Page 3 of Wild Card
“Brett, I’m at work.” She blushes, this time for him, and although I’ve only known the girl five goddamn minutes, I fuckin’ hate it.
“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” she questions him.
“I am, but I took a break so I could come tell you that we’re going somewhere special tomorrow night.” He’s still not letting go of that grasp he’s got on her ass, despite how uncomfortable she’s looking. “One of my dad’s top investors is retiring, and I’m taking you as my plus one to his party. Now, I’ll warn you, it’s gonna be fancy. I don’t want you turning up in those cowgirl boots.” He laughs as he looks down at them.
“Ain’t nothing wrong with my cowgirl boots.” She laughs back at him.
“Well, no, but it ain’t gonna hurt to make an impression on these people. One day, I’m hoping these investors will be mine. I got big plans, baby, you know that.”
“Here ya go.” Earl slams my beer on the table. “Grab your bag, kid, I’ll show you to ya room.” I get up and lift my bag from the floor, keeping my eyes on Ruby and taking my beer with me as I follow Earl to the door that leads out back.
“Now it ain’t nothin’ special, but it’ll keep the rain off ya head,” he tells me as we climb the narrow staircase up to the corridor. “I got a stock truck arriving at seven am tomorrow, it’s gonna need unloading,” he informs me as he opens the door.
“Seven am?” I repeat. I can’t remember the last time I saw seven am. Is the sun even up at that time?
“Good, ain’t nothin’ wrong with ya hearin’.” He chuckles as he steps inside. “You got a good view of the town, a private bathroom, and there ain’t no fuckin’ turndown service. Got any questions?” He looks at me.
“Yeah, who’s that guy downstairs talkin’ to Ruby?” I ask, dropping my bag on the mattress and taking a look out the window onto the street. I’ll bet that the Mercedes parked right out front belongs to him.
“Listen, son, you know I go way back with your daddy. He was a good friend, so I’ll offer you some advice. You stay clear of that shit, ya hear?”
Saying that to a guy like me is like a red rag to a bull.
“That guy downstairs is Brett Porter; he’s Mayor Porter's son, and in this town, the Royal Bastards heel to him,” he warns
“Royal Bastards heel to no one.” I huff a laugh back at him.
“Yeah, well, Byron’s wise enough to know who to pick his battles with. Right now, Cody’s got its mayor, sheriff, and its outlaw bikers all singing from the same hymn sheet. We don’t need nobody upsetting that.” He turns his back and goes to walk out.
“And is that how my father would have run things? By heeling?” I call after him.
“You know it ain’t, but he ain’t here anymore, and Byron knows what he’s doing. Don’t go stirring things up, Wild Card.” He smirks at me as he closes the door behind him, and as I look out the window and watch Brett Porter get back inside his fancy car, I shake my head.
“Can’t make no promises, old man.” I snigger to myself.
TWO
Ruby
“How about this one?” Esmé holds up another one of her designer dresses, and I flop myself back on her mattress. “You can dress me up in the most expensive dress in that closet, and it’s not gonna change who I am.” I sigh. “I’m gonna message your brother and tell him I can’t go tomorrow.” When I try to sit up, my best friend uses force to slam me back down.
“Ruby Saunders, you are going to that party. You're just as good as anyone else there. Better in fact.” She lies down beside me.
“How can you say that? I’ve had to come to you to borrow a dress. I work in a dive bar, and I have no control over my cursing. Face it, I’m just not cut out for these kinds of events.”
“If my brother thought that he wouldn’t be taking you now, would he?” Esmé sits back up and drags me with her. “And, yeah, you could do with reining in the cursing a little, but aside from that, everyone there is going to adore you,” she promises. “Now, I’m sure I have some shoes in here that match thishandbag.” She buries herself back into the muddle of her closet to find them.
“I’m just worried I’m gonna embarrass him or something.” I take the dress and hold it against myself in front of the mirror. It is beautiful and I can’t even imagine how much it would have cost. Probably more than my whole month's salary. “What do you even talk about with folk like that?” I ask her, feeling deflated.
“You’ll have plenty to talk about. You can tell them about the charity work you do at the animal shelter, and…” She pauses when she fails to come up with anything else.
“Exactly my point.” I roll my eyes and hang the dress back in the closet. “I’m not going. I refuse to make a fool of myself. Trust me, Brett will thank me for it. He’s trying to impress these people. How can he do that with me there?”
“Ruby.” Esmé sighs as she takes both my hands. “You have to go tomorrow. Don’t ask me why, just trust me. We’ll find you something to wear. I’ll give you some conversation starters, and like everything else you do in life, you’ll figure it out,” she promises.
“How the hell did you manage to get out of this? Didn’t your daddy want you there, too?” I stare back at her.
“I told him I have my period.” She shrugs her shoulders.
