I took a look to the right, where the ocean was past the pools—yes, she had two—and saw a small, white yacht at the end of the pier. Corey had a yacht. That was nice. It would come in handy.
Georgia returned with two red drinks in champagne flutes, two fuzzy raspberries floating at the tops of each glass. Lola moved to the end of her chair after accepting her drink, then tipped her glass toward me. “I want to propose a toast.”
“Okay,” I said with a smile. “What for?”
“For having you join Ladies with Passion and devoting yourself to the cause. I am so grateful for you.”
“Oh, please. I’m so thankful you let me join. Seriously, I’m honored.” We tapped glasses and then sipped. “This is really good.”
Lola gave me a wink. “My chef is one of the best in Florida.”
Of course he was.
Two men wearing white gloves came to where we were seated and placed food down on the short, wooden table in front of us. There was all sorts of food and my belly grumbled at the sight of it. Fortunately, Lola couldn’t hear it. I hadn’t eaten that morning. I was saving my appetite for this brunch.
“Will you need anything else, Mrs. Maxwell?” Georgia asked, popping up after the men walked away.
“We’re okay for now, G.”
Georgia nodded and left. When she disappeared around a corner, I took a hard sweep of Lola’s home again, absorbing everything I could see from where I was seated.
Palm trees towered over the pedicured green grass and just past Corey’s yacht, I could clearly make out the Miami skyline in the distance. It seemed only a skip, hop, and a jump away.
I turned my head left, and a wooden shed was across the pedicured lawn, nestled beneath the shade of the palms.
“I’m going to dig right in. I’m starving,” Lola said, picking up a slice of cinnamon toast. I dug in as well, picking up a plate grabbing a small bunch of red grapes, a slice of watermelon, and a croissant stuffed with warm strawberry purée and cream cheese.
“All right, Ivy. So, I’m going to be honest with you here and cut straight to the chase. I didn’t just invite you here because you volunteer for me now.”
I froze a moment, wanting to avoid her eyes. Had she done her research? Found out more about me? I knew it! She knew exactly who I was.
“No?” I kept my face casual but slightly confused.
“No.” She dusted the crumbs from her hands and then reached for a folder beneath her seat. She handed it to me, and I quickly set down my plate to open it. I glanced up at her and she nodded her head. “Go on. Read it.” She was smiling; what was happening?
I kept my hands steady as I opened the folder and read over the sheet of paper inside. My jaw instantly went slack as I did. My heart, which was beating like a drum in my chest a minute ago, settled a bit. She had no idea.
“Wait . . . are you serious?” I asked.
Lola’s features drooped a bit. “I can understand if you don’t want to do it. With volunteering already, I realize this is a lot for you to take on so soon, and I know you work full-time, so I don’t want you to feel—”
“No—I think this is great! I’m just really surprised you actually want me to model the Ladies with Passion shirts this year.”
“Of course I do! Have you looked in the mirror? You are a beautiful young lady! Noah is the one who brought it to my attention, actually—you being the perfect fit to model the shirts. He said you have a unique appeal and I agree. I’d love for you to be the face of the shirts this year.”
“I mean, this is an honor, Lola! Really! But I’m so new to all this. Are you sure you don’t want someone else to do it? Someone who has been around longer than I have, like your friend Keke, maybe? She’s really pretty and would make a great fit.” I was pushing it, I knew, but I had to play my role. I’d done my research on Keke.
“Well, Keke used to model the shirts,” Lola said, and I knew that, “but she doesn’t seem as interested anymore, and her schedule never coincides with Bailey’s. She’s a busy momma. I brought up the idea to her, about someone new modeling the shirts and tank tops this year when we met for dinner a few nights ago, just to feel her out. She didn’t seem to mind me asking around. Although I call the shots, I’d still hate for any of the ladies on my team to feel offended.”
Well, she’d read Keke completely wrong then. Now I knew why she kept giving me dirty looks during the seminar yesterday. Lola must have told her she was considering giving me the model slot and she felt replaced, but of course she wasn’t going to flat-out tell Lola not to ask me.