Chapter Two
Marni
They are all here: the banker, the doctor, the CEO; three polished performers, three beautiful wives. Carlton would call them power friends. I’m still not used to any of them, but I am trying to fit in because my husband—I still tingle at the sound of that—is so sure that I,we, need these people in our little world. He was a little terse with me tonight, which worries me; so I’m here, wearing a green dress that feels a bit too skimpy for this crowd. I’m getting lots of stares.
All the important members of Carlton’s exclusive men’s club have arrived, as promised.
John and Maggie Driver—he’s the banker, a zillionaire I’m told, with a crusty formal expression and an authoritative attitude that gives me chills—and I mean this in an oddly sexual way, even if it also feels a little creepy. Maggie is beautifully blonde, well-kept, not even the tiniest flaw on her pretty face; at least not that I can see. She’s also the most welcoming of the women, effusive when she needs to be, drawing me in with her one hand grabbing for mine as if we are old pals. When she plants a kiss on my cheek, I feel grateful for her acceptance. CEO Bronson Kent’s wife, Jane, bores me with her highbrow talk. She wears her dark hair in a pageboy with bangs, and dresses in nothing but black. Jane does book reviews for the Journal and takes on obscure wildlife causes that only she can care about. The others laugh at her behind her back, although I think she knows this and doesn’t care—nothing phases Jane. Still, she’s part oftheir crowd. Of the three, she’s the most dismissive of me. The third, Trina Reeves, is a voluptuous redhead, a bauble to decorate her husband’s arm.
I flirt with them, batting my lashes and smiling coyly. It’s a female body language that usually works in my favor—they find me charming if nothing else. Although I don’t think anything would work in my favor with Jane; she’s just a hard ass bitch. I’m sure she tolerates me only because the others do, and because her handsome husband, who thinks of me as ‘eye-candy’—his words—told her to be nice.
“Hey the
