And any thoughts she might have of causing trouble for Ian were swiftly abandoned. First, she couldn’t prove a damned thing, especially since Tessa had already quit. Alicia was willing to bet that righteous prick Andrew knew everything, but trying to pry any information out of him was a complete waste of time. If Alicia was foolish enough to ask him anything the least bit personal about Ian, Andrew would merely give her a scathing look and tell her to get back to work.
And that was yet another problem. Admittedly, she’d been slacking off a bit on the job lately, though no more so than any of the others. Andrew, however, had chosen to make some sort of example of her, calling her under the carpet for a variety of grievances – tardiness, taking too many breaks, sending personal emails (which the bastard had actually had the balls to read), and screwing up on some travel arrangements she’d made for several of the managers. Andrew had let her off with a warning, but the dickwad had actually threatened her with formal probation next time.
No, making any accusations or spreading gossip about Ian at this time would be extremely unwise, and that realization only made Alicia angrier. The need to lash out was overwhelming, but with her parents present she was forced to keep a damper on her emotions.
It became harder and harder to control her temper, though, as the evening wore on. From her place at the dinner table, she unfortunately had a good vantage point of the table where Ian and Tessa were sitting, and it made her stomach hurt to observe how lovey-dovey the two of them were acting. Each time Ian kissed the bitch’s cheek, Alicia wanted to follow it up with a hard slap. When he caressed the nape of her neck, Alicia’s fingers itched to yank a long strand of Tessa’s blonde hair out by the roots. And when the dancing started and she watched how closely Ian held Tessa in his arms – not to mention the tender, loving way he gazed into her eyes – she feared she might upchuck the small amount of food she’d been able to consume.
But when she spied Tessa leaving the ballroom and heading towards the ladies lounge, Alicia surged to her feet like a panther scenting its prey. She ignored Ross’ voice asking where she was going, or her mother calling after her in concern. She was more than a little tipsy at this point, and had to weave her way carefully around the tables. But she was determined to corner that little bitch and get a few things off her mind.
Tessa was visibly startled when she left the toilets to find Alicia pacing back and forth in the adjoining lounge. It gave Alicia great satisfaction to see the fear in Tessa’s blue eyes, the same look a small animal had when it knew it was trapped. Alicia noted with some relief that the two of them appeared to be the only ones in the lounge, though at this point she was so worked up it wouldn’t have mattered if three dozen people were present.
“It won’t last you know,” Alicia told her boldly. “He’ll get tired of you quicker than you can blink an eye. You’re nowhere near good enough for a man like him, Tessa, not even close. What the hell does he see in a stupid bitch like you anyway?”
Except for the slight tightening of her mouth, Tessa didn’t betray the slightest emotion, which only infuriated Alicia more.
“He loves me,” was all the bitch said in a calm, serene voice that made Alicia want to scream. “And I love him. He doesn’t care about anything else.”
“But he will. One day soon when he gets tired of banging you, he’ll realize what a mistake he’s made,” raged Alicia. “You’re nobody, Tessa, fucking nobody. You have no education, no family, no breeding. You used to buy your clothes from Ross Dress for Less, and wear shoes with worn out heels. And you might be all dressed up tonight but deep down you’re still nobody and that’s never going to change.”
It gave Alicia great satisfaction to see the tears pool up in Tessa’s eyes, and the way her lip started to tremble. But still the bitch wouldn’t break, despite the fact that her voice was a little less steady.
“None of that matters,” replied Tessa quietly. “To either of us. He loves me for who I am, not what school I did or didn’t go to, or where I bought my clothes. Ian’s a good man, the very best, and you’re the one, Alicia, who will never be good enough for him.”
“How dare you!” screamed Alicia. “I’m exactly the sort of woman he needs. I went to fucking Wellesley, the best women’s college in the country. I was a debutante, my mother’s family is one of the oldest in San Francisco, and my father is the top criminal attorney in the state. You couldn’t pick a more perfect woman to be worthy of Ian Gregson.”