Break (18 page)

“Luke!”

He sank back into his seat, looking a bit cowed as I glared at him.

She stood up abruptly from the table. “I must get ready for the party,” she said suddenly before she left the room.

“What’s wrong with you?” I hissed when she was out of earshot. “Now you’ve upset her, and she was being so nice!”

“Nice?” he said in a harsh whisper. “Give me a break! You saw her face; she knew about it. She knew about it and did
nothing
. I can’t trust any of these people. They might think fondly of me, but they wouldn’t hesitate to screw me over to get my inheritance.”

“But she said she would give it back to you!”

He scoffed. “Even if she really meant that, she wouldn’t be able to. It’s my uncle’s decision.” His face softened at my bewildered expression. “I know that you want to believe her. Hell, I do too. Aunt Beth was always my favorite growing up. She was always sweet with me, but everything’s different now.”

I bit my lip. Was he right? Was I just naive? I knew nothing about his world, but I couldn’t help but wonder if Luke was being paranoid. “All I know is that if you keep being unpleasant, she’ll want to help you less. Don’t bring it up again.”

He got up and slammed his chair back under the table. I could feel his stress balling inside me. All of it was unfair. There were millions of dollars at stake—his millions, and sharks surrounded him.

“Let’s just try to get through tonight. I want to fly back to San Francisco tomorrow.”

“But we just got here.” I couldn’t believe that he was so willing to leave. “Wouldn’t it be better to keep visiting your dad?”

“No, he’s—well. He’s made up his mind. And I have to keep working.”

Uh, did he just forget that his dad fired him?
“Luke,” I began awkwardly. “Your dad fired you.”

He looked at me coolly. “I never got a phone call from my boss, so I’m just going to ignore him. Sometimes he doesn’t deliver on his threats. It happens.”

Wow.

Upstairs, I stalled for as long as possible before getting ready. After Luke’s confrontation with his aunt, I had no desire to go back down there and mingle with a bunch of rich people. I couldn’t help but obsess over every minute detail of my dress. I winced as I looked down at myself and saw scuff marks on my black pumps.
I’ll look like a joke compared to them.

When we finally descended the staircase, I realized that despite Luke’s assurances, my fears were genuine. Everyone looked like Saks Fifth Avenue had dressed them. If it weren’t for Luke’s hand at the small of my back, I would have turned tail and ran. The black lace dress that I bought at Macy’s
looked ridiculous by comparison.

“Just relax, Jessica,” he murmured in my ear.

Right, easy for you to say.
I fought the urge to dig in my heels as Luke wheeled me towards a coterie of drunken WASPs.

“Luke! We heard you were here,” one of them exclaimed comically. “None of us could believe it.”

The man who spoke had mousy-colored hair, slicked back over his shiny head. His bright blue eyes were the same as Luke’s. He was slim and his suit was impeccably tailored; his patent leather shoes gleamed in the light. Hanging on his arm was a blonde woman who reminded me strongly of Victoria Beckham, her thin arms looking like they could snap at any second. She smiled at me politely as her eyes dragged up and down my outfit and I my arm shook against Luke’s.

“Justin, Barbara—this is my girlfriend, Jessica.”

They wrung my hand and acted as though they were delighted to meet me. Barbara snatched her hand away from me as though she was afraid that she would somehow be contaminated.

She leaned in, her eyes glossy and her lips shining. “When Luke’s in the papers, he always has someone new on his arm. We were surprised that you two have managed to stay together for
so long
—”

“
Barbara
!” snapped Justin impatiently. He fixed me with a pained expression. “Sorry, she’s had a bit much to drink.”

“No worries.” Inwardly, my heart beat a violent tattoo against my chest. I never felt so uncomfortable in my life. For the first time, I really missed home. I wanted to collapse onto my sofa at home and watch TV with Natalie. Everyone was extremely well dressed and clutching glasses of champagne that I’m sure cost a small fortune and I was just planted in the middle of it. I felt like everyone was gathering around to gawk at the alien who had somehow entered their exclusive club. I did not belong here.

I could practically hear Barbara’s brain whirring as she leaned in curiously.
Why hasn’t he kicked her to the curb by now? Is she pregnant?

“How did you two meet?”

I stiffened. I couldn’t imagine giving them the same story I had told Brandon, but my mind was blank.

“We met in a bar.” Luke glanced at me.

“
Oh.
”

I wished he hadn’t said that. I watched painfully as Barbara buried a small smile and exchanged a glance with her husband. Now, it made sense. They filed me away into a category they knew well. Perhaps I was very exciting in bed, but I was most certainly Luke’s new fling.

“I heard that you’ve been visiting my father.”

Oh Christ, not this again.
I tried not to fix my heated eyes on Luke.

Justin shrugged good-naturedly. “Yeah. I thought that I should. He seems to enjoy our visits.”

Luke took two glasses of bubbling champagne and offered one to me. “I’m glad you’re both getting something out of them. Please excuse us.”

I was shocked at the unrestrained spite in Luke’s voice. Didn’t he know how to fake politeness?

Justin sneered at Luke’s back as he turned around. His wife whispered something in his ear and both of them laughed as they looked at me. I felt the hairs on my neck stand up.

“See?” Luke hissed as we walked away. “Do you see what I have to deal with?”

I felt bad in a way that I hadn’t in years, like when the girls at school used to bully me in the hallways. “I haven’t felt like this since sixth grade.”

He laughed. “It is childish, in a way.”

I didn’t point out that he, in fact, was the one who started it. I went along as Luke painstakingly introduced me to all the guests, who were all so unfailingly polite that my jaw felt wired shut with a permanent grin. These were not the sort of people who would be rude in front of your face. As Luke talked to his relatives, I hung back with my half-empty glass of champagne, my eyes occupied with the paintings that adorned the walls and groaning whenever I checked the time.

“Excuse me.
Excuse me
! Hey!”

A veined hand encircled by gold bracelets waved in front of my face, snapping its fingers impatiently. I looked at its owner, who was a woman in her late fifties who I did not recognize. She looked at me as though I was something under her shoe. What the hell did she want?

She thrust an empty champagne glass in my hand. “Take this away.”

Stunned, I took the glass and looked from her to the glass and back again. What had just happened?

“Why are you standing there?”

Several of her friends turned around to glare at me, but I still had no fucking idea what was going on.

“Um—you want me to take this?”

A few of them giggled behind her as they looked at me, and I felt like I was transported back to middle school. She rolled her eyes at me. “Oh, Charlie Brown. You’re hopeless.”

The glass was ripped out of my hands so violently, that her manicured nails actually scratched me. I yelped in pain and finally Luke swept in out of nowhere, quietly stepping in to save me.

“Is there something wrong?” he looked at my face and back to her.

“This one doesn’t seem to be doing her job.” She gestured towards me with contempt laced in every syllable.

Doing her job—what?
Then I realized it with a horrible, sinking feeling. I was dressed so poorly, that this woman thought I was
the help
. My face felt like it was on fire. I turned away and bit my lip viciously. I wanted to die.

“This is Jessica, my girlfriend,” he said with a little anger in his voice. “She’s not an employee.”

“Oh, I had no idea. I’m
so sorry
—”

Realizing her blunder, she reached out towards me, her claw-like fingers patting me awkwardly on the shoulder. She couldn’t see my face, or my eyes, which were shining with tears. Luke did, and he steered me away from them. “It’s fine,” he called over his shoulder.

We shoved through a throng of people and headed towards a glass door. I hoped no one had seen the exchange.

“Let’s just go outside.”

I choked as soon as we stepped outside. We were in a small, side garden. It was lit up beautifully with golden, paper lanterns. I growled in frustration as tears leaked out of my eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m trying to hold it together.”

“No, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to deal with this.”

Luke sidled up against me and stroked my arm.

My lips were shaking as I looked at him. “I’m so embarrassed. I don’t belong here at all.” I couldn’t erase the expression on her face from my mind. “She looked at me like I was—
trash
.” The hopeless feeling that I felt at school was overpowering. I used to be bullied for wearing used clothes from the Salvation Army, and it was the exact same feeling.

“You can’t let it get to you. I get ripped apart every day in the press. You just have to let it roll off your shoulders.”

I bent down as the glare from the porch lights illuminated the ugly marks on my shoes. I scrubbed them with my fingers, but they refused to come off. “That’s different. They’re your family. I care about what they think about me.”

“I don’t even like my family. What does it matter?”

His hands encircled my forearms and tugged, but I refused to budge. “Stop it, I’m not finished!”

“Jessica.”

The kindness in his voice made me want to cry. I thought of how stupid I looked, hunched on the cement in this cheap dress, scrubbing at a spot on my shoes. It wouldn’t make any difference. Even if I spent thousands on a wardrobe, I would never be like them.

I stumbled as I stood back up, supported my Luke’s firm grip. I felt like he was always holding me upright.

“I don’t care what they think, why should you?”

The dark blue and gold garden blurred. I blinked away the tears. “But you
do
care. We changed my background story so that I would fit in—but I don’t.”

He sighed. “It would influence my father’s opinion of you in a bad way. That’s the only reason why we did that.”

His fingers slipped down my bare back and I curled into his chest, sliding my hand inside his jacket to grip the muscles in his back. His chest swelled into my back and I closed my eyes, thinking only about how safe I felt in his arms. A vicious heat seared up my core as his fingers moved in tantalizing circles on my bare skin.

“Just stay close to me, and it’ll be over soon.”

And then we’ll be alone.

A loud buzz filled my ears and I jumped in Luke’s arms. It was coming from my purse. I opened it and snapped open my phone:

Call me now -Nat

I blinked at the message, curiosity burning in my stomach, but I stowed it back inside my purse. Whatever Natalie had to tell me would have to wait.

“Ready?”

I nodded and we walked back towards the brightly lit house, the noise and light spilling into the garden as he opened the glass door for me. I spotted the hag who had bitched at me and felt a strong surge of anger, but I kept my eyes fixed forward.

“Let’s find my uncle.”

My guts twisted as I nodded glumly. I wiped my hand surreptitiously before I took Luke’s again. He led me through a succession of rooms towards the sound of piano playing. We walked into a living room with a huge ceiling. A crowd of people was gathered around the white grand piano, where an older man sat, his fingers flying over the keys.

He was a thin, reedy man with a wiry black mustache. Domenico jumped from the piano seat as he saw Luke approach. “Luke!” He grabbed his nephew by the shoulders and kissed both of his cheeks.

“Happy Birthday, Uncle Dominic.”

“Thanks. I’m so happy that you could make it.”

I was shocked by his display of affection. His uncle gripped his shoulder, unwilling to let go of his nephew. Luke introduced me with a wave of his free arm.

“So, this is the girl I’ve seen in the papers.” He winked at me and shook my hand. “We’re so glad you could come.”

“Nice to meet you,” I beamed.

“When did you fly in?”

“Today, actually.”

“Jesus, you must be tired.” The fabric on Luke’s shoulder bunched together as his hand tightened. Domenico’s face crumpled as he wheeled him away from the crowd of people. “You haven’t seen your dad yet, have you?”

I tensed as a frown creased on Luke’s forehead.
Please don’t blow up at him.

“We did.”

He nodded seriously. “He’s taken a sharp turn for the worse. I found out from James that he tried to fire you.”

Luke made a sound that might have been a laugh. “Yes, he did.”

“Listen, I blocked it. He may be a board member, but he can only work in a limited capacity and it’s clear that his judgment is off his rocker. You’re a great employee, no matter how many soccer fans you beat up.” He smiled warmly. “The San Francisco deal you got for us is brilliant and you’ll always have a job at Pardini Worldwide. It’s your birthright and I won’t let him do this to you.”

Uncle Dominic patted him on the back as Luke pinched the bridge of his nose, his face screwed up in pain. I dug my nails into my palms as I watched him fight to keep his emotions from bursting out. The person who he wanted to hear those words from would never do it.

“I love my brother, but he hasn’t been himself lately. No matter what, you will get what belongs to you. I promise.”

“Thanks, Dominic.”

“I know it’s been hard dealing with your dad, but he won’t be around much longer. You have to promise me you’ll visit him more often.”

A bitter look crossed Luke’s face, but it softened when heard his uncle’s voice crack. “I will.”