She frowned at me, hating that I was interrupting her and forcing her to pay attention to me instead of Bryan.
“Who are you?”She feigned ignorance as she politely shook my hand, but the subtle tilt of her head and the way her question carried an air of condescension didn’t get past me.I was used to it already.
“Cadence Wiles.Bryan’s girlfriend.”
Her mouth popped open in surprise, and I had to fight to keep my smile polite and not victorious.She didn’t know me, but she didn’t have to.My presence by Bryan’s side was enough to unsettle her.
“Oh,” she said lightly, not expecting that kind of introduction.But I could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to accept this news and adjust her approach.
I was here as Bryan’s buffer and I wasn’t going to fail, not against these girls.They wanted his attention, and I needed to make sure I would always be in their way.I channeled every bit of my experience from past events as I remained stoic, prepared to push back against her.
“His girlfriend?I haven’t heard about this,” she said.
“Well.”I casually shrugged as if her lack of knowledge didn’t matter in the slightest.“We’ve been dating for a couple weeks.I’m sure you would have eventually heard about it.”
I made sure the implication was clear, and by her expression, she got it: she wasn’t important enough to Bryan to have been in the loop.
Her expression tightened, her facade briefly dropping, but she was seasoned, and she was able to recover quickly.“How sweet,” she said, her tone bordering on patronizing.“Bryan’s always been private about his relationships.It’s nice to see him branching out.”
I raised an eyebrow, letting her words hang in the air.“He’s wonderful,” I said simply, my tone deliberately warm as I tilted my head at Bryan.“I’ve never been treated so well before.He makes me really happy.”
Bryan had only been watching the interaction.At my words, he flashed me a genuine smile.His response to what I said made me breathless.I may have said what I said as a jab against Elisa, but it didn’t mean the words weren’t authentic.He really did treat me well and had made me happy.
There was a sharp intake of breath from Elisa, grabbing our attention.Her perfectly manicured fingers curled into fists at her side.She glanced at the other two girls who’d approached us with her.They weren’t even trying to hide their curiosity, their eyes darting between us like spectators at an intense match.
“Of course.”Her smile returned in full force.“Bryan is a great guy.A lucky catch for any girl who’s able to grab his attention.”
Her words carried an unspoken challenge, but I didn’t flinch.Instead, I made sure to keep my smile plastered on my face, making sure my confidence came off as unwavering.
“Sometimes when you know, you know.”I kept my voice light but firm.“And Bryan and me?We know.”
Her composure faltered, slipping as her eyes narrowed slightly.But before she could respond, Bryan wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him.
“While it’s been great catching up with you, Elisa, I need to get some food into Cadence before we make our rounds.”
I leaned into Bryan as he dismissed Elisa so easily.
Elisa hesitated, her lips parting to say more, but she thought better of it.With a tight smile, she gave us a shallow nod and stepped back, letting her friends surround her and lead her away.
The moment they gave us their backs, I let the smile drop my face.“Ow.My jaw.”I rubbed it.Fake smiling like that was hard.How did these people do it for so long?I only had to do it for like two minutes.
Bryan turned to me once they disappeared from sight.“You are so fucking brilliant.”
I couldn’t help the faint smirk tugging at the corner of my lips.“I told you, I’m great at my job.”
Bryan laughed, shaking his head.“Too amazing.”He pressed a kiss to my temple.“Well, I wasn’t lying.Eat up because we do need to make rounds before I can politely leave.”
“Now that we’ve dealt with your parents and Elisa, how much harder is the rest of the charity?”
“Oh, we basically succeeded.Now we coast through until I’m allowed to leave and then we’re free.”
“Sounds perfect to me.”I shoved food in my mouth that had meat in it that I couldn’t identify.It wasn’t chicken, pork, or beef, and that was about all I could determine.
“Don’t question the food.Just chew and swallow.”
“What if it kills me?”I asked after finally washing it down with some water.
“It won’t.That’d be bad for business.”
