“You and me both. I appreciate you doing this for me.”
“I’m only doing it because I know how important it is to you. I hate these things. Everyone scrutinizing each other.”
“You look great. Just act rich and stay close to me. You know the drill.”
“Unfortunately, I do.”
As we waited in the line of cars, Serena checked her makeup and applied another layer of lip gloss. I swiped my hand through my hair and threw a breath strip in my mouth. The driver opened the door and helped Serena out, and I follow into the ballroom of The Demeter Hotel.
Inside, the waiter staff was circulating with trays of champagne. I needed something stronger, but it would have to do for now until we sat down to dinner. I offered my arm to Serena, and we went around the room, greeting people that I was familiar with. I didn’t see Lana or Declan, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe they wouldn’t be here tonight.
When it came time for dinner, we were seated near the front of the room since Eltech was a significant donor. Lucian and Olivia showed up just behind us. We shared the table with two other couples with two seats needing to be filled next to me.
The room darkened, and a speaker came up to the podium to talk about the fundraiser. Pictures of what the funds would do for the hospital cycled on an oversized flat-screen suspended on the wall at the back of the stage. When the presentation finished, the lights came back up, and the wait staff was taking drink orders. Dinner would be served momentarily.
“Who else is supposed to be sitting at this table?” Lucian asked.
