Expose (Billionaire Series) (6 page)

Jennifer felt a
surge of jealousy, quickly followed by her usual feelings of inferiority. One
look at Eloisa next to the building’s front desk and it wasn't hard to see why.
Today, those dark red curls were so perfectly coifed it looked as if Eloisa had
stepped straight out of a hair stylist’s chair and into the office building
lobby. Her slender frame wore an elegant black dress as if it had been made for
her, which, Jennifer realized, it probably had. Despite the casual look of the
dress, it was obvious that it had cost more than Jennifer made in a month.
Again, Jennifer thought of how much of a better fit Eloisa and Philip would be
for each other. The idea hurt more than Jennifer had thought it would.

She started down
the hall, intending to slip past Eloisa and head home for some serious
soul-searching regarding the decision she had to make. She had stepped just
past the French woman, catching a whiff of something very expensive, when a
hand touched her arm.

“Miss?”

“Y-yes?” Jennifer
swiftly mustered a passably pleasant smile on her face. “Can I help you?”

“Are you Jennifer
Brooks?”

Jennifer blinked,
unable to hide her surprise. “Uh, yes, that’s me.” Her sentence trailed off
into a question.

Eloisa held out a
slender hand with perfectly manicured nails. “Hello, my name is Eloisa
Rousseau. If you can spare just a moment, I really need to speak with you.”

After spending a good three hours picking out our dresses, we
were in the back of a cab on the way to the garden party. We’d decided to split
the cost of a cab instead of driving, to ensure we could all make liberal use
of the free champagne. Even I had to admit we’d gone all-out on our outfits.
Sharon had gone for a truly stunning bright red cocktail dress which clung to
her hourglass figure and showed a generous amount of cleavage whilst still
lending her a sexy but classy Marilyn Monroe air. She had insisted on picking
my dress too, and I had let her go wild, since I knew she could probably do a
better job than me anyway.

I was definitely right to trust her – I was wearing olive
green silk with a short but wide skirt, almost fifties style, not quite
reaching my knees. It was strapless, with a wide black belt that cinched-in my
waist. It wasn’t a dress I would have picked out for myself, but I had to admit
I looked amazing. The color brought out my eyes and complemented my skin tone
whilst making my hair look rich and glossy. The short, voluminous skirt made my
legs seem like they went on forever, and for once, I was wearing black velvet
stilettos, which made the effect even more pronounced. With my hair done up in
a tight knot, and my eyes made up dark and smoky, I barely even recognized
myself…but I sure looked good.

Even Ryan had told me how good I looked – and earned a clip
around the ear from Sharon. He had hastily assured her that she looked
absolutely gorgeous too, and she had grudgingly forgiven him. Even Ryan looked
pretty great, with a bow tie which matched Sharon’s dress. He was pretty good
looking in a quiet sort of way, but I had never really paid too much attention
to him before. Now I was beginning to see what a good match he was for Sharon.

“So who is this guy that you like again, Amanda?” Ryan asked
as we drove to the event.

“Honestly, Rye, I’ve told you this a hundred times,” Sharon
sighed.

“I know, Honey, and I listen to you – I just forget again
right afterwards,” he admitted. I laughed. Sharon rolled her eyes, but she kept
a wide knowing smile on her face.

“He’s a hedge fund manager, Mathis something or other,”
Sharon filled him in once again. “Filthy rich, unbelievably good looking and
completely mysterious and unavailable. Did I miss anything?” she asked while
looking at me.

“That pretty much covers it,” I admitted weakly.

“Hang on – so you find him attractive?” Ryan asked Sharon.
“And he’s incredibly rich and mysterious? Why did I agree to let you come to
this thing and ogle him, again?”

“I’m not going to be the one doing the ogling,” Sharon
laughed. “There’s no need to be jealous, Babe.”

“Jealous? I’m not jealous! Just because this guy puts my
looks to shame and, most likely, earns more in a year than I’ll earn in my
lifetime, you think I’d get jealous?” He made a show of his sarcasm.

“He only has eyes for Amanda anyway,” Sharon reassured her
boyfriend. “No worries,” she giggled.

“You’re not going to flirt around with him then?” Ryan asked.

“No, I don’t go for looks or money,” Sharon said airily, a
twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

“Hey,” Ryan said flatly. Sharon laughed, and he joined in. I
looked at them wistfully, slightly envious of their easy, comfortable
relationship.

“But if he likes her and she likes him, why don’t they just
get on with it and start dating?” asked Ryan after a few minutes. “Ow,” he
added as Sharon smacked his shoulder. “I was just curious.”

“He’s not exactly available,” I said. “It’s kind of
complicated.”

“I’ll never understand complicated relationships,” Ryan
sighed. “I thought Shaz was hot, asked her out for a drink, and that was that.”

“You make it sound so romantic,” Sharon quipped.

“I’m romantic, Babe. Right?”

I laughed as the pair of them bickered amiably, trying to
concentrate on the upcoming party instead of the growing feeling of loneliness
inside of me. I wanted to have that easy friendship and love that you could be
completely confident in, to the point where you could make fun of each other
and mock each other. But, on the other hand, I couldn’t sense any of the raw
passion between my friend and her boyfriend that was present between me and
Mathis. Their love was more like friendship, whereas what I felt for Mathis was
a deep, all-consuming passion which drove me to extremes. If made to choose, I
wasn’t sure if I would choose passion and accept the suffering which came with
it, or friendship and simplicity without the raw passion. Was there ever the
option of passion without the pain?

***

“So are you going to try and talk to him?” Sharon asked. We
had reached the party and were showing our tickets to the security. I was
already nervous, looking around to see if Mathis was anywhere to be seen.

“I don’t think so,” I said with a sigh. “I’ll be happy just
to see him and know that he’s okay and not shot through the head in a ditch
somewhere.”

“You’re so negative,” Sharon said. “You shouldn’t worry so much
– your hair is going to turn prematurely gray and I’m going to have to accept
that Amanda the cat will become a reality.”

“Thanks for the support,” I said dryly.

“You’re welcome,” said Sharon cheerily, taking me by the arm
and grabbing Ryan with her other arm. “Come on – first stop, champagne, second
stop, networking. There are a lot of really high profile people here tonight –
I Googled the guest list.”

“How did you get the guest list?” I asked incredulously.

“Don’t ask me and I won’t have to lie,” laughed Sharon as
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Anyway, this one multi-millionaire businessman is
engaged to this heiress, and I was hoping to meet them and recommend my
services as a wedding planner,” she said enthusiastically. “And there’s this
other guy, the chief of medicine at that hospital which just opened, and there
are rumors that he’s going to propose to the girl he’s seeing. His divorce was
just finalized a month ago.”

I was impressed by Sharon’s uncanny ability to make the most
of any situation, and as we sipped champagne out of crystal glasses, we both
looked around
–
me for Mathis, and Sharon for several
high-profile people she was hoping to add to her clientele. Ryan seemed glad of
my company; he knew Sharon well enough to know that this evening was going to
be more of a networking event than it was going to be a romantic evening for
the two of them.

“Oh my god, there’s one of the guys and he’s looking right at
me!” Sharon tossed her pretty blonde hair, adjusted her dress and went over to
talk to a guy who, for an engaged man, was taking far too much interest in
Sharon’s breasts. I had yet to spot Mathis, so I stood to one side with Ryan as
we drank our champagne and watched Sharon turn on her charm.

“Does it bother you?” I asked, as Sharon laughed and touched
the guy’s arm, clearly flirting to get what she wanted.

“Sharon?” Ryan clarified. “No – it’s just her personality. I
love that she’s so bubbly. It makes up for me being so awkward.”

I glanced at him. He looked only a little bit wistful, but he
seemed as if he was telling the truth. He was proud of Sharon’s talents as a
social butterfly.

“At first, when my brother told me he had tickets to a fancy
garden party, I was thinking I might use it as an opportunity to ask the
question,” Ryan confessed.

“What question?” I asked, then, “Oh!
The
question? As
in
‘I do’
?”

“Yeah,” Ryan confirmed.

“Oh wow!” Despite my surprise, I wore a huge smile, but I
wasn’t sure how I felt. On the one hand, I was happy for Sharon that she had
someone who loved her enough to consider asking her to spend the rest of her
life with him. On the other, it made me feel a little further away from my
friend, as if our lives were going in different directions. It also made me
feel a little bit lonely; I didn’t think I had much chance of ever getting
married. Even the thought of marriage to Mathis – it seemed like a fairytale,
something that would never happen in real life. I just continued smiling at
Ryan.

“I had it all planned out – I was going to surprise her with
the tickets, and I would bring the ring and ask her at midnight. As soon as I
mentioned the tickets, though, she got excited about what a great networking
opportunity it would be. I knew then that it was the wrong time – sometimes
we’re on completely different pages. I think I’m more romantic than she is. I
wonder if she really does love me.”

“Of course she does,” I insisted. “She’s crazy about you.” It
was refreshing to me that, although I had been slightly jealous of their
relationship in the cab, they were by no means the perfect couple. They had
fears and insecurities about each other too. I was a little relieved, because
it made what I was going through seem more normal, but I also felt some guilt
for feeling relieved.

“Well, I still want to marry her,” Ryan admitted. “She’s the
best thing that’s ever happened to me. Now just isn’t the right time. I’ll ask
her out for a romantic meal sometime, and when the moment is right, I’ll just
know.”

“I know you will,” I said. I knew only too well that when
something felt right, you just knew it was right and didn’t question it. That
was the way I felt about Mathis. I felt as if he was the best thing that had
ever happened in my life. It had been plain and dull before he had come along.
He gave it color. It strengthened my resolve that even if it seemed like I was
chasing after a dream, I was doing the right thing. It felt right, to be with
Mathis, even if it seemed like that might never happen. I would just have to
hope that maybe, one day, it might happen.

At that moment, Sharon came back to us, and grabbed my arm.

“Mathis – over there,” she said, pointing. My heart skipped a
beat and I quickly craned my head in the direction she was pointing.

Mathis was standing, engaged in a deep conversation with a
tall man with snow white hair, over on the other side of the garden, on a
raised stone platform complete with fountain. He looked amazing – he had shed
his suit jacket and was wearing a crisp white shirt, rolled up to his elbows,
with khaki pants. He looked elegant yet slightly casual, and it made my heart
beat a strange rhythm in my chest.

Next to me, Ryan and Sharon were both craning for a better
look too.

“What a hottie,” Sharon sighed in contentment, gazing at him
with slightly unfocused eyes. “Those pictures online really don’t do him
justice.”

I glanced at Ryan to see how he was taking this betrayal, but
he was looking at Mathis too, his expression appreciative.

“He’s really in shape,” he commented. “I can see why you like
him, Amanda.”

“Hey,” Sharon looked at Ryan as if she’d had an amazing idea,
“why don’t you go over and talk to him, Rye? See if he’s good enough for our
Mandy?”

“What?” Ryan looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
“What would I say to him?”

“You promised,” I warned Sharon. “No embarrassing me.”

“I promised I wouldn’t say anything,” Sharon reminded me. “I
didn’t say anything about Ryan.”

“Except I refuse,” Ryan said. “He’s so tall and dashing,” he
pouted, “I’d feel like an idiot.”

All three of us burst out laughing at his joke, and the
tension was broken. I took one last, longing glance at Mathis before sighing
and turning away.

“Come on,” I said, “let’s go check out the rest of the
garden.”

***

After a few rounds of the garden party, Sharon had spoken to
almost everyone and had given out at least twenty of her business cards and
received another twenty in return. She was glowing and excited, and even Ryan
seemed pleased that she was in such a good mood. I decided to let them enjoy
the party together for a little while
–
feeling like a third wheel even though
Sharon was my best friend and I genuinely liked Ryan a lot. I wanted to give
them some time together, and I wanted to have a little time on my own to think.