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NEARLY A MONTH after Charlotte gifted Alexandra a little succulent plant with hopes of getting closer, they’d barely done more than exchange pleasantries in passing.
No, not they . Alexandra .
For her part, Charlotte had attempted to make conversation with Alexandra whenever she saw her. She’d even tried to impress her with more creative accounting ideas, but she’d been blocked by her refusal to discuss anything not strictly necessary while maintaining a sizable physical distance between them. As if she was afraid Charlotte might pounce on her in front of the third person she always seemed to have around when they met.
At this rate, Charlotte expected to get notice that the mission was labeled a failure and was being abandoned any day now. There wasn’t a deadline by which she was supposed to accomplish her task, but she was sure that the more time passed, the more doubt would creep into people’s minds. The plan was so unconventional, it was only a matter of time before someone high on the food chain pulled the plug.
Charlotte wished she could call Jayson, even if just for some reassurance, though a little guidance wouldn’t hurt.
Her stomach churned as she slipped into a flutter sleeve wrap dress the same bright blue of her eyes. The look was more spring than autumn, but when she’d shown Paola pictures of her options, it was the only thing that fit the dressy casual bill. At least according to Paola.
Determination forced the doubts to the corners of her mind. She just had to try harder, that’s all. She couldn’t accept failure as an option. As she slipped into the nude-colored high heels she’d gotten for the occasion, Charlotte gave herself the pep talk she thought Jayson might o er. She even called herself Charlie and promised to buy herself a beer and ghost pepper wings from their favorite sports bar after they’d succeeded.
The self-talk helped until Charlotte had to look at herself in the mirror while she curled the ends of her hair with an iron. Her mission hadn’t been the only thing damaged by Alexandra’s sudden deep freeze. Rejection had left Charlotte reeling more than she expected.
Spending time with Alexandra . . . with Alex . . . had been fun. They’d been forming a connection. A real one.
Charlotte’s ulterior motive notwithstanding.
Had she really crossed a hard line? There was no way Alex didn’t feel what she felt. People didn’t stand that close to each other or look at each other like they were trying to decipher the universe’s secrets without feeling the same kind of pull.
Jayson told you not to play it like that and you didn’t listen , she reminded herself as guilt and shame forced her
shoulders into a slump.
As she finished getting ready, Charlotte tried not to think about whether she was more upset about the setback for the investigation or herself. A bruised ego was one thing, but having her actual feelings hurt was ridiculous.
This is a job . She glared at herself. Grow up and get it done .
Half an hour later, Charlotte arrived at the spa resort for the charity event and was wowed even before she’d parked her car in her usual spot. Near the entrance, two air-borne silk performers danced.
Charlotte watched in wonder as they moved in tandem.
Suspended by pale pink silks hanging over the moat, the dancers curled themselves up in the fabric and let it unravel, catching themselves before they hit the water. Charlotte had never seen something like that in person, and the e ect was exhilarating if not a little terrifying. There was nothing to catch them if they fell, a sensation Charlotte immediately connected with.
Inside, the lobby was transformed by panels of pastel fabrics suspended from the ceiling. The billowy e ect made the vast space feel so much smaller and warmer.
Changes didn’t end there. Paola’s reception desk was too massive to move, so an enormous papier-mâché elephant holding a tiny parasol in its trunk was constructed over it.
Around the elephant, four contortionists dressed like abstract white peacocks, moved in hauntingly beautiful formations. Each synchronized act was in time with the whimsical instrumental music that replaced the usual pan flutes.
As she tried not to be visibly awed by the contortionists and other magnificently dressed performers moving around the lobby, she was approached by a woman dressed in a Marie Antoinette inspired gown. Instead of a voluminous skirt, she wore a table around her waist adorned with appetizers.
“What do you think? Amazing right?” Paola snuck up behind her as she accepted a crostini.
Charlotte turned to face her as she nodded, her mouth too full to speak. Not that Paola needed her input as she raved.
“Come on.” Paola’s slender fingers wrapped around her wrist. “You have to see what they did outside.”
As she let herself be led, Charlotte couldn’t imagine that anything would be more gorgeous than what they’d managed at the entrance and lobby. Passing a woman with cotton candy hair, Charlotte accepted the flute of pink champagne she o ered before stepping out to the pool area.
With the dry bubbly on her tongue, Charlotte’s eyes widened when she joined the crowd of a hundred nicely dressed guests milling about outside. The pool area and cabanas surrounding it were protected from the south Florida sun by a newly erected, massive white tent that enveloped the entire space.
Ten feet above the pool, metal sca olding supported twin trapeze artists as they swung toward each other. In bright orange costumes, they looked like two halves of a sun meeting and separating as they did their acrobatics.
If that wasn’t unusual enough, the pool was full of synchronized swimmers. Judging by the costumes and wild
gesticulations of the score of performers, they were doing a take on Moby Dick.
