Fatima Wilson considered telling her friends that they were asking too much, but she was the one held up in a hotel room on her laptop appearing antisocial. She could have kept her ass at home in her office if she was going to keep working during the wedding madness. With Angela unleashing her role as a Bridezilla she had better things to do. Maybe she should sell her company and start over. She'd already bought back Angela's and Belinda's shares of the company when they offered to sell them to Fatima. Fatima did it hoping dissolving their partnership could salvage their friendship. Instead it pushed them further apart. What made matters worse was Fatima introduced the women to each other. Behind the scenes they started drifting apart, with Fatima on the outside. Then Angela got caught up in being her own celebrity in social circles and Belinda lived in Angela's shadow. "Come on, we're going to be late," Angela announced after walking into the room. Fatima looked up to see her friend pulling off her top to change. "How was the luncheon on the yacht with Jake's parents?" "You should have been there. Everything was wonderful although Angela got seasick." "Is she okay? Perhaps we should do something else tonight if Angela is prone to getting seasick."
Belinda stepped into a pair of pale yellow shorts rushing to snap them as she answered. "Angela said she'll be fine for tonight. She probably drank too much at the party last night." "We still have two more hours before the bus arrives." Fatima stared at the screen wanting to use the time to work on the business. The party bus. Fatima still found herself laughing out loud at the memory of Jake's mother gasping when one of the bridesmaids shared that particular detail. Angela wanted a party bus with a stocked bar and stripper pole to transport them around Atlanta.
Angela wanted the world to know she landed the son of a well-known finance mogul. Fatima knew the knock at the door had to be members of the bridal party. "Not a word about the other parties," Belinda whispered. Fatima blinked hearing the warning. Belinda rarely issued them. "I got it. I still don't understand why she's having three bachelorette parties. She needs to get used to their families being around each other sooner or later." "You met Jake's family. His mother would lose her wig if she knew Angela was going to Vegas for her bachelorette party. And so would Jake." "He doesn't know?" Fatima questioned. "Jake plans to go into politics. He's concerned that the wrong image now could hurt him later. Not a peep about Vegas." Groaning, she watched Belinda unlock the door and invite Angela's future in-laws into the room. Her role as a politician's wife was not something Fatima ever expected, but she was certain her friend would have no trouble adapting to that role.
Next Day
"We have a fitting at ten." "Really Fatima? Do you have to mention that right now?" One of Jake's cousins hissed before bending at the waist to dry heave into an empty gift bag. They were the rudest bunch of women, only wanting to see and be seen. Not one of them cared about Angela, nor did she care about them. That was until the party came to a halt once the ship set sail. She didn't know why she agreed when Angela asked if they could go to Fatima's hotel room to recover. "Hurry up." "Out the way." "What's taking so long?"
Fatima muttered under her breath. I should just let them stay out there in the hall and flip the deadbolt on my door. The ladies had seven hours to get it together before meeting Jake and Angela's mother at the boutique. She didn't know how they planned to get it together in time because everyone looked horrible. Some hung over, one had cramps from hell, Belinda claimed she had food poisoning. Remembering how pitiful they all looked during the ride home, Fatima wondered if she was being too hard on them. No one enjoyed being sick and she couldn't blame them for how they felt. "I'll call the front desk to see if they can send up some extra blankets." When no one responded, she turned around. Moaning women with horrendous nests of hair sitting at the tops of their heads and black rings of makeup circling the perimeters of their eyes lay across her bed and pullout sofa. And not one of them cared that they left no place for her to lie down.
