One of Us Is Dead(21)

“Richard is my boyfriend!” Her lips pursed together and her eyes tightened. She opened her mouth for a moment, but then snapped it closed.

“My mistake.” I placed my hand gently on her shoulder as I walked past her. Even my insults were charming. If you passed it off as a misunderstanding, the other person couldn’t really get mad at you. I felt I needed to protect Shannon this evening . . . no matter what. She was beyond fragile.

I finally caught up with Mark at the bar. He was already working on his second glass of scotch and chatting with Bryce. Crystal stood on the other side of them, sipping at a flute of champagne, completely zoned out. I grabbed a glass of white wine and walked over to her. It was clear she needed someone.

“Hey, hon. How are you?” I leaned in for a hug. She immediately snapped out of her daze and hugged me back. I know I had promised Shannon I wouldn’t be nice to her tonight, but I felt bad for Crystal. I mean, all she had in this town was Bryce.

“Oh my God. I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered in my ear. “I’m bored to tears.”

I released the hug. “You know how I get through these events?”

Crystal perked up. “How?”

I held up my glass. “A whole hell of a lot of this.”

She giggled, downed her drink, and grabbed two more from a waiter’s serving tray as he walked by. She downed a second one and set it on the bar, then clinked her third glass with mine.

I overheard Bryce and Mark chatting about Mark’s plastic surgery business and Bryce’s plans to run for president one day. I let out a small chuckle at the thought. A few years ago, I’d say he never had a chance, but now it’s clear anyone can be president, including that insincere asshole.

“Have you seen Olivia?” Crystal asked.

“Not yet. She usually likes to arrive a little late to make a grand entrance.” I rolled my eyes.

I could see Crystal was nervous about seeing the women—especially Shannon and Olivia, given their last interaction. “Listen, don’t worry about Olivia. She’s all bark and no bite. And Shannon, she’ll come around. She’s just bitter, as I’m sure you can understand.”

Crystal nodded. “I know. I know. It’s weird. I want them to like me even though I don’t really even like them.”

“I think you might just be starting to understand Buckhead.” I winked at her.

She smiled and took another sip of her champagne. “Look, there’s Jenny and Keisha.” Crystal pointed across the room.

My eyes followed her finger. Jenny and Keisha walked in side by side. Jenny was in a gorgeous long black lace dress with a deep V-neck. It hugged her body in all the right places and accentuated her strawberry-blond hair, which had an old Hollywood look to it tonight. Keisha was wearing a strappy gold sequin dress. It was long and tight, highlighting her perfect curves. Her naturally curly hair was even more glorious than usual. Her full lips were painted red, and her icy-blue eyes were heightened with shades of purple eye shadow and full sets of fake eyelashes, a new service recently added to Glow. As they walked toward us, heads turned.

“They come here?” Crystal asked.

“Yes. Jenny owns a highly successful business in the area, and she always brings Keisha as her date. Plus, they do touch-ups on their clients throughout the night. Jenny’s never not working.”

Crystal nodded. As Keisha and Jenny approached us, they both grabbed a glass of champagne from a server walking by, almost in unison. I had known Jenny very well, but as much as I saw Keisha, I didn’t know her like I knew Jenny. Our conversations had always been limited, small talk here and there and exchanges of pleasantries. But Keisha fascinated me. She was truly the most beautiful woman in all of Buckhead. She always struck me as talented, driven, and genuine, yet she was underappreciated and underestimated in our community. She knew it, but it didn’t seem to faze her. She was unapologetically herself, and she didn’t care who liked her and who didn’t. In a town full of insecure women and arrogant men, I found such quiet confidence mesmerizing. I had a feeling Keisha was going to achieve great things in life. It was just a matter of time.

“Hello, ladies,” Jenny said as she stopped right in front of us.

Keisha stood beside her with one hand on her hip. “Hey, girls.”

We all exchanged hugs and pleasantries.

“I heard about what happened last week with Olivia. I’m sorry,” I said.

I hadn’t been to the salon all week, because I had been preoccupied with doctor and therapist appointments as well as house showings. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with my hormones and referred me to a therapist to try to help uncover what was happening with my libido. So far, we were just scratching the surface, as my $500-an-hour therapist put it.

“You don’t have to apologize for Olivia. She actually called me up earlier tonight and did that herself.” Jenny took a drink.

My eyes widened. “Olivia apologized?”

Olivia’s apologies were always immediate. If more than an hour had passed, you’d never get an apology out of her. And you’d also know she’d always have it in for you. I swear she kept a hit list of some sort, of all those that had wronged her.

Jenny nodded.

“It seems hell has frozen over.” I laughed.

Keisha cracked a smile, forcing her pearly white teeth to make an appearance. She took a sip of her champagne, and there was a twinkle in her eye. I assumed she didn’t typically have fun at these events.