The Blush Factor

by Gun Brooke

  “See?” Addison caressed Stacey’s cheek.

  “But what about the two of you? You must have stuff to do at work. You don’t have to sit around here to hold my hand or anything.” Stacey turned her focus to Eleanor. “And no offense, guys, but you look like you didn’t sleep a wink, either of you.”

  “Charming,” Eleanor said, placing a hand on her hip as she gave Stacey a mock glare. “And I have to be at a meeting with the members of the board and able to wow them. Now you tell me I look horrible.” She shook her head at Stacey.

  “Ah, don’t listen to me. You still look awesome. You’re rocking that skirt suit, and I bet Addie couldn’t take her eyes off you when you put on that blouse. Ow! You can’t pinch someone in a weakened state.” She swatted playfully at Addison.

  “God, Stacey. You seem hell-bent on embarrassing me. Brat!” Addison wished for a sinkhole to open. She glanced at Eleanor, and at first she thought the other woman was annoyed, but then Addison realized Eleanor was only trying not to laugh.

  “As a matter of fact, I chose this blouse for that very purpose,” Eleanor deadpanned, which nearly made Addison choke. “And now I need to head back to my office. You both have my number, right?”

  “We do.” Addison stood and kissed her cheek. “Thank you. I’ll talk to you later?”

  “I’m counting on it. I’ll see you back at the room, right?” Eleanor returned the kiss and then turned to Stacey. “Take care, Stacey. Say hello to Maureen.” She kissed Stacey’s forehead and then strode out of the room, her heels echoing down the corridor.

  “Wow. She’s so awesome. She really is.” Stacey pushed the tray aside and lay down against the pillows. “And she’s crazy about you, sis.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far, but she does seem…interested.” Addison didn’t know how to phrase how she and Eleanor felt for each other. Of course it was more than interest. Words like mind-blowing passion came to mind, but there was a limit to what she could share with Stacey. A small voice insisted that it wasn’t so much the wording as the conflicting emotions after their night together that made it difficult. Why was she feeling so uneasy and on guard? Was it because of yesterday’s anguish while waiting for news about Stacey—or did it have to do with what she and Eleanor had together?

  “And you’re way past just being interested, aren’t you?” Stacey smiled gently. “I know I’m an unbearable tease, but it’s so obvious to me how you both feel. I can’t help myself.”

  “What do you mean, obvious?” Addison folded her arms over her chest.

  “You’re totally gone on her.” Stacey enunciated the words as if Addison were in the habit of reading lips. “Eleanor can’t take her eyes off you and you keep touching each other. Typical signs.”

  “And you know this how?”

  “Cosmopolitan. You read that magazine too. Come on, Addie. Everybody knows this.”

  Addison didn’t know whether to hug her or choke her. Of course her little oracle of a sister was right. She loved Eleanor Ashcroft so much it was almost beyond comprehension.

  “Addie? You look like you’re about to fall off the chair. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Her eyes huge, Stacey plucked at her blanket.

  “You didn’t, baby-girl. I just have a lot on my mind. I’m going to talk to the billing office and try to straighten out all the documents. You know, that sort of thing.” Addison smiled faintly, knowing she wasn’t fooling Stacey. “Why don’t you rest up until they come and start messing with you? You can just text me when they do so I can go with you to the new digs, okay?”

  “Mmm-hmm. I’m pretty wiped out, so crashing for a while sounds like a plan.”

  “Good.” Addison hugged Stacey. “See you later, baby-girl.”

  “Later.”

  Stacey closed her eyes immediately and she did look exhausted. Addison reminded herself that Stacey would need time to recuperate and this was only the first day after the surgery. No wonder she was tired.

  Addison went back to the room to call the billing administration and pulled out the information regarding the new insurance she’d arranged for when she started working with Face Exquisite.

  A woman picked up at the other end, rattling off her title and name. Addison only caught the name Colleen but figured it was enough.

  “Hi, Colleen.” She introduced herself, explained why Stacey was in the hospital first, and then asked about how the billing process worked as they had never been to Presbyterian before.

  “I’m looking at your sister’s information here, and I’m afraid I don’t understand your concern. We gave you all this information when your sister was admitted.”

  “No, you didn’t. I was with my sister. A friend of mine handed over Stacey’s details and documentation. Our insurance papers were among them. I have the envelope right here.”

  “I see. Well, everything’s been taken care of already, so your sister can just focus on recuperating. I hope you find her stay at Presbyterian satisfactory.”

  “Hey. There is the small matter of the bill. What do you mean, all taken care of? I haven’t signed anything except a consent form for the surgery.”

  “The bill is being paid continuously through a credit card.”

  Addison flinched, missing a beat. “What?”

  “Everything, including the guest room, is set to be billed automatically to a credit card belonging to—oh, it’s not yours. The card belongs to an Eleanor—”

  “Ashcroft.”

  “Yes. That’d be your friend then? Wish I had a friend like that.” Colleen giggled but then probably realized Addison wasn’t thrilled. “Um, is there a problem, Ms. Garr?”

  “Yes, there is. I want an itemized bill for my sister’s care and procedures this far. I have a new insurance company, and I’ll send it to them. You can also get in touch with them. Here’s the information.” Addison read the information from the insurance company.

  “Ms. Garr, all of the expenses to date have been billed to Ms. Ashcroft’s credit card.”

  “Then refund them.”

  “I’m not sure how to do that. I’ll have to talk to my manager.” Colleen definitely sounded stressed now.

  “You do that. I expect you to pay Ms. Ashcroft back ASAP and send a letter or e-mail to me confirming your transaction. I’ll call my insurance company and tell them to expect your call. I also expect you to not bill Ms. Ashcroft a single dollar more. I hope I make myself clear?”

  “Crystal clear, Ms. Garr.”

  “Good. I’ll be in touch. Good-bye.” Addison disconnected the call and looked around the room. A luxurious room, worthy of a four-star hotel. She was ready to strangle Eleanor for lying, for going behind her back, and—no shit—for adding this no doubt super-expensive room to her bill.

  Why hadn’t Eleanor told her about the billing arrangement? Why had she paid for Stacey’s care in the first place? Addison had given her everything she needed to get things started, including the envelope with the insurance information. Why would Eleanor use her own money? It didn’t make sense. A thought struck her. She’d asked Eleanor about this room. Clearly remembering how Eleanor had claimed it was included in the insurance and for her not to worry about it, she moaned and covered her face with her hands. What kind of weird lie was that? This was crazy. She needed to talk to Eleanor.

  She dialed Eleanor’s cell phone, but the call went straight to voice mail. She waited five minutes while pacing the room, not quite sure why she was so worried. Eleanor had surely just been trying to help. Right? She redialed; the call was sent to voice mail again.

  “Hi. Eleanor. It’s Addison. I need to talk to you as soon as you have a moment.” She thought of something and added, “Oh, by the way, don’t worry about Stacey. She’s doing fine. This is about…something else.”

  She disconnected the call and sat down. Gazing around the room, she realized she had to pack up really fast to avoid being charged for yet another night. Gazing at the two overnight bags and the garment bags, she sighed. It was going to be
a pain to get all that on the train if Eleanor didn’t show up before she had to go home.

  *

  Eleanor stepped out of the conference room, her head aching after having had to listen to one windbag after another ramble on and on about which direction to take one of the sister companies. Most of the opinions presented had been in direct opposition to each other, which made Eleanor bless the fact that she owned fifty-five percent of the shares in the Ashcroft Group. She still had to listen to the board of directors, but she had the last word.

  Pulling up her phone, she saw she had several voice mails, two of them from Addison. Instantly worried, she stepped aside and dialed. Eleanor listened to Addison’s message and took a deep breath. Stacey was all right. Still, something in Addison’s voice sounded off. She had somehow spoken in a more precise way than usual. Eleanor glanced at her watch. The meeting had dragged on, but if she hurried she might be able to run over to Presbyterian and take lunch.

  Eleanor dialed Addison and continued walking down the corridor.

  Addison picked up right away. “Hi, Eleanor. Meeting over?” Her voice was tight and hollow.

  Eleanor frowned. She could hear from the sounds around Addison that she was outdoors. “Yes, finally. Where are you?”

  “I’m home. Just paid the cab.”

  Eleanor stopped walking so abruptly she had to steady herself against the wall. “Home in Newark? Why?”

  “I checked out of the room. I have your stuff here, and I’ll give it to you when we see each other next time.”

  Something painfully cold ran in a zigzag pattern along Eleanor’s back. “I see.” But she really didn’t.

  “You didn’t tell me the truth, Eleanor.”

  The noise of the wind disappeared over the phone, and she heard the sound of a door closing. Or being slammed shut, rather.

  “You needed to focus on Stacey,” Eleanor said. Glancing around her, she saw one of the smaller conference rooms and entered it. She placed her briefcase on the table and locked the door behind her. “I was trying to help.”

  “We have insurance. You didn’t need to use your credit card.”

  “They said your insurance wasn’t enough to cover it.”

  “I have new insurance with extra stuff added to it for Stacey’s sake. I do not need your money.” Addison sounded so angry now, and hurt, Eleanor couldn’t remain standing still.

  Pacing back and forth she tried to explain. “I wanted to be with you and Stacey as quickly as possible. I didn’t want to bother with that person behind the counter who was clearly not doing her job properly, as she never found anything about a new insurance policy in your documents.”

  “So you just wielded your credit card and poof, like magic, you paid for everything, including the room, which isn’t covered, by the way. It costs a fortune. Not to mention the clothes you bought, the high-end toiletries, and the food. You intended to pay for all of that, since you figured I couldn’t take care of anything.”

  “You’re berating me for buying you a damn chicken salad?” Getting angry at Addison’s reasoning, Eleanor stopped pacing and rested her hip against the back of a chair. “Isn’t the most important part the fact that Stacey is getting better?”

  “Don’t you dare suggest that I don’t have my priorities straight when it comes to my sister. You don’t get to do that. Not ever. Enough people tried to take her from me by declaring me too young, too naïve, and, oh yes, too ‘without prospects’ over the years.” Addison’s voice sank to a low growl.

  “I’m not them. I would never do that.”

  “So why didn’t you just tell this incompetent person behind the counter that Stacey Garr’s legal guardian would stop by and straighten it up later?”

  “Because you needed to be with her and I can easily afford—”

  “No. Wrong answer.” Addison took a deep breath. “I don’t really think we should talk anymore about this. I’m so angry I might say something I’ll regret.”

  “I don’t understand why you’re angry. I really don’t.” Eleanor couldn’t bear it if Addison hung up on her when she was in this frame of mind. “It’s only money, Addison. Means to a goal.”

  Addison laughed mirthlessly. “Only someone like you would say that.”

  “Like me?”

  “Born to old money. Born with that proverbial silver spoon, or in your case, I’m sure it was gold or platinum, tucked firmly into your mouth. Only money.”

  “Addison. You’re being unreasonable. If you think about it clearly—”

  “I’m clear. I’m more clear about how I feel than I’ve been the last few weeks.”

  “So what we have isn’t worth fighting for?” Her chest ached now and Eleanor leaned against the table, supporting herself with her free hand.

  “What we have? I’d be willing to fight for what I thought we had. Right now I’m so confused and pissed off I shouldn’t be making any decisions. I’ve got to go. I promised Stacey I’d come right back.”

  “Wait.” Eleanor swallowed hard, her mind rushing in all directions as she tried to solve this situation with her usually dependable logic. “I was going to join you—”

  “No. Please. Let’s—let’s wait a bit. I need time to think.”

  “But—” Panicking now, Eleanor fought to keep her tears at bay. She just didn’t understand where all of Addison’s anger and resentment stemmed from. How could trying to help be so wrong? She guessed they’d reached a fork in the road and she could only give in, or she might lose any chance to salvage this relationship. “Very well. Tell Stacey I’m thinking of her. I’ll give you time and await your call.” Eleanor wondered if she sounded as defeated as she felt. She hoped not.

  “Thank you.” Addison’s voice sounded distant, as if she’d put her phone down and moved away from it. “I need to go. Bye.”

  The call disconnected and Eleanor’s knees buckled. She sat down heavily on one of the chairs, tipping her head back as if this position would make the errant tears run back into her tear ducts. What the hell had just happened?

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Addison held the door open for Stacey. Maureen was right there, her arm wrapped around Stacey’s waist as she guided her up the garden path.

  “Honestly. I’m perfectly able to walk, you guys. Really.” Stacey huffed good-naturedly at their fawning over her.

  “I know,” Maureen said, smiling brightly. She still kept her arm in place around Stacey as they moved inside.

  The Russian-speaking cabdriver came with their bags, and Addison tipped him generously, which rendered her a heartfelt “Spasibo.”

  Inside, the girls curled up under blankets on the couch to watch some old movie, and Addison went upstairs to her bedroom. She was happy Stacey was home after nine days in the hospital. Ecstatic. She’d spent half her days at Stacey’s side, half at Face Exquisite—and the nights tossing and turning. Having her at home and back at school in a week or two would bring some normalcy to her life—finally.

  Eleanor had called her every day, but just seeing her name on the phone’s display hurt. She knew she was taking the coward’s way out by dodging the calls, but it was too confusing and painful to hear Eleanor’s voice. That said, she’d listened to the two voice mails Eleanor had left over and over, like some masochistic rite at night.

  As if her thoughts had been broadcast through cyberspace, her cell phone rang, making her jump. Eleanor. Perhaps she figured calling in the early afternoon would make Addison more likely to pick up. All right. Why not? She touched the green button.

  “Hello, Eleanor.” Relieved that her voice wasn’t trembling, Addison sat down on her bed, clasping her fingers around her grandmother’s crocheted throw.

  “Addison.” Eleanor sounded taken aback; perhaps she hadn’t counted on Addison’s answering. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”

  “I’ve been busy. You know. Stacey. The launch of the makeup. Everything.” God, why did her throat hurt so much just from talking?

  “Yes, o
f course, but let’s not kid ourselves. If you hadn’t been so upset with me, you would have taken the time.”

  “Yes, who knows?” Now Addison tried to sound flippant, but she failed and had to slam her hand over her mouth to suffocate the sobs threatening to break free. “What can I do for you?”

  “You could say you want to see me. Preferably tonight.”

  “This is Stacey’s first night home. I can’t go anywhere.”

  “Stacey’s been discharged?” The catch in Eleanor’s voice made Addison fall to her side on the bed and pull her legs up. “And you—you didn’t tell me? Surely you must’ve known how much I worried about her?”

  “I—”

  “And you wouldn’t answer your damn phone!” Eleanor raised her voice now. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think you could be cruel.”

  Cruel? “Now wait just a goddamn minute! You’re painting me out to be the bad guy here? You lie to me and act like I’m a complete idiot and incapable of doing anything for my sister, and—”

  “I did nothing of the sort. You know very well I had only good intentions.”

  “Yeah. Sure. Good intentions with you calling the shots, you being the hero, and you…you acting like you were the decision maker not only in one of your fucking boardrooms, but in my home…my family.”

  “Is that how you see me? Like some…some tyrant that tries to take over your family?”

  “I didn’t say that!” Addison raised her voice to match Eleanor’s. “Don’t put words in my mouth.”

  “Oh, I think that’s exactly what you meant. You’ve been Stacey’s mother for the last eight years, and you’d see any attempt from anyone as a threat. You said so yourself. People doubted your ability to care for her from day one. So when I try to help—”

  “You did help. You helped wonderfully when you were there for Stacey, when the aneurysm started leaking. That and by giving her the chance to be your assistant for the day. Not by taking on my responsibilities and flashing that platinum card of yours. Then you rack up more costs without consulting me and lie about it. And you think it’s strange that I get upset?”