Campaign for Love (18 page)

 

 

Suzanna had planned on an early dinner so that she'd have time to
organize any last minute details for the location trip for F. F.
Cosmetics. She and Quentin would be leaving right from the office
the
very next day.

 

 

An early dinner meant that the turkey had to be in the oven by ten.
She
looked at her watch and saw she was running right on schedule.

 

 

Quentin called in from the dining room. "Suzanna, do you want to
come
and take a look to see if I've forgotten anything?"

 

 

"Okay. In a second," she called back. She put the last skewer into
the
neck and body cavities to contain the dressing, and put the turkey
in
the oven.

 

 

Then she went to the dining room. "That's beautiful!" she exclaimed.
"I
couldn't have done it better myself."

 

 

"What else do you want a hand with?"

 

 

"The turkey is just in, but we will still need to do the pumpkin for
pumpkin pie, and the corn on the cob and the salad."

 

 

"Fine, anything you want, I'll do it."

 

 

"Er, not quite anything, as we agreed."

 

 

He laughed. "No, you're right, not quite anything. I have a feeling
I
am going to regret that bargain."

 

 

She grinned at him and led the way by the hand to the kitchen. She
took
out the greens for the salad, and they collaborated on cutting and
slicing. Quentin also prepared the rutabagas and Suzanna put them on
to
cook. Then they attacked the pumpkin, which was going to be turned
into
pie and soup with the help of her food processor.

 

 

"What time is everyone coming?"

 

 

"They are meant to be here at two, for dinner at three. That will
give
enough time for the turkey to stand, and you will carve for me,
won't
you?"

 

 

"Of course I will. So let's see, lots of vegetables. Anything else?"

 

 

"The potatoes are going to be mashed, and I have some for roasting
in
the pan as well, and then there are the sweet potatoes."

 

 

"You look like you're ready for an army. Is there anything else I
can
do now?"

 

 

"How are you on pie crusts?"

 

 

"Not so hot. But would you like me to get the drinks ready now?"

 

 

"Yes, I think that's a good idea. They'll be blended and nice and
cold.
I'm going to make up a few simple hors d'oeuvres, then I'll get us
each
a sandwich to tide us over until it's all ready."

 

 

"We can have a Bloody Mary apiece with our lunch."

 

 

"Great."

 

 

It was one by the time they had got all the snacks and drinks ready,
and they took their light repast into the living room, turned on TV
to
watch some of the holiday specials, as well as the ads. They put
their
feet up on a couple of ottomans and relaxed, occasionally commenting
on
the competition's commercials.

 

 

At one point, Quentin remarked, "A lot of people I know would find
me
in this scene of domesticity hard to believe."

 

 

"A lot of my friends would find it highly suspicious too," answered
Suzy. "Especially Jerry, if he should happen to arrive a bit early,
which wouldn't be too unusual considering the length of time I've
known
him."

 

 

"'Hone soit qui mal y pense,' or words to that effect."

 

 

"That's not fair. Evil to him who thinks evil hardly applies to
Jerry.
I don't think he's ever had an evil thought in his life. But finding
you here before anyone else, and in an apron too, indicates a degree
of
familiarity, after all."

 

 

"Do you want me to leave and come back?"

 

 

"Now you're being silly. Of course I don't. I was just thinking that
it
might be the perfect way to make him more receptive to Sharon. "

 

 

"If he does get here early, what do we talk about?"

 

 

Suzanna thought about it for a minute, then said, "I think we'd
better
start with the day at F. F. Cosmetics. He's going to be surprised to
see me out of my disguise. We can talk about that and about our
upcoming location trip to the Bahamas."

 

 

"I just realized, Barry may or may not notice the difference,
depending
on how wrapped up he is in Elsa. I hope he doesn't notice."

 

 

She winked at him, and went back into the kitchen to baste the
turkey
and prepare the gravy and the sweet potatoes, which they were going
to
have in a casserole with apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

 

 

"Don't tell me you're going to put marshmallows on top. Then I
really
will have died and gone to heaven."

 

 

"I had my doubts, since some people might find it a bit sweet, but
if
you like it so much, sprinkle away."

 

 

"I tell you what, we'll put it on one half, and only put them on
just
before it is ready, so they don't get too brown."

 

 

"You're more domesticated than you let on, after all," she said with
a
grin.

 

 

"It's just common sense. I learnt that making s'mores at camp."

 

 

At two o'clock, Suzy finished wiping down the counter and said, "If
you'd like to go home to tidy yourself up and change, you can go
now."

 

 

"I've brought everything with me," he said, going to retrieve the
small
duffle bag he had brought with him. "I'll just head into the
bathroom
and wash up. Then it can be your turn."

 

 

As luck would have it, Quentin was ready and back in the living
room,
and Suzanna had just gone in to dress when the bell rang.

 

 

Quentin asked who was there, and when he heard, "Jerry White," he
answered, "I'm Quentin Pierce. Suzanna's busy. Come on up."

 

 

From her bedroom, Suzanna heard Quentin invite Jerry in. Quentin
explained his presence easily.

 

 

"I came early to see if I could help. I did it once before when
Suzanna
put on a rather important dinner for a new client, making use of
several of his products in ways he'd never heard of. "

 

 

"That sounds like Suzanna. She's one of the most intelligent women
I've
ever known."

 

 

"She's told me you're good friends. Tonight you'll meet a couple of
her
more recent acquaintances. One is Barry Jarvis, advertising
representative of Imperial Foods, the client I mentioned."

 

 

Jerry looked surprised. "Is this another business dinner, then?"

 

 

"No indeed. Tonight he was invited by Suzanna's friend Elsa. I
believe
you know her?"

 

 

"Yes, I've known Elsa as long as I have Suzanna, but I've never
heard
of Barry Jarvis. "

 

 

"That may be because Elsa just met him recently, at that business
dinner I mentioned."

 

 

Just at that point, Suzanna came through the door in a burnt
orange-colored woolen dress. It had long, full sleeves, and nipped
in
her waist before flowing down over her feminine hips. She had put
gold
jewellery at her throat and ear lobes. Her hair rippled to her
shoulders in shimmering waves that looked almost russet.

 

 

Jerry and Quentin both rose to their feet at the same time.

 

 

"Suzanna!" Jerry was the first to speak. "I don't know what I
expected,
but hardly this. What happened to your disguise? You're a good month
ahead of schedule, aren't you?"

 

 

Suzanna shot a glance toward Quentin. "It's a long story, and a
strange
one. I think I'll let Quentin tell you all about it. He was there.
In
the meantime, I'll get into an apron and check on dinner. "

 

 

She made good her escape as she heard Quentin start to relate the
events leading up to her 'discovery'. Suzanna fervently hoped that
Quentin wouldn't tell the part about having to strip. It was
entirely
too personal a detail for her liking.

 

 

By the time Suzanna had put the plum pudding to steam and mashed and
seasoned the rutabagas, the story had been told. When Suzanna went
back
to the living room, Jerry got to his feet, gave her a hug and a kiss
on
the cheek and said, "Congratulations. You were an excellent choice.
Lucky for them you came along at the right time. You ought to sell
lots
of cosmetics for them. So, what happens next?"

 

 

Suzanna looked slightly embarrassed, while Quentin was trying,
unsuccessfully, to repress a smile.

 

 

"Oh, I didn't get to the best part yet, " said Quentin. "Suzanna
gets a
trip to the Bahamas on location for Femme Fatale Cosmetics. And
since
she was already scheduled to go anyway as a representative of Elder
and
Rubin, it means she'll be making twice as much money."

 

 

"That sounds fabulous," said Jerry. "Who else is going?"

 

 

"All sorts of people," said Quentin. "There will be at least two
cameramen, a photographer and a video man, Bruce the makeup man, and
Candy Barr, the woman who spotted her talent, and possibly a
wardrobe
woman. And of course I'll be going too."

 

 

At this, Jerry's face became a battleground of mixed emotions.

 

 

Suzanna was saved by the bell, which announced the arrival of
Sharon.
She looked gorgeous in a black velvet coat with a fake silver fur
collar and hood.

 

 

When Suzy took her coat, she was delighted to see that Sharon looked
lovelier than she'd ever seen her. She was dressed in jet black
velvet,
fitted and with a deep plunging neckline that showed off her
alabaster
skin to perfection. Her red hair was like a living flame as it
caught
the light from the lamps and brought out the sapphire blue of her
eyes.

 

 

It had been the perfect time for her entrance, for Jerry did not get
to
say anything about the trip to the Bahamas--he was too busy staring
at
Sharon.

 

 

Sharon's eyes gave a flicker of surprise as she saw her boss rise to
greet her.

 

 

"Good evening, Mr. Pierce," she murmured.

 

 

"Good evening, Ms. Welsh," he replied.

 

 

Sharon turned to Jerry to be introduced, and really saw him for the
first time.

 

 

Suzy smiled to herself as she saw Sharon's face take on new
animation.
Her cheeks developed a rosy glow, and her whole expression came
alive.

 

 

Suzy could tell that Jerry was impressed in spite of himself. After
the
conventional, "How do you do?" Jerry said, "I hope you don't mind my
mentioning it but your hair is closer to being real red than any
I've
ever seen. And it's not out of a bottle!"

 

 

Sharon smiled. "I don't mind at all, but if you had said that to me
twenty years ago, you probably would have had your nose bloodied. I
told Suzanna when we first met that it took me a long time to learn
to
live with it. "

 

 

The doorbell rang again for the arrival of Elsa and Barry. As they
came
in amid a flurry of greetings, they remarked on the savory aromas
coming from the kitchen, and everyone agreed it was a meal they had
been looking forward to ever since she had invited them.

 

 

When the introductions were completed all around, Quentin poured the
drinks and Suzanna put out the hors d'oeuvres around the living room
for people to help themselves.

 

 

As it turned out, Barry did notice the change in Suzanna. "What have
you done to yourself, Suzanna? You look so different."

 

 

Barry was told the whole story right from the beginning, and at the
end
of it he laughed. "Now I can understand your amusement the day we
went
to lunch. You sure fooled us all. But I still think you'll do
equally
well on products that aren't female-oriented."

 

 

After that the conversation became more general and quite lively. It
was a congenial group, and it would have been difficult to find a
handsomer one outside of central casting, Suzy thought as she looked
around.

 

 

By the time they sat down to the delicious dinner Suzy had prepared,
they were all on a first-name basis and acting like old friends.

 

 

As they ate their way through course after perfect course with a
bone
dry white wine as accompaniment, even Jerry, who had been out of
sorts
at the beginning of the evening, mellowed.

 

 

When they got to dessert, all six decided to have a little of each
sweet. Everyone proclaimed the dinner a huge success.

 

 

"Don't just thank me," Suzy said with a warm smile at Quentin. "I
did
have a wonderful helper."

 

 

He returned the smile, their eyes meeting intimately across the room
as
they sat at the opposite ends of the table playing host and hostess.

 

 

Then they retired to the living room for espresso, and once more
Suzanna was prevailed upon to play. This time, everyone sang,
starting
with "Over the River and Through the Woods."

 

 

The evening flew past, and by nine o'clock everyone was ready to
leave.
They all had to get up early for work the next day, and Suzanna had
to
clean up, then finish packing.

 

 

They all offered to help, but Suzanna refused all offers but one,
explaining, "Quentin is used to it. He's done it before."