Chapter 13

Jenna

“Was somebody out here for me?” I asked as I followed Bruce up to the front and saw Cassandra standing at the front desk.

“You little liar!” she yelled at me. “You danced in Elaina’s spot at the charity event? Don’t worry. I told Kevin Fox all about your lies. I told him what you really do here, and he never wants to see you again.” She laughed as she walked toward the elevator. “It’s sad that you don’t even know what a guy like him needs. By the way, send Elaina up when you see her. I think she and I need to have a talk about her lying too.”

“Stay here,” Bruce said under his breath as we both waited for the elevator to close. “She was downright nasty to the man. He brought an invitation for you to his charity event.”

I was so close to tears, I could hardly breathe. Cassandra had told Kevin who I really was. He must hate me terribly. I’d lied to him, and by now he had to know that the number I gave him was fake. But I didn’t want him to know the truth. I couldn’t bear the idea of him knowing I’d lied to him; that was the whole reason I couldn’t see him.

Now I couldn’t see him, and he knew I was a liar. This was absolutely terrible. If it was possible to mess up this whole thing even more than I’d already done, it was to have Cassandra involved at all.

“What did she say?”

“I didn’t hear all of it. But basically she made it seem like you were the janitor and that you lied and tricked men like him all the time.”

“What? Really? That’s not true.”

“I know; it didn’t sound like you. She has an invitation for you to the charity event.”

“She’s definitely not giving that to me. I bet she tears it up and doesn’t even tell me about it. I can’t believe she even got involved. She’s the most unhappy person I’ve ever met. How does she even live with herself?”

Bruce didn’t really have a response for me. He’d been working at our office long enough to know what Cassandra was capable of. She didn’t even try to hide what a horrible person she was when she was around all of us.

“What’s going on?” Elaina and Stacy said as they came out of practice. “You’re taking forever.”

“Apparently, Kevin showed up to give me some sort of invitation to his charity event.”

“Oh, wow, that’s awesome. Even after you gave him the fake phone number?” Stacy asked.

“No, it’s not awesome. Cassandra ran into him and told him I was tricking him and that I lied all the time to guys.”

“What the heck!” Elaina added.

“It also came out that I danced for you. Somehow, I don’t know how. But now she wants to talk to you upstairs.”

“Shit, she’s going to fire me.”

It was entirely possible that Cassandra was going to fire both of us. She could be up in her office plotting how to get us both out of there by the end of the day. There was one thing I was one hundred percent sure of, Cassandra wasn’t going to let me move up in the dance company ever. Only when she was gone would I ever actually have a chance to choreograph or participate as a dancer.

“So are you going to the charity event?” Stacy asked as if that was even an option.

“No. He thinks I’m a liar.”

“You are a liar.”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t mean to let it go on for so long. I definitely wasn’t trying to get to his money or trick him. It just got out of control. I really like him. He’s a wonderful man,” I said as my eyes started to tear up. “I mean even after I gave him a fake number, he still brought an invitation for me to his charity event. That’s one hell of a guy.”

“So you are going?” Stacy asked with a confused expression.

“No, but he is a really good guy.”

“I don’t get it. Why not go to the event and talk to him? The truth has got to be better than whatever Cassandra told him. At this point, what do you have to lose? He basically thinks you’re a horrible person who tried to trick him. Maybe you can explain that you were just in love with him and didn’t want to lose him,” Stacy said as she smiled widely.

“Wow, that was deep,” Elaina added. “Stacy is right. You have nothing to lose now. He knows. There’s nothing left to hide. You need to go to that damn charity event.”

These two were talking nonsense. Kevin had to totally hate me by this point. Whatever lies Cassandra had told him were still partial truths. I had lied to him. I had tricked him. Maybe not for the same reasons as he thought, but I did still lie.

I couldn’t imagine any circumstance that would make him want to talk to me at all. Certainly, he didn’t really want me to come to the event after he had heard everything that Cassandra said I’d done.

“Bruce, did he give the invitation to Cassandra before or after she told him all that horrible stuff?”

“I think before,” he said as he tried to remember. “But he did ask her to give it to you before he left. So even after hearing what she said, he still wanted you to go. Do you want me to call her and get the invitation back for you? I’ll do it.”

“No, it’s okay, she’s probably ripped it into pieces and thrown it away by now,” I said as I tried to think of what we could do. “Well, without an invitation, I won’t be able to get in. The event is seriously going to be huge. Lots of celebrities and things like that.”

“Let’s worry about that later,” Elaina said as she grabbed the front desk phone.

“What is she doing?” I asked Stacy as if she had any idea.

We both stood there watching as Elaina hung up and dialed a different number. This time, someone answered.

“Hey Kendal, are you going to the charity event for Kevin Fox? When is it?” she asked the person and then waited. “This weekend. Oh, yeah, what time?” she said as she smiled in my direction. “Thanks so much. Have a great time.”

She hung up and smiled at me as if she’d just figured out something super secret. I loved how excited she got about silly things like this.

“What did they say?”

“It’s Saturday at seven o’clock at Kevin’s house. Bam, and that’s how you find out super secret celebrity information.”

“Yep, Saturday at seven o’clock,” Bruce said as he held up an article in the newspaper.

Stacy, Bruce, and I all burst out laughing. Bruce was trying to keep a straight face, but he just couldn’t do it. It was so funny how full of herself Elaina was and how the story was literally sitting on the top of Bruce’s newspaper.

“Oh, shut up,” Elaina grumbled. “I’m going up to talk to the witch, and hopefully, keep my job. How about we plan on shopping for a dress Friday after work, and then Stacy and I will help with hair and makeup on Saturday?”

“Who said I was going?” I said through my laughter.

“Oh, you’re going. There’s no question about that. I’ve got a gift card for that new boutique with the fancy dresses. You can use it. I’ve got no need for that stuff.”

“Elaina, that’s so sweet of you. But I’m sure I can find something in my closet.”

“Absolutely not!” Stacy yelled at me as she was scanning the newspaper article. “It’s a black tie affair. We have to get you an amazing dress. Something that will literally make his jaw drop to the ground. He’ll be so distracted by your beauty that he will have no other option but to listen to your explanation of the events that took place when you met.”

I liked the idea of dressing up in an amazing outfit. It would be so exciting to show up at the event looking like a million bucks. That way, even if Kevin and I didn’t work out, I’d still know that I knocked his socks off with my look.

The problem I had was I didn’t have enough money for one of those expensive boutique dresses. Even with some sort of discount or gift card from Elaina, I couldn’t afford something like that.

“It’s too expensive to go to one of these things. I don’t have any money,” I protested.

“Stop it. We are making this happen, aren’t we Stacy?”

“Damn right! We are doing this for you girl. Don’t even try to stop us. Someday when you’re rich and famous, you can pay us back.”

The look in both of their eyes told me that there was going to be no arguing with them. I knew better than to even try. They had their minds set on getting me all dolled up for this event, and I was just going to have to go along for the ride.

“Okay, but I’m going to pay you both back.”

“Deal,” Elaina said as she walked toward the elevator. “Now say a little prayer that I don’t get fired.”

“She’s not going to fire anyone,” I said with all the fake confidence I could muster.

As Elaina went into the elevator, Stacy and I both looked at each other with wide eyes. It was entirely possible Elaina was about to get fired. With Cassandra, there was no way to know what she might do. Even when I thought she couldn’t get more evil than she already was, Cassandra always topped herself.

Even if Cassandra didn’t fire me, I probably wouldn’t be able to stick around for much longer. There was no way Cassandra would give me a real chance now that she’d gotten involved in my personal life like she had.

I still didn’t understand why she would say what she did. Unless she liked Kevin and wanted to try and go after him herself. There was no other logical reason for her totally making up lies about me and trying to make him hate me like she had done.

“Should we get back to practice?” I said to Stacy as we turned toward the hallway where the rehearsal room was. “Might as well finish the choreography for this dance before I get canned,” I joked.

“Yeah, let’s get this done. I can’t just stand here waiting for Elaina. This whole thing is so stressful. I’m so glad I have Camden and don’t have to deal with all this crazy boy drama.”

“You are lucky, that’s for sure.”

***

By Saturday morning, I was all hyped up and excited for the dance. Despite my ongoing fears that Kevin wouldn’t even let me into the event when I showed up, there was a small part of me that thought he’d at least let me tell him my side of things.

The dress we picked out was insane. It was white and had this elaborate decoration all over that was a combination of hand-sewn beading and rhinestones. The skirt fit tight around my waist but then flared out with a flowing material that made me feel like a princess when I put it on. Amazingly, it fit me perfectly. There wasn’t a single detail I would change on it. Even though it was a little lower cut than I was used to, I still felt so beautiful in it that I didn’t mind, and I couldn’t wait to walk into the event and have that wow moment I’d always dreamed of.

“I’ve got the perfect makeup style planned, and your hair is going to be amazing!” Stacy said as I walked through the front door to her apartment.

We had already decided that getting dressed and ready at her place was going to be best. My apartment wasn’t exactly the sort of place you wanted to be with an expensive dress, and I definitely didn’t want to try and get all the way into town from my house once I was all ready. Stacy lived closer to town, and I could easily get a cab or Uber once I was ready.

“I’m glad you know what you want to do because I literally have no idea.”

“Did you shower today? Please tell me you haven’t showered already,” Elaina asked as if it was a huge crime if I had actually decided to get in the shower.

“No, I wasn’t going to bother. I showered when I got home last night. Why? Is it that big a deal?”

“I just didn’t want your hair to be freshly washed. It makes hair so much harder to deal with. I’ve got to put some product in now because it needs to dry naturally. Come sit down,” she ordered.

It was fun having friends like Elaina and Stacy who I knew I could count on. They were going to fuss over me all day long and get me looking fabulous, which was exactly what I needed so I could spend the day thinking about what I was going to say to Kevin if I actually got him to talk to me.

There was still a strong possibility that he wasn’t even going to agree to talk with me. He could be so angry that he didn’t even let me into the party; there was no way to know for sure. The thing I kept holding onto was the intense passion the two of us had when we were next to each other. If I could just get myself close enough to him, I really did think there was a chance that I’d be able to tell my side of the story.

My side of the story still had lying, so it was possible he would continue to hate me. But at least if I got a chance to tell my side of the story, I would be able to move on and know that I did everything I could.

I had so much regret about the lies I’d told to Kevin. Being in his arms was by far the best feeling I’d had in a really long time. I was comfortable, more like myself than with any other man. If there was even the slightest of chances that we could make this work, I had to give it my all. I had to embarrass myself and tell him everything.

Elaina appeared to be in charge of my hair as she continued to add products and mess around with it throughout the day. Stacy did the same with my face. There was face primer, serums, and foundations all needed before she even got started on the actual makeup.

I literally sat with my eyes closed as Stacy worked on my eye makeup, and Elaina was tugging on my hair while she put it through the curling iron. I felt like one of those supermodels who has other people doing everything for them while they play on their phone and update their social media pages.

By three o’clock, I was almost ready. Elaina had my hair all curled, and then she had clipped each of the curls to my head so they could cool off. Stacy was done with my makeup and was just applying a setting spray that would help it all stay in place. I expected to look like some overdone pop princess, but when they put a mirror in front of me, I was pleasantly surprised at how well my makeup had turned out.

“Wow, I look like me, just airbrushed.” I laughed.

“With the dress you picked, I wanted to keep everything natural yet fabulous,” Stacy said with pride as I admired her work in the mirror. “Do you like it?”

“Yeah, I look like I could be famous. This is an amazing job, Stacy. Really, absolutely fantastic. I bet it will look really good in photos too. Not that I’m planning on taking a ton of those.”

“I’ve been doing my stage makeup for so many years, but at home, I love to mess around with regular styles. He’s going to love it. Your makeup, your hair, and the dress; you are going to look so amazing,” she said as she started to tear up.

“Come on now. Don’t start that,” I said and looked away. “We don’t want me to mess up this beautiful makeup.”

“If he doesn’t fall in love with you tonight, there’s no hope for him,” Elaina added.

“I love you guys. Thanks so much for pushing me to do this. No matter what happens tonight, I’m so grateful I have the two of you as friends. You give me the strength to do things like this, and I absolutely love you.”

“Shit,” Stacy said as she started to cry, and instantly wiped the tears away. “I love you too.”

“Okay, now let me finish your hair, and we will get you into your dress. Then I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“What? I don’t think I can handle any surprises tonight.”

“Oh, you’ll like this one,” Elaina said as she finished doing my hair.

When we had finished all the priming and prepping, the doorbell rang almost as if it had been perfectly planned. Elaina jumped up and opened the door to the Chinese food delivery man. She handed him some cash and then held up the order as if it was some sort of prize.

“We are going to eat some delicious food and have a few drinks so you are full and a little relaxed before you leave. I don’t want your nerves getting the best of you.”

“I’m so hungry,” I said as I darted over to the table. “Thank you!”

“Oh, and the real surprise is there is a limo coming to pick you up at seven o’clock and bring you to the event. I thought you’d have a better chance of getting in if you arrived in a limo.”

“A limousine? All by myself? No, that’s too much Elaina. Cancel it; I can’t have you spending all your money. I’ll just take an Uber.”

“It’s too late. I already paid for it! But you only have it for the ride to the event, so you’ll still have to get an Uber to come home. Unless you decide to spend the night,” she said with a playful wink.