“No, why?”
“I saw a strange car in front of your studio. Where’s your car?”
“Peter has it.”
“Whatever for? He has his Mercedes. Why would he drive your old junker?”
What she meant was my two-year-old Lexus that I bought right before I stopped traveling to clients for my job.
“Isn’t it a little chilly to run without a jacket?” I asked, changing the subject.
Hattie patted her butt. “This little tush already ran ten miles today, so I’m perfectly fine. Cooling off now.” She looked at Jacob and I swear she winked. “Is this the owner of the car?”
“I guess it depends on what kind of car it is,” he said. “I drive a Toyota Corolla. Dull gray.”
Hattie sauntered up to Jacob. “I’m Hattie Friday, and you are?”
“Hattie,” I never did call her Mom, “this is Jacob Jackson, my new assistant.”
“You look familiar. Do you take the yoga class at Stretch Armstrong’s?” She looked him up and down.
He shook his head, not able to get an answer out before she lost interest.
She looked over her shoulder at me. “He looks like a keeper.” She reached up and pulled the elastic band from the messy bun at the top of her silver hair and let it cascade down her shoulders and back, like a shampoo commercial.
I blushed, embarrassed more for Jacob than for Hattie.
“Did you need something, or did you just want to make sure no one was robbing the place?” As much as I loved her, she had bad timing, and I didn’t want to spend the morning chatting with her.
Jacob had moved to the sink again and started a pot of coffee.
She looked at her watch, a second generation Apple Watch with the larger screen that looked ginormous on her wrist. “I’m here to remind you that you have a meeting with Alice this afternoon about the Whine and Roses benefit.”
The Whine and Roses benefit started thirty years ago as a small gathering of the wives of the vineyard owners. It was a day of wine tasting and whining about how many vineyards were popping up, and how that was going to affect their millions. Now, it was an annual event that raised money for children’s charities. People came from all over the world to taste world class wines, and savor appetizers made by the best chefs in the Sonoma Valley. Tickets sold out every year.
“I have it on my calendar. But if I don’t get started on my photo shoot, I’ll have to reschedule. I’m training Jacob today, so it’s going to take me twice as long to get my client work finished. You know, the client work that I get paid for. That I pay the rent with.”
“What happened to your last assistant?” she asked, knowing full well the answer.
I looked at the clock on the wall. “Yeah, I’ll probably have to reschedule.”
“Don’t you dare reschedule! I’ll never hear the end of it. She was in a mood this morning, and I don’t want a phone call this afternoon.”
“Fine.” I turned back to the counter to start the coffee shoot.
With that, Hattie gave a finger wave to Jacob and slammed the door behind her as she left.
“Sorry about that,” I said to Jacob.
He grinned wide. “She’s a firecracker.”
“Yes, she is.”
“And she’s pretty hot for a grandma.”
Now I blushed for Hattie.
Love is a Many Splintered Thing Page 14
