Diamonds Are Not Forever

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 
Juliette 

"What the fuck am I looking at right now?"
I was in shock. I could feel Elliot's hands still behind me, obviously catching a glimpse of the most chaotic thing I'd ever witnessed right in front of my very eyes.
They were kissing.
Frankie and Ashley. Kissing.
Suddenly, my shock turned into pure anger. Ashley was engaged to Paul, she had been for 5 years, and they'd been together for nearly 10. Yet there she was, Frankie towering over her, him kissing her fiercely. And she wasn't pushing him away.
She was kissing him back.
Marching over there, Elliot matching every step behind me, I was inches away when I cleared my throat loudly. They both detached themselves from each other and turned slowly to look at us.
I decided to leave Frankie to his brother, who I'd peeked a look up at, he was equally as mad as I was - glaring at his younger brother with cold blue eyes.
But it was Ashley I was interested in.
Gripping her arm and pulling her to one side, her face frozen in a perpetual state of awe, I didn't say a word until we were out of earshot from the boys.
"What the fuck are you playing at Ashley?" I spat. If there was one thing I detested the most, it was cheating. My best friend was sinking low in my estimations before my very eyes.
Her lips were puffy from where she had just been kissed, and her blue eyes were clouded over – tears threatening at the back of them. "Oh Jewel, I- We-" She stuttered, throwing herself into a free chair in the far corner of the terrace. Her face had turned a deep shade of red, like she was struggling for air.
I couldn't contain the heat radiating off me. "You are engaged, Ashley!"
Ashley looked down at her hands, taking a big gulp of air to calm herself, then the tears started to flow as she spoke again. She looked mortified.
"No Jewel, I'm not." She breathed, wiping a hot tear from her face with the back of her hand, still refusing to look up at me.
My face instantly softened, taking the seat next to her and leaning in, dying to understand what she had just said. "What do you mean, you're not engaged?"
She held both her hands up to my face so I could inspect her fingers, finally looking me in the eyes and giving me a half laugh-half sob, as if the action would explain everything. When I ran my gaze across each finger, her engagement ring wasn't in its usual spot on the ring finger of her left hand, instead it was over on the right. Where she had put it the weekend before, when we were in the bar.
"I don't understand Ashley." My brows furrowed, taking both her hands in mine and bringing them down to her lap again.
Ashley sniffled between her tears, a very un-Ashley thing to do, I'd never seen her look so disheveled. She was usually always so strong and managing. After a few more calming breaths, she opened her mouth to speak again.
"We broke up a few months ago, he's moved out. I was lying when I said he was out of town at his parents."
A few more tears fell from her eyes, and I instinctively reached out to push them from her cheek, she gave me a small smile of appreciation as she continued. "I moved my ring over that night at On The Rox because I wanted to try and slowly faze it out, you know? I was so embarrassed; I couldn't bear the thought of just coming out and saying it."
My heart started to sink in my chest, my earlier anger long forgotten. Now, all that was left was confusion and hurting for my friend.
"Oh Ashley, I'm so sorry. What happened?"
"We'd been engaged for 5 years, yet not one mention of a wedding. I think he just asked me to keep me locked down in the relationship, he was always the jealous type." Her eyes flashed with an uncomfortable memory.
"My ring," She pointed to the elegant solitaire diamond ring on her right hand. "He didn't pick it out, he didn't even propose with a ring. I designed this for myself cause a whole year went by after the 'proposal' and he'd made no attempt to buy me one."
I didn't know what to say, I'd always thought Paul was a decent enough guy, he'd had his moments of course. But Ashley never let on about anything. My beautiful, brave best friend.
She let out another sniff, information flowing from her. The floodgates had opened, it was going to be hard to shut them again. "I met him when I was 18, that was a long time ago Jewel. I'm 28 now, I'm a different person. I was tired of waiting for him to become the man I wanted him to be, I want to be someone's wife, and I want to be a mother. He finally decided to let me know he couldn't give me those things. So we called it off."
Ashley seemed lighter, finally getting all of her burdens off her chest, she sagged in her seat and brought her fingers to her temples. I watched her carefully as she tried to massage the forming headache away.
I was still reeling when I finally replied to her. "But, how does Frankie come into all this?" I turned over my shoulder, Ashley looking up in the direction of the brothers also, her face softening slightly.
Elliot was furious looking, ripping into a sheepish Frankie. I couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, but I could hear the tone. It didn't sound pretty. As his older brother steered him out of the terrace and back into the bar, Frankie shot us both an apologetic look before they were both out of eyeline.
"There's something else I haven't told you." Ashley croaked.
"God, I don't think I can take any more." My voice was almost a laugh, nervous energy bubbling up inside me, threatening to spill out.
"That night, when you went home with Elliot, Frankie dropped me and Carol off at my place in the taxi. He helped me get Carol to bed, and I offered him a night cap. He stayed over at my place that night too."
"Did you two sleep together?" My eyes went wide in their sockets.
"No!" She spluttered. "God no. We just talked, all night actually. He's a really great guy, I like him a lot..."
"I feel like there's a 'but' coming here."
Ashley's lips set in a grim line, her tears had stopped, and her voice was clearer than before. Whatever the 'but' was, it was a pretty serious one.
"But, the reason we were arguing out here..." She sighed heavily and rubbed her hands over her face in frustration. "I've been considering a merger with a large exporting company, I really want to expand Goulding Company and make it as successful as I know it can be, I didn't even click until today." She turned fully and looked me dead in the eyes. "The name of that exporting company is Truman & Sons."
I didn't figure out what she was trying to say right away, reeling from the information that Ashley was potentially merging her family business, then it registered like a lightbulb being switched on in my head. The rug had well and truly been pulled from under my feet. Truman and Sons. Elliot and Frankie Truman.
I wanted to be sick.
"You mean, they knew who we were after-"
Ashley cut me off. "I accused them of trying to seduce us in order to get me to pander to their contract demands. That's what caused the fight. Elliot is the one managing the potential merger for his father's business, I'd only spoken to his associates before now, so it didn't think anything of it when Frankie told me his last name. When I finally realised, I was furious."
It all came into crystal clear view, I wasn't a pity fuck that night, I was a bargaining chip.
"Wow, I feel like an idiot." I blanched, it felt like the scene around me had begun to spin.
To think, even after he was an arsehole to me, I still went home with him. I gave him the satisfaction of thinking he'd won, like he could use me to get his stupid fucking contract signed by my boss.
Ashley reached out and rubbed my shoulders, it was my turn to be comforted now. "Frankie swore he didn't know, said he'd only just been brought onto Elliot's team and if he had known that night we met he would have said something straight away but..."
"But Elliot knew, didn't he." I blurted.
Ashley shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her mouth poised to reply, but no words came out.
"He knew who we were that night, didn't he Ashley." I said more forcefully.
She just nodded softly.


After fixing our make-up in the luxurious bathroom of the bar, we eventually rejoined the party and found Carol. Elliot and Frankie were nowhere to be seen.
Good, I'd lost all my good spirit out on the balcony anyway.
"Where the hell have you two been?" Carol gave us a puzzled look, registering my sullen mood and Ashley's puffy cheeks from when she had been crying.
"Outside getting some fresh air." I lied. "I need a drink, anyone want one?"
Ashley pulled the seat next to Carol and shook her head.
"Teddy is over at the bar still," Carol stated, gesturing with her chin. "He's chatting with some leggy brunette, he's still not brought me back the drink he promised me."
I scanned the crowd until I spotted the back of Teddy's dark blond hair and flannel shirt, he was propped up against the bar, a stunning brunette woman rested next to him wearing a slinky red dress and matching heels.
"I'll go put a fire under his arse about the drinks."
When I reached them, the brunette was giggling at something Teddy had said, when she noticed me staring, she shot me a puzzled smile. She had crystal clear blue eyes, it made her look so familiar.
Teddy turned to see who she was looking at, then he smiled brightly when he saw it was me. "Hey Jewel, sorry I've been so long with the drinks." His face fell when he caught wind of my mood, but he didn't comment on it.
The three of us just stared at each other silently for a beat until the brunette cleared her throat awkwardly. "Oh shit, yeah sorry. Millie, this is Juliette St. James, we work together."
Millie shot me a perfect smile, it felt warm and genuine, the kind of smile that makes you want to smile back. I had to fight the corners of my face turning up as she reached out her hand to take mine.
"Pleasure to meet you, Juliette."
Teddy gestured back to Millie. "Juliette, this is Millie Truman, Frankie's cousin."
Another Truman trying to infiltrate Goulding Jewellers. Do they have no shame?
I narrowed my eyes at her slightly. "Nice to meet you Millie Truman." I ground out as I took her hand and gave it a quick shake.
Teddy gave me a confused look, but eventually shrugged it off. "Millie just returned from studying in New York." He added, trying to keep the conversation from dying out into an uncomfortable silence.
"Flew back last night, the jet lag is killing me." She did a fake yawn and laughed to herself.
"What were you studying?" I forced myself to ask, politeness taking over as it usually did.
"I spent two months with an abstract artist based out there named Michael Joshua, I'm a painter and wanted to learn from the best so I flew out so he could mentor me." Millie took a large gulp from her wine glass, before setting it down and continuing to fill the conversation gap. She was very much a talker. "I loved New York, but its good to be back in England. I haven't seen or spoken to my family in so long, I'm surprised how much I missed them."
Maybe she was blameless, she hadn't been in the country for months; I let my mood lighten a fraction.
The more I looked at her as she spoke, the more she reminded me of Elliot. Same dark features, same bright eyes, the family resemblance was uncanny. It made me not want to like her, but it wasn't her fault she was related to a dickhead.
"Do you make jewellery like Teddy?" Millie prompted me, flicking her perfectly curled hair back her so it fell behind her shoulders.
"No, I'm an apprentice designer. I design the jewellery, I'm not as skilled as Teddy in actually crafting it."
Teddy bumped shoulders with me, "Don't be modest." He smiled down at me before turning back to Millie. "Jewel is one of the best jewellery designers I've worked with, her designs are incredible."
His praise made me blush, as it always did.
"I'd love to see your work sometime; can I get you a drink Juliette?" Millie flagged down the bartender and turned to me expectantly.
"Please, call me Jewel. Something strong and sweet would be perfect."
"Three brandy's, coming right up."