Page 45 of Our Shattered Pieces
When I hadn’t heard from him all day Wednesday and Thursday, I hadn’t known what to think. But now that it was Friday night, and still nothing, I realized I had blown my chance, and had blown it badly. But even knowing that, he still deserved an apology. I mean, there was asking a man to help carry your baggage, and then there was dumping it on top of his head.
“I know I’m biased because my parents were both teachers, but I love when we do work with the educational department,” Phoebe said, coming up next to me.
I turned and grinned at her. “I can’t claim a favorite, but if I had to, it’s anything that helps kids.”
“Amen,” John said from behind the bar. “It should always be all about the children.”
Before I could comment, Phoebe asked, “So, are we looking good so far?”
The fundraiser for District 17’s educational system was coming along nicely. Always the first to show up, and the last to leave, I had made sure to triple check everything. I needed to make my lack of concentration this week up to my team, so I’d been eyeing everything, to near the point of rudeness. While I’ve mingled, and had done my networking, my mind was on everything else.
“Everything looks good, Pheebs,” I told her. “You guys really pulled out the best for this one.”
She winked at me. “We pull out the best for everything.” Then her pretty face scrunched up. “Except for that nauseating country club ‘historic preservation’.” She used air quotes around the words, historic preservation.
Chantilly Montgomery had more money than half of Chicago combined, and instead of donating to the Sugarland Country Club for upgrades herself, every year she hired us to put on an event to actually push for donations for restorations. The tactless thing about that was that every member of Sugarland Country Club raked in nothing less than half a million a year in earnings. Why couldn’t they just all chip in for the restorations themselves? Rich people asking other rich people for money for their own selfish pleasures were real trash, if you asked me.
“Agreed,” I replied. “It’s all kinds of tacky.”
“I wish we could say no,” she muttered wishfully.
That was the thing about running a charity organization, saying no to anyone requesting our services appeared ungrateful. And any charity organization that strove to be successful couldn’t afford to come across as ungrateful. A lot of our success was built on the foundation of humbleness and appreciation. Besides, those same rich people who attended the Sugarland event attended a lot of our other events with their wallets wide open.
“Well, let’s not invite that headache until we have to next year,” I advised. “Let’s work this event like I know we can.”
Phoebe grinned. “At least the open bar should make the night interesting,” she said. “If there was ever a group of people who needed free booze, it’s those who spend all their time with children.”
I laughed as I thought about Mystic’s twins. At almost two-years-old, they were the neatest little things, but I also knew they were a handful. Mystic quitting her job to be a full-time mother and wife was probably the best thing she could have done for her sanity. Though Gage was very hands-on, twins were twins.
“Well, it’s not like this is our first rodeo,” I reminded her. “If we know how to deal with anything, it’s the imbibed.”
Only half an hour into the night, I wasn’t too worried about tonight’s crowd. Educators were rather tame and didn’t party the night away into all hours of the morning. Then my feet stuck to the floor, for one second, when my thoughts led me to Grayson. He was a teacher, but he was far from tamed and I knew he could last through the early morning hours.
Shaking off that intruding thought, I left the bar area to check on the seating area, and make sure there were no last-minute surprises before dinner was served.
Offering greetings and polite talk, it took me fifteen minutes to check the east section sitting, and once I was satisfied with that, I headed towards the north end, only to be stopped short.
Grayson.
Standing around one of the tables that sat six was Grayson, dressed in a suit, looking as breathtaking as he did at Lorcan and Rowan’s wedding. I mean, Grayson was gorgeous any day of the week, but all suited up, he was compellingly handsome.
And next to him stood a lovely blonde with a smile that lit up her face. Glancing at their group, there were four men and two women, but that didn’t mean anything. Two of the men could easily be a couple, therefore, pairing them all up nicely.
I quickly turned around and rushed towards the nearest ladies’ restroom. Grateful that it was empty, I turned on the cold water and splashed my face with it, not caring about my makeup. I didn’t wear it heavily, so it wasn’t anything that I couldn’t touch up.
Staring at the panicked woman in the mirror, I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm my racing pulse. I knew I didn’t have the right to be hurt or jealous, but the shock of seeing Grayson with another woman was a blindside I hadn’t prepared myself for. I’d been so wrapped up in what I was feeling, it never occurred to me that Grayson would have moved on already.
But why wouldn’t he have?
I had flipped out on him and had accused him of some awful things. Why would he wait for me? I sure as hell hadn’t given him anything worth waiting for.
Taking a few more deep breaths, I did my best to pull myself together. This was not the time or place to have a breakdown, and I did have my pride, whatever was left of it.
I was the one who had called it quits. I was the one who hadn’t answered his texts or calls. So, if nothing else, my self-respect demanded that I shove my hurt feelings aside and treat Grayson and his group with the decency he and they deserved.
Putting on my game face, I went back out there to finish the job I had started. Heading back towards the north seating, I checked on all the tables, like I normally did, and plastered a huge smile on my face when I approached Grayson and his table.
His entire body froze when he noticed me, but I made sure to keep my smile in place. “Grayson, how nice it is to see you,” I lied. “I had no idea you were attending tonight’s event.”
