Chapter 13
ALEX
“Can I see yet?” Alex called out.
The bedroom door was shut and had been for the past hour.
Kaitlyn’s voice echoed from the bathroom. “Just give me a few more moments. I want to get the eyeliner right. It’s been a long time since I dressed up for something like this.”
Alex smiled to himself. He was thinking back to prom night, when he’d arrived in Betsy to collect Kaitlyn from her mom’s house.
She’d looked beautiful then, and he had no doubt she’d look beautiful now.
The evening was important. Hilary had invited dozens of investors to the Hotel Excelsior.
Alex was due to make a speech. He’d been rehearsing it with Hilary for most of the afternoon.
“Don’t forget to make eye contact,” she’d told him. “And try to smile. You want them to like you, even if you’re planning to take their money.”
It was almost six o’clock. Alex was anxious to get going. He wanted to arrive in good time for Hilary to brief him. It was the names he was nervous about. Would he remember them?
“Are you nearly done?” he ventured.
The door opened, and Kaitlyn appeared, dressed in the most beautiful outfit Alex had ever seen. She looked stunning, in a mauve dress with matching shoes, and a wraparound shawl with sleeves slung over her shoulder.
“I know it’s a cardigan,” she said before Alex could say anything. “But it’s in fashion, apparently.”
“You look… incredible. I… You’re so beautiful,” Alex said, his breath taken away by the sight of her. She really was stunning.
Kaitlyn blushed. “Do you really think so?” she asked as he slipped his arms around her.
“I know so,” he replied.
His heart had skipped a beat at the sight of her. She was radiant.
“I wasn’t sure about it. The assistant rather bullied me into it. Still, if you like it, that’s all that matters. I hope I’ll make a good impression,” she said as the intercom buzzed, signaling the arrival of Stephen.
“Everyone’s going to be looking at you,” Alex replied.
He himself was in black tie — a velvet suit, with a slight touch of blue.
Hilary had chosen it. Downstairs, the car was waiting to take them to the Hotel Excelsior.
Alex’s heart was beating fast. Tonight mattered.
It had to go well. It wasn’t far to the hotel, a few blocks north, but the traffic was bad, and Alex found himself getting impatient.
“What are we actually going to do at this thing tonight?” Kaitlyn asked.
Alex had forgotten this would be the first time she’d ever been to something like this.
To him, it was an everyday occurrence — show up, press the flesh, smile and nod, drink a little, but not too much, and eat a few canapés.
Circulating was what mattered. Everyone there had to leave thinking they’d had his time and attention.
If that was the case, the night would be a success, and the final details of the Jamaica deal could be worked out.
Get it wrong, and it might prove to be a very costly night.
“We’ll get there and mingle a little. I’ll have to talk to Hilary first to make sure I know all the names.
There’ll be drinks and hors d’oeuvres. I don’t tend to eat much at these things.
We can pick up something on the way back.
Just smile and be pleasant. That’s all,” he replied, glancing at her with a smile.
Kaitlyn looked nervous, but it was too late to explain further.
The car had pulled up outside the Hotel Excelsior, where a red carpet was laid out for them and dozens of photographers were waiting for a snap.
Taking a deep breath, Alex stepped out of the car, nodding to the journalists, who bombarded him with questions.
“Is this the last hour? How many jobs are going to be lost if this goes wrong, Mr. Lancaster?” one called out.
“Will you take responsibility for closing the deal? Are livelihoods at stake?” another shouted.
But as Kaitlyn got out of the car, attention quickly moved to her. Shutters clicked, and Alex smiled, glad to see she’d proved to be the distraction he wanted her to be. Offering her his arm, they glided up the red carpet to the hotel doors, where Hilary was waiting for them.
“Let me introduce the two of you,” Alex said, since Kaitlyn and Hilary hadn’t yet met.
“It’s a pleasure,” Hilary said as the two of them shook hands.
Most of the guests hadn’t yet arrived, and Alex familiarized himself with Hilary’s list, noting the photos next to the names. It always reminded him of a high school yearbook.
“I think I’m ready,” he said, aware Kaitlyn was standing on her own by a large ice sculpture in the shape of a Chinese dragon.
“And what if they ask you something about her?” Hilary whispered.
Alex looked at her in surprise. “What do you mean? I’ve known her since high school,” he replied, thinking it was a strange thing for Hilary to say.
But there wasn’t time for an explanation. The first guests were beginning to arrive, and Alex hurried over to Kaitlyn, directing her toward a group of dignitaries from the Mexican embassy in Washington.
“What are we going to say to them?” Kaitlyn whispered.
“Just… talk,” Alex replied, smiling, as he extended his hand to the first of the guests.
“Good evening, Mr. Lancaster, and what a delightful setting you’ve brought us to,” the man said, smiling as they shook hands.
“Senor Gonzalez, how good to see you again. How’s your daughter? I remember you telling me she wasn’t well last time we met in Washington,” Alex replied.
In truth, he hadn’t even remembered the man’s name, but Hilary was an expert when it came to gathering intelligence and had listed the details of their previous conversation in her folder. The man seemed pleased.
“Ah, much improved, thank you. She broke her leg in the swimming pool, diving when she wasn’t supposed to. Kids, huh?” he replied, shaking his head.
Purposeful small talk was something Alex had learned at Harvard. They’d practiced it, creating ever more outlandish scenarios for one another in role-play, often involving the whole cohort.
“Remember, everyone’s trying to catch you out,” one of his professors had once said, and Alex had taken these words to heart.
He always liked to have the upper hand, and that was why information like that contained in the folder was priceless.
“And this is your wife?” the Mexican man asked, turning to Kaitlyn, who smiled and curtsied, which seemed slightly odd to Alex, given the man was only from the embassy and not even the ambassador.
“We’re engaged,” she said before Alex could make the introduction.
“This is Kaitlyn. We’re to be married later in the year,” Alex said as Kaitlyn shook hands with the other delegates.
“And what do you do at Lancaster Holdings?” one of them asked, an imposing-looking woman with long, dark hair, in an emerald-green dress and a diamond necklace.
“Oh, I don’t work for Alex. I’m an artist,” Kaitlyn replied. “I work with ceramics, mainly. I used to have a studio in San Francisco.”
“I adore San Francisco. I grew up in Tijuana. Sometimes, we’d go on road trips right up the coast,” the woman said, her expression changing as she smiled.
“It’s a wonderful city. My studio was in Haight-Ashbury,” Kaitlyn said.
The woman nodded. “And you must have a lot of happy memories there, too, Mr. Lancaster, going back and forth between here and there,” the woman said.
Alex felt suddenly awkward. In truth, he’d never even been to San Francisco. He couldn’t very well tell them he and Kaitlyn had been apart for the best part of ten years. It would take far too long to explain.
“Well, I—” he began, but, to his relief, Kaitlyn interrupted.
“I preferred to come to New York. Ceramics are really taking off here. There’s a definite buzz on the scene. I’ve got an exhibition coming up soon. You should come and see it.”
The woman smiled and nodded. “I’d be delighted,” she replied.
With the pleasantries over, Alex and Kaitlyn moved to the next circle of guests.
“Well done,” Alex whispered. Kaitlyn had saved him from making the sort of awkward mistake he prided himself on avoiding.
She smiled at him. “Was it the right thing to say?”
“Totally,” he replied.
Investors, politicians, journalists… all of them had their five minutes, and it seemed to Alex as though the evening was going well. Kaitlyn looked stunning, and everyone was complimenting her outfit.
“You’ll be setting trends,” an adjunct from the Department of Commerce said.
Alex was impressed with Kaitlyn. She smiled at all the right things, listened in the right places, and gave opinions without being argumentative.
“I think this is going well,” Alex said as they paused for a moment between one group of guests and another.
A waiter topped up their champagne, and several platters of hors d’oeuvres passed them by. Alex was about to lead Kaitlyn toward the next group when an unwelcome sight greeted him across the room, making straight for them.
“Alex, darling, how good to see you. And there I was, thinking you’d been ignoring me,” Malwida Ree said, fluttering her eyelids as she ran her fingers down Alex’s lapel.
Alex grimaced. Malwida, despite appearances to the contrary, worked for Citadel, one of New York’s most influential financial papers.
She specialized in take-down articles, the sort of spreads that brought down companies and wiped millions off stock exchanges.
Trained at Harvard and Yale, she could be both a formidable opponent and a necessary ally.
Which she chose was entirely up to her, a power she wielded with alarming regularity.
Alex had been dreading seeing her, but somehow she always managed to find a way into these sorts of events, whether invited or not.
That evening, she was dressed in a silver gown, with black elbow-length gloves, and a pair of thick-rimmed gold spectacles perched on her nose, her hair tied up in a bun with a silver ribbon, and a look of anticipation on her face, as though she was expecting to land herself a scoop.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about, Malwida,” Alex said, trying hard not to grimace.
“Is it going ahead, then? I heard you’d sorted everything already. And now this. Something must have gone wrong,” Malwida said, raising her eyebrows.
She certainly liked to cut to the chase.
“May I introduce my fiancée, Kaitlyn?” Alex said, doing his best politician’s impression and avoiding Malwida’s question.
Kaitlyn smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, though Alex knew she wouldn’t have said that if she’d known the truth.
He’d forgotten to warn her about Malwida. She had a way of making people say what she wanted them to say, then writing about it.
“I didn’t know you had a fiancée, Alex,” Malwida said, raising her eyebrows for a second time as she took Kaitlyn’s hand in hers.
“Well, I do have a life outside the office,” Alex replied.
He was waiting for Malwida’s move. Something was coming. She’d try to catch Kaitlyn off guard. The talk about San Francisco had been close…
“It’s a brave woman who marries a man like Alex Lancaster. How did you two meet?”
Kaitlyn glanced at Alex before she spoke. It was an innocent enough question.
“In high school. We’ve known one another forever, really,” Kaitlyn replied.
“But we don’t know anything about you. He’s certainly been keeping you quiet.
How long have you been in New York? I must say, I’m surprised not to have known you.
But you’ll know all about the problems at Lancaster Holdings over the past few years.
A lot of good people were let go. There’s still bitterness around,” Malwida said.
Alex glared at her. She knew how to twist the knife. The redundancies had been voluntary. No one had been sacked. They’d come at a time when investment was cautious post-pandemic. Now, there was more optimism in the air. Money was being invested again and jobs created.
“That’s not quite fair,” Alex pointed out.
“An hour to clear their desks. Wasn’t that what some of them were told?” Malwida asked, addressing Kaitlyn, rather than Alex.
Kaitlyn looked confused. “I… I don’t know,” she replied.
“I suppose business is business, and a private life is just that. What a lovely dress you’re wearing. An engagement present, I suppose?” Malwida asked.
“I chose it yesterday,” Kaitlyn replied.
“What do you think about the long-term goals of the company? You’ll know about the deforestation, of course? How twenty-five percent of Lancaster Holdings’ shares are invested in unethical funds in Brazil. How does that make you feel?” Malwida continued, still addressing Kaitlyn.
Kaitlyn faltered, glancing at Alex, who sighed. It didn’t matter what he said, or what Kaitlyn said, or what anyone said. Malwida had already written her story before sweet-talking her way into the reception to drink champagne at his expense and cause trouble.
“We should be talking to the other guests. You can get the press release from Hilary,” Alex said, placing his hand on Kaitlyn’s elbow and guiding her away.
She looked at him fearfully. “Did I say something wrong? I’m sorry,” Kaitlyn whispered, but Alex shook his head.
“Not at all. She just likes to catch people off guard. Come on, let’s talk to someone safer.”
Malwida was still calling out her questions, but Alex ignored her. He wanted the evening to be over and done with as soon as possible, and he felt guilty for having exposed Kaitlyn to the sometimes harsh reality of life in the world he inhabited.