Bryce, the man I love, the man I thought loved me, is standing in the middle of his living room wrapped in nothing but a towel and a blonde.
Natalia, the girl I’ve basically hated since high school, has her arms wrapped around Bryce’s neck and her lipstick is clearly covering his cheek.
She sees me before he does, and her entire demeanor changes. Her facial expression becomes hard and malicious and her lips turn up into an evil grin.
“Oh, hi Morgan.” At her words, Bryce’s entire body turns to me and I watch as both shock and guilt play across his face.
I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. I’m stunned speechless at the betrayal. I never thought this would happen. Sure, in the beginning I had my doubts. But over the past week, the fear had begun to melt away with Bryce’s reassurance.
“Morgan-” The sound of my name coming from him snaps me out of my stupor. I shake my head, still unable to form words. So I don’t even try. Without giving him a chance to say anything else, I turn on my heels and book it out of his apartment. I’m aware of Bryce’s heavy footsteps following behind me, but I don't slow down. I keep running, even if my feet are protesting in my much too tall heels that I thought would be sexy tonight.
Bryce continuously calls my name, and once I make it to the elevator I stab the call button over and over again while trying to fight back the tears. My eyes snap to the door off to the side that leads to the stairs. Bryce’s footsteps grow louder and so does the sound of him calling my name. Just as I’m about to give up and take the stairs, the heavens come alive for me and the elevator doors slide open. I all but throw myself inside and immediately start slamming my finger on the button to close the door. My breathing begins to come out in heavy pants and the tears begin to break through as I watch Bryce get closer and closer to the elevator. Just as he starts to get close enough to reach out to me, the doors slide close, shutting him off and closing me inside the elevator alone.
I lean back against the wall, suddenly feeling completely exhausted. I guess I really shouldn’t be all that surprised by this. In the beginning, I kept wondering why Bryce would be interested in me. He’s a guy who’s dated models. Hell, Natalia, the platinum blonde that was in his apartment, was his most recent girlfriend. He told me they were long over, but clearly that wasn’t true. Maybe I was just a ploy to get her back. It wouldn’t be the first time I was used. I just thought Bryce wasn’t that kind of guy. Clearly I was wrong.
A part of me expects to see Bryce emerge from the stairwell when I make it to the lobby. Of course that doesn’t happen.
I make it back to my apartment, and the moment the door closes behind me, an onslaught of emotions I was trying to hold back hits me. I barely manage to make it to the couch before I finally allow myself to do what I’ve wanted to since the moment I walked into Bryce’s apartment tonight. I cry.
CHAPTERFIVE
Bryce
Ihate these types of parties. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with people getting together and having a good time. But the whole point of these types of parties in particular, is to schmooze. That’s the only reason all of my father’s extended family even comes to visit. They know damn well that these things are important for the bank as a whole. So even though most of them have nothing to do with the business on a regular day, this is when they put on a fake smile and pretend like they actually know what’s going on. Which they really don’t.
My aunt Caroline, Dad’s sister, was more than happy to give up her active role in the bank years ago. As long as her bank account keeps filling and her voting privilege from sitting on the board stays intact, she’s fine.
Yet right now, she’s standing in the middle of the party, laughing way too loud at something Hayden Frost, one of our biggest clients just said. And judging by the look on his face, whatever he just said wasn’t meant to be funny.
I force back the eye roll that so badly wants to escape, and turn away from that disaster. Just like they have all night, my eyes find the gate that’s serving as tonight's entry to the party. Even I have to admit that Fitzy did a damned good job at making this placenotlook like an apartment complex. The pool has a clear cover over it, but beneath it you can see floating poinsettias and tea lights making a beautiful glow. The fence is wrapped in twinkle lights and red, silver, and green ornaments. It’s just enough of a Christmas theme to be festive, but not too over the top that it’s still classy enough for a party thrown by one of the most high end banks in the world. The waiters are dressed in all white, except for the Santa hats on their heads. Christmas music is playing softly from the speakers, loud enough to be heard, but soft enough to not impede on conversations. Everyone is glamorously dressed head-to-toe. The amount of diamond at this party could easily blind a person if put side-by-side.
A heavy hand clapping down on my shoulder pulls me from my thoughts and I turn to face my father. He may be in his sixties, but he doesn’t look. It’s gotten pretty damn annoying over the years, having people constantly mistake us for brothers. But the man takes care of himself and it shows. It also helps that he’s a good person through and through. I’ve never seen anyone love another the way my father loves my mother.
“You doing okay, son?” His Texas drawl is often hard to miss. Unlike the rest of his family who did their best to shed their accents the moment they left the state for more glamorous locations such as New York or Paris. They only allow them to show during events like these because they think it’scharming. Dad has never tried to deny who he is, or where he’s from. It probably helps that he was always the closest to his grandfather, who never hid exactly what he came from. Which was nothing. My grandfather was quick to forget his roots the moment the trust fund and taking over the family business kicked in. Dad didn’t care about the money. He cared about family. Just like his grandpa.
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“You’ve been watching that gate all night. For some reason, I don’t think it’s your sister you’re waiting on.”
Mom arrived at the party with dad, and as casual as I tried to be when I asked where Juliet was, I knew I wasn’t fooling either of my parents. Luckily, mom felt like humoring me and casually replied that she’d be coming later with Morgan. Just hearing her name, and knowing we’ll be in the same place again had excitement bubbling inside of me.
I’m still not sure what I was planning when I went to her store, This and That, yesterday. I just had to see her. I knew it would be better not to go there. I knew that giving her space and waiting for tonight would be best. But I also knew that seeing her for the first time in a year at a party with all of my stuck up family and clients wasn’t exactly the best idea. So I decided to rip off the bandaid early.
I open my mouth to respond to dad, but the telltale sign of the gate opening and a commotion of greetings pulls my attention back to the entrance.
My heart stutters in my chest when I see my sister, then it stops completely when I see who walks in right behind her.
Morgan is the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on. She’s a real woman, with real curves. Her dark blue eyes, and perfect bow mouth has every man salivating over her. Yet somehow, I was lucky enough for her to choose me. For some reason I still don’t understand, she decided she wanted me. Yet I was so fucking scared, I blew it.
"You gonna tell her?" Dad's words startle me from my trance, making my body jerk slightly. When I reluctantly move my gaze from Morgan and back to my father, there’s something in his eyes I’m not quite sure I understand.
“Tell her what?”
“The truth.” I open my mouth to reply, but when no words come out, I close it again. He’s looking at me with so much sincerity and not an ounce of judgment. I want to ask what truth, but it’s obvious what he’s talking about. I figured my entire family believed that I cheated on Morgan. It actually killed me how easily most peopledidseem to believe it.
“How- how did you know?” His gaze bores into me, so intently that I almost shift under the scrutiny, but I force myself not to cower down at all.
“I know you, son. And I know how much you love that girl. I don’t know why you allowed her to believe you did that, and I’m sure you have your reasons. But I also see how unhappy you’ve been this past year.”