Portrait of Jealousy (The Art Models Club Book 2) (9 page)

“It's a lot easier for me this semester because I'm only taking the two classes. Even with work I've got a lot more time on my hands than you do.”

Megan waved as she hurried off to her next class.

The art room was empty now and even Professor Collins had returned to his office. Amber wasn't even sure why she was lingering. She slowly gathered her things and prepared to leave. But before she got to the door she was surprised to find Kayla waiting just outside.

Kayla with the gigantic boobs. Kayla with nails painted like bloody talons. Amber immediately flashed back to her last encounter with the girl. Kayla had been furious to discover that Hunter was dating her. Amber had assumed that Kayla had moved on to lick her wounds somewhere else. But now here she was. Was it a coincidence that she showed up the very first day that Hunter was gone? Of course not.

Kayla sauntered in the room and casually sat on the corner of Professor Collins' desk. Crossing her slim legs, she placed both hands primly on her knees. She wore high heels which clashed considerably with her surroundings. When she smiled, Amber could see a smear of lipstick on her front tooth.

“Poor little Amber,” she cooed. She made a sad face. “You must be so lonely now that Hunter is away. I was surprised that you didn't tag along.”

Amber knew she was being baited but she couldn't help herself.

“It's an internship, Kayla. He's working there and I'm going to school here.”

She shrugged her shoulders.

“No big deal.”

Kayla pursed her lips.

“Oh, but you must be looking forward to spending the holidays visiting the city with his parents. Paris is so beautiful any time of the year. But I think it's particularly romantic at Christmas. Don't you?”

Amber felt her pulse quickening, part with alarm and part with anger. Where was Kayla going with this? Of course Hunter's parents were probably spending Christmas there. But Kayla was acting as if she knew that Amber would not be there? How would she know? Amber wanted to simply walk away. But she didn't want to appear weak or afraid either.

“Hunter and I'll have our own special celebration when he gets back,” she said, trying to keep emotion out of her voice.

“
Oh, that's a shame!” Kayla said, her voice dripping with fake sadness.

“
And here I was hoping that you and I could meet up in the city of love and do a little shopping together.”

She smiled, her eyes hard. “I know all the exclusive little shops. With a good hair dresser and some decent clothes, I bet you're quite cute.”

Amber laughed.

“
Oh, I don't worry about clothing,” she said brightly, carefully watching Kayla's face. “Hunter and I like to play with no clothes on at all.”

That got Kayla. Her eyes widened and then she smiled tightly.

“I shouldn't be surprised. I suspected this was all about sex from the beginning.”

Crap! Amber walked right into that one. She put down her bag and dragged over a stool to sit on. She needed to move around so that Kayla couldn't see how much she was unnerving her. Was Kayla really going to be in Paris for the holidays? Was something planned with Hunter's family? Or was Kayla simply lying again?

“So, Kayla, what's the point here? With you and me, I mean?”

Amber forced herself to sit upright. Sitting down was a huge mistake because now Kayla towered over her.

Kayla uncrossed her legs and smoothed her skirt with her fingers. She flexed her feet and the sequins on her heels glinted.

“
Oh, sweetie, you have me all wrong,” she said, with an exaggerated sigh. “I know I got off on the wrong foot with you earlier.”

Amber squinted at Kayla in confusion. Where the hell was Kayla going with this? Was she really going to suggest that the two of them be buddies now?

“Telling someone to keep their hands of their non-existent boyfriend tends to alienate people,” Amber said drily.

“
Especially when it seems that there was never even a single date with the non-existent boyfriend in question.”

Kayla winced at that part, Amber noted with satisfaction. Obviously, even Kayla herself had not imagined a real date at any point in time.

“I said some things I shouldn't have,” Kayla said candidly. “Yes, I was jealous of Hunter's attention. You came out of nowhere and suddenly he was all over you.”

Amber was starting to grow a little wary. She didn't trust Kayla as far as she could spit. What was she up to?

“You should understand that I've known Hunter since middle school,” Kayla continued, continuing to palm her skirt as though she was nervous. Her foot was jerking up and down, making it hard to concentrate on her face.

“
Hunter's dad hired my father to take over as the Chief Financial Officer. Naturally, we met at some functions. Our parents started hanging out and became good friends.”

Amber sighed in frustration. “Nice story but what does this have to do with now? Hunter isn't even interested in working at his father's company.”

Kayla's eyes narrowed. “Oh, don't be so sure about that. He is already on the board of directors there. So he has influence whether he talks about it or not.”

Amber stood up. “So, you're telling me that Hunter is so interested in his father's business that he decided to get his degree in art? And then spends all his time drawing and painting?”

She picked up her things, preparing to leave. She couldn't believe she had allowed Kayla this much of her time as it was.

“
Be that as it may,” Kayla said.

“
But I doubt if Hunter would ever do anything to bring down the image of his father's company.”

She slid off the desk with a small smirk on her face.

“Still not getting your drift,” Amber said, turning her back on Kayla, her big boobs, bloody talons, and ridiculous high heels.

Who the hell wore high heels to class anyway?

“Oh, I can see the headlines one day,” Kayla said evenly.

“
Daughter of trailer trash to wed into wealthy Webb family. A regular Cinderella story.”

Amber felt like Kayla's words were a knife slicing through her. How had Kayla known? Had Hunter told her? Had the girl hired someone to search her past?

In spite of feeling like she was crumbling inside, Amber simply kept walking. When she spoke it was with a fake strength and confidence.

“
Go to hell, Kayla!”

Behind her, Kayla simply started to laugh.

Amber had to fight not to run. She slipped out the front door and then backtracked to another side door. Escaping into an empty restroom, she barricaded herself into a stall and started to sob.

She had pushed away the thought that Hunter had not introduced her to his parents yet, telling herself it was much too soon in their relationship. But what if there was more to it than that?

Hunter was willing to forget about her past to date her. But could he put his family in the position that Kayla hinted at? Would she want that?

She reached up to wipe at her eyes and the fluorescent light caught on her bracelet, making it twinkle. Hunter had said that this bracelet was the sign that she was his one and only. Why had he given it to her if he was simply playing with her for the time being? If she believed Kayla, then she had to suspect Hunter's intentions.

She massaged her throbbing forehead with her fingers. Ugh! If she only had kept walking when she first saw Kayla. Sniffling, she got herself together. She washed up at the sink, splashing her face with cold water until her eyes were not so obviously red from crying. Damn that girl!

Amber slipped quietly into the hallway, not wanting anyone she knew to see her tear-stained face. Fortunately, this side of the building was mostly offices. As she made her way down the long empty corridor, she was surprised to hear Kayla's voice again.

Ugh! What was Kayla still doing here? She wasn't even an art major.

Amber looked back, looking for a place to hide. She certainly didn't want Kayla to see that she had been crying.

There was nothing behind her but candy and soda machines. Sprinting forward, Amber dodged to the side of the candy machine. Lucky for her, someone must have moved the machine to service it. Seeing an opening, she wedged herself in, smearing her shirt and jeans with what she hoped was simply dirt. If it was grease, one of her favorite tee shirts was now ruined.

Even though she knew she was hidden, Amber couldn't help but panic as she heard Kayla and the other woman approach.

“Do you think it worked?” the other woman was saying.

“
I don't know, Mom,” Kayla sighed

“
Hey, do you have some ones or change. I'm really thirsty.”

“
Go for the diet, dear. I've noticed you've put on a couple of pounds. You know Hunter likes the willowy look in a girl.”

Amber's breath caught in her throat. Kayla's mom was involved? This was getting weird.

“Oh, can you stop it already, mom?” Kayla wailed, sounding frustrated.

“
I've done every damn thing you've suggested to get him to like me and nothing has worked! Face it, he's never going to fall for me!”

“
I have not come this far to have everything taken from me, Kayla,” Kayla's mom responded, her voice hard as steel. “Stop this whining right now!”

“
I don't know what you want me to do,” Kayla said, her voice hopeless.

“
Why can't I find somebody else?”

“
How many times do I have to tell you what is at stake here?”

“
Why me?” Kayla shouted suddenly, her voice angry.

“
I wasn't the one who screwed up. Why do I have to be the one to try to fix everything?”

Amber tried to keep her breaths shallow. She didn't know what the hell was going on but she didn't want to miss one second of this. Was Kayla's family in some kind of trouble? How in the world would Kayla dating Hunter help?

“Not one more word, Kayla! I'll meet you in the car. Your attitude better be changed by the time you get there.”

There was the sound of heels clicking rapidly down the hall, moving away from the candy and soda machines. The doors whooshed open and then clanged shut again seconds later.

Amber suddenly fought the urge to sneeze. Her legs were cramping and she was finally aware of a sharp corner poking her in the chest. She willed Kayla to follow her mother down the hallway.

Instead, Kayla started muttering to herself under her breath.

“Cold-hearted bitch . . . .deserve . . .rot in hell . . .see if I care . . . tired of . . .should just leave . . .can't stand this . . .”

Then Amber heard the sound of what she could only imagine was Kayla searching through her purse. Finally, coins clanked in the machine and there was a whir followed by a soft thump as some sort of snack landed in the bottom of the machine. She heard Kayla reach in and then there was the sound of ripping paper.

Okay, you got your little snack, Amber thought. Now just go. She held her breath against the threat of another sneeze. She wasn't sure what would happen if Kayla found her back here. Awkward wouldn't even begin to describe what she would feel.

“
Diet Coke my ass!” There was a loud clank followed by the pop of a soda can and the sound of heavy gulping.

Then, just when Amber thought she was close to being free, she heard more money being fed into the candy machine. This time there were two separate thumps in the bottom of the machine.

Amber noticed with alarm a shadow moving across the wall beside her. She panicked, trying to think up a plausible excuse. Maybe she could say that she dropped some bills and that a draft sucked them under the machine. She tried to get them back out but had gotten stuck.

Yeah, that was reasonable. Any two year old would buy that. I'm such an idiot for crawling back here. If she finds me it will be my all time stupidest thing I've done in my life moment. What a way to round out a day from hell.

Sweat pooled under Amber's arms. She started to worry about any loose, frayed wires. She could see it now.
Strange Girl Electrocuted While Hiding Behind Candy Machine. Wealthy Boyfriend Suspected Insanity
.

But then she felt the machine jar as Kayla leaned against he machine and slide to the ground. Just great! From this close, she could hear Kayla rapidly chewing and swallowing. She sincerely wondered if Kayla had an eating disorder. The frantic way she was stuffing the food in her mouth was quite disturbing. At one point Kayla burped loudly. She was sitting so close that Amber could smell her chocolate and peanut butter breath. Finally, Kayla stood up and started walking down the hallway.

“Damn shoes!” she muttered, her steps uneven.

Amber smiled. Kayla must have one horrible blister the way she was hobbling. And then she felt a moment of alarm. Whatever Kayla had done, or was planning to do, was nothing compared to what her mother was contemplating. She sounded desperate.