Winner Takes All (23 page)

Light dawned on Eva. Ruth could see it spreading across her face. “Yes,” she said angrily, “that Mark. How could you do it? He’s been following you around like a little puppy for weeks and you’ve been encouraging him. Don’t think I haven’t seen the way you whisper sweet nothings in his ear and give him those come-hither looks.”

Eva started laughing. Suddenly, an irate Ruth tossing bagels was the funniest thing she’d ever seen. Ruth wasn’t amused. She dumped the rest of the bag on her friend’s head. As poppy seeds and crumbs trickled down her back, Eva tried to explain. “It’s not what you think.”

Ruth rolled her eyes. She knew what a towel-clad man at eight in the morning meant. “Really? So you aren’t sleeping with Cole Hammond?”

Taking several deep breaths to subdue the laughter, Eva admitted, “Well, that part is exactly what you think. It’s the rest. Mark isn’t following me around like a little puppy.”

“Really?” She arched an eyebrow disbelievingly. “So I suppose the way he’s been spending every spare minute with you is just for show.”

“Actually, yes,” she said completely sober. She was finally in control of her mirth.

Her easy acquiescence made no sense to Ruth, and she froze. “What?”

Eva recognized it was time to fess up and did it gracefully. She just hoped that her admission wouldn’t ruin Ruth’s friendship with Mark. That was the last thing she wanted to do. “Here’s the unadulterated truth, but just remember you asked for it.” She leaned against the front door and looked Ruth in the eyes. “It’s not me Mark has been following around like a little puppy for the last couple of weeks. It’s you he’s been following around for years.”

Ruth’s jaw dropped and she struggled to say
what
several times before the word would actually come out of her mouth.

“He’s had a crush on your since sophomore year,” Eva went on. “You’ve never noticed and he’s never said anything and I got tired of watching and waiting, so I suggested we pique your interest. You’ve always taken him for granted, and I thought it was time you stopped and thought about what you had.”

With her mouth still open, Ruth sat down at the kitchen table. She wasn’t quite sure she understood. Eva, fearing her silence was a measure of her anger, rushed to assure her that she only had her best interest at heart. “And Mark was a very reluctant co-conspirator. Please believe that. I talked him into doing this. You know—at least I hope you know—that Mark would never do anything to hurt you. Don’t take this out on him. If you’re mad, be mad at me.”

Ruth nodded slowly, stared at her for several long seconds and jumped to her feet. “I have to go,” she said, reaching for her handbag, which she had dropped by the door on the way in. She slipped on a bagel, which she picked up. Then she got down on her hands and knees, picking up all the bagels and putting them into the brown paper bag they came in.

Eva watched her scurrying on the floor and wondered at this sudden feverish rush of activity.

“I really have to run. Here”—Ruth pushed the bag of bagels into her arms—“I brought you breakfast.” Then she was gone. She was out the door within seconds, with a tossed “I’ll call you” trailing behind her in the stairwell.

“You better,” Eva yelled down the stairwell as her friend disappeared. Eva waited until Ruth was completely out of sight before returning to her apartment and closing the door. She looked at her watch; it was almost nine o’clock now. She’d be late for work, but she had to change first because she couldn’t very well go into the office with sesame seeds in her blouse.

What an odd and unexpected morning, she thought, as she picked out another off-white silk shirt. She considered giving Mark a call to warn him that the jig was up, but she didn’t have the time. Not yet. Not here. She’d call him on the way to the subway. Then she would go into the office and have a productive day and not spend half of it daydreaming about dinner with Cole.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Ben called a
department meeting for early Tuesday morning and Eva spent the entire seventy-five minutes watching the clock and wondering if she was missing Cole. One of his assistants had rung on Thursday afternoon to let her know Cole had to cancel their dinner plans because he’d been called away to Japan for meetings. But, his woman assured her, he would phone as soon as possible. That was five days ago. Obviously “as soon as possible” didn’t mean the same thing in his world as it did in hers.

She knew she shouldn’t be surprised. Any person who was so important he could be summoned to Asia on business on a moment’s notice would have little time to think about calling his girlfriend. Eva knew what it was like to be a low priority and she didn’t resent it.

Well, not much.

Or, rather, not very much.

“Eva?” her boss said, annoyance peppering his tone.

She straightened up in her chair and noticed for the first time that everyone at the conference table was looking at her. Uh-oh. “Yes?” she asked as she struggled to recall the question but she couldn’t. She hadn’t been paying attention for the last fifteen minutes. As soon as David starting talking about the progress of the Smithville diamond deal, she had tuned out.

“Where are we with the Hammond collection?”

Good question. Eva hadn’t heard a thing since lunch with Mrs. Hammond a week ago. It seemed all the Hammonds were deficient in the communication department. “I’m still waiting to hear.”

Ben furrowed his eyebrows and pinched his lips. He didn’t like waiting. He liked things to be decided right away so that he could show his superiors what a fine and efficient department he ran. “Right, well, let me know as soon as word comes through. Perhaps you should give Mrs. Hammond a follow-up call later today if you don’t hear by lunch.”

Eva picked up her pen and scribbled a note to call Loretta, but she was only doing it for Ben’s benefit. She knew that decisions like these weren’t made on a dime and that she’d hear something when there was something to hear.

Ten minutes later, the meeting drew to a close and Eva was happy to return to her desk to see she had two new messages on her cell. She tried not to get excited. The message light could be anyone: Ruth, Mark, her accountant, the dentist office calling to schedule a six-month visit. The first was from Mark, thanking her yet again for making him follow through on her wonderful, underhanded, devious plan. It had worked. Ruth had gone from her apartment to Mark’s, where she had stayed for the next twenty-four hours. They were taking her out to dinner that night to celebrate their new coupledom and the woman who made it all possible. Eva smiled as she listened to Mark’s giddy message. He really was happy and so far over the moon that the earth was nothing but a tiny blue-and-green ball
. I bet if he were going to Japan on assignment, he’d call Ruth himself and not have an admin do it.

The second message was indeed from a Hammond: “Eva dear, this is Loretta Hammond. I’d like to discuss the collection with you. I know this is frightfully last minute, but I’ve made reservations at the Palm Court for lunch at one. I sincerely hope you can join me. Please give Cassandra a call and work out the details.”

Eva rang Cassandra right away to say that lunch at the Palm Court would be lovely and what time. She tried to get some idea what the meeting was about—should she bring more materials supporting Wyndham’s bid?—but Cassandra was vague and claimed not to know anything other than where and when. Eva hung up the phone with a sigh and decided she might as well bring everything to the lunch meeting. It was far better to be overprepared than under.

An hour later she got out of a cab in front of the Plaza Hotel. It was a brisk fall day and the scent of leaves filled the air as she climbed the steps. You must not ask about Cole, she reminded herself again, no matter what the provocation.

Mrs. Hammond was already at the table when Eva arrived, and she sat down with apologies for her tardiness, even though she was really five minutes early.

“Don’t be silly, my dear, I’ve only just sat down myself,” she said. “I’ve been shopping all morning and there were dreadful lines at Neiman’s. It’s Cole’s birthday next month and I bought him the loveliest cuff links.”

Eva opened the menu and pretended to ignore Mrs. Hammond’s arch look. It was obvious that the Hammond matriarch suspected there was something between her son and the representative from Wyndham’s, but she was too well mannered to come out and ask.
And that’s fine with me. I certainly don’t want to talk about it or him.

But she did make a mental note to find out which day exactly was his birthday.

“I would show you the pair, but I’ve given Gaston my bags to check. Perhaps on the way out. Cole is the easiest man to shop for. He loves presents and isn’t very particular about what he gets. One year I bought him the most hideous sweater—quite by accident, I assure you, my dear; the Armani salesman wrapped up the wrong one—and he wore it out on several occasions until I insisted that he throw it in the Goodwill box.”

Eva listened to her rattle on about her son’s accommodating nature and fought back the urge to ask questions. This was a business meeting, she reminded herself, not the Cole Admiration Society. Still, she knew some sort of comment was required of her and she gave a noncommittal “oh?” as she continued to examine the menu. She knew she wanted the salad nicoise but liked the protection the menu afforded her. It wouldn’t do for Mrs. Loretta Hammond to see the representative from Wyndham’s get all gooey-eyed over her son.

Eventually, however, the waiter come over to the table to take their orders, and Eva was forced to relinquish her shield. She did so with a languishing look of regret.

“And, Harold,” Mrs. Hammond said when she was done ordering a Roquefort salad and chicken breast, “bring us a bottle of champagne.”

“Oh, I don’t think—” stammered Eva.

“What nonsense. This is a celebration. We simply must have champagne.”

Although she tried to suppress it, Eva’s heart jumped in response to these words. “A celebration?”

“Of course. The Hammond collection is yours.”

Eva smiled happily, thanked the woman profusely and assured her several times that she wouldn’t regret this decision. Her demeanor was calm and professional, but inside she was doing cartwheels. Her first commission! After all these years, her very first commission. She could barely wait to see the look on Ben’s face.

“Of course I won’t regret it,” Mrs. Hammond said. “I never make decisions I regret. What foolishness that would be. You had the strongest proposal, my dear, both in regards to your ideas and your financials, and Cole likes you. He has very good instincts.”

Although Eva kept smiling, her cheek muscles were suddenly tight and the inner Eva stopped twirling. Her getting this commission should have nothing to do with Cole. Their relationship, which didn’t amount to anything more than their having sex and her waiting for him to call, shouldn’t have any bearing on the Hammond collection at all. That was the promise he had made her in the beginning, and although the results were now the exact opposite of what she feared, the knife cut both ways. She couldn’t take advantage of his mother’s misconception. She and Cole weren’t having a relationship, not the kind where you bought someone cuff links for his birthday.

“Mrs. Hammond,” she began.

“Loretta, please. We’re going to be working very closely together. Formalities will only get in the way.”

Even though she knew they most likely were not going to be working closely together after all, Eva agreed. “Loretta, then. I don’t think how Cole does or doesn’t feel about me should enter into your decision.”

Just then the steward arrived with the champagne, and Eva had to wait while he uncorked it, gave Loretta a small sample and filled their glasses. The whole operation took less than two minutes, but it seemed like forever to Eva. After the steward had left, Loretta leaned back in her chair and examined her companion closely. “Are you trying to talk me out of Wyndham’s? Would you rather I use Davidge’s?”

Eva could just imagine Ethan Wyndham’s response to a question like that. She’d be fired in a minute if he knew that she had, in fact, tried to dissuade the Hammond matriarch from choosing them. “No, that’s not my intention at all,” she quickly assured her. “I want this commission. I’ve put in long hours and worked very hard to get it, but I want to win it honestly. If Wyndham’s has put forth the best proposal, then we should get it. If we haven’t, then it should go to another house, regardless of your son’s personal opinion of me.”

Loretta took a sip of champagne and considered her carefully for several long moments. Her gaze was steady and disconcerting, and Eva tried not to fidget.

“That’s very admirable,” Loretta finally said, “but I assure you that you won this on your own merits. Cole had nothing to do with this decision, other than to bring you to my attention. If he hadn’t interfered, I would have most surely gone with Davidge’s.”

Eva wished she had the menu on hand again to hide her relieved expression. No doubt her smile was so bright and sunny the patrons at the bar could see it. “Well, I’ll be sure to thank Cole for his help.”

“Monday.”

This was a non sequitur and Eva stared at her, wondering what Monday had to do with anything. “Excuse me?” she asked as she picked up her wineglass.

“Cole will be home on Monday,” she explained. “He’d planned to return before the weekend but got held up. There was a problem with a merger, in Tokyo, I believe, and subsequently he won’t be back until Monday.”

Since this was precisely the piece of information she’d wanted to know and the one thing she’d been determined not to ask, Eva was terrified that the truth was spelled out on her face. Was she that obvious? The thought was horrifying. “Oh, no…I didn’t…. There’s nothing…” she stammered uselessly.

“Of course not, my dear.” Loretta smiled placatingly. “I just meant that you could thank him on Monday.”

Eva took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “Right,” she said, struggling to regain her composure. “I’ll be sure to leave a message with Mrs. Hemingway.”