Amanda looked into her rearview mirror and adjusted an errant strand of her golden hair. She had just come from the hairdresser and didn't want a hair out of place. She was about to make her grand entrance and she wanted to look good.
The valet opened the door to her little convertible and she stepped out, taking his hand and smiling when she noticed his eyes drifting downward. Yes, she had outdone herself tonight. Her hair was immaculately done, swept up into a neat bun at the back of her neck, her jewelry shone brightly in the artificial lights that lit the outdoor marquis tent, and her little white one-shouldered dress hugged every curve of her body and came to rest just above her knees. She finished off the look with a pair of killer white open-toe stilettos.
With a wink, she handed her keys to the valet and strutted into the marquis. The engagement party was being thrown in honor of Heather Heartly-Bennett and her fiancé, Tyrell. They had recently gotten engaged and were planning on getting married within the next month. A short engagement period followed by a quick wedding, all the signs were pointing to pregnant out of wedlock in Amanda's mind. Of course, no one would comment in polite company, but behind their backs, there were all sorts of rumors flying. Nothing like a shotgun wedding to get the gossips fired up.
Amanda scanned the crowd and quickly spotted her friends, Winifred and Margery, and walked over to them. Amanda greeted each one with a peck on the cheek and a smile.
"Winnie, you look stunning in that dress," Amanda said, paying her the proper compliment. Truthfully, she thought Winnie looked frumpy in the white chiffon dress that covered her from neck to mid-calf. It was too loose to show off any of Winifred's body and tonight was definitely the night to show some skin.
"Why thank you, Mandy. And may I say that you are a knockout in yours. I mean, the way it clings, you'll have every man in here after you tonight," Winnie returned.
"Oh, thank you, Winnie. I do try, though there's only one man's eye I'm interested in catching tonight."
Margery spoke up, "You can't mean Zack Smith. It's been years since you were together and he's still with Terri."
Amanda shot her a glare. "I've been waiting patiently for Zack to come to his senses and leave that black bitch once and for all, but he seems to need a little reminder about what he's lost. I mean, I saw Terri last week, and I have seen first hand that she has really let herself go. I could barely believe it. But, her gain is my gain."
Winifred tittered. "Has she really gained much weight? She was pretty curvy to begin with. Weight gain is a slippery slope I hear."
Amanda grinned. "She looks like the frickin' Michelin man."
They shared a laugh before moving on to other topics, though Amanda kept bringing the conversation back to how she was going to bring Zack to his knees. She politely listened while Winifred expounded on her tumultuous relationship with Davin, whose father owned a chain of hotels. Margery was still on the lookout for Mr. Right and was saving herself for marriage. Amanda often found herself wanting to gag when Margery started talking about purity and such. At least Winnie's stories about what she and Davin got up to were pretty salacious and were on the same level as her own exploits.
Lately, her father had been pushing her attentions on a man named Javier Garcia, who was the son of a wealthy business owner over in Spain somewhere. Amanda often tuned out when her father was discussing his business plans that involved her getting together with someone's son. She knew the deal, she didn't need to know more than whether or not the guy was hot and willing to buy her things. Besides, it never actually mattered. She was intent on winning Zack back and until she had her chance at convincing him that they were supposed to be together, she wouldn't settle for anyone else.
When she actually thought about it though, her pursuing Zack had more to do with the way her father had reacted than any true desire she had to be with him. After Zack had broken it off with her, his father had come to her own shortly afterward to say that Zack had come to him and explained that it had been her infidelity in their relationship that ended it all.
Mr. Smith had declared the business partnership through marriage over and laid out a plan to merge the companies through other means, even though it meant they had to negotiate the division of the company's income and assets between the two families instead of having it all go to the family created by her and Zack. Her father could do nothing but go along with it, since Amanda was in the wrong.
Amanda winced as she remembered how her father had snapped as soon as Mr. Smith had left the office. His entire face had gone red, the veins in his forehead throbbed and then he had let lose with his tirade. He had called her a whore, a slut and told her she was no better than her mother, who had left the two of them for some famous tennis player.
Her father had demanded that she try to get Zack back by whatever means necessary. He had even finagled an invite to the dinner where Terri was going to meet Zack's family for the first time. He wanted to see Amanda's competition. Amanda didn't mind until she was faced with the seemingly immediate acceptance of Terri into Zack's family. His mother had only greeted Amanda with polite smiles throughout their relationship, but by the end of the night, she was hugging Terri and inviting her to their weekly family dinners. They had even spoken about children!
Amanda found herself becoming increasingly jealous of their relationship, even though she had resigned herself to moving on and finding someone new. The final straw, the moment that pushed her into her relentless pursuit of Zack, was when her father had turned to her in their limo and told her that Zack had obviously found a faithful, loyal woman and that she didn't stand a chance of getting him back. The very next day, he started talking about branching out his business prospects and asked her opinion on somebody else's son. Amanda told him she wasn't interested in moving on just yet, but her father kept insisting it was a lost cause. The more he urged her to consider other men, the more stubborn she became on the Zack issue.
She wanted to prove to him that she was a good woman, one that was better than Terri. But the harder she tried, the further away from her end goal she seemed. Three years later, she wasn't any closer to stealing Zack away, but perhaps tonight would be the night.
When Zack entered the marquis with Terri, Amanda preened. Terri was wearing something tantamount to a potato sack. The dress, with its empire waistline, hugged her generous bosom before fanning out and sweeping the floor. Amanda noted that Terri had paired her white dress with a pair of red strappy heels that showed off the tone in her legs when her dress parted at the high slit as she walked. It was a risk, wearing red to a white party, but the splash of color made her outfit pop. Amanda was impressed, not that she would tell anyone that.
Margery spotted the couple at the same time and commented. "There's your man...with his woman. I don't know, Mandy. I don't think you're going to be able to win him away from her. Zack seems like he's in it for the long haul."
"Nonsense. Come with me and watch me work," Amanda stated as she headed for the couple.
Winifred and Margery flanked her as she walked towards the pair. She made sure to put a little extra bounce in her walk, to call attention to her assets. Luckily, Zack and Terri were talking to the newly engaged couple, so it gave Amanda the perfect excuse to intrude.
"Heather! Tyrell! Congratulations! What a beautiful party you've thrown," Amanda called out when they were close enough.
The small group's attention turned to her and her companions. She waited a beat and then added, "Zack, how lovely to see you tonight. You too, Terri." She pitched her voice just right, letting them know that the greeting she gave to Terri was almost an afterthought. Amanda mentally patted herself on the back for giving such a masterful performance. It was going just the way she wanted it to so far.
Heather smiled, though it was clear that it was forced. "Amanda, hello! I'm so glad you all could make it."
Heather greeted each of them with the requisite kiss on each cheek before returning to her fiancé's arms. "Margery, you must tell me where you got your dress. I love it," Heather said.
"Actually, I made it myself. It took me hours to attach all the crystals," Margery replied with a blush.
She worked in a boutique on the weekends, not because she needed to, but because she loved it and it helped her come up with ideas that she used to design and make her own clothes. Her dress was a white Grecian inspired dress that fell to the floor. The straps, which crisscrossed her back, were lined with crystals.
"Well, we simply must talk about you designing me something to wear at the reception. I don't know if that's doable for you, but I must own something of yours before you hit it big," Heather continued.
While Margery and Heather began to talk about dress designs, Amanda turned her attention back to Zack. He had his arm wrapped around Terri's back and was whispering into her ear.
"Zack, I haven't seen you in such a long time. You must tell me how you've been," Amanda purred.
Zack pulled his attention away from Terri momentarily. He opened his mouth to speak, but paused as a slow song came on over the sound system. "Maybe later. Right now, I've got to have a dance with Terri. This is our song."
Amanda could only watch, the rage boiling up inside her as Zack took Terri to the dance floor and began swaying with her gently. She saw how lovingly Zack gazed into Terri's eyes and wondered briefly if she was wasting her time. It wasn't as if she actually wanted to be with Zack, she was merely trying to restore some of her wounded pride at the fact that Zack had broken up with her and her father blamed her for it.
She had once thought Terri to be nothing more than a passing fancy, but they were still going strong. No matter. Once Zack took a good look at her body and started comparing it to Terri's, he would come back to her, if only for a night, a night that she could then use to break up Zack and Terri's relationship. She would bide her time and make her move when the time was right.
_ _ _ _
Zack watched as Terri sauntered off towards the toilets in the main house that the marquis was stationed behind. He had wanted to go with her, but Terri knew him well enough to know that if he followed her, raunchy sex in the bathroom wasn't far behind. And even though it would be highly satisfying, Terri would probably find it embarrassing if they were caught having sex at her ex-boyfriend's engagement party.
Instead, he headed towards the bar. As he leaned against it and surveyed the party with a cold beer in his hand, Zack grinned. The past year had been amazing for him and Terri and the coming year only promised to get better.
The slim hand that slid over his shoulder while he was in the middle of daydreaming about the future wasn't unexpected. He knew that at some point, Amanda would make her move. For some reason, she just couldn't take no for an answer.
He turned, shaking the hand off and facing Amanda. "Amanda, how can I help you?"
"You can help me by telling me where we went wrong. We were so good together, Zack. We could be that good again."
Zack gave her a thin smile. "Sorry to tell you this, Amanda, but what we had is nothing compared to what I've found with Terri. I would never give that up to be with you."
"Never say never, Zack. Your precious Terri is obviously letting herself go and soon you're going to wish that you had chosen all of this over...that."
Zack laughed. "No, it's definitely never, Amanda. It's been over three years, I think you should focus on trying to move on and find your own happiness."
Amanda growled as Zack walked away. How dare he reject her again! She marched after him, intent on confronting him again, when she saw him gather Terri up in his arms. She was just close enough to hear his soft words meant for Terri's ears only.
"How are you and our baby, my sweet wife?"
Amanda felt the floor sway beneath her feet. Wife? Baby? How had she not heard about Zack and Terri getting married? They would have had a big wedding, right?
"Married?" Amanda hadn't realized that she spoke aloud until Zack turned with Terri in his arms.
