“Look at that lovely neck,” she said. “That’s an Audrey Hepburn neck.”
That made me smile. My mother was a fan of Audrey Hepburn’s movies. We used to watch them late at night while we were waiting for my father to come home from work. I know now that she let me stay up late and turned on the movies to distract her from her fear that he wouldn’t come home. But it was still a fond memory. I still watch the movies myself when I need a little comfort.
“Thank you.”
“But we really need to do something about your shoes. Do you own a pair of heels?”
“Absolutely not. I don’t do heels.”
“But you must. Heels are the perfect accessory to a dress like this one.”
I shook my head so adamantly that she lost her grip on my hair and it began to fly around my shoulders like I was a madwoman.
“Adrienne,” Theresa said, “you should at least try a pump. They’re not that high. You could probably master them fairly quickly.”
I shook my head again, but no one seemed to notice. And the saleslady disappeared only to return with a pair of pumps in her hands. That was the last straw. I was not doing heels.
“No. I’ll wear that fancy underwear, and I’ll pay a fortune for these fancy dresses. But you will not get me into those shoes. No way in hell!”
But, of course, one pair of pumps was shoved into the top of my bags as I paid for the clothing and followed Theresa out of the store.
Chapter 5
Lucien
I was picking at a bowl of potato salad, trying to create a bite that didn’t include the sweet pickles Jacob always forgot I didn’t like. He was droning on about the new advertising campaign for one of our lines of vitamins. It was called Belite, a vitamin that was chock full of B-vitamins to help with energy. It was a strong seller, providing nearly half our yearly revenue. But sales had started to dip, so we were trying to find a new angle that would catch the attention of consumers who were easily swayed by that sort of thing. Normally I’d be right on top of it. But my thoughts were elsewhere today.
“Father called this morning,” Jacob suddenly said, changing the subject.
“Oh?”
“He wants us to come out to the beach house tonight. He said Rachel’s coming home from school for the weekend, and he’d like the whole family to be there.”
“Is she?” I slipped my cellphone out of my pocket, pulling up the calendar. “Spring break isn’t for another couple of weeks.”
“Yeah. That’s probably why they want the whole family there.”
“You think she got kicked out?”
“Or flunked out. And you know how Elizabeth will react to something like that.”
Of course I knew. My mother panicked each time it seemed that Rachel might not be living up to expectations. And those expectations were set pretty high for the daughter of an oil baron with two overachieving sons.
“I’ll call Mother later and talk to her about it.”
Jacob nodded and seemed about to say something else when the door opened in time with the soft tap that alerted us to Jaime’s—my assistant—presence.
“Security just called up. There’s a woman at the front desk who’d like to see you, Lucien.”
Right on time.
“Who is it?” Jacob asked.
“Someone named Adrienne Garcia?”
Jacob shot me a dark look. But he kind of waved his hand even as he turned back to his own bowl of takeout potato salad.
“Tell them to let her up,” I said. “And show her in as soon as she gets here.”
“Yes, sir,” Jaime said as she slipped back out the door.
“I thought you didn’t know if you were going to see her again.”
“I didn’t say that. I just asked what you thought of her.”
“Did you invite her to come here?”
“Am I not supposed to have a personal life?”
“No.” Jacob glanced at me. “I just prefer that you keep it out of the workplace. Besides, doesn’t she have a job?”
I shrugged. “Maybe she had a day off.”
Jacob picked up his food containers and crossed to the trashcan. “You have a meeting with those people from the ad agency at four. Try not to be late.”
“Yes, Daddy,” I said with a little salute just as the door opened and Adrienne stepped through.
She was wearing a subtle blue dress that just sort of hung from her shoulders and flowed over her curves like a bedsheet might do. Her hair was pulled back into a classic ponytail, the soft waves she’d displayed in her hair the night before making the ponytail look like a collection of ocean waves. She was wearing a subtler array of makeup this afternoon that highlighted those intense blue eyes, and a dainty pair of gold earrings adorned her ears. The only flaw in the beauty of the picture was those bright silver flats.
She smiled with genuine delight as she took us in. But I’m not sure who brought that warm expression to her face, me or Jacob.
“Hi,” she said somewhat breathlessly.
“It’s lovely to see you again, Adrienne,” Jacob said as he approached her, his hand held out quite politely.