Started With a Lie

Chapter Twelve

          Lee is waiting at the door for me. My heels kind of make me tall as Lee, but not so much. We head out of his suite and into the elevator. It’s tense. The air feels so thick that when the elevator opens again, I feel so relieved that I run out of the elevator.

               The party is at some famous hall that Lee told me about. I didn’t really pay attention when he told me about it. There is a sleek, black car outside the hotel, which I think is for us. I hop into the backseat… only to find a stranger in it.

           “Um, who are you?” I ask the dark-haired man in the car. He’s handsome and young—cute, actually. But what was he doing in the car? Was he one of Lee’s friends?

        He chuckles. “Me? Who are you? You’re the one in my car.”

              “I don’t think so. This car is Lee’s, isn’t it?”

      “No, honey. This is my car. I’m Mark.” The stranger takes out his hand for me to shake. “Mark Zuckerburg. Just kidding. I’m Mark Welch.”

          I smile at his joke. Maybe all rich guys weren’t so rude. I shake his hand as I grin. “I’m Ivory. Sorry for my intrusion. I didn’t mean to hop into a stranger’s car. No hard feelings, right?”

            The door suddenly opens and Lee stands there. “Ivory, there you are. I kept trying to tell you that our car was on the side but you just ran into this car. Get out.” I listen and get out to his side. Lee puts his head back in the car. “I’m so sorry—Mark?”

            “So you’re the Lee,” Mark says, his voice cold and hard now. What happened to his goofy smile and fun personality earlier? He just sounded like he was staring at the person he hated the most.

         “Mark,” Lee says in a mutual tone. “How long has it been?” He doesn’t sound too happy. Why do they both sound so hateful to each other? Are they brothers? No, they don’t have the same last name.

           “Years, hasn’t it?” Mark says through gritted teeth.

          Their expressions scare me. I tug on Lee’s shoulder and when he looks over, his expression falters to a softer one. “Let’s go, Lee,” I whisper. “We don’t want to be late for your party.”

        “Of course, dear,” Lee replies. Wait, what? Why is he acting all lovey-dovey? “Mark, I see you’ve met my girlfriend, Ivory. We’ll see you later, okay?”

          Mark keeps his fists clenched by his side. “Bye, Ivory. Nice meeting you.” He throws me a smile. “And, see you soon, Lee.”

        Lee slams the car door—a little too hard—and we both walk to the car we were supposed to be in. He takes a seat with me in the backseat and he remains silent, calming his breathing. I don’t say anything. I think it might be a touchy topic with him. I remain silent to the ride there.

          Throughout the ride, I think about Mark. Who could he possibly be to enrage the youngest billionaire on Earth? Is he a past friend that ended their friendship roughly? About a million possibilities run through my mind.

            I’m in the middle of one when the chauffer opens my side of the car door. I thank him and step out only find raindrops hit my head. I stand before a beautiful tall building with all the lights on. It’s starting to drizzle and it feels amazing. The air smells like wet pavements and lights blur into one.

       New York City is beautiful under the rain.

          I would stay here a bit longer if it wasn’t for the fact that Lee was already inside and waving over to me to come inside. I ran inside and thankfully my dress or hair isn’t ruined too much.