Meredith Fields frowned while looking at her reflection in the antique full-length mirror. She looked like a stripper in the skimpy cobalt blue sequined dress she was wearing. Her breasts were dangerously close to being fully exposed, and the hem barely covered her
butt. A daring cutout across her stomach displayed even more skin, and to
top it all off, the dress was backless.
Ugh, she groaned silently.
She wasn't a fan of wearing revealing outfits. Plus, the heavy makeup she
had applied made her feel even more self-conscious. But she'd wanted to go
all out for the vintage-themed party she was attending that evening with her
best friend, Lily Waldorf.
After all, many high-profile people would certainly be in attendance.
Thanks to Lily's well-connected family, they would be partying with
politicians, actors, and models tonight.
"Oh, come on! You look hot," Lily said reassuringly after seeing Meredith
scowling at herself in the mirror. She stood next to her, wearing a silver
version of Meredith's dress, putting on a pair of glittery hoop earrings.
"I know," Meredith responded confidently, then twirled on her heels and
checked her reflection once more.
She had to admit, she was looking pretty good. The rich jewel tone blue of
the dress really complemented her complexion.
"Are you sure you're not coming to Bali?" Lily asked as she checked her
makeup one last time in the mirror.
Meredith's face fell at the reminder that she would be spending her entire
summer back in Washington, D.C. She'd just completed her degree in
journalism from Columbia University, and was supposed to be spending the
rest of the year enjoying a well-deserved vacation. But her father had made
her a very tempting offer – come back to D.C. and work for him over the
summer, and he would release her trust fund early.
It had hardly been a choice at all. She could spend several years partying
with that amount of money. And she figured two months would pass before
she knew it.
"Yeah, I'm sure. As much as I really want to go with you, this is the first
time my dad's made me an offer like this. So I think I should take him up on
this before he changes his mind," Meredith replied while rolling her eyes.
She didn't expect him to cancel the deal on her, but she supposed anything
was possible. After all, she'd never imagined he would have budged an inch
when it came to her trust fund. She wasn't supposed to see a penny of that
money until she was thirty, but that seemed so far away. Plus, Meredith
figured she'd be married with kids by then, and her carefree days of
partying and drinking would be long behind her.
"Your dad's a pretty wise person," Lily commented with a chuckle.
"He is," Meredith responded after applying another layer of blood-red
lipstick. "And he really knows how to push my buttons," she muttered
under her breath.
Yep, Benedict Percival Fields was the shrewdest person Meredith had ever
known. He owned the largest newspaper company in the country. Meredith
had learned the ins and outs of the industry from an early age, but she'd still
wanted to earn a degree in journalism. That way no one could say she
wasn't qualified to work at her father's company.
She just didn't want to waste the best years of her life slaving away at a
desk job. Going straight from university to the workforce wasn't exactly
how she had envisioned life after graduation. Thoughts of Bali and an
easygoing summer spent partying in the sand had given her life during her
final exams.
But she didn't have a choice, did she?
"So, what's this deal of his entail?" Lily asked.
Meredith shrugged, still checking out their reflections. The two of them
would surely stand out tonight in their outfits, but somehow she was
starting to feel less self-conscious. The dress emphasized her curves just as
much as it showed some skin, and she knew she looked good. The
nervousness she felt was starting to give way to excitement.
"I don't know the details. We haven't talked about it yet," she answered.
Meredith moved to take a seat on the bed and stared admiringly at Lily's
waist-length, fiery red hair. Lily's tanned skin looked stunning in her silver
dress. She could tell that Lily was excited for tonight's event as well.
It figured. Lily was the number one partygoer she had ever met.
"Enough about me. What about you? How are things going with your
family?" Meredith asked, carefully strapping on a pair of black high heels.
Lily's expression immediately turned sour. Meredith knew she never liked
to think about family matters. It wasn't because she didn't care about them.
It was just because she almost never saw either of her parents.
They were too busy to even remember she existed.
And that was probably a big part of why Meredith and Lily had hit it off so
well after meeting at freshman orientation. Meredith often lamented over
how overbearing her parents could be. On the other hand, Lily was
desperate for her parents' attention.
"Still the same as ever," Lily responded, rolling her eyes and sighing before
sitting next to Meredith on the bed. "I told them I'm going straight to
Europe after my Bali trip and the only response I got was, 'Okay honey,
have fun.'"
"That's it?" Meredith's eyes widened reflexively, although she wasn't
surprised. In truth, she felt envious. She'd often wondered how nice it would
be to have the freedom to do whatever she wanted without the fear of
disappointing her parents.
"Yeah. It makes me sick."
"Aren't you happy? I mean, at least you get to do whatever you want."
"I don't know. Of course Bali and Europe are going to be fun. But I still
don't know what I want to do with my life, unlike you. You've got things all
figured out. And I know you think your parents are pushy, but at least your
dad cares enough about you to push you," Lily murmured with a sad smile
on her lips.
Silence filled the room..