Until the End of Time (14 page)

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Authors: Melanie Schuster

BOOK: Until the End of Time
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“
Okay, Andrew, since you asked I’ll tell you. I didn’t like Dana not at all, but not because of you, at least not completely. I despised her because she has my dream job, the one I went to school to study for and the one that I couldn’t get because I don’t look like her,” Renee said frankly.
She went on to explain to him how she had graduated with honors and done everything possible to be the best reporter in the business but she wasn’t considered marketable because of her appearance. “That’s what it all boiled down to; I wasn’t cute enough to be on television,” Renee finished ruefully. “And when you came sauntering home with Miss Paper Bag Perfection on your arm, well it was just a bit much to take.”
Andrew was silent for a moment while he took it all in. There was definitely more to Renee than met the eye. When he finally could speak, he said words that came straight from his heart.
“
Renee, I hope you realize that you are way beyond cute. You’re exactly what God had in mind when he invented beauty,” Andrew said, pulling her closer to him. “I think it’s terrible that you were victimized by that kind of prejudice, but you certainly didn’t let it keep you down. You have a great career, you know. You’re so smart and talented that you could do anything you chose to do and do it well,” he added.
Renee was warmed by his words, but she could not resist pointing out that the lovely Dana had a different take on the situation. “According to her, all I do is paint people up for a few hours. And compared to what you do, it really is insignificant.” She said honestly. “I mean there’s no comparison between running a spa for pampered women and giving a person a chance at a normal life.”
Andrew shook Renee slightly to emphasize his next words. “There shouldn’t be any comparison! Look at my family; we each do something different. Andre and Alan practice law, Bennie writes and runs the stations, Donnie’s in marketing and Adam is an architect. Does that mean that I’m somehow a god because I chose to study medicine? No, it means that we’re each lucky enough to pursue careers that we find interesting. And I have to admit that I don’t find news reporting to be that edifying,” he added.
Renee looked shocked while Andrew enlarged on the theme of media hype and overload and the impossibility of finding honest, unbiased reporting. They debated amicably for a while and Renee admitted that what she really missed was the opportunity to travel. She had to agree with Andrew on the larger picture, which was that news reporting was not the noble endeavor it was at one time. Now it seemed more like a three-ring circus. Which brought Renee back to what she felt was a very salient point. If he was so not crazy about Dana, why was he accompanying her to a wedding?
Andrew looked bemused and confessed that he didn’t know. “I don’t remember her asking me, although she might have on the plane when I was half asleep. All I know is that somehow I agreed to go, I guess, so I can’t back out of it. You’re still going, aren’t you?” he demanded with a hint of panic in his voice.
Renee demurred for a moment before committing to being there on the following Saturday. “After her charming invitation to ‘tag along’ how could I not? Besides, if she lays a paw on you, her little butt is mine,” Renee growled.
Andrew was delighted with her answer. “You know, she had a lot of nerve making a crack about your spa,” he remarked. “Cause that woman owes a lot to a surgeon’s knife.”
Renee was positively thrilled with that information, but she was even more thrilled when all conversation stopped and a different form of communication started. There was no pressure, just promise and sweetness and fire in the kisses that she and Andrew exchanged. The fact that she was boiling inside was no one’s concern but her own, she felt.
***

 

She did have to share the news with Yolanda, though. Yolanda knew immediately that something was up with Renee as soon as she floated into her office. Yolanda worked out of her home in a large brownstone house. Part of the first level had been converted into office space for her clients, but it still retained the warmth and charm of a home. It was easier, Yolanda felt, for her patients to open up and confide in her if they didn’t feel the constraints of a clinical setting. The deeply cushioned sofa and loveseat had seen many breakthroughs and breakdowns in their day. The pumpkin-colored walls with the deep green and brick red accents of the pillows and area rugs made the space feel like a safe haven.
And it had been a haven for Renee for many months now, something for which she was profoundly grateful, so grateful in fact, that she brought Yolanda a nice bouquet of wildflowers. Yolanda was pleasantly surprised by Renee’s impulsive gesture. Renee was truly blossoming, she thought. In the not too distant past, it would have never occurred to Renee to do something like that ‘just because’. And now, without even thinking about it, she had done something sweet and generous for fun. The changes did not stop with the gesture, either. Renee was positively glowing and eager to talk about the events of the past week or so.
“
Yolanda, Yolanda. It’s just like that Cole Porter song, “How Long Has This Been Going On”? I have been having fun, actual fun with a man. With
the
man, with my nemesis, Andrew Cochran, of all people. I feel like I’m 16 again. No, better than 16, because my skin is clear and I don’t have a curfew,” she sighed happily.
Yolanda gave her a smiling look to encourage further discussion. Renee told her about Andrew coming home early, about Safari Barbie and their frank discussion on her reaction to Dana and so on. Yolanda was particularly interested in that aspect of their talk.
“
So did you feel any real jealousy towards Dana as a woman? Was all your rancor due to the fact that she, as you put it, has your job?” Yolanda asked quietly.
Renee didn’t have to hesitate on that one. “Well, I have never dealt with jealousy well. I’m not one that likes a crowded playing field. In fact, I prefer it if the field is fixed in my favor, to be honest,” she said ruefully. “I guess it stems from when I was chubby and I had such horrible skin. I wasn’t about to put myself in a position to have to compete with another woman. When I went out with a boy, I had to be the only one or there was no go.
“
Which is probably the reason I started dating older men after…well, you know. Much older men who were fascinated by me were the only ones I would date. I was sure I could keep their attention because they were, let’s say…
thrilled
to have a younger woman on their arm.” Renee stopped and sighed reflectively.
“
That’s not terribly nice, but it is accurate. But I have to say that despite the obvious physical difference between me and Dana, I wasn’t the least worried about her being able to get her hooks into Andrew. Isn’t that amazing?” She turned her eyes to Yolanda to gauge her reaction. But before Yolanda could speak, Renee had to fill her in on the most telling part of the adventure, the much-dreaded wedding of Dana’s cousin Deirdre.
Andrew had been able to duck and dodge Dana for most of the week following his return to Detroit by burying himself in work and by spending as much time as possible with Renee. He spoke with Dana just enough to assure her that yes, he would still accompany her to the wedding and that was about it. Not for nothing, though, was Dana Heloise Pierson a news reporter. She would have made an excellent bounty hunter in another life because she possessed the right combination of attributes to get the job done. Dana had gall, determination and an overwhelming confidence in her ability to get what she wanted when she wanted it. And that certainly applied to Andrew Bernard Cochran, Jr.
From the time Dana was four years old there was nothing she could not get from a man if she so chose. She had been able to wrap her father around her little finger from the day of her birth. As an only child of wealthy parents, she was indulged to an extent that would have been criminal if they hadn’t had the means to provide for her. Luckily, she was intelligent and somewhat ambitious. She was clever enough to parlay her feline good looks into a career that would show them off admirably. Dana was made for television.
She was small and possessed of the best figure that money could buy; Andrew hadn’t exaggerated about her debt to the plastic surgeon’s scalpel. Her pale little face was rather heart shaped, with the pointed little chin giving her the look of a Siamese cat. Only a few people knew that her gray eyes were courtesy of Bausch and Lomb because her contact lenses were worn as continuously as possible. She had an abundance of brown hair, skillfully augmented here and there with micro extensions; she would have died if she realized that Renee was experienced enough to have spotted them immediately. All in all, she was rather winsome if no one looked too close.
What she was missing was the essential warmth and charm that makes a woman desirable. It was odd that she had so little of each at the same time that Renee was letting hers loose for the first time in a millennium, but that’s why it’s called irony. To Dana’s mind, however, there was but one thing missing in her life and that was a handsome, internationally known, wealthy surgeon for a husband. When she laid eyes on Andrew for the first time, she had gone into action.
This one is mine,
she had told herself, and she was moving heaven and earth to make it happen. It just wasn’t happening fast enough and for some unaccountable reason, that overgrown hairdresser was impeding her progress. Dana felt that it was time she took a stand with the woman.
Dana decided to clue Renee in on the real situation between her and Andrew. Obviously, there was some kind of family tie there, but
please
! The woman was older that she was and way darker, not to mention the fact that she was surely lacking in the social skills that it would take to satisfy Andrew over the long haul. Dana was frankly tired of the traveling and the schlepping around of foreign reporting and was ready to do something else, like be a rich man’s wife. And the fact that his family owned Cochran Industries was an added bonus. Once this beautician person had stepped to the side, Dana could get going with her plan. Nothing had ever stood in her way before and nothing was going to impede her now.
Dana arrived at Urban Oasis dressed to the nines; she felt sleek and
courant
in a little Miu-Miu summer frock. She had to admit that she was impressed by the general layout of the place—it looked like the kind of place that celebrities went to in Paris and New York. In an eerie twist, an extremely tall man who was the current Big Thing in movies came around the corner with his arm around Renee’s shoulder, thanking her for the great haircut and telling her when he would be back in town. He planted a big kiss on her cheek and left by a discreet side door. Dana hesitated for a moment—maybe this wasn’t a good idea after all.
Renee saw her standing there in her trendy sundress looking like a lost teenager.
What fresh hell is this
thought Renee before she walked over to greet the child. Renee was wearing some comfortable Prada flats and a chic DKNY shirt and trousers that made her look cool, comfortable and in charge, which, of course, she was.
“
Dana, how, umm, odd to see you. Is there something I can do for you?” Renee asked politely.
Dana looked Rene up and down and decided that she was no competition. “Well, I was just in the neighborhood so I decided to stop by to say hello. You are still coming to the wedding, aren’t you?” she said breezily.
Renee was equally breezy in her reply “Oh yes, I certainly am. How could I refuse such a gracious invitation, after all. I’m so looking forward to it.”
“
So are Andrew and I,” confided Dana. “It’s going to be such fun for us to be together that night. After what we shared in Haiti…well, you know that kind of passion just doesn’t disappear. We’re so looking forward to rekindling it. He’s been so busy this week, just getting back and all, but that will all be over this weekend,” she purred.
She winked at Renee and turned to leave, but not before reminding Renee that it was a
formal
wedding.
Renee stared at Dana’s retreating figure.
I think the little wench just told me how to dress,
she mused. Instead of getting angry, Renee got a huge smile on her face. This was going to be fun. Big fun.
Renee decided not to attend the wedding, she was only going to the reception to be with Andrew. It was tacky enough to be going to a wedding to settle a score; she wasn’t going to compound her sins by gawking at strangers taking vows. Regardless of what she felt about marriage in general, it was someone else’s special day and she was going to be as discreet as possible. Up to a point, that was. While she was getting dressed she reflected on her decision to attend. She had to admit that it had gone beyond her irritation at Dana Pierson Girl Reporter and had segued into some kind of validation of self. That little ochre witch actually thought that she could intimidate Renee ‘Miss Thing’ Kemp with her store bought boobs and expensively weaved hair. Maybe she could have, in Renee’s youth. No question, after the Pittsburgh debacle when Renee was lost, lonely and hiding out, she could have; but not now and certainly not tonight.
Renee took an extra long time in the tub that evening. She adored her claw-footed bathtub because she could fill it up to her shoulders and luxuriate in bubbles as long as she liked. Finally, thoroughly scented with Annick Goutal bath gel, she came out of the tub lightly patted herself dry and creamed and lotioned her body with the same scent. Renee brushed her glossy black hair off her forehead to draw attention to her face. She applied a bare minimum of makeup with the exception of lots of mascara to bring out her fabulous eyes.

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