“If I may, I would like to invite up someone who has done much to encourage me as of late.” Danica gestured across the top of the podium.What?All eyes turned to Alicia.What!She sat up, feeling naked in her green dress. This was like those nightmares where Alicia went to her first day of school completely in the nude! “Could you please come up here, Alicia?”
A bodyguard nudged her from behind. Alicia slowly stood, and as if in a dream, waded through the crowded tables populated with multimillionaires, wishing she had something to occupy her hands with – but someone had left her clutch back at the table.
An usher helped her up the few steps to the stage. Alicia realized that the whole room was looking at her now. Howcould they not, when her image was displayed on a large monitor behind her? Cameras popped off. Flashes surrounded her. Alicia remembered to smile in case she ended up front page somewhere the next day.
“I’d like to introduce the world to Alicia Colbert, the sole reason I even came to this event tonight.” Danica leaned in toward her, whispering, “Play along, all right?”
Alicia kept smiling. What the hell else was she supposed to do?
“While it’s true that I still feel strongly about this cause, I’m also asocial enough to not be caught dead at more than a few functions.” Her deadpan humor was a hit with the crowd. Everyone but Russell, anyway. The senior Moreau kept his demeanor hard. “But I find myself obsessed with showing off my new girlfriend to the world. Look at her.” Danica wrapped her arm around Alicia and pulled her into the biggest photo-op of the night. Alicia, sweating, had her mouth go dry and her eyes go blind to the flashes popping in front of her. “Now, Alicia, how much money do you think I should donate to the senator’s wonderful charity?”
Silence befell the cavernous ballroom. “I don’t know,” Alicia said sheepishly. Where had her voice gone? Had Danica stolen it right in front of these people? “Can’t say I’m too used to spending your money yet.”
Laughter rippled again. Alicia felt so silly that she turned the brightest red her cheeks could muster.
“Now, now, don’t be shy.” Danica’s hand tightened around her waist. “And don’t be shy about spending my money, either. Don’t know if you heard the five million times it was mentioned tonight, but this charity has done more to finance treatments and medicines for cancer warriors than any other in America.”
Alicia had not heard that. “Well, in that case, considering the number of people suffering from cancer right now, why not donate your entire net worth?”
Someone hollered in the back of the room. Then someone else. Then someoneelse. More than one stuffy man or woman in their designer wear laughed at the ludicrous thought. Danica, on the other hand, said, “If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to buy you dinner tomorrow night.”
“Oh, well, since we can’t have that… ten million?” The number squeaked out of her. Was that offensively low for a billionaire to donate? Or too high? Would she otherwise only donate half that? More? What was she doing to her, making her play this game in front of everyone?”
“Ten million it is.” Danica waved for Ms. Sarah Clayborn to come out of the shadows with a pen. “Where’s my checkbook?”
After the check was made out and signed, a happy charity president took it with a huge smile and a handshake for Alicia. “Thank you!” the president said into the mic.
“We do what we can,” Danica replied. “Thank Alicia before you thank me. She’s the one who offered such a generous number. I’m merely too smitten with her to argue.”
Alicia was glad that her makeup was smear-proof, because her teeth kept chomping on her lipstick.Don’t indulge in that habit right now, idiot!Alicia laughed uneasily and pretended she had nothing to do with this. In truth, she still wasn’t quite sure what was going on. Was it really necessary to have her come up here so Danica could show her off? What was the point of all the cameras? Was Danica’s ego so big that she needed the validation of everyone loving her, too? Because her father didn’t?
I’m overthinking this.Alicia relaxed her shoulders, but her throat was still dry.
“On that note,” Danica continued, “while I have everyone’s attention, allow me to be a bit selfish for a moment.” The chuckles in the room conveyed that she was selfish every moment of every day.“Oh, that Danica.”“While many of you may not know Ms. Colbert as well as I do, I can assure youthat I’ve never met a woman more beautiful, more intelligent, and more patient with my quirks.” She took Alicia’s hand by the podium.Oh, my God. Is she going to propose? She'd better not. Not here! Not like this!She wasn’t ready! It had barely been a month! “Since this is a big thing for me to say, let me already say it for the press and for everyone here this evening. I am in love with Alicia Colbert, and with any luck, she’ll stay in love with me, too. Expect to see her become more involved with my work as the weeks and months go on.”
Well, she hadn’t proposed in front of these people. That was the good thing.
The bad thing was that Russell Moreau unceremoniously stood up from his table and left the room, bodyguard following behind.
As for the rest of the room? The gossip already started. When one of the world’s staunchest bachelorettes announced to the world that her new girlfriend wasthe one, gossip spread like the most toxic, most powerful wildfire. It was summer, after all.
Chapter 12
“About time we took these things out, don’t you think?”
Alicia sat on the edge of the bed, still in her emerald dress. Her feet were sore, and she had completely forgotten about the Ben Wa balls inside of her. There had been other things to distract her. Like Danica putting her on display like she had back at the ball.
Everyone wanted to talk to them afterward. Good thing they already had dinner, because Alicia needed the energy to get through the rest of the night.I can’t believe this is my life right now.Sighing, she mentally asked for a two-minute reprieve from the hectic life that was being Danica Moreau’s girlfriend. First, she wanted to make Alicia the most talked-about woman in Chicago. Now she wanted to have sex!
She crossed the room, removing her jacket and sitting beside her girlfriend. Alicia didn’t push her away or tell her no, but she was also not the most enthusiastic partner. She wanted answers first. “Why did you do that?” she asked. “What you did back there… why?”
Danica’s eyes narrowed. “Because you make me happy. I want the world to know.”
“You hijacked a fundraiser to show me off.”
“And?” She scoffed. “Better to address it now on my own terms than to wait for the media to start speculating. Besides, you saw my father tonight. The only way to get him to stop playing matchmaker is to make my own choice clear.”
If you only knew…Alicia leaned back on one arm, shoes slipping off her feet and thumping against the floor. “What did you mean by saying I was going to be showing up in your work more often?”
