Worthy of Redemption (21 page)

The moment Kyle walked away, Jessyca Venner wanted to pretend as if we were old friends, but I could smell her insincerity from the other side of the globe.

“I love your dress,” she said, looking me up and down. “Who made it?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t pay attention to things like that.”

She nodded as if she understood, but then leaned over conspiringly and said “If you’re going to be attending a lot of these functions, people are going to ask. I like fashion, that is why I ask, but some of these other women will tear you apart if the designer isn’t up to par.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said and took another sip of champagne.

Kyle looked at me from the bar across the room while Grant and Marco talked. I gave him a small nod and a smile to let him know I was okay. When Grant started speaking to him, he reluctantly turned away.

“How long have you two been together?” Jess asked, following my line of sight.

“A while,” I said. I didn’t really want her to know details of our personal life together.

“Have you met Marco?”

What the hell was this? Ask Lily Random Questions Day?

“Yes, I have.”

“He doesn’t like me,” she laughed lightly. “I don’t think he likes many people. He and Kyle were made for each other.”

“I get along very well with Marco,” I said. “He is actually very friendly once you get to know him.”

“Well, I guess it was just me he didn’t like,” she said with that fake laugh again.

“That is probably true,” I said without laughter.

I was getting bored with her idea of conversation, but I didn’t really know anyone else to speak to. Most of the other women in the room eyed me with distaste, which was to be expected, but most of the men eyed me like they wanted to eat me for dinner. Even though that was the case, when a good looking guy approached me while Jess was in mid gossip about a couple across the room, I gladly shook the guy’s hand as he introduced himself as Trevor.

“Lily,” I said, and then tried to extract my hand, but he held it firmly in his.

“I have been admiring the beautiful artwork on your back,” he said with a smooth voice.

He really was cute, for a rich preppy boy. Light hair, light eyes, and pretty teeth.

“Thank you,” I said. I glanced over his shoulder and saw Kyle watching with narrowed eyes. I again tried to pull my hand away, but Trevor wasn’t having it.

“I am curious though,” he said, leaning in a little closer. “Who is Anna?”

“My daughter,” I said quietly. I was used to answering that question – it was bound to become a popular question when I got her name printed on my back, but I didn’t want to discuss it in front of Jess.

“I see,” Trevor said. He didn’t seem to care that I had a daughter. Thankfully he didn’t linger on that. “I’ve never seen you at any of Grant’s functions before.”

“I have never been to any of Grant’s functions before.”

“Are you here with someone?” he asked, stepping in a little closer.

“Trevor, you pig,” Jessyca smacked his arm. “She’s here with Kyle.”

His hand immediately released mine, and not a moment too soon. Kyle suddenly appeared behind him. Though the men were roughly the same height, Kyle made Trevor cower and appear to be much smaller. Without another word or glance in my direction, Trevor retreated.

“They’re about to serve dinner,” Kyle said, taking my hand into his. “I knew you shouldn’t have worn this damn dress.”

“Are you suggesting that I am less attractive without the dress?” I asked him as we followed the crowd towards the dining area.

“Don’t do that,” he warned. “You know what I mean. Every physical asset you have is put on display in this dress.”

“I know, right?” I beamed. I gave his hand a little squeeze. “Baby, you’re not killing my glow.”

His frown deepened, but he brought my hand to his lips and kissed it.

Being ridiculously over protective, Kyle made Marco sit on the other side of me, but warned him to keep his hands to himself.

“What if she touches me first?” Marco teased.

Kyle scowled so deeply, I thought his face was going to break off of his head and fall into his soup bowl. I rubbed his arm and promised him I wouldn’t touch Marco – much. Marco and I laughed at his expression.

Jess sat down across from Kyle. Grant was between them at the head of the table. He seemed to have kept the space open just for her. They smiled at each other, but not like a friend smiles at a friend. There seemed to be something a little deeper there, which bothered me. It made me believe she was going to use her position as Grant’s…whatever she was…to push her way into Kyle’s project. By the look exchanged between Marco and Kyle, I knew they thought the same thing.

Through the soup and salad courses, all was calm from across the table. Jess only spoke about current events and her last vacation in Brazil. Kyle and Marco talked about soccer, which irked me because I was an American football kind of girl. When Marco was later distracted by the beautiful blonde on the other side of him, Kyle started whispering dirty things in my ear. I especially loved this playful side of Kyle. Some of the shit he was saying was ridiculous and had me giggling. It was probably a little rude at a table of fifty people, but no one seemed to care. I was glad that he was smiling and content, probably feeding off of my glow.

When the soup bowls were removed, Jessyca thought it was a good opportunity to spark up some trouble.

“So, tell us, Lily,” Jess said with her fake smile. “What do you do for a living?”

Everyone within fifteen seats heard her ask the question. Though some carried on with their own conversations, many looked at me curiously.

“I work at Sterling,” I said casually. My relationship with Kyle wasn’t a big secret anymore, but I knew that many people who knew Kyle had heard whispers about his secret affair with his personal assistant while he was with Jessyca. Kyle had warned me that it may come up, but most people wouldn’t dare broach the topic.

“So, you do work for Kyle,” Grant said, with a confused expression.

“Whether she works for me or not is insignificant,” Kyle said as politely as he could, which wasn’t easy.

“Gosh, Kyle,” Jess laughed. “Maybe I should have worked for you. Perhaps our relationship would have fared better.”

I heard a couple of small chuckles from further down the table.

“I don’t think a miracle, wishes from a magic genie, prayers, or otherwise would have made our relationship fare any better.” Kyle said, taking my hand into his under the table.

“I suppose not all things are meant to be,” she gave a small shrug. She tilted her glass of wine in our direction. “Here’s hoping Lily will never have to be in my shoes.”

Our half of the table fell silent as they waited for a response from either me or Kyle. Well…they wanted a show…

“Some of Emmy’s actions aren’t…preferable,” I spoke crisply, confidently. This bitch was
not
killing my glow. “But she is generous, kind, compassionate, and is not afraid to get her hands dirty. If I ever find myself in your shoes, Jessyca, it will be because I do not exude any of those fine qualities.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Marco held up his glass and I clinked mine with his.

Kyle’s face was still very serious, but his eyes burned with raw love and lust. If he could have gotten away with taking me on the table in front of everyone, he probably would have. I smiled at him as I saw Jess sulking out of the corner of my eye. I thought I had finally shut her up, but she found another button to push…

“So, Lily,” she started again later after the third course came out.

“Yes, Jessyca?” I responded as I cut my fork through my perfectly flaky piece of fish.

“You have a daughter,” she said, with interest. “I overheard you say so to Trevor. Anna is the name…inked…on your back. How old is she?”

Don’t’ shut down, don’t shut down, don’t shut down
, I repeated in my head.
Don’t show them where you are weak.

“My daughter was born prematurely many years ago and died as a result,” I said, meeting her eyes.

The woman across from me who had been eying me with dissatisfaction throughout the meal thus far softened.

“That’s a terrible experience for anyone to go through,” she said, shaking her head.

“It is,” I agreed.

Even the snotty socialites that had been eyeballing me pretty hard seemed to know that this wasn’t a topic for dinner conversation. Smaller, different conversations seemed to grow out of the centerpieces. Marco immediately started a conversation with Grant about the building project. Kyle reluctantly joined in after I smiled at him to let him know I was still okay. Jess didn’t go away so easily though. She sat quietly for a little while, occasionally looking over in my direction. I thought she was actually sorry for being a bitch this time, but I was wrong.

Her voice sliced through everyone’s conversations with her next question.

“Is that why you slit your wrists open?” she asked. “Because…Anna died?”

Hearing Anna’s name fall off the lips of that devil made me want to jump across the table and embed my heel in her face.

“Even for you that is low,” Kyle snapped at her.

“I was just making an observation,” she said casually. “Hard to miss the ugly scars on her arms. Since she isn’t hiding them, I figured she is okay with talking about it.”

“Jessyca,” Grant looked at her with aggravation and maybe disgust.

“It’s okay,” I said, smiling softly at Grant. “If you must know, Jessyca, my suicide attempt involved a multitude of circumstances. Is there any other deeply personal aspect of my life that you are interested in? Perhaps I can write it all down for you on a napkin and you can take it home and analyze it.”

It drove her crazy that I not only managed to remain calm, but that people actually smiled in my direction afterward. She looked back to her meal, but before she could dig in again, Grant stood up, startling her as he took her by the elbow to make her stand, too.

“Excuse us,” he said and ushered her out of the room.

Kyle took my hand into both of his and leaned over to whisper in my ear.

“When we get home, I’m going to take you out of that dress and make you glow enough to light the whole damn city.”

I giggled and turned my head to meet his lips for a kiss that was very impolite for a high class society dinner.

Later when we were getting ready to leave, I made a quick stop in the lady’s room. I was still on my glow, and I knew I’d be on fire by the end of the night. Just thinking about Kyle’s hands on my body made me grin to myself in the stall. I stepped out to wash my hands. I knew someone else was in the bathroom with me because I heard them come in. The door a few stalls down from mine opened and Jessyca stepped out.

She walked directly to the sink two down from mine and began the process of washing her hands.

“Dinner was delicious, don’t you think?” she asked.

My god, does she ever shut the hell up?
Well, she did when Grant returned with her later. She was silent for the rest of the meal, only speaking when spoken to, which wasn’t often.

“It was good,” I agreed.

“I guess you aren’t used to such elegant meals,” she said, taking a lipstick out of her bag.

I didn’t bother answering her as I let my hair out of my clip and raked my fingers through it.

“You know,” she said after touching up her lips. Now she was messing with her hair. “He will do one of two things to you, Lily. One, he will get bored with you and cheat on you; or two, he will become extremely obsessed with you and try to kill you when you want to end things.” She looked at me in the mirror with a sad, but smug expression. “Don’t think that your tattoos and piercings, and lower class status is going to make things any different for you.”

I put my clip back into my bag. I put my bag down on the sink, careful to not put it in any sitting water. I closed the distance between us. She barely had time to cry out before I wrapped my hand around her neck and slammed her into the bathroom wall. She didn’t fight back, but her hands were on my hand as she stared at me with wide, startled eyes.

“I am in a really good mood this evening,” I said calmly to her. “I look damn good in this dress, and Kyle thinks so, too. That’s why he bent me over his couch and fucked me until I was nearly delirious, and I’ve been glowing since that first orgasm hit me. You have been trying to kill my glow since you stuck your ugly hand in my face for a handshake. You’re not going to kill my glow tonight, but I will tell you this. Next time you speak my daughter’s name, speak poorly about Emmy, or share your opinion on my relationship with Kyle, I will light your little socialite ass up, and you’ll be glowing, too, but it won’t be like this,” I said, gesturing to myself with my free hand.

I released her and then wiped my hand on her plain, green dress. “Nice dress,” I said, picking up my purse off of the sink. “Who made it?”

I walked out of the bathroom before she could answer.