The Secret's Out

Chapter Ten: The Secret's Out

“Shut up,” Miranda repeated. “Are screwing with me?”

I held out my left hand. The black diamond in the middle really emphasized the two green Topazes nestled on either side of it. The white gold band seemed to tie it all together, black diamonds embedded in the middle of subtle swirls.

Her eyes widened. “Holy shit,” she said, grabbing my hand and pulling it closer to her face. “Are all of them real?”

“According to Val—who knew about this the entire time, by the way—they are. She personally saw to it that he spent over fifteen hundred dollars.”

She inspected the gems more thoroughly, obviously mesmerized. I couldn’t blame her; I spent the first twenty minutes after he put it on my finger just staring at it, gluing it to my memory.

We were in her and Val’s room, getting ready. Well, I was trying to get ready, but M absolutely refused to wait for details on Mason’s proposal, so I was standing in the room only wearing a white bra and a matching pair of underwear.

“Wow,” she breathed, letting go as she stared up at me. “You’re getting married, D. To our old teacher, nonetheless.”

“Tell me about it,” I muttered, heading to Valery’s closet. “I don’t think I’ve processed it myself yet.”

“So, what now?” she asked. “He’s just going to announce to a room full of businessmen that he’s engaged so he wants the rest of the week off?”

“Not exactly,” I replied, rolling my eyes as I pushed yet another cocktail dress out of my way, “He said that the President of the corporation, and a few others have been wanting to meet the “woman in his life” for a while now, so it was the perfect time, I guess.” I shrugged, inspecting a backless dress.

“Woman in his life,” she repeated, grinning. “Doesn’t that sound fantastic?”

“Uh, sure?”

“Plus, I thought he was the president, being the chief executive officer and all,” she pointed out.

“I’m pretty sure that most of the time, it is just another word for the CEO, but in his case, it’s someone under him. Val also said something about the board of directors, who’s supposedly above Mason, but it’s a UK thing and I’m not ready to get into all of that.”

“Tell me about it,” she mumbled, “My head hurts just thinking about all of it.”

“You can say that again,” I agreed, pulling the semi-looking business dress. “What do you think about this one?”

It was simple, probably the only “simple” thing Valery had in her wardrobe, and a pretty, pastel green color. The V-neck was subtle, dipping enough to show chest, but high enough to leave something to the imagination. The sleeves looked that they were long enough to go down to the elbows, maybe a little longer, but it was backless, missing a triangle of fabric.

“It’s great,” she beamed, “Almost surprised it came out of her closet.”

I smirked, but slipped the dress on, staring at myself in the mirror.

The sleeves did indeed only reach my elbows, and the loose torso managed to emphasize my chest, but my back felt bare, exposed.

“You look older,” M commented, “Like a mature business woman.”

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. “Thanks. Too bad it’s anywhere from true.”

“You’re only eighteen,” she pointed out, “I don’t think you’re supposed to look like your twenty-eight with your shit together and a company to take care of.”