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He did. Well. Heusuallydid. He cleared his throat and said, “Just give me a heads up, okay? I’d appreciate it.”
She nodded her head. “Of course, sir. Will that be all?”
“Yes.” She started to leave and he stopped her, “Actually, that mail clerk. What’s his name?”
“Curtis?’
“Right. I’m not interested in speaking to him again. If he should ask for me, I’m in a meeting. Do you understand?”
“Yes, of course, sir.”
He dismissed her. After she was gone, he leaned back in his chair and clicked on the video he was watching before all the noise came tracking its feet through his office. He did have a meeting, but he thought he would skip it today. He was more interested in learning about marbles…
Chapter Thirteen Stella
Stella looked at herself in the dress that Richard sent. It was the night of the party and an hour ago, she looked at the dress and wondered if it was going to fit her. She hadn’t told Richard her size. She should have tried it on before that night. If it needed to be taken in or out, she didn’t have time to have that done.
But now that she was wearing it, she was thankful for how beautiful it looked on her. It fit perfectly, accentuating her curves and highlighting the best parts of her shapely body. She put her hair up in a dozen curls on top of her head and her makeup was done. She had to admit it, she was going to wow all the people at the party.
Most importantly, she was going to wow Richard. Not that she cared. She kept telling herself that she didn’t care what she thought about him. This was a business arrangement after all. It was silly of her to think of it as anything more.
Speaking of which…she walked away from the mirror and went to the ‘fun fact’ binder on her bed and thumbed through it. With the binder along with talking and texting Richard over the past couple of weeks, she felt like she had enough information to get through the dinner. She hoped she did, anyway. She didn’t know what it was going to be like being in a room full of high society types. If the truth were to be known, Stella only wanted everyone to believe she was one of them. If she accomplished that much, then maybe the rest wouldn’t be so bad.
Stella was brought out of her worried thoughts with a text message. It was Richard. He was waiting outside in the car.
You could have come up, she thought, then she dismissed it as soon as she thought it. Given that the last couple of times they were alone ended up in sex, it was probably better that he didn’t come up.
When she got down to the street, he was standing outside of the car pacing impatiently. As soon as she stepped through the doors and he saw her, he stopped and stared at her, his mouth open and his eyes wide. She smiled back at him and she thought he saw him start to smile back. He cleared his throat and looked away, however, and said, “It’s about time.”
She scoffed. “It wasn’t that long. Besides, it’s worth the wait, don’t you think?”
She walked up to him. He looked good night. The suit he was wearing hung off his broad shoulders and tapered into his fit body perfectly. He smelled really good, too.
He opened the back door of the car and she thanked him and got in. As soon as he was in, he told the driver where they were going, then turned to Stella.
“We should run through your background again,” he said. “There might be people there that will know your…family, per se. We need to make sure that you’re prepared.”
“I’m a distant cousin,” she responded. “How much do I really have to know beyond the basics?”
He paused, then, “You do remember the basics, right?”
She sighed. “I’m Stella Durand, cousin to Lily and Teller Durand. My mother was Sterling Durand’s half-sister from his father’s second marriage. I’ve visited them a few times as a child, but otherwise, I’m pretty far removed from the family. They don’t even really talk about me. Satisfied?” she said. He nodded in acceptance of her very thorough and very correct answer.
“I just want to be sure, that’s all,” he said.”
“You’re being ridiculous,” she said. “I can handle this, Richard.”
He took in a deep breath and looked out the window. “I sincerely hope so.”
They drove for a while, reaching the outer limits of the city in about forty-five minutes. Stella found herself watching the landscape change from the busy city to the gated communities outside of the city. She looked over at Richard, whose face had changed to a stern frown.
“So, your stepmother lives all the way out here?” Stella asked.
“My father lived out here,” he corrected. “Rebecca’s unfortunately still living in his house. Hopefully, that’ll change soon.”
Stella frowned a little. He seemed determined to keep this Rebecca from his father’s fortune…even though it sounded a little too late for it.
“It would be easier if you were really engaged,” she said. “Then all that would need to happen is to get married. I’m surprised someone like you never found someone.”
