The One who got Away

When I got back to my desk, I saw that I had received a new email from HR talking about the upcoming cocktail party the company was putting on. It was on Thursday, scheduled in celebration of the quarter ending, an impressively successful quarter. It was going to be a formal event in one of the large hotels in the city. Everyone from the office, the investors, and several of our biggest clients would be invited. There would be booze, food, dancing, and a lot of friendly conversation. I really wasn’t looking forward to it because I often spent most of the years past events explaining why I hadn’t brought a date. I was getting tired of the jokes made about it being past time for me to get on the marriage train. Obviously, marriage wasn’t a foolproof plan to happiness, and even Jordan, who had gotten married, wouldn’t make it to the cocktail party with a wife on his arm. No doubt that he would at least come with a date, though. He was smart enough to know that taking some girl with him was less of a headache than listening to the clients joke about your lack of matrimonial support.

I sighed and tapped my finger on the button, knowing I would have to RSVP before my father caught wind that I hadn’t. Immediately, I thought about Tiffany and wondered if she already had plans to go to it. I took a deep breath and fished my phone out of my pocket and dialed Tiffany’s number. I hoped she wasn’t too angry at me for not returning her text messages. I was being a little bit sensitive about everything, and I knew I shouldn’t have been. To my surprise, she picked up on the first ring, her voice sounding relieved and settled. I guess I had affected her more than I thought I would. I started to feel bad about it.

“Hey,” I said with a sorrowful tone.

“Hey,” she replied with a happy voice.

“I want to apologize for getting upset about you not wanting to eat with my parents,” I said. “It was really insensitive of me to not think it might be a little strange and maybe too much.”

“It’s okay,” she sighed. “I’m sorry I was so blunt and short about it.”

“You weren’t,” I replied. “I was just being sensitive. I blame the booze and lack of sleep.”

“I can accept that,” she laughed. “So, what’s up?”

“I wanted to see if you wanted to go the cocktail party for the end of the quarter?”

“Of course,” she said. “I’m already signed up to go.”

“Am I going to fight your date?”

“No,” she laughed. “I am going solo with the hope there is a hot man waiting for me there. Preferably named Jason.”

“That’s pretty specific.” I chuckled.

“Yeah, you know me.” she giggled. “I like to plan out everything perfectly.”

“I don’t blame you,” I replied, walking around the office. “Okay, well then, I will see you there.”

“Absolutely,” she said before hanging up.

I clicked the phone off and stood staring out the window, clutching the phone to my chest. I was relieved she wasn’t upset with me, but at the same time, I still wondered what was going on in her head. Was she really okay with my apology? Had she said no to dinner because of the speed things were going or was it because of Jordan? Speaking of Jordan, my attention turned quickly as I heard him clear his throat behind me in the doorway. I turned quickly and smiled, wondering how long he had been standing there.

“So, is the new girl coming to meet us at the cocktail party?”

“I hope so,” I replied, thinking about Tiffany’s sweet face.

“Good,” he said suspiciously. “I can’t wait to meet the girl that has taken my brother’s attention from everything.”

I smiled nervously as he tapped the doorframe and walked from the room, looking me in the eye as he passed into the hallway. Fear dropped into the pit of my stomach wondering why he was acting so strange. Was it possible he knew what was going on but just wanted to confront it head on? The last thing we needed was for Jordan to lose it at the cocktail party. Not only would he embarrass the company, but he would put Tiffany through even more crap than she had already been through with him. On the other hand, the sooner he knew, the sooner he could start to work it out in his head. If Tiffany truly felt she and Jordan had not been meant for each other, then somewhere deep down, he had to have felt that, too. But knowing my brother, he was not looking deep down inside. Instead, he was looking only surface deep where anger and jealousy were mounting.

I had always looked forward to the cocktail parties, mostly because I could remember going to them as a child and dancing the night away with my mother. My father had always turned these events into fun outings for the family, and he didn’t stop just because we had grown up. Now, I was going to get to share that with Tiffany, even if no one else knew about us. Sure, she had been to them before with Jordan, but he’d always left her sitting alone at the bar while he went perusing through the crowd, trying to make a name for himself. This time, she would be there with me, and I wanted her to have a blast.

Chapter 16

Tiffany

My dress was sparkly and daring, unlike the extremely conservative dresses I had worn in the past. This year, I chose a short, black dress with a sparkling black lace overlay that showed not only cleavage but gave the illusion of an open back. My hair was wild and curly, tossed to the side and left to spiral down over my shoulders. I had done my makeup in a dark, sultry style with deep eyeliner, smoky eyeshadow, and a bright red lipstick to set off the entire ensemble. I’d encased my legs in silky, barely there thigh-highs and donned my black, six-inch heels, the ones that made my legs appear even longer. I wore a long over coat over my dress, and I couldn’t help but smirk as everyone stared when I took the coat off and checked it. In front of me, I clutched my small purse in my hands but tried not to fidget, wanting to look as calm and collected as possible. This was the first one of these I was coming to without a date since I had dated Jordan for pretty much my entire career at the company. It was nerve-racking, mostly because I knew what these people were whispering behind my back. I was the woman scorned, tossed to the side, and now, I was back, with a little sexy black dress. If it weren’t me they were gawking at, it would be almost comical.

“Tiffany,” Lily called, waving and grabbing John by the hand. They maneuvered over to me, and Lily immediately hugged me. “John said he had seen you. You look absolutely amazing. How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.” I smiled. “Getting back on my feet. I feel better every day.”

“I’m so glad.” She took me by the hands. “I’m sorry my son is such a jerk. We miss you so much.”

“Awe, I miss you guys, too,” I sighed.

“You need to start coming back to Sunday dinners,” she said. “Even if I have to kick Jordan out of them.”