Chapter 9
Nine
REGINA
I could sure use some air, but as it’s sub zero outside, I will make do with the restroom.
I mean, that was seriously heavy back there, and I never imagined things like that happening in the real world.
Plus there was the seriously distracting neck stroking going on, and I’m not gonna lie, I loved every minute of it.
For some reason, that man intrigues me—sexually speaking and I could well become one of the women I just dissed.
A moment ago, if he had asked me into his office and demanded a blow job, I would have run, not walked.
I’m almost panting in my haste to get to the restroom because a conversation with Quincy is long overdue. In fact, as I glance at my phone, I see several missed calls and a zillion texts from her.
As I reach the sanctuary of the restroom, I waste no time in heading for a cubicle near the far end and whipping out my phone, I make the video call, and her anxious face is soon filling my screen.
“Oh thank God. Um, where are you?”
She peers into the camera and I whisper, “Restrooms. Oh my God, Quincy, you will never guess what has happened.”
“What?”
Aston appears in the frame and whistles, “Man, Reggie, you look amazing. Did you fix your hair?”
“Wait, what?” Quincy peers closer. “Have you changed, and what happened to the hellish eyelashes? Aston’s right; you look stunning. Tell me what happened – immediately.”
I giggle as I fill her in, and she gasps, for once at a loss for words.
“Okay, we seriously need to unpack this. Firstly, what the fuck is Connor doing taking somebody else to the ball? Have you seen him yet?”
“No.” My smile fades. “He is here, apparently, but I was otherwise occupied. Do you think I should find him and confront him?”
“Hell yeah!” Quincy’s expression is fierce.
“I would demand answers. How dare he two-time you like that?”
“I know, what a serious freak.”
Aston nods. “His loss, honey.”
Quincy nods, turning and planting a kiss on his cheek and smiles. “Don’t you just love my guy, Reggie? He’s one in a million.”
“I do.” I smile because Aston has become more like a brother to me, and I do love him as such.
In fact, I love them as close as any family, closer even because mine is a continent away in Switzerland, enjoying a chalet break in the Swiss Alps, courtesy of my grandmother’s inheritance.
The fact I wasn’t even invited says it all, but never mind, Christmas with my friends is better, anyway.
“So, tell me about this guy you’ve met. What’s his name?”
“Nico Ravera.”
“Wow, he sounds European.”
“Probably. Tall, dark and handsome in the dictionary would have his picture beside it. He is seriously hot, and did I mention impossibly rich? I mean, the penthouse, for Christ’s sake. You should see it; it’s out of this world.”
“Did you film it?”
“Of course, what I could at least because to be honest he really is seriously intense.”
Aston shakes his head and holds up his phone to Quincy, whose eyes almost pop out of their sockets. “No way.”
“What way?”
I ask, and she gasps, “Nicholas Ravera is the owner of Viper Holdings. Reggie, you just hit the jackpot.”
She scrolls through Aston’s phone at speed. “Oh my God, you should see him in images.”
She holds up the phone to the screen, and I note Nico reclining on a yacht, looking impossibly hot, and not in a temperature kind of way. His dark shades only make him appear sexier, and I cross my legs as I imagine that man anywhere near me.
“That’s him.”
“And you’re in the restroom chatting with us. Get back there, Cinderella, and secure Prince Charming in a chokehold and never let go.”
Quincy’s smile almost disappears off the screen.
“Way to go, girl. Keep me informed and get pictures.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
I salute her, my smug smile refusing to be contained because she’s right.
I am winning at life because Nicholas Ravera is the kind of guy who passes by once in a lifetime, and he was stroking my neck.
Yes, he had his hand in mine and bought me a dress, a drink and a bowl of soup.
All he wants is my company, so I should give him what he wished for.
“Okay, I’ll just film a video for my vlog before I head back there. Over and out, comrades, speak soon, love you.”
After I finish up in the restroom, another video firmly in the bag after demonstrating a makeup tutorial at an event, I head outside into the ballroom.
As I wander through the crowds, I am seriously loving the venue.
The entire room resembles an ice castle.
Projected images flicker on the walls, and the chandeliers sparkle overhead.
The music is classical, almost like being in Vienna, or how I imagine it, anyway.
I film the entire experience, trying to remain incognito, and as I pan the camera around, a familiar face captures my attention.
“Connor!”
My heart stutters as I note his hands locked around another woman.
She is resting her head on his shoulder, and he is kissing her hair.
They are dancing to the music, and I’m amazed at that.
Connor can’t dance. He told me often enough, which is why we never went anywhere near a dance floor.
Something tugs on my heart, and I’m relieved to find it’s not pain.
More like anger and resentment, and I waste no time in pushing through the crowds toward them.
As I reach them, they are so wrapped up in one another they don’t notice me at all, and I wonder how I can get their attention.
To be honest, I am seriously in the way because couples are twirling around me like they’re auditioning for Dancing With The Stars.
It’s only when the girl, Jessica, I think her name is, notices me and whispers something to Connor. As he turns, his expression is almost comical as he gasps, “Reggie—what—how?”
He pulls away from Jessica, whose expression changes to one of concern as he pushes his way toward me and grasps hold of my arm.
‘’Why are you here?”
“Why are you here, you mean?” I shrug off his hand and glare at him with fury. “You told me you had COVID you cheating liar.”
“Cheating? Wait, what are you talking about?”
Jessica joins the conversation and hurls her accusatory gaze toward him, and Connor has the grace to blush.
“It’s nothing.” He tells her, reaching for her hand. “Reggie is a friend, nothing more.”
“A friend with benefits more like, bordering on soon to be fiancée.”
Jessica gasps, and then I see it. A huge pear-shaped diamond sparkling on her finger. The exact one I pointed out to Connor a few months ago, telling him it would be my dream engagement ring.
Tears blind me as I stare at the rock on her finger, and I whisper, “Is that what I think it is?”
Connor nods. “Jessica and I are engaged.”
“Since when?”
It’s as if the wind has been knocked out of my sails, and Jessica hisses, “We have been dating for two years, and Connor proposed in July. I said yes, but now I want answers. Who is this woman, Connor, and what is she to you?”
“She’s, um, a friend, nothing more. I only invited her because you said you would be out of town and couldn’t come. When your plans changed, I forgot I had invited her until I was on the way to yours. It’s no big deal; she’s merely a friend and always has been.”
I stare at him in shock as she hisses, “Then perhaps you should tell her.”
She pushes past him and yells, “You are a freak, Connor, and you can take your ring and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine. Actually, scrub that, I’m keeping it as compensation for ever believing you were good enough for me.”
He turns to follow her and growls, “What have you done, Reggie, are you happy now? It must have been you who got me hauled into the manager’s office for a COVID test. I thought it was routine, but apparently not.
You’re an embarrassment, and I’m amazed you even showed up here alone.
God, what did I ever see in you, you stupid bitch. ”
I don’t get a chance to answer before the crowds part and a strong hand finds mine, and as Connor’s expression changes to disbelief, I know exactly whose hand it is.