Page 28 of Duke's Daring Bookworm
Frankie sat at the dining room table when I finally pulled myself from bed and my delicious memories.
“So…” she prompted as she sipped on her energy drink, noise canceling headphones covering one ear, but leaving the other exposed, and a haunted look in her eyes lit by the screen of her computer. The bags and purple bruises under her eyes screamed that she had been up all night.
“So what?” I hedged. I knew exactly what she wanted to know, but I didn’t want to tell her. What if… what if Duke leaving was a sign of something bad? What if I wasn’t good enough and Frankie saw it right away when I told her? No, better to keep as much to myself as I could.
She took her headphones off. “You and Duke.”
“I don’t know what you want to know. You have to be specific.” I stared at the contents of the fridge, unable to truly see any of it, before closing it and giving up on breakfast. It was almost time to get to work, anyway.
“Ugh, right? Did you have sex with Duke last night, or did you put that metaphorical sock on the door for nothing?” She closed her laptop, finished her energy drink, and grabbed her keys so she could take us to work.
“None of your business.” I turned to hide my blush, too embarrassed to admit what happened—or didn’t happen.
We rarely worked Sundays, but the Natural History Museum was hosting a special event.
The director wanted to traipse out Frankie—who stubbornly refused to do more than straighten her bright pink wig and throw on a white lab coat—as their star archeologist.
My boss conscripted me to give tours of the archival department for potential donors. Anxiety raced throughme at the thought of having to talk to people. Hopefully, my boss, Tom, would take over most of the conversations and all I would have to do was look busy.
The imposing, ornate museum loomed before us as Frankie pulled around to the employee parking lot. Large white vans lined up in all the loading docks painted with logos representing a variety of party related businesses. It overwhelmed me just to look at it. I couldn’t imagine needing to be a genuine part of it.
“I’m going to hide in my office until they need me.” I smoothed my hands down the calf length black pencil skirt of the suit I made Frankie pick out for me. She may have the privilege of dressing however she wanted because of her family’s money, but I didn’t have that luxury.
Thankfully, she found something that was comfortable enough to not be a sensory nightmare while still looking put together with little effort. It wasn’t my usual work attire, neither was it as formal as the guest would be dressed, but Frankie assured me it was appropriate for what I would be doing.
I didn’t know where I would be without her. Probably in khaki. Or a ditch somewhere. Who knew?
“I wish I could,” she said longingly as she put on a fresh layer of deodorant and the slightly wrinkled white lab coat, the long sleeves covering the tattoos crawling up and down her arms. She rarely wore it to work, usually just when she wanted to put a show on for the kids. I wondered if she saw these events as a show and the guests as children.
“There you are,” Tom said when I walked in. He wore a black suit that stretched to its limits over his generous stomach, his over-gelled hair slicked back tight, which only emphasized how thin it was. “It’s about time you showed up. We need to walk through our pitch for potentialdonors.”
“I—” I wanted to point out that I was early, but experience taught me that was pointless. “I thought you would pitch, and I would nod along.”
He looked me up and down, dissecting me as I spoke, and it took everything in me not to cringe in discomfort. His eyes rested too long on my breasts, making me more uncomfortable. I pulled my suit coat closer over me and hunched my shoulders while I waited for his answer.
“Well, I certainly don’t expect you to lead it,” he lashed out, his eyes snapping to mine, and I swallowed around the lump in my throat, further shrinking in on myself under his glare and harsh words. “Fine. I’ll do the talking. You just stand there and look pretty. I’m sure you can manage that.”
Rage built in me at his words. I’ve tried to report him before and nearly lost my job for the trouble.
He didn’t bother waiting for my response before he stepped around me. I turned with him and pushed back against the wall behind me to gain more distance between us.
When he was out of sight, I went to my office and pulled up a collection I had been working on to pass the time until I was needed. Turns out being needed meant that I stood by my workstation while Tom gave a tour to richly dressed people my parents’ age.
I recognized Frankie’s parents, generous and frequent donors to the museum, in the first group that came through. By the fifth group of partygoers, I could smell the alcohol wafting off them, and many simply looked to be searching out a private place to escape to with one or two other guests.
The night wore on, my feet ached in my heels, and Iwondered when this would finally end, and I could go home and sleep.
“Hey,” a low, masculine voice said from behind me as the most recent group of people passed by. I jumped at the sound, but it was so familiar that my body relaxed before I even fully caught up to it.
I turned to find Duke standing behind me, his hazel eyes sparkling with mischief. I wanted to smack him for scaring me.
“What are you doing here?”
I registered his suit and put the pieces together before I finished my question. I didn’t know the first thing about fashion, but even I could tell his suit was expensive. It was clearly bespoke and perfectly tailored to show off his broad shoulders, the material leagues above anything I’ve ever worn.
In all my years of knowing Duke, of knowing just how much wealth he had, seeing his cars, his house, all the obvious indications of how different our lives were, I never felt inadequate next to him—not until now.
Even in the best clothing I owned, I couldn’t compare. It never mattered before, but now, now, he’d seen me naked, tasted me, and I didn’t want to disappoint him.
