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“That’s awesome. I can set you up with a stylist if you like.”
“Why would I need that when I have Mad Love? It’s only the boutique of choice around here.”
“Of course. It’s just a habit, I guess. My mother has specific tastes.”
“Oh, and that means I have to pass some wardrobe test?”
“You always look gorgeous.” I grinned, thinking of her kooky mismatched outfits that shouldn’t work but somehow did.
“I’ll be sure to wear a just-arrived lime-colored dress, purple stockings, and a hot-pink turban to match,” she said.
My breakfast tumbled around, threatening to join a circus. “Are you serious?” Ivy was one of those girls who loved to play. Normally, that was a fun game.
“Just kidding. But I did pick up a pretty lime-colored crotchless teddy.”
“Now you’re making me hard, Ivy.”
“Am I?” Her tone softened.
“Wear what you like. Only try to avoid black lace.”
“I thought you liked black lace.” Her voice sounded breathy and inviting.
“I love it on you. For us alone.”
How could I reveal this was an audition?
Most girls I’d known would have quite happily accepted that arrangement, but Ivy wasn’t most girls. That was why I hadn’t stopped thinking about her all fucking year.
“Okay. I’ll dress like Little Bo Peep.”
“Little Bo Peep?”
“You know, bonnet and virginal, in a hard-to-get-out-of dress.”
I laughed. “We can talk about it tomorrow if you like.”
“Talk clothes? With you?”
“I don’t mind. As long as you let me rip them off with my teeth.”
She giggled, and my day lightened at last.
“In your dreams. We’re still on go slow, I’d like to remind you,” she said.
Go slow?The other night, I’d virtually swallowed her panties.
“We’ll speak tomorrow,” I said.
I almost ran to the restaurant to get there on time. This meeting was important. If I could lure Mondaine back onto Elliot’s books, life would smile on me. Or at least my father would put the brakes on his threat to cut me off. And with some luck, maybe he would rescind his requirement for me to get married.
Being tied to my father’s purse strings was a sobering reminder that I needed my own business. But that took capital. Despite investments finally showing dividends, I still needed family money to uphold my lifestyle, especially if I wanted to launch myself into the luxury hotel destination market.
I entered the ultra-modern bar, which looked out over Central Park and offered nothing in the way of décor. The wall of windows faced the sidewalk and its endless parade streaming along.
I’d arrived five minutes early and asked to be seated by the window. After ordering a beer, I turned off my phone and took a deep breath. It was the first time all day I’d stopped. Saying I was exhausted would have been putting it mildly. I was seriously out of condition when it came to the nine-to-five grind.
A tall blond woman clip-clopped over to me.
