Raising The Stakes

Chapter Two: Introduction Party

After the confrontation with Mrs. Emerson, Laura went back to being her cheerful self. I still could not believe she defended me against that other woman. I stood in front of the full-length mirror; the school uniform was basically a suit. It had a grey jacket with a white dress shirt and grey tie, the pants were also grey and pressed. The black designer shoes fit great on my feet. I looked pretty good if I do say so myself, as I grabbed hold of the front of the jacket. The only thing that was out of place was my hair, rather long and shaggy. But apparently, that too was going to be rectified here in a few minutes.

“Oh, Tom! You look so handsome!” I heard Laura’s voice behind me.

“You think so?” I stood a little taller.

“Oh yes! The girls at your new school are going to be swooning as soon as they see you,” Laura commented with a giggle.

“I don’t know about that,” I answered her as I looked back at myself in the mirror.

“I believe it. Once we get your hair cut and styled, no one would be able to look at you any differently,” Laura gushed with a smile.

“They won’t accept me. You know that. No matter what I do, they will still look down on me,” I told her.

“They will. We are going to be holding a party to introduce you, and the only thing is you are going to have to be on your best behavior, which I know you will,” Laura explained to me.

“So, will Jake be following me around school too?” I asked her.

“No, he is not allowed to enter the building. He will, however, be in the parking lot,” Laura explained, “Now let’s get out of here; the seamstress has a lot of suits to get finished for you.”

“You mean this one isn’t mine?” I questioned her.

“Why, no, it’s a little baggy in the butt area, and the jacket is loose as well. The suits will be fitted to fit you, and I could never let you wear store-bought suits,” Laura answered, “Now go get changed. We have a hair appointment in about an hour.”

I nodded and headed to the dressing room. It looks like my life has taken a hundred-eighty-degree turn. But the people who were born into this life are going to be hard to deal with. I can handle them though, I’ve dealt with worse people in my life. I refuse to let them get to me, I will show them, and you know what, I’ll make sure all the girls want me as well.

Exiting out of the dressing room, I left the suit hanging up. Once I got to Laura and Emi, I noticed that Jake had stepped in behind me. Emi wrapped her arms around my leg, and I grabbed her up in my arms as Laura paid for the new suits. We all then left the shop and entered the limo, traveling now to the hairdresser. I was nervous about getting my hair cut. I didn’t know how this new sophisticated haircut would make me look, but I would make sure I used it to my advantage.

Emi ran up to a platinum blond lady and jumped into her arms when we got to the hairdresser. She squealed loudly, and I glanced at Laura, who had a mortified look on her face.

“Oh, what am I going to do with her?” She sighed as she shook her head, walking ahead of me.

“Mrs. Churchhill, how are you doing today. I was so surprised when you called me to get an appointment,” The lady said, hugging Emi.

“Madison, I’m so glad that you had an opening. This boy definitely needs your expertise,” Laura replied to the woman.

Madison turned to me and smiled, extending her hand out to me. I took her hand and shook it, she had a firm grip, and her smile was sincere. She stood back and started to assess me, walking around me, tsking, her finger tapping her lips as she did. Madison stopped in front of me and then grinned again at me.

“I think I know what style and cut he needs. Hurry and come with me,” Madison instructed me as she grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the chair.

She pushed me into the chair and wrapped me in a barber cape, snapping it around my neck. She then twisted the chair so that I faced the mirror. She then leaned near me, looking at me through the mirror; “Wait till I show you what you look like after this! You are going to break some hearts!”

I grinned at Madison as she started to gather everything; she would need to cut my hair. Laura and Emi were sitting in the nice waiting area, talking with another mother and daughter. The daughter seemed to be Emi’s age, and they looked to be friends as they were in an exciting conversation. Glancing back into the mirror, Madison had started to shave the sides and the back of my head. I didn’t feel as warm since globs of hair were falling to the floor. After finishing with the sides and back, she left the top long and in my face. I became kind of nervous about this now; she then grabbed some scissors and started taking some off the top, still leaving it a bit long. Madison then grabbed some type of styling gel and slicked my hair back away from my face. When I looked back into the mirror, I could hardly recognize myself. This woman did amazing things! I smirked to myself; I like this new me. I was definitely going to be turning heads.

“Well, what do you think?” Madison gazed at me through the mirror her hands on her hips as she smiled back at me.

“I like it. What is this called?” I surveyed myself in the mirror as I peered at her in the mirror.

“It’s a little bit like a pompadour. But just a touch flatter,” Madison informed me.

I ran my hand over it. Surprisingly it was still soft with the gel being in it. Laura and Emi strolled up to me, they both smiled at me. I could not help but feel a bit of pride that they both wanted me for me. Laura placed her hand on my shoulder and nodded. She then turned to Madison and asked, “What gel is this that you used?”

“Oh, I have it in the shop. How many would you want to get?” Madison questioned her as she walked to the back of the salon.

“We will take three and come back if we need to get more,” Laura responded; looking back at me, she winked.

Madison came back with the bottles and gave them to Laura. She then unsnapped the barber cloth shaking off the extra hair on it. I stood up from the chair and admired myself.

I cannot wait for this party, and I’m going to make them never forget me. I thought to myself.

We all went up to the counter, and Jake stepped in behind me. He and I are going to have to talk about him being up my ass. After paying for everything, we all walked out and got in the limo. I looked around and noticed that everyone was staring at the vehicle and us. The drive back to the house didn’t seem to take as long as when we left.

I entered the doors and smelled an incredible smell. Following the scent to the kitchen; I had not had a home-cooked meal in years, and if whoever made the breakfast that I had this morning is making this. Then damn, I’m going to be in heaven. I walked up to the stove and sniffed the contents of the pot that was on the burners.

“It will be finished in just a few minutes, young master.” an older but strong voice came from behind me.

I spun around on my heel, and the lady before me was petite with short graying hair. She had a friendly but weathered face; she was cleaning off her hands on her apron. She giggled and then walked up to me.

“My name is Sara; I’ve been the cook here for a long time. I’m so happy that you have joined the family, young master,” She introduced herself to me. “I heard we have an introduction party. Is there any type of food that you would like in particular? Anything that is your favorite?”

“I’m not really sure what all I like, and I’ve only had hamburgers, hotdogs, and pizza. You know easy cheap stuff,” I told her; she smiled back at me.

“Well, then we have a lot of sampling to do before your big day,” Sara responded to me as she strolled forward to the stove. “Now run along. I will be calling everyone down for dinner shortly.”

I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, where Laura, Emi, and Matthew were sitting. I found a seat and sat down, looking around the living room, and Matthew turned to me with a stern look on his face.

“So, I heard you got to meet the Emersons. Well, the wife and daughter anyway, the husband isn’t as bad as the wife. The daughter is quiet though; she hardly ever talks,” Matthew laughed his expression softening.

“Yeah, she seems not to like me; apparently, I’m filth in her eyes,” I responded to him shrugging my shoulders.

He gave me a curious look and then glanced over to Laura, who was hanging her head.

“She said you were filth? That woman is ridiculous talking to you and Laura that way! That’s ok. We will make her eat her words. Anyway, about your introduction party, I was going to have it this weekend. That way, you can meet up with some of the students get to know some of the boys,” Matthew stated as he grinned at me.

“Sure, this weekend is fine. Not like I have plans to hang out with people,” I answered him, shrugging again.

“Good, Sara will make the arrangements with the catering company. We should have your suites by this weekend, and then we can show those Emersons what you are made of,” Matthew replied, as he stood up, kissed his wife and daughter, then came to me and patted my shoulder, nodding at me.

I glanced over to Laura; she gave me a sad smile and followed Matthew out. Emi came up to me and sat in my lap. I had only known this little girl for a day, but she brought out the good in me.

“I don’t think you are filth, T.C.; you are the best big brother I will ever need,” Emi whispered to me in my ear.

“Thanks, Emi. Come on, let’s get ready for bed and dinner; we have a lot going on in the next few days,” I informed her, getting up and carrying her up the stairs.

***

Aurora POV

All I have had to listen to while riding back home was the Churchhill’s new, hunky… I mean adopted son. As soon as we left the clothing store, he was all she talked about. She called her best friend Grace, and they have been talking about the Churchhills ever since. My mother is the one person, who you never want to tell your secrets to. She always sings like a canary whenever she thinks there is something juicy. I shake my head and pull out my phone from the back pocket of my jeans. There are already kids from my class talking about him. It looks like the Churchhills will be having an introduction party for him before school starts. He didn’t seem so bad in the store; yea, he was a little rough but those eyes of his. They took my breath away, and I couldn’t keep eye contact with him. I got lost in those deep blues and could not help but wonder what they had seen.

Everyone was so excited to be able to meet the new heir to Churchhill’s logistics company. Some people, like my mother, were not thrilled that someone like him was going to be taking over the company. They all thought that the Delucas would be taking it over since Mr. Churchhill was almost at retirement age. Mr. Churchhill did not care what people like my mother thought of him; he never had, so I had a feeling he would instill those same values in Tom, his very sexy son.

Ok, ok, I need to stop thinking about him like that. I mean, I don’t even know him that well. I thought to myself.

“…. But Grace, you should have seen the boy. He was shaggy-headed, basketball shorts and a tank top, and he was not suitably dressed to be in a shop like that,” My mother argued.

Rolling my eyes at her comment, I glanced out the window with a sigh. I just wanted to get out of the vehicle already and go to my room. I needed to pick out a dress to wear to this party this weekend. A dress that no one has seen me in before. It looks like I will need to call up my two best friends to go dress shopping. This was most definitely not a time to go with my mother.

I scrolled through my texts and then found our group chat; tapping it, I texted my best friends about getting a dress for a party and then quickly texted them, letting them know that we needed to go dress shopping before this weekend’s party at the Churchhill’s weekend.

‘OMG! Girl yes! I was just telling Elizabeth that we needed to get dresses’—Chloe texted

‘Great! Let’s meet up tomorrow!’ – Elizabeth texted

‘You both are amazing! I will see you both tomorrow! ?’—I texted back to them

I glanced over at my mother, who was still in a heated conversation with Grace. I decided I would tell her later my plans for tomorrow. She was too busy talking gossip about the Churchhills than paying attention to me. I started scrolling through i********: and noticed that Dakota had been tagged in Brooke’s post. He was such a cheat; I could not believe he would do that to me.

We had been dating for three years, and then he came up to me one day, telling me it was over. What a d**k move; I then find him and Brooke under the bleachers sucking face. Whatever, I knew why he broke up with me. He had complained numerous times about me not having s*x with him, and I was not going to have s*x with him. Before I started to date him, he was a big player, and I was pretty sure he was going around behind my back as well. Those two were made for each other.

I sighed and noticed that we had entered the gate to get to the house. When the car stopped, I got out of the vehicle as soon as I could. I was tired of listening to my mother, and her voice was grinding my nerves. Entering the front doors and I walked to my bedroom upstairs. I could not wait till tomorrow to hang out with my girls.

Grabbing up the clothes that I wore to bed and I headed to my bathroom to take a shower.

***

I woke up the following day jumping out of bed, and I hurriedly grabbed up the clothes I would wear. Quickly getting dressed and brushing my teeth and hair, I seized my phone and purse running out my bedroom door. Heading down the stairs, I messaged the driver to bring one of the cars around. As I started to walk past the kitchen I heard my mother yelling at one of the kitchen staff.

I huffed and walked in on her, yelling in the girl’s face. “Mother!”

She turned to me, fury in her eyes. I knew I made a mistake when I entered the room and got her attention, and I knew I was making more of an error when I continued speaking to her, “What are you doing?”

She came up to me, getting now into my face. Bracing myself for the slap that came and even though I knew that she was going to slap me did not keep me from flinching, which earned me another on the other side. My hand went to my cheek as she yelled at me, “You need to learn to stay out of my business and how I handle the help! When you become a lady of a house, then you can do things your way!”

I held my head high as she stormed past me, trying to keep the tears from falling down my red cheeks. The girl that had been yelled at before I tried to help came up to me. I held out my hand to stop her as I gave her my most positive smile and shook my head. She stopped and hung her head; I turned then and made my way out the front doors to the car. I got in and let Orson know that I needed to go to the dress shops. He pulled out the drive heading to the major clothing stores to meet up with Chloe and Elizabeth.

When I got there, my best friends were waiting at the door showing each other something on their phones. I got out, turned to him, “Thank you for bringing me here; I will have one of them bring me home, ok.”

Orson gave me a sad smile before I shut the door, and he pulled away. I turned back to the girls at the entrance of the store, and they gasped.

“Aurora!” They both cried as they ran up to me.

“Girl, did she hit you again!” Chloe exclaimed to me as she studied my face.

“Yea, but I had to take up for the girl that had just been hired. She does not deserve what my mother can do when she is angry,” I explained to them.

They both shook their heads, and we all went into the store to find dresses for the party.

***

T.C. POV

Today was the day. I thought as I made my way into my closet to put on one of my new casual suits. Flipping on the light and walking in, I reached for the blue one, continuing my way to the ties and watches. If you told me this would be my life a week ago, I would have asked how much coke you snorted. Picking out a matching tie and my favorite watch and I strolled back out of the closet and into the bathroom, locking the door.

Stripping out of my workout gear and boxers, I got in the shower to freshen up. It was only my second day working out, but I was mentally exhausted. Everyone wanted to know if I liked this food and if I liked that food, and then I had to try the things I had never even heard of before. I mean, some of it was good other things like… what was it caviar? Not so much I literally had to keep myself from vomiting on the person making me try it. I finally just let Laura and Emi pick out the food; I couldn’t take it anymore.

The warm water relaxed my muscles as I started to wash my hair and body. I could always think better in the shower, and sometimes I started to overthink things. Once I get out of this shower, I will be introduced to a society that I had never fit into before. One that I will constantly be scrutinized by. Sighing, I finished up my shower and then got out. I dried off quickly and started to get dressed. Everything had to be perfect; I even learned how to tie a tie because Matt, my adopted father, would not let me wear a clip-on. Go figure. So I learned how to tie this stupid thing. Looking at myself in the full-length mirror, I was finally ready. Walking out of the bathroom and opening the door to my room, Jake was standing just outside the door. “So, are you ready, kid?”

“Yeah, I’m going to show these rich assholes what I can do,” I gave him a cocky glance as we walked down the hall; he chuckled behind me.

The music playing made its way to my ears as we reached the middle of the staircase. I felt nervous, but I kept my face neutral as I descended the rest of the stairs. Straightening up the jacket of my suit and I walked out onto the floor. It was empty so far, but it looked like people were starting to arrive. Valets were parking cars when I got up to Matt, Laura, and Emi. I cleared my throat, letting them know of my presence; Laura turned and gasped as she raised one of her hands to her mouth. Matt smiled, reached out his hand, and clapped me on the shoulder, pulling me by his side between him and Laura. I stood there with them, greeting the guests as they walked into the dance hall.

I was getting bored standing here, there were a few hot girls that came in, and I was looking forward to meeting them. I kind of connected to a few of the guys as they came in. But I noticed that the girl I had met at the clothing store had not shown up. Matt, Laura, Emi, and I made our way back into the dance hall as the last few people went through.

“Tom, why don’t you go mingle with the kids that have come. We will come to get you when it’s time to introduce you formally,” Laura told me as she placed a soft hand on my cheek.

“Ok. Thank you for all of this,” I told her with a smile.

I walked up to the drink table, grabbing some tea. I turned to scan the crowd in front of me. A blonde came up to me, a sexy smile on her face. Her eyes roamed my body, and I could see the lust in those big green eyes. When she got closer, she curtsied in the light green dress that hugged her figure.

“Hi, my name is Morgan,” the blonde introduced herself to me. “You are a whole lot more handsome than what everyone is saying about you.”

“Really? Are people already talking about me? I haven’t even gotten to school yet,” I asked her with a grin.

“Oh yes. I felt it necessary to introduce myself before any other girl caught your eye,” Morgan said to me as she fingered my tie.

I raised my eyebrows at her with a grin. She took this as an invitation to grab my hand and pull me to the dance floor. As I danced with Morgan, the doors opened, and three girls entered the dance hall. One was the girl I had met at the clothing store. Our eyes made contact, and she smiled until she noticed who was dancing with me, and her face fell. She motioned to the other two, and they made their way to Laura. I watched the girl and her friends stroll over to Laura as I ground my hips against Morgan’s backside, my hands gripped tight on her hips. She was just as beautiful as she was in the clothing store.

Aurora’s POV

When I finally made it to the party at the Churchhill’s home with my two best friends. The new heir was dancing with the school slut. I took a deep breath holding my head high, and motioned my friends to follow me; we skirted around the dancers to Mr. and Mrs. Churchhill. When we got to his parents, I curtsied along with my friends. I smiled at them as I stood up; Mr. and Mrs. Churchhill smiled back.

“Aurora, you look beautiful!” Mrs. Churchhill exclaimed, and she grabbed my hands.

“I’m delighted you could make the party. Are your parents here?” Mr. Churchhill asked me with curiosity peering over the crowd.

“No, sir. They could not make it tonight. I’m sorry,” I answered him.

“Well, that’s a shame,” Mr. Churchhill expressed to me.

“Sweetheart, why don’t you go have fun with your friends. We will do the introduction here in a few minutes. We are glad you came. I didn’t know if you would since your mother didn't seem too thrilled about Tom,” Mrs. Churchhill stated, as she glanced around the room, “I’m sure Tom is somewhere around here.”

“Yes, I’ve already seen him. He’s dancing,” I answered her as I took another deep breath, glancing back at him dancing with Morgan.

“Well, go on and formally introduce your self dear,” Mr. Churchhill told me with a smile.

“Yes, sir. Thank you again for inviting us,” I replied to him, nodding.

My friends and I made our way first to the food table; grabbing a plate, we filled it with different foods. When we got to the drink table, we poured our drinks and made our way to a table. We sat down and began to eat. After we finished, we sat and watched as everyone gathered around the heir, Morgan by his side soaking in the limelight as well.

“Girl, you have been staring at him ever since we got here. I mean, he’s cute and all, but he’s already figured out who he wants to hang out with,” Chloe declared.

“Yeah. In the Clothing store, he seemed different,” I answered her with a sigh.

“So, are we going to dance?” questioned Elizabeth.

“Yeah, let’s go dance,” I stood, and we all made our way to the dance floor.

We all started to dance together when I was swept away further onto the dance floor. I glanced at my dance partner and gasped. Tom smirked as we danced, and he pulled me closer.

“So, I don’t think we met. My name is T.C., and you are?” His voice was husky as he introduced himself to me.

“My name is Aurora,” I answered him with a curious look.

“Pretty name for a pretty girl,” He uttered to me.

“Were you not dancing with Morgan?” I stared at him in his gorgeous blue eyes.

“You jealous?” A smirk starting to form on his lips.

“No, I was just asking,” I responded as he spun me around.

“Good, I’d hate for you to have feelings for me,” He laughed as he left me in the middle of the dance floor.

When I glanced around, Morgan was laughing hysterically as others behind her started as well. My friends had their hands covering their mouths as I held my composure and turned on my heel, and faced Mr. and Mrs. Churchhill curtsied to them. The shocked looks on their faces almost made me cry. I turned again, and I nodded to T.C. His face was forlorn as he stood there. I walked out of the dance hall with as much dignity as I could, and my friends were scrambling to catch up with me.