Page 38 of Push & Pull
Phyllis was still too angry to say anything. Shéla had to take the mantle of an insufferable mean girl. “There are other benefits to watching what you eat, dearest Cady.” Her foot gave a twirl as she anticipated the shit about to spew from her mouth. “You’ll probably be able to fit into an off-the-rack Valentino again. No more sneaking into Madam Oleander’s for taking things… out.”
Cady blushed in embarrassment. Whether she knew she covered her stomach with her napkin, Simone couldn’t say.
She was too busy regretting coming here.
Why do I bother? It’s always the same.Phyllis was rude, Shéla was passive-aggressive, Cady left her spine at home, and that discounted the sisters who didn’t come as often, whether due to relocating across the world or deciding the current four were beneath them. Somehow.
Zeta Nu was like that, though, and Simone had known it the moment she joined her sophomore year in college.You don’t go to my university without having your family’s name on some building, and you don’t get into Zeta Nu unless you’re cool and rich enough.Simone was onlyslightlyhazed, although she didn’t get the full experience due to her father being Bernard Evans, a man with serious influence when he was alive.I still had to serve drinks at a party wearing a thong and a wet white T-shirt, though.While all the boys from Omega Pi Epsilon hopped over to ogle and grope. Only reason Simone got through that night unscathed was because she had developed a helluvaDon’t Fuck With Meface since going to college.
Except the sorority was about status above all else. Being a Zeta Nu was an automatic admission and a guaranteed reservation wherever they went. Chapter Presidents often went on to become powerful politicians, sought-after CEOs, and influential designers. Sisters attracted to men often unlocked dating level-ups that changed their lives.Sometimes for the better, oftentimes for the worst.The biggest dating pool came from Omega Pi Epsilon, after all. The cross-pollination between the Greek societies often meant daughters kept going to Zeta, and sons continued to populate Omega.
There was never much room for girls who rocked the boat, which Simone often did. Simply existing as someone who didn’t follow every status quo made her enemies or, in the best-case scenario, alienated her from those who would rather pretend she didn’t exist.
She never had a boyfriend to elevate her status among her sorority sisters. She never made friends with haute couture designers who dressed her in gowns fit for the Met Gala. Nor did she ever flaunt her long hair and wow her friends with the latest fads in makeup and styling. Simone was also more likely to hit up the nearest LGBT bar than one of the nightlife hotspots where every heiress and upper-middle-class girl was hoping to be seen.
I found my way, though.
That way was through her car collection. Her associates in the restaurant and hospitality industries. Ex-girlfriends who had gone on to become those designers and CEOs looking for new “close to the source” interns. Simone, like Shéla, had a stint in modeling as well. It didn’t matter if a girl modeled for Burberry or Alexander McQueen – if she got on a runway or was in a high fashion magazine, she made temporary friends. Those friendships often paved the way for more opportunities.
And the drugs. I hooked them up with the best in the business.
Out of everyone at the table, Phyllis was the only teetotaler. Cady was recovering from coke and molly. Shéla?She better never talk shit. Girl straight up went from coke to meth.If the Chus had known that, though… well! Good thing Simone never said anything when Shéla started dating Freddie Chu in grad school!
Some things didn’t change, though. Like her sisters’ penchant for homophobic comments when it suited them best.
That always came up, eventually. People would dance around Simone’s personal life if it had nothing to do with the family business or the latest health scandal in her tree.They ate up the hot gossip about Astrid, though.Shéla had gone to the freakin’ wedding.
It always came back to who she was sleeping with. Eventually.
Shéla had finished gushing about her husband’s family estate in China when Cady took the reins of the conversation to announce her “casually seeing” Oliver Smith-Duncan, the first son of a prominent bank president out of New York. Phyllis had no news about her ongoing relationship with Travis Norton, whom she had been dating for the past year. Simone thanked her lucky star. The last thing she wanted to do right now was go toPhyllis’swedding.It would be more boring than Coachella without the drugs.Simone had tried both experiences. She could confirm.
“So…” Shéla pushed aside her salad plate to make room for her mimosa. As her finger circled the rim of her glass, she continued, “What’s going on in Simone’s world? Who are you dating this week? Don’t tell me it’s one of your assistantsagain.You’re not old enough for that.”
“She can’t help it.” Phyllis was texting on her phone. “Even with good hair, it can’t be easy to find women willing to date Zeta Nu’s eternal dy…”
Simone cut her off. “I’m not seeing anyone right now. It’s been a while, actually. Focusing on myself. You know how it is.” Like hell she was going to mention the name Petra, let alone what she and Simone had been up to for the past three days.Isn’t it bad enough that I’m subjecting myself to more of the same?She didn’t care how hot it was to get on top of somebody in the shower, only to follow it up with more bathroom sex.Or what we did before I went to sleep…Simone had to keep her guilt in check. Women like Shéla would hold it over her head until the day Simone died. “Got to be single for a while.”
Phyllis and Shéla exchanged a satisfied look.Fucking rich. I know what you look like naked, Shéla.One of the wildest parties Zeta Nu threw during Simone’s tenure was a blacklight affair that ended in Shéla’s private room.She had come on so strong that drunken me assumed she actually wanted to hook up.After making out, heavy petting, and gradually undressing, Shéla’s presumed ex-boyfriend barged in and attempted to join. Shéla hadnottold him to get out. That was all Simone’s doing, and the relationship between her and Shéla had been jilted since.
“I thought you were seeing that French girl,” Cady said, always out of the loop. “The one with the ‘90s name.”
“Daria Marseille?” Shéla said with a haughty scoff. “Isn’t that Yvonne’s sister? Oh, my God, talk about hot Europeantrash.I was in London five weeks ago and saw her at a loft party. You could barely tell she was human anymore. Ugh. So tragic.”
Simone already didn’t like where this was going. “She’s fallen off the wagon, yes. It happens.”
“Was she at Hailey Lambert’s party?” Shéla continued. “Simone, sweetie, you havegotto ditch those losers. They’re only dragging you down, honey. How many stints in rehab have you had now?”
Shéla Johnson-Chu was the exact type of person to make Simone reach for a cigarette. Too bad she still didn’t have any.
“Two.” Keeping her pride intact was a tough act in the face of Shéla’s perfectly straight hair and straighter teeth. “I’ve been clean for several months.” She didn’t even have to explain what that meant since she had declined a mimosa in favor of coffee. “Thank you for your concern, Shéla.”
Cady cut in before Shéla could be a bigger bitch. “It’s really hard, you know,” she said. “Addiction is exactly as it says on the wrapper. Besides, Yvonne Marseille has never been known for having anything else going on in her life. It’s tragic, really.”
Simone couldn’t refute that observation.I’ve got my work to keep me on the narrow.The Marseille sisters were such old European money that there was nothing for them to ever worry about in their fantastically mundane lives of partying and having affairs. Nothing but overdosing, Simone supposed. Both had their fair shares of close calls. Simone had been there for some.
“All I’m saying is that there’s a reason Hailey didn’t join Zeta Nu.”
“She didn’t rush,” Simone said.
