Page 60 of Hidden Desire

How could she trust him when he refused to try to make a difference? She felt like her trust was fading slowly and there wasn’t much possibility that she would be able to trust him again after this situation had gone from bad to worse.

Stassi flicked a tear from her eye and tossed her phone to the side. If the hospital could be saved, then that was fantastic, but shouldn’t everyone have equal opportunity when it came to going to the gala? Stassi went back to work, her dad’s conversation still heavy in her mind. If there were anything she could do to just to allow everyone in for celebration, she would. Sadly, she had to let the thought go and hope that the employees who couldn’t afford it wouldn’t have gone anyway. At least that would make her feel better.

Sage

Stassi looked breathtaking as she walked down the hall and straight for her. When Stassi first tried on the dress, she was beautiful, but now, with her hair and makeup, it seemed to add to the exquisiteness that Stassi brought.

“How do I look?” Stassi asked, giving a twirl in front of Stage. Stage nodded, speechless. “Cat got your tongue?” she teased.

“Something like that,” Sage whispered. She moved in and Stassi kissed her, despite her makeup being freshly applied.

“You look beautiful,” Stassi said, parting.

Sage snickered. “I look like a dog, compared to you.”

Stassi quickly shook her head. “That’s not true. I am lucky to have you on my arm.” Stassi offered up her arm, and Sage willingly grabbed it.

She had been dreading the gala. She knew how excited Stassi would be, but they would be whisked in their two different worlds again and Sage wasn’t even sure how she was supposed to act. What food and drinks would be offered? Should they dance or would that not be proper etiquette? This was such a different place than what Sage was used to, and it was hard not to be intimidated.

They arrived at the hotel, where the gala was in a large ballroom. The parking lot was already packed full of people. Crowds were milling into the hotel from the parking lot, in large groups, making it easy to stand within the group.

Stassi and Sage’s arms never once swayed away from each other as they walked into the ballroom with the others. Sage produced their tickets to get in, and they were scanned right at the door and discarded into a box.

“Where do you want to sit?” Sage asked. The tables were already starting to fill, and Sage couldn’t see Lena or Marcus anywhere. At least not yet. She knew Lena’s date had to work late, and they would be arriving later, but Marcus said he couldn’t wait to get there and planned on picking up his boyfriend an hour earlier. Sage was confused because Marcus didn’t seem like the person who would be too engrossed in galas and black-tie affairs. But people could handle situations differently. But neither of them seemed to be around.

“At this table’s fine.” Sage held out the chair so Stassi could take her seat and then joined her in the seat beside her. “Do you see anyone we know?” Stassi asked, reflecting Sage’s thoughts. An orchestra played on the stage in the background as guests milled around and greeted one another.

“I see a few I know, but none that I am that close with. I know Lena and Marcus will want to sit with us. They mentioned it last week.”

Stassi nodded and looked around the ballroom. Then she pointed. “There’s Marcus.” She waved him over. He was dressed in a black suit with a white pinstripe, but he was alone.

Sage arched an eyebrow. “Where’s Trent?” she asked.

He rolled his eyes. “You mean the traitor? We won’t talk about him.” He slumped down in his chair. His cheeks were rosy, and when Sage stared at him, he eventually made eye contact. “He said he ‘wasn’t really in the mood for coming to this party.’” He did quotation marks and shrugged. “His sister is in town or some shit like that. I said, ‘whatever if that’s how he feels.’ I’ll just have a good time.”

“But you two are okay, right?” Sage asked. Marcus’ eyes diverted to the table, and he shrugged. “You can’t end things on a silly argument like that. There’s way too much importance to let something like that break you.”

He sighed. “It’s not even just that. We’re drifting apart. Our lives are too separate.” He sighed and looked between Stassi and Sage. “You two spend way more time together than I spend with Trent.”

Sage looked over to Stassi, and her cheeks were bright red. Sage reached across and took her hand, squeezing it lightly.

“It’s what you want to do when you’re in love,” Stassi commented.

He smirked and nodded. “At least you finally said it. Not that it’s a surprise to any one of us.” He motioned with his hand between the two of them. “But you both clearly want to be together, whereas I got the feeling that a relationship with Trent was more like a burden. It’s not worth it, in my opinion.” He put on a smile. “So, we ended things.” He shrugged. “But it is what it is. Life goes on.” Sage looked over to Stassi, who seemed to share the same questioning look. Marcus continued as he scanned the room, “I need a drink. Anything for you?”

“I’ll get something later,” Sage said.

“Same,” Stassi replied.

When Marcus walked away, Sage turned to Stassi. “So, what do you think?”

Stassi scrunched up her face. “I think he’s on a dangerous road full of bumps and curves. Ending things is one thing, but acting like it’s no big deal right after it happened is something else completely. I just hope he doesn’t do anything stupid.”

Sage had to agree. That was her biggest fear. Sage ran her fingers over Stassi’s. “On a brighter side, I was glad to hear you say ‘love.’ Out loud. In public.”

Stassi grinned. “I think tonight it would be impossible to hide it.”

As they continued to sit there, waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, the stage grew quiet, and there was a tap on the microphone. A woman in an evening gown and white fur draped over her shoulders stood at the microphone with some speech cards. “I want to welcome everyone to the first-ever fundraising gala for LA County Hospital.” There was a spattering of applause as people continued to come into the ballroom. “This turnout far exceeds what we considered possible. We sold a total of two thousand and twenty-two tickets, which sold us out, and for that, we are all grateful.” The woman paused. “And it just hit me that I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Bethany Gleason. I work at the headquarters for the four different hospitals. So, on behalf of myself and Martin Hewitt owner and CEO, we welcome you. The food will be out soon, and the open bar is available for all.”

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