Page 6 of Beck and Call

She shrugged and popped the cork after she set the glasses down. "I don't know. Decorating the children's wing of the hospital or maybe it was the library."

"That's actually pretty cool," I commented.

"Yeah, but then next week it'll be something like 'Save the Guinea Pigs,' so don't get too excited. Most of the people who will be there don't give a damn what the charity is. They're just there to be seen handing over checks."

She handed me a glass of champagne, and we clinked glasses. "Tonight we are going to dance and have a good time, so I'm not one to talk. Besides, these events make her happy."

The limo pulled up to the front of one of the most exclusive hotels in Seattle. An actual red carpet had been rolled out for guests to enter the building. There was a small crowd of people waiting on either side of a velvet rope.

"Are those reporters?" I asked stunned. I'd been to a few events with her, some garden parties, but nothing had this much attention on it.

"I guess some are reporters. Most are paparazzi. There must be someone big coming tonight. Usually there are one or two reporters from the society section in attendance. This is insane."

She dug through her bag and pulled out a mirror and quickly refreshed her makeup. "It's go time."

The flash bulbs went off as we exited the car. "I can't see," I whispered to her.

Somehow she managed to speak with her teeth clenched together in a blinding smile. "Just keep smiling and walking forward."

The novelty of having my picture taken wore off after about the second flash. "How do people live like this?"

"Don't ask me, I'm not this kind of heiress. I work for a living and I don't have a sex tape. No one cares who I date or where I shop, so this only happens when someone famous shows up. They'll take pictures of everyone that comes at least until whoever they're waiting around for shows up."

Inside the hotel, the ballroom was decorated to look like a winter wonderland. White lights were strung across the ceiling, gauzy fabric draped down the walls. There were round tables spaced around the floor. Each one was covered in a white tablecloth with a smaller topper made of a sheer, pearly iridescent fabric. There were centerpieces with white and silver candles and white branches in glass vases. The winter fairy forest motif was completed with ice sculptures of snowflakes spread around the room.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Jana handed me another glass of champagne.

"More champagne?" I was a bit of a lightweight, and I hadn't eaten much, so the two glasses I had were already making me a little tipsy.

"There are some people here I find it hard to be around without liquid fortification."

"Anyone I've heard of?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not sure what penetrates that gossip free bubble you live in."

"Probably very little. So just tell me the story anyway."

Jana tipped back her flute of champagne. "Yeah, whatever. You see that woman in the corner?" She slyly pointed to a stunning blonde standing near one of the ice sculptures by gesturing with the bottom of her glass.

I nodded. "Red dress, standing near the guy who looks like what I imagine a Ken doll would look like if he were alive?"

"Wow, he does." She shook her head, something she did to clear her mind when she got distracted. "I know, focus. Her name is Matilda; we went to the same boarding school. She was the definition of a mean girl. I just don't want to deal with her. At least not without champagne."

"Why does a high school enemy matter after all this time?"

She glared at Matilda. "Some people leave more of a scar. "

I handed her my glass of champagne. "I've never seen you this way."

She drained the remainder of my glass and set it on the tray of a passing waiter. "Seeing her takes me back to a dark place."

"Then let's move to another part of the room. You haven't seen her in a long time, the less you see of her now, the better," I suggested.

Jana stood up straighter. "No. She was the queen of the school. She took whatever, whoever she wanted. But we aren't in school anymore. She's a washed-up socialite, without a career or a husband. I've even heard rumors her family has lost most of their money."

I put my hand on her arm and encouraged her to move to another part of the room. "You're better than this. You aren't petty, so don't let seeing her make you that way."

"Fine," she huffed. "You're right, okay."

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