Page 28 of Boss On Notice
My face is warm and I hope my skin hasn’t turned red. I slowly set my attention on Mina, who’s grinning at me as if she’s figured out the truth. I’m not sure she has though. I think she’s just amused by the possibility.
* * *
We’ve dispersedand have taken our seats. Orion stands in line with the other groomsmen, grimacing as if he hates it. I watched Achilles talk him into being part of the wedding party. The Lord brothers have a strange dynamic. I’ve been trying to figure it out ever since I started working for LTI. They never force Orion to fulfill major obligations—only the insignificant ones. I always believed that Orion suffers from having low expectations set for him. Hercules is the golden boy and Achilles is the enforcer. But Orion is the one who always has to be managed while his brothers do the important crap. I actually feel sorry for him standing up there with a front row seat to his brother marrying the only woman he ever loved.Look at him, standing up there all miserable.It’s the ultimate slap in the face. I should tell him the truth, and even fess up about the ring. We should definitely try to figure out why I was wearing one.
“He’s handsome, isn’t he?” Heather whispers in my ear.
I jump startled. She’s sitting next to me. I rip my gaze off Orion. Shit, I’ve been staring at him. It’s only when I look away from him that I realize he’s been staring at me too.
I shrug indifferently. “I don’t know,” I whisper.
She’s smiling like a new convert of a cult. “Well, he is, and we are going to make it official very soon.”
I detect a final phrase to what she just revealed, but she’s choosing to leave it unspoken. But it goes something like this: so, leave him the fuck alone. Or…so don’t ever wake up naked in bed with him again with a diamond ring on your finger because he belongs to me.
Thankfully, the wedding march strikes up. I don’t know how to feel about the strange exchange between Heather and me. I’ve been staring at Orion for so long that I hadn’t noticed the groom has already taken his position. So now is not the time to think about Heather. But oh boy, does Achilles Lord steal the show or what? He is the epitome of what a man should look like on his wedding day. When Treasure makes her appearance in an elegant and effortless white silk gown, he is so captivated by her that even I feel as if they are the only two people in the garden. Suddenly, my night with Orion isn’t on my mind anymore. I am in the presence of, encapsulated by, and privy to a display of true love.
* * *
The couple has just finished exchangingtheir vows that were at times humorous and heartfelt. I was on the edge of my seat when Achilles told Treasure that she was his breath, blood, and best friend. I believed every word he spoke and thought I’ll probably never know how it feels to be loved that way.
“Now, Achilles Lord, you may kiss your bride, and you, Treasure Grove, may kiss your groom,” the officiant, who is a very serious middle-aged man pronounces. According to Jenn, the officiant was Achilles’s choice. Treasure had chosen the venue and all the unconventional wedding activities like last night’s party. She even wanted his cousin Nero to preside over the ceremony but Achilles said, “Absolutely not.” He had taken the hands-off approach with everything else, but he wanted a serious wedding ceremony, which for him meant a real ordained minister who has a British accent. Treasure said, “Deal,” and that’s how we ended up in Las Vegas. Now that I think about it, she’s the reason for my woes and my hangover.
“May I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Achilles Lord,” the officiant proclaims.
Yes. I heard from Jenn that Treasure has zero hang-ups with being referred to as Mrs. Achilles Lord. She likes being reminded that she chose well when she chose him. The newly married husband and wife don’t hesitate before they go in for another smooch. I’m having a visceral reaction to their kissing. I catch a flash of Orion’s face up close in a low-light setting. I rub my damp palms over my thighs and then clutch them. He was close to me at some point last night, before the obvious sex that we had.Oh no, what have we done?I shout on the inside.
Then my petrified gaze lands on Orion and he’s watching me too.
* * *
After the ceremony,I felt like a zombie as I follow the procession of guests down a long walkway designed to make us feel like we’re taking a wedding stroll down a quaint street in Venice, Italy. Orion is walking with the groomsmen and they’re all singing a song I’ve never heard. Now might be the time to duck out and leave for home. Tomorrow is Sunday—Orion and I are supposed to fly out first thing in the morning. Five hours on the airplane with him alone seems like an impossible task to complete. I can’t be alone with him until I figure this out. This, meaning the brand-new attraction I have toward him.
“You’ve turned green,” Mina says. She’s now keeping step with me. “Still sick from overdoing it?”
I nod, only half lying. My stomach and head still aren’t in the most pristine condition, but what’s mostly making me feel ill is the fact that I can’t remember my night with Orion.
“I feel like shit too.”
“What’s the song they’re singing?” I ask, figuring she may know it.
Mina rolls her big bright eyes. “Some frat boy number.”
I laugh a little. The twins are a good time, that’s for sure.
We file into a wide-open space decorated with beautifully adorned tables and chairs. It’s all so ornate that I feel that we’ve stepped into a banquet room at the Vatican. I can’t help but seek out Orion. Heather has fastened herself to his side, and has so boldly taken the seat that was reserved for her until he broke their date and now it’s supposed to belong to me.
“Come sit with us,” Lina says. Her arm is already linked around mine and she’s guiding me to her table.
* * *
Heather’s milkingher nearness to the groom’s brother and the last unmarried Lord brother for all it’s worth. She’s touching Orion on the arm a lot and whispering in his ear. Occasionally his gaze finds mine, especially after he gave the most awkward and quickest wedding toast in history.
“I hope you make it. Good luck,” he had said and then sat back down.
Everybody at my table fought back their laughter except me. I didn’t want to laugh at all. I feel so sorry for him, and I should not be feeling sorry for him. But after the last time our gazes met and butterflies fluttered in my belly, I decided to pretend he’s not here. That strategy has been working so far. The misfits are a fun group. They’ve rapid-fired dozens of questions at me. They know about my dad’s accident and how much LTI pays me. They know that I had to take the job and be Orion’s servant instead of pursuing my own dreams of being a Broadway dancer or a psychologist. I hadn’t figured it out yet. However, I promised to show them my best dance moves when the band strikes up.
I’ve learned more about some of them too. Ben is a Wall Street trader and hates his job. Carl is an associate producer of a nighttime talk show. Chase is an English teacher and an author of two very long sci-fi novels. And Lina is a book editor and Mina is a literary agent. Our conversation has variety. We talk famous people who they’ve had personal encounters with, some good and some awkward as hell. They chime in on their experiences with the same people. They all agree that the person is cool or an asshole. At the moment, they’re making a bet about whether or not Heather will be able to rope Orion into marry her.
