Lucky Charm (15 page)

Over the course of the next two weeks
,
Jeremy continued to find his way into Annabel’s thoughts much more frequently than she would have liked
. S
till, she thought that she had found a balance of sorts and was content with her new routine.

She would work until eight or nine at night
. A
fterwards, she would order takeout in the quietness of her apartment and consume her solitary dinner in front of the
TV, watching her favorites, such as
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
and
Working Girl
.

With the exception of one shopping trip, she had managed to dodge Lilly’s attempts to get her out of the house, and somehow even
had
convinced her mother that she was doing just fine. She was getting used to her quiet evenings and would prefer to have one just like it tonight, except for the fact that it was Friday
and
the dreaded day of Stephen Vargas’s club opening.

“I assume I’ll see you at the party tonight, Ann?” Paige inquired. It was three in the afternoon, and Paige was leaving for the day, her Chanel sunglasses in one hand and her Birkin purse in the other.

“Yes, I’ll be there.” Annabel nodded.

“Excellent.” Paige nodded in approval.

“Stephen invited me as well,” Janine cut in
. S
he had overheard the conversation in the hallway and decided to invite herself to the chat.

“Has he?” Paige’s eyebrows rose in surprise, and Annabel could tell that her boss was not pleased. “That’s very generous of Mr. Vargas. Very well
. I
t will be the whole crew, then
.
By the way, Annabel, Stephen is very happy with the work you did. I was on the phone with him the other day and he said that he’d be recommending the agency to everyone he knows. That’s the kind of effort that I’ve been talking about
. T
his kind of work will put us on the map in a big way.”

“Thanks
,
Paige.” Out of the corner of her eye
,
Annabel could see Janine’s cheeks turning pink with envy. Well, what did you know? Hard work did get noticed after all.

“Walk me to the elevator, Ann.” With
a
wave of her hand
,
Paige made it clear that the invitation was not being extended to Janine. “Why don’t you leave early tonight so that you c
an
get ready for Stephen’s party?” Paige suggested. “Janine can watch the fort.”

While Annabel looked for a polite way to say that Janine wouldn’t be caught dead
“
watching the fort,
”
Paige beat her to it.

“It’s Friday afternoon
. W
e don’t have any client meetings lined up, and I guarantee you there won’t be any prospects coming in out of the blue. By the way, I want you to know that I’m on to that girl
. Y
ou may think that I turn a blind eye, but just because I don’t say it
,
doesn’t mean that I don’t see it
.
I notice everything. I hired her as a favor to a friend of mine, but it’s beginning to look like Janine has exhausted her credit. If she keeps going on like this, she’ll be out on her blond ass in no time.”

Finally, some justice in this world
, Annabel thought,
doing her best to conceal a smile
.

“How are you holding up? Everything
okay
?” Paige’s glance skimmed over Annabel’s left hand, but her expression remained neutral
. W
hen she wanted to, Paige could rival any poker player.

“Everything is fine, thanks,” Annabel started
. S
he did not exactly feel like pouring out her soul to her boss, but then Paige knew about the wedding (was
,
in fact
,
expecting her invitation in the mail), and Annabel would have to tell her boss that there would be no wedding sooner or later
. N
ow was as good a time as any. “Jeremy and I broke up. I’ve been meaning to tell you that the wedding is off
. Y
ou won’t be getting an invitation after all.”

Paige’s eyebrows rose almost as high as her hairline. “Why didn’t you tell me? I guessed that something was wrong with you staying late every night, but I had no idea…Do you want to talk about it?”

The one thing that Annabel did not want to do was talk about it
. D
uring the past weeks, she had been rehashing her break
up with Jeremy with her mom, Lilly, and all of her other friends who had been calling her nonstop since the news spread, and she certainly did not want to repeat the process with her boss.

“You know, I hope that you don’t think of me as just your boss, Ann
.
I hope that you think of me as your friend, too.” Paige was looking at her intently. “So any time you feel like talking, about anything, just let me know,
okay
?”

“Thanks
,
Paige, but I’m fine, really. I appreciate your concern, though.”

“All right, then. I know better than to pry, but just remember that my offer will always be open.”

Annabel did her best to appear grateful. She
liked Paige
. S
he was fair (as
fair as a boss could be) and working for her allowed more leniency than working for a bigger agency. However, she would much rather talk to Paige about her long overdue raise than her broken heart.

The
elevator doors opened.
Saved by the bell
, Annabel thought as she watched Paige tread gingerly into the elevator in her four-inch Louboutin heels.

“See you at the party tonight
,
” Paige called out from behind the closing doors.

See you there, Annabel thought, feeling the onset of panic as the unavoidable reality of the upcoming evening settled in. Up until now
,
she had been harboring a hope of escape
. T
rue, she
ha
d promise
d
Lilly she would go, but she still clung to the possibility of shirking Lilly off by making up some crazy excuse and barricading herself in her apartment
. N
ow her fate was sealed. Short of losing her job, she could not blow off her boss
. O
nce Paige Martin told you to be somewhere, she expected you to be there.

“So, what are you going to wear to the party, Ann?” Janine asked as soon as Annabel walked back into the office.

“Something simple and classy,” Annabel replied. She had been to her share of client events and had several simple evening dresses that she always opted for: dressy enough, yet conservative to make it clear that she was all business and no nonsense.

“Good call.” The perplexed expression on Janine’s face made it clear that the concept was entirely foreign to her.

“A black sheath or something like that,” Annabel elaborated more out of concern for Paige than for Janine
. S
he did not want her boss to freak out upon seeing Janine strutting in one of her barely there outfits. The reason why Annabel happened to be privy to Janine’s fashion taste was that Janine had on several occasions boasted
of
the
“
treasures
”
she had
“
snatched
”
on sample sales, and her choice of evening wear was even more daring than the skimpy outfits she wore during the day. “Paige will be there
. R
emember that this is not just a social outing
. W
e represent the agency,” Annabel added.

“I’ll wear something simple too. Simple, but sexy,” Janine added, her eyes lighting up with the prospect of another shopping spree. “Hey, I was wondering, with Paige gone and all, would you mind if I snuck out early?”

“It’s not my call to make
. Y
ou should ask Paige.” Noticing Janine’s eyes narrowing, Annabel added, “I’m not going to tell on you, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Great, thanks! You are the best!”

Somehow Annabel knew that Janine was not being sincere. Still, smooth talk was better than outright hostility, and Paige was perfectly capable of supervising her employees.

The party started at eleven, but the invite Annabel had also included the pre
-
opening party that
started at ten o’clock. By nine-
thirty
,
Annabel was dressed and ready to go. She chose her Calvin Klein black sheath that hit two inches above the knee, showing just enough leg that she cared to expose to Stephen Vargas and the people who were going to be at his club. Annabel completed the look with silver stiletto heels that Lilly
had
talked her into buying a few days ago and a silver clutch. Her makeup was light and tasteful, and she had spent extra time blow-drying her newly-cut hair. Overall she was pleased
. S
he looked dressy enough for a client outing without being overtly sexy
,
precisely the effect she was going for.

The Vargas Club was located in the
m
eatp
acking district
,
a good twenty-minute
ride from Annabel’s apartment. H
er cell phone rang, telling her that the car service had arrived. She grabbed her purse and headed out the door, carefully making her way down the stairs in her new heels.

After repeating the directions to the driver, Annabel leaned back into the car seat, wishing she could relax. She could not remember the last time she had been to a club or out dancing
. I
t was definitely before she
had
met Jeremy
,
who shared her dislike of loud music and dark spaces
.
A
t least that was what he told her when they were together. He also told her that he hated champagne, but that did not stop him from enjoying the drink with Athena. For all she knew
,
Jeremy could be out at some hot spot this very moment, grinding the night away with his new Amazon-like lover.

Must not think about him
, Annabel reminded herself. Over the past few weeks these words had become her mantra, an incantation she repeated to herself in times of emotional weakness
. A
s much as she wanted to believe that the number of occasions that she would need to invoke it would go down in time eventually, so far there had been no change.

As Annabel paid the carfare, she could spot a large crowd in front of the Vargas nightclub. She got out of the car and made her way to the entrance. Four imposing guards in black suits along with three model-like hostesses dressed in shiny, skimpy dresses flanked the door
. T
he sight instantly reminded Annabel of how back in the days of high school and early college, Lilly would negotiate their way into clubs. Even now, despite the invitation that she held in her hand, Annabel wished she could relegate this task to her friend.

“Ms. Green, right this way, please.” One of the guards held back the velvet curtain as the platinum blond hostess checked Annabel’s name off the list.

Once inside
,
Annabel made her way down the winding corridor into the main hall
. T
he lighting was sketchy, and she had to take care not to bump into bizarre metal decorations that were protruding from the walls at all kinds of angles. Despite the huge crowd outside, it was still quite empty inside, and she w
o
ndered if she had arrived too early
. P
unctuality did not always work to one’s advantage
. I
f there was anything that she hated more than being stuck in dark, crowded spaces with blasting music, it was sitting all alone by the bar.

She and Lilly had agreed to meet by the bar, but Annabel did not spot her friend in the scant, snooty-looking crowd by the bar
. N
or did she see Paige or Janine
. A
pparently they had decided to make an entrance at a more fashionable hour. She took a seat by the bar, feeling the hard, metal surface of the bar stool against her bottom
. T
he décor was cutting edge, but comfort clearly was not its purpose. A bartender in tight black jeans and
a
black T-shirt that hugged his bulging torso muscles closer than
a
second skin, asked her what she wanted to drink
. S
he opted for vodka and cranberry (light on vodka, heavy on the cranberry)
, which was
her go
-
to drink during client events.