The room was decorated with color schemes of cream and black, with matching gold accessories. In the center of the room was a rectangular marble table with gold legs and an off-white rug underneath. Surrounding the table were six chairs, two on each side and two at the opposite ends of the table. I sat down in one of the plush chairs and almost groaned at how soft it was. Lawrence sat on the opposite side of me while his parents took the two end seats.
“So,” Mr. Freeman began as Patty poured him a glass of scotch. “How’s the business at L&N’s?”
“It’s going great,” I said, taking a sip of my wine.
“Oh?” Mrs. Freeman asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s funny because I’ve been stopping by the last few days so that I can take you to this cute wedding boutique not too far from the shop, but you were never there. Thankfully, that adorable Sandra was there to help me.”
Lawrence coughed on his wine as I cut my eyes at her.
“What do you mean helped you?”
“She helped me choose a few items to include in the wedding decorations, of course. I must say, Lawrence, you did well hiring her. She was so sweet and had a great sense of taste.”
“Why are you asking the staff what I would want at my wedding?” I asked, gripping my wine glass.
Mrs. Freeman shrugged. “As I said, you weren’t there, and I wanted to purchase those decorations to include in the reception hall.”
“It’s not your wedding!” I hissed.
“I still get to have a say in what gets decorated.”
“Says the fuck who?”
“Natalie!” Lawrence snapped.
“My word!” Mrs. Freeman gasped, holding her chest.
Mr. Freeman huffed out a low laugh before he patted the top of my hand. I smirked before finishing my drink. Any other time, I wouldn’t have been so blatantly disrespectful, but her ass was asking for it. It didn’t matter if Lawrence and I weren’t really engaged; you don’t ask any other female how to decorate someone else’s wedding without checking in with the bride.
“I apologize, Dad. I did not mean to curse in your home. Mrs. Freeman, I apologize for cursing at you, but moving forward, please run all wedding decoration ideas through me or your son.”
Mrs. Freeman’s eyes cut over to her husband as if she were demanding him to say something.
“She has a point, Latrice. If the shoe were on the other foot, you would be cursing up a storm.”
She rolled her eyes. “Anyway, Lawrence, I wanted you to know that I invited Sandra out for a girls' day next weekend, so she’ll need that day off.”
“What? Why?” he asked, nervously glancing between her.
“Well, as I mentioned, she and I have so much in common, and we happened to hit it off while we were chatting. I thought it’d be fun to hang out. Oh, Natalie, you can come if you want.”
I gave her a tight-lipped grin before taking another sip out of my wineglass. My eyes locked with Lawrence’s, and like the coward he was, he decided to change the subject instead of speaking up. His mom has been on one since her eyes landed on me, and he hasn’t stepped up to defend me. Not that I need help speaking up for myself; it’s the principle. If your man was comfortable enough to sit in silence while anybody talked to you crazy, then that muthafucka didn’t respect you.
My phone buzzed on my lap, indicating that I had a message. I furrowed my eyebrows when a number I didn’t recognize appeared on my screen.
Unknown:
Hey, this is Dexter
My eyes widened as I stared at his name. How the hell did he get my number?
“Natalie, is everything okay?” Lawrence asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, will you all excuse me?”
Standing up from the table, I hurried down the hall into one of the guest bathrooms.
Me:
