Page 55 of Not As Advertised

“What a small world,” my mother commented. “Is this your table? We’ll join you. I’m sure we’ll have no trouble making the change.”

“Oh, we couldn’t inconvenience you both that way.” Aiden’s stare was laser focused on me as I watched this nightmare unfold. But I was frozen and couldn’t give him a reaction.

“Nonsense.” My mother waved away his protests.

Arthur looked around and raised a single finger. As if summoned by magic, a server appeared next to him, and they exchanged a few words. It never ceased to amaze me how much the mountains of money behind Arthur’s name could accomplish with a simple gesture. With a nod, the server was gone again to do his bidding.

I would take back every bad thought about this event having too many strangers if I could rewind the last two minutes and escape this moment. The last thing I wanted was Aiden around my mother for any period of time. He would discover just how awful she was, and it would be humiliating. As much as I wanted to know him better, this was one thing I would keep him in the dark about. It was awful that he was seeing this part of my life after we’d just gotten together. Who would want to stick around after meeting her?

When the server returned to switch out the nameplates on the table, Aiden checked in with me.

“You okay?” I could hear the concern in his whispered tone.

“Yep. Don’t worry about it.” I didn’t want him to feel responsible for bringing me to hell on earth with place settings for eight.

“Let’s sit and you can tell me what you think of Appealso far?” My mother directed her question to Aiden as we took our seats again.

Much to my dismay, my mother chose the seat next to me. Was it too much to ask to sit beside Arthur all evening? He would just ignore me, as was the established dynamic that worked for both of us.

Aiden pressed his thigh against mine once again, this time as a gesture of comfort or solidarity, I guessed. I didn’t dare let my arms drop from where they rested lightly on the table.

I struggled to keep my expression neutral as I turned in Aiden’s direction to listen to him answer my mother’s question.

“It’s a change from the multinational firm I was working for in LA. I like the collaborative approach to client relationships. My former firm kept me in one type of market.”

Arthur nodded politely, but my mother was after more information.

“I can see how a ‘boutique’ firm would have the time to afford lots of attention to clients,” my mother said “boutique” the way someone might say “gonorrhea,” complete with her nose wrinkling with thinly veiled disdain.

Aiden’s lips tightened briefly. I was mortified that we were going to have to endure this for the entire dinner. Was my mother going to continue to needle Aiden?

“We sure do,” he confirmed my mother’s statement as if it had been a compliment instead of an insult.

Thankfully, one organizer took to the stage at the front of the room and announced dinner would begin. I hoped the inevitable obligatory speeches would prevent conversation as a temporary reprieve.

I turned my body slightly to face the front of the room, and that meant pulling my leg away from Aiden’s warmth. Unfortunately, it also put me in the perfect spot to hear my mother’s low pitch.

“What are you even wearing? Did I teach you nothing about how to dress for occasions like these? You look like you’re ready for a nightclub. You need to wear dresses with more structure. It’s hardly flattering to wear a dress that clings to all those problem areas,” my mother admonished in a hissed whisper.

Acutely aware of the rest of the table and the strangers surrounding us, I didn’t want to be rude while everyone else seemed to be attentively listening to the first speaker.

“It’s okay, Mom. No one will notice. I’m just here to support Aiden in meeting new clients. They needed someone who knew the basics of all the ongoing campaigns, and that’s me, I guess.”

“Well, you’re hardly invisible with that hair. Are you fourteen still? Why do you insist on making yourself stand out like that when you know Arthur is well-known in all business circles?”

My first thought was that I hadn’t been allowed to dye my hair while I was living in Arthur’s house. Even though it was years ago, the repressive environment of my mother’s control lived inside me still. It only took being in her presence again to set all those painful synapses on fire again, sending me right back into those same emotions.

I couldn’t figure out why, if she hated my hair so much, she’d put a spotlight on it by choosing to switch tables.

There was something to be said for a multicourse meal because whatever my mother planned to say next was interrupted by the waitstaff serving the first course. It also gaveme a chance to return my attention to Aiden rather than be in the direct line of fire.

I knew the extravagance of the whole event meant that the food was probably gourmet, but it tasted like ash in my mouth. My stomach had shut down the moment I saw my mother.

“You okay?” Aiden leaned over to whisper in my ear.

I was so frozen inside that I couldn’t access the pleasure I felt earlier in Aiden’s presence.

“Yep. I’m fine.” I had to hold it together for a few more hours. It was nothing I hadn’t done before. Hell, I’d done it for years at a time.

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