Page 49 of The Reverse Cinderella
Dillon immediately held up a hand and Piaget could see this was an old running friendly argument between the two men. “Daddy may own it, but I manage it. Believe me, if I couldn’t do it well, he’d fire me right away.”
“How is your old man anyways?” Max asked.
“Still king of his piece of the world and showing no sign of slowing down. I’ll tell him you said hi.” Dillon got a little more serious as he watched Max pay for the cab. “The offer still stands if you ever get tired of that job you’re working at.”
“Thanks Dillon, but no thanks. I’m good where I am right now.” Max flashed a smile, but it was a little tight. Piaget wondered if she should have offered to pay for the cab, but she didn’t want to chance insulting Max in front of his friend.
“How about the blue one?” Piaget asked at random, trying to cover up the tension between the two men. Nothing gets men on the same page like discussing cars.
“The Ferrari F60 America,” Dillon had a slight wince.
Max rolled his eyes. “You haven’t driven it yet, have you?”
“Well, no… It’s fine. It’s in good hands.”
“If you don’t want us to take it out we can choose another.”
“Look,” Piaget anxiously watched the cab leave. “We’re happy to take whatever car you are willing to give us. I just need to get there.”
“No, a deal is a deal,” Dillon went to a small box on the wall full of keys and tossed a set to Max. “Have fun but no dents!”
“Thanks Dad,” Max teased.
Within moments they had the suitcases in the Ferrari and said their thanks to Dillon before zipping along the highway. Piaget waited a bit before asking, “So how do you know Dillon?”
“Old friends. His brother and I went to college together. Dillon had a habit of trailing us around. Plus, he’s amazing at scuba diving. We used to go see shipwrecks in the Caribbean together.”
Piaget didn’t see how Dillon would be anything but Ivy league. His very nature said that he would be comfortable in the world in which she had grown up in. This meant that Max would have to have come from a very prestigious background. The Max that she knew had been more of a blue collar Max. This Max, the Max of the Brooks Brothers suit, driving a Ferrari, looking all male and GQ, she could see him going to an Ivy league school. It was hard to reconcile the two different sides of Max and now Piaget wondered what she really knew about him.
Barely on time, they arrived at Tiffany’s sprawling house. For the weekend she’d hired a valet service and had the help going in full force. Someone was there to take the bags and Tiffany met them in the foyer, effusing good cheer as she hugged Piaget. “Piaget. Don’t you look lovely. I’d let you go freshen up but dinner is about to be served and you know how mother gets.”
“A couple minutes in the bathroom and I’ll be good,” Piaget said.
“Perfect,” Tiffany turned a thousand watt smile on Max. “This must be Max! Mother told me a little bit about you, but she didn’t mention how handsome you are!”
As she enveloped Max into a hug she gave Piaget a look that clearly said they were going to have to talk later. “Now unless you need the little boys’ room, you just come right this way and I’ll introduce you to my husband Charles. Charles works with Hewletts, George, and Stulmans. He’s a senior partner.”
Tiffany kept chatting up a storm of social nonsense and Piaget quickly made her way to the washroom. A pat of the hair and a reapplication of mascara and gloss were the best she could do under the circumstances. Thank goodness she had put on her first dress selection for the weekend before leaving the apartment since there was no time to change now. Fortunately, the fabric was forgiving and hadn’t wrinkled on the drive over.
Piaget made her way to the dining room and was greeted by Tricia and Jordan, the happy couple to be.
“Jordan, you remember my Aunt Piaget? She now lives in…” she cocked her head. “What neighborhood was it?”
Her tone indicated that it was one that she was sure not to know since no one of her social status would ever go there. Piaget supplied the name of her neighborhood wryly, fully expecting Tricia to put it down in a disdainful manner.
“That’s right! And you’re going to college as well,” Tricia made it sound like Piaget was a bright child for supplying the right answer.
Jordan held out his hand and she shook it in greeting. “Always nice to see you again Aunt Piaget. We’re so glad you could come.”
“Thank you,” Piaget’s eye caught Tiffany’s. “If you’ll excuse me?”
As she made her way to Tiffany, Piaget could hear Tricia explain to Jordan, “Grandmother says she’s going through a midlife crisis. If I get that way when we’re old, put me in therapy or something.”
Piaget winced. She knew that her life choices weren’t going over exactly well with her family, but for her mom to put it down to a midlife crisis. Piaget definitely wasn’t that old!
Tiffany grabbed her arm and blathered something about needing Piaget’s opinion on cheeseballs before dragging her into the kitchen where a catering staff was busy working on the evening’s menu. She turned on Piaget in astonishing speed. “First of all, how dare you say he was homeless to mother and I. He’s obviously not! You gave her a week of worry that I had to put up with and I don’t have time for that since we are hosting all of this and I’ve been working myself to the bone trying to make it perfect for Tricia.”
“Tiffany, when is the last time I lied to you?” Piaget asked sweetly.