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She stood a little taller. She could resist flirty Dominic.
“I called this meeting to tell you—”
And since she knew she could resist Dominic, it didn’t make sense to snatch away the opportunity the Belles had to keep their promise to Julie.
“—that in spite of the Vandiver wedding cancellation, our pocketbook is still in great shape.”
Belle laughed and patted her perfectly coiffed silver hair as she rose from her seat. Standing in front of Audra, she pressed both of her palms to Audra’s cheeks and then planted a kiss on her nose. “Only you, sugar, could scare us to death with an ominous e-mail calling a meeting to tell us we’re doing fine.”
Callie collapsed in her chair. “Sheesh, Audra, we’ve got to teach you some new communication skills.”
Serena rose and headed for the door. “The next time you have good news, Audra, put a smiley in the reference line of your e-mail.”
The other girls mumbled similar agreement, and within a few seconds the busy wedding planners had gone back to their respective jobs. Audra took a breath.
“Something troubling you, sugar?”
Audra glanced at Belle, who stood by the coffee carafe, holding a mug of the coffee that Julie always brewed for their meetings.
“No.”
“I know you. You hold your cards close to the chest. You don’t ever feel the need to apprise us of our finances. You consider it your job to handle anything that comes up with our money. You’d never call a meeting to give us good news. Because you did call a meeting, I’m guessing you have news so bad you didn’t think it fair to keep it from us, but panicked at the last minute and couldn’t tell us.”
Audra swallowed, gathering her briefcase, purse and coat. “No. I simply realized on Friday morning that you all might be worried that the Vandiver wedding cancellation had hurt our finances.” She smiled. “I really did just want to tell you all that we’re fine.”
“If we weren’t fine, you would tell at least me, right?”
Audra slid her right hand behind her back and crossed her fingers. “Absolutely.”
“You know I’m a tough old broad. I can pretty much handle anything.”
Something stirred in Audra’s chest. She’d spent her life keeping her troubles to herself, sharing a bit with her mom, but not everything. Not the depth of her humiliation at being left at the altar. Not the fear that surfaced after David’s rejection that she’d always be alone. Not the stinging recrimination that she was so logical she was a nag. And she certainly couldn’t tell her mother that her employer was flirting with her daughter.
But looking at Belle she suddenly longed to confide. Life had handed Belle plenty of troubles, and she’d weathered them well. She wasn’t merely smart. She was wise because of all the things she’d been through.
Belle studied Audra’s face. “There’s definitely something you’re not telling me.”
Audra coughed nervously, not accustomed to showing weakness. “It’s nothing.”
“Ah, sugar, let me help you.” Belle took Audra’s hand and patted it as she lowered herself to one of the plush chairs around the conference room table. “Come on. Sit.”
Audra sat.
“So what’s up?”
Though she desperately wanted to confide, she wasn’t ready to share her humiliation about David. She wasn’t even sure she could talk about Dominic. But she really needed some advice. So maybe the thing to do would be approach it backhandedly?
“I have a friend whose boss is a little flirty.”
Belle’s eyebrows rose in question, then she laughed lightly. “A little flirty?”
“Well, he’s—” Because she was hiding her nanny job from the Belles, Audra could see no reason to deviate from that part of the story. “My friend is working as a nanny for a very wealthy, very handsome guy. He just got custody of his nephew and he has absolutely no baby skills.”
“Oh, poor guy.”
“When his brother died, my friend’s new boss also had to take control of the family business and he’s overwhelmed.”
Belle shook her head. “Wow.”
“So you think he’s got a valid point when he says he’s having trouble adding the baby into his life?”
“Oh, sugar, working and parenting are both hard. Blend them together and a person’s private life is all but gone.” Bell leaned her elbow on the conference table and placed her chin on her closed fist. “That’s probably why he’s flirty. He misses going out.”
“Yes, I think that’s part of it.” Audra squirmed on her seat. “But my friend also tells me that she and her boss have a lot of chemistry.”
