Page 80 of Make You Love Me

He’s right, I haven’t seen Greyson in a bit. I wonder where he is. He probably saw I was with his dad and felt comfortable leaving me to get some air for a few minutes. I know this type of event probably has him feeling stuffy.

“If you’ll excuse me, I'm going to go look for him,” I say as I stand to leave.

“Hey! You better warn Greyson. We’ll be on that dance floor before the night is over.” I hear Gunnar call out before I disappear into the crowd.

While making my way through the ballroom, I freeze in place when I hear the crooning of Ethel’s voice nearby.

“Oh, there she is… Charlotte, Charlotte darling there you are. Mr. Roberts and I were just talking about how splendid you look this evening. I told him how hard we’ve been working on your image and diet.” I feel my skin crawl in disgust. How dare she act like she had anything to do with it?

Walking over to where they’re sitting at one of the large round dining tables, I politely greet Mr. Roberts. “It's so nice to see you, thank you so much for coming this evening. It really means a lot to us.”

“It's my pleasure, honestly. You look wonderful as always Ms. Charlotte.” I smile kindly in response to his compliment.

“Charlotte, please sit. Speeches will begin soon. I believe the seating chart has you here at table two with me, Mr. Roberts, and Jacob.” I'm so sick of her incessant disregard for my relationship with Greyson.

“Oh, that’s funny, I could have sworn it said table four,” I say with false uncertainty.

Ethel ignores me and focuses back on Mr. Roberts while patting the seat next to her, discreetly commanding I sit down beside her. “I'm so sorry to hear Sherri wasn’t feeling well.”

Ethel ignores Mr. Roberts’ response as her eyes shoot to mine. Her face sporting a look that’s somewhere between ‘what has gotten into you’ and ‘sit your ass down’. I just smile at them both. Mr. Roberts, of course, is oblivious to Ethel silently losing her shit at my disobedience. The mention of Greyson’s mother has me wanting to get the hell away from this table, even more than I already did.

“Mr. Roberts it's been great seeing you, but I must be going. My boyfriend, Greyson, is looking for me. Hope you enjoy the rest of the night.”

I leave them both without a second glance. I’ve had enough of Ethel. I will no longer allow her to dictate my life.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Turningthecornertore-enter the ballroom, I run right into a black tux.

“Sorry man I didn’t—” He stops as we look up and make eye contact for the first time tonight.Jacob Roberts.

Now I’m even more thankful I turned down the shots of tequila Trent was doing with Ford in the staff lounge. Originally, I said no because I know how important this event is to Lottie. Lucky for Jacob because liquor would have thrown my self-control out the window.

I move to walk past him, not wanting to cause a scene, until he grabs my arm to stop me. With his hands on me, all bets are off.

“Don’t touch me Roberts,” I snarl. I believe Lottie that they were just friends, and he was respectful to her, but that doesn’t mean I like the guy.

“Look Greyson. I’ve been wanting to talk to you for a long time. Way before I ever knew you were with Lottie. Can we talk for a second… in private?”

His words surprise me, as does his tone. No malice, no deceit. Making a split-second decision, I nod my head towards the balcony.

We stand there in silence, leaning against the white railing on the second floor.

“Alright, you got me out here. What do you want?” I say bluntly.

He turns towards me. “I know you think I’m the enemy, but I’m not. She is…” The confused look on my face has Jacob continuing, “I remember the first time I saw you come by our house. I overheard the conversation you had with your mother. I already had my opinions of Sherri, but after that, I knew she was a piece of shit. I never even knew you existed.”

Shaking my head, I’m overcome with more emotion than I want to be at the thought of my mother not acknowledging me.

“I’m not saying this to hurt you,” Jacob says before continuing. “But I confronted my dad soon after and he told me that you chose to stay with your father. When I suggested it might be untrue, he told me to forget what I heard, that he couldn’t handle losing her too.”

He pauses, seeming to get emotional himself. “You see, my father had already buried his first wife, my mother. It absolutely wrecked him. So for him, he was going to do whatever it took to keep Sherri around for my brothers. Even if that meant hiring nannies who were ten times the mother figure she ever was.”

“Damn,” is the only thing I can muster as I look out at the night sky. I never in a million years thought I would relate to this guy in any way. This just goes to show that money can’t buy you everything.

“Yeah.” Jacob sighs.

He’s quiet for a minute and then says, "That day in Nori Beach was the first time I had ever given in to Ethel’s persistence about me pursuing Lottie. Which, by the way, she’s even been in my ear tonight, telling me to sit with Lottie or asking me to go talk to her. But I see through Ethel, just like I see through Sherri." He eyes me, expecting a reaction but nothing Ethel does surprises me anymore.

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