"Dammit! Busted!" I stand up and acknowledge I'm the man being hunted.
He lets Tiara know I'm in here, then apologizes to me as he walks by me. "Sorry, dude, I thought she was looking for her old man. She made it sound like he could be disoriented."
I laugh with him. "It's all good. My stepmother can be very persuasive." I tuck my phone inside my jacket pocket, finger the damp handkerchief, and the engagement ring for motivation to maintain discipline and stroll out.
Tiara is standing with her hands on her hips, annoyed. "I've been looking all over the place for you!"
"Well, here I am." I shrug my shoulders, giving zero fucks.
"Follow me." She states as she takes off. "I was able to upgrade our seats."
The words 'whose cock did you suck to get them' sit unspoken on the tip of my tongue as I follow her. We pass a waiter with a tray of full champagne flutes and snatch two to wash the words down.
When we arrive at our new seats, I am impressed. It must have been the emcee's cock. We are seated front and center at the foot of the stairs off the end of the catwalk, where the models will come down to walk among the crowd.
"My hat is off to you, Mother. These are the best seats in the house."
"Of course," she states. "Nothing but the best will do."
I pick up the program sitting in the seat, then settle in to watch the show. I check the schedule periodically to see what number we are on.
Fifteen minutes in, I'm bored out of my mind.
* * *
Meanwhile….
Zella
Cathy says out of the corner of her mouth. "Don't look now, but Georgianna is walking over here."
When our model arrives, she apologizes. "I'm so sorry. I must have gotten food poisoning, but I'm feeling much better now."
Cathy tells her, "That's good to hear, but Zella is going to walk in your place."
She looks like we slapped her with a wet fish. "Listen," she says, "I'm really sorry. I wasn't actually sick. I'm good. I can do it."
"What do you mean, you weren't actually sick?" Cathy frowns.
"I wasn't. I was only pretending to be." She rolls her eyes and continues. "God, this is bad! I'm so sorry, but I needed the extra money." She looks at us, not wanting to say more.
Cathy says, "Spill it!"
"Your Mother orchestrated this whole 'you get sick, and they can't find a replacement in time' scenario. She said she would pay me more money to do that than you are paying me to work."
"Is that right?" Cathy smirks, 'I knew it.'
"But I was stupid. I would rather work. I realize I could lose my career if this gets out."
I point to the exit. "YOU need to get out. NOW!"
"UGH! I knew you would be a bitch about it.” She bellows, but she stomps off.
Cathy turns to face me with her arms over her chest, and she tells me as she turns her face to watch Georgianna go. "Zella, I have GOT to cut ties with that bitch!"
Then she walks over to the garment bag and lifts out the bridal gown. "I don't know how much Bubba has told you about Tiara, but she hates him. Worse than me."
I frown, remembering the way he kissed her cheek. "He hasn't spoken about her at all to me."
