The whispers around us shifted direction immediately.
"What is wrong with that woman? Victoria was being gracious, and she goes and throws a drink on her?"
"Didn't you see? Victoria splashed her fir—"
"Victoria would never do that on purpose. Look at her crying like that, and Deidre's just standing there stone-faced. She's clearly the one making a scene!"
Everyone had seen exactly what happened.
Not one person spoke up for me.
I stood there in my soaked dress, dripping under every light in the room.
Clyde barely spared me a glance before hurrying over to console the teary-eyed Victoria, leaving me stranded alone in full public view.
"Oh wow, Deidre really went there! A wet-dress seduction at a public event—she must be desperate to move up."
"Get the camera on that. From this angle, she'll be front-page news by morning!"
"That figure, that cleavage. Unreal."
Gasps rippled through the crowd, punctuated by the relentless clicking of shutters.
I fled to the restroom. Clyde followed.
"Deidre, Victoria didn't do that on purpose. But honestly, the result worked out even better, didn't it?"
He held out a check as he spoke.
"I know tonight was rough on you. Consider this extra compensation."