Page 42 of Push & Pull
Yet Simone was on the verge of giggling as if she had been waiting a hundred years to make such crass and tasteless jokes in front of her Zeta Nu friends.She gets the humor.The people Petra knew who joked about these things the most were those who had lived it.
“I knowallabout Simone’s ‘assistants,’ by the way.” Petra planted both palms on the table, nearly knocking over her expensive iced tea and the half-drunk iced coffee near Simone’s plate. “And Daria Marseille. Oh, you mention that we were already in the same circle via Hailey Lambert?” She paused for effect, one eye on Shéla’s face. “Hailey is an old and dear friend of mine from Forest Glen. We grew up in the same neighborhood. Didn’t go to the same school, though.” This was the first truth Petra had told since sitting at the table. She had a feeling it would be the one thing these women didnotbelieve.
“In fact, we were both at Hailey’s party in Miami the other night,” Simone said. “You were there for work, though, weren’t you?”
“Yes, doing some work for my father. Finley. My father Finley.”
“Finley Worthington, yes.” As the awkwardness only continued to settle over the group, Simone perked up and gestured to the woman sitting next to her. That was amber-dress’s cue to pay attention to the conversation again. “I haven’t introduced you to my old sorority sisters. This is Cady Thompson. We were in the same year together.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Petra.” Cady did not offer to shake her hand. “Yes. Same pledge group. For a while, Simone and I were roommates in the house.”
“This is Shéla Johnson-Chu. As you know, she is the lucky lady to have secured the ring from Freddie Chu.”
Shéla’s smug demeanor was suffocating enough to press all of the air out of the restaurant. “Of the Guangzhou Chus, mind you. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?”
“I have not heard of them, but I have heard of the Guangzhou…” Petra said the first Chinese name she could think of thatwasn’tChu. “Wangs.” She said it with such a thick and heavy American accent that Simone was back to clamping her hand over her mouth and pretending she didn’t know Petra. “I mean… W… Wah-ong.” She looked to Simone for assurance. She did not receive any.
“Some people pronounce it like it rhymes with dang,” Cady said. “Why, there was a girl who pledged with us who had that name. Judy Wang, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, Judy! Yeah!” Petra glommed on to that name like it was her golden ticket in this conversation.
“Another friend from Forest Glen?” Shéla asked.
“Of course not. I knew her from around here.” This was Petra’s cue to say what she had come here to get off her chest. “Hailey, though. Really such a doll when we were growing up together. I wasn’t the best student, you see, but she was a real whip at everything algebra and geometry. She heard I was struggling in my math class and would come after school,allthe way to my house, whether my mom was out of town or not. Tutored me three nights a week until my grades were back on track. Why, she hasn’t changed much at all! Three days ago when I dropped by to visit, she was telling me about the after-school programs she’s funding around the Miami area. She’s getting kids all the math help they need like I got ten years ago.”
The woman whom Petra had not yet been introduced to was suffering fewer fools than Shéla. “Too bad about the drug use, huh?”
“And the Swedish knob of a boyfriend,” Shéla muttered.
“We all have our ups and downs.” Petra met Shéla’s gaze and refused to let it go.Not until I’ve read every memory you’re trying to keep away from me.She bet Shéla was teeming with bad sexual affairs and bullying scandals that went all the way back to whatever stuffy prep school she attended when she was fourteen.Defensive. Braggy. Puts down women who have been to rehab.Petra had one shot to get this right, and she was pushing forward her chips as if to declareall-in.“Besides, those living in glass houses should not cast the first stone.”
Shéla’s pupils dilated and her nostrils slightly flared. Yet she did not immediately rebuke Petra, implying that some bets had paid off.Bet you weren’t known for your pot use, honey.Petra had a feeling that Shéla once personally knew Yvonne Marseille, even if they hadn’t partied.
“It was a pleasure meeting all of you,” Petra began, standing up and nudging her glass toward Simone, “but I’ve got to get going. I have a meeting with a business associate in thirty minutes that I can’t be late for.” She stepped behind Shéla and her snooty friend, both of them staring straight ahead as if it would be beneath them to acknowledge Petra’s short stature.Makes my job easier.“Don’t be too hard on my Simone, would you?” As she leaned down between the chairs, her hands navigated toward the two purses stored in a basket beneath the tablecloth. “She really has become a remarkable woman that I’m delighted to know.” One purse was already open. The other had a quiet clasp Petra picked apart. Both of the wallets she wanted were right on top of tissues, makeup, and phones. “She may be unorthodox, but aren’t we all?”
Petra had no idea what presidents were on the dollar bills shuffling up the tight sleeves of her borrowed jacket, but she could investigate later. She had a feeling these heiresses were worth the risk.
Shéla turned around the moment Petra stood up, hands dangling from her sleeves. She went to the other side of the table and stood behind Simone and Cady.
“I’ll see you later, baby.” Laying a wet one on Simone’s cheek was the perfect distraction as Petra fished into Cady’s bag and found a loose bill prime for the taking. The fact Simone blanched from Petra’s unexpected touch only made it easier to cover up the petty theft going on beneath the table.That’s three wallets liberated of their heavy change. You’re welcome.The timing couldn’t be better, either. Petra could use the cash. “Here’s hoping they let us check into our room soon. I’ve got big plans.”
She said that loudly enough for everyone else to hear. While Simone pitifully attempted to change the subject, Petra hustled out of the restaurant before anyone could realize that they had been bamboozled.
Chapter 16
“Whatthehellwasthatabout?” Those were the words greeting Petra when she finally procured a key to the hotel room five minutes after three. As soon as she gave the jacket back to the luggage room and shoved her wads of stolen bills into her pockets, she dashed out of the hotel to stock up on provisions. When she returned, it was to park the Volvo in the guest spot and to discover that Simone was already up in their room with their things. “Do you know how much you could have fucked me over?”
Petra closed the door to their suite.Very nice.Simone’s tastes shined through with this selection. Capitol Hill Quarters was known for appealing to the wealthy while maintaining a certain historical charm, and that was true for the one-bedroom suite calledThe Mary Todd-Lincoln Room.Accents of both colonial and Victorian furniture, as well as local pastoral art, dominated the sitting area and the small half-kitchen that Petra guaranteed no guest at this place used. Unless it was to make coffee. Even then, Simone was the type to order it in.
“Relax.” Petra bypassed the woman tapping her foot by the paneled windows offering a view of the hotel’s namesake. “Everything is fine, I’m sure. Is it so bad if I made your guys’ lunch fun?”
“Fun? That’s what you’re calling it?” Simone stalked Petra into the bedroom.King-sized? Awesome.Petra flopped down onto the bed and stretched her arms and legs in opposite directions.I could do with a nap.
She inhaled a deep breath to ground her into the bed before responding to Simone. “I happened to walk by when I overheard that woman named Shéla talking shit about Hailey. I had to put my foot down.”
Simone narrowed her eyes. The way she took up the bedroom doorway would have been impressive if Petra weren’t more concerned with catching a few winks before an early dinner.
“Riiight. I’m sure Hailey totally tutored you in algebra when she can barely put two and two together when she has a calculator in her hand.” Simone sighed. “I like Hailey too, but your lies need to be better than that if you’re going to fool the sisters of Zeta Nu.”
