Chapter 12

Amy

I wasn’t sure what the typical outfit was for these sorts of things, but I finally settled on a black cocktail dress that my sister let me borrow. Unlike her, I’d never been much of a dress person, so whenever I needed something for a fancy occasion, she was my go-to stylist. It was an off-the-shoulder cut, and fell to about mid-thigh. It was tighter on me than on my sister, the fabric hugging me so that I felt practically naked. It was simple, but it would have to do.

I decided it was worth it to spend the hour curling my hair, and applied a little more make-up than usual. By the time I was ready, I was feeling somewhat bold and self-assured. Resting my hands on my hips, I checked myself out in the full length mirror, posing like my sister would. Not bad, Amy. Not bad at all. As a last touch, I strapped on some black high heels, and prayed I wouldn’t fall on my face.

Just in time, Derek came into the room. He was dressed in a tailored suit, his usually tousled hair styled neatly.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw me—actually stopped, and stared. My face reddened, I was sure, but I couldn’t help but feel desired. His eyes scanned my whole body, down and up, his eyebrows lifting.

“You look absolutely ravishing, Amelia,” he finally said, his eyes meeting mine. “I have half a mind to take that dress off of you and keep you to myself tonight.”

“As good as that sounds, I think they’d notice us missing.” I laughed. “And thank you.”

He held out his arm. “The guests have started arriving. Shall we make an appearance?”

I took his arm, feeling like royalty.

“Let’s.”

We made our way down to the ballroom. Attempting to fight away the nerves, I repeated a few things to myself—keep your back straight, chin up, and smile. I knew that I was about to enter a different world, one of business, money, influence and opulence and I had to make it seem as if I had a clue what I was doing.

The moment I saw the people that filled the room, any attempt not to panic was shattered. The room, which was sizable, was brimming with socialites in suits and gowns, drinking champagne, chatting, laughing. And Derek said that the guests were only just beginning to arrive.

Back straight. Chin up. Smile. I breathed. Derek squeezed my hand, which helped me to relax.

Everyone was dressed so finely, especially the women. Most of them wore detailed, luxurious dresses and sparkling jewels. Immediately I knew that I stuck out, and not in a good way.

“I’m a little underdressed,” I commented to Derek, trying not to sound worried.

He glanced at me. “What? No. Amy, you look gorgeous. You’re the most beautiful woman here.”

“Champagne?” A butler appeared before us with a tray of glasses. I gladly took one.

“There’s no need for you to be intimidated by them,” Derek said. “They like to act like they’re better than everyone else, but it’s just a thin cover-up for self-loathing. Trust me, I grew up around them.”

“You’re not one of them, though.”

He looked at me with a strange expression. “All of your assumptions about me regarding rich people have proven false so far, haven’t they?”

I nodded. “So far. But I’m always watching.”

“I guess I’ll have to be on my best behavior then.”

As we walked through the room, I heard snippets of conversations. I got distracted listening to them, trying to figure out exactly what the context could be.

“—and that man possessed the audacity to look at me—”

“—with the remaining funds, you’ll be able—”

“—that hair-shirted existence advocated by—”

“Derek! Derek, I haven’t seen you in ages.”

That voice—high, feminine, and marked by a heavy English accent, stole my attention. A pale, petite woman ran up to Derek and threw her arms around him before I knew what was happening.

“I didn’t know you were going to be here, Charlotte,” Derek said, smiling. “Charlotte, this is Amy. Amy, Charlotte.”

I looked between the two of them. Charlotte, around Derek’s age, was remarkably beautiful. She was willowy, graceful, with long, bright red hair that fell nearly to her thin waist. She had an elfish face, green oval eyes, freckles speckled over her upturned nose. She was dressed in a full-length, emerald gown, with a plunging neckline. She looked like she belonged on the red carpet.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I said, trying to fight the insecurities that threatened to break me.

Charlotte glanced at the hand I held out, and paused before she took it, resulting in a loose, awkward, handshake. I died a little on the inside. Derek didn’t seem to notice.

“Charlotte is one of my oldest friends,” he said to me. “Her family lived next door for twenty years and worked with the firm before they moved back to Britain.”

Charlotte nodded. The way she stood, the way she spoke, exuded maturity and grace. “I heard about the party here, and knew I had to come. Robert actually invited me, Robert Van Murrey. It’s so good to see all of you again. It’s been too long.”

“A year or two,” Derek said, nodding. “How’s work?”

“Quite good. Business is booming, as always. The people can’t get enough of my work.” Charlotte smiled, then turned her attention back to me. “So, Amy, what do you do?”

Again, I felt ridiculously out of place. “I’m a business student, I mean, I’m studying business at Columbia, at the moment.”

“Interesting,” Charlotte said. My face burned.

Derek stepped in, sensing my discomfort. “She’s top of her class, all honors. And she’s been a huge help at the firm. Giving us the younger point of view we were lacking, which is more important than you’d think. Our numbers have been way up.”

“Ah, so a coworker.”

“We’ve been dating for a year,” I said.

Charlotte’s smile grew. “Oh, Derek. I’m so happy for you!”

“I am pretty lucky.” He wrapped an arm around me. “I should probably make the rounds and find my father.”

“I’d love to get to know Amy better. Can I steal her for a few minutes?”

Derek looked at me, and I nodded hesitantly. “Sure. Don’t let anything happen to her, though,” Derek teased.

“Oh, she looks like she can handle herself.” Charlotte laid her hand on my upper arm, guiding me along with her, as Derek disappeared into the party.

When a server passed, I took another glass, glad that news of my ‘pregnancy’ wasn’t out, so I could drink. I needed it.

“So,” Charlotte said, walking beside me. “How did you and Derek meet, dear?”

“He, uh…” I scrambled to remember the story we’d come up with. “He was doing a presentation at the college, and afterwards, I went up to ask him a few questions. It was history from there.”

“Aww, that’s sweet. And now you’re working for him, he said?”

“Yep.”

“Derek always told me that he would never mix business with pleasure, but you break the rules for love. He was always remarkably adamant about it, too—‘Charlotte,’ he’d say to me, ‘Charlotte, you know how I feel. My father made the mistake of marrying not one, but two of his secretaries, and look how that turned out for him. He almost lost the company. That won’t happen to me. No work at home, no home at work. Two separate worlds.’ It was smart, I suppose.”

Her voice was sad. I studied her for a moment, starting to suspect that Charlotte and Derek had been more than just friends—or, at least, she had wanted them to be.

“We met before I started working there,” I said. “Maybe that’s why he decided he could bend the rules.”

“Maybe. How do you like working there?”

“I like it a lot. Did you ever work there?”

“Oh, my whole family has worked closely with Rittsman Enterprises. When I was seventeen, I interned there, for several years, until my family moved. Then, when I was twenty-five, I moved back, and worked there with Derek. I never really enjoyed the work, though. It was too dull.”

“Yeah, it’s not exactly exciting, but it pays the bills.”

She gave me a strange look. I kicked myself for bringing up money.

“So what do you do now?” I asked her, wanting to change the subject.

“Me? Oh, I thought you would have known. I’m a fashion designer. I’m Charlotte Ainsley. I just came out with my Emery line.” She studied the blank look on my face. “Surely you’ve heard of it. You live in the city, yes?”

Shit. “It… it sounds familiar.”

Charlotte looked me over. “Hmmm. There are a lot of designers in New York, it’s hard to keep us all straight. Who are you wearing now? I like it. It’s simple, clean.”

“Um… Target?”

She actually choked on her drink, and laughed. My face turned red, thinking she was laughing at me. But then she took me by the shoulder.

“Derek always had a thing for the funny ones. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been so presumptuous. You must feel really out of place.”

I was a little suspicious that she was mocking me, but her face only showed kindness.

“I’ve never been to an event like this,” I admitted, looking around. “Dating Derek has been… an experience.”

“I’m sure. He’s a wonderful person, but he can be a bit of a workaholic, you know? Of course you do. He always puts his job before anything else, even when he doesn’t want to. And most of the time, he doesn’t want to. I’ve always had a suspicion that he’s doing it for his father. He’s a good son.”

I nodded along with her, envious of how well she knew Derek. From the time I’d spent with him, I never would have come to that conclusion. But she’d had years and years with him, and I’d only a few days.

“You know what? Tomorrow. You, me, girl’s day. We’ll go shopping. I’ll even take you by my studio. We’re working on some amazing things that I think you’ll love.”

“Oh, I’ll have to check with Derek, but—”

“Derek? Pshh. I’ll tell him I’m stealing you for the day. I wasn’t lying when I said I want to get to know you, Amy. Derek really is a dear, close friend of mine. He’s never dated anyone longer than a couple of months, so you must really be something special.”

“I… I guess, then. That sounds fun.”

“Show a little more enthusiasm, darling! We’ll find you something extra special— you’ll never feel out of place again. Although, let me assure you, dear, you definitely seem like you belong here. Even more, you belong with Derek.”

I searched her eyes for any hint of sarcasm, of mockery, but I didn’t find any.

* * *

When the party died down a bit and the guests were heading to their rooms, Derek came to find me.

“Charlotte.” He smiled at her, before sitting down next to me and squeezing my hand. “I’m so sorry. I got caught up in conversation.”

“No worries,” I said, hiccuping.

“Amy and I have been having a wonderful time,” Charlotte said, giggling.

We each had enjoyed our fair share of drinks.

Derek looked between us, smirking. “It looks like it.”

“Oh my God, Derek,” I said, leaning against him. “Did you know that Charlotte and I both have Saint Bernards? I mean, she has four. I’d go crazy. But isn’t that a crazy coincidence?”

“Jesus, Amy, how much did you drink?”

“Like five.”

“Five?”

“Five thousand.” Both Charlotte and I dissolved into a fit of giggles. “We also both think you look really good in blue. It’s your color. We agreed on it.”

“Okay.” Derek wrapped an arm around my waist and stood up. “Charlotte, do you need any help to your room?”

“Oh, no, I’m going to stay down here a while longer.” She smiled warmly at us. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” Derek said to her. I waved, unable to wipe the silly grin off my face.

“Oh, I like her,” I said to Derek as he led me out of the room.

“She’s a good friend,” he responded, nodding in agreement. “I can always count on her when I need her. I’m glad you two hit it off so well.”

“Me too.”

“Ready for bed?”

“Nope.”

He lifted an eyebrow, “Oh?”

“I want to look at the stars. Charlotte said they’re really pretty out here, without the light pollution from the city.”

“Alright. You seem like you could use a little fresh air, anyway.”

“I’m not drunk,” I said, matter-of-factly, even as my head spun and my body was numb.

“Definitely not.” He chuckled, and steadied me as we walked up the stairs. He brought me to a room I hadn’t been in yet. From there, we had access to the roof, up another short set of stairs outside.

“This is so cool,” I said, sitting down and patting the space next to me.

The summer night’s breeze was warm and humid, and there was not a single cloud in the sky. The darkness stretched infinitely above us, peppered with an impossible number of stars. I leaned against Derek, in awe at the beautiful sight.

“I see the Little Dipper,” Derek said, pointing.

“And the Big Dipper,” I sighed happily, completely consumed by an overall sense of peace. “Those are the only constellations I know.”

“Me too.”

I laughed, and Derek wrapped his arms around me. We fell into a comfortable silence. The whole world was quiet for us, just the whisper of the wind tickling our ears.