“Of course.” I smiled sweetly. “It’s so wonderful that you allow a nonprofit to rent the space. I believe it’s just as important for corporations to give back to the community as it is for young people.” I threw her words back at her. “If you’d allow me to be so forward, I do wonder if you’d consider looking into this particular property personally? The rent is reasonable for such a prime location downtown, I’m sure, but every penny saved could go toward helping disadvantaged members of the community. It is the season for giving, after all.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Uncle Heath bring his scotch up to his mouth, trying to hide an amused smile. But my focus stayed trained on Raine Clayton.
She cocked her head to the side and studied me as if she were seeing me for the first time. Just as the silence was about to extend to an uncomfortable length, a slow smile graced her face. “You’re a C3, bordering on C2, and easily an A2 also. Remarkable for someone so young.”
“Oh, I was thinking the same.” Suzanne nodded enthusiastically, looking between us.
“Uh, thank you?” I laughed lightly, trying not to show how much this nutcase was confusing me. “I don’t think I’m familiar with those terms.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I live and breathe BestLyf principles. I sometimes forget not everyone knows our lingo. It basically means you’re confident and assertive. Not many teenagers are. The combination can come off as arrogant at times.”
I frowned. Did she just call me arrogant? But she barreled on before I could respond.
“You have rare leadership talents—the kind one is born with. The kind people undertaking leadership seminars would kill to have.”
“Thank you. That’s very kind of you to say.” She’d given me several compliments, but I itched to probe her about the arrogance comment. I wasn’t arrogant. Was I? There was something imposing about her presence, despite her understated look. Or maybe because of it. But the way she spoke, so articulately and with such certainty, was a little mesmerizing.
“Raine is amazing, Donna. Her program got me from a graduate position with an unknown legal firm to being considered for partner at Paulsen and Price within five years. I’ve learned so much! You should look into their Young Minds program.”
“Yes, I think you’d be an ideal candidate.” Raine smiled at me warmly, as if she were already proud of the achievements I had yet to accomplish. “And I promise to look into this little rent issue.” She waved her hand dismissively and took another sip of champagne.
“Thank you. I’ll certainly look into your program.” If it could fast-track my plans for the future, I’d be an idiot not to. Maybe I could escape this crushing pressure sooner and start enjoying my life before my forties. Wow! What a depressingly middle-aged thought to have. Where the hell had that come from?
“Donna excels at all she does.” Uncle Heath gently squeezed my shoulder, the pride in his face so obvious you’d think I was his daughter. But Raine was now engaged in conversation with some of the other people gathered around her and was no longer paying attention to either of us.
A tall man in a dark suit walked past in my periphery, and for a moment, I could’ve sworn Hendrix had just waltzed uninvited through my parents’ Christmas party. A quick glance told me it was someone whose name I didn’t know, possibly my mom’s PA, but that didn’t stop the bone-aching urge to turn in his direction from coursing through my body.
The tight waist on the dress felt like a rope around my middle, holding me back from chasing him down. My breathing got shallow, and the conversation I was supposed to be a part of faded into the background.
Every time I thought about how he’d acted the night of the party—how he’d seemed to know what I was feeling and what I needed before I even said it—I got this weird panicky feeling in my chest. My mind couldn’t seem to articulate what was racing through it, and my body got fidgety and restless.
I didn’t like it.
It was inconvenient and unwanted. The only way to deal with it was to remove the trigger. So I’d started avoiding him. I had the girls help me keep tabs on him under the guise of keeping an eye on a troublemaker, but really, I used the information to avoid bumping into him at school.