Page 69 of Lovebug
Somehow, Doreen gets her bearings and continues her welcome speech.
“So, as I was saying to every single one of you gathered here tonight… I am honored that you have joined us. Together, we are about to embark on a journey of wealth and health and wellness, and I couldn’t be more excited to get started.”
“Me neither!” Wallace shouts. “Woooooo-hoooo! Let the healing begin.”
Chapter Thirteen
An hour later, the presentation is in full swing. There have been product demonstrations galore. Doreen has been the hostess with the most-ess as always, and the people assembled tonight seem genuinely jazzed about the supplements and creams and powders and oils and balms and soaps and serums that the business has to offer. Yeah, there’s a lot of products. I’ve learned over the past few months that health and wellness is apparently not cheap.
Despite his earlier weirdness and disruptiveness, Wally has been surprisingly quiet and respectful since, only bursting out the occasional whoop or cheer from time to time to match the others' enthusiasm. Unlike Mr. Landis, though, the man in front of me who claps after every demonstration and even seems to have happy, hopeful tears in his eyes, Wally’s hoots don’t quite seem genuine. But what do I know? I barely know the guy. Maybe these past sixty minutes have made him a believer.
The slideshow presentation at the front of the room shifts, and the energy in the room shifts along with it. A big beautiful triangle is blaring from the screen. The Triangle of Trust. Excited whispers flutter throughout the space. It’s time to talk about the compensation plan.
I may be imagining it, but it seems like Wally’s spine goes ramrod straight at that moment. He clears his throat. His eyes narrow.
Uh-oh.
I missed Doreen’s introductory words since I was so focused on the man beside me, who is now fidgeting and mumbling something indecipherable under his breath. All I catch is the tail end of her spiel when she smiles, and says, “Now, who would like to volunteer?”
Wally’s hand shoots up like a rocket. My heart rate does the same.
“What are you doing?!” I hiss.
“Volunteering,” he hisses right back. “The lady asked for a volunteer, did she not? I’m volunteering.”
I spin in my seat and take in the sea of hands, hoping somehow his hand stays unseen.
“She did, yeah,” I hedge, “but—”
“But what?” He jerks his hand higher toward the ceiling.
“But does it have to be you?” I hear myself whine.
“Yes, you!” Doreen’s voice rings clear as a bell over the heads in front of us. Her eyes zero in on Wally, and she wags her arm toward her body. “Come. Join us up front!”
I have to give it to Doreen. She always welcomes a challenge.
A wave of nerves washes over me. Somehow my body knows this isn’t going to go well.
Wally gives me a wink and lowers his hand onto my upper thigh for a moment. It’s just a moment. A milli-moment really. A simple pat. A quick little pat-pat before he stands and heads down the aisle, but I feel a zing course through my body at the contact. Myentirebody. And that zing lingers. I can honestly say I have never once felt a zing from physical contact with Bert. Not even in our early days in high school. Up until this point, I haven’t minded the lack of zinging. Truth be told, I didn’t think zinging was a real thinging. I mean a realthing. I thought that was just something made up that people talked about in books and movies. But it must be real because here I am with a body that’s zinging like crazy from a simple pat on the thigh. From a man who is not my fiancé. A man who I kissed less than eight hours ago.
It’s official.
I’m a jerk.
I’m a cheater and a jerk.
That’s right, ladies and gentlemen! Mabel McGonigle is a cheating jerk!
Laughter snaps me out of my self-induced guilt fog. I look up and see Wally has reached the front of the room, and his arm is around Doreen. Her face flushes, and she’s laughing too. Seems I’m not the only one affected by this guy.
“So. Tell us, Wallace. What brought you here tonight? ”She beams up at him from where she’s tucked under his arm and giggling. In thesix years, ten months, and seven dayssince I first met her, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard Doreen giggle.
“Mabel,” he responds simply. His deep voice resonates throughout the room.
“Mabel?” Clearly, that wasn’t the response she was expecting.
“Yes, ma’am. The enchanting Mabel brought me here tonight.” He points at me and gives me his salute. I see Bert swivel in his seat to find me as well. I sink lower into my chair. I’m definitely getting a bad feeling about this. “Well, Mabel and my desire to spend the night being an Ovis Aries.”
