FOURTEEN
“…SO THEY GET competitive,” she said to Alice, topping off their glasses.
Maybe they’d drunk too much, either that or Alice Breckenridge was the easiest woman to talk to in the world.
“Competitiveness has its place,” Alice said. “My boys goad each other frequently, but there’s never any malice. It’s all in good fun.”
“I don’t think Celeste and Maureen mean to provoke each other. If I’m honest, I think it’s helped Celeste through her divorce. We kept her busy, gave her a social outlet. I know how difficult it can be to get out there sometimes. And how distractions hold you up.”
“Has it been a help? Since your trauma at Breckenridge?”
“I don’t like to call it a trauma, but, yes, I suppose it has. Though this is nothing new for me. My whole life I’ve done anything and everything for charity that I could.”
“Is that rooted in something—”
The door at the back of the room opened. Rather than more servers, it revealed a stunning blonde.
“I heard a whisper…” the woman said, creeping inside.
Alice surged to her feet and the women met in a hug. “Is my boy behaving himself?”
“You know, probably not,” the blonde said. “But I’m not the best barometer for that. I like it when he’s naughty.”
“Oh, my…” With an arm still around her, Alice brought the woman to the table. “Savanna Mayden, meet Roxanna Kyst.”
The blonde extended a hand and they shook. “Pleasure to meet you. Call me Roxie.”
“Okay, uh, hi.”
Alice sat and Roxie slid into the seat beside her.
“Roxanna is spearheading the project I told you about here in the Big Apple. She was gifted a foundation by her fiancé for her last birthday,” Alice explained. “And has been working with a friend on the west coast developing something called Huddle Hope. A digital support structure for people who might otherwise be alone or unable to afford talk therapies.”
“It’s an offshoot from the social media platform Huddle.”
“I’ve heard of it.” The platform, not its off-shoot. “I’m sure it’s quite the venture.”
“Roxanna has a wide network and travels often. Her contacts in New York are wonderful women. Do you know Freya Dere?”
“From Children’s Connection? Only by reputation.” She’d done some sponsored events for ChilConn, not that Freya Dere needed the money. “She’s accomplished so much.”
Roxie dipped her fingertip in her drink. “Freya sends her apologies. She’d be here, but something came up at the hospital.”
“Freya prioritizes her work over everything else,” Alice explained. “Even her own personal life. Sometimes I think she works too hard, but it means so much to her. She’ll do great things in this new partnership.”
“Huddle Hope is in its infancy,” Roxie said, selecting one of the few canapes left. “As is Lola’s Liberty, my foundation, we’re basically the money. We will gain a lot of stability and credibility if we work with the existing infrastructure. We’re not looking to take over anyone’s patch. In fact, we welcome, covet, advice and support from veterans of this field. The stronger the network, the higher the likelihood it will succeed.”
Roxie popped the canape in her mouth. The door opened again to more servers with food and wine. Were they going to be there all night?
“Savanna and I are spending some time getting to know each other,” Alice said. “Building a more personal bond. She’s wary of getting involved.”
“Oh, believe me, I know that,” Roxie said, stirring the drink in her whiskey glass with a fingertip. There was way too much liquid in there to actually be whiskey… right? When that fingertip touched her lip, Roxie scowled and called out, “Baker!” A server hurried into the room. “Please take this away. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not Gin and It. It’s not even in the right glass.”
“Should I make more?”
“No, it’s okay, thank you. The Emperor will get me drunk when he’s horny later.” The server started to leave. “Oh, ah, but, Baker…” The guy stalled. “You know what? Take that drink to him, him and only him. Tell him it’s a gift from me. Someone needs an education.” The guy nodded and disappeared, then Roxie widened her smile. “Sorry, where were we? Ah, yeah! A personal connection is important to Huddle Hope too, we want people invested in its success.”
“I have no money,” she said, struck by panic. “I don’t—”
“No, no, no,” Roxie said, pouring wine into an empty glass. “We definitely don’t need money. Working with Lighting Darkness will strengthen our network, there’s so much experience there. We need a liaison, someone to act as a go-between for…” Maybe it was the look on her face, but Roxie paused. “Are you seeing anyone?”
“Am I see—I—no,” she said, unsure where the question had come from.
“You looking?”
“Not really,” she said, unable to look Alice in the eye. What a question, and after what she’d said about Darroch. “Does that matter?”
“No,” Roxie said. “It’s surprising with Alice having so many options available. Have you met her boys?”
“Not all of them.”
“Me either, I don’t think it’s possible to have them all in the same room at the same time. The universe will implode or something.”
Not dissuaded, Alice seemed to enjoy the blonde. “The Cavendishs’ Christmas Ball is approaching.”
“Even if you got the others there, Tripp would never stay,” Roxie said. “I’d bet money on that.”
“You and Zairn have been invited for Christmas. We’ll all be present then,” Alice said. “Will you accept the invitation?”
“That’s up to Jane,” Roxie said and gestured at the table. “Do you want to take this upstairs? Z’s at work, he won’t be home for a couple of hours. Even if he shows, he’ll make himself scarce, or not, depending on your preference. We could persuade him to strip down to his loin cloth and feed us grapes…” Her chin jutted up at an angle, eyes on the ceiling, fingertips trailing down her throat. “Hmm, how would I persuade him to do that in company?”
Like it was something he did a lot in private?
“Z?”
“Zairn,” Alice said, “Lomond. Roxie’s fiancé.”
Ah, okay. “And his work is…?”
The amusement on Alice’s face flashed to Roxie for a moment. “Is the nightclub in the building.”
“Nightclub? Crimson?”
“Yeah, he’s Rouge’s Chief and Emperor. Do you like to party? You’re welcome any time,” Roxie said. “Just tell whoever’s on the door that Ballard said it’s okay.”
“Ballard?”
“Our Head of Security and Logistics. It’s safer to use his name. Use mine and Ballard’s people will follow you around all night. It’s harder to get up to mischief when they’re constantly monitoring you.”
Alice glanced at each woman. “Tripp could escort her, he spends more time in this building than he does any other. I’m surprised Zairn hasn’t evicted him.”
“Are you crazy? He might clean out our fridge on a regular basis, but his drinks bill keeps the lights on.” Roxie picked up her glass. “Upstairs?”
“I can’t… I shouldn’t,” she said. “I have work tomorrow.”
“Right,” Roxie said, “regular job. You’re with Breckenridge?”
“I work in the flagship store. On the members only floor.”
“Ah, members only, I heard, I like that. Shame I don’t do lingerie.”
“You don’t do lingerie?”
“Nope,” Roxie said and drank some wine.
“You wouldn’t need to,” Alice said, laying a hand on Roxie’s. “I’ve seen the way your man looks at you.”
“My friends once reminded me of the amount of time he spends at the gym. So rather than repay that effort with lace, I pay in head instead. Nice little rhyme there.”
“Roxie!” Alice exclaimed with a laugh in her voice.
“What? He’s okay with it.”
Alice laughing at—okay, she was mortified, but it put her talking about sex at the bake-off in a different context.
Remaining defiant, Roxie held her posture. “I will not argue against the merits of lingerie, it has its place, and everyone has to earn a living. Maybe I’ll swing by some time, Savanna, and you can take a shot at changing my mind.”
“Have you had something custom made for the wedding?” Alice said. “If not, we can help with that too.”
“Actually, now there’s a good point. I have no idea where we are on lingerie.” Roxie tapped a finger on the table. “I’ll have to get Jane over here.”
“Jane?”
“Our wedding planner.”
“And one of Roxie’s dearest friends,” Alice explained.
“She’s making all of the wedding decisions.”
“Except the honeymoon.”
“Except the honeymoon,” Roxie agreed and Alice laughed. “She’s laughing because Z already took me on a rehearsal honeymoon. And what a commotion that was. I think we’ll need another after that palaver.”
“Tell Savanna,” Alice said, squeezing Roxie’s hand. “You can trust her.”
“With everything?”
“We want her to put her faith in us, we have to put our faith in her.”
Secrets. She could handle keeping secrets. She was an expert at it actually. Though most of her secrets weren’t deliberately held, she just didn’t trust many people.
“Where do you want me to start, Momma B?”
“At the beginning.”
“We’ll be here all night.”
And going home, she’d be a changed woman. Already that was obvious. Something about the women’s spirit, their dynamism, enlivened her with a curiosity and confidence of her own.