The Prince Charming Hoax (3 page)

Just as he finished his conversation, her phone rang.

“
Oh great, now it
’
s working. It
’
s probably my office,
”
she said and brought her phone close to her face to answer.
“
Roxanne Stein.
”

Roxie quickly pulled the phone away from her ear as Elaine, her assistant, shouted,
“
Where are you? Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been waiting for almost an hour. I have given them a complete tour of our building, and they
’
re floating from all the coffee and water I
’
ve served them.
”

“
Elaine, I had a flat and my phone wasn
’
t working. Everything
’
s fixed now, but I think it would be better to reschedule. Please apologize for me and get them tickets for a show or something. Check with Public Relations. They always have stuff to give away. Tell the Millers I will spend an entire day with them next time, not just an hour.
”

Roxie caught sight of D.J. eating his fruit salad. He purposefully pulled the spoon from his mouth very slowly, watching her intently. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something move on the seat. She glanced down and saw the bulge in his pants becoming much more noticeable.

“
Listen, Elaine. Something very important has come up. Reschedule all my appointments to tomorrow and Thursday. I
’
ll call you later. Bye.
”

Roxie took another bite of her cream donut, letting the filling ooze onto her tongue. After swallowing, she took a sip of iced coffee and sucked on an ice cube, keeping eye contact with him all the while.

“
So, what are you doing for lunch, D.J.?
”
She gave him her best sexy smile.

Chapter
4

Everything appears so much different in daylight, Leah thought as she pulled into her gated community. When she came home last night, the neighborhood looked dark, deserted, and lonely. Now the morning sun highlighted the top of the homes and the lush Florida landscaping glistened with the moisture from the early morning sprinklers. Her townhouse looked peaceful and inviting, with rows of delicate flowers along the walkway and a rippling fountain in the courtyard.

Exteriors can be deceiving, she reminded herself as she walked inside and viewed the disarray of the house in preparation of her move. Her gloom returned.

“
Ali, are you here?
”
Leah called out, noticing her daughter
’
s breakfast dishes on the kitchen counter.

Leah didn
’
t hear the sound of the shower or her daughter
’
s voice on the phone, so she presumed Ali must have left already with her friends. A look inside Ali
’
s bedroom confirmed that she had been home and left again. Her backpack lay open with its contents spilling out on the bed. Her hairbrush, dryer, and flatiron were on the floor in front of the full-length mirror and various items of clothing spilled over the top of the hamper onto the floor of her closet. Leah closed the door.

Walking into her office didn
’
t offer much respite. The once-comfortable room was dismantled, with everything except her everyday items packed in boxes. She sat in her desk chair and looked out the window at the lake, the center of her little community. Living near the ocean and her lake view were two things she
’
d miss when she left this house.

And now she had nowhere to go. Her gaze traveled to the shelf above her desk.
“
Doug, how could you do this to me?
”
she glared at his photo.
“
I trusted you, and you betrayed me.
”

She grabbed the picture frame and threw it inside the top drawer of her file cabinet that held all the mementos of their times together. The drawer was brimming with ticket stubs, postcards Doug sent her from his international business travel, press clippings, and more. Leah slammed the drawer shut, but didn
’
t feel better.

“
That
’
s not far enough away from me, you prick.
”
She grabbed a carton and scooped out the contents of the drawer, dumping it all into the box.

Leah was momentarily tempted to rummage through the pile of photos, handwritten love notes, matchbooks from restaurants, hotel room keycards, and maps from cities where they had traveled together. But she resisted the urge, knowing it would only make her feel worse. Instead, she stood up and kicked the box.

“
That
’
s it? That
’
s what our whole time together amounts to? I can fit it all in one stinking box,
”
she said as she sealed the top.

“
So, now what?
”
Leah considered hauling it downstairs and dumping it in the trash, but she knew she wasn
’
t ready to let go completely.
She grabbed a marker and wrote across the top,
“
Open when ready to defrost.
”
Someday she would be able to deal with the pain, but for now she had to freeze her heart so her head could work. Leah pushed the carton over to the side of the room with the other boxes.

She felt lightheaded and remembered she hadn
’
t eaten yet. She grabbed a pad and pen off her desk and headed for the kitchen.

Sitting at the table with her tea and muffin, Leah looked out at the courtyard fountain and garden and tried to concentrate on her next steps. She wrote across the top of her pad: MY OPTIONS and underlined the heading twice. She drew two vertical lines, making three columns across the page. At the top of the first column she wrote

“
Move to New York,
”
then
“
Move in with/Get $$$ from David
”
in the second column, and
“
????
”
across the third column.

Then she divided each column into sections for pros and cons.

First she considered
“
Move to New York.
”
Pros: good jobs, good pay, exciting, love it there. Cons: can
’
t afford it, don
’
t have a job, it
’
s cold, no friends or relatives live there anymore, potential to run into Doug.

She placed a big X through Column One.

Leah held her pen over Column Two and contemplated asking her brother to help her—again. David had been so good to her over the years. Being twelve years older, he treated her more a like daughter than a sister. Especially now that both their parents were dead, he rescued her from disaster time and time again. No, she was too embarrassed to ask for any more money, and the idea of imposing on him and Carol in their own home was out of the question, too. Leah placed an X through Column Two, although she knew he would not refuse if she asked.

“
I
’
m back to where I started, aren
’
t I?
”
Leah mused, staring at the row of question marks in Column Three.
“
Maybe I should try to find a short-term rental until I figure out my next steps?
”

She started doodling down the column while she considered how the tidy profit she was making from the sale of her townhouse would disappear quickly on rent, if she didn
’
t get some work soon to bring in income. Her prospects for new work weren
’
t great at the moment. She might be able to get back some of her old writing gigs, but most of her clients had already moved on to new arrangements, based on her own recommendations.

Of course, if her bitchy agent sold her book proposal to a major publishing house, there could be a big advance, but that was a big
“
if.
”

“
If I invest the money I make from the sale into another house, I
’
ll never be able to get anything around here as nice as what I just sold—not in this market.
”

She pondering relocating, but shook her head.
“
I don
’
t feel up to starting out all alone in a new city, with no man, no friends, no Ali, and no work.
”

Leah threw the pen down in disgust.

“
I don
’
t know what I
’
m going to do.
”
She placed her head in her hands, propping herself up with her elbows on the table. Just as she closed her eyes, she heard a car pull in the driveway.

Ali, Dana, and Tori spilled out of Dana
’
s Civic. Leah watched as the girls hugged each other good-bye while Ali retrieved her packages from the trunk. Laughing and all talking at the same time, they were the perfect image of what life should be like at their age with prom and high-school graduation approaching. Ali waved good-bye to her friends and walked toward the house.

“
Hi Mommy!
”
Ali dropped her packages at the door and ran to give Leah a hug and kiss.
“
I
’
m so glad you
’
re home. Wait
‘
til you see what I got!
”

“
My little ray of sunshine, I
’
m glad you
’
re home, too.
”
Leah squeezed Ali.
“
Did you get a dress today?
”

“
I got EVERYTHING!
”

“
Great! Go upstairs and try on the whole outfit so I can see. That is, if you can find a space to stand. Every inch of your room is covered with something.
”

“
Sorry. I
’
ll clean it up before I go to work,
”
Ali gave Leah a peck on the cheek and quickly headed upstairs, arms full of shopping bags.

Leah tore the top sheet off the pad, ripped it up and threw it in the trash. She was not going to spoil Ali
’
s joy today. She began to do the dishes as she waited for Ali to come out and show off her finery.

After a few minutes, Ali put on music.
“
Are you ready, Mommy? I
’
m coming down.
”

Leah ran into the living room and looked up to the top of the spiral stairway. She knew Ali loved to make a dramatic entrance, but she was totally unprepared for what she saw. Her daughter stood on the top step, enveloped by the sun streaming in from the two skylights above the staircase, as if in a spotlight.

Ali had chosen a classic-style gown in white crepe knit with one shoulder strap, a diagonal neckline and slit up the side. Ethereal as Aphrodite, she glided the steps and rotated at the foot of the stairs, so Leah could see her back. The dress draped down gracefully to her waistline, exposing her back. Ali wasn
’
t wearing anything under the dress and didn
’
t need to. She filled every curve of the design perfectly.

Ali had tried to contain her massive golden mane in rhinestone clips, but some of the long heavy curls escaped, framing her face and falling down her shoulders and back.

“
Don
’
t you like it, Mommy? You
’
re not saying anything.
”
She searched Leah
’
s face for an answer.

“
Mom, you
’
re crying,
”
Ali said, and she rushed over to hug Leah.

“
You are so beautiful in every way, Ali. Your hair, your smile, your inner shine. I love you so much.
”
Leah laughed through her tears.
“
Don
’
t squeeze against me, or I
’
ll get your dress all wet. You better go change out of your dress, now. Thanks, though, for the preview. It was exactly what I needed today.
”

Ali
’
s phone rang and she hiked up the dress as she raced upstairs to answer. Leah smiled. So much for grace and beauty, she thought.

Leah
’
s humor turned into concern when she heard Ali screaming. She ran upstairs to find her daughter sitting on the bed, tears streaming down her face.

“
Ali, what
’
s wrong?
”

“
Mom, Justin
’
s been suspended, and they won
’
t let him go to the prom.
”

“
Suspended from school? For what?
”

“
He told off his coach or something. I don
’
t know. You know how Justin is. He had a temper tantrum.
”

“
It must have been pretty bad if got suspended, Ali. Coaches and players fight all the time.
”

“
I don
’
t know, Mom. You
’
re not helping. All I know is the principal said he couldn
’
t go to the prom. So now I don
’
t have a date.
”

“
Oh no. Sweetie, maybe he could apologize to the coach and the principal. There must be something he can do.
”
Leah sat next to Ali and stroked her hair.

Ali rested her head on Leah
’
s shoulder, wiping her eyes and nose with a tissue.

“
Come on, Ali, get out of your dress before it wrinkles beyond repair.
”

Ali sat up and crossed her arms.
“
What
’
s the difference? I won
’
t be able to wear it anyway.
”

Leah felt her defensive maternal instinct flaring. If Justin were there, she would have strangled the little twerp.

The phone rang. Ali picked it up.
“
Hello. Yeah, I
’
m all right. OK, call me later.
”

“
Was that Justin?
”