Page 26 of The Money Man
As Alice squirmed at her mother’s not-at-all-subtle description of what she was looking for, Linnea nodded and assessed Alice with what felt like a merciless eye.
“No need for the lingerie, Mom. I’ve got that covered,” Alice said, already wondering what she’d let herself in for.
“New lingerie always gives a woman confidence.”
“I have plenty of confidence,” Alice protested, resisting the urge to tuck in her butt as Linnea walked around behind her, still assessing.
Gabrielle took a sip of her wine and ignored her daughter, as usual. When Linnea left to gather potential outfits, Alice’s mother said, “Let me help you, just this once. I want you to be happy.”
Happy? That wasn’t really what Alice was expecting from Derek.
She tried to find the putdown in her mother’s words but couldn’t. “I appreciate that, Mom.”
“It’s the man you had lunch with at the diner, isn’t it?” Gabrielle said. “I hear he’s better looking than Ryan Reynolds.”
Alice had been deliberately vague about why she’d asked her mother for help with buying an outfit. She should have known that the suburban grapevine would carry the news about Derek to her mother. At least now she knew why her mother was being supportive. Her plain daughter had managed to attract the attention of a good-looking man.
Alice sighed and said with heavy irony, “Yes, he’s quite good-looking, but I admire him for his talent with numbers.”
Gabrielle’s face lit up. “Then he’s perfect for you.”
Maybe that was true but it didn’t mean that she was perfect for him.
“Who is he?” Gabrielle asked.
The need to impress her mother rose up and overwhelmed her better judgment. “Derek Killion, a founding partner of KRG Consulting. We’re working on a project together.”
Gabrielle whipped out her cell phone and tapped away with one thumb. Her eyes narrowed as she swiped a few times. Then she sat back, smiled, and took a sip of her wine. “KRG is a big deal in your world, isn’t it?”
“Kind of, yes.” Alice barely stopped herself from shrugging like the teenager her mother always reduced her to.
“How far beyond professional has the relationship gone?”
Leave it to Gabrielle to get to the crux of the matter. “Not at all.”
Her mother looked disappointed.
“He almost kissed me last night,” Alice said with a certainty she didn’t quite feel.
Gabrielle’s expression lightened. “So we need to find an outfit that will encourage him to carry through the next time.”
Alice nodded, even though it sounded worse when her mother said it out loud. Alice knew her mother wasn’t the best role model, but right now she needed support for doing the irresponsible thing.
Linnea returned with a gilded rolling rack hung with clothing, prompting Gabrielle to plunk down her wineglass and stride over. She examined each article of clothing with a steely eye before she sorted out the possibilities at high speed.
Alice watched in fascination. This was her mother in full professional mode.
Her mother turned and shocked Alice by smiling. “I’ve been waiting so long to do this.”
Alice tentatively returned the smile. If all it took was a shopping trip to earn Gabrielle’s approval, maybe she should try harder to share her mother’s interests.
Her mother’s smile evaporated as she pulled a couple of garments off the rack. “Now take off your clothes.”
By the time the Lexus pulled into the driveway of her town house, Alice felt as though she’d been picked up by a tornado and whirled around for hours.
The number of bags sitting in the car’s trunk was beyond anything Alice had expected when she’d asked her mother to give her some fashion advice. However, Gabrielle had insisted on treating Alice to four entirely new outfits, including shoes, handbags, and lingerie.
Alice had accepted her mother’s generosity because Gabrielle had muted her usual criticism and instead focused on what was good about Alice’s looks, a startling change that Alice still viewed with wariness. However, while Gabrielle debated the merits of one skirt over another, Alice had felt like a daughter rather than a disappointment.
