Page 45 of The Enemy

“What the fuck happened to your hair?”

It was the first thing he noticed about me. It had been the first thing he had grabbed before he decided to let go.

“Hmm, I’ve not noticed that.”

“Sooo, does the fact that you’re going with Cristobal to the ball mean things are getting serious between you two?”

“God, no, Clove. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again, we are just friends.”

She pretended to cough into her hands. “With benefits.”

I ignored her.

“Besides, I’m his plus-one. It was an honor that he got invited, and he’s pretty nervous about it.”

“Didn’t you get invited?”

That was a sore spot for me, and it was the only reason I agreed to go with Cristobal.

“Three years ago, but since I snubbed them, they never invited me again.”

The truth was, the ball that year was a month after Neo left, and I had wallowed in self-pity for a bit too long. I didn’t feelsexy or confident to go to any event. It's funny how life had come full circle.

I got up and did a slow circle. “How do I look?”

My dark green dress had a low V-neck and fell to the floor. It was not quite tight enough to be mermaid-style, but it was still tight in all the right places, making me feel confident about myself.

A goodfajawas gold.

“Gorgeous as always.”

“Are the parties always like this?”Cristobal asked an hour after we had arrived.

“What do you mean?”

“Todos son un bola de vivoras?”

Are they all snakes?

“Pretty much. Welcome to high society,” I joked as I lifted my champagne in a toast toward him.

“Honestly, it feels like Christmas dinner atmi abuela’s.”

He wasn’t wrong. Even though I didn’t have a big family, I felt the same way when I visited my grandfather.

“Do you want something stronger? I’m not feeling the champagne?”

He laughed.

“I was wondering when you would ask for a paloma.” He wrapped a hand around my waist and led me to the other end of the room where the bar was located.

I turned around to get a better look as Cristobal ordered our drinks. It was always good to get a sense of who was who for potential partnerships down the line. As head of the marketingdepartment, it was my job to have these connections. Now, I felt like I was falling behind on that front.

Mierda.

I was going to get angry just thinking about it again.

Avoiding Neo had been easier than I thought. I just had to tell myself to keep moving forward and not let him get the satisfaction of hurting me by working with Tatum’s family.

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