“Can I get you something?” A twentysomething brunette dressed
in a crisp white blouse and black skirt smiled at him.
What he wanted was whiskey to burn away whatever this emotion was that ate at him, but eleven o’clock in the morning was too early for alcohol.
“Coffee. Black.”
Might as well be fully awake to appreciate the waves of guilt rolling over him. For the second time in his life, he’d run from the most important woman in his life to pursue his own agenda. He hoped this time it wouldn’t end as badly as the last.
Nine
The Waldorf-Astoria Starlight Roof accommodated six hundred and the room was half full when Elizabeth arrived on Vance’s left arm, feeling distinctly like the third wheel she was. As kind as Charlie and Vance had been to her in Roark’s absence, they were so obviously a newlywed couple that it was almost painful for her to be in their company.
After collecting their table assignments in the foyer, the trio posed for a photo. Elizabeth stepped aside, insisting that Vance and his wife should take one without her, and headed into the venue eager to gather ideas for future events of her own. Although she’d been expecting to be impressed, the room’s eighteen-foot ceilings and tall windows draped in black and ivory gave her a momentary pang of envy. What would it be like to plan an event for a room like this?
Fifty tables of eight had been arranged in the long, narrow room. At the center of each table a thirty-inch pedestal arrangement of red roses and white delphinium offered a splash of color in the otherwise monochrome surroundings.
Elizabeth scouted where she’d be sitting before approaching the open bar at the far end of the room. She ordered a white wine and stood in relative privacy away from the guests streaming into the center of the room. The table where she and the Waverly’s would be sitting was near the podium. The food pantry was one of Ann Richardson’s favorite charities and her work was being honored tonight.
Her heart began to pound as she spied Sonya Fremont enter the room. The woman had been in possession of Elizabeth’s proposal for over ten days. As far as she knew no decision had been made on an event planner. Her future hinged on her ability to convince Sonya that she was the perfect person to handle the event.
Setting the wine down, Elizabeth started across the room in Sonya’s direction. When she drew within ten feet, doubts closed in. What was she doing? Her only credibility at these sorts of functions came from standing beside Roark. Without him she might as well be invisible.
“Mrs. Fremont?” Where she found the courage to follow through on her initial impulse, Elizabeth would never know. “My name is Elizabeth Minerva. I’m—”
“Roark Black’s fiancée.” A dimple appeared beside Sonya’s mouth as the petite blonde woman extended her hand. “The clever girl who tamed the city’s most intriguing adventurer.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say tame.” Elizabeth warmed beneath the woman’s approval and relaxed. “I’m here and he’s on a plane, heading to…” Had Roark told her where he was headed? She’d been so damned mad when he’d announced that he wasn’t going to make it tonight, she couldn’t recall if he’d said. She certainly hadn’t asked. “Actually I have no idea where he’s off to.”
Sonya laughed. “Oh, dear, you’ve lost track of him already?” She linked her arm through Elizabeth’s and turned toward the bar. “Not to worry. Roark is the sort of man who needs a long leash.”
The notion of Roark putting up with any sort of leash amused Elizabeth to no end. “You sound like you know him pretty well.”
“My husband has followed his career for some time. I think he secretly wishes he’d run off on his own adventures when he was young instead of becoming an investment banker.”
While Sonya flirted with the attractive bartender, Elizabeth retrieved her white wine and wondered how to broach the subject of the proposal. The room was three-quarters full and before too much longer everyone would begin to make their way to their tables. Her window would be lost.
“I suppose you’re wondering if I’ve chosen the event planner for the gala.”
Instead of groaning, Elizabeth applied a rueful smile to her lips. “Was I so obvious?”
“I figured it was high on your list when you approached me.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it.”
Sonya flashed her a wicked grin. “I’m rarely nice. But I’m sure you know that. How is my old friend, Josie?” The very deliberate slur on the word “friend” took a sledgehammer to Elizabeth’s optimism.
“She’s fine.”
“Still the same manipulative bitch she always was?”
“I…” Elizabeth felt the event slipping through her fingers with each question. She stood with one foot on either side of an ever-widening crevasse. “She hasn’t changed much in the three years I’ve worked for her.”
Sonya’s laugh rang out. “You, my dear, should have been a diplomat. I like you very much. If you weren’t working for my worst enemy I would hire you in a second.”
“Please reconsider. I would do an incredible job for you.”
“Did my old friend tell you what happened between us?”