Page 73 of Wild Card

What the hell did he mean by that?

I didn’t get a chance to ask as I walked away from the meeting, leaving my hopes for the story to secure my spot in the internship behind.

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Hey honey,nice of you to come.” My dad’s flat voice matched his flat expression and thin smile.

I didn’t extend a smile; even a fake one would have been a betrayal to Taylor. She’d said she had been sick this last week. I hadn’t thought too much about it since learning of my father and Decker’s role in hiding her arranged marriage and, of course, that horrific meeting at the school. She’d stayed here at the house with Jackie and my dad. I had almost caved and gone to talk to her, but I worried Taylor wouldn’t be honest with me if she knew my dad might overhear our conversation. Besides, it was rude to interrogate people when they didn’t feel good, even if it was painful to be home alone while my heart shattered and my world imploded.

“It’s your big event,” I finally muttered in response.

“Where’s your date?” He looked behind me at the door, as if a gentleman caller would materialize out of thin air.

I shrugged, eyeing the trays for champagne. “He bailed at the last second.”

The long sigh that left my father’s chest was like a reaction to learning he’d been abducted by an alien. The man who’d raised me would have never made that sound, or even insisted we have dates to begin with.

“I had a feeling you’d come alone, so I have someone ready for you.” My father tugged my arm until we were walking toward the sitting room.Ouch.Him assuming I wouldn’t bring one actually kind of stung.

“You what?” I tried resisting, but his grip was firm.

“This is Jeff.”

A tall, handsome man, older than me but it didn’t look like by much, smiled at me, dipping his head.

“Jeff, this is my eldest daughter, Mallory. Would you do us both an honor and keep her company this evening as her date?” my dad asked the guy in the five-piece suit.

His hair was molded so perfectly, I wasn’t sure it was even real. It made me miss Decker’s silky, loose strands. An ache opened in my chest, like my body had just remembered it’d lost an essential limb or organ and didn’t know how to function properly without it. He’d texted and called about a million times over the past week, left me notes and flowers on my windshield, all the while just asking that he get a chance to explain himself. He didn’t even know that I knew about the article, or that I had lost it.

My father was about to open his mouth, likely to put his foot there, but just as he was going to explain the need for me to have a date, the crowd moved and Taylor came into view. She wasn’t alone.

There on her arm was none other than Decker James.

* * *

In some strange alternate universe,I was tucked away in the corner with Jeff, actually grateful for his tree-like height and his presence. It allowed me the opportunity to watch the floor and all the guests without being noticed. I eyed Taylor first; she wore a floor-length dress with see-through mesh over the stomach and glistening jewels flowing down her legs like a fountain of wealth. It was beautiful and insanely obnoxious. I nearly looked down to compare myself to her, which was a habit I needed to break. I wore a fashionable dress that cut off at mid-thigh, the capped sleeves making it seem modest even with the plunging neckline.

I inspected the man attached to her arm in a clinical way. Mentally I told myself he was no longer a part of my life, but it was like looking at an amputated limb. I mentally noted that if I had said that out loud to Hillary, she would have slapped me for being gross.

Jeff sipped his drink, droning about shareholders. I nodded, keeping my eyes on the couple. In that same sleek, gunmetal grey tailored suit from the last time I’d seen him and with his hair slicked back, Decker wore a stormy expression, searching the room with interest and a whole lot of rage. Was that a…black eye? What in the heck had happened to him? His lip was cut in the corner, and his upper eyebrow had a stitch in it.

I watched in what felt like slow motion as Taylor spun until she was in front of him. Then, linking her arms around his neck, she gave him a kiss on the cheek, but it was dangerously close to the corner of his mouth. His posture was rigid and cold, like he really didn’t want to be there. That was the smallest mercy he could have given me, and I clung to it.

I was curious how long it would take him to notice me, curious if anyone would notice if I were to sneak out of the room entirely and catch a cab home. As soon as they had entered, I had taken the coward’s way out and grabbed Jeff’s arm, begging him to crowd the corner with me.

Decker’s mossy green eyes connected with mine as soon as the thought left my head. Locked like a missile, studying the target, waiting for instructions to detonate, he stared.

“Ah, there she is,” Dad said, breaking me out of my staring contest with the man who’d broken my heart. My father was holding my stepmother’s hand, and she wore a bright smile, making me slump into the wall as I realized they were going to force me to socialize.

“Mallory, darling.” Jackie approached wearing a gold wrap dress that made her blonde hair look luminescent under the lights. She really was very pretty to look at; I just wished her attitude toward me would match how nice she seemed on the outside. My mother had always warned me if someone was pretty to look at but ugly to deal with, then they were just plain ugly. It’s the inside that matters.

“Hello, Jackie,” I muttered, giving her a tight smile.

“Tell me, dear.” She tugged me out of the corner and slid her arm through mine. “Have you heard about this dashing new boy my baby girl has been seeing?”

I looked over my shoulder to see Jeff and my father engaged in a discussion. They were both laughing, so it must have been about something good.

“I hadn’t heard.” I searched for Taylor on instinct, forgetting for a second that I loathed her entire existence.How could she bring him as her date?

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