Page 26 of Secret Cinderella
He offered a hand to get up. She took his, not because she needed his help, but because she wanted him forever in her life. He asked, “Are you ready to go?”
Technically she was ready, showered, and dressed, but she stalled when he opened the door to the hall and said “I feel a bit like a fraud.”
He winked at her. She’d never seen that wink before, but she liked how it made her feel. “You’re radiant. My mom and my family you already know will be excited to see you.”
They made it to the elevator down. She ignored the patter in her heart due to nerves because this was it. She’d finally found her happily-ever-after. Jack pressed the button and she said, “Your mom was wonderful with me.”
“She loves you,” he said. “She’ll be happy about us.”
Hopefully. Patricia had always asked for her help when she’d wanted Jack to do something, so maybe little moments like ensuring he picked up garlic for a sauce mattered. They made it to the private breakfast room full of strangers, mostly adults who were very put-together and on top of the world. Charlotte recognized a few faces from magazines she’d unpacked at the checkout counter. They took the first step inside and Jack held her hand. “Here we are.”
No one jumped out of their seats to accost them or throw her out. The buffet line was clear. Jack guided her toward a stack of plates and silverware. She opened the hash browns and scooped extra on his plate as she knew he loved the burned ones.
No one stared at them, but she recognized John, scandalous banker; his wife, who seemed much nicer than the articles declared; Axel, the lead singer of Indigo Five; and Matthew Morgan, the movie star. Everyone sat at tables and ate like normal people.
She glanced around for Patricia, Lucy, Finn, Max, and William, but didn’t see them. It was just the billionaires who’d never accept her. Until now she’d thought celebrities weren’t exactly real, and she wasn’t sure how to react to the fact that they ate and conversed just like everybody else. Charlotte picked an empty table for four near a window for them.
They’d both eaten a few bites when a pretty, dark-haired woman slid into the seat beside her. She held out her hand to Jack to shake. “Hi, Jack, I’m your half-sister Aurelia. I heard you and your girlfriend worked in a store together. Hello, Charlotte.”
Aurelia Morgan was the latest of the thought dead but surprise, ‘alive’ headline stories. She’d been living in obscurity and was currently single according to the news, but for some reason Charlotte wasn’t nervous talking to her…she seemed very real.
Charlotte rested her fork on her plate. “That’s true. We went to school together too and Jack’s been my best friend, forever.”
Aurelia squeezed her arm as if to invite Charlotte to be friends and said, “Good. I’m always looking for reliable board members who understand retail. When you’re ready to talk business about your future, let me know.”
She then left just as fast.
Charlotte wasn’t sure. Had Aurelia wanted Jack, or Charlotte, to work with her?
Neither of them had experience sitting in a board room making decisions unless it was about how to stock the shelves.
Once she was sure no one was listening, she asked Jack, who continued to eat his breakfast, “Jack, what future? Did you tell them about us?”
He swallowed and patted his mouth with his napkin. “She doesn’t know we’re getting married. No one does.”
She ran her hand through her hair and pushed it behind her ear. Her skin was jittery again. “Right. Jack, I’m nervous.”
Jack playfully rested his thigh against hers and her body relaxed when he said, “Don’t be. After breakfast we’ll head out and get you a ring, then return here and just hang out for a while getting to know everybody.”
Jack. Yes. He was the point of all of this. And the rest of the people wouldn’t be in her life, not without him. She smiled. “See, that sounds good. I just want to be with you.”
They finished their breakfasts and turned to the coffees they’d grabbed. A waitress cleaned their table and took their plates as they sat in silence.
Every sip made her new world easier to digest.
Today she would quit her job and devote herself to being happy.
With Jack.
As she stole a glance at his handsome face and broad shoulders, she became sure. Love mattered more than her father’s dream.
The bubble of serenity ended when Antonio sat in the chair beside her, and Bart, if she remembered his name correctly. Today Antonio smelled like a cheap imitation of her Jack. “Jack, this is Bartoleme-”
“I remember,” Jack said.
“Bart is fine and what my wife calls me anyhow,” the other man corrected and nodded at them both. He then turned his full attention to Jack as he said, “I was wondering if you’d like to help me sponsor a green energy contest at various university engineering schools to help us uncover worthy tech we should invest in.”
She saw the light of inspiration in Jack’s eyes mixed with hope that he could do good works. She nodded and he said, “I don’t know how to sponsor, but I’ll help, as that sounds like a terrific cause.”
