Raindrops on Roses: Book One of the Favorite Things Trilogy (16 page)

Deleting the message,
Michael gently tapped the hotel's phone against his chin. He still
didn't feel like explaining anything to his father but he
was
beginning to feel
guilty. He hadn't gone into the office in over two weeks, which
meant his dad was left to meet clients alone and Michael knew Larry
didn’t like that, as he took great pride in having his son
alongside him, and for the time being, that was on
pause.

But Michael's life was in flux and he needed
the space. Surely his dad could be reasonable enough to understand
that?

Then why don't you just
tell him that, you idiot? Give him a
chance
to be reasonable
enough.

Of course, he hadn't told Priscilla anything
about avoiding his father, for obvious reasons. He didn’t want to
lie to her any more than he already had. His relationship with
Amber was over—that was a fact—and the only one that mattered as
far as he was concerned. Priscilla never needed to know anything
else.

Thank God the texts have
finally stopped
, he thought. They'd gotten
pretty ridiculous, almost like Amber's personal version of
Groundhog Day
.

Shaking off thoughts of Amber, Michael
continued on his way to meet the realtor, hoping to find something
that suited him fairly quickly. The sooner he closed on a new
house, the safer he'd feel about his relationship with Priscilla.
As it was, she had no idea he was currently living at the
Renaissance Hotel—and with any luck, she wouldn't have to.

•~•

When he got back to his room that evening,
he sent a brief but sincere e-mail to his father, asking him for a
little space. "I promise I'll be in touch soon, Dad," Michael
wrote. "And please stop worrying about Bauer Enterprises. Again, I
would never do anything to jeopardize the account."

He felt downright drained
when he hit send. Even a
one-sided
communication with his father had that effect on
him.
How come?
Damned if he understood it.

Throwing himself across the bed, he flipped
on the flat screen and tuned in to the History Channel. He hadn't
really liked either of the houses he'd seen earlier, so he was due
to meet up with the realtor again over the weekend when there would
be more time to see a few others.

Feeling the way he did about her, Michael
was tempted to invite Priscilla to see the houses with him, but it
seemed a bit presumptuous at this stage in their relationship and
he didn't want to risk making her uncomfortable.

They had plans to spend the next evening
together and Michael drifted off to sleep thinking about it,
feeling almost too excited. Like a teenager again. He could hardly
wait.

•
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
•

"R
emember, Douglas's interview with Ginger Wallford airs
tonight, Cilla,” Charlotte said. “And you know I think it was a
mistake not to do it with him."

Who asked you?
Priscilla thought.

"Cilla, are you still there? Hello?"

"I'm still here, Mom."

As usual, there was an awkward pause before
her mother got around to the real reason she had called. "So, did
you get my text about the water heater crapping out on us? We could
really use the help, Priscilla. It's around a thousand dollars for
one of those hybrid ones and it's worth it. We'd put it on a credit
card but, of course, we're maxed out."

"What about the money Doug gave you before
he left?"

Silence. "What money?"

"C'mon, Mom. I know
Doug
just
gave
you twenty thousand."

Charlotte exhaled. "Look, don't give me a
hard time. I'm investing that money, all right? I don't want to
touch it."

Priscilla rolled her eyes. "Frank doesn't
know about it, does he?"

Silence.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I don't think it'll
kill you to use a thousand of it for a new water heater. You can
just tell Frank that Doug bought it."

"So you really think that
should be
it?
You
two inherit millions and I have to scrub for a thousand measly
dollars? Does that even
sound
fair?"

Priscilla sighed. "Mom, I have to go. I'm
hanging up now."

"Priscill—"

Ending the conversation, she put the final
touches on the storyboard she'd been working on when the call had
come in, and after checking on Chewy, she headed back to her
bedroom and got into the shower.

Michael was coming over
for dinner and they planned to watch the
Newslight
episode together before
going for a late night swim.

Thinking about their new relationship made
Priscilla's entire body hum with life. She knew she was falling in
love, and it felt great. She smiled as the warm water hit her skin,
looking forward to ending the day on a happier note with Michael.
Her mother's greedy shove was already a distant memory.

•~•

"Finally! Here it is," Priscilla said,
turning up the volume. "Guess they saved the best for last."

They'd had to sit through
a feature story with interviews about Homeland Security
before
Newslight
finally got to Douglas's segment.

She and Michael were in the family room,
spooning on the sofa and enjoying after dinner wine. "I have to
admit it," she said. "I'm a little excited to hear what he has to
say. This was so important to him."

The segment was promoted throughout the
first half of the show as an upcoming feature of the late Veronica
Bauer's career in Hollywood that would include an exclusive
interview with her only grandson, Douglas Bauer. It was given quite
a buildup, with black and white stills of their grandmother the 50s
bombshell sailing across the screen.

"Good evening. I'm Ginger Wallford, and
tonight we're lucky enough to have Mr. Douglas Bauer joining us.
The grandson of the legendary Veronica Bauer, who you're
undoubtedly aware passed away recently, much too soon. A most
beloved leading lady of Hollywood's Golden Age, she became quite
reclusive once she left the business and gave almost no interviews.
I myself reached out to her personally several times over the
years, and to my great disappointment, she always graciously
declined to sit down with me. So tonight, I'd like to dedicate this
interview with her beloved grandson, to her enduring memory." The
camera switched to Douglas, who gave a modest smile.

"How are you, Doug?"

"Doing well," he replied. "I'm doing fairly
well, thank you, Ginger."

"Thank
you
for agreeing to do this
interview," Ginger said. "So...we have the public image, Doug, but
why don't you tell us a little about the grandmother
you
knew. Were you very
close?"

"We were. Yes," he answered quietly. "Very
close. She came to our rescue. We loved her very, very much."

Priscilla's back had stiffened against
Michael's chest.

"Your mother was abusive?"

"In a word? Yes."

"And how old were you when you went to live
with your grandmother?"

"I was twelve, my sister was nine."

Michael gave Priscilla a supportive squeeze.
Linking their fingers, she dropped a kiss on his hand as a thank
you.

Ginger Wallford was saying, "...in Paris,
where you now work as the CEO of Bauer Enterprises, the parent
company of the Favorite Things Hotels. That's quite a mantle for
such a young man, isn't it?"

"Yes," Douglas replied. "And it's one I bear
proudly, Ginger. My grandmother provided a very good education, and
I learned from the best, working alongside her very closely; so I
have a solid understanding of the vision my grandparents shared for
the company. I'm confident I'll be able to ensure it has a bright
and enduring future."

Ginger Wallford asked a few other questions
related to his childhood at Emerald Leas and Douglas's memories of
his grandfather, George Bauer, but she ended the interview on a
more personal note. And Priscilla knew this was the moment Doug had
been waiting for. The reason he'd agreed to do the interview at
all.

"And before we go, Doug. Is there anything
else you'd like our viewers to know about your grandmother? Any
special thoughts you'd like to share with the many fans all over
the world who love her films and the marvelous Favorite Things
hotel chain she gave so much of herself to?"

"Absolutely," said Douglas, looking directly
into the camera. "My sister and I want to send our sincere thanks
to fans all over the world who grieve with us at this time. Many of
you have sent your condolences—we've received flowers and mementos
from all over the world, and we thank you all from the bottom of
our hearts." He paused. "My grandmother was a very vibrant and
loving soul, and she always spoke of her time making films in
Hollywood with great nostalgic fondness. And even though she
retired from show business at the height of her career, she never
stopped loving and appreciating her fans. She was a very private
lady, but she would want the fans to know that she appreciated
them, always. She was a very innovative and creative mind, and she
poured those talents into her hotels. We're planning to add some
special touches to the decor of all three locations, and future
locations to come, in celebration of her life, not just in
Hollywood, but also in the many years after. We hope our guests
will enjoy it."

"Well, that sounds lovely, Douglas," said
Ginger. "And thank you again, Mr. Douglas Bauer. My deepest
sympathies are with you and your sister, Priscilla. I wish you both
the very best for the future."

"Thank you, Ginger."

When it cut to commercial, Michael looked
down at Priscilla where her head rested against his chest. "You
okay?" he asked. "What'd you think?"

She exhaled. "I'm surprised he went into our
childhood. They must've discussed it before hand because it seemed
like he knew the question was coming...I just hope it doesn't get
the news rags going again."

Michael nodded, rubbing her arm.

"And I'm pretty sure my
mother just shit her pants watching that," she added with a
chuckle. "But other than that, I think he did a
very
good job. Doug's always been
better in the spotlight, that's why he's the one for the public
appearances, not me. If it weren't like four a.m. in Paris right
now, I'd call and congratulate him. But I think I'll just send him
an e-mail before bed."

Michael began nibbling her ear. "Before
bed?"

"Hmm..." She turned onto her back, found his
lips and kissed him deeply. Loving the way it felt to have him
there.

They made love passionately on the sofa. And
Priscilla rode him senseless before he carried her up to her
bedroom for the night...where she somehow forgot all about
e-mailing Douglas.

•~•

On Monday morning, they went together to a
charming little coffee shop a few blocks from the hotel. Priscilla
was going in for more staffing interviews and Michael was headed
back home for work.

Ordering a chai latte for her and a tall
mocha for himself, he joined her at the table.

They had spent the entire weekend
together—listening to music, playing tennis, swimming and taking
nice, long walks with Chewy, who was still fairly unhappy but
seemed to be coming around.

Catching her eye, Michael flashed a satiated
smile. "I hate leaving you, you know."

"I know, me too," she said, glowing. "Why
don't we go see a movie later?"

"I like the sound of that."

So parting with a lingering kiss, they
settled on the new DiCaprio movie and agreed to meet at the Mayfair
Palace Cinema later on that evening.

•~•

When Priscilla blissfully arrived at the
hotel, she popped in to see Natalie in the flower shop. "Have you
heard any more of that Charlotte talk?" she asked.

"No," Natalie replied with a laugh,
"everyone pretty much knows by now that she was just dreaming."

"Good," said Priscilla, taking a seat. "So
how's everything else going around here?"

"Everything's going great.
We've been
very
busy in here. Lots of street traffic coming in, too, not just
guests. And they just hired a new girl over there in gifts. Jodi
brought her around this morning to meet everybody. Looks like they
picked a nice one, we like her."

"Yes, I was here for that interview,"
Priscilla said, nodding. "In fact, I'm back today for a few
more."

"Good!" Natalie said, tapping her on the
hand. "It's good that you're getting involved, Priscilla. I'm sure
Veronica would've wanted that more than anything."

It felt good hearing that from Natalie,
someone her grandmother had held in high regard.

"Speaking of Charlotte," Priscilla said as
she got up to leave. "Have you seen her yet this morning?"

"Yep. She was here bright and early, even
before me."

Priscilla decided to drop
in and check her mother's pulse. She felt a little guilty now about
hanging up on her the way she had, and she knew the
Newslight
interview
must've made her feel pretty badly.

The clothing boutique was directly across
from the gift shop, so Priscilla decided to stop in there first to
welcome the new clerk before going on to do battle with Charlotte.
"Welcome aboard," said Priscilla, smiling and shaking her hand.
"You're in good hands with Jodi here."

"Thank you so much," she replied, smiling.
"I'm really excited and can't wait to get out and explore this
whole island. All the cute little shops and galleries and
stuff."