A sadistic bitch.

Jessica's words seemed to vibrate inside Lisa's skull, I want you to tell him for me. That did it!  she jumped to her feet and clutched the back of the metal chair to keep from rearranging that perfect oval face with her bare fists.

"Who in the hell do you think you are?" Lisa's voice was low and furious. "You come back to Detroit after ten years and announce to anyone who will listen to you that you are ready to settle down; you turn all that practiced charm on Drake, who's the sweetest, most thoughtful man in the whole world until he's crazy in love with you; you accept a diamond ring from him, that must have made him the happiest man on earth for he had finally found the perfect woman to call his own, you set the wedding date, and now you're just going to walk away, break the poor guy's heart and leave me to do the dirty work of telling him 'sorry, I've changed my mind, something better has come along," No Way. The very least you owe him, face him and tell him yourself,"

Lisa was thankful for the chair she was gripping so tightly, Without it, she doubted that her quaking knees would hold her up.

Jessica tipped her head to one side and looked at her. "Lisa, You know, if you're not careful I'm going to suspect that you're in love with Drake."

Lisa's heart skip a bit, she wondered if her feelings for Drake is too obvious that people notice it easily.

Jessica's voice was calm and cool and remained so as she continued. "I've neither the time nor the inclination to tell him in person; my plane leaves for New York in two hours. Besides, you know I hate scenes. If you won't tell him then

I'll just write him a letter and have it delivered by messenger service."

"You wouldn't. You couldn't. Lisa hissed "Even you couldn't be that cruel."

"Oh, for heaven's sake, Lisa, Drake is a grown man. He may hurt for a while, but he'll survive. Now, are you going to tell him or do I have to put it all in a note?"

Lisa knew she couldn't let him get the shattering news that way. she suddenly envied Jessica her inability to care. It was so much easier than caring too much.

she'd always felt the pain of others to a degree, but with Drake, his agony became her own. she felt dizzy, and

nausea cramped in her stomach muscles. At that moment she hated Jessica, and she was determined not to let her profit from the shambles she was making of Drake's life.

she took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, her voice was cold and steady. "All right, Jessica, I'll tell

him, and I hope he sees you for just what you are a sadistic bitch who doesn't give a damn about anybody but herself."

Jessica opened her mouth to protest but Lisa held out her hand, "Give me the ring."

Jessica looked puzzled. "The ring?

she nodded. the diamond engagement ring Drake gave you. It's customary to return it if the engagement is broken, you know."

"Oh. Oh yes. She began to toy with the expensive stone. "I'm sure Drake would want me to keep it. He had it designed especially for me."

she didn't so much as blink, and her tone was icy. "Give it to me, Jessica."

Slowly Jessica slipped it off her finger and deposited it in Lisa's palm.

" I suppose you're right," she said sadly, it should be returned."

she transferred the ring from her right hand to the left and then held the right one out again. "Now give me the keys to the car,"

"The car keys!" Jessica screeched, "Now look here, the Ferrari was a gift, free and clear..."

"Give me the keys," Lisa ordered, "otherwise you can face him yourself. I won't help you unless you return the car as well as the ring."

"But I need the car," Jessica wailed. "How am I going to get to the airport?"

"That's your problem. Take a cab like the rest of us peasants do."

Jessica shot her a murderous look but rummaged in her purse and withdrew the keys. "Here, she said and threw them into her hand. " I can't take it with me anyway, and it would be a hassle to get someone to sell it for me.

She walked over to the closet, retrieved her fur coat, and put it on, then headed for the door, "Oh, by the way," she said as she turned the knob, "you're the only one who knows about any of this. I'm afraid it will be up to you to notify the family and friends and call off the wedding. thought my parents knows about the contract but they didn't know about this. "

She pulled open the door and rushed outside, slamming it behind her.

Lisa stared for a moment at the offending door then uttered a most unladylike oath and banged her fist on the table.

For a few minutes, she just stood there, too stricken to move. Damn Jessica. She'd whirled into town like a tornado, left a trail of destruction behind her, and then walked away scot-free, In catechism, she had been taught that the meek would inherit the earth. That was

a laugh. All the meek ever inherited was the mess left by those strong enough and selfish enough to grab what

they wanted and to hell with the consequences.

The sharp ring of the phone shattered the silence and made her jump, a sure sign of the beating her nervous system had taken. she walked into the bedroom

and sank on the side of the bed as she picked up the insistently vibrating phone where she dropped it initially when she entered the apartment with Jessica. It was Alana, who had a question about pricing that she answered, and as they talked, a partial solution to her problem of telling Drake about Jessica's desertion began to form.

"Alana, she said, "l may not be back at the boutique this afternoon. Can you get along all right without me?"

"Sure, I guess so. We're rather busy, but I'll manage."

she felt a twinge of guilt. "Thanks, I'll make it up to you. One more thing. do you know if Devin is in his office?"

"No, he's not. He called just after you left to say he had to go to Lansing, and if he isn't home in time to leave for the wedding rehearsal, then I should go on ahead and he would drive right to the church, Alana laughed. "I told him not to be late, they can't start without the best man."

Lisa slumped, her hope of getting Devin to go with her and help break the news to Drake smashed.

"Oh," she said tonelessly, " Well, look if he should call back, get a number where I can reach him,"

"Lisa, is something wrong? What did Jessica want to see you about?' Alana asked

"Yes, something is wrong, but I can't talk about it now. Just please, try to find out where Devin can be reached." Lisa said

calmly as she said within herself

Even if he couldn't be with her when she told Drake, she knew she would need the support only a best friend could give, and Devin would want to be around to give it.

she cut off the call and dropped her phone in the bed, then hesitated a moment before picking up the phone again and dialing Drake's number at the Autoworld car plant limited in Dearborn. His secretary answered, and when she asked for Mr. Andreas she said,

"I'm sorry Miss Grey, but Mr.Andreas will be out of the office all day" the Secretary reply

Lisa wished she could just breathe a sigh of relief, hang up and forget the whole thing, but unfortunately, she couldn't. "This is an urgent personal matter, Trish. I hate to ask, but could you possibly tell me where I can reach him."

"I don't have his itinerary. He's having lunch with some of the engineers and then they're going to be visiting several of the other plants in the area. He said he wouldn't be back this afternoon." Lisa

Was frustration, the threshold was rapidly being reached, and she drummed her fingers on the night-stand as try tried to keep her voice calm. "This is important. If you hear from him this afternoon please tell him to call me at the boutique immediately. "

"Okay," Trish answered and hang up

Lisa fall back on the bed, she was confused at the moment, she didn't know what next, she look at the wall clock, 1:35pm not less than 25 minutes Jessica will fly to the USA living her to deal with her mess up.

Though, she loves Drake, she never wishes his heartbreak, even as much she wanted to be with him, she wants him to love her back. not the other way round

taking a deep breath and she studs up, collecting the car keys with the Diamond ring, she left the building