CERCI and Bernard Stark at the ceremony
CERCI LANNISTER:
“Irene,” I whispered.
“This was a bad idea. I’m sorry.” I grabbed her arm before she could run. Speaking in French, I said to her, “I have no idea what you did, but I spent hours today cleaning your house. I let you convince me to come to a party I wanted no part of, in a dress I am
oing to
terrified of ruining. You are walk in there like the motherfucking queen of England, or so help me, I’m going lose my shit.”
She stared at me wide–eyed before laughing and taking a step forward. “Your French is a little rough around the edges, but good.”
Of course that was all she’d gotten from my speech. Shaking my head, I walked after her. When I did, two guys across the room smiled at me. I smirked, making direct eye contact. with them before looking away and taking one of the glasses of champagne. I was supposed to make her look good, right?
“You’re a natural,” she said to me
I learned from strippers, so of course I am a natural. For the men at least, I could fake it because whether they were in a suit or jeans, they functioned the same.
“Irene! Long time, no see.” A blond man was the first to come over to us and his brown. eyes dropped over to me. “Who’s your friend?”
“How do you know I’m her friend? We could be lovers,” I said in French, knowing he couldn’t understand. Irene snorted and tried not to laugh.
He looked at us, confused. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Cerci,” I answered him, offering him a hand.
“Archibald Saint James,” he said kissing the back of it. “But my friends call me Archie.”
“That’s quite nice of your friends, Mr. Saint James,” I said, and the corners of his lips. turned up.
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CERCI and Bernard Stark at the ceremony
“I think so too, maybe you-”
“That’s a very long handshake, Archibald.” We both turned to find Bernard Stark dressed in a fitted black suit and bow tie with his hand in his pocket. His blue eyes glared at Archibald.
Elspeth Yates…Elspeth fucking Yates…his mother! Shit!
He said nothing more, but walked up beside me and placed his hand on my waist. My eyes widened. I wanted to push him away, but I didn’t want to draw any more attention. I was trapped.
Whoever said no good deed goes unpunished was talking to me.
BERNARD STARK:
Contrary to popular belief, I did not hate people. Did some people annoy me? Yes. Did I often lose my temper? Who didn’t? However, I hated Archibald Saint James so vehemently that if he were drowning in front of me, I’d go inside and make a sandwich.
His snake eyes dropped to my hand on her waist, and I tried to ignore the heat coming off
her skin.
“Bernard I didn’t know you were acquainted with such a beautiful woman,” he pressed, obviously feeding into the circulating rumor that I had to be gay. To gossipmongers, this explained why I never brought women to any of my parents‘ ridiculous parties thrown with the simple purpose of showing off their wealth.
Turning to Cerci, I could tell she was yelling at me with her eyes. Reaching up, I cupped. her waist harder and blatantly kissed her. She stared and I gave her ass a squeeze to intimate to her to play along. Closing her eyes, she kissed me back, but before it went any further than that, we broke apart. Her lips were puffy and her face flushed.
“Now you know, Archibald,” I said, taking Cerci’s hand and pulling her away from the living room completely.
I didn’t stop walking, or let go, and I could feel myself getting heated, but I wasn’t sure why. The image of Archibald kissing her hand pissed me off–or was it the shock of seeing her to begin with? Dressed like…
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“Let go!” She kicked me in the shin once we were in the privacy of my childhood bedroom.
“What the fuck!” I hissed, releasing her hand to grab my now throbbing leg.
“That’s what I want to know, asshole!” she screamed at me, kicking one more time, forcing me to back away. “How dare you put your lips on me without asking first?”
‘Stop it now!” I yelled when she tried to kick me again. She just lifted her fist. “I was trying to save you!”
“From what?”
“Him! He’s a fucking rapist!”
She froze with her fist still in the air. “What?”
“Fuck.” I hissed, sitting back on my bed and rolling up my trousers; sure enough, my shin was bleeding. Her heel was one hell of the weapon. “You should be thanking me, not assaulting me.”
“Says the man who grabbed my ass.” She crossed her arms, still keeping her distance. “What do you mean he’s a rapist?”
“I wasn’t aware there were differing definitions of rapist,” I snapped at her while wincing when I touched the wound.
She sighed before looking around the room and opening a few doors until she got into a bathroom. I heard the water turn on for a second, and she came back out with a wet washcloth. Moving to sit on the bed beside me, she grabbed my leg and placed it on her lap.
#
“Why is he here if he is a rapist? I thought your mother was running for president,‘ she said, softly dabbing my shin.
“Because he wasn’t officially prosecuted for rape. His family paid them off. The victim
was some broke college student. The moment she took the money, she left Boston for
good. I’m sure there are more like her, but when your father owns one of the biggest financial services companies in the country, you can sweep a lot more under the rug. I kissed you because the only family you don’t mess with is mine. If he thinks you’re mine,
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CERCI and Bernard Stark at the ceremony
you’re safe.”
She frowned at me and looked up with those big hazel eyes of hers. “You’re this super famous reporter, so why not expose him?”
“So famous you didn’t even know me when we first met?”
She pursed her lips to the side, and I was starting to notice she was horrible at controlling her facial expressions.
“I don’t count since I don’t watch the news. Not that I’m dumb or anything, or don’t care
what’s going on-”
“You just don’t have time because you’re working.” She was always working. “Except your tried to quit this morning.”
“I didn’t try to quit.”
“Really? Your boss called me to tell me I was getting a new maid-”
“It’s for the best.”
“Don’t decide what is best for me,” I replied, pulling my leg away from her.
She glared. “I wasn’t. I was deciding what was best for me. Contrary to what your ego may tell you, Mr. Stark, the world does not revolve around you.”
“So it’s a no to the marriage then?”
She threw her hands up. “Yes! Do you know how crazy you sound? You don’t even know
me and you are in love with…I’m not marrying a stranger for money. You and your cousin both think you can buy people with money. Maybe you can, but you can’t buy me.”
She annoyed the hell out of me.
“You’re an idiot,” I said when she got up to leave.
“What?” She spun back to me.
