Page 59 of Prince Charmless
“Long time, no see,” he says with a nice British accent.
“I thought, uh, I thought you were in England.” Taylor seems caught off guard. He’s never caught off guard.
“I moved back a year ago with my partner.”
“Are you married?” Taylor asks with the same inflection as Kayla.
“Yes, I’m Gaël’s plus one.”
Taylor fails to hide his shock. “Your husband is Gaël Dumas?”
Gaël Dumas is one of the richest men in the country and the richest black man in the world. He’s the billionaire CEO of the software company he started in his mom’s garage, and I’d say at least fifteen years older than the guy we’re talking to now.
I notice the man eye me up and down. Taylor must’ve noticed too.
“Sorry, Melina, this is James Clybourn.”
“Jamie,” he corrects. “Old Friend.”
Friend? I thought Taylor didn’t have many of those.
Our bizarre conversation is interrupted by Gaël Dumas himself giving Jamie a glass of champagne.
“Bonsoir,” he says to Taylor as they shake hands.
“I hope you’re doing well, Taylor,” Jamie says. “Really.”
Something weird is happening between the lines of this exchange.
“Yes,” Taylor says. “Thank you.”
Gaël whispers something in his husband’s ear, and Jamie gives Taylor a wink before the couple leaves.
“He just winked at you,” I say to break the tension.
“Yep,” Taylor says like he’s familiar with Jamie’s winking tendencies.
“Jamie Clybourn,” I mumble as Taylor chugs the rest of his champagne. “That name sounds familiar.”
“He’s an actor.”
“Anything I’ve heard of?”
“How should I know?”
The tone of his voice is noncommittal, but I can tell he’s thinking about something.
“Why was that conversation so awkward? Did you guys have a falling out or something?”
“You could say that, yeah.”
I won’t push. Taylor’s true colors are less than charming, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s made some enemies.
“Shit,” he says. “My dad is calling me over.”
To the left, Prince David waves through a gaggle of people.
“I’ll stay here and try the hors d’oeuvres if that’s okay.” Frankly, his father scares me.
