"Hey losers."

Emmanuelle Sin sat gracefully in an empty chair at the table between Gabriel and Reinheart, dropping a fluffy, furry pink handbag next to Reinheart's wine glass.

At the sound of her voice he had paused in the act of cutting his steak. He now put down his knife and fork and picked up his wine, as though its proximity to her outrageous purse worried him. "You invited her?" he asked Gabriel who sat across him at their table in their favorite post-hangover restaurant, not bothering to hide the annoyance in his tone.

"Nice to see you too, Reinheart." Emmanuelle flashed him her best fake smile for two seconds before turning to her brother.

As much as Gabriel loved his baby sister, with his hangover, he wasn't really in the right state of mind to handle her boisterous presence. "Em, I don't really have time -"

"Mama has been trying to reach you," she said, cutting him off.

He frowned. "Is she all right?"

Her expression turned gleeful. "Gege, she is pissed."

"What did you do this time, Em?" Reinheart said. His mouth twisted in a barely held back grin.

She ignored him. "She's angry with you, of course." After an exasperated sigh, she added, "Honestly, of all the stupid things you could have done, you just had to go and break up with Tallah."

Gabriel groaned. Reinheart, who was dabbing a napkin on the corner of his mouth, chuckled behind it.

"She was practically already picking out lucky dates for your wedding, you know," Emmanuelle continued.

"And here I thought Auntie Celeste wanted a Chinese daughter-in-law," Reinheart remarked, amused.

"A Waldorf salad for me, please," she said, with a brief glance up at the wait staff who just appeared. "She did," she said to Reinheart, shrugging. "But a wife who had graduated with distinction from Stanford was beyond anything she'd hoped for Gabriel."

"How did you even know I was here?" Gabriel said, trying not to make his irritation show. He'd barely gotten two bites of his steak before his sister showed up. Not just to tell him their mother was upset with him, but to bring up the topic of Tallah and their breakup. All while he was still suffering the after-effects of the consumption of alcohol that breakup caused.

"Someone posted a photo of Rhino here on Instagram. Captioned with a disgusting number of heart emojis." Her lips pursed in disgust. "You were in the shot, too. What the hell have you been doing all this time that you couldn't be bothered to check your messages?"

Reinheart had gotten too used to her derogatory nickname for him to even react. He had resumed tucking in his steak.

"I was busy," Gabriel said. He wasn't about to admit to his twenty-year-old sister he'd been drowning himself in alcohol to try not to think about his ex. "I'll call Ma tomorrow."

"Can't you do it tonight?" Emmanuelle frowned. "Oh gege, you're not going to drink yourself silly tonight are you?"

She didn't have to say the words, but they lay in the fraught moment of silence between them :

Because that didn't turn out well that one time.

It must have been the alcohol still sloshing around his system, because for a moment he thought he was going to heave. His hands felt clammy and he dropped his fork and knife. Grabbing his water glass like it was a lifeline, he tried to lift it to his lips without shaking.

What the hell was he thinking, getting drunk like that? There was a reason he'd sworn to never overindulge in drink. And sex. Now he'd done the first, it wouldn't be long before he was well on his way to doing the second.

No. Never again.

A small, soft hand covered his, the one that was resting on the table. He turned to see Emmanuelle's sympathetic gaze. "I just worry about you," she said.

He turned his hand palm-up and squeezed hers. "I know. And I appreciate it." He smiled. "Will it make you feel better if I promise not to touch another drink for the rest of the weekend?"

She nodded, relief lighting up her eyes. "I'll tell Mama you'll call her tomorrow."

The waiter arrived with her salad. "It's three o'clock. Why are you guys having lunch so late?" she said, unfolding her napkin.

"Late night," Gabriel muttered, picking up his fork.

"Why are you having lunch this late?" Reinheart shot back.

"I already had lunch," she said. "It just wasn't a very big one." She forked a cube of apple into her mouth.

He frowned. "What did you have?"

"A salad."

"Seriously, is that all you eat?"

She gave his plate a disdainful look. "No. And at least I didn't murder a live creature for my lunch."

"Don't be ridiculous." He lifted a piece of Japanese wagyu ribeye to his lips with a smirk. "I always let someone else do the murdering for me after 10 a.m." He popped the piece into his mouth with relish.

"Gross."

***

"Take off your bra."

Hayley's eyes grew wide at her roommate's suggestion. A quick glance at the cab driver showed the man peering intently at the rearview mirror.

She glared at his reflection. Undaunted, he gave her a cheerful grin.

"You're never going to attract any men if you dress like that," Jenna said.

"I'm not trying to attract any men, okay?" Hayley swatted away Jenna's hands. "I'm only coming along so I can make sure you don't get roofied or anything."

Jenna rolled her eyes. "There's, like, two girls for every sugar daddy in these parties. We're more likely to roofie them." She adjusted her silver tube top, trying to expose as much cleavage as she can without actually spilling out of her clothing. Finally satisfied, she gave Hayley's outfit another look. "I don't understand you. Your work clothes are super sexy, but outside work you're always dressed like a nun."

"It's not like I have much of a choice with what I wear to work." Hayley shrugged. The only other choice was quitting, but the position of sales staff at a lingerie boutique was the only fashion-related job she was able to get these past five years. She looked down at her red dress. Like most of her clothes, she'd made it herself - a copy of a Dolce & Gabbana dress. It had sleeves that flared at the elbows and the hem. It was hardly something a nun would wear, but Jenna always loved a good hyperbole. "I don't really enjoy the attention."

"Fine." Jenna sighed. "I just want you to meet someone nice, you know?" She wrinkled her nose at Hayley's outfit.

"You mean someone rich." Hayley smirked.

Jenna waved a hand dismissively. "Why not both?" Her eyes shone with excitement. "I hear Reinheart is bringing a friend. Wouldn't it be perfect if the two of you hit it off?"

Hayley gave her friend a worried look. "If he turns out to be an ass, you're not still going to try to date him, are you?"

"Well..."

"Jenna!"

"Well, define 'ass'."

"You know what I mean. If he turns out to be a sexist pig. Or if he's mean to dogs. If he's mean to you." She grabbed Jenna's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Promise me."

Jenna giggled and, to Hayley's surprise, wrapped her arms around her friend in a hug. "I love you."

Hayley smiled, hugging her back. "Do you promise?" She caught the driver looking at them through the mirror again. "Eyes on the road, please, sir," she said sternly.

The man gave her a cheery thumb up before switching his attention back to his driving.

"Yeah sure." Jenna leaned back in her seat. "But you have to promise me something too."

"Okay?"

Jenna sighed. "Try not to judge. Not just me, but the girls at the party. And the guys, too. We're all just trying to find a relationship that makes us happy, you know?"

"I guess." Hayley still couldn't understand it. Didn't anyone want love anymore? Working at the luxury lingerie boutique, she'd met too many wealthy women who were miserable. Money - whether it was yours or your spouse's - didn't guarantee happiness. But Jenna seemed solid in her convictions about the subject of sugar daddies. And if Hayley couldn't dissuade her friend, the least she could do is be there for her. "Okay I promise."

"Thank you." Jenna fingered the sleeve of Hayley's dress. "This is really beautiful. But why do you only make copies of couture? Don't you want to design your own clothes?"

"God no." Hayley shook her head, laughing. "I wouldn't know where to begin."

"Well you are terrific in putting a dress together. That's a start."

"Thank you. But I don't think I have the imagination for it."

"You ever try?"

Hayley wrinkled her nose. "I think so. But that was a long time ago."

"Well." Jenna gave her a determined grin. "I hope you try again. Because you'll be a great designer. I just know it."

Hayley laughed. It was sweet of her best friend to think her capable of a lot more than being able to cut a decent pattern and stitch the pieces together. But Hayley knew better.

First of all, she was boring. That was something she'd come to terms with a long time ago. She didn't have the creative spirit of a Donatella Versace or Karl Lagerfeld. She adored fashion, but there was so much more to it than just being able to sew a perfect seam. She would much rather dress people up in other designers' creations. Turn boring people like her into bright, beautiful, happy butterflies. Give them the confidence a well-put-together ensemble always gave her.

She glanced at Jenna's tight silver top and fake leather midi skirt with high slits. Her friend was one of those lucky people who had confidence no matter what they wore. Which was probably what drew Hayley to her in the first place.

Jenna looked out the window and squealed. "We're here!" she said in a stage whisper. She grabbed Hayley's hand. "Are you sure you don't want to take your bra off before we go in?"

"No."

"I'm sure Mr. Cab Driver here can park while you..." Jenna gestured at her chest.

"I will be happy to assist in any way," said the driver, in an accent that reminded Hayley of fancy foreign chefs whose shows she loved to watch on the cooking channels.

Hayley gave him a dirty look. She handed him their fare and ushered Jenna out of the cab.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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