Chapter 3

RJ leaned across the table and shook Fiona’s hand, very much appreciating the introduction. Dinners with Mona and Liz were always interesting affairs and being seated opposite a beautiful woman was a promising start. The face and the name were familiar, but before RJ could say anything else, she saw two bottles of wine hovering over her shoulder, proffered by a waiter. With RJ distracted, Fiona turned to Mona and mouthed, “Wow.”

Mona lifted an eyebrow knowingly. RJ always turned women’s heads. Straight or gay or somewhere in between, women found themselves drawn to RJ. Tall, with short brown hair, she had beautiful hazel eyes and a handsome face that was enticingly androgynous. This wasn’t the first time Mona’s witnessed a woman’s involuntary attraction to RJ’s effortless sex appeal. While Mona wasn’t surprised by her friend’s reaction, she was surprised by how unguarded Fiona was about it. In college, Fiona had once confessed to being mildly attracted to women, and to being mildly curious about Sapphic love, but she never seemed to have acted on it. It appeared that the curiosity had lingered.

Fiona herself was surprised. She couldn’t stop looking at RJ. There was a magnetic quality about the woman in front of her; there was something about RJ’s mannerisms, something about the way RJ occupied space that was curiously captivating. Whatever that something was, it was certainly too profound and undefinable for Fiona to figure it out at that moment. As a result, she found herself grasping for any hint of commonality between her and RJ in order to keep the conversation going. RJ, who was well-practiced in the art of seductive banter, was more than happy to oblige.

Mona felt like she was the chair umpire of a hotly contested tennis match as her two guests subtly but surely turned mundane topics into a simmering burn of mutual flirtation. Liz, several seats away, sensed a proverbial disturbance in the force and shot her wife a cautious stare. Mona shrugged and took a sip of wine; this wasn’t something she could (or wanted to) rein in, the train was already leaving the station.

When the main course ended, Mona decided to stir the pot. Just a little.

Ignoring Liz’s wide-eyed look of shock, Mona stood up and declared, “Come on, Fiona, swap with me, I’m feeling like the third wheel here… and it’ll give me a chance to talk to Ivar… Ivar, how about we split the chocolate cake?”

Fiona didn’t object and moved her wine and water glasses as Mona switched seats with her.

From her seat in the middle of the table, Liz watched the dessert course served and consumed. She knew RJ, and she knew where this would end if she didn’t step in. She was less familiar with Fiona, but according to Mona, Fiona had always carefully managed her romantic affairs with an eye towards privacy and not chumming the waters for the tabloids. From where she was sitting though, Liz saw diminishing restraint and increasing flirtation (which Mona seemed to be egging on, annoyingly enough.)

“Hey RJ!” Liz called as the waiters cleared the table, “Come over here, I need to talk to you for a quick sec.”

RJ nodded and turned to Fiona, “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”

RJ’s absence seemed to snap Fiona back to reality. What the hell was that and what happened to my brain? She got up and headed to the bathroom.

Liz noticed Fiona walking away and turned to RJ, hissing, “BAD Rowan! That is a definite, one-hundred-percent certain, no exceptions ever, clear and bright line NO!”

“Who? Fiona?” RJ asked innocently.

Liz crossed her arms, “RJ! Don’t even… Don’t – Go – There. Promise me.”

“We’re just having some fun, Liz. Relax.” RJ’s cocksure grin was infuriating.

Liz pulled RJ into the kitchen, took stock of the people in there, changed her mind, and pulled RJ into the study. She shut the door for good measure.

“Fiona is the future CEO of The Edevane Group!” Liz spat out. Seeing RJ’s nonchalant face, she spoke slowly and clearly, “The Edevane Group. Owns about half the world. She’s heir to the entire thing. Do you get it now? She can’t be fucking around with you!”

RJ shrugged, “Who cares? Even if she were the President of the Universe, whom she fucks around with is up to her.”

Liz groaned in frustration, “Yeah, but you zapped her with your voodoo. She doesn’t ever fuck around. Like, EVER. That’s why you need to back the hell off, RJ. This isn’t another one of your hello-goodbye conquests where you seduce a beautiful woman and walk away.”

“I’ve barely said hello!” RJ said innocently.

“You’re so goddamn infuriating, RJ! You’re already thinking about taking her bed. And what about Alice? Aren’t you supposed to be seeing her this weekend?”

RJ shrugged, “She went off to Paris. Yvette invited her to some party there and we haven’t been in touch since.”

Liz shook her head, “We’re going off point. Look, RJ, can you please back off? You know I never interfere in your business. But this is different, okay? AND SHE’S STRAIGHT!”

“I don’t think she’s that straight…” RJ wiggled her eyebrows, “And maybe you guys are right… maybe I do have a soul mate and it’s Fiona! Maybe she’s the one true love you all think I’ve been waiting for!”

RJ’s sarcastic tone was paired with a skeptical tilt of her head. RJ’s circle of friends had been (unsuccessfully) trying to pair her off with a girlfriend who’d last more than a couple months. RJ remained steadfastly immune to the idea of romance. One-off flings, on the other hand, were very much welcomed.

“No, she isn’t,” Liz said derisively, “You wouldn’t recognize a soul mate if she came and kicked you in the ass!”

“That’s because I don’t want one. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled that you and Mona are into the till-death-do-us-part thing, but that’s never been interesting to me. ‘Soul mate’ a.k.a. romance a.k.a. emotional entanglements. It’s too complicated.”

“Complicated? You want to avoid ‘complicated’? Then back the hell off Fiona! This has tabloid scandal written all over it. It’s not worth it. For either one of you.”

RJ shoved her hands in her pockets and was quiet as Liz’s words sunk in. A small spark returned to her eyes as she leaned back against the desk, “How about this? I’ll back off. But if she invites me over, I’m not going to say no.”

Liz thought about it for a moment, “Okay. Fair enough. But she’s not going to invite you. You know why? Because you’re going to go away before you voodoo that thought into her brain. You’re going to invent some story about meeting friends for drinks and get the hell out of here.”

“You’re kicking me out? You don’t trust me to back off? Liz, if I said I’ll back off, I will.”

Liz opened the study door, “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I don’t trust your whole sexy vibe thing.”

“It’s simple: Two people hitting it off. And I don’t have a sexy vibe thing.”

“Yes, you do. It’s fucking lethal. Now go take a cold shower and do me this one favor. PLEASE.”

“Fine,” RJ flashed her grin again, “I can’t believe you’re kicking me out.”

“Yes. Sorry. I love you very much, but you need to leave now.”

“I’m going to say good-bye, okay? That’s allowed, right?”

Liz nodded her head begrudgingly. RJ strode past her, ignoring her glare of disapproval.

Fiona was talking to Mona in the living room when RJ returned. Both women frowned when they saw that RJ wasn’t staying.

“You’re leaving?” Mona asked.

RJ leaned down and gave Mona a hug, “Yeah, I’m meeting someone for drinks. Fiona, it was really nice to meet you! Safe travels tomorrow.”

Fiona nodded, not quite sure what to say. RJ’s demeanor had changed. It seemed to be all business now. Fiona nodded again, “Good to meet you, too.”

RJ gave Liz a quick side-hug good-bye and just like that, she was gone.

Mona looked at Fiona, “You seem disappointed.”

Fiona ran her fingers through her hair, “I was intrigued. RJ is intriguing. I liked getting to know her.”

“You’re not alone. Many women find RJ intriguing.” Mona chuckled.

“She’s really quite… something.” Fiona had to settle on using the word ‘something’, even though it didn’t get at what she felt. Maybe joking around with Marlo about one night stands sparked the curiosity underlying all of this, or maybe it was the fact that Marlo was off-limits somehow and RJ wasn’t…

“Why? Because of the charming butch lesbian thing? I know all about it – I married Liz…”

Fiona was quiet for a beat, “It’s not just that. There’s something that’s… I don’t know… it’s like I have a connection to RJ… but it’s so out of the blue. It doesn’t make sense, I mean, I just met her!”

“How intrigued are you?” Mona inclined her head, “This is a little out of your usual comfort zone, Ms. Edevane!”

Fiona blushed. She thought about where she was at that moment… and where she was going to be in twenty-four hours. She thought about how, all her adult life, she’d been cautious and deliberate about the people she’d dated. To what end? Maybe it was the wine, or maybe it was the company, but Fiona felt very strongly motivated to break away from precedent.

Suppressing an unexpected surge of tears, Fiona looked Mona dead in the eye, “If I don’t step out of the comfort zone now, I might never get to. And that’s terrifying.”

Mona let out a slow breath, “Fi…”

Fiona held up a hand, “No, it’s okay. Look. I’m probably going to be heir apparent for the next couple decades. My dad’s healthy as a horse. Which means a couple more decades of being the Perfect Daughter. And then…” Fiona took a breath, “I’ll be sixty… and old… and married to some guy… with a flashing neon sign that says ‘trapped in a gilded cage’ pointing right at me.”

“He might be a nice guy and the man of your dreams…?”

Fiona smiled flatly, “Not likely. Fewer and fewer men in those types of dreams, Mona…”

The two friends locked eyes for a beat.

“Oh,” Mona felt such sympathy for her friend, “I had no idea… I mean, I kind of did… but…”

Fiona lifted her eyebrows and shrugged, “I was stupid to not try and figure this out earlier.”

“Maybe you weren’t ready. And does it really matter anyway? You’re going to be the boss-lady of everyone. Marry a woman, if you want. I’d like to see someone try and boycott you guys!” Mona paused, and then pressed her hands together, “But not RJ, Fiona. Please, for the love of all that’s good and holy, not RJ.”

Fiona laughed, “Oh, I could tell that she’s not one to stay with one person for long. She’s a little too comfortable with the flirting.”

Mona laughed, too. “Forget ‘for long’. RJ’s a ‘one and done’ type. We thought she was finally ready to settle down when she met Alice, but we were dead wrong.”

Fiona was quiet for a moment. Mona grabbed a wine bottle and refilled their glasses. A little liquid courage is probably helpful here…

“Thanks…” Fiona held her breath for a second before letting it out, “One and done… one and done…”

Mona looked at her friend and cocked an eyebrow, “Where are you going with this?”

“I think,” Fiona said as she took a big gulp of wine, “that I’d like you to let RJ know I want to meet her tonight.”

Mona didn’t move a muscle. Fiona blushed again. Mona was one of Fiona’s most trusted friends whose discretion was as reliable as the sun rising every morning. Mona was the repository of Fiona’s college crushes… occasional lapses in judgement… and other escapades not really befitting the scion of The Edevane Group. It seemed that there would be one more such instance tonight.

“Yes,” Fiona said, more confidently now, “Please let RJ know I’ll meet her at my hotel… the Brackenridge. Please let her know that I’m eager to continue our conversation.”

“You’re serious.” Mona was shocked. “You really are serious!”

“Yes,” Fiona smoothed down her dress, “If she’s so inclined, and I think she is, I’d like RJ to come by tonight.”

Mona whistled. “Okay. Are you sure? Because if I relay your message, she’s going to show up.”

Fiona nodded as she stood up, “I’m going to freshen up and head out. I’ll text you once I get to the hotel. Mona, thank you. I mean it.”

Sometime later, Liz caught Mona typing into her phone.

“Fiona just sent me her hotel info for tonight…”

“Hotel info? What are you doing?” Liz looked on in horror as she saw the recipient of Mona’s text.

{Mona} RJ, Fiona asked me to let you know that she’s staying at The Brackenridge tonight. Room 1208. She wanted me to tell you that she’s eager to continue her conversation with you.

“DON’T HIT SEND!” Liz shouted, “What the fuck, honey!!???”

Mona’s finger hovered over the “send” button, “This is all Fiona, Liz. It’s what she wants. And don’t look at me like that! You’re the one who invited RJ!”

“Jesus,” Liz muttered.

“I was super clear about RJ’s track record. I promise. She wants this. Honest!”

“We’re about to set off the beginnings of a massive scandal,” Liz whispered as she ran her eyes over the text Mona just typed out.

“Maybe not,” Mona countered, “RJ’s like a fricking vault.” With a little squeal, Mona hit “send.”

“But there’re like, a million cameras, and staff…”

“Fiona knows how to manage all that. It’s her hotel, for god’s sake. She wants this. I think she knows she’s out of her protective bubble for one night and one night only. She needs this.”