appealing as she used to be, back before Lucie knew the truth. Or was it the truth? Had Lucie been too quick to judge her? Maybe it had just been a terrible moment in Bianca's life, one she regretted and wished she could forget?
At that moment, Lucie felt a tickle on her hip and realized her purse was buzzing. Her phone. She put her hand up. "I'm sorry, but I've got to get this call. Be right back."
Sharon and Bianca nodded and smiled politely just as a tall blond man with a chiseled handsome face tapped Bianca on the shoulder, "Do I know you?" he asked when Bianca twisted to look up at him.
Making her way through the crowd toward the bathrooms where it might be quieter, Lucie pulled her phone out of her purse and answered it. "Hello?"
A deep unintelligible voice said something.
"Hello? I'm sorry, it's loud in here. Hold on a sec." She made it to the bathroom door and pushed it open to find a quiet low-lit interior, a lone woman washing her hands at the trough-like stone sink. "Sorry. I can hear you now."
"Lucie, it's Dad."
"Dad! Uh, what's up? Is everything okay?" She closed her eyes and prayed they hadn't found out about her hiring Erin. She had promised them she would stop rescuing her stepsister; said that she understood that Erin needed to learn things the hard way and would never learn while Lucie was protecting her from life's school of hard knocks.
"Absolutely. More than okay. You know, I'm really proud of you for taking a chance and starting this business of yours."
Lucie swallowed. It was so good to hear words of praise from her father, but she hadn't taken a chance. She'd been pushed. By her last and worst boss, Molly Knowles, Queen of Inhuman Resources at TMB - good hard push and a promise that she could never go back to the corporate world and be an admin again. At least, not in the tri-state area. Molly would make sure of it. And she'd said it with the calm confidence of someone who was slippery enough to keep it all looking rosy while she did it, who knew the mud she'd sling would never end up back on her because she knew exactly when to throw it and when to duck.
Finally, Lucie managed, "Oh, thanks Dad."
"Here's the thing. Flo and I have been talking. We want to invest in your soon-to-be empire. We believe in you, and we know you'll go far. And a little seed money is probably exactly what you need to get off the ground. That secretarial work couldn't have paid enough for you to have been able to save a lot. So, what do you say? Are we on?"
Empire? She didn't want an empire. She wanted a little successful business, something fun and manageable. And Erin! How would she hide what was going on now? At the same time, it had been so long since her father last spoke to her like this, so full of enthusiasm and rock-solid belief in her. Elation battling with a sinking fear, she gasped, "We're on. But-"
"No buts! You can do this. Come see me at my office tomorrow and we'll talk."
"Okay, Dad. Thank you."
After they made their plans and hung up, Lucie leaned back against the cool marble wall, oblivious to the women that entered and exited the bathroom, holding her phone against her chest and staring into space.
Mojito
Bianca kept Lucie’s card in her hand, absently stroking its smooth face while pretending to be interested in what the beautiful blond Adonis currently leering down at her was saying. Something about knowing her. As if. He wanted her so badly he would clearly make anything up. She knew she had never met him and her memory was always right.
In fact, it was so accurate and detailed that it was frightening to people when she recounted events that they had experienced as well. Their minds, like most people’s, were like sieves, moments sliding through the holes of memory and disappearing. Confronted with events that they had lost, the individual would invariably jerk back physically and their eyes would dart around before widening with surprise as the memory resurfaced from
At that moment, Lucie felt a tickle on her hip and realized her purse was buzzing. Her phone. She put her hand up. "I'm sorry, but I've got to get this call. Be right back."
Sharon and Bianca nodded and smiled politely just as a tall blond man with a chiseled handsome face tapped Bianca on the shoulder, "Do I know you?" he asked when Bianca twisted to look up at him.
Making her way through the crowd toward the bathrooms where it might be quieter, Lucie pulled her phone out of her purse and answered it. "Hello?"
A deep unintelligible voice said something.
"Hello? I'm sorry, it's loud in here. Hold on a sec." She made it to the bathroom door and pushed it open to find a quiet low-lit interior, a lone woman washing her hands at the trough-like stone sink. "Sorry. I can hear you now."
"Lucie, it's Dad."
"Dad! Uh, what's up? Is everything okay?" She closed her eyes and prayed they hadn't found out about her hiring Erin. She had promised them she would stop rescuing her stepsister; said that she understood that Erin needed to learn things the hard way and would never learn while Lucie was protecting her from life's school of hard knocks.
"Absolutely. More than okay. You know, I'm really proud of you for taking a chance and starting this business of yours."
Lucie swallowed. It was so good to hear words of praise from her father, but she hadn't taken a chance. She'd been pushed. By her last and worst boss, Molly Knowles, Queen of Inhuman Resources at TMB - good hard push and a promise that she could never go back to the corporate world and be an admin again. At least, not in the tri-state area. Molly would make sure of it. And she'd said it with the calm confidence of someone who was slippery enough to keep it all looking rosy while she did it, who knew the mud she'd sling would never end up back on her because she knew exactly when to throw it and when to duck.
Finally, Lucie managed, "Oh, thanks Dad."
"Here's the thing. Flo and I have been talking. We want to invest in your soon-to-be empire. We believe in you, and we know you'll go far. And a little seed money is probably exactly what you need to get off the ground. That secretarial work couldn't have paid enough for you to have been able to save a lot. So, what do you say? Are we on?"
Empire? She didn't want an empire. She wanted a little successful business, something fun and manageable. And Erin! How would she hide what was going on now? At the same time, it had been so long since her father last spoke to her like this, so full of enthusiasm and rock-solid belief in her. Elation battling with a sinking fear, she gasped, "We're on. But-"
"No buts! You can do this. Come see me at my office tomorrow and we'll talk."
"Okay, Dad. Thank you."
After they made their plans and hung up, Lucie leaned back against the cool marble wall, oblivious to the women that entered and exited the bathroom, holding her phone against her chest and staring into space.
Mojito
Bianca kept Lucie’s card in her hand, absently stroking its smooth face while pretending to be interested in what the beautiful blond Adonis currently leering down at her was saying. Something about knowing her. As if. He wanted her so badly he would clearly make anything up. She knew she had never met him and her memory was always right.
In fact, it was so accurate and detailed that it was frightening to people when she recounted events that they had experienced as well. Their minds, like most people’s, were like sieves, moments sliding through the holes of memory and disappearing. Confronted with events that they had lost, the individual would invariably jerk back physically and their eyes would dart around before widening with surprise as the memory resurfaced from
Similar Books
