Bradford, it probably included sex. Dammit. She was having so much fun tonight. Why did Bradford have to go and ruin it for her?
“Thank you, Bradford. And it was lovely to meet you, Barbara.” Veronique blew a kiss in their direction and slid on to the next couple.
Barbara glared at Bradford. “So, do you mind telling me what that was all about? How do you know the baroness?”
Bradford shrugged nonchalantly. “There’s not much to tell. I did some business with her husband down in Atlanta about five years ago. She was simply Veronica Butler back then, married to a man named Guy Butler. I did hear that they divorced. I think Odette is her maiden name.”
Barbara relaxed a bit, but not much. She knew Bradford too well to relax when he had any kind of connection to a beautiful, sophisticated woman.
BARONESS VERONIQUE ODETTE Valentine de Marjolais and Jo
lene Brown quickly became the best of friends and allies. Together, they set out to destroy one snobby family after the other in Silver Lake, starting with the Bentleys. They plotted to ruin Bradford’s business,
then laughed as Barbara and Bradford were forced to sell their mansion and
move to the slums in inner P.G. County.
Then one day, while sipping champagne in Veronique’s salon, the
baroness told Jolene that she’d heard a rumor that Barbara had had her
Louis Vuitton bag snatched as she walked to her car in the hood. Jolene
threw her head back and laughed so hard she nearly spilled her drink all over
her St. John suit.
Jolene jumped and opened her eyes. She blinked. Fuck! She’d woken up in the middle of the best part of her dream about Barbara and Bradford Bentley. What a pity. She sighed, tossed the covers back, and threw her feet over the edge of the bed.
Then she thought about the party at the baroness’s house the night before and smiled as she stretched. She thought about the $5 million she’d won just a few days earlier and her smile grew bigger. What a fabulous week. First she’d won the money. Then she’d shopped all day with no thought to how much she was spending. Finally, she had attended the most glamorous party ever. She had even managed to corner the baroness and talk to her privately for at least fifteen minutes toward the end of the night. That was longer than Veronique seemed to linger with any of her other guests, including the Bentleys.
Jolene found Veronique’s account of how she had met and married European royalty fascinating. The baroness said that she was originally from Atlanta, Georgia, where her first husband had been a successful software developer. They had lived comfortably in a neighborhood similar to Silver Lake until their marriage collapsed.
After the divorce was final, Veronique decided to take an extended vacation to Europe to get away from it all. It was while relaxing in the south of France that she had met Baron Pierre Valentine de Marjolais. He was from a tiny European municipality with a long complex name and he was also on vacation. They fell in love and married within “six short, sweet weeks,” according to the baroness. But recently Veronique had found herself missing America and she had convinced Pierre to build her a small “bungalow” in the States.
Bungalow? Yeah, right, Jolene thought as she poured her first cup of coffee. She had oohed and aahed in all the right places while the baroness regaled her with some of the most fascinating tales Jolene had ever heard. For a while, as she listened to Veronique, she thought seriously of ditching Silver Lake and heading for Europe to find
her own
Prince Charming. But she could never do that as long as Juliette was in school.
At least she and the baroness had hit it off. Jolene thought they had a lot in common. They both had style and lots of flair, unlike the dowdy matrons of Silver Lake such as Barbara Bentley. And she and the baroness both had millions.
Jolene was confident that with just a little work she could make friends with the baroness. And
“Thank you, Bradford. And it was lovely to meet you, Barbara.” Veronique blew a kiss in their direction and slid on to the next couple.
Barbara glared at Bradford. “So, do you mind telling me what that was all about? How do you know the baroness?”
Bradford shrugged nonchalantly. “There’s not much to tell. I did some business with her husband down in Atlanta about five years ago. She was simply Veronica Butler back then, married to a man named Guy Butler. I did hear that they divorced. I think Odette is her maiden name.”
Barbara relaxed a bit, but not much. She knew Bradford too well to relax when he had any kind of connection to a beautiful, sophisticated woman.
BARONESS VERONIQUE ODETTE Valentine de Marjolais and Jo
lene Brown quickly became the best of friends and allies. Together, they set out to destroy one snobby family after the other in Silver Lake, starting with the Bentleys. They plotted to ruin Bradford’s business,
then laughed as Barbara and Bradford were forced to sell their mansion and
move to the slums in inner P.G. County.
Then one day, while sipping champagne in Veronique’s salon, the
baroness told Jolene that she’d heard a rumor that Barbara had had her
Louis Vuitton bag snatched as she walked to her car in the hood. Jolene
threw her head back and laughed so hard she nearly spilled her drink all over
her St. John suit.
Jolene jumped and opened her eyes. She blinked. Fuck! She’d woken up in the middle of the best part of her dream about Barbara and Bradford Bentley. What a pity. She sighed, tossed the covers back, and threw her feet over the edge of the bed.
Then she thought about the party at the baroness’s house the night before and smiled as she stretched. She thought about the $5 million she’d won just a few days earlier and her smile grew bigger. What a fabulous week. First she’d won the money. Then she’d shopped all day with no thought to how much she was spending. Finally, she had attended the most glamorous party ever. She had even managed to corner the baroness and talk to her privately for at least fifteen minutes toward the end of the night. That was longer than Veronique seemed to linger with any of her other guests, including the Bentleys.
Jolene found Veronique’s account of how she had met and married European royalty fascinating. The baroness said that she was originally from Atlanta, Georgia, where her first husband had been a successful software developer. They had lived comfortably in a neighborhood similar to Silver Lake until their marriage collapsed.
After the divorce was final, Veronique decided to take an extended vacation to Europe to get away from it all. It was while relaxing in the south of France that she had met Baron Pierre Valentine de Marjolais. He was from a tiny European municipality with a long complex name and he was also on vacation. They fell in love and married within “six short, sweet weeks,” according to the baroness. But recently Veronique had found herself missing America and she had convinced Pierre to build her a small “bungalow” in the States.
Bungalow? Yeah, right, Jolene thought as she poured her first cup of coffee. She had oohed and aahed in all the right places while the baroness regaled her with some of the most fascinating tales Jolene had ever heard. For a while, as she listened to Veronique, she thought seriously of ditching Silver Lake and heading for Europe to find
her own
Prince Charming. But she could never do that as long as Juliette was in school.
At least she and the baroness had hit it off. Jolene thought they had a lot in common. They both had style and lots of flair, unlike the dowdy matrons of Silver Lake such as Barbara Bentley. And she and the baroness both had millions.
Jolene was confident that with just a little work she could make friends with the baroness. And
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