wanting to say the rest, but when Charlotte moved her hand

  in a rolling motion to keep her going, she realized it was

  either lie or refuse. Neither of those options appealed to her

  when Charlotte smiled at her like that. “Any other year or

  circumstance would make me think it was slipping away like

  sand through my fingers, but now it’s different.”

  “Different how?” Charlotte started the coffee and moved

  to stand a foot from her.

  “You’re kind of nosy. You know that?”

  Charlotte laughed and took her hand again. “Come on.

  You know you’re dying to tell me.”

  “For one, there’s Rueben and how he’s handled this.” She

  combed her hair back and sighed. “I go up there every day

  and pour my heart out, but it’s like he’s not hearing me. It’s

  weird not having him here almost anticipating my every

  move and need, but still having him here. It’s like looking at

  a ghost. He’s my business partner, but I can’t get him past

  this, and it’s bugging the hell out of me.”

  “What else?” Charlotte tugged on her hand as if

  challenging her to finish.

  “Like I said, this year’s different, so as bad as I feel for

  not being able to reach Ruby, your being here is…” She

  didn’t know how to finish.

  “Do you want to know what I think?” Charlotte took her

  other hand and stepped even closer. “You’re having fun, and

  because he isn’t, it’s making you feel a little guilty. That’s

  normal, but keep reminding yourself how long it’s been

  since you had a good time. I might be selfish, but I happen

  to be enjoying this, and Sawyer thinks you’re the coolest

  person alive.”

  “I am the coolest person alive, but I must not be giving

  you enough to do if you like me that much,” she said, and

  Charlotte moaned at the bad joke before letting her go and

  pouring their coffee. She did it even though Ellis had told

  her repeatedly it wasn’t necessary. “But since you seem to

  adore and idolize me, want to help me with something?”

  “We’ll have to get you a sling to hold up that big head of

  yours first, but let’s hear it. What do you have in mind?”

  “I have someone coming over today from a nationally

  syndicated morning show, so we have to set up a fashion

  show in the next couple of days.” Sigrid had come through

  after a few calls they’d shared, so several A-list models were

  on their way South to pull it off.

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “The girls should be here late tonight, so in the morning

  we need you to work with Opal to get all the fittings done,”

  Amis said, coming in to kiss Charlotte’s cheek first, then

  Ellis’s. “Where’s my favorite artist?”

  “She stayed up to tweak her leopard, so she’s sleeping in

  this morning. Do you need me to do anything else?”

  “Trust me. You’ll be up to your ass in naked women

  looking for something to wear, so don’t ask for anything else

  to do.” Ellis shrugged and spread her hands out when both

  women groaned. “What?”

  “Nothing, chéri.” Amis patted her on the stomach, then

  faced Charlotte. “You and Opal take care of all the fittings

  with the team, and I’m going to look for a venue. We worked

  hard on this line, damn it, so we might as well make

  something out of it.”

  “Let’s see if you can do with all but a few people, so we

  can keep working on the new line.”

  “Charlotte and I will handle it, so get back to work,” Amis

  said, and Ellis noticed the sky was starting to lighten

  outside.

  “Good. Let me go get ready for my meeting.” She took

  her cup and headed for her bedroom and a shower, but

  stopped first at Rueben’s door. His lights were still off, at

  least she couldn’t see any under the door, but she heard the

  television set on. The room had been quiet when she went

  down, so she knocked. She needed to talk to him after her

  conversation with Charlotte.

  “Ruby, you awake?” She spoke softly and stepped back

  when he came to the door. It was a shock to not only see

  him up but dressed and ready. “Hey, you look great.”

  “I got tired of feeling sorry for myself.” He waved her into

  the now-neat room she was used to seeing. “So I decided to

  listen to you in that you don’t blame me.”

  “I don’t, and I’m glad you believe me. I missed you.”

  He smiled as he put his shoes on, then grabbed his book.

  “Hopefully we’re not too far behind because of my being an

  asshole.”

  “Charlotte has picked up the slack, so don’t worry about

  it. In fact, she’s turned out to be a really good pick, so

  thanks for choosing her to be one of the finalists.” She saw

  that he was ready so she got out of his way. “She has her

  list of things to do, so check in, and I’ll be down in a bit.”

  “Check in with the intern, you mean?” he said and

  laughed.

  “We’ve got some major stuff coming up in the next few

  days, so yeah. I have a meeting this morning, and we need

  to get going.” She walked out before they ended up right

  back where they’d been for the last weeks if they had

  another argument.

  Rueben was her best friend and a phenomenal part of her

  business, but every so often he could act like an infant. She

  couldn’t blame him since she had done so on occasion, but

  never when they were under the gun like this.

  She stepped into the shower after slamming her door and

  stood in the spray for a long while before she reached for

  the shampoo. It was a way to calm down and be her best

  when she met with the anchor from the nationally

  syndicated show. If she pulled this off, she might be able to

  bring both lines to market. Doubling down would hopefully

  make Jennifer and Dalton eat the bible they’d stolen a page

  at a time because, after this, that’d be all it was good for.

  “And if you do, I hope you choke on it, you bastards.”

  * * *

  Benson Norwood glanced up from his screen when he

  heard someone clear their throat. When he saw Jennifer and

  his publisher standing in his doorway, he wished he’d called

  in sick since he recognized his boss’s expression. Whatever

  crap Jennifer was giving him, Benson would take the brunt

  of the blame.

  “Just wanted to say hello, Benson, and to wish you good

  luck on your article,” Jennifer said as she waggled her

  fingers at him before disappearing.

  “My article?” he asked.

  Raymond Nixon looked more like an old newspaper man

  than the publisher of a fashion magazine, but his mother

  had started the business years before and taught him the

  ropes. Even after all that time the publication still made a

  good bit of money since it concentrated more on the

  gossipy part of fashion and its main players than the actual

  clothes. So Raymond came to work every day in his wrinkled

  shirts with stained collars and armpits, and his polyester

  pants. He knew this was no Vogue, but he didn’t want it to

  be.

  “You still have the entire bible, right?” Raymond asked,

  dropping into his visitor’s chair like someone had shot him.

  “I would’ve given it back by now, but Jennifer refused to

  take it.” He opened the file drawer and dropped it onto the

  corner of his desk. “If the cops arrive, I’m sure I’ll be taking

  the fall for her and Dalton.”

  “It’s more like you’ll be writing the article that’ll go with

  these sketches. We go to print tomorrow and distribution in

  two days, so drop whatever you’re doing and get this done.

  This will be our largest print to date, so don’t let me down.”

  Raymond flipped through the book and stopped on a few

  pages, nodding as if in approval of what he saw.

  “What changed your mind? When I took it to you, you

  said we couldn’t afford the lawsuit.” He reached for his

  notebook and jotted down which sketches Raymond seemed

  to like the most. His story could start with those.

  “You brought it to me because you were afraid of this.”

  Raymond threw a jump drive at him, and it hit him in the

  chest since he didn’t move fast enough to catch it. “She

  swore that’s the original file and there aren’t any other

  copies.”

  “With all due respect, sir, you must not know that viper

  very well. There aren’t any other copies until she needs

  another hatchet job done on someone.”

  “I traded her that for the promise to destroy the video of

  her and Dalton giving you this.” Raymond laid his hand on

  the bible.

  “There isn’t a video of that.” He glanced around the room

  in case he’d missed some sort of surveillance equipment.

  “That bitch doesn’t know a lot of things, but she’s easier

  to deal with if you play along like she’s the smartest person

  you ever met.”

  “So we’re printing it?”

  “The whole thing is going in, so write up something about

  the unnamed source that brought it to you. Just don’t

  mention anything about theft.”

  Benson wrote that down as well, but something didn’t

  feel right about all this. “What’s the pitch then? Someone

  simply brought us this for no reason?”

  Raymond shook his head and frowned. “We got it. Our

  source wanted to show the disarray within the Renois house,

  and no one knows if Ellis can recover. The question will be if

  she can get her shit together so close to Fashion Week.”

  “If I quote an unnamed source I’m out of the woods if

  Ellis comes after me? You know how she is. Ellis will beat the

  crap out of you if you cross her, and she’ll do it without ever

  throwing a punch.”

  “I haven’t always been a good blocker for you, but trust

  me on this one. Write it and you’ll be fine.” Raymond

  slapped his hand on the book and left, taking the stench of

  cigarettes and coffee with him.

  “Yeah, you got my back until the shit starts raining down

  on us. Then you’ll step on me to get somewhere to cover

  your ass.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Ellis put on a light-colored linen suit with a white shirt,

  wanting to look professional but stay as cool as possible.

  The producer she was meeting asked her to pick a place, so

  she’d made reservations at the Piquant’s breakfast

  restaurant, which was outside.

  She dropped a small notebook into her jacket pocket,

  with a pen, in case something popped into her head. All she

  needed to do was hopefully get three segments so they

  could show the entire lineup. The knock on her bedroom

  door made her drop her keys and wallet to answer it, and

  she smiled when she saw Sawyer.

  “I hear you finished your canvas,” she said, hugging the

  little girl. “When I get back we’ll go down and take a look,

  but I’m sure it’s wonderful. I’m really proud of you.”

  “Will you be gone all day?”

  “Hopefully not. If I’m nice enough, maybe this woman I’m

  going to see will give me everything I want right away.” She

  loaded her pockets with everything she needed and put on

  the vintage watch Amis had given her as a gift after her first

  show.

  “I’ll see you later then,” Sawyer said with what sounded

  like a bit of dejection.

  “My mom’s waiting for you to see if you’ll help her out

  today, and if I didn’t have to work, I’d tag along.” She

  placed her hand on Sawyer’s shoulder and gently squeezed.

  “You okay?”

  “Think later I can talk to you about something?”

  “Sure,” she said, thinking that if Jennifer and Dalton could

  find a way to get Sawyer to ask her to forgive them, she’d

  do it. “Come find me when I get home.”

  “Wow, you look great,” Charlotte said from the top of the

  steps, holding her hand out to Sawyer. “And I was wondering

  where you’d run off to.”

  “Thank you, and Sawyer’s going with Mama, if that’s

  okay with you,” Ellis said as she pointed them all down the

  stairs. “Let me get going before I’m late.”

  Charlotte and Sawyer wished Ellis luck and stood in the

  doorway until she pulled out. “Feel like breakfast?” Charlotte

  asked, her arm around Sawyer’s shoulders.

  “Sure.” Sawyer sounded listless and sad, but Charlotte

  didn’t need to ask why.

  Kyle had called again the night before, and she’d thought

  Sawyer was asleep so she’d closed herself in her bedroom

  to deal with him. He’d gone from wanting Sawyer brought

  back to New York to wanting full custody because now his

  father and mother were back together. Since he still lived

  with them, it would, in his and his attorney’s opinion,

  provide a more stable environment for Sawyer. That had

  made her lose it, and she glanced up to find Sawyer in her

  room looking terrified.

  “Let’s go back to our place and get some pancakes.”

  “Miss Amis is waiting for me,” Sawyer said, acting almost

  panicked, as if she’d disappoint or be left behind.

  “She wants you to eat something so she’s not leaving

  without you.”

  When they got back to the guesthouse, Sawyer dropped

  into one of the stools and rested her chin on her hands. “Just

  toast is good, Mom. I’m not that hungry.”

  She put the griddle pan down and stood across from

  Sawyer at the island counter. “Do you want to talk about it?”

  “Do I have to go?” Sawyer’s eyes filled with tears that

  stubbornly wouldn’t fall, and the sight caused a real pain in

  Charlotte’s chest. “I know he’s my dad and all, but I don’t

  want to go. Grandma says really mean stuff about you, and I

  think she doesn’t like me.”

  Charlotte quickly came around the counter and put her

  arms around Sawyer, devastated that she couldn’t protect

  her kid from the people who should love her. “No. You know

  I’m going to always fight to keep you with me. I love you,

  and it’ll be me and you until you’re ready to fly away from

  me.”

  “Please, I don’t want to go.” Sawyer started sobbing so

  she held her tighter.

  Hopefully what Ellis had offered wasn’t an empty promise

  said only to be nice. “You’re not going anywhere, I promise,

  so don’t worry about it. All that counts here is what you

  want.”

  “I want to stay with you,” Sawyer said, almost in a wail.

  Charlotte glanced up when the door opened and Amis

  came in, most probably because she’d heard Sawyer.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Amis’s question only made Sawyer cry harder, so Amis

  put her hands on Sawyer’s shoulders. She knew that, like

  Ellis, Amis had genuine affection for Sawyer. “I heard from

  Kyle again, and Sawyer overheard me.”

  Ellis had asked if she could tell her mother what was

  going on, so she knew she didn’t have to give a complex

  explanation. “Go get your things, chéri,” Amis said, using

  the nickname she used for Ellis. “I’d like you to come help

  me get a surprise for Ellis.”

  Sawyer left to gather her things, almost dragging her

  feet, and Charlotte considered keeping her for the day, but

  she needed to talk to Ellis, preferably alone. “I’m sorry

  about that. Sawyer’s usually so even-keeled, no matter

  what.”

  “Don’t apologize. Just tell me what happened.” Amis

  faced the direction Sawyer had walked off in, as if watching

  so as not to subject her to another uncomfortable

  conversation.

  Charlotte gave her the short version of what Kyle had

  threatened, which was if she didn’t bring Sawyer back, then

  he’d sue her for custody. If she did, he’d drop everything. All

  he wanted was Sawyer away from Ellis. It was the strangest

  thing, since Kyle had no idea who anyone outside the sports

  world was, so she was rather shocked that he was so

  familiar with Ellis.

  “I feel like giving in will only make it worse going forward.

  Give in once and give in always, my mom likes to say.”

  “Tonight we’ll let Ellis deal with Sawyer, and you and I will

  share a drink. I’ll tell you about Ellis’s father. No one can

  advise you about what’s the best step for you, but listening

  might help you move forward.” Amis put her hand up

  quickly, then opened her arms to Sawyer, who’d just walked