Flawless Ruin

“Bad, Mara,” she says, slapping her own hand. “I am doing a very terrible job at keeping you up to date on the company gossip, aren’t I, roomie?”

I can’t say she’s had much of a chance, what with the long days I’ve been putting in. “What gossip?” I ask, hoping it doesn’t involve me.

“Olivia and Caleb are still locking horns, trying to curry favor with the various board members,” she says with a shrug. “Apparently, whenever she comes in, the temperature in the place drops thirty degrees. Yesterday, he ordered her out and told her to go fuck herself.”

“I believe it.” I wince. “Sounds like more of the same stuff we witnessed, remember? The day after the gala?”

She shudders. “Yeah. Awkward!”

When we reach the massive home that looks a little like the White House, I know it’s about to get a lot more so. We’re ushered around to the back of the house, where a rolling lawn is set up with tents of food, and a band playing.

I knew Sterling Cross had a lot of employees, but I never realized how many until now, seeing everyone gathered in one place. The back lawn is packed with people, all standing in tight groups, mingling. We move through the crowds, stopping to say hi to the people we know, and to get drinks from the lavish bar set up in the open air. But of course, I’m on alert, looking for Caleb.

There he is, talking to a couple of executives. He’s dressed less formally than his everyday suit, in a button-down shirt and light casual dress pants, and of course, he looks incredible, with his sleeves pushed up, revealing his tanned forearms; hair burnished in the sun. I have to tear my gaze away before I launch into another steamy fantasy, about what, exactly, those hands could do...

“Quite a party, huh?”

I turn, as David approaches with a smile. “Hi,” I blurt, taking a gulp of my icy drink to cool down. “Yes, it’s… Lavish, alright.” I check his mood; I haven’t seen him all week, I’ve been avoiding my desk so much, and I wonder if he feels like I’m blowing him off.

But David seems fine. “You made it.” He smiles. “Mara didn’t get any speeding tickets on the way up?”

I laugh, relaxing a little. “You’ve been in a car with her, then?”

“Oh yeah. I caught a ride to an event once, I swear she ran three red lights.” David grins. “She’s missed her calling in NASCAR.”

See? He’s acting perfectly normal. Which means I should, too.

“I heard about that archive project you got roped into,” David adds, friendly. “It sounds brutal.”

“Oh, it’s not too bad. I kind of like the peace and quiet.” I’ll never let on that I volunteered for the project. “So is there any itinerary to today?” I ask curiously. “Or do we just sit around, drink, and socialize?”

He laughs. “No. That’s probably it. There’ll be some games later: tennis, croquet, boating on the lake for people who want to. The idea is for different departments that normally don’t interact to come together and have a good time.” He gives me a sideways glance. “Were you hoping for a color war, like in camp?”

I laugh. “Well… It could spice things up a bit.”

“Uh oh,” David murmurs, looking over my head. “Here comes the Wicked Witch of the Upper East Side.”

I turn to see Olivia, flouncing about. It’s hard to miss her, in the bright red halter jumpsuit. She’s waving to people left and right, the life of the party.

I steal a glance at Caleb, who is probably the only person who isn’t looking at her.

No, he’s looking at me.

My face flames as he excuses himself from the executives and strolls toward us. I stiffen. David is telling me a story about a flat tire he got on the way up here, and I try to smile and pretend I’m really into it. “Really? Oh.”

It’s only when Caleb steps before us that I realize he has a woman with him. She’s a curvy knockout, probably younger than me, clinging to his arm like a second skin.

From the way she’s looking at him, I know she’s been in his bed.

I know, because that’s the way I look at him.

Jealousy crashed through me. It’s all too painful. Is that Madeline? I wonder. She’s not wearing the bracelet he had inscribed.

But maybe that wasn’t his only gift.

“Good to see you, David,” Caleb says, shaking his hand. His eyes sweep past me, toward his date. “Let me introduce you to Darcy.”

She giggles, beaming at us. “Nice to meet you all!”