Betrayal - Chapter 20
Friday
I was just as surprised as she was. We were in the fashion center of New York, standing right outside the world famous Odegaard boutique.
I had never been here before, but I’d remembered Justin mentioning it.
He worked for the head stylist of Odegaard – Diane Cartwright.
Who just so happened to be my personal stylist too thanks to my dad.
I wonder how pissed she is that all those clothes got destroyed by Isabella…
“For girls’ night we’re getting makeovers!” Matt’s mom said.
Kennedy opened her mouth but no words came out.
“I’ve rented out the whole store for the evening,” Mrs. Caldwell said. “We have a hairdresser and a makeup artist coming. And of course we have to go shopping. Plus you two will need costumes for our annual Halloween party next weekend. My treat, of course.”
Wow. When she mentioned that all girls’ nights involved shopping, I kind of figured we’d end up at the mall or something.
But Mrs. Caldwell was always dressed flawlessly.
This made perfect sense. I’d seen Matt, Mason, and even Mr. Caldwell around the house in pajamas.
But never Mrs. Caldwell. “Mrs. Caldwell, you don’t have to… ”
“I want to. That’s why it’s my treat. Come with me, girls.” She walked through the ten-foot-tall glass doors and greeted the person standing there with a kiss to each cheek.
Kennedy and I both looked at each other. “I feel like I’m going to be arrested just for stepping foot in there,” she said.
I laughed. “This is surreal, isn’t it?”
“It’s freaking amazing is what it is!” Kennedy grabbed my arm. “I mean…makeovers?! At Odegaard? That’s not even a thing! This isn’t real life!”
I laughed.
“And I’ve heard rumors about the Caldwell annual Halloween party. It’s supposed to be epic . They go all out. Apparently last year there were even fire dancers.”
I wasn’t sure how fire dancers related to Halloween at all.
But the Caldwell mansion was perfectly suited for a Halloween party.
There definitely wasn’t much decorating they needed to do.
That’s why I mainly hung out in the warm and cozy kitchen and Matt’s room.
I barely even went in the guestroom I was supposed to be sleeping in.
I just went in every now and then and pushed around the sheets.
“Girls, what are you waiting for?” Mrs. Caldwell said and waved us inside. The woman she’d been chatting with had disappeared through another set of doors.
I forced myself not to spin around. The air even smelled fancy inside, kind of like how when you walked into a department store and got sprayed by one of the perfume sellers.
Only…nothing like that at all. Because it didn’t even look like a store.
There were marble walls and a chandelier.
It was more like the entrance of a five-star hotel than a boutique.
Where are we? Kennedy was right. This wasn’t real life.
I heard someone squeal and turned to see Justin walking over to us.
“Ladies!” he said. “I saw that you were on the schedule tonight so I took the overtime hours. You’re so welcome.”
“Ah, Justin!” Kennedy said and gave him a hug. “I didn’t know you worked at Odegaard.”
“I know Odegaard backward and forward. I’m Diane Cartwright’s personal assistant. And tonight I’m yours.” He winked at her. “Great to see you again, Brooklyn.” He gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “And Lori. You look fabulous as always.” He grabbed her hand and kissed it.
“Thank you, Justin,” she said with a laugh. “I didn’t realize you knew Brooklyn and Kennedy.”
“Please. I know almost every woman on the Upper East side. How did the three of you become friends?”
Mrs. Caldwell put her hand on my shoulder. “You’re looking at my future daughter in law.”
“No.” Justin gasped and then grabbed my hand. “Yes! I knew I’d be planning your wedding soon. Wow, what a ring.” He fanned himself with his freehand.
I laughed. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”
“Pretty doesn’t cut it. That must be at least 2 carats. Tell me you’ve picked a date for the wedding. I need to pencil you in as soon as possible. I want yours to be my first wedding as an official wedding planner.”
“I mean…we don’t know when it’ll even be.” God, he looks so excited. “But I did promise you…”
“If you weren’t engaged, I’d kiss you right now. Lori, she’s a keeper. I’ve never met such a sweet girl in this city.”
Mrs. Caldwell smiled. “Yes. I can tell why my son loves her so much.”
I so badly wanted her to like me. Matt always said she already loved me.
And she was always perfectly lovely. But I was pretty sure if I came home from school one day and told my mom that a boy was moving in and that we were engaged, she would have freaked out.
I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.
But Mrs. Caldwell was still smiling. I wonder how old she was when she got engaged to Mr. Caldwell.
“I’ll pencil you in for every Saturday in the fall for the next few years,” Justin said. “Fall weddings are the best. Trust me. And speaking of events…what’s the theme of this year’s Halloween party, Lori?”
“Characters from old movies,” Mrs. Caldwell said. “The classics.”
Kennedy looked so excited. “Can I be Jasmine from Aladdin?”
Mrs. Caldwell laughed. “I meant like from the 50s or 60s…” her voice trailed off. “Oh, my. I’m feeling my age around you two. I guess something from the 90s does work as an old movie for you,” she said with a laugh. “Jasmine it is!”
Kennedy smiled.
“And what would you like to be?” Mrs. Caldwell asked me.
I pressed my lips together. I wanted something conservative enough to work around Matt’s parents. But also sexy for Matt. And now only Disney princesses were swirling around in my head. “I don’t know,” I said with a laugh. “What do you think I should go as?”
“What about the girl from Clueless?” Kennedy asked. “Not because you’re like her. Just because of the blonde thing. And you already have a school uniform to wear.”
“Kennedy, that defeats the purpose of shopping,” Justin said. “Neither of you are leaving here without a perfectly tailored Halloween costume.”
She laughed. “Right. Sorry, I’m used to working with what I have.”
“Tonight we splurge,” he said and looped his arm through hers. “Follow me, ladies.”
He led us through a set of doors and into a giant room that looked like it would be more suitable for wedding dress shopping than anything else. But it was filled with fancy clothes instead of wedding dresses.
We wove through the clothes and mannequins to one of the changing areas. All of them were empty. I guess Mrs. Caldwell really did rent out the whole place.
“Oh, and Brooklyn, your order is almost ready. Diane is just putting the finishing touches on a few things.”
“Your order?” Mrs. Caldwell asked.
“You didn’t tell her about all your clothes?” Justin asked. He shook his head. “That wench of a sister she has cut all her clothes to bits. The little horror. Some of them were one-of-a-kind pieces. And now they’re all in literal pieces in the garbage.”
“What?” Mrs. Caldwell looked over at me. “Isabella did that?”
I really didn’t want to talk about Isabella right now. I’d had to deal with her all week at school.
“You should hear about all the other stuff she’s done,” Kennedy said. “She poured milk all over her blazer once. She’s tried to sabotage her relationship with Matt on several occasions. She leaves Brooklyn threatening notes at school, and I’m pretty sure they’re written in blood.”
“It’s lipstick.” I think. The notes hadn’t stopped.
But I wasn’t scared of Isabella. As far as I was concerned, she could choke on the red lipstick she used to write the notes.
I’d kept my dad updated on everything she’d done.
Or that she made Cupcake or one of her minions do.
Isabella hadn’t acted on any of her threats.
She was just trying to scare me out of town.
“Oh and there was that one time when she tried to kill both of us,” Kennedy said. “That was loads of fun.”
“No,” Justin gasped.
“Yeah, at homecoming. She drugged me and then abandoned Brooklyn naked in the middle of the city.”
“I was wearing underwear,” I said. I could feel my cheeks turning red.
“What?” Mrs. Caldwell said and turned to me. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“I…I thought you knew,” I said. “Didn’t Matt tell you?”
She pressed her lips together. “No. No he did not.”
That was news to me. Why wouldn’t Matt tell his mom about Isabella? “Why did Matt tell you I was staying with you?”
“Because of the issues with your father.”
I bit the inside of my lip. That made sense.
His parents hated my dad. It was a good excuse for me to move in with them if I hated my dad too.
But because I was trying to escape a psychopath?
That made me a considerably worse houseguest. I didn’t blame Matt for lying.
I was just relieved I was able to stay with him. But a heads up would have been nice.
“I’m sorry…”
“No reason to apologize, sweetheart,” Mrs. Caldwell said. “It doesn’t matter why you’re staying with us, I’m happy to have you. I just feel bad because I already invited Isabella to the Halloween party. This is a disaster. She’s already RSVP’d. I can’t take it back.”
“Of course you can,” Justin said. “Go snatch her invitation and rip it to shreds just like she did to Brooklyn’s clothes.”
Mrs. Caldwell laughed. “If only it was that simple. The last thing I need is to upset the Pruitts.” She seemed to realize what she said and shook her head.
She wrung her hands together and I wasn’t sure if it was because she was worried about how I’d react to her comment, or if she was actually worried that there would be some kind of repercussions for upsetting my father.
“It’s okay,” I said. “Isabella’s not allowed to talk to me. It doesn’t matter if she’s at the party.”
“Really?” Mrs. Caldwell looked so relieved.
“Yeah, it’s fine.” I didn’t love it. It basically meant Isabella would have full access to the only place I truly felt safe. I might as well have been living with her.
“Just make sure to lock your bedroom door,” Justin said with a laugh. “Now where were we.” He snapped his fingers. “Sandy from Grease. That tight little black number. You’d look divine, Brooklyn.”
“That’s perfect!” Kennedy said.
Mrs. Caldwell smiled. “Oh, I love that movie. You really would make a perfect Sandy.”
I’d watched Grease with my mom half a dozen times. She always used to stand up and make me dance with her to all the songs. I didn’t know whether I was smiling or about to cry. “Yeah, that sounds good to me.”
Justin clapped. “This is going to be perfect. Fingers crossed Halloween doesn’t end with you naked and alone in the middle of the city.”
I half laughed half groaned. “I will never get in a car with Isabella again. It’ll be fine.”
“It’s showtime,” Justin said and spread his hands. “Let the shopping begin!”