Twisted Fate Chapter 15

I walk through the vestibule ten minutes early. Heaven forbid I show up late. I probably wouldn’t hear the end of it, even if I was right on time. Xavier stands in his usual pose, arms crossed, blank expression plastered on his face. His blonde hair hangs straight, parted in the middle and flowing to his chest. I stop a few feet away from him.

“Lavinia is not ready,” Xavier says, in a smooth, unobtrusive tone.

“Just like a woman,” I say, trying to evoke some sort of emotion. It doesn’t work.

“Know that you are an ant.”

What? This guy is a frickin’ head case! I can’t figure him out and I don’t really care to try. I ignore his comment.

“An ant that can and will be squashed if it becomes too much of a nuisance.”

“Hmm,” I reply sarcastically. “By whom, you?”

“Lavinia deserves respect and you will grant her that.”

“I respect her.”

“For the wrong reasons. You fear her. I can sense it and so does Lavinia.”

“Didn’t you, in the beginning?”

“I have trusted her from the very beginning. Your resistance will not be tolerated.” Xavier stomps his foot against the marble floor and twists it from side to side.

“Thanks for the heads up,” I remark as Lavinia enters the ballroom. She is a vision in her midnight blue dress. It is strapless with diamond accented trim along her chest. She spins around, revealing the diamond trim that resembles a V, meeting at the small of her back. Blue violets are pinned throughout her hair. For a moment, I remember why she had such an effect on me. She is undeniably stunning.

“You look magnificent.” I extend my hand as she glides across the room. She takes my hand and I kiss the back of it. I glance at Xavier thinking, is this what you want? Xavier is expressionless as he leads the way toward the car.

“Xavier’s coming?” I ask.

“Xavier is driving,” Lavinia says, placing her hand on my bicep as we walk.

I welcome Xavier’s presence. It’s one more element that might keep Lavinia at bay.

“So, this Sarah Taylor, do I know her?” Lavinia asks as she slides into the backseat of my Bentley.

“I don’t believe so. You never took much notice of my clients.”

“That’s not true,” she says. “I pay closer attention than you think.” Her quirky smile almost appears conniving.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out when we get there.”

Lavinia scoots close to me, unnervingly close. She crosses her legs. The slit in her dress rides clear up to her hip. My hormones are running rampant. There’s no denying that I’m tempted. It’s a natural reaction, but I need to bridle it. One look at Lavinia and it’s evident that she’s taken notice. She rests her hand on my inner thigh, raking her nails across my pant leg.

“I love it when you’re like this, so calm and in control.” She weaves her fingers through mine.

When we arrive at the Chinese Theater, Xavier hands the attendant our tickets. The man peruses them, then hands them back to Xavier. He ushers us toward a cavalcade of cars, each one creeping slowly as attendees exit their vehicles at the front of the theater.

As I step out, a barrage of flash bulbs and screaming fans overwhelm me. I help Lavinia out, marveling at the sight of her sparkling eyes. Each flash causes her pupils to flicker like stars and her faux smile appears genuine as she steps onto the red carpet, waving at the crowd.

She takes my arm as we walk the carpet, pausing to pose for photos every now and then. A reporter from Channel Four News sticks out her microphone as she flags us down. They don’t know us from Adam, so I ignore her. Lavinia has other plans.

She drags me toward the reporter. “Hello!” she shouts, waving to the crowd behind the reporter.

“What a night!” the reporter says. “You look phenomenal!”

“Oh, thank you,” Lavinia says enthusiastically. “It’s Badgley Mischka!”

The reporter points the microphone in my direction. “I’m excited to be here in support of my dear friend Sarah Taylor. This is a tremendous opportunity and I couldn’t be more proud of her. I can’t wait to see the film. I know it’s going to be fantastic!”

“I’m sure it will be,” the reporter says. Her eyes dart to the left and she shouts, “And there she is, the lady of honor, Sarah Taylor!”

I smile as Sarah approaches. She opens her arms and we hug, her arm is settled around my waist as she blows kisses toward the crowd. Sarah giggles, seemingly in awe of the attention she is receiving.

“Sarah, how awesome is this?” the reporter asks.

“It’s unbelievable, beyond anything I could have expected.”

I lean in and whisper into her ear, “Congratulations. I’m proud of you, darling.”

I gracefully bow out in order to let the interview continue. I can hear her praising me, saying that she owes all of her success to me, but I fight my instinct to refute her claims. There’s no way I should be able to hear what she’s saying. The commotion and distance between us would make that impossible.

We weave through the crowd and finally make it to the entrance of the theater. An usher looks at our tickets and proceeds to show us our seats. He removes the signs that say ‘D. Rhodes’ and ‘D. Rhodes +1’ and waves his hand, directing us to take our seats. I get a kick out of Lavinia being a lowly plus one. She sashayed down that red carpet like a starlet, yet she is so insignificant, she’s nameless.

The people slowly trickle into the theater. Once everyone has been seated, the movie begins. I can sense Lavinia’s boredom. She has no desire to see the movie. She just wanted to strut her stuff for the cameras. Typical self-absorbed Lavinia. She snickers during heartfelt moments, moans in disgust when Sarah’s character says something witty. I try to ignore her and concentrate on Sarah’s performance. She has nailed it, in my opinion.

Lavinia claps along with the others, yet her eyes roll as the credits run across the screen. She grabs my wrist and pulls me down the aisle before it has a chance to get congested. She leads me through the back exit and Xavier is waiting there with the car running.

“I wanted to talk to Sarah,” I sputter as I’m forced into the back seat.

“Send her an email,” Lavinia growls, slamming the door shut. She sighs in relief as she settles her head on my shoulder. “I thought that train wreck would never end.”

I can’t help myself. I know I shouldn’t say it, but the words fly out. “If respect is what you want, maybe you could try showing some yourself, or is it too damn inconvenient for you to muster!”

Lavinia raises her head, her voice is sinister as she says, “Darling, you’ll know when I’m being disrespectful, trust me.” She touches my face lightly and adds, “That’s honesty. If I wanted to be disrespectful, I would have marched up to her and told her how badly she sucked.” She giggles. “Actually, that would still fall in the honesty category, wouldn’t it?” She leans in close, nose to nose. “Spouting off at me like that, now that’s my definition of disrespect.”

My throat tightens and my muscles tense up. I am as prepared as I can be to defend myself, though I know she has an advantage over me. I wait silently for her to retaliate.

“It’s a good thing your unruliness is such a sexy quality.” In an instant, she is straddling me. Her deft fingers unbutton my shirt as she simultaneously presses her lips against mine. My body reacts, though my mind is fighting against her advances. She grinds her hips against mine, egging on my primal instincts.

I break our lip lock and stare deeply into her eyes. “We should wait,” I whisper. “Wait until after we fulfill the prophecy. Have one perfect night.” Her gaze is devilish as she backs away. “I’ll make it worth the wait, I promise.” I pull her toward me and kiss her softly, hoping my intentions are viewed as honorable.

“What’s a few more days when compared to eternity,” she coos, kissing me once more before slipping back to her seat.

“Is there anything you need me to do in preparation?” I ask.

“Everything is taken care of.”

“When do we do this?”

“The time will be revealed when the time comes.”

I spend the rest of the trip home fantasizing. I am lying on the beach with Rachel, absorbing the warmth of the sun as it beats down on my bare chest. I imagine driving down the Pacific Coast Highway with the windows rolled down, Rachel’s hair blowing in the breeze.

If the ritual is successful, my goal is to leave this god forsaken place. The only hiccup in my plan is Rachel. It’s highly doubtful that she would come with me. We barely know each other, but I can’t fathom leaving her behind. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. The important thing at this moment is that, against all odds, I managed to manipulate Lavinia. That’s an achievement I can revel in for quite some time.

Xavier arrives at Lavinia’s mansion. I exit the car and notice that the keys are not in the ignition. I hold out my hand toward Xavier, only to watch him slip my keys into his pant pocket.

“Keys!” I grumble.

“Not so fast,” Lavinia purrs as her fingers walk up my arm, resting on my shoulder. “I have something special planned.”

Reviews

[EurasianFlavour]

Ugh, Lavinia!! Well done creating tension in this chapter. I was waiting to blow out a sigh of relief after it was all over, but nope, Lavinia didn't give me that opportunity!

[easybreezy]

I love writing Lavinia's scenes. Gotta love a woman who's so sure of herself and is evil in a seductive way. And this is her being nice! Yikes! :)

[Kate Whitaker]

*shakes head*
This is going to end badly.