My apology for the late submission. I have been extremely busy. I also had to re-write two chapters...
~!~
Sally tried to quiet her nervous stomach but nothing worked until she felt his hand squeeze hers. She looked up at him and returned his smile. His mother was cold on their introduction but his aunt and uncle were very welcoming. As the night continued and he introduced her to several of his associates, she relaxed. So far no one recognized her.
~!~
Debora Monsello looked simply beautiful in her ivory Valentino gown. She was the perfect widower, greeting Antonio's and Henry's friends as they arrived. Storm also greeted the guests but with Sally by his side. Debora took keen interest in this, noticing how nervous Sally was, and wondered how Storm could bring someone who was so obviously out of place to such an event. Even more shocking to her, was hearing him introducing her as his girlfriend; someone he was actually in a relationship with.
'Something had to be done,'
she fumed silently.
'Audrey was much more fitting for him to be seen with.'
Brad and Mike arrived and Debora looked on with disdain. She silently prayed that he would now improve his friends now that he would be taking over the firm. She found the ones he had now completely unacceptable, with Brad being the one she was most disappointed with. His new status required him to do so. She made a mental note to speak with some of his father's longtime associates.
In many ways Storm was just like Antonio. Antonio had made a non-Italian Storm's godfather and had an outside child with a woman who was not Italian. Like his father, Storm dated women from other cultures including an African girl for more than a year while in college. She had been ecstatic when that relationship ended.
Debora hated that Antonio was so accepting of other cultures. He made both children learn about each other's culture, especially Storm, who spent time on the Native American Reservation with Ayasha during some summer and winter months. Deborah had felt that since Ayasha was an outside child and not full Italian, she should have been excluded but Antonio and Storm took her everywhere and included her into everything. If there was one thing she could have been happy for was that Ayasha wasn't as dark as her mother had been.
Looking at Sally and the way he was holding her hand, Debora could not understand why after dating so many different women, he still insisted on such random dating? He should be thinking about settling down with the right Italian woman.
'I'll have to get him on that path. I am his mother and I know what's best for him,'
Debora thought as she smiled, knowing the arrangements she had made for the night. But as she watched how he looked at Sally, fear crept into her heart and made it beat a bit faster. Storm looked at this girl the way his father used to look at the picture of Ayasha's mother.
~!~
Audrey looked on as Storm whispered something to Sally. Sally laughed and turned her face to his chest. His hand cupped the back of her head and he kissed her, intimately.
'She's the fucking house sitter. What the fuck is wrong with him?'
Audrey drained her glass of champagne and reached for another as the waiter passed by. She and her mother were invited by Storm's mother and even thought Storm ignored her, all kept their eyes on him, watching his every move. Her mother had whispered to Audrey about Storm's surprising behavior towards them all night. She had hoped Storm would want to be by her side, especially when he saw her in the dress she had picked out just to impress him.
Ayasha, Colin, Brad and Mike were all in a group speaking with Storm and his date. Audrey looked on, wondering if there would ever be a time when she would be included in that circle. When would Ayasha accept her instead of treating her like a low-class outcast? She was wealthy and they were from the same social class so why did Ayasha treat her as if she was a gold-digger from the streets Audrey wondered. Getting angry, she took her glass of wine and walked by the group, hoping Storm would notice her and invite her in. But when Audrey walked by she heard Storm introduce Sally to someone as his girlfriend.
'He made her his girlfriend over me? I suck his dick and put up with his bitch of a sister and he makes that bitch his girlfriend? We'll see about that. I'm not going to stop until I'm his wife. I'll get him.'
She walked away from the group angry.
~!~
Sally looked around as she left the bathroom to make sure she was going the right way. She was enjoying herself simply because no one had recognized her so far.
"You fucking slut. You're nothing but a fucking low life gold digger. He'll soon rea..." Audrey said behind Sally.
Sally turned to her startled but recovered almost instantly. "Good night Audrey," and kept on walking.
"Don't you walk away from me you bitch. He'll come back to me. He wants me not some black whore he'll get tired of soon."
"He doesn't want me but he asked me, the black whore to be his girlfriend..."
"He took you shopping and you think that makes you his girlfriend? Do you really think you're the first girl he's taken shopping? That's a norm for him. You think you're the first girl he's taken to a fancy restaurant? He's going to get tired of you..."
Sally tilted her head to the side as if contemplating something. "He never did that for you, did he? That's why you're pissed, that he may have done that for me but not for you, because he saw right through you. He knew you were only after his money."
"I have money. I'm of his social class. I'm not some low life slut gold-digger like you..."
"Yes, you may have money but not as much as him..."
"I'm not the gold-digger here trying to worm my..."
"You think his money means something to me? I don't need it. I've managed perfectly fine without so far and I'll continue to do so," Sally snapped back losing her temper.
"I've seen your type before..."
"Leave me alone Audrey. I know you and he were not a couple, he told me..."
Audrey visibly turned a nasty shade of red, "We were a couple. His mind was poisoned against me by his bitch sister and she'll do the same to you. What the two of you don't know is that he calls me all the time. He called me and told me he wanted to still see me..."
"Fine Audrey, he calls you, now leave me alone," Sally said as she turned to walk away.
"You don't believe me? Fine have it your way when he leaves you..."
"Sally there you are. I've been looking for you," Storm said coming towards both women.
Sally turned to him and gave him a tentative smile. "I was using the restroom."
Audrey turned to him, "What are you doing? Do you know how bringing her here has upset your mother? Do you know what people are saying about you and her? You're putting your reputation in jeopardy. Don't you care what people are saying?"
"No, I don't and if someone has something to say, they can say it to me directly."
"Why are you doing this? Being with her is going to ruin your reputation. I'm better for you. You and I look good together. I suit you better..."
"Audrey let's settle this now. We slept together but it was never a relationship or going to be. I'm sorry if you mis-understood the nature of us being together the only two unfortunate times we were, however, I will not submit to your deliberate attempts at twisting the situation into something it was not or ever going to be. Thank you for attending. Please excuse my girlfriend and me."
