See, Ingram? I can look adorbs.
Victoria swats my hand as I go to straighten my dress one more time.
“Stop fidgeting. You look sexy as fuck. Come on. T is waiting for us.”
She grabs my hand, pulling me up the stairs and to the front door. I can feel the bass from the music before the door even opens. Once it does, I’m greeted by a man who’s dressed similar to how Thomas usually is.
“Come in. Miss Yates is in the den.” The man indicates a room on the right.
“Thank you. My name is Sage. Nice to meet you.” I hold out my hand to shake, and the man looks down at it before slowly reaching out to take it.
“You may call me Boswell.” He looks puzzled by me.
“Nice to meet you. Have a good evening, Boswell.”
Victoria laughs as we make our way into the other room.
“I think you broke the butler. They aren’t used to people talking to them unless it’s to bark an order.”
I frown and stop her. “And you think that’s okay?”
She shrugs. “It’s just how it is.”
I shake my head. “That’s the problem with this place. You’ve lost your humanity. Boswell isn’t a human to you. He’s an object. Something that performs a task but is expendable. I bet if he was broken, you would just replace him too.”
She meets my eyes, looking guilty. She opens her mouth to speak, but a voice behind us startles us both.
“Boswell has been with us since I was a child. I can say with confidence that if he were to become ‘broken,’ as you say, we wouldn’t be so quick to replace him. He’s family, even if it’s not by name. Yes, he’s employed by us, but he’s also much more than that. Before you judge, maybe you should get all of the facts.”
Reed doesn’t say another word before pushing between us and heading into the den. We stare at him before Victoria turns to me.
“Sorry, S. You’re right, but you’re wrong. Thomas is important to us, but I know not everyone treats their help that way.”
I give her a half-hearted smile. “I’m sorry too, V. That was judgmental of me to assume everyone treats their employees badly. Here I am thinking everyone is terrible for being typical rich people. I know it’s not much of an excuse, but I’m a little on edge. Sorry for being a bitch.”
“Everything is forgiven.” She reaches in for a hug.
I tense for a moment but then allow my arms to fold around her. It’s still weird to be hugged by someone other than my mom.
“There you are! Come on. I need help with my dress.”
We both turn around to find Tinsley gesturing us the opposite way of the den. We dutifully follow her up to her room. Once there, I smile. She has several people in the room working on different items.
“With all of these people, why didn’t you ask one of them to help with the dress?”
She smiles sheepishly. “Okay, so I don’t actually need help, but I needed someone else to talk to. Keaton and Reed are driving me crazy. Add in Sterling and Finley and I might need to be institutionalized.”
Victoria chuckles. “What are they doing?”
“Every five minutes, one comes in to ‘check’ on me but ends up lecturing me about tonight. ‘Don’t drink a lot. No kissing. Behave.’ You would think I’m thirteen, not fifteen.”
She rolls her eyes as a woman brings her dress over.
I walk around the room, looking at the different pictures and items throughout. I smile at the photo of her with all four boys at a diner. I can tell they’re all at least a couple of years younger.
The next is a picture of her with Reed at a lacrosse game. He’s obviously sweaty, but she still hugs him, and his arm is wrapped around her shoulders. The smile on their faces is obviously the real deal.
I go to move to the next, but before I can, I hear a throat clear from behind me.
I turn, finding Tinsley standing with her arms slightly out.
“What do you think?” I can see the insecurity in her eyes.
The A-line dress is gorgeous. It hugs every bit of her torso and hips, fanning out to cascade down her legs. The front ends at her knees, but the back falls all the way to the floor. The lace running down her arms adds elegance to the dress. She looks like a princess.
“You look….” I trail off, at a loss for words.
She goes to speak, but I hold up my hand.
“Sorry, I’m speechless. You look that amazing. There are no words to describe it.”
She gives me a big cheesy smile and blushes. I forget sometimes that while Tinsley’s only a couple years younger than me, she’s been much more sheltered. She craves validation.
“You do look gorgeous, T,” Victoria says from next to me.
“Thanks, guys. The boys didn’t want me to have any alcohol before the party, but I had Esmerelda sneak me a small bottle. Let’s take a quick shot.”
I shake my head at the gleam in her eyes.
She’s a whole lot of angel with a little bit of devil.
“I don’t really drink,” I say.
“Come on, Sage,” she whines. “One shot with me?”
I smile at her antics. “Fine. One shot.” I walk over to her as she pours them. When she hands me one we tap them together. “Cheers,” We say in unison.
∞∞∞
“This area is off limits.”
I whip my head up to look down the hall.
My surprise melts to disdain when I realize who’s walking towards me. I don’t bother answering him, choosing to remain silent. Reed stops in front of me, but I don’t meet his eyes. Instead, I pretend to study my nails.
“The silent treatment, huh? You know, I could kick you out for being up here.”
I glare at him. He chuckles before sliding down the wall across from me. His smile remains long after his chuckle fades as he continues to stare at me.
After minutes of silence, I let out a breath before going to stand from the floor.
“Where are you going? This was just getting interesting.” He stands before leaning against the wall.
“So interesting. Thank you for the company.” I go to leave, but he moves quickly, grabbing my arm.
“Wait. Why don’t you stay so we can talk?”
“Why in the world would I want to talk to you?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
I shake my head before trying to walk past him. He stops me again.
“Get your hands off me.”
“Lighten up, Sage. You can’t take life so seriously.”
“You have to be fucking kidding me.” I take a couple of deep breaths to calm my anger. “Move, Reed. I think it’s time for me to leave.”
Instead of moving, he takes a step closer. “What are you doing up here?”
I roll my eyes. “Your sister told the guy blocking the stairs that I could come up here any time I want. Not that I owe you any explanations.”
He crowds me against the wall. “Oh, but I think you do. You see, this is my house. You’re in my world. So I’m going to ask you again. What are you doing up here? Scoping the place for valuables? Sniffing my underwear? Putting Nair in my shampoo?”
I push against him, attempting to get him to move. “Glad you see the best in me. Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m up here to get some quiet time. If you couldn’t tell, parties aren’t really my scene.”