Wildcatter's Woman by Janet Dailey

Author:Janet Dailey [Dailey, Janet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781451639810
Publisher: Pocket Books
Published: 2011-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

OUTSIDE THE French windows of the shop, the shadows in the courtyard were lengthening to indicate the lateness of the afternoon hour. It looked very cool and peaceful to a harassed Vanessa while she tried not to let her true feelings show to her client.

“This isn’t what I had in mind at all.” Mrs. Perez discarded the two wall-fabric samples Vanessa had selected as being totally unsuitable. “Don’t you have something else?”

“Of course.” She smiled sweetly.

In her opinion, either of the two choices would have been perfect. Mrs. Perez was being unreasonably picky, Vanessa thought angrily. The woman was redecorating her entire fourteen-room house, and the last two and a half hours had been spent discussing one bathroom. The older woman had very definite ideas about what she wanted. At least that’s what Vanessa kept telling herself so she wouldn’t lose her temper.

“I want something very dramatic,” Mrs. Perez reiterated with a haughty lilt to her voice, betraying her impatience with the time spent.

Vanessa ran the tip of her tongue along her back teeth and silently counted to ten. “Salmon pink and black would make a very striking combination,” she suggested with quiet desperation, because it would mean throwing out the few decisions already reached.

The blue-haired woman blinked at her and touched the gleaming strands of pearls around her neck. Slowly a pleased expression stole across her heavily made-up face.

“Black marble with faint swirls of pink through it.” Mrs. Perez elaborated on the thought as if visualizing it in her mind’s eye. “It would be effective.”

“I can assure you there would be nothing else like it in New Orleans,” Vanessa murmured, and lifted a hand to signal Carla to come over.

Her secretary doubled as a kind of waitress when they entertained clients in the shop. In her self-effacing way, Carla seemed to materialize beside the sofa, and hovered there like a shy brown moth, awaiting Vanessa’s request.

“Mrs. Perez would like to look at the sample marble squares. And would you bring some more coffee, too?” Vanessa indicated the delicate china coffeepot sitting on a tray with two demitasses. The session promised to take longer than Vanessa had realized. She felt in need of the caffeine stimulant so prevalent in the black New Orleans coffee.

As Carla came around the sofa to pick up the coffeepot, the door to the shop opened. Aware that Carla would deal with the customer, Vanessa cast a barely interested glance to see who it was. A tall, dark-haired man had entered the shop, wearing a dark suit and tie.

The shock of disbelief rolled through her when she recognized Race, looking so different, so worldly in the tailored suit. A little fever of excitement began licking through her veins, bringing a sheen of pleasure to her eyes. All thought of Mrs. Perez’s importance as a wealthy client on the verge of spending a lot of money with Vanessa’s firm flew right out of her head. Without even a glance at the woman, Vanessa stood up to greet Race, a hesitant smile of welcome spreading across her face.

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