Page 40 of Crash into me
A party within a party, I assume as I walk into the formal dining room. While everyone’s busy outside, they’re in here, and I wonder why.
Sitting at the long, narrow table is my father, mother, and Warren with his parents.
Warren looks up from his seat as I walk in, and he pulls the empty chair beside him out. I feel much better sitting next to him, but his face is in a contorted, sneering line.
“Oh, Skyler!” Warren’s mom, Laurene, smiles at me, “You’ll have to come down to the country club Friday.”
“I’d love that.” I feign a smile. All I can think about is flat stomachs, black hair, and a lack of neon.
“There’s a beautiful venue there—”
“Mom,” Warren warns, his anger radiating from him. He’s pissed, and it’s not because of his mom asking me to go there.
She brushes him off with a flick of her wrist. “Oh, honey. I’m not saying you have to get married tomorrow; I just think Skyler would appreciate seeing the view for the future.”
What is everyone’s obsession with us being together? It’s just a transaction. I grip the mahogany table, trying to bite my tongue.
Mom chimes in, her voice slurred from all the wine, “We’ll come, right Skyler?” she looks at me.
I only nod.
“Oh, I just can’t wait to see you two there. Speaking of, we’ll have to go dress shopping. There’s a beautiful boutique on the upper east side where we can get you the perfect dress.”
A nearly spit the martini out, “Dress?”
Laurene laughs. “Not a wedding dress. We wouldn’t be going to the upper east side for that anyway. Definitely New York!” Her and my mother look at each other, smiling. “Warren is the face and heir of the club, so it’s only fitting to have you two be the image on the front page about the new renovation.” Oh, the parading us around is starting soon.
My dad nods his head approvingly, his eyes roaming papers. “We raised two million tonight.”
“Woah,” I cough. “Who exactly is this benefit, benefiting?”
“The renovation,” Warren hisses.
I look at all of them slowly. “I thought we were raising money for a charity.”
Warren’s dad glances over at me with a ‘you’re too adorable’ smile. “This is why your father is my accountant. He gets a cut, and I don’t have to pay taxes.” His plump face laughs as he lifts his glass to toast.
“But everyone here thinks they’re giving to charity.”
“No. Tonight for them,” Kent gestures his head back to the garden. “It’s about who donates the most and what dresses everyone’s wearing. It’s all a show, Skyler, and you have to be the ring leader, not a part of the circus.” I wait for his words to sink in, for me to understand … but they don’t. “Besides, they’ll be utilizing the new wing at the country club, so everyone’s a winner.”
“But that’s illegal.”
Kent looks me over with a sneer. “And that’s exactly why you’ll be signing this paperwork.” He grins.
My jaw nearly drops. He can’t do this. “You’re kidding.”
He turns to Warren’s father. “Sorry about this. Sometimes …” He turns all of his attention to me. “She doesn’t know her place. She doesn’t understand that money doesn’t grow on trees.”
His eyes tell me exactly where the extra money is going … to Sophie. I justify this for a moment; the people here are rich, and their money is going to go to Sophie.
But as I walk over to the table and wrap my shaking hand around the pen, every alert signal in my body is screaming to run.
Warren’s father brushes it off, “That’s why I’m thankful I have boys.”
“Stop.” Warren stands with a fervor that makes his father’s cheeks heat. “She’s not signing shit.”
I fumble as I grab Mom’s glass of champagne, letting the bubbles dance on my togue as the awkward silence settles in the room.