"No, why?" I ask, still searching for my favorite black bralette.
"Jeff called and asked if I could rope you into working an engagement party tonight. Rachel called in with a sick kid at the last minute. Said he tried calling, but it went straight to voicemail."
"Shit," I mutter, digging my phone out of my purse. It's dead. "I forgot my charger."
"Grab some clothes from my closet and finish getting ready. You can charge it at the club, we need to leave in twenty minutes."
The Monarch Club is filled to the brim with guests in elegant black outfits and sleek black masquerade masks when we arrive. There’s one couple that catches my eye, the girl in a tight white silk dress with a slit up the side and her date in a crisp white button down with dark gray slacks, silver masks adorning both of their faces. I’ll bet this party is for them.
"Rachel, I need you to switch to drinks."
Drea bumps me with her hip as she switches out trays. "That's you, babe."
"Huh? Oh," I say, glancing down at the borrowed black vest I'm wearing with the name Rachel embroidered in gold on the left breast. "Sorry," I murmur to the bartender as I balance the tray of champagne flutes and head back towards the party.
I forgot how quickly the night can pass working catering events like this. Drea and I both worked for Jeff throughout college, and I'd only stopped when I got the internship with a stipend. I'm glad to fill in tonight, though- I can always use the extra cash, and the large variety of masked eye candy at this event makes it easy to forget about my breakup.
Trey who?
The party is winding down and the busboys are clearing the tables when Drea pulls me into one of the back rooms reserved for the catering crew. 'Padam Padam’ by Kylie Minogue is playing in the background and the rest of the waitstaff is hanging around a table filled with half-drank bottles of champagne and limoncello.
"The couple the party was for told us we could finish the rest of the alcohol off, they didn't want it," Drea provides when she sees me eyeing the table.
Still wearing the staff-issued gold masquerade masks, a scrawny blonde guy with a man bun motions to the bottles on the table. "Pick your poison, Rachel.”
I'm on my second glass of champagne, riding a great buzz when my phone starts ringing. Trey's picture flashes across the screen as I deny the call. I'm just slipping it back into my pocket when it vibrates with a text.
Trey
Come out back.
What? How?
I excuse myself, Drea arching a brow to ask whether she should tag along or not. I shake my head, pushing out the door and towards the employee entrance to the alleyway where I find Trey pacing beside the dumpster. He lowers the navy hood of his sweatshirt as I step out into the warm night air.
"Wren, can we talk please?" he bristles nervously.
"How did you know I was here?"
"Find my iPhone," he shrugs.
Note to self, delete myself from the cloud account.
"There's nothing to talk about Trey. We're through," I spit, folding my arms across my chest and popping my hip.
"I made a mistake!"
"Fucking someone who isn't your girlfriend more than once isn't a mistake, Trey, it's a choice!" I throw my hands up as I swivel around to go back inside. I don’t know why I bothered- he’s not sorry, he’s only sorry he got caught.
Before I can get out of reach, he catches me by the wrist and pulls me back so harshly that I trip on the cracked asphalt. Falling back, I smack my head against the corner of the dumpster as my ass meets the ground. "Ow! Fuck!" I scream, louder than necessary as my hand instinctively goes to my face.
"God damnit! Why do you have to be such a stubborn bitch?!" Trey yells, his pupils blown wide as he towers above me.
A warm, sticky wetness graces my fingertips when I pull my hand back from my forehead. "Just leave me alone Trey. Please," I implore him, my voice breaking.
"Not until you fucking talk to me!"
The heavy metal back door of the building slams shut, catching my attention. I whip my head in the direction of the sound to see an intimidatingly tall man with broad shoulders and dark hair striding towards Trey.