Two Kinds of Elizabeth by Genevieve Fortin

Author:Genevieve Fortin [Fortin, Genevieve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781594935237
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2016-12-04T23:00:00+00:00

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CC found Liz’s friends on the dance floor but no sign of Liz. Her friends mentioned she’d gone to the restroom or the bar or maybe to get some fresh air. They weren’t sure but they hadn’t seen her in a while. CC looked around the room and realized it was too crowded to really see anyone or anything. She looked up and recognized a familiar figure on the mezzanine of the second deck.

Joanna Dixon was standing in her favorite spot, straight and tall, her hands strongly anchored to the railing, looking down on her flock with pride. She was wearing a designer skirt power suit; CC had never seen the woman dressed for anything else than business. The suit’s red fabric enhanced the dark bronze of her flawless skin, and the skirt was short enough to expose long athletic legs. Her black hair was cropped short, allowing the beauty of her strong facial features to shine, from high cheek bones to a heart-shaped mouth, as if they were sculpted to perfection. She was in her mid-forties but she looked ageless. CC had seen her standing there on each of the dinner cruises she’d attended. She was observing, assessing. She could see everything.

CC decided the best way to find Liz quickly was to imitate Joanna. She climbed the elegant staircase and walked to the mezzanine on the other side of the boat from the one where Joanna was standing, not wanting to disturb the big boss. She looked down and searched for Liz’s red hair but couldn’t find her anywhere. “Good evening, Ms. Charbonneau,” she heard a deep female voice say behind her. “I trust you’re enjoying yourself?”

CC instinctively looked to the now empty space where she’d seen Joanna stand a minute earlier to confirm the voice was hers before turning around to answer the question. “Yes, of course. Thank you for putting this together for us. We all love it.” Intimidated by the woman’s presence, CC turned back to look down at the crowd on the dance floor.

“Looking for someone?” Joanna asked as she stood by CC. She was a few inches shorter than CC yet somehow so imposing. “May I help?”

“I don’t know if you know her. She’s fairly new. Liz McLeary?”

“Oh yes, Ms. McLeary. Of course. She’s one of our top performers. We’ll be sad to see her go back to school in a couple of weeks.” Something in CC’s expression made Joanna let out a low controlled chuckle before she continued. “Don’t be so surprised, Ms. Charbonneau. I know everything.” Joanna’s wink did nothing to weaken the meaning of her words. “I’m afraid I haven’t seen Ms. McLeary in at least half an hour or so. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, thanks anyway. I’m sure she’ll turn up eventually.”

“That’s a safe assumption. Unless she swam to shore.” Joanna threw a sideways glance at CC and smirked, leaving CC no other choice but to laugh. “That’s better,” Joanna said before she became serious again. “Don’t be so nervous, Ms.

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