Alternatives

It wasn’t like Henry to be late. If anything, it was Juliet that was the one running behind schedule most of the time, even though that drove Ella crazy. She checked the time on her phone again and took another drink of her cocktail. The vodka wasn’t well mixed, and it stung the back of her throat slightly. Where the hell was he? If he didn’t show up soon, she was just going to go. Maybe it would teach him a lesson about wasting her valuable time.
“Juliet? Juliet!”
She should’ve been used to that name by now, but it took Ella a moment to realize the woman’s voice was being directed at her. She finally pulled her eyes away from her phone to see Stella Goff, the model she’d seen here at Chavet once before, back when she’d first started dating Henry a few months ago, coming her direction. Her boyfriend, Langston Jackson, was with her, as usual, but so was another man Juliet didn’t recognize.
“Oh, hi!” Juliet said, dropping her phone. “How are you darling?” she asked, standing to faux kiss Stella on the cheek.
“We are wonderful!” Stella gushed. “Langston just signed a big contract. You probably heard on the news.”
Juliet attempted to look as if she knew what Stella was talking about, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d turned the TV on, and her social media stream was full of fashion and art updates, nothing about sports. “How divine!” she said. Then, moving to Langston, she reached for his hand. “Congratulations.”
The football player took her hand between both of his large paws and clamped down, though not too hard. The size of his hands in comparison to hers was notable. “Thank you, Juliet,” he said with a wide grin on his handsome face. She could see why Stella liked him so much. He was quite charming.
It was then that the scent of a cologne she hadn’t noticed before hit her lungs. Juliet turned to look into a pair of warm brown eyes, taking in a dazzling smile unlike any she’d seen before, the confidence exuded from this man next to Langston enough to make her physically take a step back.
Stella’s cheerful voice chimed in. “Juliet, this is Parker Thompson. He’s the quarterback for Langston’s team. You probably recognize him.”
Juliet extended her hand as if the large sapphire ring she wore was magnetically drawn to Parker’s palm, which was equally as large as Langston’s. “Actually, I’m sorry to say, I don’t keep up with sports much. But it’s lovely to meet you.”
“You as well,” the handsome blond said, those white teeth seeming to catch the light and gleam like in a cartoon. Juliet blinked a few times, remembering to let go of his hand, but just barely. She could see that this man would get a lot of attention, not just from sports writers and programs, but likely from all sorts of media outlets. “Are you an actress?”
Good--so he had no idea who she was either. Juliet laughed at the idea of her being on film. “No, no. I’m an artist. I own Montage. Perhaps you’ve heard of it?”
“No, I can’t say that I have,” Parker said with a shrug. “I guess that puts us on equal footing.”
“Would you care to join us?” Stella asked, squeezing her wrist. “Oh, it would be just perfect! Parker is between girlfriends right now!” Stella winked at her, as if implying Juliet could be the one to fill that vacancy.
It was tempting--not because Ella was actually attracted to the athlete but because it might serve her purpose. In her mind, pieces of the puzzle she’d been trying to solve for the past several months began to shift and rearrange themselves. Perhaps there was another way to get Henry to cooperate with her after all, one she hadn’t ever considered until now.
Thinking of Henry seemed to conjure him now, despite her efforts to do so earlier, when she had been sitting alone looking at her phone. The form of the Frenchman walking slowly toward them, a confused expression on his face as he made his way across the club, his hands in the pockets of his expensive suit pants, came into view. He looked more annoyed that she was speaking to another man than actually jealous at this point, but Juliet was fairly certain she could change that.
“Actually, I am meeting… uh… Henry,” she stammered, as if his name wouldn’t come to her, and when it finally did, she said it as bored as humanly possible. “And there he is. But, I’d love to take a raincheck.” She used that practiced look Rome had taught her to make herself look slightly aloof but certainly interested, and gently laid her hand on Parker’s arm for a few seconds. She wanted to glance at Henry now to see if her technique was working, but she couldn’t risk it.
“Absolutely,” Parker said. “Does Stella have your number?”
“She does.” Turning to Stella, she continued, “Will you please make sure Mr. Thompson has that?”
“Absolutely,” Stella said, echoing Parker’s tone. “I see Henry. We’ll leave the two of you alone. It was nice to see you.”
Stella reached to hug her, so Juliet let go of Parker’s arm and hugged her friend, air kisses flying. Langston wanted a hug this time as well, so she obliged. It just seemed natural to hug Parker, too. His embrace was firm and protective; she imagined a single woman would find herself tingling from his touch. Juliet may as well let that sensation wash over her, though Ella was contained deep inside--Rome was still the only man who could turn her head.
As soon as the three left, Henry stepped forward. Juliet hadn’t looked at him before, when she’d been curious to see his reaction, but it turned out not to be necessary because she could read his expression now. He was pissed. “Hi, Henry!” she said, smiling innocently. She stretched her arms open, and he stepped into them, but it was reluctant.
“Hello,” he finally said. “Sorry I’m late. Who--was that?”
“You know Stella and Langston,” she reminded him as she let go of him and took her seat again. “That other guy was… one of Langston’s teammates. Parker something.”
“You don’t know his last name?”
She shook her head, taking another sip of her drink as he situated himself in the booth across from her. “I don’t remember. He’s an athlete. I don’t know much about sports. Why are you late? Is everything okay?”
Henry blew out a hot breath and looked for a waiter, calling him over before he said, “Not really. I had a budget meeting. It didn’t go well.” The waiter was there then. Henry ordered a stiff drink and asked for the man to bring Juliet another cocktail before he turned back to face her. “I’m afraid I’m bleeding money over these stupid films. Perhaps I need to reconsider.”
Her eyes bulged. “Really? But what about… Rome?” She said his name as if it were poison on her lips.
A loud sigh and a wipe of his brow let her know that Henry had no direct answer. “I don’t know, Juliet.”
“Well, that would really be too bad, if you had to discontinue your plan to humiliate that bastard.” She finished off her drink. “But… you can’t risk losing all of your money either.”
“I know.” He shook his head dramatically before adding, “Let’s just not worry about him now, all right? Let’s talk about something else. How is your next show coming along? One more week.”
Switching topics worked in her favor. It was better if she let Henry’s anger about losing his fortune, trying to ruin Rome’s career, fester. “It’s coming along. I can’t stay long tonight,” she added, giving him a pointed look. “I have so much to do.”
Henry reached for her hand. “Are you certain? I was really hoping you could come back to my place with me tonight.”
His meaning couldn’t be missed. Even the feel of his hand on her flesh made Juliet want to pull her fingers away in revulsion. She didn’t move though. Instead, she placed her “exasperated, sympathetic” expression on her face and said, “Not tonight, darling. Montage must come first. I’m sure you can understand. Your work is clearly important to you--the most important consideration in your life.”
“Why would you say that?” Henry asked as the waiter delivered their drinks. He didn’t let go of her hand as he scooped up his glass with the other one.
“Well, you were late due to work, weren’t you?” She pulled her hand away then, letting him know she was unhappy.
“It couldn’t be helped!” He sounded slightly exasperated himself now.
“Just as I can’t help leaving early to do my work! Now, let’s enjoy our drinks before I have to go, all right?” She hoped that would be the end of the discussion.
Reluctantly, Henry nodded, accepting the fact that he would not be taking Juliet home that night. For her, it was a win. She needed some time to reflect on this new possibility, to see if she could use Parker’s interest in her to her advantage to get Henry to fall into her trap. Even while he was talking about something that had happened on the set of the superhero movie, she glanced around, seeking Parker out. It didn’t take her long to see him standing in the back of the club, drink in hand, crowd of adoring fans around him, his eyes on her.
“Juliet, are you even listening to me?” Henry sounded irritated, as if he couldn’t believe how rude she was being.
“Yeah, of course I am.” She took a swallow of her drink. “Go on.”
He glared at her for a second, as if he might ask her what he’d just said, but then he went on. “Anyway, I think it’ll be ready for marketing by April. Will you have time in your schedule by then?”
She had no idea what her schedule would look like in April. That was … three months away. Deciding she’d already disappointed the man enough for one night, she shrugged and said, “Oh, yeah. I’m sure I will.”
That seemed to satisfy him. Henry took another swallow of his drink, but then his eyes shifted, and a forlorn expression came over him again. “It’s really too bad you don’t have more time tonight.”
“I know,” she said, forcing her hand across the table to rest on top of his, trying to force away the idea that his knuckles were hairy, his skin rough, nothing at all like the warm fingers she was used to interlacing hers with, the ones that still made tingles run down her spine from even the lightest touch. “Maybe next time we get together, we’ll be able to… visit more.” There was no way in hell she was going to set her future-self up for a potential roll in the sack with him if she could avoid it.
Henry nodded. “I hope so.” He started to say something else, but then his face froze for a second as his eyes focused on something or someone over her shoulder. His expression morphed into a friendly smile, and she realized he recognized someone else in the club, someone he clearly wanted to speak to. She started to turn around to see who it might be, but she didn’t have to. Before she could even shift, he called two names she’d prayed she’d never hear again. “Drew! Anna!”
Juliet felt her eyes bulge as the contents of her stomach shot up her throat. She might’ve been able to fool Henry all this time, but how in the world could she possibly fool her two stepsisters? Women she’d lived with for months? The sound of their chattering voices behind her told her she was about to find out.