bryce didnât feel too comfortable with the current situation. he didnât do things like this. it had taken a good two hours for his sister-in-law to even get him into the suit. it fit like a glove, it belonged to his brother and they were, after all these years, still the same size. they had grown up like that, it was nice, actually, being able to share each others clothes. now, though, as he stood outside of glorianaâs house, his nerves were getting the better of him. he almost turned and walked away, but he knew this was an important night. not just for him, but for the church. bryce barely ever thought about himself, he spent all his time focusing on the other people in his life. the people he took care of with his charity work, his family. gloriana, unfortunately. he rang the doorbell after what must have been the tenth time of attempting to and then moving away. when the door opened, he smiled lightly at the girl who opened the door and stepped inside.Â
he checked his watch. he was alone. it was eight oâclock and that was the time gloriana had given him. why was he alone? he was beginning to think this was some kind of sick joke and there wasnât actually a party, she had just said so to make him humiliate himself and try to get people to actually care about something that was beyond them. her voice calmed him instantly. it gave him the impression that he was just letting his mind run wild. he glanced up at the stairs when he heard somebody coming. he felt like his heart had stopped when gloriana finally came into view. god, she looked beautiful. he hated how fucking beautiful she looked. it made it so much harder to pretend that there was no attraction between the two of them. and god, there was. perhaps not on her side, but with bryce? he could pretend he hated her all he wanted, but he wanted to fuck her more now than he ever had when they were teenagers. âyou said eight. itâs eight. how is that early? or is there some kind of rich people rule that means you get to parties at nine even though they said eight?â
âwell, itâs not a rule, per se. people could hypothetically show up if they wanted to. i just donât think anyoneâs going to bother until ten, at the very least. especially not the people youâre going to want to talk to, anyways.â she replies, shoulders shrugging as if this were the most obvious thing on the planet. she descends the rest of the stairs in a swift manner, coming to a stop right before him. an unadulterated smile spreads across her face as she steps in closer to him, their proximity to each other making it certain that her intentions are not completely platonic. âit really is good to see you again, bryce. listen, about the thing at the office â just forget about it, okay? i was....having a bad day. no hard feelings.â she doesnât really give him the chance to get a word in edgewise before sheâs leaning up to press a small kiss against his cheek, a gesture casual enough to be interpreted as the act of a polite host yet intimate enough to hold ulterior meaning. âhm. you dress up nice.â she says, hand reaching out to smooth out the lapel of his suit jacket. her hand lingers for longer is necessary as her eyes take him in, top to bottom. he really does look great, something that makes butterflies rise up in her stomach. it annoys her to no extent : what kind of woman over the age of sixteen gets butterflies? certainly not her. âwhich is important, by the way. with all the divorcees youâll want to flirt with and what not. youâd be surprised at just how much money some of them were able to exonerate from their spouses and just how little they know what to do with it. if i were you, iâd take advantage of it.â and with that she takes a step backwards, distancing herself both physically and emotionally from him. the relationship that exists between them now is purely professional, and will never be anything more than that.
she pats on his arm as a signal for him to follow her as she walks past him towards the alcohol cabinet. if she had to go through with this, she sure as hell wasnât going to do it sober. âwell, hereâs the plan. the main ones youâre going to want to impress are senator bradley and senator mcconnell. theyâre bothâ... incredibly boring men. i donât know how people can talk to either for more than five minutes at a stretch, but i suggest talking about golf and patriotism if nothing else works. also, senator bradleyâs wife is very religious, so if you can convince her, youâve basically got him in the bag as well.â her voice takes on an incredibly professional tone as she goes on about the details, as if she were talking in front of an entire room of committee members instead of having a casual conversation in her own home. she pours out two glasses of the strongest scotch she can find, setting down one in front of bryce before taking a long sip from her own. âalso, um â if my ex-husband makes an appearance tonight, which i highly doubt he will, just...steer clear of him, please? heâs not a big believer in charity and giving to the less fortunate. heâll just make your life harder.â