Never Too Rich (13 page)

“
I understand,” he said, although
his expression belied the words. “It just seems such a pity to run
into you after all these years and then have to part company right
away. We could have dinner later, maybe? I know this great little
hole-in-the-wall in Little Italy that’s the best-kept secret in
town. What do you say to a frivolous dinner of pappardelle, chicken
alla scarpariello, and gelato?”

“
Chicken alla scarpariello—that
isn’t an invitation to dinner, R.L., it’s like asking Elizabeth
Taylor if she would like a giant diamond.” Edwina sighed wistfully;
he was smiling so winsomely it really was hard to resist. “I’d love
to . . . but I’m afraid this evening is spoken for too. I’ve got a
party to go to—at my boss’s.”

“
Seems like I’m striking out with
every bat.”

“
Not through choice,” she assured
him. “When Anouk de Riscal’s invitations are delivered by a
messenger with a fresh red rose pinned to them, it’s like an
imperial summons.”

“
Then I won’t get to see you?” he
said in disappointment.

“
How about tomorrow?”

“
I’ve got to head back to Boston
tomorrow,” he said gloomily, shaking his head.

“
I see.” She bit down on her lip.
“Maybe next time you’re . . .” Her face suddenly took on a look of
divine inspiration. “I know! Why don’t you come to the party with
me tonight? You can take me.”

“
You’re sure?” he asked joyfully,
his eyes lighting up again.

“
Sure, I’m sure.”

Then the glow faded somewhat as he turned to his
son. “You don’t mind, Les, do you? I know we’d planned on just the
two of us spending the evening together. But I’ll make it up to
you. Dad’s honor.” He held up a palm in the classic pose of a
witness being sworn in.

Les hesitated a moment. “No, that’s all right, Dad.
You go on ahead and party. I can throw some food together for
myself, and there’s always the TV.” There was no mistaking Leslie’s
vast disappointment.

Edwina had another flash of inspiration. “Listen,
I’ve got a live-in housekeeper. Why don’t you bring Leslie over
when you pick me up? I’m sure he and Hal will get along famously,
and I know Ruby won’t mind cooking for them.”

“
Great!” R.L. cried. “It’s settled,
then.”

“
Way to go, Ma,” Hallelujah growled
sullenly under her breath.

“
Eight-thirty,” Edwina told him.
“I’m at the San Remo. South tower. Oh, and it’s formal.” She
glanced at her watch. “And now, Hal and I had better dash.” Her
eyes swept up Fifth Avenue and she swore under her breath. “Damn!
Not a cab in sight.”

“
Here, let me.” Casually R.L.
stepped in front of her, stuck out his hand, and whistled. And out
of nowhere an empty cab sailed over to the curb among a cacophony
of angry car horns.

Edwina looked at him with admiration. Not a bad man
to have around, she considered—not bad at all.

He held open the back door for her and gave a mock
bow. “Tonight at eight-thirty. I’ll wear rings on my ringers and
bells on my toes.”

“
Black tie will do,” Edwina laughed
as she jumped into the cab. “Twenty-seventh and Seventh,” she
called out to the driver as

Hallelujah jumped in after her. R.L. shut the door.
Twisting around to look out the rear window, Edwina saw him raise
his hand in a wave. She blew him an extravagant kiss and then sat
back in positive euphoria.

“
Whadda way to go, Ma,” Hallelujah
said gloomily. “Did you have to do that? That Leslie geek is
totally grody.”

Edwina barely heard her. As they rode downtown, she
sang softly to herself. She was feeling extraordinarily cheerful,
vibrantly excited, and was filled with triumphant pleasure—which
was exactly the way she had felt a decade and a half earlier, after
she’d been asked out for a date by the most popular and seemingly
unapproachable dreamboat of a man. Not, of course, that going to
the de Riscals’ with R.L. could really count as an old-fashioned
date. She knew better than that. It was more like a business
obligation to which she could bring an escort—just a social evening
she would combine with a trip down memory lane for old times’ sake.
Only that and nothing more.

Why should there be more? The romance she and R.L.
had shared before they went their separate ways surely couldn’t be
rekindled by a mere chance meeting on the street. She wasn’t that
much of a romantic; if anything, she had her feet planted
too
firmly on the ground.

Which was just as well. Love wasn’t, after all, the
kind of thing you could just take up where you’d left off years
before—like riding a bicycle or swimming. Times changed. Emotions
changed. People themselves changed.

“
Really, Ma,” Hallelujah scolded
severely. “Like we’re going to a memorial service. This is no time
for singing, okay?”

Chapter 13

When Anouk and Liz came back upstairs, they parted
company. Liz headed toward the front of the gallery and took a seat
in the second row of padded folding chairs. Anouk stood in the
back, her head held high, her long gloves in the palm of her
hand.

She glanced around imperiously. She could see that
the seats were beginning to fill; another ten minutes and the
memorial service would begin. From the looks of it, Rubio Mendez
had had quite a lot of friends.

Spying Klas Claussen—definitely
not
one of
Rubio’s friends—she made a beeline for his third-row seat, tapped
him on the arm, and gestured for him to follow.

He rose at once and, Anouk leading the way, they
went out into the lobby. Once there, she frowned; a horde of design
students was pouring down the stairs to the “Surrealism in Fashion”
exhibit. There would be no privacy there now. “This way,” she said,
and, heels clicking sharply, headed in the opposite direction, to
the hallway where the toilets and telephones were located.

She opened the door to the ladies’ room and poked
her head inside to see if it was empty. Seeing two women checking
their makeup, she tried the men’s room next door.

“
Good. We can talk in here.” She
gestured Klas inside.

He didn’t look at all surprised; but then, nothing
Anouk de Riscal did surprised him anymore.

Klas Claussen was thirty-six years old. He had
whitish-blond shoulder-length hair, pale blue eyes with almost
invisible lashes, and a strong-jawed face that masculinized what
would otherwise have been almost femininely pretty features.

He was tall, all of six feet and then some. Under
his beautifully tailored Italian suit were a lithe, tightly muscled
body and broad shoulders, all of which he carried with an air of
disdainful superiority.

Anouk turned to him the instant she closed the door.
Tall as she was, he seemed to tower above her. “I told you I have
something wonderful in store for you,” she said without preamble,
raising her hat-framed face to his. “But then, I have always
entertained high hopes for you.” Gone from her voice was any
playful cat-and-mouse banter. This was cutthroat casbah bargaining.
No leverage was too great, no applied screws too painful. “However,
what I offer is conditional.”

“
What’s the catch?” he asked. “Or
the prize, for that matter?”

She gestured to the row of white porcelain sinks.
“Do you know how one cleans dirt off one’s hands?” She watched his
eyes carefully.

He gave a low laugh. “Every child of four knows
that, Anouk. With soap and water.”

“
No, Klaskins.” She shook her head.
“By one hand washing the other.”

He stared cautiously at her.

“
I do not think I need to tell you
that Rubio’s position as Antonio’s number two is open?”

There. The juicy bait was dangling in plain view.
She heard the sharp intake of his breath.

“
What do you want from me, Anouk?
We both know Antonio’s planned on offering the position to
Edwina.”

She didn’t mince words. “A little favor. You see,
Antonio was rather . . . indiscreet this morning. To put it
coarsely, he was bent over his desk. Getting screwed.”

He stared at her. “I don’t see what that has to do
with me.”

She walked over to the sinks, leaned into a mirror,
and, turning her head this way and that, eyed her makeup
critically. Reassured that her face was perfect, she turned back
around. “You are known to be a very beautiful and very clever man,”
she said.

A rare smile hovered on his sensuous lips. “And you,
Anouk, are known to be a very beautiful and very devious
woman.”

She met his gaze unflinchingly. “That’s right.” Her
voice was hard as nails. “We have a lot in common, don’t we?
Neither of us cares what we have to do as long as we get what we
want.”

“
And what is it that you
want?”

Her gaze never faltered. “Doris Bucklin and Liz
unexpectedly walked into Antonio’s office and caught him
in
flagrante delicto”

His eyes widened. “I see. Of course, you know I
can’t do anything about that.”

“
Oh, but you can.” She nodded
definitely. “You can pretend it was you, and not Antonio, that
Doris saw. And apologize to her for your behavior.”

He threw up his hands. “This is crazy! For once
you’ve really gone too far, Anouk.” He couldn’t help laughing. “I
mean . . . Antonio and I don’t even look vaguely alike! For one
thing, I have long blond hair and he’s almost bald. Give the old
hen
some
credit. She’s not that stupid.”

“
Listen, Klas,” she said coldly.
“Everyone in this town knows that Doris is a walking, breathing
bottle of booze. Who is to say she doesn’t suffer blackouts? Or
even hallucinations?” A faint smile crossed her lips. “God knows
that whatever is pumping around in her system must be
two-hundred-proof.”

“
You fight dirty,
Anouk.”

She shrugged negligibly. “I fight to win. Now, you
know how small this town really is. If Doris tells any of her
friends about what she saw, gossip is certain to spread like
wildfire. Who knows? Antonio might even lose some customers. I do
not want that to happen. However, if it looks like it might, I want
all bases covered. That is where you come in. We will simply see to
it that two conflicting stories are circulating—one about her
catching Antonio, and one about her catching you.” She smiled
sweetly. “That is the beauty of it, don’t you see? Nobody will know
which version to believe!”

“
You are positively shameless, you
know that, Anouk?”

“
Yes, I am. And yes, I know
it.”

“
And Liz?”

“
I have already taken care of Liz.”
She waited a moment. “Well? Will you help, or won’t
you?”

“
Dammit, Anouk, I don’t know,” he
said, starting to pace back and forth with his hands in his trouser
pockets.

She watched his reflection sliding back and forth in
the silvery mirrors. The bright overhead fluorescents bathed him in
a surreal brightness and, if it was possible, he seemed even more
handsome in that usually unforgiving light. She could smell the
sharp chemical odor emanating from the deodorant cakes in the
urinals; catching sight of mashed cigarette butts and a puddle of
urine on the floor, she averted her gaze in disgust.

Finally he turned back to her. “You’re asking for a
lot,” he said quietly.

“
I know that. But I intend to quash
any potential scandal.”

His voice was ironic. “At any cost, no doubt.”

She was silent.

“
I don’t suppose you’ve considered
my
reputation?” A sudden awareness came into Klas’s eyes.
“Or doesn’t that count?”

“
Your reputation will not suffer,”
she assured him. “If you do exactly what I say, neither you nor
Antonio will be touched by any scandal. I only intend to confuse
the issue.” One of her hands reached out to touch his arm. “I will
make it worth your while, Klaskins,” she said softly.

His eyes were as hard as hers. “Worth enough for me
to fill Rubio’s position
and
get a
fifty-thousand-dollar-a-year raise?”

Anouk swore under her breath. “Fifty thousand a
year! You’re not only clever and ambitious, Klaskins. You’re
positively greedy!”

“
Not as greedy as you, Anouk,” he
replied with a smile. “Well? Are we on?”

She smiled brilliantly, hiding her contempt for him,
and held out her elegant hand. “We have ourselves a deal,” she
said, briskly shaking on it. “The official announcement of your
promotion will be made on Monday. Meanwhile, I have seen to it that
the news has already been leaked to
Women’s Wear Daily
.”

He couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice.
“You couldn’t wait until after you’d talked to me? You were that
sure of yourself?”

She didn’t say anything.

“
Just tell me one thing, Anouk. If
I hadn’t agreed to do as you want, what would have happened
then?”

Anouk wagged an admonishing finger. “You know
exactly what I would have done, dear boy.” Her laughter tinkled
musically. “Anouk giveth, and Anouk taketh away. Now, it’s time you
started earning that hefty raise of yours,” she said dryly. “Start
spreading the word that you used Antonio’s office for a tryst and
that Doris walked in on you.” Her heels clicked swiftly as she
marched over to the door and pulled it open. She turned around and
looked back at him questioningly. “Are you coming?”

“
I’ll catch up with you in a
minute. I have to use the facilities first.”