“Just put them here in the front room.”
Eve was all business now, Lainey noticed, directing the movers where to place the sculptures and paintings. It was time, despite what was happening between them, for their work to begin in earnest.
“We have to do this before the opening of the gallery,” Katherine said. “Sumptor will be preoccupied enough not to notice anything, but we have to cover our tracks. Meredith? Are you listening to me?”
Katherine sat in Meredith’s office trying to go over their plans, uncomfortably aware that Meredith was not really listening.
She had been on the computer the whole time looking up God knows what while Katherine did all the work on their plot.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“I’m listening to you, Katherine,” Meredith answered irritably. “I know exactly what we have to do. Why don’t you just go and finish the adjustments on those reports. We shouldn’t be discussing this here anyway.”
Katherine rose and looked over Meredith’s shoulder just as her friend shut down the monitor. “Why are you looking up the name Stanton? My God, are you insane? What does Lainey have to do with this, Meredith? Why are you wasting your time?”
“I’m not wasting my time,” she assured her. “There’s something going on with her, and I want to know what it is.” It troubled Meredith that Eve had taken Lainey under her wing. She had been with Eve for over four years and had never been treated as anything more than an employee. So what was it about Lainey that fascinated Eve?
“Lainey is not our problem, Meredith,” Katherine said, pushing a hand through her dark, curled hair impatiently. “But you will be if you don’t pay attention to the task at hand. We’ve come too far to screw everything up now, so forget about Lainey and let’s do this.”
Meredith heaved a sigh and gave up on her search on Lainey Stanton. For now.
Eve and Lainey spent the morning and part of the afternoon carefully unpacking the priceless and pricey art. Lainey observed that Eve examined at each piece with the eye of a professional, an artist and a critic. They ordered a pizza for lunch and sat in the middle of the hard wood floor, shoes kicked off, laughing and talking. It was the first time Eve could remember sitting down and having a real conversation without someone wanting to either sleep with her or scratch her eyes out. She had had girlfriends, of course. Okay, one girlfriend, who once she got married, kept telling Eve that she needed to settle down and get married instead of remaining a lonely business woman. With Lainey she felt more complete. She sensed that they could trust one another, tell each other things they would never tell anyone else.
Lainey had been a mother and a wife for so long that she had forgotten what it was like to just be Lainey. With Eve she felt like an individual with her own dreams. As much as she loved her sons and Jack, Lainey realized now that she needed to find herself before she was gone forever. From the moment she had met Eve, Lainey had started her journey back to herself.
Eve took a bite of pizza and glanced over at Lainey. “I haven’t talked this way with anyone for a long time,” she said. “Truth or dare?”
“Truth,” Lainey shot back, amused. She felt as though they were two girls together, sharing secrets.
“How old were you when you lost your virginity?” Eve laughed and reached over to pat Lainey on the back when she choked on her pizza. “Sorry. Too personal?”
“No, no,” Lainey replied, clearing her throat. “I’ll learn not to be surprised by you soon. I hope. Actually, I was twenty-two. Don’t look at me like that, I was!”
“Twenty-two? Was Jack your first?”
“And only, yes.”
“Do you ever feel that you’ve missed out on something or maybe picked the wrong person?”
“I didn’t before. I’m not so sure anymore.” Lainey lowered her eyes. “Or maybe he’s the one that thinks that way.”
“You love him.” Eve would never have dared go so far but something told her that Lainey badly wanted advice. “I’ve never met Jack, Lainey, but I can’t imagine anyone falling out of love with you. Have you talked to him about how you’re feeling?”
“He doesn’t want to talk. He thinks everything is fine. That’s the biggest reason we fought about me taking this job. He is afraid it’s going to change things between us. I hope it does, because I can’t do this anymore. I need more. More passion, more romance, more attention, more excitement. Just. . .more.”
“I know absolutely nothing about love, Lainey,” Eve said, twisting her hair into a knot at the back of her head. One of her high cheekbones was streaked with dust. “But I do know about passion, romance, attention and excitement. The direct approach didn’t seem to work last night, but we could try a different approach. That is, if you want my help.”
“I do want your help, but not only with Jack, Eve,” Lainey said sincerely. “I need help. When I look at you, I see a woman who knows who she is and what she wants. I want to be that kind of woman.”
Now that she had started to talk, she couldn’t stop until it was all out.
“I was only two years younger than you when I got married,” she went on, “and Jack is the only man I’ve ever been with. I don’t want to think that I’ve missed out on anything, but I can’t help it. I’m not saying that I would have wanted anything different if I could do it all over, but maybe I would have waited to get married and found myself first. Maybe then, my marriage wouldn’t be falling apart now. Maybe I’m the problem, Eve. Not Jack.”
Eve saw tears brimming in Lainey’s eyes and felt her heart break a little. She reached over and took Lainey’s hand in hers.
“I’ll do everything that I can to help you, Lainey. Maybe we can help each other.”
“What could I possibly help you with?” Lainey said in amazement. “You have everything. You know exactly who you are. I’m ten years older than you, for crying out loud, and I’m more lost now than I was when I was younger. You – you’re a beautiful, young woman who has it all.”
“Looks can be deceiving, Lainey,” Eve said softly, and then took a deep breath. “Come on. We have less than one week to get this gallery presentable. Let’s work on that, and while we do that, we’ll work on finding Lainey Stanton.” She pulled Lainey to her feet. “We’ll discover the woman inside of you, Lainey. I promise.” With that, Eve let Lainey go suddenly and walked away.
“You take the right side, I’ll take the left.”
Lainey stood there for a moment, trying to understand what was happening to her. Because something was. But there was no time now. She had work to do, and she was going to make sure that Eve realized that she had made the right choice when she had hired her.
They worked non-stop for the next three hours. With less than four days until opening, Eve became more anxious and energized. A young, beautiful woman had to do more work to prove that she was worthy of the respect that the art world had to give. She was determined not to let anything go wrong, and she would certainly keep the esteem and prestige she deserved. She had agreed with Lainey’s vision of how the art should be arranged, and now with only minimal changes created a display only a true artist could have conceived of.
“You are brilliant at this,” Lainey had to say finally. “You have an amazing vision, as though you were born to do this.”
“Thank you, Lainey. I believe I was,” Eve responded. “Would you help me with this?” She turned to Lainey with a colorful rendition of a man with a cigarette painted by Picasso in hand. “I want it here.”
She motioned to the middle wall separating the two walkways of the gallery. Eve waited as Lainey brought the ladder over to her.
“Would you mind getting up there and placing it while I make sure that it is aligned from down here?” she said.
Not about to let Eve know she was afraid of heights, Lainey agreed and started up the ladder. Eve handed her the painting and stood back to get the best view.
“A little higher on your left. Good. Now, bring the entire painting
up a few inches. Good, a little more and that should do it. Lainey?”
Suddenly aware that Lainey was swaying slightly, Eve hurried to catch the painting in one hand and support Lainey with the other. “You scared me,” Eve whispered into Lainey’s ear. “How are you feeling? Do you want to sit down?”
“No, I’m...I’m fine. I just feel stupid.”
“Why? Here, please sit down. You’re still shaking.” She eased Lainey down to the floor and sat next to her.
“I didn’t want to tell you that I was afraid of heights.” Lainey laughed softly. “I guess you know now.” Lainey didn’t add that the real reason she was shaking was because she was in Eve’s arms.
“You could have really hurt yourself,” Eve scolded her. “Why didn’t you say something? Did you think I wouldn’t understand?” Eve wasn’t certain whether she wanted to laugh or cry.
“It’s silly. I should have been able to get up there with no problem. I just didn’t want you to think I couldn’t do it.”
“That’s silly, Lainey. You want to know the truth?” Eve grinned guiltily. “I’m afraid of heights.”
Lainey laughed. “You are not!”
“Yes, I am. That’s why I asked you to do this for me. Had I known that you felt the same way, I would have done it myself. It’s one of my deepest, darkest secrets, so if you tell anyone I’ll deny it!” Eve reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind Lainey’s ear. “Don’t be afraid to tell me anything, Lainey, and please, don’t put yourself in danger like that again. I don’t want anything to happen to you,” she finished softly.
“Thank you. For catching me.”
“My pleasure,” Eve replied with a wink. “I think it’s time for a break. We accomplished a lot today on the gallery. Let’s work on you now.” She smiled apologetically when her cell phone rang.
“Can we start over?” she heard Adam say. “Let me make last night up to you. I was a jerk, Eve. I know that now. I’m sorry, let me make it up to you, baby, please.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Eve got to her feet and started pacing. “I know this is hard for you, and I don’t blame you for being upset. I’m sorry, Adam.”
For not being the woman you deserve, Eve thought, and for not giving you what you need.
“No, Eve. You’ve told me what to expect from the beginning and you’ve never pretended with me. I knew what I was getting in to. I should have never pressured you, or said the things I did. Tell me what I can do to make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to make it up to me. It’s okay.”
“Eve. Please.”
Eve could hear the fear and hurt in Adam’s voice and it touched her to know how much he felt for her. She wanted to soothe him, and have him soothe her. But she also wanted to show him that sex wasn’t the only thing she was interested in with him.
“I have something that I have to take care of tonight,” she said. She knew he would be disappointed, but she needed this time to think. “Wait, please. I have to do this tonight, but meet me at the club tomorrow at nine. I think it’s time we had a date, Adam. Can we do that?”
Adam had been disappointed and a bit jealous when Eve had told him she had other plans. But he would do as she asked and take her on a date. She deserved it. She deserved everything. “We can do that. But Eve?” he told her. “Just tell me it’s not another man.”
He knew in his heart that she would never hurt him that way, but he needed to hear it from her.
“Baby, you know the answer to that.” Eve deliberately dropped her voice to a sultry whisper. “No one can do to me what you do. There’s not another man, Adam. Only you.”
“I wasn’t trying to listen,” Lainey said as Eve slipped her cell phone in her pocket. “And I certainly don’t want to pry into your personal life, Eve...” Lainey began.
“It’s fine, Lainey. I don’t mind.”
“How long have you and Adam been seeing each other?”
Eve began tidying the gallery before leaving for the night. “Hmm, almost two years, I think.”
She knew what was coming next. She had heard it many times before. ‘Why aren’t you married?’ ‘Where is the relationship going?’ As a result, what she heard Lainey say next was so unexpected that it sent her into fits of laughter.
“Do you realize that your names are Adam and Eve?”
“I like you, Lainey. I really do. Come on, let’s get out of here.”
They were still laughing when they stepped out of the elevator and into the parking garage. Disarming the alarm Eve hesitated before getting into her car. “Hop in,” she said to Lainey.
“What?”
“Hop in. I want to take you somewhere. Unless you need to get home.”
“No. I mean, no, I don’t have to get home right away. Jack is there.” Lainey settled into the passenger side next to Eve. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see. Don’t worry, Lainey. I won’t keep you out too late.”
As they drove down the quiet, tree lined street, listening to a Marc Anthony CD, Lainey wondered how she could be so at ease with Eve and at the same time so nervous. She stole a glance at Eve out of the corner of her eye, and saw her tapping her long, slender fingers to the beat of the music. Lainey was absolutely stunned at the thoughts she had about Eve’s fingers. Flushing, she turned her head to stare out the window.
Eve smiled to herself. Lainey was like an open book sometimes, and Eve found the reading intriguing. She pulled up to the curb in front of her apartment building.
“Where are we?” Lainey asked.
“Come on,” was Eve’s only answer as the doorman came to open her door for her.
“Good evening, Henry,” Eve said as he tipped his hat. “How are you tonight?” He was a wonderful black man in his late fifties with graying hair and a tender smile, and he had come to seem like a sort of father figure to Eve. Somehow it comforted her to see him every night when she returned home.
“Mighty fine, Miss Eve,” he replied. “Mighty fine. The missus told me to tell you ‘Hi’ and to thank you for the photos of little Stevie. She’s shown everyone on the block. They’re her new pride and joy!”
“Well, I’m glad she enjoys them. Tell her ‘hi’ for me and she’s very welcome,” Eve said as they got out of the car. “This is Lainey Stanton, Henry. She’s my new assistant at the gallery, and a very good friend of mine.”
“Well, how do, ma’am? Any friend of Miss Eve’s is a friend of mine.” Henry saluted Lainey and went to hold the door open for the two women.
“I expect you and Trudy to be at my opening, Henry,” Eve said. “It wouldn’t be the same without you.”
“Yes, Miss Eve. We’ll be there for sure.”
“He’s sweet,” Lainey commented as they rode the elevator up to the thirty-first floor.
“He’s a doll,” Eve told her. “His wife Trudy makes the best cornbread I’ve ever had, and Stevie is one of my favorite subjects. He’s such a little ham. He’s going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up.”
As Eve dug her keys out of her pocket, her neighbor’s door opened and then snapped shut when she said hello. Eve laughed quietly. “Home sweet home.”
“Is she always that nosey?” Lainey wondered aloud.
“Mrs. Jenkins? Yes. It’s fine, though. She’s like a watchdog. At least she’ll know if anything is wrong,” Eve told her leading Lainey down the hall and into the living room of her spacious loft style apartment.
“Wow!” Lainey stopped abruptly and looked at her surroundings. The apartment was decorated in stark white furniture and carpet with the paintings that dotted the walls providing the only color. The cathedral ceiling gave the room an open and airy feel, and yet even being exceptionally pristine it was inviting and cozy. White marble surrounded the fireplace that was the centerpiece of the beautiful room. To the left of the fireplace was a spectacular white grand piano, and to the right was a white oversized chair that Lainey could imagine Eve curling up in with a good book and glass of wine. T
he thing that struck Lainey the most was the lack of family photos to grace the beautiful place. It was as if Eve had no past, no family. The thought saddened Lainey for reasons she couldn’t explain.
“This is the real you,” Lainey said quietly. “White. It’s classy, though others would probably mistake it for purity. But that’s not what you were going for, was it? This is more of a sanctuary for you, a safe haven. The only colors you’ve chosen are those in the paintings. But everything else is quiet, which is what you need.”
“You see way too much, Lainey,” she said quietly. “I don’t invite many people here, because it is my sanctuary, but no one has been able to see what you have in just a few moments. I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
She paused and bit her lip as though she was about to say more, but then she moved toward the kitchen.
“Would you like something to drink?” she asked. “Tea? Wine?”
“Wine would be wonderful, thank you,” Lainey told her.
“Do you mind if I use your phone? I should call Jack and let him know I’ll be late.”
“Of course, please,” Eve called over her shoulder. Lainey took a deep breath, preparing herself for the fight she knew was coming with Jack, and picked up the phone.
“Hello?”
Lainey’s mood lifted immediately after hearing Darren’s voice on the other end of the line. “Hi, sweetie, it’s Mommy.”
“Hi, Mommy! Guess what I’m doing!”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m eating hot dogs!” Darren giggled. “Daddy said it was okay!”
“Did he? Well, then I guess it’s all right. Where is daddy, sweetie?”
“He’s in the kitchen. You wanna talk to him?”
“Yes, please. Darren, Mommy loves you.”
Eve walked into the room at that moment and smiled to herself. It was endearing, seeing this side of Lainey. She handed her a glass and sat, cross-legged, on the couch.
He giggled. “I love you, too, Mommy. DAD! Mommy’s on the phone! She wants to talk to you!”
Something About Eve (An Eve Sumptor Book 1) Page 5
