9. Chapter 9 #2
“Ms. Colbert.” Somehow, amid a dozen other blond women wearing black dresses, Ms. Sarah Clayborn had found Alicia.
Wow. She cleans up nice . Today, Danica’s female assistant wore a navy-blue sheath dress cinched with a diamond-studded belt.
No other accessories, aside from a pair of silver studs, but this was a woman who did not want to stand out in the crowd.
Her job was to blend in with Danica’s background wherever they went.
“Ms. Moreau extends her continued apologies. We trust that your ride here – and the stylists – was satisfactory?” She gave Alicia’s outfit a cursory look over.
She neither smiled nor frowned. Then again, did she ever?
“Yes.” Alicia took a deep breath. Here she went. “They were… satisfactory. Is Ms. Moreau available yet?”
The assistant whipped out her phone and checked her lock screen. “She has asked that you wait here for her. She should be out at any…”
“Stop boring the poor woman, Ms. Clayborn.” Alicia’s heart exploded in sudden excitement as the people in front of her parted to admit the only one she cared about.
Danica approached, her feminine suit so damn delectable on her figure that Alicia had to catch her breath once more.
Is this the woman I’m really going on a date with?
She was talking as if they hadn’t even done it before!
Wait… is this the woman I’m fooling around with?
No way! One thing to see her in a dark club and be mostly entranced with her echoing voice and the scent of her body.
Quite another to see her among her own kind, wining, dining, sucking the money out of pocketbooks for whatever fundraiser this was for.
“My apologies for my tardiness, Ms. Colbert.” She extended her hand.
A few people looked on, whispering to one another.
Alicia turned her head. Were people waiting for her to do something? Oh, right. She should take Danica’s hand. Her soft, firm hand that spent a good amount of time grabbing Alicia’s breasts and tapping her ass while fucking her virginal (ha!) body.
She still had no idea, did she?
“No worries.” Alicia lifted her hand and waited for Danica to take it.
She did so, touching her delicate fingers and lifting them for a kiss.
Murmurs echoed around them. I feel like I’m on display.
Was her hair okay? How about her dress? Too short?
Dear God, please don’t let her trip! “I know you’re a busy woman. ”
“Quite.” Danica lowered Alicia’s hand, but she did not release it.
Instead, she drew her closer, that gravitational pull once more luring Alicia to her demise.
Only now it was for all of high society to see.
“You’re a busy woman. I hear you have a new job.
” Was that a smirk at the corner of her mouth?
Wow . She was actually capable of humor!
Dry, sarcastic humor, but Alicia could appreciate it when she knew that’s what she had to work with.
She smiled back at her. “I had no idea that your family owned Blue Bird.”
“Technically, we do. We don’t run it, though. We run the company that does.”
“Of course you do.” Alicia couldn’t imagine either Danica or her father, Russell, getting directly involved with family dining. Did these people even eat hamburgers? Only Kobe beef burgers, to be sure. I always wanted to try Kobe beef.
“If you wouldn’t mind humoring me for a moment, Ms. Colbert,” Danica began, turning to the finely dressed crowd gathering behind them, “I’d like to introduce you to some of my colleagues.”
“Um. Sure.” She stepped forward with Danica, but something akin to embarrassment mounted in her veins.
Was it because Danica was holding her hand?
Because she wanted to introduce her to people?
Here Alicia had foolishly assumed that this woman wasn’t interested in her.
Not as a girlfriend. Yet would she be introducing Alicia to people if she wasn’t interested in more than a few hookups?
Wherever Moreau went, people parted to let her through.
These people weren’t plebes like Alicia and her ilk.
These were well-dressed, well-mannered darlings heralding from all over the world, if their accents and formal dress style could be trusted.
Why couldn’t they? Not like this kind of fundraiser attracted people without the means to drop some serious cash, whether that was in American Dollars, Indian Rupees, or Korean Won.
Women tittered in her direction. Others frowned. One woman held so much scorn on her face that Alicia wondered if she was born that way. These were probably the kinds of people who kept a close eye on who Danica dated… and copied her. A damn trend setter.
The only people not to move or silently fawn over them were the ones Danica walked toward.
They did, however, glance in the couple’s direction.
Some with curiosity, and others with indifference.
The only one showing a sizable amount of piqued interest was a blond woman wearing a tight red dress and fanning her flushed face.
“Allow me to introduce everyone to Ms. Alicia Colbert. She’s been keeping me amused for the past while.”
Alicia’s throat tightened. What. A way. To be. Introduced.
“Um… hi…” Her eyes darted back and forth.
Some man yawned. A middle-aged woman sniffed and turned away.
Another woman near her age tilted her head, dark curls unable to hide the amusement on her face.
All of them, whether older or younger, male or female, wore such luxurious clothing and more jewels than Alicia had seen in one place in her life.
No wonder they didn’t move for Danica. They were on her playing field.
These were other billionaires, not piddling millionaires hanging around for scraps.
No one greeted her for a few seconds. Was this their social code? Or had Alicia failed a test in the first second of meeting them? Oh, man, they’re probably used to this bullshit from her . Still, they had to be polite. Wait. At their level, they didn’t have to be polite at all!
“Charmed.” The blond woman in the red dress extended her hand and shook Alicia’s with a firm grasp. “Alicia, was it?”
“Yes.”
“Colbert?”
“Colbert.”
“Hm,” said one of the middle-aged women. “Don’t recall any Colberts around here. Where are you from?”
Alicia did her best to keep her chin up. “I’m from here. Well, my parents are from Long Island, but I’ve spent the better part of my life around here…” She was not helping herself. All she was doing was reaffirming that she was a nobody. Good job, Alicia.
The middle-aged woman sniffed again. The blond woman, however, gave Danica a sly look whilst scraping her teeth along her bottom lip. Someone had fantastic no-smear lipstick.
“She’s absolutely charming! Danica, where have you been hiding dolls like this? Don’t hold out on me, I know you’re keeping them locked away. Not fair.”
The person standing next to the woman stifled a laugh. “You’ll have to forgive my wife,” they said, taking Alicia’s hand as well. “She’s nothing but trouble.” Alicia tried to take solace in the friendly wink she received. “Kennedy Anderssen. This is my wife, Lara.”
“Oh, right, right, how rude of me.” The woman wrapped her arm around her spouse’s torso, looking quite pleased with herself. “Enjoy your time at the top,” she then muttered.
Danica quickly turned her back on that couple, ushering Alicia toward the others. “Don’t mind them,” she muttered in her ear. “They like to screw with people.”
Was she actually warning Alicia out of the goodness of her own heart? Or was Danica trying to protect her carefully put-together image?
The only other person to give her a somewhat warm welcome was the young woman with the dark curls. She excitedly shook Alicia’s hand and suggested they get lunch sometime. Unfortunately, Alicia could not remember her name. Jane? Jamie? Jessica?
“Unfortunately, we must be going,” Danica said, putting a protective hand on Alicia’s shoulder. “I’ve promised Ms. Colbert that I would take her out for the evening.”
“Hm.” Lara was the only one to take a few steps with them. “Watch out for flies, Danica. They’re swarming.” The bite of her smile was more than vicious.
She gave her a cool look before wrapping her arm around Alicia’s waist and directing her toward the exit. “I know. Thank you, Mrs. Anderssen.”
She raised one pencil-thin eyebrow. “Suit yourself.”
Alicia didn’t know what she meant by that until they were well on their way out the door.
“Danica!” shouted a man with a flashing light in his possession. “Who’s the new woman?”
Alicia yelped to have a female reporter get in her space.
Danica snatched her date into her grasp, firm, protective.
Oh my God! A blur of bodyguards intervened.
Not just the one Danica went around with, but a full pair of them, big, burly, and ready to punch someone in the face.
Or grab their cameras and smash them on the ground.
The limo driver hopped out and opened the back door as quickly as possible.
“Get in,” Danica growled, pushing poor Alicia into the backseat.
“Don’t say anything to these snakes. Don’t even make eye contact with them.
” She resumed her smile as she stood up and gave one wave to the press.
Danica was quick to join Alicia in the back of the limo.
One of the bodyguards got in the front seat with the driver.
Is he coming with us? Does he have to come with us?
Alicia never thought she would be dating someone important enough to need a bodyguard.
“I’m sorry about that,” Danica said with more candor than usual. She didn’t buckle her seatbelt, but she did shake out her cuffs and straighten her jacket. “I didn’t count on that many vultures. I knew there would be a few… ah, it’s a high-profile event. Of course, the paps are here.”
Alicia heaved a sigh of relief. It felt good to be rolling down the street in a tinted limo. “It’s okay. Although I’ve never experienced something like that before.”
“I don’t usually take the front exit at these events for that reason.”
“So, why did you this time?”
Danica considered her complexion. The way she looks at me is otherworldly . Half the time, Alicia couldn’t figure out if that was lust or disbelief in her eyes. From what she could tell, she did not look at other people like that. Only her.
“Perhaps I wished to be seen with you.”
Alicia turned away. “I can’t tell if you’re joking. If you are, that’s a pretty harsh thing to joke about.”
“I do not jest, Ms. Colbert.”
As much as she liked the way Danica said her name… “Call me Alicia. Please. We’re on a date. Right? You call people by their first names while on a date.”
Finally, Danica relaxed into her seat, although she did not invite Alicia into her space. Good. Not ready for that yet tonight . Give her a few hours. Spending more than fifteen minutes with this woman was sure to turn her on. Longer than that? She couldn’t be stopped.
“As you insist, Alicia.”
Her eyes fluttered as she took in the way she said that name, too. Soft. Tender. There were tender aspects to this woman? “I do… Danica.”
They shared a heavy look. For the first time since meeting, Alicia actually felt like they were on an even playing field. Made her feel a bit bolder than usual.
“Although there are some occasions in which ‘Ms. Colbert’ is more than fine.”
“Let me guess.” Her eyes went straight to her keyhole. “When that dress is coming off.”
“To be fair,” she said, “you have yet to get my dress off. Ever.”
Danica was emotionless for exactly five seconds. Then, a wide, silent smile. Alicia couldn’t help but smile as well. I have no idea what I’m getting into, do I?
“May I ask where you are taking me?” The limo had been steadily moving for minutes.
Danica looked wistfully out her tinted window. “Somewhere we can be alone. There’s a lot for us to talk about… Alicia.”
She had no idea if that was good or bad. Either way, she’d take it.