“Your brother is a successful businessman,” Mom adds. “He can navigate just about anything. A crowd this size isn’t even a challenge.”
“Who navigates like a drunk pigeon.”
Mom laughs and heads off to find her boyfriend while Georgie parks herself at the buffet with a purse that’s comically large and starts loading it with crab cakes.
I’m certainly not going to stop her.
And before I can join her in the raid, everyone’s phone starts going off at once.
Mackenzie’s buzzes. Then Blaire’s. Then Kennedy’s. Then Sloane’s. Every phone in the VIP section lights up simultaneously, and I watch faces go from confused to pale to absolutely furious in the span of five seconds.
And my phone isn’t left out of the fray either.
I pull out my own phone and watch the disaster unfold in real time.
The buzzing intensifies as post after post drops. It appears Brittany’s scheduled Insta Pictures stories are finally going live.
Some of you are about to learn that secrets have expiration dates. Mine expired tonight. #TruthBomb #WatchThis
Remember that friend who’s ALWAYS at the gym? Maybe she’s working out her guilt. Or working ON someone else’s man. #HomeWrecker
When you’re the mayor of a small town but can’t even manage your own friends... #MayorMess
Mayor Woods using town funds for “business development trips” that look suspiciously like luxury vacations with her hot hubby. Receipts coming soon. #TaxpayerMoney #Corruption
Boston U grad? More like Boston U DROP-OUT. But hey, those fake credentials look great on LinkedIn!
Some people build dream homes. Others build SCAMS. Ask the 40+ clients who never got their renovations finished.
$400K in casino debts? That’s not a gambling problem, that’s a LIFESTYLE.
They keep coming. Twelve posts total. Each one more incriminating than the last. Exposing affairs, embezzlement, fraud, lies. The entire friend group getting torched from beyond the grave.
Mackenzie grabs my arm and drags me away from the group, herface a mask of fury and panic.
“We need damage control,” she hisses. “This is a catastrophe.”
“It looks like that dark feeling Leo had is panning out,” I mutter as I take in the panicked faces of the women all staring down at their glowing screens. “I’m sorry, Mackenzie, but there’s not a lot I can do. These are scheduled posts from a dead woman. Not much we can do.”
Mackenzie belts out a short-lived scream. “It’s bad enough two people died during my weeklong staycation, but now Brittany’s ghost is airing everyone’s dirty laundry on social media!”
Her phone buzzes again. She looks at it and her jaw clenches. I catch a glimpse and it’s another tidbit of gossip that I’m sure has crawled under someone’s skin.
“Look, the fireworks are set to start any minute,” I say. “That will be just the distraction we need.”
“Oh, they’ve started, sister.” She’s seething. “And we’re all going up in flames.”
Mayor Woods is making the high-pitched noise again,Biscuit Gravy gives a few wild yips.Is she hurt? Should I get help?
She’s fine. She’s just dramatic,Fish says with a flick of her tail.
She’s not usually wrong. Although this might be the exception.
But why are all the fancy hoomans staring at their little glowing boxes and making sad faces?Sherlock sounds genuinely confused.Did someone steal their food?
They’re phones, you freckled menace,Fish sighs.And nobody stole their food. Look at this buffet. There’s enough here to feed a small army.
All the more for me!Sherlock barks cheerfully.
