Kate Little – The Bachelorette (страница 6)

Of course she couldn’t do that.

But neither could she dress up in an evening gown, step up on a stage and display herself as strange men made bids to “buy her” for the night. She’d rather be boiled in oil. She’d rather be tarred and feathered. She’d rather be asked to shimmy up a greasy flagpole with a rose in her teeth. She’d rather—

“You’re going to do it, right?” Sylvie asked point-blank, interrupting Meredith’s thoughts. “I can come over tonight to help you with your outfit. Jayne and Lila said they’d come, too. I’ll bring dinner. How about Chinese?”

“Well…tonight’s not so good, actually,” Meredith fibbed. She tried to meet her friend’s steady gaze but couldn’t.

“Meredith…I know that look in your eye,” Sylvie said, calling her out. “You’ve got to do it. I won’t take no for an answer. We’ve got to pull together around here. The auction is a chance to show Marcus Grey that we’re carrying on, business as usual. We’re not rolling over and giving in to him.”

While Meredith had to agree with Sylvie’s point, she still didn’t feel entirely persuaded that if she paraded around a stage in a tight gown and heels—wiggling her extremities for the highest bidder—the effort would do much to thwart the heartless corporate raider.

“Meredith, please. You know how much this means to me. It’s just got to be a good auction this year. The absolute best. We have to show that man what we’re made of,” her friend insisted. “I know how shy you are and I know this is hard for you. Really, I do. But it might be a good thing for you, too. I mean, you’re absolutely gorgeous…but nobody but me and a few other select people even have a chance to realize it. I want everybody in this company to know what a babe you are. They’ll be talking about that for months,” Sylvie added in a teasing tone. “Won’t you help…please?”

Meredith wanted to refuse her…but she couldn’t let her friend down. This event was important to Sylvie, and to the entire corporate image. If the charity event went off successfully, as it usually did, it would show a strong united front to Marcus Grey.

And something else in Sylvie’s words had rung true. Maybe it was time she stopped hiding like a scared little mouse in a hole, Meredith realized. Maybe forcing herself to get out on that stage would be good for her. If she had a few more ounces of self confidence, maybe she wouldn’t act so flustered by a man’s mere invitation to lunch. As she had with Adam Richards.

“Okay, you’ve got me. I’ll do it,” Meredith finally agreed.

“Fantastic!” Sylvie leaned over and enveloped her in a huge hug. “I knew you wouldn’t let me down. Do you have anything at home you can wear?”

“How about that gray silk dress I wore for the Christmas party?” Meredith asked.

Sylvie’s lovely brow crinkled in a frown. “I’m not sure I remember…. Oh, yes. The gray silk. It had long sleeves and a sort of high, cowl neck?”

Meredith nodded. Sylvie smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry, I’ll bring over a few things. We’ll come up with something great,” Sylvie promised.

Meredith was worried. She knew that her idea of “great” and Sylvie’s were probably a fashion galaxy apart. But she tamped down her fears and put on a brave smile.

“Chinese sounds good. And don’t forget an extra dumpling for Lucy,” she added, remembering her dog’s favorite treat. “And don’t worry, Sylvie. I won’t you let you down.”

“I know that,” Sylvie assured her, and Meredith knew she was telling the truth. Although Meredith didn’t make friends easily, her connections were deeply felt. True to her word and loyal to a fault, she’d go the limit to help a friend in need and never went back on her promises.

“Don’t worry, this will be fun,” Sylvie promised as she rose from her seat. “Oh, I almost forgot…” Sylvie stared down at the package she’d been holding, a medium-size box wrapped in brown paper. “The receptionist asked me to give you this,” Sylvie explained. “It was delivered a little while ago.”

She glanced at the label as she handed Meredith the box. “Hmm, it’s from Chasan’s,” she noted, naming one of the most expensive clothing stores in town. “I thought you did your shopping at the outlet mall, Meredith. Did you go out on a spree without telling me?”

“I’ve never been to Chasan’s. There must be some mistake.” Meredith examined the package and saw her name printed on the label.

Clearly too curious to leave, Sylvie stood by as Meredith tore off the paper and found the trademark, dark-blue gift box tied with a thick gold ribbon. She untied the ribbon and opened the box. Under a layer of gold tissue paper, she found a beautiful pale-pink sweater set, much like the one she had on. However, with one touch, she could tell it was of a far finer quality…and far more expensive than her own.

Meredith took the sweater set out of the paper and Sylvie gasped, “God…that’s gorgeous. Who is it from? Is it your birthday or something?”

“My birthday’s in June. You know that,” Meredith replied, without glancing at her friend. She took a deep breath before reading the gift card she found inside. She already guessed who had sent the gift, but could hardly believe it.

Meredith,

Are you sure I didn’t bump into you this morning? You insisted that I didn’t, but I still feel responsible somehow for ruining your lovely sweater. Please accept this gift with my appreciation for your help today—and my hope that I’ll see you again soon.

Adam

Meredith felt a bit shocked as she placed the card back in the box and closed the lid. It appeared he had picked the sweater set out and bought it himself. Had he really gone to so much trouble for her?

“Who’s Adam?” Sylvie asked, and Meredith realized her friend had read the card over her shoulder.

“It’s a long story, Sylvie,” Meredith replied.

“Judging from that blush on your face, I’ll bet it’s a good one.” Sylvie laughed, her lovely face alight with interest. “You’d better tell all tonight, dear,” she warned, “or no fried dumplings.”

“In that case, I guess I have to,” Meredith replied with a grin. “But there’s nothing to tell, honestly. He’s just a client, and I’m doing some special designs for him.”

“Right, you meet some client this morning and he sends you a hand-delivered gift from Chasan’s. But there’s nothing to tell.” Sylvie smiled knowingly and gently patted her friend’s shoulder. “Meredith, we need to talk.”

“Don’t you have enough torture planned for tonight? You don’t need to give me a lecture about men, too, Sylvie,” she warned in a good-natured tone.

“Me? Give you advice about men? Don’t be silly. I’m leaving that job to Lila and Jayne. After all, Jayne’s married and Lila’s engaged. They both should know something about the species.” With a quick wave Sylvie suddenly disappeared through the doorway.

Left alone with her surprise package, Meredith stared down at the box, which sat squarely in her lap. She opened the lid, looked at the sweater set again—now noticing the label of an exclusive European designer—then she looked at the card. She liked his handwriting. It was neat and crisp, with thick, blocky letters. Straightforward as the man himself, she thought.

Oh, dear. She was sinking into some type of warm, romantic mire, like a big steamy bubble bath. Inch by inch, minute by minute. Even though she’d forced Adam Richards’s image out of her mind today, she still felt her attraction to him gaining a hold on her.

But she simply wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen.

She just could not allow it.

Meredith stood and stuck the box in her office closet. She would return the gift to him with a polite, but curt note. She’d complete the sample stickpin, as she had promised, but she would make Frank assign a new designer to the project. She would not permit herself to see Adam Richards again. Certainly not alone. Absolutely not for anything as social as a “fake” business lunch date.

She wasn’t as naive about men as her friend Sylvie suspected. She knew what this ride was all about, the uphill climb of the roller coaster car was totally exhilarating—the thrill of a lifetime. It was the downhill slide, and the unavoidable crash, that she feared. Feared with all her heart. Or what was left of it.

Meredith had felt this strongly this quickly about a man only once before. Years ago, in college. Jake was superficially very different from Adam, but in many respects they were much alike, she realized. An established artist, Jake was a visiting professor at her college for a year, and students clamored for the chance to study with him. Jake chose only students he felt were the most promising, and Meredith was thrilled to win a place in his sculpture studio during her senior year. She’d expected to learn a lot about art—not about love. But from the very first moment he spoke to her, other than to critique her work, she felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. She kept her crush a secret from even her closest friends for weeks, never once dreaming her feelings could be returned. But miraculously they were, and she soon entered into a torrid affair with him, agreeing to secrecy in order to keep Jake out of trouble with the school authorities. It was certainly against the school’s policy for professors to seduce their students.