Wrecked (Crystal Book Billionaires) Read Free Page B

L.A. Everything in her life would remain normal and decent. I, on the other hand…
    “Heeeey,” a familiar voice said.
    From the front of the room, a girl in tight black pants and a crop top sauntered over. Madi pulled her sunglasses off and ran a hand through her short dark hair before stopping between mine and Rainy’s seats.
    “Kick ass party last night, Rainy,” she said about three octaves too loud.
    Rainy nodded. “Yeah, it was awesome.”
    I glanced at Rainy, trying frantically to emote with my eyes how much I desperately needed her to keep her mouth shut about what was happening in my life. Just telling her about it was embarrassing enough — although necessary if I didn’t want to implode from the stress of dealing with the upheaval on my own.
    Madi nodded eagerly, sliding her eyes to me, and I just knew. The way her head was bobbing up and down gave everything away. The question was whether or not she was going to mention the scandal.
    “So,” she chirped. “What’s up?”
    Rainy shrugged. “Just trying to recover.”
    Madi’s thick red lips stretched into a malicious grin. I could practically see the wheels turning as she set her gaze on me. “And how are you, Grace?”
    “Good,” I responded as naturally as I could manage.
    She put on a phony look of sympathy. “I heard a funny thing this morning.”
    “Hm.” I clutched the stem of my mimosa glass tighter.
    She waited for more from me. I didn’t give it.
    Instead, Rainy spoke up. “You guys want to check out that new club in Hollywood tonight? My friend Ricardo is a promoter for it.”
    “I don’t know,” Madi replied, drawing the words out longer than necessary. “Can you go, Grace?”
    I narrowed my eyes at her. Madi and I had never had a beef with each other. We usually enjoyed jokes at other people’s expenses. The fact that she could so suddenly be snarky after years of being friends was downright pathetic.
    And who gets their lips pumped full of collagen at twenty-three anyway?
    I thought about going ahead and asking her the question just to put her in her place. She was already opening that ridiculously puffy mouth again though.
    “I mean, can you stand to be seen?”
    The remark felt like a bolt of lightning. Instead of sending me crumbling to the floor, though, it had me sitting up straighter. I stared my unexpected adversary down. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
    Her eyebrows shot up. “Wow. You’re really amazing. You know, I really admire you.”
    I turned my back to her, choosing to stare at the shelf of liquor bottles while sipping my mimosa. Her last remark didn’t even deserve a response.
    “So you want to go?” Rainy asked Madi, as if the whole last minute hadn’t even happened.
    “I’ll see,” Madi casually responded. “Who else will be there?”
    “I don’t know. Ricardo has promised to get us the best booth. Oh, and I heard Leonardo DiCaprio might be coming.”
    “He’s all right,” Madi answered, though she didn’t fool anyone. If the man were standing in front of her at the moment, she would probably be licking the tops of his shoes.
    Madi went on. “Can you even afford to go out, Grace?”
    That one hit me like a whip. I spun around in my seat to face her. “ Yes, I can afford to go out.”
    “It doesn’t matter,” Rainy said. “We won’t have to pay for anything at Blase anyway.”
    I stared at her. Did she not see how much that dumb comment totally did not help?
    Madi giggled. “Well, that’s good. If Grace does get in a bind, she can always wash dishes in the back.”
    Rainy laughed as well. “Or mop the floor.”
    I resisted the urge to kick her in the shin. Some best friend she was being.
    “I gotta go,” Madi announced. “I’m meeting Katie and Amber.” She gave a half ass wave and walked away, weaving around the tables.
    “You’re a bitch,” I snapped as soon as Madi was out of hearing.
    Rainy looked clueless. “Huh?”
    “You’re making fun of my life here. Or did you