Distractions (13 page)

one night. Shaking her head, she walked

over to my bed as I grabbed two wine

glasses and opened a bottle of Shiraz. I

handed her one and she took a sip. “At

least you pay for decent wine.” She

smiled at me, then grabbed the first

garment bag.

“Marc, Narciso, or Christian?”

Not knowing what she was talking

about at first, I looked at the labels on

the bags. I raised my eyebrow, feigning

interest. I hated getting dressed for

events. I had one black dress that

managed to make me look nice enough,

but not enough for anyone to notice I

wore it every time. That is, except

Alessa. Her face would always take on a

form of pity, yet she never said

anything…until later, that is.

Style was her strong point; mine

was ingenuity. Living under the radar

meant being low key in all things. We

worked together at Beacon; she was the

director of the marketing department and

I was now working in product

development. Gladstone paid me to

finish my PhD in Pharmacology. After

working with his chemist, I became

extremely fascinated with the process.

Having access to large pools of research

and development dollars didn’t hurt

either.

Alessa and I met at mandatory work

retreat, sitting next to each other at the

bar one night. I was thankful for her

friendship, especially during moments

like this. Tonight was the investor’s

dinner where I had to present a speech,

thanking them for their millions of

dollars and faith in my talent. Beacon

had been in a decline until I was brought

on. Being offered such a prestigious

position after losing my job really was

divine intervention after all.

“Let’s look at Christian or Narciso

first, since it’s the closest a man has

come to touching me naked in a while.”

Alessa couldn’t hold back the snort

that burst out of her. “Let’s not fool

ourselves; your lack of male attention is

completely self-induced. You are about

as interested in men as I am in becoming

your neighbor.”

I took another sip of my wine to

keep from saying something foolish. She

moaned in pleasure as she pulled on the

zipper of the fabric garment bag,

revealing a stunning fuchsia pink dress.

There was a long slit that came up the

front to the middle of the thigh. The back

dropped low, with accents of fabric

draping off the shoulders. My jaw

dropped at how incredibly beautiful it

was. The satin material was free of any

fuss and looked as though it might

actually be comfortable for a few hours.

“Wait, let’s see what else I brought,

then try them on. I think you still might

pick this one, though.”

She was thrilled at the opportunity

to be dressing me up like a window

display at Saks. The other two were

indeed nice, but she was right, I was

smitten with the first one. She was smart

enough to bring shoes and jewelry,

leaving nothing to chance with her

creation. It amazed me the perks

someone in marketing managed to

acquire. I could never imagine wearing

something so sumptuous. I marveled in

how the dress clung to my body in all the

right places.

“That needs to come off, at least for

tonight.” She was pointing at the coin

necklace I only removed when having it

professionally cleaned.

I held the coin hesitantly, and then

unclasped the back. Setting it down on

the top of my dresser, I suddenly felt

very bare, even though she handed me a

strand of black Swarovski crystals.

Giving me a few more tweaks, then

being satisfied with her handiwork, we

slipped into the chauffeured town car

that was arranged for tonight and

immediately popped the cork on the

chilled bottle of
Veuve Clicquot
waiting

for us. The champagne bubbles danced

lightly on my tongue, leaving a sweet

aftertaste.

We were in the car for less than

thirty minutes before arriving at the hotel

where the dinner was being held. Asking

the driver to take his time in order to

enjoy our bottle and moments of peace

before the chaos began, we toasted

success, friendship, and of course,

overpriced bottles of booze on the

company dime. We were allowed to

indulge tonight; at least, that is what I

told myself to justify such excess.

The valet attendants interrupted my

thoughts, pulling me back into the

moment. They opened the doors and

extended their hands to assist us out of

the car. I held the front of my dress to

prevent stepping on it and attempted to

exit as gracefully as possible. Alessa

laced her arm around mine and elbow to

elbow, we descended upon the room full

of impeccably dressed socialites ready

to go.

We had intentionally missed most

of the cocktail hour and were seated

promptly for the dinner. A small podium

had been erected next to the projection

screen that illuminated the brand design

Alessa created towards the back of the

room. As the first course was being

served, the company president, Michael

Gladstone took the microphone and

started the presentation. I sat next to

Alessa and swapped remarks about how

terrible some of the outfits were on the

women in the room, how some of the

creepy

older

investors

whispered

propositions before sitting down, and the

boring tone of the evening.

During the second course, I heard

my name called loudly over the booming

system and blushed through the clapping

while

making

my

way

forward.

Gladstone had made sure a speech was

typed out and given to me the previous

week so I could remember the names of

key investors. Although the financial

details of the company were not my

concern, I had taken a chance and

invested early, keeping a keen eye on the

decisions the board made.

My arrival created an upswing of

revenue; no doubt to Gladstone touting

that he now employed Doc’s protégé –

another reason I was forced to play my

part. The speech was straightforward

and brief, thankfully not requiring any

impromptu lines. Alessa magically had a

fancy shot waiting for me on my dessert

plate when I was done, much to the

chagrin of those seated next to us.

“Love you!” I mouthed before

swallowing the sweet liquid.

I felt my clutch vibrate in my lap as

it had been for most of the evening. I had

ignored it up until now, but excused

myself to the ladies room. Heading out

into the hallway, I checked to see what

was so urgent. I had five missed calls

from my sister.

“That’s weird,” I thought to myself.

She normally would call and wait

for me to get back to her, rarely leaving

a message. I called her back, not

bothering to hear what she said.

She picked up instantly. “Vy, you

need to get to Colorado, now!”

There was no hi or hello. I could

tell she was crying. “What’s wrong,

Vivienne?”

“Grandma’s gone. She passed a

few hours ago and I can’t leave until

tomorrow. Can you get there sooner?” I

leaned my back against the wall and slid

down the cold tile to the floor.

I knew this was coming. She was in

her late eighties, which was surprising

for a woman who smoked over a pack of

cigarettes a day. My sister had been

made executor of her estate and knew I

was the only person who would be able

to help her figure everything out and

settle our grandmother’s affairs.

“I am leaving now. Have you

started taking care of things?”

Her voice cracked with her

response. “Yeah, the money has been

moved, everyone has been called; we

just need to meet with the bank and the

lawyers.”

I breathed out deeply as my chin

started to tremble. My eyes burned and I

squeezed them tightly shut, trying to hold

the tears at bay. “I’ll call you from the

airport, okay, sis?”

She seemed to calm a little bit,

knowing she was not alone. “See you in

the morning, Violet. Thank you – I love

you.”

My heart started to sink as I hung up

the phone. I sent a text to Alessa, asking

her to meet me in the bathroom. A short

while later, she burst in frantically to see

what could possibly be wrong. Rushing

over to me still curled on the floor, her

arms wrapped around me tightly.

“What’s wrong? What the hell

happened?”

I looked up, mascara now running

down my face. “My grandma died. I

need to go home now.”

She used her fingers to wipe my

cheeks. “Go, I will take care of

everything here. The car is still outside;

just tell him to come back for me, okay?”

I stood up and tried my best to gain

composure. “You sure you don’t need

me to come with you, Violet?”

“No, no, I will be okay. You know

the code to my place and have a key. I

will leave the dress and stuff.”

An annoyed expression crossed her

face. “V, I am not worried about the

dress. I am worried about you. Do what

you need to; let me know how I can

help.”

I looked to the side, still holding

back tears. “Gladstone is going to be so

pissed. The initial launch is this week.” I

started

to

chew

my

thumbnail,

deliberating how I could possibly take

care of everything, knowing it was

impossible.

Alessa placed one hand on my

shoulder and used the other to move my

chin to face her. “You do not need to be

here. You did your part. Now go to your

family.” I slumped under her hands; she

was right. Pulling me into a tight

embrace, she whispered in my ear, “You

so could have gotten laid tonight.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at her way

of lightening the mood. “Damn, maybe

next time.”

She left me for a moment to get the

car ready, allowing me a few moments

to straighten up in case I ran into

someone in the hall. Thankfully, I was

able to escape unnoticed and return to

my apartment to pack. It was for times

like this that I always kept a suitcase full

of things ready for travel. The chauffeur

was nice enough to wait and offered to

take me to the airport after seeing me in

distress. He called in another car for

Alessa, leaving me grateful for the kind

gesture. I was able to book a flight

leaving in a few hours, getting me into

Colorado Springs Airport before dawn.

I sent a message to my sister who I

hoped was getting a little sleep.

“On my way out now, arrive at

4:30 am. Call me to come get you, love

you.”

Chapter 12 - The

Long Road Home

I boarded the red eye flight to

Colorado Springs, feeling as if a

bowling ball was in my stomach. I

opened the pill bottle in my purse and

cracked one of the small white circles in

half. Flying itself did not make me

anxious; however, everything else did. A

low dose of Valium would be enough to

get me through the four-hour flight, and

perhaps the weekend of hell I was

heading into. I curled into my seat and

rested my head against the window,

waiting for the medicine to kick in. Once

it did, I floated in a void the entire time,

except when the flight attendant woke me

as we were preparing to land. I

imagined it would be the only sleep that

would come for the next few days.

The plains were dark as we arrived

at the terminal; very few people were

around, making it easy to navigate.

Dawn was creeping up over the eastern