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“No, no, Ms. Warner, I think in these circumstances it’s better to…”

“Fine. You can call me whatever you want. Until I tell you otherwise.”

There was that bite again. Monique grazed her lower lip, slapped Jacqueline’s letter onto her desk, and turned away. “I can’t wait until you tell me otherwise.”

“Goodnight.”

Monique hung up. Not that she wanted to, but it was late, and there was a long weekend of work ahead of her. She made a mental checklist of everything she would have to finish before running away with Helen next week.I wonder what she will do to me.So nice to think about that instead of other, more malicious things.

Chapter 12

Stepping Out

Monique didn’t think anything of packing one of her suitcases Monday morning when half her employees were hungover and the other half enjoyed the equivalent of their weekend by sunbathing in the garden or making their escapes into the city. Nothing was amiss until people showed up to watch the most shut-in woman around prepare for a trip.

“Where are you going?” Chelsea asked, donning a pink bathrobe and cucumber mask. “This isn’t like you. What is it? An emergency?”

Monique finished wheeling out her overnight bag for one of the maids to take downstairs. “I didn’t realize I needed an emergency to get out of here for a couple of days. Are you worried that I’ll miss something?”

Chelsea shrugged. “You bend over backward to make sure you never have to go into town. Excuse me if it’s weird that you would go on a trip for more than a day.”

“I’ll be back by Thursday.”

Grace sauntered down the hall. “Where are you going?” she asked, standing next to Chelsea. “Ah, you’re going to see that woman, right?”

“What woman?” A cucumber fell off Chelsea’s face. Nobody was in a hurry to pick it up. “Boss has a girlfriend? Since when? Fuck it, I’m always the last to know these things.”

While Monique went back into her room, she heard Grace say, “What are you talking about? It’s that woman your patron brought that one night.”

“Who?”

“Seriously? Do you pay attention to anything going on around here?”

“Apparently not.”

Monique popped back out before rumors could spread like wildfire in her Manoir.These girls are terrible gossips.Half of them didn’t care for one another, but they would still gossip about their boss until the cows came home and then turned around to go back out to pasture again. “As lovely as it is for you to speculate on my love life… well…” Monique smoothed down her hair. “Yes, I am going out for a few days with a woman. Why not tell you? You get to gallivant all over the countryside with whoever asks you out.”

Both women rolled their eyes. “Because that’s our job,” Chelsea reminded her. “You going out with a woman all of a sudden is like… I dunno… Sybil no longer playing dress up or Yvette taking on another client. It’s weird. I don’t like weird.”

“So you don’t like me going out with a woman?”

“Not if she’s my patron’s friend!”

Monique didn’t have time for this. Helen would be there any minute, and at this rate, Monique would be cornered. “There’s nothing to fret about,” she said. “Ms. Warner…”

“Oh, right, that woman. I remember her sniffing around here off and on. Wow, boss, you work fast.”

“Excuse me.”

“Not trying to imply anything. We all screw on the first date around here.”

Monique stepped into her room, picking up her travel gloves and sunglasses before heading out and locking the bedroom door. “I’ll pretend neither of you is up to no good.” She put her keys away and pulled on her gloves. “Anyway, everything should be in order. You all know how to reach me if there’s an emergency.” She sent them a stern look. “Onlyfor an emergency.”

“Got it.”

“Not a problem.”

They remained standing by her door even after Monique made it halfway down the hallway. She turned, eyeing them from behind the sunglasses sliding down her face. “She’s not my girlfriend.” She sniffed. “Not yet, anyway.”