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Elise:I think so, why?
Roxanne:Oh, well in that case maybe it’s best if I go, too. He and I used to get along so well.
I read the text over and over again, feeling like I’d won some incredible prize. I can’t believe she’s going to attend the dinner! Andries is going to be livid.
Livid, and then depressed beyond belief. I push that thought aside before it can sink its teeth in, not wanting to ruin my goodmood from my great success. This is the final step in securing myself as the future CEO of Van den Bosch industries.
Roxanne:Do you have the details of the evening?
Elise:Yes. Ciel Bleu at 8 pm on Thursday. Does that work for you?
Roxanne:I’ll see what I can do. Karl isn’t coming, right?
Elise:Of course not! Thank you so much for this!
A storm is brewing outside, heavy gray clouds gathering over the canals and hanging low. I find myself staring out at the gathering rain, vacillating between being thrilled with myself for getting Roxanne to go along with the plan, and feeling off, almost sad because I pulled it off.
I had called Karl right after I finished texting with Roxanne, and he had been just as over the moon as I was.
“You are going to go so far in the company, Elise,” he told me, that saccharine note still in his voice. “A woman that is so cutthroat that she will sabotage even her future sister-in-law to get ahead will conquer anything she comes across, I’m sure of it. Wonderful job.”
His praise should have made me feel happy, but it did the exact opposite. Karl, accused rapist and guaranteed creep, was pleased with me. Meanwhile, Roxanne, a woman who I’ve dragged through the mud over and over again, was willing to go out of her comfort zone and even risk her relationship with my brother to help me. I can’t help but think I’ve made a terrible mistake, and I start to weigh the CEO position over the happiness of Andries and Roxanne. I think back on their faces as they looked at each other during my toast at their engagement party, so in love, and I feel ill.
I had tried to push it from my mind, but now, hours later, it’s still all I can think about. Rereading my messages with Roxanne, I get the feeling that even if she goes through with coming to the dinner, Andries won’t be angry enough to leave. After all, she’s only doing this to help me, his little sister, not because she wants to. All of this grief may be for nothing.
I want to take it back. Is it too late? I don’t want to be part of this chaos anymore.
When my cell rings, a picture of Andries takes over the screen. I feel like ignoring the call and hiding from the world. I know it isn’t a coincidence that he’s calling me now, and that I’ve surely been caught in my deception.
I have to answer, though, or I’ll look even guiltier.
“Hey, Andries,” I say slowly.
His voice is overly cheery, and I close my eyes in dread hearing how false it is. “So, I heard you need Roxanne’s help for a dinner with Dad’s clients? How cool is that? Soon enough you two will be besties.”
I cringe, now sure that Roxanne has shared the story I fabricated, and they’ve seen through my deception. “Andries…” I hurry to think up an excuse. “I’m handling Karl’s clients now, and he worked with Roxanne so much a long time ago that those clients sort of expect her escorts to be at these dinners all the time.”
“Huh, don’t you think it’s kind of odd that Dad is giving an intern the biggest company accounts? I mean, when you were defending Karl still working there, you said it was because he handled some of the most important clients.”
This gets my hackles up. Calling me out is one thing, but insulting my work ethic is another. “I’m not just an intern, you know. Dad trusts me entirely.”
“Whatever,” he snaps, his real feelings starting to bleed through. “I don’t get why you couldn’t just call the agency. Why do you have to bring Roxanne back into this mess?”
“It’s just an innocent favor, that’s all. She’s the only one that can help me.”
“Yeah, right,” he scoffs, unconvinced. “You’re never innocent. There’s always something going on beneath the surface. So tell me the truth, sister, why were you bothering my fiancée with your scheming instead of just calling the number she gave you?”
There’s a lump forming in my throat, and I have to swallow past it to speak. “I told you the truth. I want to impress these clients, and Roxanne helping me is the only way I’m sure I can make this dinner perfect. That’s it.”
Andries lowers his voice, and it isn’t just anger at me anymore. There’s genuine rage, and it makes me want to cry. “Are you booking escorts on Karl’s behalf, Elise?”
“What? No!”
“For some reason, I can’t shake the idea that he’s not involved. Think about it for a second. If you’re lying, and this is Karl’s idea, why would he ask it of you? What does he gain by doing it this way? If it was coming from Dad, I’d say it was to tarnish Roxie’s name, but this reeks of Karl’s involvement. Think, Elise.”
Before he can even finish the thought, the truth hits me like a freight train. I’ve been such a fool. Karl booked the dinner with his clients, which means, despite what I told Roxanne, he could show up if he really wanted. Most importantly, Karl is banned from hiring escorts from all over the country, but he was just able to manipulate his boss's eighteen-year-old daughter into hiring them for him.
I clutch my stomach, nausea threatening to overwhelm me. “I… well… he might have given me the idea…”
