Barbie would smile at Ken as she jumped up and down in excitement, but still waited for that ring on her finger. She would hook her arm in his and off they would go to the ball.
Once they arrived, Barbie would look around and thank Ken for bringing her to such a glamorous event. She would feel like the luckiest Barbie on Earth to be on the arm of the most handsome male of them all. Barbie was a queen and Ken was her king.
All would go well until Teresa Barbie showed up at the ball with her long, silky, black hair and eyes like a cat. Her skin glowing with a luminous tan as she strutted her little body in her silvery, short, glittered dress past my king. I watched as his head turned and the smile on his face grew wide.
“Excuse me, Barbie. I’m going to get us some drinks from the bar.”
He walked away and I noticed he approached Teresa. Tears filled my eyes as I watched them talk and laugh. He grabbed her hand and off they went. My king, stolen by another woman. I ran back to my townhouse, as my world was now shattered. The love of my life. My king. My Ken, dumped me for another Barbie. My life would never be the same.
And that was where it all began. Somehow, we knew, even as children who played innocently with Barbies, that men would ultimately betray us and fill our hearts with promises they never intended to keep, leaving us alone and wondering what the other Barbie had that we didn’t.
* * *
What’s the moral of this story, you ask? It’s simple. Men suck, Barbies suck, and there’s no such thing as true love. Does life go on? Sure it does, but with plenty of tequila. This is my story.
Chapter 1
Sierra
I stirred when I heard my phone beep and I opened my eyes. The smell of his cologne first thing in the morning was nauseating. I rolled out from under his arm and picked up my phone, which I left sitting on his nightstand last night. Shit, I thought as I read a text message from Kirsty.
“Where the hell are you? I’m at your house, sitting on your unslept bed. Did you forget about the meeting you have this morning with the Dickson Brothers? They already aren’t fond of you. This is your last chance.”
“I didn’t forget. Get out my black pinstripe pant suit and my black lace push-up bra. You know, the one with the extra lift? I’ll be home soon.”
“Look what I found!” Royce said as he held up the leather strap.
“Good times,” I said as I gave a fake smile and put on my bra.
He got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom.
“Grab a cup of coffee on your way out. My maid bought some to-go cups,” he said as he peed with the door open.
I rolled my eyes at his generosity and pulled on my skirt, grabbed my purse, and put on my sunglasses.
“I’m out of here, Royce. Thanks for last night.”
“Have a good day, Sierra. We’ll talk soon. Last night was fun,” he yelled as I walked out the door.
James, my driver, was waiting for me at the curb.
“Good morning, Sierra,” he said as I took the cup of coffee he held in his hand.
“Morning.”
James had been driving me and my father around for the last five years. He was accustomed to me and my behaviors. The thing I loved about him was that he didn’t judge me, unlike my mother, Delia. He knew my patterns and he knew my men. Shit, he knew my secrets. He was there for me during the toughest times in my life and he got me.
“Tough night, Sierra?” he asked.
I yawned before I took a sip of my coffee. “Isn’t it always, James?”
He cocked a smile and pulled up to my house located in the Hollywood Hills. As he reached his hand out the window and punched in the three-digit code to the gate, I watched as Kirsty came running out of the house with her hands up in the air.
Kirsty and I were the same age and we met back in college when we were roommates. Delia was appalled that I actually stayed in a dorm freshman year because the Adams were better than that. I wanted the rounded freshman college experience of living on campus, even if it was just for a year. I hated every minute of it and my dad refused to let me move because he said it would be good for me to see the other side of life. After my freshman year, my dad moved me into an upscale apartment, and I moved Kirsty in with me. She became like a second daughter to him. Not only was she my assistant, but she was also my best friend. She grew up in a small town in Missouri and attended UCLA on a full-ride scholarship for business. She was incredibly smart, and she tried to her best to keep me grounded. She had a thing for James, and I was pretty sure he had a thing for her. Who wouldn’t love her five-eight stature and size two waist? Not to mention her gorgeous long, brown, wavy hair and big brown eyes. She was one of the funniest and sweetest people I knew, and I loved her more than the world. When my father passed away two years ago, and I took over as CEO of Adams Advertising, I brought Kirsty on as my assistant. She already kept my life in order, so why not pay her for it? As for her and James, there was a twelve-year gap in age between them. She was thirty and he was forty-two. She didn’t see anything wrong with it. I did because my parents were twelve years apart and it didn’t turn out well.
My parents, Carl and Delia Adams, divorced when I was nine years old. They shared joint custody of me because my dad wouldn’t have it any other way. I was his little angel and the only angel in his life. He got my mom pregnant at the age of eighteen and they thought they were doing the right thing by getting married. Obviously, it wasn’t, because they always fought. During my weeks with him, he would make me come to the office to sit and observe. He always told me that Adams Advertising, one of the largest advertising agencies in the world, was going to be mine someday and he wanted to make sure I was ready for it. I learned the ropes, the tricks, the lingo, and then attended UCLA, where I graduated with a master’s degree. As soon as I graduated, I became his right hand.
He was diagnosed with prostate cancer at the age of fifty-two and lost his battle four years later. I became the CEO of Adams Advertising when I was just twenty-eight years old and had been running it for almost two years. It was tough being a young corporate woman where nobody wanted to take you seriously. That was why I devoted my life to my career and my company. There were other reasons, but I’ll get into that later.
“It’s about time? Do you see what time it is?” Kirsty snapped.
“Yes, I do,” I said as James helped me out of the limo. “Are my clothes ready?”
“Of course they’re ready. All laid out nicely on the bed, waiting for you to change into them.”
I walked into the house, set my coffee on the counter in the kitchen, and said hello to Rosa, my maid.
“Good morning, Sierra.”
“Morning, Rosa. Toast a half of bagel for me please, light cream cheese. I’ll grab it on my way out.”
“No problem, Senorita.”
I walked upstairs and opened my bedroom door. There, lying on the bed, was my pinstripe black suit and my push-up bra. Kirsty followed behind and sat on the bed while I changed.
“So, how many last night?” she asked.
I turned to her and smiled as I threw my shirt at her and put on my push-up bra. “Three.”
“Damn. The only orgasms I’ve had lately were compliments of moi.”