Page 16 of Convincing Carrie
With that, the women were gone. I wondered who they were talking about. I felt sorry for whatever hapless women at the party tonight was going to find out some scandalous secret about her husband.
I thought back over my relationship with Thatcher. Before he’d taken over as CEO, I’d been so happy. I’d really thought that we had what it took to last forever. Lately, though, I was starting to have doubts. And I hated that.
I had hoped and prayed for a relationship like ours used to be when I was growing up, and I was so glad we’d found each other at Carruther’s University. I’d been finishing up my undergrad while he’d been about to graduate with his MBA. He’d seen me cheer at a football game and had gotten a friend of his to set us up. The rest was history. We’d dated for about ayear before getting engaged. It had been a whirlwind romance. I’d had no clue who Thatcher Caldwell even was back then.
It had been a huge surprise when his mom and dad, who’d still been living at the time, had thought I was a gold digger. Then I’d seen their home, figured out who they were, and had a better understanding of the world he’d grown up in.
My mom, who was the Karen Caldwell of Indigo Falls, was furious to be treated so shabbily by Thatcher’s family. I would have thought her pearl clutching was funny if I hadn’t been a very large part of the joke.
I sighed. I’d thought the love Thatcher and I felt for each other was enough to justify the time I had to spend around his mother. Now? I was starting to doubt that.
Still, I felt as if Thatcher and I could get our relationship back on solid ground. We’d been through a lot together over the years, and we’d built a strong foundation. I was hopeful we’d weather this rough patch brought on by how busy we both were.
At least, I hoped that was all that had brought it on.
I grabbed a glass of wine and took a moment to admire the Caldwell gardens. The party décor looked like something out of a magazine, but that was normal around here. There were thirty or so large, circular tables set up around the grounds, all covered with white tablecloths. Each table held a large floral centerpiece. Edison lights were strung everywhere, making it seem as if large fireflies had invaded the Caldwell back gardens. There was a dance floor set up under a huge white event tent, and a jazz band was on a stage overlooking the floor.
Bars were spread around the garden so that no one would be too far from alcohol at any given time.
It was a nice, breezy night. It wasn’t very humid, which was a minor miracle in Atlanta, and the smells of fall filled the air. It would have been a great party if I had more people to talk to than just Thatcher, Celia, and Bryce. Especially since the threeof them were missing. I hadn’t seen Thatcher since we’d arrived. Celia and Bryce appeared to have abandoned me as well.
So, I had no one. I just tried to enjoy my wine, the nice weather, and the excellent music. Karen suddenly got on the microphone to address the partygoers.
“Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming out to my birthday soiree this year. As you all know, I’m turning thirty yet again.” She winked and struck a pose. There was polite laughter. “As many of you know, my son Thatcher took over this year as CEO of Caldwell Financial. I only want to move forward thinking about the good things, so we won’t dwell on the fact that my dear husband Fletcher isn’t with us this year. Just know that he’s looking down on us with a smile on his face. There was nothing he loved more than a good party.”
Several people laughed this time, and it seemed genuine. I even smiled. I’d only known him for a couple of years before illness kept him bedridden. But in those two years? I had witnessed him being the life of the party at every single event.
A woman near me said, “I can think of one thing he enjoyed more than a good party, and that was good pussy.”
Her friend almost spit out her drink, and she ended up choking on it. “Damn, Mary Ellen! You can’t say things like that when my mouth is full.” She dabbed at her perfectly applied lipstick with a cocktail napkin.
I bit my lip nervously. That part of who Thatcher’s dad was hadn’t gone unnoticed by anyone. But it had hurt Thatcher, his siblings, and his mother terribly. I didn’t like to hear people joke about it.
I realized Karen was still talking, and I dragged my attention back to her. “And so, without further ado, I’ll hand the microphone over to my son, Thatcher. Because who better to introduce our new spokesmodel?”
Well, that was weird. Why would Thatcher be the best person to introduce the new spokesmodel? Maybe it was a CEO thing? Since Bryce was director of marketing, I would’ve thought he’d be the obvious choice to do it.
I looked up and saw Bryce and Celia hurrying towards me, and my eyes widened in alarm.“What is it?”
“Nothing,” Celia said with a smile I knew was fake. “We just saw you standing alone and thought you might need company.”
Bryce was more honest. “And we wanted to beat Olive over here.”
I turned to see my vindictive sister-in-law staring at me with narrowed eyes. “She doesn’t seem happy about it.”
“I don’t know what more I can say than Mom did,” Thatcher’s voice boomed over the speakers. “But I can tell you a bit about our new campaign strategy. Bryce, Celia, and I believe that Caldwell Financial needs a fresh vibe in the media. Because of that, we’re working hard on creating a new advertising campaign that will launch before the end of the year. We want to appeal to a younger audience while retaining our core group of customers, and I think we’re well on our way to doing just that.”
He stepped to the side as if he was making room for someone to come stand beside him. “It’s my pleasure to introduce one of Atlanta’s own as the new spokesmodel for our campaign. Everyone, please join me in welcoming Madison Welles back to Atlanta!”
There was brief moment of silence before people broke into loud applause. A tall, gorgeous brunette in a slinky dress walked out to join Thatcher in the center of the dance floor.
I turned to Bryce and Celia. “Wow. She is… well, she’s just about the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Bryce looked kind of sick, and Celia chuckled nervously. I didn’t know what was going on, but something was definitely off.
I turned back and was surprised to see someone come and take the microphone from Thatcher. I’d assumed Madison Welles would want to say something. Instead, the jazz band struck up a cover of “The Way You Look Tonight,” as Thatcher and the spokesmodel proceeded to dance together.
Um… record scratch. What the hell was going on? Why was my husband dancing with that gorgeous woman? And why did they look so damn perfect together?
