Page 75 of Purchase Power
Chapter 21
“I’ll see you for dinner.”That was one of the only messages Lucy received from Noah in the next twenty-four hours.“Six o’clock at the hotel restaurant. There will be reservations, and they will be expecting you. I will let you know if I’m running late from my meeting. Order whatever you want to start with. There’s a Visa gift card waiting for you at the front desk. Please, go shopping for whatever you like. Treat yourself, Lucy.”
He might have called her by her name, but she didn’t feel a single shred of affection.
Still, she wouldn’t say no to an excuse to go outside. She donned the one nice day dress she had brought with her from the closet and went down to the front desk, where the concierge discreetly passed her an envelope that said,“Ms. Lucy Craig - $2,000.”Lucy had never spent two grand in a day before.
What in the world would she buy?
I could get those headphones I’ve been wanting.There was two-hundred right there.Maybe a nice gift for my sister. She loves those expensive perfumes.Going to a department store told her that this money was probably best suited for a new outfit for their date that night. Wouldn’t that be what Noah wanted?
How much did she want to indulge him?
Lucy didn’t enjoy spending the money. She went from one boutique to the next, until she discovered a high-brow venue called “The Crimson Dove.”It doesn’t get much more pretentious than that.The clerks working inside were dressed in designer wear and smelled like perfume even beyond Lacey’s reach. They immediately turned their noses at Lucy until they recognized the make of her dress and heard her drop Noah Gabriel’s name. He may not have been famous like some other businessmen, but these women made it their jobs to know every rich fuck in the zip code.
“My budget is two thousand,” Lucy told the clerk assigned to her fitting, a tall, dour woman named Gertrude. “I’m thinking a dress and maybe some shoes to go with it. What can that get me?”
Although Gertrude did not shrug, her disdain was palpable. Not everyone who walked through that door dropped a few or several thousand dollars, but she was still used to a higher commission than whatever her cut of two thousand was.
“We have a lovely Chanel dress that’s just come in, but…” She wrinkled her nose. “Right. There’s a one in front of that two. Veronica!” she called to the woman who had gone into the back. “What do we have for under two grand?”
An older woman poked her head out from behind a curtain. “We have some lovely accessories. I believe some shoes are also on…” she grumbled, “mark down.”
“I don’t care if it’s out of season,” Lucy said. “Look, it’s Monday afternoon. You have nothing else to do, I’m sure.”
Gertrude did not appreciate hearing that, of course, but she took Lucy to what amounted to be the clearance rack. There they found a year-old Dior dress that cinched at the waist and buttoned up to the throat. The original price when it was in-season was over seven grand. Now, however, the boutique was willing to part with it for “only” $1700. That didn’t give Lucy any room for shoes or accessories, but she didn’t care. Her black pumps would go well with it.
***
She made herself up to the best of her abilities, knowing that Noah would only care that she was washed, combed, and wearing a nice dress. The hotel restaurant was far from five-star, anyway. Four-star, at best. Nevertheless, Lucy was seated by a suited maître d’ who gave her a nice view of the nearby park. She was the only one in her section of the restaurant.
It remained that way for a long while.
After an hour of waiting, Lucy finally sent Noah a message.“Where are you? Did I get the wrong time?”Were there two restaurants in this hotel? No. Surely, if she were missing, Noah would have fetched her. Besides, this place had honored her reservation. What else was there for her to do but wait?
Noah still wasn’t there ten minutes later. Lucy’s stomach grumbled. She had held off on ordering anything but an appetizer, but now she desperately needed dinner. Honestly, she was more inclined to go back to her room and order a pizza. Feel like a normal person for once.
She received a text message five more minutes later.
“I’m sorry. I had to rush home for an emergency. I thought I might make it back into the city, but it’s not going to happen. My mother is causing much drama. I know that’s not an excuse, but it’s the reason. I’m sorry, Lucy. Please order whatever you like for dinner. My tab.”
Lucy didn’t respond. Not with an emoji, not with a stoic sentence.
Nothing. What was there for her to say?
She didn’t know what made her angrier. Was it Noah’s lack of communication? His willingness to set her aside at a moment’s inconvenience?
Or was she angry at herself for her failure to keep her emotional distance from him?
Lucy ordered the most expensive thing on the menu. She didn’t even like lobster, but damnit, she wanted to take some advantage of this while she could. She was already making plans for reclaiming some of her dignity, and this gravy train might be coming to an end.
***
Noah hadn’t intended to stand Lucy up. For fuck’s sake, he had only been three blocks away from her when he got the call from Candace, begging him to come back to Gabriel Manor as soon as he could. He didn’t get much more information than that, but Candace was not one to sound the alarm for any old thing. Knowing that Tonya had been left alone with Stacey was enough to make Noah drive all the way back with a sliver of hope he could still make it to dinner – even if he was a little late.
He arrived at the house to the sounds of chaotic anarchy. Stacey stood at the top of the grand staircase, screaming her throat hoarse. Anything she didn’t throw onto the ground was knocked off the wall and caught by one of the few staff members who were brave enough to get close to her. She was a flurry of hair and clothes, her shrieks only matched by the wild, faraway look in her eyes and the growl on her lips every time she turned the volume down a notch.
Tonya had sequestered herself in the study on the first floor, smoking her cigarette and nursing a drink. “I don’t know what’s gotten into her,” she spat, when her son asked what she had done to trigger Stacey. “All I did was talk about the trip to Disneyland Paris. You remember! Even at your age, you were too much of a big boy for the characters and the attractions. Your stepfather had to bribe you to go with your sister on some of the rides.”
