Page 1 of A Chance at Forever
CHAPTER 1
“We’ve had anawesome time, haven’t we, Vicki?” Alan Richmond flashed his megawatt smile. “Being with you the past eight months has done wonders for my career. Endorsement offers have tripled since I’ve been dating you, the heiress to the Lockridge Cosmetics empire.”
Victoria’s stomach clenched with foreboding. She wished he would stop smiling. “Alan, what are you getting at?”
He leaned forward, blue eyes glittering with greed. “That contract your dad offered me to be the face of your men’s line at Lockridge Cosmetics is chump change. Calvin Klein is designing an entire line of fragrances and other products around me.”
Alan looked around at the other diners and lowered his voice. “I might as well say this now. It’s over, Vicki. I cheated on you. More than once.”
Anger and embarrassment burned in her cheeks. “What? You wined and dined me for this? You could have sent me a text message and saved yourself several hundred dollars.”
“I wanted to see you.” Alan smirked. “Oh, don’t look so shocked. What’s the big deal, anyway? You benefited from being in the limelight with me, too. You didn’t buy that sapphire necklace you’re wearing for yourself.”
Victoria turned cold with horror. Her heart plummeted. She couldn’t wrap her brain around what she’d heard. She opened her mouth to issue a scathing reply, but a high-pitched squeal of excitement caught their attention.
A young woman rushed up to Alan. “It’s you! You’re the Jets’ hot quarterback, Alan Richmond!”
His megawatt smile morphed into his million-dollar grin. Victoria wanted to puke. “It’s me. What’s your name, beautiful?”
The blonde giggled. “Annie. Can I take a selfie with you?”
“Absolutely.”
To Victoria’s further embarrassment, the fan settled herself on Alan’s lap and kissed him on the cheek as she snapped the selfie.
Victoria lost her tenuous hold on her temper. She rose from the table, grabbed the expensive bottle of Merlot they’d been drinking, and dumped it all over Alan and his fangirl. “Enjoy the limelight now!” She snapped a picture with her cell phone before she yanked the sapphire necklace from around her neck and tossed it at Alan’s wine-soaked face. She left Le Bernardin with her head held high, though inside she trembled with shame.
Outside on the street, Victoria hurried away from the restaurant and disappeared into a crowd of pedestrians. She paused to catch her breath and called Derek, her older brother by a mere eleven months. “Hey, are you still in the city?”
“Yeah. I’m leaving my office now. What’s up? Didn’t you have a dinner date with Alan?”
Victoria swallowed the heavy lump in her throat. “It ended early and I need a ride home.”
Derek read between the lines. “Where are you?”
She gave him her location.
“Don’t move. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Derek double parked and Victoria jumped into the passenger’s seat next to him. He glanced sideways at her. “What happened?”
Victoria turned away from him so he couldn’t see the tears that had sprung unbidden into her eyes. “I’d rather not discuss it.”
Derek honored her request and dropped the subject. Halfway to their farmhouse in upstate New York, their cell phones blew up with notifications. “Wonder what’s going on.”
Victoria checked her phone and drew in a sharp breath. She felt the color drain from her face. “Oh, heavens no!”
She hadn’t posted the picture she took of Alan and Annie soaked in wine, but other diners had videoed her dumping it on them and it had gone viral. Then, their cell phones dinged with text messages. Victoria read a few messages from her work friends, colleagues, and acquaintances, and a soul-searing sickness settled inside her. Some applauded what she’d done, but others criticized her for being childish and embarrassing her family and Lockridge Cosmetics.
“No, no, oh no! I don’t believe this.”
“Tell me, Tori, right now, before I pull over.”
“I will, but not until we get home.” Victoria turned off her phone and sank low in her seat. Hot with shame, she regretted her impulsive reaction to Alan humiliating her.
As close to her as a twin might have been, Derek sensed her feelings and her mood. “You were always too good for Alan Richmond. I’m sorry I introduced you to him.”
“It’s not your fault, Derek. I fell victim to Alan’s flattery and charm. I should have known better.”
