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He nods. “From Atlanta, actually.”
“Oh, I have family from there.”
It feels good to meet someone who’s from the South, even though I was born and raised in New York City. My mother was raised there and every year we would take a trip to Atlanta to get in tune with our roots, especially when it comes to food. The restaurants here that serve collard greens and neck bones don’t taste as good as it does in the South.
He nods before glancing at Jasper. “We need to talk business.”
My mother always told me that when men speak about business, women must not interfere. The thought of her makes my chest tighten.
I nod, turning on my heel. Jasper grabs my hand and he kisses it before I get too far. The butterflies flutter in my chest and I feel heat creeping up to the back of my neck. My lady parts need to learn that we don’t want him, especially after how he acted last night. I need to keep my eyes on the goal and not get wrapped up in Jasper Barrett. This is business. Nothing more, nothing less.
I look back at Jasper over my shoulder and offer him a fake smile before disappearing into the sea of people. Kendrick Lamar blasts through the speakers as I make my way to the bar. I order myself a Long Island Iced Tea and get lost in my thoughts. Maybe this drink will help me relax. I wonder, is this how our relationship is going to be after we get married? Me, the pretty wife on his arms, and when he has a meeting I’ll be waiting for him, but behind closed doors we will be strangers? This is tougher than I realized it would be. I thought we would at least be friends, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be like that. I don’t know if I want to spend the rest of my life with a man that’s practically a stranger to me.
“Poppy,” a familiar voice says. I glance up to find Quinn looking at me like a deer in the headlights. I guess she didn’t expect me to be in an upscale club like this one.
She slept with Link and tried to blame it on me. We weren’t close friends, like me and Lake, but she was close enough that I would confide in her about all the shit Link put me through. She was one of my party friends.
I should throw my drink in her face, but I don’t want to waste a good drink on her. Plus, I don’t want to cause a scene. She isn’t worth it. I always fantasized about what I’d do to her when I saw her again. Run her over with my car, stomp on her ass in the street, but she’s not worth ruining my tires or my good shoes on.
She assesses my designer dress that’s hugging my figure. It’s one of the dresses that Jasper bought for me. He has style, I’ll give him that, even though he’s a class A jerk. The dress costs more than most people’s houses. Before we left the penthouse, he insisted on me wearing the clothes he bought. Now that I’m with a billionaire, I need to start acting like it—his words, not mine.
“You look amazing, and I love the dress. Who is the designer?”
She’s on the top of my shit list. I know Link was a cheater, but I expected more from her because she was my so-called friend.
I want to rip her eyes out of their sockets.
Her father owns a tech company where they make spyware, so I know she’s swimming in wealth. She’s part of the high society, where she networks with billionaires, and my stepfather was delighted for me to be friends with her so he could use her family connections. My stepfather ended up being business partners with her father, but it didn’t work out, because my stepfather was stealing money to fund his gambling addiction. Now, I will be the new dealer.
I’m a pawn to everyone. My parents, Link, and Jasper, but it doesn’t matter. People don’t want you around unless they can use you.
Something I need to drill into my thick skull.
“Why are you speaking to me?” My words are laced with venom. I twirl the necklace around my neck with my fingers.
“I-I—”
“You slept with Link and blamed it on me. I spent months thinking it was my fault,” I screech, and a few people turn their heads to look at us.
The space between her eyebrows crease and she frowns. “Sweetie, we were never friends. I was using you to get close to him.”
Apparently, I was a pawn to her as well. My eyes sting and I shut them, fighting the urge to cry. The only person I can trust is Lake. I half-ass trust my sister, but that’s because she’s always doing Mother’s bidding, trying to get me back with Link. My back feels like it’s against a wall.
I dig into my purse and slap a crisp twenty on the wooden bar.
“You can have Link. I don’t want him. In case you haven’t heard, I called off the engagement.”
She stands up from the stool, placing her hands on her hips. She looks beautiful in her gray backless dress, unfortunately her personality doesn’t match.
“How is your life now? I heard you were working at a shitty bar and your parents cut you off from your inheritance. The women at the country club are talking about your downfall and how poor you are. The pov—”
Her gray eyes peer up behind me, and I feel warm, thick hands wrap around my hips. Jasper’s expensive cologne invades my nostrils, and I’m relieved that he popped up and saved me from yet another bout of humiliation. My mother must have told her friends because, how else would Quinn know about my downfall? I have nothing to be ashamed of, but the way she says it makes me want to crawl into a hole.
Jasper pecks my temple, turning my insides into goo. This is when our deal comes in handy and he makes me look good.
“You want to introduce me to your friend, Angel?”
“She’s not my fr—”
