Black Ties and White Lies(96)

Eventually, she gets pulled from me by her friends. We share a kiss goodbye and I tell her I’ll find her in a bit. It gives me time to make small talk with my board and friends that I haven’t caught up with in a while.

I’m navigating through a group of people in search of Margo when a familiar face stops in front of me.

“What a party.” Ruby Robinson comes to a stop in front of me. I should’ve known the press would be here. But I hadn’t expected the person behind the most popular gossip site’s reporter to attend. Maybe it was ignorant of me to not expect her here. She was the one who ran the piece on me with the many women I’d taken on dates in the city in the first place.

“Ruby,” I muse, tucking my hands into my pockets. I have to tread carefully when speaking with her. Piss her off, and she’ll be blasting personal things about me to the entire internet by the time I wake up tomorrow morning. “I wasn’t expecting you here.”

She cocks her head. “That was silly of you. I wouldn’t miss the engagement party for the reformed playboy billionaire of Manhattan.”

Unease sets low in my stomach with the taunting smile she aims my way. She moves a piece of her shoulder length blonde hair off her face, staring at me as she waits for a response.

“Your invitation must have gotten lost in the mail,” I lie, hoping to ease the tension brewing between us.

She watches me carefully. I wish I knew what was going on in that scheming mind of hers. Is she plotting something? With her, it’s likely. I just need to ensure whatever she’s plotting working out in my favor.

“You hurt my feelings, you know.”

The live band stops playing a slower song and opts to play one with a bit more of a beat. The dance floor fills with more bodies as Ruby and I stare at one another in a battle of wits.

My hand runs over my mouth in discomfort. “And how is that?”

“I thought we were close. I figured you’d give me first dibs on running the news of your engagement.”

“It happened quickly.”

“Did it now?”

The tone of her voice has me swallowing nervously. “Yep. Unexpected.”

She hums. “If you say so.” She grabs a drink from a passing waiter, taking a long sip as she stares at me from over the rim. “We’ll be talking later, Beckham. Be careful about making me angry. Something tells me there are little details I know about you that you’d hate for your sweet little fiancée to find out about. Better yet, you’d hate for the entire world to discover.”

My jaw clenches as rage wars inside my chest. “You wouldn’t.”

She begins to back up, already disappearing into a group of people. “You have no idea what I would or wouldn’t do.”

Before I can chase after her and threaten her, she disappears. I’m left with unease and anger coursing through my veins, my brain whirling with what her words mean. I’d like to think—to hope—that her threats are empty, but you can never know with her. That’s the thing about these seedy gossip writers. They have no true moral compass. They only do what’s best for them, what gets them the most views. And I’m afraid that she has something on me that’d certainly catch the attention of many.

A hand presses to my chest, making me flinch.

“Hey, you okay?” Margo asks softly.

I look down to find my fiancée watching me carefully, her eyes full of worry. I try to take a calming breath, to not alarm her more than I already have with the shift in my mood.

My hand clasps hers, holding it against my racing heart. “I’m fine,” I lie. I’m nowhere near fine. My body is coiled tight with tension after my conversation with Ruby. She has information on me that could ruin what Margo and I have begun. I’d do anything to keep her quiet.

Margo’s eyes search my face. She leans in, running her fingers through my hair. “Who were you talking to?”

“Just an old friend.” I’d never considered Ruby a friend, and I’d never be clueless enough to ever consider her one.

“Oh.” Margo shifts her weight on her feet, looking to the group Ruby disappeared behind. “It just looked a little heated.”

I pull her into an embrace, clinging onto her a little too tightly. There’s no way I’ll let the information Ruby is holding over my head get out. I can’t lose Margo. Not now. Not with how I feel about her.

“Your heart is racing so fast,” Margo presses. I can tell by the way she watches me that she knows something’s up, she just isn’t pushing asking why.

A gentle kiss to her is the only answer I give to her statement. I don’t have a good enough excuse to give her, so I opt to stay quiet instead.

Margo pulls away from me, staring at something over my shoulder. Her lips purse slightly. I turn around, following her gaze to figure out what she’s staring at.

My stomach drops.

In the corner, I find Ruby in deep conversation…with my brother.

Fucking hell.

“Now it makes sense,” Margo mutters.

My head snaps to look at her in worry. “What makes sense?”

“You’re nervous because Carter’s here and brought your old friend as his date.”

“They came in together?” I ask tightly. My vision starts to get a little blurry with worry. I need to get out, to gain my composure before I lose my shit in the middle of my own engagement party.