The VIP Room(112)

"Ya know, that feels pretty good." Lauren began to giggle and dance around in the mud like she was smashing grapes, but instead was annihilating her flowerbed. Her feet got tangled in some of the vines and she lost her balance, falling backward on her bottom. She began to laugh, then cry, and covered her face with muddy hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

She stopped after a few minutes, wiped away her tears, and picked the bag up again, resuming her trash detail. But bending over made her dizzy and she fell to her knees. She shrugged and kept pulling the plants, pushing them into the bag while crawling on her hands and knees as she moved along slowly.



* * *



Derek squealed up to the curb in front of her house, jumped out of the Corvette, and strode up her driveway. He rang the doorbell and pounded on the door. He stomped over to peer in her living room window, but the shades were drawn and the drapes pulled shut.

He returned to banging on the door. "Lauren, I know you're in there. Open this door right now."

"Hey, buddy!"

Derek swung around and came face to face with Lauren's next-door neighbor. The guy had come over while he and his men were working there the week before. He was real pain in the butt, asking a million questions and being the typical nosy neighbor.

"Hey," Derek replied.

"She's in the backyard. I think she may have been drinking. She was singing, and her words were all slurred."

Derek nodded. "I owe you, man. I'll have one of my guys come over and cut your lawn next week."

"Hey, all right. Thanks. And good luck with that one. She's seems like a real spitfire."

Derek was already around the side of the house and headed to the backyard. As he turned the corner, he stopped short. There was Lauren, bent over on her hands and knees. He was treated to the same rear view of her as he had the first time they met.

"Lauren, what the hell are you doing?"

Lauren jumped at the sound of his voice. She rose up on her knees and turned toward him, but she lost her balance. She swayed side to side before falling backward into the mud. That didn't keep her from glaring at him, though.

"What are you doing here?" She tried to shoo him away, and flailed her arm awkwardly. "Get off my property."

Derek couldn't believe how much she looked like the first time they'd met. She had dirt streaked across her face and her boobs were wet and muddy from where she fell in the mud. He had to admit, this was worse, but, damn, she looked cute.

He burst out laughing, which only seemed to infuriate her.

"Hey, don't you laugh at me. And where's your little--and I mean little--girlfriend? Or is it fiancé? That's what she told me, you know."

"What? That girl is crazy, Lauren. You can't believe a single word she said."

Lauren tried to stand up, but couldn't lift herself out of the mud, so she settled back in like she was sinking into a comfortable armchair. "Evidently, I can't believe a word you said, either, if you have enough money to join Spring Rock Country Club."

Her voice cracked and tears started to roll down her face. "Why did you lie about everything? What could you possibly want with me if it wasn't my money or my father's connections?"

"Lauren, none of that matters to me."

"I don't matter to you, either. You have a pretty girlfriend."

"Yes, I do, and her name is Lauren. At least I think she's pretty. Right now, it's kind of hard to see her under all that mud."

Lauren stuck her tongue out at him.

Derek strode over and pulled Lauren up, holding her tight in his arms.

"My girlfriend was a knockout tonight. She had on this elegant blue dress that showed off her sexy body. She was so hot, all the guys were throwing down drinks to cool off."

"No, Derek. Carly's dress was white. Like a little bride."

"Not Carly. You. You were the most beautiful woman in the club."

"Yeah, right."

Derek shook her lightly. "Stop it, Lauren. I won't have you put yourself down anymore. What do I have to do to convince you that you take my breath away?"

Lauren pushed Derek away and tried to pull free of his grasp, but he held her tight. She was no match for him, especially in her current state of drunkenness. She pulled herself up the best she could.

"You might start by telling the truth. You weren't at a business dinner with your brother. You were with the woman you swore meant nothing to you, and you obviously have more than a little neighborhood lawn business."

"It was business for me. Cade somehow talked me into it against my better judgment. He meant well. He's trying to get me to land big contracts to push the business to the next level. Whatever money I have, Lauren, I earned myself. I haven't touched my trust fund, and when the time comes, I'm donating the entire thing to charity. I don't want my father's money, or yours, or your father's."

Lauren swayed a bit. "And what about the bride-to-be who happens to keep showing up on your phone and your arm, Derek?"

"She came with Cade, not me. Everything you think you saw was because of bad timing. Whatever she said to you about me was a lie, I swear it."

"So you've never slept with her?"

Derek was silent.

Lauren squirmed out of his grasp. "That's what I thought. Go on, Derek. Get out of here and don't come back." She picked up the garbage bag and started for the house.