Always A Pleasure [Book 2]

Twenty-Two

As the gala dwindled down into the late evening, Harrison was once again pulled away from Katherine to mingle with his King Enterprise associates and the associates of UNICEF. This time though, Michael was also pulled away with him, as both of the King men socialized with their business peers.

Katherine didn't know the senior Mr. King's wife, Joyce, in any way except that she was Harrison's step-mother and Ethan's biological mother. But the two women were left at the table alone and Katherine figured she might as well take the opportunity to get to know one of the women in Harrison's family.

"How long have you and Mr. King been married?" Katherine asked politely, trying to make pleasant conversation.

"Oh, it's been quite a while," Joyce said, letting out a little laugh as she looked as though she was silently contemplating how many years it had actually been.

"So you're used to this kind of thing, huh? These galas?" Katherine asked, smiling at the woman.

"Mm. I've been to many in the years Michael and I have been married. They only seem to get more elaborate each year," the woman told her as she looked around the ballroom.

"I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. It's extraordinary," Katherine commented, hoping she wasn't making a horrible impression just by being someone who wasn't born into the world of the rich.

"I suppose it would be extraordinary to someone like you," Joyce said as she took a sip from her champagne flute.

Someone like her? She felt the sting of those words immediately. She wasn't going to pretend she fit in that world in the slightest, but she was still a person and she still deserved respect.

"Mm," Katherine hummed as she picked up her own glass and took a drink. Maybe a little more alcohol would make her forget that she was completely poor in the eyes of all of the people around her, including the man she loved.

Ugh. Maybe she just needed to change the subject. She would give this woman the benefit of the doubt. She knew she had a bad taste in her mouth over Harrison's father, but she was sincerely hoping that his wife showed a little more tact than her husband.

"I uh... I met your son... Ethan," Katherine told her.

"Oh, did you? You met my boy?" Joyce asked, perking up at the sound of her child's name. She could tell she loved her son very much just by her reaction and she knew it was a much better topic of conversation.

"Yes. He stayed with Harrison a few months back," Katherine told her.

"Oh, he's wonderful, isn't he? I miss him quite a lot since he moved all the way out to Los Angeles," Joyce beamed.

"Yes. He's pretty great," Katherine agreed, though she didn't know Ethan well enough to make an accurate character judgment. But from what she saw, he was a decent person— when he wasn't hitting on her or sticking his tongue down her throat.

Silence fell over the two women and Katherine wondered if maybe she should excuse herself to go to the bar.

"So, how long have you and Harrison been seeing one another?" Joyce asked, surprising Katherine that she even wanted to continue the conversation.

"Oh, um... a couple of months," Katherine said with a small smile. They had actually been involved with each other for much longer.

"And you were his housekeeper?" She asked immediately, and Katherine couldn't help but feel that fucking sting of the disadvantaged once again. His housekeeper? Yikes.

"Mm. Yes. That is how we... uh, met," Katherine said before she downed the rest of the champagne in her glass before eyeing Harrison's abandoned half-full champagne flute.