Saltwater Secrets - Amelia Addler Page 0,43
the steady flow of cars. It was one of the things that Jade loved so much about the islands – even in the winter time, they were vibrant and brimming with life. Not as much as in the summer, of course, but it was always beautiful and green.
They got to the events center and quickly found a parking spot.
“Morgan told me that this building was actually built by a friend of Eric Burke.”
Tiffany stood back, taking in the site. “That’s the guy who owns the company?”
Jade nodded. “Yeah – well, he didn’t start the company, his dad did. But he’s running this project, I guess.”
“This building is a monstrosity,” Tiffany said. “If they make something like this on San Juan, it’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”
“I agree, but it’s not really up to me. Are you ready to go in?”
“Yes! Let’s go.”
Once again, there were waiters circulating the room, carrying trays of champagne and appetizers. But this time, they’d stepped up their game. Beautiful flowers covered almost every surface; there were even arrangements hanging on the walls. In the center of the room, an enormous ice sculpture spouted a neon blue drink that guests captured in drinking glasses.
Everything just looked nice – and expensive. To top it all off, there seemed to be twice as many people at this event than at the last one.
“Oh look – there’s another room. Want to take a peek?” asked Tiffany.
Jade sighed. “I guess. You’d think that this room wasn’t fancy enough.”
Tiffany shrugged. “I’m not impressed.”
As they got closer to the next room, the music grew louder and their eardrums were assaulted by heavy bass. People were dancing and shouting over the music. There was a DJ booth in the corner – Jade squinted at it, and then was overcome with horror.
“We need to get out of here.”
“What? Why?” Tiffany asked.
Jade tried to force Tiffany to turn around and leave, but it was too late. He’d spotted them.
“Jade! Hey, Jade!”
She cringed. There was no running now.
“Hey Brandon, how are you?”
“I’m great! They booked me for this, isn’t this party awesome?”
Tiffany shrugged. “Not really.”
Brandon’s smile faded. “Wait, are you okay Jade? I saw the news about the fire – ”
“I’m fine,” she said. “No harm done.”
Brandon shook his head. “I’m really sorry that happened to you and I’m glad that you’re okay.”
Jade smiled and thanked him; she felt bad that she’d tried to avoid him. But in her defense, she never knew which Brandon she would get – but today it seemed she’d gotten happy Brandon. Happy that he’d booked this gig, and even a bit sweet about the fire.
“You’d better get back to work,” Tiffany said, shooing him away. “You don’t want to get sacked.”
Brandon laughed. “That’s right! Well – it was nice seeing you!
“You too.”
And just like that, he walked off.
“That could’ve been much worse,” said Jade.
“You’re right,” Tiffany said. “I was imagining trying to get him fired as payback for how he treated you during the divorce.”
Jade laughed. “That’s all in the past.”
Tiffany raised an eyebrow. “Oh don’t act like you don’t hold grudges.”
“I don’t.” She paused for a moment, shifting her weight. The shoes she’d chosen to go with this dress weren’t the most comfortable. Maybe she should’ve stuck with the frumpy outfit. “Do you want to go back to the other room? This is so loud and I don’t recognize anyone.”
Tiffany nodded. “Okay.”
They wandered back into the main room, stopping to look at some of the different “propaganda points,” as Tiffany called them. There was a new promotional video – better than the last one, but still missing the mark. It showed a few shots of bald eagles but then cut to a woman in a large hat sitting under an umbrella. It seemed like they were still advertising for the wrong kind of island.
Jade kept looking around, trying to see if anyone was watching her. It didn’t feel like it, but she felt a little paranoid. A few people stopped to talk to them and give their condolences about the fire.
Apparently, it had been all over the local news. She didn’t know how to respond to people – saying thank you seemed strange. Like what was she thanking them for? But what else was she supposed to say? The whole thing was just awkward.
They’d been there for almost an hour and Jade was starting to get restless. She thought about texting Matthew, but decided against it. What if he was caught up in work? Tiffany suggested that he