Empire High Betrayal

God. I dropped my head back against the wooden door. How did he expect me to answer him like this? My fingers dug into his strong shoulders.

“Stress,” he said and gently kissed my neck. “And I think I know how to make my girl relax.”





Chapter 20


Friday

“No way,” Kennedy said when we were ushered out of our car on 5th Avenue.

I was just as surprised as she was. We were in the fashion center of New York, standing right outside the world famous Odegaard boutique. I had never been here before, but I’d remembered Justin mentioning it. He worked for the head stylist of Odegaard – Diane Cartwright. Who just so happened to be my personal stylist too thanks to my dad. I wonder how pissed she is that all those clothes got destroyed by Isabella…

“For girls’ night we’re getting makeovers!” Matt’s mom said.

Kennedy opened her mouth but no words came out.

“I’ve rented out the whole store for the evening,” Mrs. Caldwell said. “We have a hairdresser and a makeup artist coming. And of course we have to go shopping. Plus you two will need costumes for our annual Halloween party next weekend. My treat, of course.”

Wow. When she mentioned that all girls’ nights involved shopping, I kind of figured we’d end up at the mall or something. But Mrs. Caldwell was always dressed flawlessly. This made perfect sense. I’d seen Matt, Mason, and even Mr. Caldwell around the house in pajamas. But never Mrs. Caldwell. “Mrs. Caldwell, you don’t have to…”

“I want to. That’s why it’s my treat. Come with me, girls.” She walked through the ten-foot-tall glass doors and greeted the person standing there with a kiss to each cheek.

Kennedy and I both looked at each other. “I feel like I’m going to be arrested just for stepping foot in there,” she said.

I laughed. “This is surreal, isn’t it?”

“It’s freaking amazing is what it is!” Kennedy grabbed my arm. “I mean…makeovers?! At Odegaard? That’s not even a thing! This isn’t real life!”

I laughed.

“And I’ve heard rumors about the Caldwell annual Halloween party. It’s supposed to be epic. They go all out. Apparently last year there were even fire dancers.”

I wasn’t sure how fire dancers related to Halloween at all. But the Caldwell mansion was perfectly suited for a Halloween party. There definitely wasn’t much decorating they needed to do. That’s why I mainly hung out in the warm and cozy kitchen and Matt’s room. I barely even went in the guestroom I was supposed to be sleeping in. I just went in every now and then and pushed around the sheets.

“Girls, what are you waiting for?” Mrs. Caldwell said and waved us inside. The woman she’d been chatting with had disappeared through another set of doors.

I forced myself not to spin around. The air even smelled fancy inside, kind of like how when you walked into a department store and got sprayed by one of the perfume sellers. Only…nothing like that at all. Because it didn’t even look like a store. There were marble walls and a chandelier. It was more like the entrance of a five-star hotel than a boutique.

Where are we? Kennedy was right. This wasn’t real life.

I heard someone squeal and turned to see Justin walking over to us.

“Ladies!” he said. “I saw that you were on the schedule tonight so I took the overtime hours. You’re so welcome.”

“Ah, Justin!” Kennedy said and gave him a hug. “I didn’t know you worked at Odegaard.”

“I know Odegaard backward and forward. I’m Diane Cartwright’s personal assistant. And tonight I’m yours.” He winked at her. “Great to see you again, Brooklyn.” He gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “And Lori. You look fabulous as always.” He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

“Thank you, Justin,” she said with a laugh. “I didn’t realize you knew Brooklyn and Kennedy.”

“Please. I know almost every woman on the Upper East side. How did the three of you become friends?”

Mrs. Caldwell put her hand on my shoulder. “You’re looking at my future daughter in law.”

“No.” Justin gasped and then grabbed my hand. “Yes! I knew I’d be planning your wedding soon. Wow, what a ring.” He fanned himself with his freehand.

I laughed. “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

“Pretty doesn’t cut it. That must be at least 2 carats. Tell me you’ve picked a date for the wedding. I need to pencil you in as soon as possible. I want yours to be my first wedding as an official wedding planner.”

“I mean…we don’t know when it’ll even be.” God, he looks so excited. “But I did promise you…”

“If you weren’t engaged, I’d kiss you right now. Lori, she’s a keeper. I’ve never met such a sweet girl in this city.”

Mrs. Caldwell smiled. “Yes. I can tell why my son loves her so much.”

I so badly wanted her to like me. Matt always said she already loved me. And she was always perfectly lovely. But I was pretty sure if I came home from school one day and told my mom that a boy was moving in and that we were engaged, she would have freaked out. I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. But Mrs. Caldwell was still smiling. I wonder how old she was when she got engaged to Mr. Caldwell.

“I’ll pencil you in for every Saturday in the fall for the next few years,” Justin said. “Fall weddings are the best. Trust me. And speaking of events…what’s the theme of this year’s Halloween party, Lori?”

“Characters from old movies,” Mrs. Caldwell said. “The classics.”

Kennedy looked so excited. “Can I be Jasmine from Aladdin?”

Mrs. Caldwell laughed. “I meant like from the 50s or 60s…” her voice trailed off. “Oh, my. I’m feeling my age around you two. I guess something from the 90s does work as an old movie for you,” she said with a laugh. “Jasmine it is!”

Kennedy smiled.

“And what would you like to be?” Mrs. Caldwell asked me.

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