Page 9 of The Perils of Paulie
“Oh, Max—my husband—would have loved for her to be on our team, but she wanted desperately to be in the suffragette car. Instead we have a delightful woman who used to be our maid. Well, on the show she was our maid.”
“Show?”
“Max and I met on a reality show filmed by the same production company.”
“Very cool. I think I remember reading something about that.”
Tessa smiled again, and I warmed even more to her. Like me, she had an abundance of curves, but unlike my black-haired bob, she possessed long brown hair, which she wore in an intricate braid. I was envious of that hair. We chatted for the duration of the flight, with her telling me what it was like to be filmed for a month.
“They won’t watch you during intimate times, like bathroom and bedroom events, but everything else is fair game.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to act natural knowing people are filming me.”
“Oh, you forget about it fast enough. Tabby and Sam—the sound-and-camera team—are awesome that way. And they’re really nice. If there’s something super embarrassing, they will conveniently erase that part.”
“I don’t know what could be that embarrassing, so long as they don’t film me in the shower.”
“You have no idea,” she said with a rueful laugh, shaking her head. “With us, it was catching Max and me in compromising positions. It seemed like any time we went in for a lip-lock, or something more physical, the cameras were there. Sam was most obliging, though, and didn’t pass on that footage to Roger, the producer.”
“That won’t be a problem with me,” I reassured her. “I don’t have a romantic partner.”
“But you never know who you might fancy in the race,” she said with a little waggle of her eyebrows. “Have you seen the Italian team? Holy moly, they are straight from the cover ofGQ. And there are a couple of gorgeous Brits, and the French team looks pretty nice if you like ’em Gallic.”
I made no comment, instead exclaiming when she pulled a black journal out of her bag to show me a pictureof her husband. “Oh, do you write in a journal, too? I just started one.”
“Yup. I’ve done so ever since I was a girl. Max keeps telling me I should publish them, but there’s a lot of intimate stuff in there.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You write about your... uh...”
“Sure, why not?” She gave a little half shrug. “Sex is just as much a part of life as everything else. Besides, Max likes to reread those sections.”
I was quiet for a bit while she told me about her life in England, the house, her husband, and how she hated wearing a corset even though it did wonders for her figure. I decided that if—and that was a very big if—I had any moments of romance during the next month, I’d document them. I was fairly sure that Nellie Bly would have, although, naturally, she’d have kept that out of any book she published.
“Still,” I said to myself when Tessa was off using the bathroom, “I bet she wrote that stuff down, too. Oh well. It’s not like I’ll have anything to document, sultry Italians and handsome Frenchmen aside.”
From: [email protected]
Subject: FWD: So?
To: Dixon
CC: Rupert
Dixon, would you show this e-mail to your obstinate brother? He refuses to respond, and we’re dying back here to know what’s going on.
ORIGINAL MESSAGE
Rupert! You were supposed to e-mail us as soon as you got to New York City and met the other racers, and it’s been almost four hours. Have you met Mercy’sstepcousin-in-law or whatever relation Paulie is to her? What did you think? Are you not e-mailing because you’re disappointed? Everything that Mercy said her aunt told her about Paulie sounded like she’s wonderful, and you guys share all sorts of interests. You like horses—she works with horses! You like art—Mercy’s aunt says Paulie used to draw. You’re almost the same age, so stop being silent and tell me what you think. You know my matchmaking mojo is on the line here.
Elliott says to tell Dixon that the order for fertilizer came in, but they dumped it on the south lawn, so we’ve closed that off from the tourists, so he said not to worry if there’s a dip in revenues for the month.
E-mail me as soon as you get this. I’m dying to know what your first impression of Paulie is. I think she’s just perfect for you!
Paulina Rostakova’s Adventures
JULY 18
6:14 p.m.
