Chapter 7 Lacey #2
My cheeks burn, and I feel bile burn the back of my throat.
“It wasn’t like that.” I try to interrupt, but I didn’t eat much today and haven’t had anything to drink since lunch.
I’m starting to feel light-headed, and I drop into my chair, just hoping against hope that I don’t pass out.
Although I don’t know if even that would make this night any worse.
The moment I hit my chair, Eagle was at my side. “Lacey, you need water. Are you feeling light-headed?”
He takes my hand in his, and I nod, pointing to the small fridge over by the coffee bar. “Water,” I whisper.
He charges over to the mini fridge and grabs three waters, then points at Olivia and Dylan.
“I don’t know what happened, but what I do know is that we need to get first aid for that.” He points to Dylan. “And we need to cool things down just a bit before anything else breaks or anyone else gets hurt.”
“Hurting people is his specialty,” Olivia sneers, turning away from her husband.
Eagle uncaps the water for me and bends down, keeping his head level with mine while I take a shaky sip. “Good,” he encourages. “Just cool off for a few minutes. Deep breaths.”
Then he walks over to Dylan and Olivia. I can hear them all arguing, and I catch glimpses of it, but I’m swimming in shame. All I can imagine is how she found out. What she knows. I think of all the text messages I sent Dylan when I thought he was a widower.
Shame sets my face on fire as I think of the pictures and the videos. Oh my God, the videos. What was I thinking?
“Oh God,” I moan, and I lift my head long enough to take another sip of water.
I know in some small part of my brain that I should be angry. That I should defend myself, stand up to this woman who, yes, was wronged, but my God. She was wronged not by me, but by her own damn husband. Part of me knows this, but I can’t.
Maybe I should have tried to cancel their wedding once I found out Dylan was the father of the bride. Maybe I should have been nicer to him last night… I mean, what if something I said to him set off the chain of events that led to Olivia finding out?
I don’t have much time to think this through, because before long, Eagle is standing beside me, holding his hand out to me.
“Lacey,” he says gently. “I need you to use that headset of yours and see if you can get somebody to bring us some ice for that busted lip. Can you do that?”
I lift my head and look into his beautiful eyes, the wrinkles around them reminding me of how gorgeous he looked when he was kissing me just last night. My God, my life is a mess.
“Lacey?” Eagle takes my hand in his and squeezes. “I need you to help me here, Lacey. Can you put out a call for some ice?”
The warmth and firm pressure of his hand over mine snaps my body to attention. “Okay. Ice.” I nod, every inch of me numb except the fingers laced with his. “Do we need first aid?”
Eagle shakes his head. “Nah, it’s a lip, so it bleeds a lot. He’ll be fine. We just need to stop the swelling.”
I tap the receiver and call out to the bar, asking one of the servers to bring some ice and cloth napkins to my office.
“Tell them to bring some fucking whiskey,” Dylan rasps, looking irritated and completely serious.
Olivia huffs, and Eagle gets up, stands over the two of them, and shakes his head.
“Neither one of you is getting drunk tonight. Is that clear? And neither one of you is going to ruin this night for your daughter.” He holds his hands palms up.
“I mean, if the two of you wanna blow this night up and make a scene that will most certainly ruin what I’m sure is a very, very expensive party, be my guest. But if I see one more sign that you’re out of control—that means violence, getting trashed, anything—I call the cops.
That simple. Disorderly conduct, assault, whatever you want, you do.
But I’m not fucking around here. You start anything, and I finish it with a call to 9-1-1. You hear me?”
Olivia sobers for a second, looking down at her ring, the one that I assume cut Dylan’s lip.
“I can’t get arrested at my daughter’s wedding.
Do you see what you’ve done?” She then bursts into tears—fake ones, thank God.
I think if she seemed really sad, I would have started crying too.
But her eyes are dry, and she’s making this moaning sound that almost makes me laugh.
Dylan sighs and rubs his head, while Eagle goes to answer the knock at my office door.
He comes back with a large glass filled with ice and two pristine white napkins. “Take this,” he says, thrusting everything at Dylan. “Clean yourself up and pull it together.”
Dylan looks down at his hands and the blood that’s drying on his fingers, then looks helplessly at Olivia. “Would you?” he asks.
And to my utter shock, she stops the crocodile tears, rushes over to him, and starts cooing over his cut.
“We’ll tell the kids the back of my ring hit your lip by accident,” she says, not even sounding apologetic. She expertly wraps the napkin around the ice and dabs Dylan’s lip. “It’ll be a funny story.”
“They might not even notice,” Dylan says, sounding completely chill about the fact that his wife assaulted him on their daughter’s wedding day. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”
“Of course you are,” Olivia says, nodding. “We’re going to have to ask the Lantana to replace the wedding planner, though. You know that, right?”
“Of course, baby.” Dylan flicks a look at me, and in that instant, every bit of guilt I was feeling rises to the surface and is washed away by a wave of anger.
“Wait just a minute,” I say, standing from my desk.
Now Eagle rushes toward me, keeping me from getting close to the Acostas, who now seem not like fighters but members of the same team united against a common enemy.
“I did nothing wrong here,” I say. “There is no other wedding planner. There is just me.”
Olivia sets the bloody napkin down on the edge of my desk, puts her hands on her hips, and lifts a brow at me.
“You have an assistant,” she says. “And I’m sure with what we’re paying for this wedding and the rehearsal and the brunch, the owners will understand if we’re not exactly happy with the service you’ve provided. ”
“What do you mean?” I ask. “I didn’t do anything wrong. Everything has been flawless, perfect…” I trail off. I mean, of course they don’t want me around, but…
“Call your supervisor,” Olivia says, turning her glare on me. “Now. I’d like you replaced before my daughter cuts her cake. Or I will have my lawyers sue you, this place, and everyone who works here for anything their creative legal minds can come up with.”
My mouth drops open, and I try to argue, but Dylan smirks at me. “Don’t worry. I’ve got Sergio Lantana’s number. I’ll call myself.”
I shake my head slowly and take two steps back. Sergio Lantana is the owner, and I have no doubt that Dylan does have his number. That would end me for sure. I’m in over my head, and even though I’m angry, I know I’m out of options here.
“That won’t be necessary,” I say, my voice cracking over the words. I’m trying not to cry, but I hope I don’t sound like it. “I’ll call the manager and my assistant. I’ll take care of it.”
I turn and walk back to my desk, feeling like I’ve been shot through the stomach.
I have no idea what I’m going to say. What I’m going to tell Don, the night manager, about this.
How I’m going to explain to Carla, my assistant, that she has to leave her kids on a Saturday night to cover an event because I fucked the father of the bride, and his wife found out.
I don’t know how my heart takes the pain shooting through it, but somehow, as Eagle sends Olivia and Dylan back to the party, I know I have no choice. I take off my headset and pick up my desk phone.
“Don?” I say, my voice shaking. “It’s Lacey. We have a problem.”