Wellesley Wives (New England Trilogy) (23 page)

He left a message saying he was going to be late and for Peter to use the back roads if he wasn’t already caught up in the jam. Then he hung up and gave more thought as to how he should approach his lifelong business partner.

How could Lily focus knowing what she did? Her two computer monitors churned out the share-price changes from around the globe. The graph looked like a ride on the big dipper, surging up and then crashing down to nothing. Normally this would have had her glued to her seat as she tried to make sense of the changes, but not today. Her beloved laptop blinked out all the information she needed for work but none of the advice she wanted for life. Her mind was on the Capital Grille. It was her favorite restaurant, but not for all the money in the world did she want to be there right now. She paced the white wool carpet that covered the floor of her private office and looked at the clock on the wall. Jack would be with her dad by now.

Should she call her mother? Maybe now was a good time. Her dad was just out of the hospital and obviously back to some sort of normal life, so chances were that she’d be in a good mood. The shock of the heart attack had hit them all hard. Financial ruin was pretty epidemic these days. Loads of high-profile businessmen had gone to the wall and still managed to bounce back, but having a heart attack and bouncing back? That was a little trickier. The problem was she didn’t know how serious it was. It couldn’t have been that bad if he was back to work after only a few days.

Emily appeared at the glass door. “Still on for tonight? We’re going for a drink after work and you’re telling me all your deepest, darkest secrets.” She grinned.

“Come in and shut the door. Jeez, it’s good to see you.”

“What’s up now?”

“Dad is out of the hospital. He’s meeting with Jack for lunch today.” Lily looked from the clock to her watch.

“Oh, to be a fly on the wall at that meeting. You’re talking about Jack Hoffman, Peter’s business partner?”

Lily glanced at Emily and nodded. “My bed partner, too.”

Emily let out a long, low whistle and sat in her friend’s guest chair. “Hey, that guy really is a player, isn’t he?”

“Emily, stop. He’s my boyfriend, my long-term partner. Please respect that.”

“Sorry,” she said and looked at the floor. “Hey, I just realized that as a couple, you guys could call yourselves Jack and Lil.” She laughed.

“Except my name’s Lily,”

“Poetic license. Don’t worry, I’m drawing a blank on the hill part anyway. You know, ‘Jack and Lil went up a hill.’ ”

“Chestnut Hill. That’s where Jack’s meeting Dad right now.” Lily blurted before she had the sense to say nothing.

Emily beamed. “There you go. This is all destiny. It’s meant to be. Jack and Lil, it is.”

Lily gave her an impatient glare. “Don’t go there, Em.”

“All right.” She gave up and changed the subject. “So, your dad is obviously A-OK, health wise. That’s good news, isn’t it?”

Lily continued pacing.

“Hey, would you mind sitting down? This room isn’t big enough to pace. You’re making me dizzy.”

Lily obeyed, grateful for some direction. She fell back into her chair.

“Do you want to go out for lunch? We could go to the Intercontinental and get a nice table overlooking the water. Maybe have a glass of wine.”

“How can we drink now? Have you been watching Asia?”

Emily nodded. “Why do you think I’m suggesting the wine? Or better yet, let’s go to the new fusion bar around the corner and have sushi and
sake
. Perhaps we can boost the markets single-handedly.”

Lily relaxed for the first time all morning. “You’re the best, Emily. Really.”

“Well, there’s not a lot we can do about the situation. Are you busy?”

“Busy? Yes. But getting anything done? No. I’ve been poring over the figures all morning and trying to make sense of which way the markets will go tonight when they start trading again, but it’s impossible to call.”

“Hey, I thought you always knew. Isn’t that why they pay you the big bucks?”

“Ha.”

“Is Matt still giving you grief?” Emily asked.

“Nah, we’ve moved on to the evil-eye stare.”

“Charming.”

“Honestly, Emily. Do people think I got my promotion because my dad was a big client?”

She looked away. “How would I know what people think, and more important, why would I give a hoot? The world is full of jealousy. Just dance to your own tune. Now, are we dancing down to the new fusion restaurant, or not? Because one thing I do know is, you gotta eat.”

Lily was sold. She grabbed her jacket. What Emily said also rang true for her domestic situation. Much better to wait and see what happened with her dad and Jack and then decide how she was going to move forward with her mom. What difference would another couple of hours make?

The Boston streets were full of life and vibrancy. Emily was right. It was a great idea to get out of the office. Too often she went in at four o’clock in the morning to catch the markets before Hong Kong closed for the night and worked right through to the late evening to see how they opened the following day. It was a grueling schedule, but as a single working woman with no kids, she’d been happy the job dominated her life.

Lily had been toying with the idea of slowing down. When she and Jack were a secret, they couldn’t spend any time out in public, but things were different now. She was having a few fantasies where they could take long lunches or go to the theater. There were so many things she thought about doing but had never gotten around to, and they had appeal to her now that she was getting older and, more importantly, settled.

Of course, all these daydreams were before the collapse of her dad and Jack’s business. Now she was going to have to work harder than ever because it looked like she was the only breadwinner in her house. How ironic. Jack had represented security to her, and now, all of a sudden, it was no longer there.

She pushed the notion out of her head. What did it matter? They were together now and in love. They would just work through this tough patch. That was assuming he survived lunch with her dad today. It made her smile. Lily knew what a force of nature her father was. It would take a brave man to stand up to him, and that’s exactly what Jack was doing. That’s why she loved him so much. He was just as strong as her father. Maybe even stronger. He was a magnificent man, and he was all hers.

“Have you heard about this restaurant?” Emily asked as they walked along the street.

“Um, no. What’s so special about it?”

“The owner is a Japanese guy and he has a full army of Japanese master chefs, but his wife is Chinese and she’s brought in her own fleet of Chinese chefs. It’s insane. You can get anything from sweet and sour duck to sashimi flounder, but it always has an amazing buzz.”

Not surprisingly, Feng Shui was hopping. All the city traders and suits were there. She recognized quite a few from other banks and legal firms in town. It was a small place, but they managed to get seats at the counter where they could watch the various little platters move along on the miniature conveyer belt. It was just the distraction Lily needed. Asian master chefs worked industriously behind the counter, balancing expertly carved pieces of wafer-thin raw fish on neat bundles of white rice. Some were wrapped with little ribbons of seaweed and others garlanded with sliced ginger.

“The knife work would make any plastic surgeon jealous,” Emily said. “Where should we start?”

Lily had spent time in China and Japan as part of her Master’s in Economics. She scooped up a couple of plates. “Start with this,” she said and handed one to Emily. “It’s white tuna and it melts in your mouth.”

The girls relaxed and chatted about Emily’s kids while they worked their way through a few tried-and-tested plates and some wildcard picks.

Lily’s ability to speak Mandarin gave them huge credibility with the Chinese staff.

“Trying to get some inside information, is she?” Matt asked as he came up behind Emily.

Lily stopped speaking Mandarin and swung around. “Oh, don’t stop on my account,” he said, nodding at the chefs.

Then he switched into fluent Japanese for their benefit. Lily could just about make out that he was asking how they were. They nodded back and returned the salutation.

Then the manager came over to them, and it was clear that she knew Matt, too. How annoying, Lily thought.

“Lily, Emily, this is Bao. She’s the real boss here.” He smiled at the hostess.

“
Ni hao,
” Lily said, showing off her own knowledge of Mandarin.

“
Dzum gwoh hahm seui?
” Bao said and smiled. Then she gave a nod and excused herself, leaving them to decode her sentiments.

“What?” Emily asked.

Much to her annoyance, Lily didn’t know. Bao had replied in Cantonese, not Mandarin.

“Mandarin is the international language for commerce in Hong Kong, but Cantonese is a regional language in China.” Matt glanced at Lily. “She was asking if we were soaked in salt water.”

“What?” Emily said again.

Lily remained silent, annoyed to discover that Matt knew Mandarin, Cantonese, and Japanese, while she only spoke the former.

She turned her attention to her friend. “It means we must have been taught the language in the East. It’s a compliment. We’re seasoned speakers. ‘Pickled in the culture,’ if you know what I mean.”

“Nice. I think.” Emily examined her food and looked a little unsure.

“Where did you learn your Mandarin?” Matt finally asked her.

“In college and Hong Kong. You?”

“I spent a year in Hong Kong, but then I backpacked around China and Japan for a year. Picked up the Cantonese on-the-hoof, so to speak.

“
Manman chi
,” Lily said, gesturing to the small box of takeout he held. Then she leaned into Emily. “That means bon appétit.”

“
Zaijian
.” Matt smiled at her and winked at Emily. “That means thanks,” he said and left them to their lunch.

“That was so cool, even though I don’t know what you said.” Emily laughed and helped herself to another little plate as it passed. “Oh. You know, it’s a pity you’re in love with Jack Hoffman, because you and Matt would have made a really great couple.”

“You’re the second person who’s said that to me in the last few days. My sister Rosie was pushing him on me. He’s too young, and then there’s the fact that I don’t actually like him.”

“Well, Lily, I don’t know Mandarin, but we have an expression here in the good old US of A that opposites attract. Remember that one?”

“
Bie guan wo
,” Lily said, looking exasperated.

“I don’t understand you, but I think I get the gist of what you’re saying.”

Lily laughed. With her mind finally off all her domestic difficulties for the first time in days and the office out of her life for a while, she began to enjoy herself, so it wasn’t surprising that was the moment her phone rang. She looked at Emily, wide-eyed. “It’s Mom.”

“Well answer it, girl.”

“Hello, Mom. It’s good to hear from you. I’ve been th—”

“I’m looking for your father. Has he called you?” Popsy asked.

Lily tried to sound calm, but it was hard. If she told her mom, would Jack be mad at her? “What’s up?” she asked, playing for time.

“Oh, I let him walk out of the hospital, and now he’s disappeared to God knows where. He’s not well, Lily. What if something dreadful happens?”

Lily knew she had to come clean. “Don’t panic, Mom. It’s okay. Jack called me a while ago. He said he was going to meet Dad for lunch. I’m pretty sure it was The Capital Grille in Chestnut Hill.” Lily listened intently. “Is there anything I can do?” But her mother had started ranting on the other end.

She felt worse than ever and was close to tears by the time she ended the call. Emily reached over and touched her shoulder.

“What was all that about?” she asked.

Lily filled her in quickly. “Mom is freaking out. She went crazy when I told her about his meeting with Jack and went on about all the damage he’s done already and how he was the one who gave Dad the heart attack in the first place. Oh, Emily, Dad is missing in action and everybody is blaming Jack.” She felt desperate.

“Call Jack and tell him what you just heard. To be honest, I think you should tell him to skip the meeting. Get your mother to go instead and get your dad back into the hospital. There really is no fool like an old fool.”

Lily looked anxiously into Emily’s eyes. “This is all my fault.”

“Nonsense.” Emily shook her head for emphasis. “Let me get the bill and get you out of here. You need to finish up early and get home to Jack and maybe even your mother.”

“
Ren wu qian ri hao, hua wu bai ri hong
,” Lily whispered.

“Huh?”

It’s an old Mandarin expression. It means, ‘No person gets a thousand days good luck and no flower can bloom for a hundred days.”

“You need to start buying silk flowers, Lily. They’ll bloom for a hundred days.”

“No, it means that everybody’s luck runs out sooner or later. You’re not understanding it right.”

“And you’re not listening to me, girl,” Emily said. “Sometimes you have to make your own good luck, and something tells me your time is now, so come on.”

Chapter 20 

Eggs on Toast

Sandra hit the gym and despite everything, she was sad to see no sign of Sven. She’d half-planned to apologize to him. It was true that he’d been a little forward, but then again, perhaps her response had been too heavy-handed. During their first encounter it was she who was looking for attention. She’d flirted with him and challenged him, so how could she get so nasty when he followed through? Girls led and boys followed. It had been that way for millennia. She pushed herself hard on the treadmill as she thought about it and figured it must have been because she was so hurt and angry with Jack. She just took it out on Sven. That was a little unfair.

    She knew that she was a strong woman—perhaps a bit too strong for her own good. Jack had liked her stubborn streak in the early days, but that must have waned. She hadn’t spoken to or seen him since he’d walked out of their apartment and her life. She was still so angry and hurt. The only way to keep her friendship with Popsy strong was to absolutely ignore that Lily was Popsy’s daughter.