AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Like, what can he possibly see in her anyway? Did you see her outfit tonight?” A feminine voice came from a table of well-dressed people sitting in the glow of the lantern light. “Just shorts and a T-shirt, probably from a department store, no jewelry, and no makeup. I know we’re in the middle of nowhere, but it doesn’t mean you have to dress like the heathens who live here.”
Roberta looked down at her red GAP T-shirt, cobalt blue shorts, and white tennis shoes. She thought the outfit very appropriate chromatically for the July fourth celebration. But true, in comparison to the women at the table, she was beyond underdressed. No silks, no sequins, and not a microgram of gold anywhere. KEDs adorned her feet instead of Jimmy Choo and SJP sandals worth hundreds of dollars.
“I think he should have stayed with Melissa. She is so much better for him than this little nothing,” said one woman with outrageous eye shadow more appropriate for a stage.
Turning on her KEDs, Roberta fled the party, returning to her house. All she wanted to do was drag her pups out from under the bed and snuggle with them until they all fell asleep. If that was possible with the noise of the music and fireworks next door.
Safely inside, she locked the door and shut off the lights, happy to have the falseness and pretense of Taylor’s guests outside her cozy home. As she walked through the kitchen into the living room, Roberta noticed the light on in the stairway to the second floor, yet she couldn’t remember having been up there since last night. She reached for the light switch to shut it off, but the hairs on the back of her neck stood out like a scared cat.
Step by step, she ascended the stairs to her office. Peering around the corner of the door, she could see nothing out of order. Her laptop computer still sat on the desktop. She continued into the room, heaving a sigh, drawn by the light from outside the window. The view of the party next door was great. The guests seemed far more spread out from this vantage point than she had experienced while walking among them.
Her eyes scanned the crowd, finally landing on the person she sought. He looked great tonight, comfortable and casually dressed. Like her, he wore sneakers though his were probably top-of-the-line Nikes. Roberta stared as he held his beer bottle, chatting with a group of guys. She smiled as she saw him run his fingers through his hair. It was a habit she had noticed not long ago, which meant he was uneasy about something.
He looked up, right up at her in the window. Backlit by the light coming from the stairs, he couldn’t miss her silhouetted in the window. Unsure what to do, she turned to leave, her eyes sweeping across the desk. The desktop was bare except for her laptop computer. Her manuscript was gone. Its usual spot beside the computer empty. Roberta searched the entire desktop and desk, but it was gone.
Her throat clogged up, and tears poured down her cheeks as she realized all the work was lost.Who could have taken it?The thought crossed her mind no sooner than she knew the answer—Taylor. He’d gone missing at his own party, and he knew where to find it. She had told him she kept a hard copy in case her computer crashed,damn it. Clearly, he had the motive and opportunity to steal it.
Roberta walked back to the window and looked out at him, still among the group of guys.
As if he heard her, he looked up again, directly at her in the window, and smiled.
So that was the way it was going to be. Just like Pete, he would read her work and then belittle it. Tell her it was a joke, tell her it sucked and was worthless. At least here, Taylor didn’t have anyone to share her work with, no way to ridicule her in public with all her friends. But he could share it with his colleagues on the set and let them all have a great laugh together. Like Pete shared it with his friends.
It had been so good to escape from her former town. Escape the gossip, the lies, the looks, and the silence when she walked by. Now, she would have to manage the duration of this assignment while listening to the titter and laughter and gossip from these people. Her work contract lasted until September, and she had no recourse in this instance to break it. It didn’t meet one of the three justifications of severe illness, death in the family, or emergency at home.
The gang of men broke into uproarious laughter, refocusing her attention. Again, Taylor looked up at her, as did a few guys. Are theytalking about me already?Tears stole down her cheeks faster as she turned away, her heart breaking at the loss of her manuscript and her anonymity.
Gathering herself together, Roberta wiped her eyes and stumbled downstairs to curl up with her two furry babies, hiding in the bedroom’s darkness.
