Landlord Wars(67)

“Maxwell,” my mother cried. “Where are you going?” She followed through the curtain toward the exit, stopping me on the landing that looked out over the main floor.

I scanned the room, searching for Sophia. I had no idea what she was wearing, but it didn’t matter. The way I was attuned to her, I’d find her anywhere.

My mother squeezed my arm. “You can’t leave yet. You haven’t heard the announcement.”

I looked at her in confusion. “What is this announcement you keep talking about?”

Her shoulders did the little side-to-side shimmy thing they did when she was pleased with herself. “Using Samuel to get Starlight up and running, as your dad likes to put it, is just the beginning. We have a foolproof plan for solidifying our standing in society.”

I sighed and searched the crowd again. “I don’t have time for this, Mother. My date is waiting.”

Finally, my gaze landed on a woman in dark green with light-brown hair she’d curled in loose waves. Sophia was all the way across the room and standing off to the side. She looked incredibly beautiful in a formfitting gown that showed off how truly stunning her figure was—and her expression was distraught.

Where the hell was Jack? He wasn’t supposed to leave her side, but he was nowhere in sight.

I compressed my lips. This was all my fault. I’d agreed to meet my parents because they’d claimed to have a connection who could help with Cityscape. But I hadn’t agreed to bribe a man. And now Sophia was alone and upset.

“What do you mean, you brought a date?” my mother said, her voice suddenly clipped. “You mean Gwenny?”

Spotlights crisscrossed over the Grand Staircase below us, and Gwen slowly made her way up, grinning at me.

The fuck?

I turned to my mother, but she was walking away.

Gwen reached the top of the stairs and linked her arm with mine. “There you are.”

“What’s going on?” I searched for where I’d last seen Sophia. She was still standing there, only now she was staring at me and Gwen, her expression confused.

I tried to free my arm, but Gwen must have increased her kickboxing classes, because she’d clamped on like a vise.

“It’s almost time,” she said.

A sinking feeling came over me. The spotlights were on me and Gwen, which was probably why Sophia and the rest of the room were staring.

“Thank you all for coming.” My mother’s voice rang out over the sound system. She stood off to the side, holding a microphone, and appeared slightly tense. “It’s been an honor to host the Children’s Gala this evening. I couldn’t have put together this magnificent ball without the support of the Women in Society team. To everyone here, your generous donations will go a long way toward funding programs for the Bay Area Women and Children’s Centers. And now, on a more personal note, I have something special to announce to all you dear friends.” She looked straight at me.

She wouldn’t do this. Not without my permission. I placed my hand over Gwen’s and attempted to pry her fingers off my arm.

“It is my husband’s and my greatest pleasure to announce the betrothal of our son, Maxwell Harrison James Burrows, to Miss Gwendolyn Harper DuPont.”

The crowd hooted and cheered, and I felt the blood drain from my face.

Now that I looked more closely, I noticed that everyone was holding champagne flutes like the one I’d been given.

This had been planned. My parents set me up.

Head pounding, I ground my teeth, feeling my heart beat triple time. What the fuck had my parents been thinking?

I tore Gwen’s hand off my arm and ran down the Grand Staircase, watching helplessly as Sophia spun around and headed for the exit, knocking into a server carrying a tray of glasses.

The tray toppled, the glasses shattered, but she kept moving to the door without looking back.





Chapter Thirty-One





Sophia





When I reentered the ballroom after unsuccessfully attempting to remove the stain from my dress, champagne was being passed out to everyone in attendance, which I wasn’t feeling after having Gwen’s poured down the front of me.

Heat burned behind my eyes. I would not cry. This was a fancy date Max had set up, and I needed to hold out a little longer until I found him.

Just as I managed to blink away the tears, I finally caught sight of him at the top of the massive staircase.

Relief filled me. Until I saw the woman he stood beside.

For a moment, I was back at the rooftop party, watching Max and Gwen arm in arm, looking for all the world like the Golden Couple.

Max’s face was expressionless as he stared straight at me, his jaw tense, while Gwen beamed up at him.

A loud female voice came over invisible speakers, welcoming everyone.

Max’s mother?

She’d spoken of a gala she was planning when I first met her, and this must be it. She went on about donors over the loudspeaker, and then said, “It is my husband’s and my greatest pleasure to announce the betrothal of our son—”

The rest of her words turned into a loud buzzing sound inside my head.

Max was getting married? To Gwen?

Memories flashed before my eyes: Gwen at Max’s mother’s house, sipping tea… Gwen leaving Max’s apartment the other day… Gwen’s look of surprise when Jack called me Max’s girl.