What a Rich Woman Wants (11 page)

Chapter Eleven

The moment Mitch took up residence in the guest house, it seemed to Lesley that she, Lita and Mitzi had breathed a collective sigh of relief. He'd begun dropping off and picking up Ricky from school. Mitch had no children, but it was obvious Mitch would have made a great father by the way he treated Ricky. They became pals just as easily as Ricky and Niko had. Mitch was more available, however, since he lived on the premises, so he and Ricky often kicked the soccer ball around or built things with Ricky's Legos.

Mitch coordinated his schedule with Lita's so that one of them was always there to receive callers and deliveries. The driveway gate stayed closed otherwise.

Mitch had a habit of arriving in the kitchen after everyone else had finished breakfast. Lesley noticed her mother tended to linger after he arrived, and was secretly amused. One could hardly blame Mitzi. Even though she was married and Lesley knew her mother would remain faithful to her father, Mitzi was a woman who attracted and enjoyed male attention. Mitch was not immune to her charms, as Lesley had noticed the day she'd introduced them.

Where was the harm, she mused as she finished her coffee and brought up today's schedule on her iPad. Ricky was brushing his teeth. Lita was packing his lunch. Mitch took a seat at the table, with his travel mug full of coffee, to wait for the boy, and engaged Mitzi in idle conversation.

Lesley's ears perked up when she heard Mitzi mention the upcoming Angel Ball. “Most men avoid these events like the plague unless they have a very good reason to attend,” Mitzi told Mitch. “Like a wife who insists or a company who has a table to fill. I can't say I blame them. So many of the balls are a dead bore.”

“But they raise a lot of money for some very good causes,” Mitch said.

“Of course,” Mitzi agreed. “I just wish…” She propped her chin in one hand and gazed wistfully out the window. “Richard and I used to have such a good time, even if we were bored. We'd play games to see who at our table would make a faux pas, who'd get drunk and behave inappropriately. On the way home we'd joke about the food, the band—oh, every little thing our friends said or did.” She glanced back at Mitch. “It sounds silly, doesn't it? But it broke up the monotony and made those evenings more fun.”

“Everything's more fun when you share it with someone whose company you enjoy.”

“Yes.”

“I'm ready, Mitch,” Ricky said as he entered the kitchen, towing his backpack. Lita took it from him and loaded his lunch box inside. Mitch got up. “Bye, Lita. Bye, Missy.”

“Goodbye, my little man.” Mitzi held out her arms to Ricky for a hug.

“Bye, Mom,” he said a bit shyly to Lesley.

Lesley stood and hugged him, kissing the top of his head. “Bye, Ricky. Have a good day.”

He beamed at her. “I will.”

Lesley refilled her own coffee, glanced at her watch and returned to her seat. Mitzi gazed at her, a small smile playing around her lips. “What?” Lesley asked.

“Ricky calls you Mom now.”

Lesley fiddled with the silverware she hadn't used, then gripped the handle of her coffee cup. “We talked about it a few weeks ago.”

Mitzi waited for her to continue. Lita pretended to be busy at the sink. There were no secrets in this house anyway.

“I haven't—I'm not—I'm trying to be a better mother to him, that's all.” Lesley took a sip of her coffee and stared at her iPad. She felt ridiculous and exposed. She and Mitzi weren't close, and Lita was an employee, for all that she was considered family. Lesley couldn't imagine baring her soul to either one of them, admitting her sense of inadequacy, her struggle to get past the circumstances of Ricky's birth and love him the way he deserved.

“I think it's wonderful, darling,” Mitzi said. Lita turned from the sink and flashed Lesley a quick smile.

“Yes. Well.” She stood and picked up her coffee and her iPad. “I have a busy day.” She fled to her office. At least there she knew what she was doing. She was in her element. She didn't second-guess every decision she made. Why couldn't she be as capable in her personal life?

A few days later Mitch tapped at her open door late in the afternoon. Lesley looked up from her computer screen and, seeing who it was, smiled and beckoned him to enter. “Everything all right?” she asked as he took a seat across from her.

“Yes. Fine.” He shifted a bit in his seat.

Lesley waited, sincerely hoping Mitch wasn't about to resign. He'd fit into the family routine seamlessly. Even in the short time he'd been with them, Lesley had come to rely on him more than she'd expected.

“It's about your mother,” Mitch began.

“Is there a problem?”

“No. At least I hope not.”

Mitch squirmed a bit more. Lesley waited. She was ready to call it a day anyway. The only thing she had planned was a glass of wine before dinner. And her usual run afterward.

“The thing is, your mother asked if I'd accompany her to that Heart Ball that's coming up.”

“Oh.” Lesley could see how that might put Mitch in an awkward position. He was Lesley's employee and, by extension, Mitzi's. He probably didn't know how to turn her down without offending her or jeopardizing his position with the family. “I'll speak to her,” Lesley said. “She shouldn't have made you feel like you're required to escort her—”

“She didn't.”

“She didn't? Oh, but I thought—I guess I'm not sure why you're here.”

“She said I didn't have to clear it with you, but—”

“You already told her you'd attend with her?” Lesley didn't bother to hide her surprise. Both at Mitzi's boldness and Mitch's acceptance. But in hindsight perhaps she shouldn't have been.

“Is that a problem?”

“No, no, I don't think so.”

“Technically, you hired me. I understand I work for the entire family, but I wanted to make sure you approved.”

“I'm not going to object, if that's what you're asking.”

“But you're not thrilled about it.”

“Mitch, my mother does as she pleases. We lead independent lives for the most part. You're both adults. If she invited you and you're willing to attend an event such as this with her, truly, I have no objection.”

“I'm strictly going as an escort,” Mitch clarified.

Lesley relaxed back into her chair and smiled. “And a friend, I think.”

“Of course. I just don't want you to think there's anything else going on.” Mitch blushed.

Lesley found his discomfort endearing. “I didn't. Not for a minute.”

Mitch grinned. “I just hope I don't embarrass her.”

“Are you kidding? My mother will likely be the envy of every other woman there.”

After Mitch left, Lesley spun her chair around to gaze out the window at the fountain and landscaping. She recalled her first meeting with Niko and thought back also to the meeting between Mitch and her mother.

She glanced back at her computer screen. Her father had attached a couple of new pages from his memoir to an email. In them he'd described meeting her mother for the first time and how taken with her he'd been. The email message said,
See?
Love finds you if you let it.
She'd never thought of her father as a sentimental man, but since the stroke that side of him had become more evident.

She and Mitzi were two women who longed for companionship, especially at these formal events. Lesley, of course, had also wanted to help Niko raise money for the community center. She smiled a little, remembering his reaction when she made the offer, how his hackles had risen, how insulted he'd been. Evidently her mother had much more tact when it came to inviting Mitch to accompany her to the Heart Ball.

She hoped her mother had made it clear the ball was black-tie only.

That evening Mitzi tapped on the door to Lesley's suite. Lesley was just back from her run and ready to take a shower.

“Darling, do you have a moment? I wanted to speak to you.”

“Of course, Mother. Come in.”

Once they were seated, Mitzi said, “I invited Mitch to accompany me to the Heart Ball.”

“I know. He told me this afternoon.”

“Oh. I didn't realize.”

“He assured me he was only going as your friend and companion.”

“Well, of course. Surely you don't think that I would, that he and I—” Mitzi blushed. “Oh dear.”

“Mother, it's fine. And it's really none of my business.”

“Of course it's your business. I would never do anything to embarrass you or your father. You do know that, don't you?”

“Yes. I do.”

Mitzi gave her a pleading look. “It's just that I get so…”

“Lonely?”

Tears glistened in Mitzi's eyes. “I miss your father so much. The way he used to be. How he could walk into a room and command it. Everyone wanted to be part of his circle.”

“I remember.”

Mitzi sat up straighter. “I get so frustrated with the way things are now.”

“So does he.”

“Of course.” Mitzi paused for a moment. “I want you to know I would never have approached Mitch about going to the ball with me until I talked to your father about it.”

“Oh.” Lesley was a little taken aback. “And he's all right with it?”

Mitzi smiled sadly. “Your father's a realist. And he understands me.” She held Lesley's gaze. “I hope you understand as well.”

“Of course.”

After Mitzi left, Lesley contemplated her parents' relationship. Mitzi had always adored and supported Richard. He in turn had treated Mitzi as if she were the most rare and special of gems. Now they were separated by an unfathomable gulf, even though they lived under the same roof. But before the stroke, Lesley had noticed how her father's eyes lit up when he saw Mitzi, no matter how tired he was or how bad a day he'd had.

She'd wanted that kind of relationship for herself once. But as each year passed it seemed less and less likely that she'd ever find it.

The Heart Ball had been scheduled for February fourteenth.
Lovely
, Leslie thought as she prepared for the evening. Valentine's Day without a Valentine nor any prospect of one was depressing. At least she had an escort. That was something, she supposed, not to have to attend this season's events alone.

Niko's popularity increased as the season progressed. He'd made numerous contacts. Each time they were together, he updated her on the funding status for the center. His enthusiasm never waned. Lesley gathered he spent nearly every free moment he had working toward getting the center up and running. When he did? What then?

She stared at herself in the mirror. She might never see him again. She selected a tube of mascara and started on her lashes, pushing the unwelcome thought away. But it refused to go. She hadn't admitted to anyone how much she looked forward to the evenings she spent with Niko under the guise of simple companionship.

They'd developed a working friendship. Niko was physically attractive, but his pull went beyond that. He had no formal degree, but from what Lesley could tell, he was self-taught and widely read. He had a street sense that could only be learned from experience. He'd smoothed his rough edges but they were there, beneath the surface, and that perhaps was what Lesley found wildly exciting about him. She was tired of refinement. Tired of proper behavior.

“I'm tired of being me,” she whispered, staring at herself in the mirror.

She'd become someone she hardly recognized anymore. She'd been presenting the Lesley Robinson facade to the world for so long, she couldn't find the real Lesley buried beneath it. Because that Lesley could be hurt, could be betrayed. That Lesley couldn't trust, couldn't relax, couldn't let go. Or wouldn't let go. That Lesley was afraid.

She tossed the mascara back in its place and picked up a lipstick. Red was not her color, even though that was the Heart Ball's theme. She'd chosen a gown in burgundy and given Niko a tie for his tux that would match. She knew heads turned when they were together. Even though they were opposites, they complemented each other.

Back in her bedroom, she removed the dress from its hanger and eyed it critically. It was conservatively sexy, a look she'd pretty much perfected. She'd long subscribed to the theory that less was more when it came to showing skin. The dress fit her like a glove. She had no reason to flaunt what kind of shape she was in.

She dressed quickly and donned the jewelry she'd chosen. She stared at her reflection one final time, turning to check the view from the back. All the while she anticipated Niko's reaction.

If he was attracted to her, he hadn't acted on it. She was sure she'd seen a flare of appreciation in his eyes every time she showed up at his door dressed for an evening out. He complimented her, but it was almost always about her clothing. “Nice dress.” “You look nice.” “That's a good color on you.” Niko was behaving as a proper gentleman should. Perhaps he was as good at acting as she was.

Maybe it was time to find out.

“Want to dance?” Niko asked three hours later. A tingle slid through Lesley. Niko had leaned over to make his request, put his lips close to her ear, his warm breath against her neck.

“I'd love to.”

She and Niko had danced at a couple of other events, keeping a discreet distance from each other. A lady and a gentlemen. The very last thing Lesley wanted was to make a fool of herself and give the gossips something else to talk about. She wasn't immune to the whispers of speculation about her relationship with Niko at every event. The fact that the two of them kept turning up together only fed the rumor mill. That was another reason Lesley had refused to get too close to Niko. One or two dances at each ball meant nothing. Dancing the night away, holding each other too closely, that would send tongues wagging and innuendo spreading like wildfire. But Lesley was tired of holding Niko at arm's length. In fact, she wanted to feel the press of his body against hers. She longed for it.