“Let me guess,” Lara said. “Moreau Sr. is trying to hook your girlfriend up with Ms. Matsuda. No man is more transparent than Russell Moreau.” She snorted. “Bastard.”
“I see.”
“Everyone knows what a bastard he is, hon. I’m sure you’ve heard about his ex-wife. What?” Lara looked genuinely shocked. “Julia Moreau was about as sane as a carton of cracked eggs. Some people said she was born that way, but if you have two eyes, it becomes pretty apparent that someone cracked her instead. The Moreaus are… passionate people.”
“Why are you saying these things?”
“Because, dearie, you best know what you’re getting into. Russell Moreau likes you about as much as he likes a big fat mole on his face. You know what people do with moles they don’t want anymore, right?”
Alicia slowly shook her head.
“They burn ‘em off.”
Did she know? About Julia? About Russell’s involvement? About the abuse and his violent tendencies? How many people knew? Was it an open secret that Russell harmed his family regularly? Was everyone laughing at Alicia right now… or, worse, lighting a preemptive candle for her?
“Thank you for the warning,” Alicia finally said.
“Hey, I’m actually trying to be a friend. Here.” Lara slid a card across the table. “Take it. No, take it. You need a lawyer? I’ll take care of it.”
“What!”
“You scoff, but…” A waiter dressed in white tails approached the table to take their dinner orders. “Sometimes we have to look out for one another, because most others aren’t going to look out for us.”
“Danica…”
“Apples sometimes don’t fall from the tree.” Lara smiled at the waiter. “I’ll take the poached quail, red wine, not white. Ms. Anderssen will have the steak, medium-rare.”
Alicia swallowed as the waiter came over to her. “Guess I’ll have the steak,” she muttered. “Medium. Ms. Moreau will have the same.”
“Very well,” the waiter wandered off. Alicia let out her pent-up sigh.
“Already know what she wants to eat, huh?” Lara laughed. “Maybe you’re ready to be Mrs. Moreau, after all. Hope you know what her father likes to eat, too.”
Alicia squared her shoulders. “I’m going out on a limb here and saying that he can eat some fucking crow.”
“That’s the spirit. Extra well-done.”
“So well done, it’s burnt to a crisp.”
“Keep up that mercenary attitude and you might survive yet, Ms. Colbert.”
Danica began a languid trek back to the table. “I’m definitely a survivor, Mrs. Anderssen. Especially if I have something worth living for.” She accepted a kiss to the cheek when Danica sat back down next to her.
The next two hours were a barrage of political speeches, fundraising tidbits, and a minor fashion show meant to get everyone in the donating mood. Alicia was too hung up on the fact that two rich freaks seemingly controlled her fate to give a damn about what they were raising money for. The woman was sitting beside her, who always had one hand somewhere on her body, even when her eyes were glued to the podium at the front of the room. Then there was the man, sitting only a few tables away and constantly stealing sour looks in Alicia’s direction.
Warnings blared in both of Alicia’s ears. It was clear that Russell Moreau was not impressed with her relationship with Danica. To what extent? Would he simply make her life miserable? Or would he go to the extremes that his ex-wife claimed he often would?How much do I trust her?Alicia wished that Dee were there, but she had been dismissed shortly before they arrived at the party. Danica’s bodyguard was supposed to be good enough for both of them.
“Our next benefactor of the evening,” a speaker at the front of the room began, “is none other than Ms. Danica Moreau, who has made it possible for us to continue our research.”
Applause rippled through the ballroom. Danica stood, straightening her clothes before releasing Alicia for the first time in two hours.I didn’t realize she was speaking tonight. Alicia wished she had a sweater to keep her arms warm. Was it her, or did a chill take over the room the moment Danica left her side?
The only thing she could say was that her girlfriend was the best-looking person standing up at the podium that night. Politicians, charity presidents, and other businesspeople had spoken throughout the evening, but none of them looked as confident, as straight-backed as Danica did when she commandeered the podium and waited for someone to adjust the mic to her height.
“Thank you,” she began, her strong voice booming throughout the room. Alicia shuddered where she sat. She caught reassuring glances from both Lara Anderssen and Natsuko Matsuda. “It’s a tremendous honor and pleasure to be asked to speak tonight. As most of you know, I’ve been heavily involved in this enterprise since its founding seven years ago…”
Alicia spaced out after that. Something about cancer research. Something about one of the senators putting together a bill to allocate more federal funding toward a cure. If everyone would pump funding into Senator So-and-so, we would be that much closer to finding a cure. As much as Alicia was falling in love with the woman, it sounded like rehearsed bullshit.
What followed at the end of her speech did not, however.
