One of Us Is Dead(43)

Dean tightened his eyes. “Is that true?”

“Oh, babe, I was just messing around. But seriously, I wouldn’t want to see Shannon lonely,” Olivia said with unconvincing sincerity. She grazed her long nails down Dean’s bicep, stroking his arm gently.

“Aaah . . . I’m sure you’re real concerned about my well-being, Olivia,” Shannon said sarcastically.

“I am, Shannon. You’re my friend.” She smiled a devious smile.

“We have very different definitions of friend then,” Shannon fired back.

“You would know,” Olivia quipped.

“Who wants more mimosas?” Jenny interjected.

Dean whispered something into Olivia’s ear. I couldn’t hear what he said, but she immediately stiffened up and dropped her hand from his bicep. She tapped her nails on her glass. Jenny refilled our drinks and took a seat in a pedicure chair across from Shannon. She turned on the bubbles and dipped her feet in the tub. I could see this whole situation was taking a toll on her. She should have taken a week off of work after the robbery. I had no idea how she was handling all of this.

My nails had been dry for a while. I was just sitting there monitoring the tension between Shannon and Olivia while also keeping an eye on Dean. I should have just left, but I felt somewhat responsible for what was occurring. My being with Bryce is what had caused the rift between Shannon and Olivia. I didn’t understand why, but it would seem I didn’t really understand anything about these women—or Buckhead.

“Do you need anything, Jenny?” I asked, cutting through the silence.

“I’m okay,” she said.

“Let me get you a mimosa,” I offered. I got up from my chair and poured her a drink.

“That’s not necessary,” Jenny said. I handed it to her. “Oh. Thank you, Crystal.” She accepted the drink with apprehension and took a gulp of it.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I whispered.

Her eyes bounced around. She couldn’t downplay what happened. I was there. I saw it. It was horrifying.

“I’m fine, really,” she said, taking a sip of her mimosa.

I knew she was lying, but I didn’t press any further. We all healed differently.

These women needed to learn to get along for Jenny’s sake, so I vowed to be the bigger person by leading by example. I was going to bring these full-grown women back to the basics—elementary school manners.

“Can I get you anything while I’m up, Shannon?” I asked with a smile.

“Yeah, you can get me my house back. Keep the husband. He’s useless anyway.” Shannon waved her hand at me in a dismissive way. I swallowed hard and walked back to my seat.

Olivia’s mouth fell open and she was about to speak, but Dean gave her a nasty look and she instead filled the open space of her mouth with the lip of her glass, chugging the rest of her drink.





35

Olivia


I couldn’t believe the nerve of Shannon. Where did she get off ? She was nothing without Bryce, and she was just sitting there, defiant. If Dean weren’t here, I’d put her back in her shitty place. I knew exactly why Dean came. For starters, I invited him. His attendance made it look like he controlled me, and it gained sympathy points from Crystal. Second, I knew how Dean was. I counted on Dean to be Dean. And when he did, people might not see me as the evil one after all. He was tired of me causing trouble. He wanted me to act like a lady—quiet, calm, and collected. He wanted me to fit in with the other women. He wanted me to not bring any extra attention to us. He had always been secretive, but lately, his secrets were like a shadow over our relationship. I felt in the dark, and I was tired of feeling that way. Dean knew who I was when he married me: fiery, fearless, and a woman who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants. That’s why he fell in love with me in the first place.

I felt Dean’s eyes on me. I looked over and gave him a crooked smile. He smiled back and nodded as if he were pleased with me—like I was some animal or small child that was obeying his silent commands. That’s the thing with looks though: they’re quite deceiving.

I felt Crystal’s eyes on me. I glanced over at her. She was watching my and Dean’s moves intently. It was her pinched forehead, tightly pressed lips, and slightly narrowed eyes that indicated to me she was concerned. Clearly, our chat the other day had had an impact on her. Good.

Then, I looked over at Shannon, and I nearly laughed out loud. It was obvious she thought Bryce was responsible for that video, what with the way she was being so accusatory toward Crystal. But no . . . it was me. I’d take that little secret to the grave. A friend of mine who was at the restaurant caught the whole thing on video and sent it to me. I just couldn’t help myself. After all, Shannon had done something similar to me years ago, and I never forgot, nor will I ever. I can tell that video really got to her too. She’s different today—weaker, I think.

The front door chimed again, and before Jenny could get out of her chair to go and greet the guest, the curtains were already thrown open. In walked Mark. This should be interesting. Mark was clearly in love with me, and why wouldn’t he be?

“Hey . . .” Mark said, scanning the room. His eyes stopped on Dean and me. “What are you doing here?”

“Just enjoying a manicure and a drink with my wife,” Dean said, nonchalantly.