Gilding Lily by Tatiana Boncompagni

Author:Tatiana Boncompagni [Boncompagni, Tatiana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-02-19T19:25:56.533000+00:00

148 • Tatiana Boncompagni

“I understand the terms of the assignment,” Lily laughed, and hung up.

Rushing to finish wrapping the Christmas presents before Will woke up, she scrawled out the rest of the cards and divided the gifts into two separate bags—one for her family and one for Robert’s.

The following day Jacinta arrived at the apartment to take care of Will while Lily got a jump on her Tennis Club espionage. The week before Christmas was sure to be a busy time there, and Lily wanted to make use of some of the inevitable craziness. The night before she had devised a plan to infiltrate the club as a spa technician. But to do that, she needed to look the part. Most of the facialists and masseuses she’d encountered at other spas around the city were from Eastern Europe or Russia, but if she posed as one of them, she’d be easily caught out. After much consideration she finally decided that she had the best chance of winging it as a Latina.

Pulling on an oversized T-shirt, a pair of still-too-tight jeans, and old tennis shoes, she doused herself in perfume, slicked on some bright pink lipstick, gelled her hair back into a tight bun, and stuck a pair of large gold hoops in her ears.

“Ta-da!” she said, stepping into the living room to show Jacinta her disguise.

“Not bad, mamita, but something’s missing,” Jacinta said, tapping a finger on her upper lip. She went to the front hall closet and retrieved her beloved blue and gray Yankees jacket. “You wanna look Puerto Rican? You gotta wear this,” she said, tossing Lily the jacket.

“Thanks,” Lily said, squeezing her babysitter in an embrace.

“Wish me luck.”

“You mean buena suerta,” Jacinta winked. “You gonna knock

’em dead, mamita. ”

In a mirror in the lobby of her building, Lily appraised her Gilding Lily • 149

appearance. As long as she didn’t run into Robert or any of his friends, she’d have no trouble passing as a spa worker.

She was right. The Tennis Club’s doorman, dressed in a navy overcoat, cap, and white gloves, helped her push her way through the revolving door, which was so heavy it nearly negated the need for a no-women policy—it alone would have been enough to keep them out. Once inside, she walked across the hunter green lobby toward the brass reception sign, her sneakers squeaking on the plush carpeting.

“Hola,” she said. “Busco el espa?”

“Hablas inglés?” asked the man behind the old walnut desk.

She shook her head. “Yo soy una assistente en el spa,” she announced, thankful for Jacinta’s last-minute vocabulary primer.

“Hmmm. The spa didn’t,” he mumbled, frowning down at a large plastic binder. He wasn’t expecting anyone, and she saw him reaching toward the phone.

“I do seaweed wrap,” she blurted out in English, trying her best to sound like Jacinta. “Soy nueva,” she shrugged impishly.

Pointing to the plastic name tag clipped to his navy suit, he warned, “Make sure they issue you one of these.”

Lily nodded and entered one of the velvet-lined elevators, avoiding making eye contact with the attendant as he pressed an unmarked button.

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