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“I don’t think you did that at all.” Monique opened the door and waited for Helen to step through. “Because you know I would not be impressed.”

“In truth, I didn’t buy it. I found it in my sister’s bin of things she wants to get rid of. Asked her if I could give it to someone, and she said yes.”

“How… well, I don’t know what to say to that.”

“I thought of you when I saw it.” Helen pulled a chair out from the table for Monique to sit in. She accepted and waited for Helen to sit adjacent to her, both of their seats offering a view of the sunset as it crept toward the gardens. “You make me think of the color red. Passionate. Straightforward. Strong.”

Only one other woman had called her strong before.Etta Coleman, my ex. She called Monique that when she broke down crying shortly after Etta took her away from that awful prison belonging to Jacqueline Love.“You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. A weaker woman would have died in there.”

“You flatter me, Ms. Warner.”

“What is your favorite color, anyway?”

Monique looked right into those bright blue eyes. “I don’t know.”

“How can you not know your favorite color?”

“It used to be black.”

One of the maids came out with wine glasses and ice water to get them started. She knew what to do. Bring out the bread. Then the vegetable and soup course. Then the main course. Then dessert. If the bread wasn’t out of the kitchen within ten minutes, someone was fired.

Helen waited for the maid to go back inside before asking, “Used to be?”

“Yes. Used to be.” Monique loved the simplicity of the color black. Yet it was strong, resilient, and so useful, and loved by millions around the world. Black was the color of “goes with everything.” It represented an innocuous coolness that everyone related to.

It also made her think of darker days now. Days that practically ruined her ability to love what the color black had to offer and why she should embrace it all. These days, she gravitated toward the color white to get her mind off it. White was refreshing and as versatile. Except Monique’s room was still black and red. No wonder she felt chills every time she went to bed. Regardless of how much she tried to distance herself from her past, it was always there, waiting.

Helen leaned on her elbows and gazed at the lamp on the table. “Black and red go well together.”

“Those are the colors of my room.”

Monique knew what hand she played, and she was not disappointed to hear Helen say, “I should like to see it.”

“I’m sure you would, Ms. Warner. I’m an impeccable decorator.”

“As stated by this entire mansion.”

The maid brought out the bread right on time. Helen insisted on buttering it while Monique watched the sun begin its descent behind a grove of trees.I should be doing that for her.Every time someone did something for her, Monique felt the compulsion to tell them,“No, no! I will do that. Please, let me serve you.”In a more common life, she would be happy to work retail and waitressing. Maybe work up to being a maid like one of the workers in her Manoir. She loved to make others happy and fulfill their needs. The day she realized she got off on it was a strange yet liberating one.

“A part of me is surprised that you agreed to have dinner with me.” Helen left the bread on her plate but didn’t touch it. “I thought for sure that after my faux pas, you would want nothing to do with me.”

“That’s not true.” Monique nibbled the corner of her crust and was grateful that a gentle breeze washed away the crumbs. “I rather like you, Ms. Warner. I just think you misunderstood the intentions going on.”

“Oh? And what were those?”

Monique glanced at her, coolly, the corner of her mouth teasing a smile. “You can’t buy my desire. You have to earn it.”

The wineglass was at the edge of Helen's lips. She gazed at Monique over the rim. “And how do I do that?”

Monique shrugged. “Make me trust you. That’s not an easy thing to do.”

Helen put the wineglass down and licked her lips. “I bet it wouldn’t be, considering what I know about you.”

“And what do you know?” The shields were up. Monique scooted back in her chair, ready to be angry.

“I know that you used to be with Jacqueline Love. After you two broke up, she was bought out of her shares at Love-Coleman. Something happened.”

“Is that it? You want to know what’s going on in the business world through me? Because I don’t have any insider information. I didn’t know anything going on in her life besides what she wanted to do to me.”