Josnic
Romanian for Despicable.
Two days later, Yuan and Jill had to say goodbye to Adrienne. As much as they loved their week in Paris, they had to go back to reality. They still had jobs that required them to go back to New York.
Adrienne decided to do what’s right. She sent Jada her resignation letter. She figured, she’d spent years working her ass off because she didn’t want to be a failure in her mother’s eyes. But she was never really her mother. She’s her stepmother. And her real mother would prefer she stayed in Paris, if not for good, then for a while longer.
Although he partied like a kid at night time, Jin actually wore the Starck heir coat pretty well. He made a lot of progress managing their business. Little by little, her stepfather trusted him to take the reins of their empire.
A week after Yuan and Jill left, Adrienne’s mother told her she would meet her at a coffee shop in one of their hotels and she will introduce her to some of her friends and their kids, so she could make new friends. The family driver took her there.
Adrienne must have been in the coffee shop for an hour yet her mother didn’t make an appearance. She received a call from her.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry I can’t make it. But Christine just might come at any minute. If she reaches there, tell her I had to rush to meet my editor. But if you could please… have coffee with her. She’s just in town for a visit. She could use some company.”
“Okay, Mom.”
She appreciates it that her mother is slowly introducing her to her circle of friends as part of her family. She needed to meet new acquaintances to keep herself from thinking too much about Justin and to keep from getting bored.
She checked the calendar. Thirty days left. And still no word from Justin. She resisted the urge to text or call him. She couldn’t. If he’s doing what he could to get to know his fiancée, she didn’t want to ruin it.
She badly wanted to tell him about the recent turn of events in her life. She did not want disturb his focus. She wanted him to do this on his own, with no influence coming from her. That wouldn’t be fair.
She must have stayed in the coffee shop, browsing the internet through her phone, for about three hours. No one came. Her mother’s friend didn’t make an appearance.
She called her mother.
“So, how was it?” she asked, sounding ecstatic.
“Mama, your friend didn’t show up.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. Then her mother said, “Oh. Okay. She must have been caught up in something. I’ll give her a call now. Meanwhile, you can call the driver to take you home.”
“Mama, is your friend all right?”
Her mother sighed on the other line. “I hope so. Don’t worry about it. I’ll sort it out. I’ll see you at dinner.”
Adrienne went home. When she got to her room, she saw a box sitting on her coffee table. It was wrapped in silver wrapper with a metallic purple ribbon.
She read the card.
Boredom kills.
So maybe it’s time you start writing your next bestseller.
Love,
Jin
She smiled. Her brother was so thoughtful. He was everything that Kimberly wasn’t. And her heart swelled with the love that her new family offered her.
She opened the box and found a brand new Macbook Air. She couldn’t stop smiling. Jin was absolutely right. Writing would be the best thing for her to do whilst she stayed in Paris. She remembered the novel she started writing. Then she remembered, she can’t work on that again. She would make herself too heartbroken if she continued that story. Justin inspired that love story. But now, her love story with him faced an uncertain ending.
Her mother entered her room.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry you had to wait in the coffee shop for nothing,” she said. Adrienne could see the disappointment all over her face. “My friend’s son’s flight was delayed.”
“Your friend’s son?” Adrienne repeated. “I thought I was meeting your friend.”
Her mother stared at her for a while and then she said, “Oh, yes, yes. Er… Christine was… wasn’t able to make it to Paris. But her son came to town. And he wanted to see the sights.”
“Mom, I cannot be a tour guide.” Adrienne said. “I’ve been here less than two weeks.”
“Yes. But he frequents Paris. He doesn’t need to be shown around. He just… needed company.”
Adrienne narrowed her eyes at her mother. “Why me?”
“He’s from the States, too. And I wanted you to meet my friends’ family. Whenever Christine’s son is here, he usually didn’t… have any company or friends to tour around the City.”
“He’s a guy. Maybe Jin would be able to show him a better time than I would.”
“He’s not Jin’s age. And Jin…hates my circle of friends and their children. Do you know, he’s met none of my friends’ children? And he hasn’t gone to any one of my gatherings or meetings with my friends.”
“Really?”
“If it’s not business-related, he’s not interested.”
“Maybe he can start with meeting Christine’s son. He’d be a better company than me.”
“Well, Pierre just sent him to Dubai to facilitate the construction of our hotel there.” Her mother smiled at her. “Would you be a star and help me out then? I sort of promised Christine I’d introduce you to her son.”
Adrienne raised a brow. “Mom…just a question. You’re not setting me up with your friend’s son, are you?”
Her mother stared back at her blankly. And then she shrugged. “Well…my friends have very good-looking kids. They’re smart, too, and come from very good families. And I specifically remember that you were trying to get over some guy whose parents couldn’t accept you.”
Adrienne laughed. “Oh my God, Mama!” she said. “Please stop. I am not looking to jump into a rebound relationship. I just broke up with my boyfriend ten days ago. And besides, I sort of promised him I would wait.”
“Wait?” her mother echoed. “Don’t be absurd, Adrienne. You should not be the one doing the waiting. He should be chasing after you. His parents should be begging him to come back to you. You’re my daughter and you’re beautiful, smart and kind-hearted. Any guy would die to be in your boyfriend’s shoes right now.”
Adrienne felt happy to hear that for a change, she has a mother who is truly proud of what she is.
“Mom, don’t worry about me,” she asserted. “I’ll be okay.”
Her mother sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulder. “Can you at least promise me you will let me introduce you to my circle? Okay, you don’t have to start dating right away. Just…meet new people. I don’t want to see you wasting your time waiting for somebody who may not come back to you.”
Adrienne sighed. She didn’t want to do it. But she also wanted to make her mother feel that she’s trying to fit into her world. And this is the first time that she felt that her mother actually cared about her.
“I’ll meet new friends,” she said firmly. “But I will not date anybody romantically, Mom. I promise I’ll try my best to become friends with your friends’ kids. And they have to be both boys and girls. Not exclusively boys. I’m all for making new friends. But I won’t have a boyfriend. Until…” She sighed. “Until I’m ready.”
Her mother smiled. “Okay. That’s fair enough. By the way, I’m going to throw a party in two weeks. It’s the best way to introduce you to the society. Everybody should know who you are and that you belong to this family.” She kissed her forehead.
“What?” Adrienne began to protest. She thought this heiress thing was going to be easy. “Mama, no. It’s not necessary.”
“Of course it is!” her mother claimed. “To not make you feel awkward, I’d do it on the same night as my victory party. My book ‘Clever Tales’ is number one on the New York Times Bestsellers’ List for six weeks now. I’ve sold about two million copies. It’s time to celebrate. I do it all the time with my other books that hit a milestone. And on that night, we will formally introduce you to everybody.”
Adrienne almost panicked.
Her mother laughed. “You will do great, Adrienne. You’re my daughter. Just breathe and be yourself. Everybody will love you. And if they don’t, they can just go to hell. I don’t care. I’m proud of you.”
Her mother stood up and headed for the door. Then she turned back to her. “I’ve been a romance novelist for decades, sweetheart. And I know…you meet the guy for you at the most unlikely places and situations. You never know. You just might meet someone who’s really worth forgetting your ex-boyfriend for.”
Adrienne just smiled at her mother. But in her mind she thought, I sincerely doubt that, Mom. Nobody is worth forgetting Justin for.
***
The next day, her mother told her to meet her friend, Christine’s son again. She sat at the same coffee shop for more than an hour, but this friend’s son was again a no-show. Honestly, she was getting infuriated. If she didn’t want to please her mother, she would have left fifteen minutes ago. Obviously, this guy also didn’t want to meet her. And besides, how ungentlemanly was it to stand up a girl two days in a row?
She didn’t plan on dating him. Adrienne saw this as a meet and greet type of thing. She promised her mother she would try to befriend those in her circle. But she wondered if rich kids usually act like this? Do they assume that only their time matters and to hell with anyone else?
After another ten minutes, she gathered her stuff, about to leave.
Just then a guy approached her.
“Are you Andrea Blanc? Ariana Starck’s daughter?” he asked in a cocky voice.
Adrienne stared up at the dark-haired guy standing in front of her. He wore a pair of shimmery black pants, long-sleeved black shirt with white tie and white suspenders. His hair was dark brown and he’s wearing a pair of silver shades. His plucked brow was raised, and he looked like he was impatiently waiting for her to answer.
Adrienne nodded.
He immediately pulled the chair opposite from her and sat down. He pulled his shades up his head and revealed a pair of electric blue eyes. She was sure he’s wearing contact lenses to make his eyes appear more striking.
“I’m sorry, I’m late,” he said. Then he paused for a while and laughed. “Actually, I’m not. I was…with this model and she was hot!” Then he winked at her.
He then scrolled through the menu and raised his hand and waived to the waiter. “Hey, waiter guy!” he called in a very loud voice, the coffee shop actually went quiet. Adrienne sank lower in her seat and actually used the menu in front of her to cover her face in embarrassment.
It took a while before the waiter came to their table. The guy raised a brow at him. “What? You’re going to make me wait for Christmas?” he asked him. He didn’t wait for the waiter to reply. “Get me a machito.”
“Excuse me?” The guy blinked back at him. “Sir, what is that?”
“The coffee? Hello?” the guy said looking at the waiter as if he thought he was stupid.
The waiter stared at the guy blankly, clearly having no idea what he meant.
“Are you stu…”
“O-kay!” Adrienne interrupted, before the guy could actually continue what he was about to say. “I think he meant macchiato.”
“Yeah, that’s what I said. You deaf or something?” the guy asked the waiter.
The waiter bit his lip to prevent himself from either snapping back or laughing his ass off at this imbecile in front of them.
“Right away,” he said and gave Adrienne a thankful smile.
“In your dreams, peasant,” the guy in front of her said under his breath after seeing the waiter smile at Adrienne.
“Excuse me?” Adrienne turned back at the guy. “Who are you?”
“You don’t know me?” he asked and he looked genuinely offended that she didn’t recognize him. “Really? Where have you been?”
Adrienne stared at him blankly. No! She didn’t know him and she wished she hadn’t even laid eyes on him today.
“I’m… I’m sorry. I… I was confined in a mental institution for the last ten years. I really have no idea who you are,” Adrienne said in her most innocent voice.
He grinned at her. “Justin.”
“What?” Adrienne blinked back. The name still makes her heart beat a thousand times faster.
“My name is Justin. I’m Christine’s son. My mother said I should meet her friend Ariana’s daughter, Andy. Are you the daughter? Because I know the Starcks. And…well…you don’t look half as posh as your brother.”
Seriously? His name is also Justin? God, kill me now!
Bile rose to Adrienne’s throat and she balled her hands in front of her. She would have hit the guy and she bet the waiter and the other patrons around them would love to help her gang up on this asshole. But she cannot embarrass her mother.
“Okay. It’s nice to meet you, Justin, and now I must go.” She started to stand up.
But she felt a hand on her wrist, grasping it tightly.
“Sit down, will you?” he asked in a low firm voice that Adrienne actually scared her a little.
She sat back on her seat and stared at the guy crossly.
“You know, Andy…a lot of girls would die to be in your shoes right now. Having coffee with me.” He didn’t even get her name right, but Adrienne felt irritated enough with him, she didn’t bother correcting him.
Adrienne closed her eyes for a second. She didn’t remember why she allowed him to stop her from getting up on her feet and leaving him.
“But my mother begged me to meet you. Get to know you. Make you head over heels in love, if I didn’t make you fall in love at first sight. She and your mother are hoping we’re a perfect match, you know.”
“Oh my God! Maybe they’re right! You’re probably the answer to my prayers!” Adrienne said sarcastically.
The guy grinned. “Oh sweetheart. I think I am.”
Adrienne groaned. Not only is this guy a total douche, he’s also a moron.
The waiter reappeared with his macchiato. The way he treated him, she wouldn’t be surprised if the waiter spat in his coffee. She wanted to warn him about it, but she thought, hell! He deserved it! In fact, she wished the waiter did.
“How did our mothers meet?”
The guy shrugged. “Old family friends. Then they were roommates in college,” he replied. “Closer than sisters. I think they got it in their heads that they should be family. So they’re hoping we start hooking up.”
“Seriously?”
The guy nodded. “You up for it?” he asked and gave her a smoldering look.
Adrienne resisted the urge to vomit right then and there.
“I’m sorry…” she said. “But I think…you’re waaay out of my league.” She tried to smile sweetly.
The guy leaned back on his seat and drank his ‘machito’. When he put his cup down, he had coffee froth all over his mouth that he actually looked like he was sporting a mustache. He didn’t even make an effort to wipe it off. “That’s what I thought,” he said. “I only date models.”
“Shocking!” Adrienne said under her breath.
“So, how come I didn’t know about you, Andy? We don’t see you at the Starcks’ events. We knew Ariana had a daughter, but we never saw you before.”
“I told you, I was in a mental institution, remember?”
He blinked back at her. “Oh, that wasn’t a joke?” he asked.
“I don’t have a sense of humor,” she replied flatly.
She thought that if he really thought she was cuckoo he would tell his mother there is no way in the world they would hook up.
“Don’t worry. Girls go crazy about me, too.” And he gave her a wink again. Then he stared at her with narrowed eyes, which he probably thought was sexy.
“Is something wrong with your eyes?” Adrienne asked.
“Why?” He sounded like he was panicking. “Are they still red? Damn those Visines!” he said.
“Visine?” Adrienne echoed. “You meant to tell me your eyes were red before you came to meet me? What? Are you on drugs?”
He laughed. “No. I don’t really consider pot drugs. Duh!”
Pot? Is he serious?
Adrienne was interrupted by the ring of her phone. It was her mother.
“Mama.”
“Hey, sweetheart,” she said. “So, have you met Justin?”
“Hmmm…” she simply said.
“Isn’t he wonderful? I swear if I was only your age…”
“Mama, I thought Pierre was the love of your life.”
“Of course, he is!” Her mother laughed. “But I was just saying that Justin is a dreamboat!”
“Yeah…he is…out of this world.” She didn’t want to be rude in front of this moron.
“Treat him well. He’s my oldest friend’s son. He’s a very nice guy once you really get to know him. I think the two of you could really become good friends.”
“You don’t say.” Adrienne tried to put a smile on her voice.
“Talk to you later.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
She turned back to Justin, the moron.
“Okay so my mother asked me to take you out tonight,” Justin said. “What do you say, meet me at Rendezvous bar at nine?”
“Is that really necessary?”
He raised a brow at her. “Hey. I don’t like you, either,” he said. “I’d rather be fucking the lingerie model I brought back to my hotel room a while ago. But as it is, it would make our mothers happy to see that we at least tried, right?”
Of all the things that came out of his mouth, the last sentence was the only thing that made sense to Adrienne. “After tonight, you could tell your mother what you said to me. That I was way out of your league. I’m pretty high maintenance.”
“Really? High maintenance would be an understatement!” Adrienne rolled her eyes. “Seriously, lady. When my mother said she’d like me to hook up with Ariana’s daughter, an heiress, I was actually expecting the likes of Paris Hilton or I don’t know… Ivanka. You know. Posh. Sophisticated.”
“And when my mother told me to try to befriend one of her friends’ sons, I was expecting to meet… I don’t know…Peter Parker, maybe. Smart. Funny. Interesting.” Adrienne said, feigning a smile.
“Oh, lady. I am interesting—I’m just not interested in you.”
“Oh, thank God! I’m saved!” Adrienne said, rolling her eyes.
“Yeah, yeah. Nine p.m., Rendezvous. Here’s my business card,” he said and he handed her a card.
It was black with silver letters on them. Adrienne read it.
Justin J.
Making all other men less attractive since 1989.
Email: [email protected].
Adrienne stared back at the guy. “Seriously? You call this a business card?”
He winked at her and gave her another smoldering look. This was probably the first time she encountered a guy who has a pickup business card.
Is this guy for real?
He stood up. “See you tonight, Andy.” And he went off. The waiter was about to catch him but he was too fast and Adrienne was left on the table openmouthed. The waiter then gave her the bill.
“He even made you pay for his coffee?” the waiter asked her.
She sighed. “Terrible. That was the most despicable human being!”
“Well, some rich brats are like that,” the waiter said. “I am sorry your date was a douche.”
“He’s not my date. And I am sorry I met him, too.”
He handed her the bill. “I just need your signature. Mr. Starck will take care of the bill.”
Adrienne shook her head. “No. It’s not that much. And I don’t want my brother to hunt that guy down and punch all his teeth down his throat.” In her mind, she smiled. Yes. She actually has a sibling who would do that for her now.
The waiter smiled. “He’d deserve it.”
Adrienne placed a couple of bills on the folder he gave her. She doubled the bill for his tip. Then she thanked the waiter and went into the Rolls Royce that her stepfather owned.
She was going to meet up with that douchebag again tonight. And she just couldn’t help panicking about how she would survive another minute with him.