her in.” He terminated the call and uttered a curse under his breath as he placed the phone it its cradle.
Jade hid a grimace. Miss Busybody Faith already locked horns with the new bodyguard. She studied the man, who ignored her and fixed his gaze on the elevator doors like he wanted to dismantle it. What had Faith done now? She tended to push people’s buttons without trying. The change in Danny’s expression from exasperation to anticipation had her turning to check the elevator.
Faith floated into the foyer, six-foot model-like figure in a flamboyant duster pants and a snug top that showed a lot of skin. Her hair was dyed bright red. They met in the middle of the floor and hugged.
Faith leaned back and peered into her eyes. “Eddie just called. Sorry about your wallet. Are you okay? Your…,” she placed a hand on her chest.
Jade sighed. “Here I am, Faith. Heart’s beating normal, as usual.”
“Thank goodness. Give me a sec.”
Jade turned to watch Faith march to the counter, sign her name on the guest book without making eye contact with Danny Lambert and glide back to her side.
“Did I tell you I like the dress?” Faith asked. “Beats the beige PTA-mother outfits Jerrod insisted you, uh, never mind. Forget I brought up the jerk’s name.” She wrapped her arm around Jade’s shoulders and nudged her toward the elevator. “The outfit is sexy, prefect for your figure.”
When she’d decided to revamp her wardrobe, she’d raided Faith’s showroom. “The girls must have told you I was at your place.”
“Yeah, picked the time when you knew I wouldn’t be there, too.”
“And stopped you from dressing me like sex pot.” The dress she wore was the most daring of the bunch.
They stepped inside the elevator and Faith winked. “I keep telling you, if you have the bod, flaunt it. And you,” she gave her outfit another glance, “didn’t do bad by yourself. My only hope is that you burnt those shapeless, beige draperies you used to wear.”
She didn’t get rid of all of them. “Yeah, uh, why don’t you tell me about Danny Lambert?”
Faith rolled her eyes and pressed the button for the top floor. “The man had the nerve to call me a week ago with a list of instructions I needed to follow if…can you believe that crap…if I wanted to host this party for Ashley. Because of him, I changed the venue from my house to here.” She pressed her index finger, counting the grievances she had against poor Lambert. “I also had to give him a list of people attending the party. Inform all guests to bring photo IDs. Give him the name of the restaurant catering the event, which happened to be Chase’s. I told him Chase was family, your brother, my dearest cousin, but he still insisted. The nerve. Of course I refused, but you know Ashley. Ron is in Kern Valley fighting a wildfire and having his best pal take charge would ease his mind. So I gave in,” she finished, speaking through her teeth.
“The trial starts in a few weeks, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. The wait has been a strain on her. Anyway, when’s the stripper getting here?”
Jade made a guilty face. Many a times she’d let her cousins down during those dark years she’d been married to the sleaze ball Jerrod.
“Will you get very disappointed if I say I blew it? His number was in my purse and I should have confirmed the booking earlier in the week, but—”
“You forgot,” Faith finished.
“I feel bad already, okay? I thought I could get a replacement, but nothing I tried worked.”
Faith gave a long sigh. “Don’t sweat it. I know a couple of boys from a modeling agency I use who wouldn’t mind making extra bucks tonight.” The doors opened and they stepped out. “However, sweetie…”
Jade braced herself for a lecture.
“You need to talk to someone. When you told me that you were becoming listless and found teaching and research tedious, I thought you were kidding. Take a sabbatical.” They stopped outside Ashley’s
Jade hid a grimace. Miss Busybody Faith already locked horns with the new bodyguard. She studied the man, who ignored her and fixed his gaze on the elevator doors like he wanted to dismantle it. What had Faith done now? She tended to push people’s buttons without trying. The change in Danny’s expression from exasperation to anticipation had her turning to check the elevator.
Faith floated into the foyer, six-foot model-like figure in a flamboyant duster pants and a snug top that showed a lot of skin. Her hair was dyed bright red. They met in the middle of the floor and hugged.
Faith leaned back and peered into her eyes. “Eddie just called. Sorry about your wallet. Are you okay? Your…,” she placed a hand on her chest.
Jade sighed. “Here I am, Faith. Heart’s beating normal, as usual.”
“Thank goodness. Give me a sec.”
Jade turned to watch Faith march to the counter, sign her name on the guest book without making eye contact with Danny Lambert and glide back to her side.
“Did I tell you I like the dress?” Faith asked. “Beats the beige PTA-mother outfits Jerrod insisted you, uh, never mind. Forget I brought up the jerk’s name.” She wrapped her arm around Jade’s shoulders and nudged her toward the elevator. “The outfit is sexy, prefect for your figure.”
When she’d decided to revamp her wardrobe, she’d raided Faith’s showroom. “The girls must have told you I was at your place.”
“Yeah, picked the time when you knew I wouldn’t be there, too.”
“And stopped you from dressing me like sex pot.” The dress she wore was the most daring of the bunch.
They stepped inside the elevator and Faith winked. “I keep telling you, if you have the bod, flaunt it. And you,” she gave her outfit another glance, “didn’t do bad by yourself. My only hope is that you burnt those shapeless, beige draperies you used to wear.”
She didn’t get rid of all of them. “Yeah, uh, why don’t you tell me about Danny Lambert?”
Faith rolled her eyes and pressed the button for the top floor. “The man had the nerve to call me a week ago with a list of instructions I needed to follow if…can you believe that crap…if I wanted to host this party for Ashley. Because of him, I changed the venue from my house to here.” She pressed her index finger, counting the grievances she had against poor Lambert. “I also had to give him a list of people attending the party. Inform all guests to bring photo IDs. Give him the name of the restaurant catering the event, which happened to be Chase’s. I told him Chase was family, your brother, my dearest cousin, but he still insisted. The nerve. Of course I refused, but you know Ashley. Ron is in Kern Valley fighting a wildfire and having his best pal take charge would ease his mind. So I gave in,” she finished, speaking through her teeth.
“The trial starts in a few weeks, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah. The wait has been a strain on her. Anyway, when’s the stripper getting here?”
Jade made a guilty face. Many a times she’d let her cousins down during those dark years she’d been married to the sleaze ball Jerrod.
“Will you get very disappointed if I say I blew it? His number was in my purse and I should have confirmed the booking earlier in the week, but—”
“You forgot,” Faith finished.
“I feel bad already, okay? I thought I could get a replacement, but nothing I tried worked.”
Faith gave a long sigh. “Don’t sweat it. I know a couple of boys from a modeling agency I use who wouldn’t mind making extra bucks tonight.” The doors opened and they stepped out. “However, sweetie…”
Jade braced herself for a lecture.
“You need to talk to someone. When you told me that you were becoming listless and found teaching and research tedious, I thought you were kidding. Take a sabbatical.” They stopped outside Ashley’s
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