The Bigtime Series (Bigtime superhero series, e-bundle)

by Jennifer Estep

I doubted she would have heard a marching band, the way she purred under Berkley’s touch.

  “Hello, Joanne,” I replied, staring at the Oriental rug under my pumps instead of at her breasts.

  “Hello, Bella.” Berkley straightened, took his hand out of Joanne’s top, and quit kissing her. “It’s so nice to see you again.”

  “You too, Berkley.” Normally, I would have shaken his hand. Not today.

  “How’s Bobby doing?” Berkley asked, a smile creasing his face. “I haven’t seen him in a few weeks.”

  “He’s fine.”

  Berkley had been friends with my father and grandfather for years. The three shared a love of motorcycles, and Berkley had convinced my father to build several for him. Berkley had spent many nights in the Bulluci manor, drinking wine and talking about paint jobs and chrome pipes and everything else related to motorcycles. But he was never too busy to speak to me, and he’d brought me all sorts of dolls and stuffed animals and art supplies when I was a kid. I thought of him as an uncle of sorts.

  “Well, I’m afraid I have a conference call to sit in on. I’ll leave you girls to your planning,” Berkley said, pressing a kiss to the top of Joanne’s head.

  She grabbed his hand. “I’m not sure what time we’ll be done. We’ve got a lot of ground to cover today.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll wait up for you. In more ways than one.” Berkley winked at his new bride.

  “Just like always?” Joanne asked in a teasing tone.

  “Just like always.”

  Berkley touched Joanne’s cheek. She put her hand over his and gave it a gentle squeeze. Berkley squeezed back and left the library, whistling a cheery tune.

  I sank into a chair on the opposite side of the table from Joanne. I pulled my notes and files out of my shoulder bag, pretending not to notice the other woman buttoning up her blouse. Evidently, Joanne hadn’t felt the need to wear a bra today. I couldn’t help but hope my breasts looked that good when I was her age. Whatever it was. Joanne’s smooth, unlined face made it was hard to tell exactly how old she was, although I would guess she had to be at least forty.

  “Sorry if we shocked you, Bella.” Joanne fluffed out her mass of raven-colored curls. “Newlyweds, you know. We just can’t seem to get enough of each other.”

  “Of course,” I murmured. “Think nothing of it.”

  I didn’t really mind Joanne and Berkley’s open display of affection. After all, it was better than watching superhero-propelled glasses float past me.

  Chapter Three

  While Joanne applied a fresh coat of lavender lipstick and powdered her nose, the rest of the committee trickled into the library—Grace Caleb, Abby Appleby, and Hannah Harmon.

  I greeted each in turn, shaking their hands. “Grace. Abby. Hannah. So glad you could make it.”

  Grace Caleb was a seventy-something widow and one of the bastions of Bigtime society. She came from money so old no one could remember how she’d gotten it in the first place. Grace was the sort of genteel lady who grew roses and drank tea and played bridge. She wore a sedate, flowered dress topped off with a knit mauve sweater set with pearls. Grace never went anywhere without a sweater or shawl of some kind.

  Where Grace was sweet, pink softness, Hannah Harmon was all bright, hard lines. Her glossy, auburn hair, cut in a razor-sharp bob, ended at her chin, highlighting her killer cheekbones. Her thin, red lips slashed across her face, while her brown eyes were slightly pointed, like a cat’s. A heavy gold chain flashed around her neck, contrasting with the coffee color of her silk blouse and skirt. Gold rings set with rubies sparkled on her fingers, and a gold, filigree bracelet encircled her wrist. Hannah came from new money, and she liked showing it off.

  Abby Appleby was somewhere in between, although much farther down on the income ladder. Her brown hair was pulled back into a sensible ponytail, and clear gloss covered her lips. She wore olive-colored cargo pants and a white, lacy camisole topped with a green plaid, button-up shirt. A thick, wide watch clamped across her wrist looked like it could tell you what time it was in New Zealand, Thailand, and Madagascar—all at once. My attention went to the bag slung over Abby’s shoulder. It resembled a large suitcase and had more zippers and pockets and hidey holes than a box full of purses.

  The three women took seats around the table, murmuring hellos to me and each other.

  I took my own chair across from Joanne and flipped through the files I’d brought. “I thought we’d start with a quick recap of what we decided on last time.”

  Given my rabid love of art, I’d been elected chairperson of the Friends of the Bigtime Museum of Modern Art a couple months ago. My main duty as madam chairperson was to plan and organize the museum’s annual fall fundraiser. The museum, which relied heavily on public donations, had opened up a new wing and needed money to finish paying for it.

  Joanne and Grace were also involved in the Friends group. Joanne because she was the richest woman in the city and that’s what rich women did, and Grace because she was one of the best-loved society matrons and actually liked art. They’d both volunteered to help with the benefit.

  Abby was the professional event planner in Bigtime. Whether you were having a wedding, a funeral, or a convention, you called Abby to plan it. She’d built her reputation and her business, A+ Events, on her ability to pull off complicated events in a matter of weeks, sometimes days. Abby fronted just about every fundraising committee in the city, and I’d drafted her for this one too.

  Hannah had also offered her services. The businesswoman had lots of connections and knew how to get things done, which is why I’d been happy to let her help.

  The five of us had been meeting for the last two months. The benefit was less than a week away, and it was crunch time.

  I scanned my papers. “We agreed to have the Bigtime Bachelors event at Quicke’s, starting two hours before the official benefit at the museum. We’ve sent out invitations to all the eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. Abby, how are we coming on that?”

  Abby unzipped a pocket on her enormous bag and pulled out some laminated, color-coded pages, along with an itemized list and three highlighters. “We signed the contract with Quicke’s to supply food and space for the bachelor auction, as well as food and drinks at the museum. Kyle Quicke haggled with me, but I got him down into our price range. Most of the bachelors and bachelorettes we approached have agreed to participate. I’m still tracking down a few stragglers, but we’ll have more than enough people.”

  “Good,” I replied. “What else?”

  “We also approved my costume-ball idea for the overall theme,” Grace added in her soft voice.

  I grimaced. I’d been horrified when Grace brought up the idea of a masquerade ball. More than enough people ran around Bigtime in costumes already. But the others had agreed with Grace, and I’d been outvoted. Joanne, in particular, thought it sounded like marvelous fun, especially since the benefit was scheduled for Halloween night. Evidently, Joanne was tired of dressing up in the finest clothes money could buy, and she wanted to slum in spandex. Designer-made, of course.

  “Right. That.” I tried to muster up some semblance of enthusiasm. “Are the invitations done yet?”

  Grace nodded, her coifed, silver hair bobbing up and down. “I okayed the final proof a week ago, and they went out in the mail that same afternoon.”

  We’d been announcing the date of the benefit for weeks to drum up interest and solicit early donations. But I wanted to make sure all the bigwigs got a personal invitation to attend, as well as a follow-up phone call to confirm their RSVP. Such specialized attention made them more agreeable to parting with some of their cash. You had to suck up a lot to get a whole lot more. That was the way the game was played in Bigtime.

  “And the decorations?” I asked.

  “We can’t put up much in the museum because of the security and climate-control issues, but I’ve arranged for some greenery and lights,” Grace replied. “They’ll arrive at the museum the day
before the benefit.”

  “Good.” I turned to Joanne and Hannah, who were handling the most delicate part of the event. “And how are the other donations coming?”

  “Fine,” Joanne said. “For the most part.”

  Lots of wealthy art lovers and collectors lived in the city, and many had more than a few priceless pieces tucked away in their mansions. My idea had been to get the Bigtime high-society members to donate art from their private collections. The pieces would be housed in the museum’s new wing as part of a special exhibit that would open the night of the benefit. My plan was for the pieces to remain on display through the end of the year, so everyone in Bigtime could come and see them. Public interest alone, along with a small admission fee, should raise over two million, more than enough to pay off the new wing.

  “It’s going fine? What does that mean?” I asked. “If it’s the security they’re worried about—”

  “It’s not the security,” Joanne said. “We’ve gotten verbal commitments from everyone to donate something.”

  “Verbal commitments? That’s all? The benefit’s in six days. Stuff should already be arriving at the museum.”

  My hair frizzed, and my fingertips itched with static. My luck always acted up when I was emotional or stressed out. The thought of the benefit being a miserable failure put me on the edge of panic.

  “No one wants to commit until they know what everyone else is donating. They all feel the need to outdo each other.” Hannah sniffed.

  “But the point of this was to donate different things, quirky, fun things, not the same old Picassos and Rembrandts and Renoirs,” I said. “Our theme is Whimsical Wonders. Who cares how much a statue cost?”

  Abby gave me an amused look. “Why, they do, of course. Everything’s a competition in this town. You should know that, Bella, given how you and Fiona go at it.”

  I grimaced. Fiona and I didn’t really go at it. We’d never romped around in fountains or pulled out each other’s hair, but we were the top two designers in the city. With our radically different styles, people just assumed we hated each other, especially since Fiona had gotten engaged to Johnny.

  “It really doesn’t matter, though,” Joanne said in a proud voice. “Naturally, Berkley will have the most expensive item on display.”

  That small item Joanne so casually referred to was the Star Sapphire. Weighing in at a couple hundred carats, the sapphire was one of the most expensive gemstones in the world. Berkley had graciously agreed to put the sapphire on display. After I’d more or less begged him and signed on to design a whole new wardrobe for Joanne. At cost.

  I’d do anything to ensure the benefit was a success, even sew until my fingers fell off for Joanne James. It was all going to be worth it in the end. The Star Sapphire was the centerpiece of the Whimsical Wonders exhibit, and we’d used pictures of the enormous stone in all our promotional materials. Ticket sales to see the gem had already exceeded everyone’s loftiest expectations. Even Arthur Anders, the quiet, reserved curator of the museum, salivated about the prospect of it going on display.

  Joanne waved her hand. “Don’t worry, Bella. I’ll put the word out Berkley is donating several more items no one can hope to top, and everyone else will fall in line. They always do.”

  It was true. Whatever Berkley Brighton did, people hurried to hop on the bandwagon.

  “Are you sure?” I asked.

  Joanne nodded. “Sugar, I’m always sure.”

  * * *

  Several hours later, I slumped back in my chair and rubbed my aching head. We’d gone over every possible thing three times. The food. Auction. Bachelors. RSVPs. Decorations. Donated art. I knew the details by heart. I could recite the menu forward and backward. Spit out the exact number of cream puffs we’d ordered. Rattle off the names of the bachelors we’d signed up. Remember the exact cost of the potted plants. Conjure up obscure facts about the art exhibit.

  And I still felt like I was forgetting something.

  We decided to take a break before wrapping up for the evening. One of the cooks brought in a silver tray full of star-shaped cucumber sandwiches, three kinds of cheese, crackers, fresh fruit, and steaming tea.

  Grace and Joanne chatted about an event they’d attended last night. Abby shuffled her papers, pens, and files back into the proper slots in her shoulder bag while Hannah sipped some cinnamon-flavored tea. I desperately wanted something to eat, but I scooted my chair away from the table. I didn’t want my luck to flare up and cause me to upset the whole tray. The way my fingers itched, it was only a matter of time before something bad happened.

  “What did you think of Nate Norris’s barbecue, Hannah?” Grace asked, turning her blue eyes to the other woman.

  “I don’t know. I wasn’t invited.” Hannah said in a frosty voice.

  “Careful, sugar,” Joanne said in a glib tone, her violet eyes sparkling. “The chip on your shoulder’s showing again.”

  Hannah’s red lips puckered. Like most women on the society circuit, Hannah was a millionaire in her own right. It was how she’d gotten her money that some people had problems with. Hannah’s specialty was hostile takeovers. She took bankrupt corporations, bought up all the stock to get a controlling interest, made the businesses profitable again, then sold off the pieces for far more than she’d invested in the first place. The whole process resulted in a lot of hurt feelings all the way around.

  Of course, there was some other talk about Hannah as well. That she used less-than-legal methods to divide and conquer. Some folks even whispered that she had ties to ubervillains and employed them on occasion to get what she wanted. But nothing had ever been proven. In addition to being a ruthless businesswoman, Hannah had enough money to make just about any problem disappear, including society gossip.

  But she couldn’t quite break through the thin, pink wall put up by the older matrons, no matter how hard she tried. And Hannah tried. Taking people to lunch, sending them presents and hard-to-get items, throwing lavish parties herself. For some reason, being rich wasn’t enough for Hannah. She wanted to be one of the in-crowd too.

  “That was probably just an oversight on Nate’s part. Next time, dear, I’m sure you’ll get an invitation. It was nothing, really. Just a simple barbecue,” Grace said.

  She let out a sympathetic cluck and leaned over to pat the other woman’s hand. But Hannah jerked hers away, almost spilling her tea. Joanne smiled and poured herself a cup of the steaming beverage. Abby kept on shuffling her things, ignoring the drama.

  I decided to follow suit and reached for one of the star-shaped sandwiches. Surely, a few carbs wouldn’t hurt. I could pretend the bread was whole-wheat—

  My power surged the moment I picked up the soft mound. I immediately dropped the sandwich back onto the silver platter.

  Too late.

  The feather-light sandwich hit the edge of the platter with the force of an anvil. The dish flew into the air, flipping end over end six—no, seven—times before landing right side up in the exact spot where it had been a moment before. The sandwiches that had been on the platter also rose into the air before stacking themselves neatly back onto the silver surface—one on top of the other until they formed a perfect little pyramid. The final sandwich plunged point first into the others, creating a star shape atop the mound of bread. No chef alive could have created a more perfect display.

  Mouths agape, everyone stared at the now-immaculate platter. I sat perfectly still, scarcely daring to breathe.

  “Well, you certainly don’t see that every day,” Joanne said in a wry tone.

  “No,” Hannah replied. “You certainly don’t.”

  Hannah put her teacup down on the platter. She did it gently, with caution, given the weirdness of a moment ago. But that one small act was enough to upset the delicate balance my luck had achieved between platter and bread.

  And send the pyramid of sandwiches tumbling into my lap.

  Bread and cucumbers and cheese and mayonnaise splattered onto the front
of my shirt and dripped off my lap onto the thick rugs below. But that wasn’t the worst part. The cup tipped over too, sending a spray of tea at me. The brown liquid hit my chest before dribbling down my torso, making one enormous, soupy mess.

  At least the tea had cooled down. Otherwise, I would have been badly burned. That was the weird thing about my luck. It made bad things happen to me, but they were never terribly serious or life threatening. Just horribly embarrassing. Like this particular moment.

  The other women stared at me. Shocked and disgusted.

  “Well,” I said, trying to laugh as I picked a bit of cucumber off my cheek. “I guess I won’t be needing a facial anytime soon. Mayonnaise is supposed to be great for your skin, right?”

  Nobody answered me.

  Chapter Four

  The meeting broke up after that. Grace, Hannah, and Abby said their good-byes to Joanne and me. I echoed their sentiments from the floor, where I crawled around on my hands and knees picking up soggy pieces of tea-soaked bread.

  Joanne lounged in her chair and surveyed the mess. A smile played across her lavender lips. “You certainly know how to clear a room, Bella.”

  “Don’t worry,” I said, trying to ignore the slick, greasy feel of mayonnaise on my hands. “I’ll clean it up and pay for the rug. I know it must be expensive.”

  Joanne waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been dying to get a new one anyway. Now, I have the perfect excuse. There’s a bathroom down the hall. Go get yourself cleaned up. And try to do something with your hair, will you? It looks all nappy and frizzy. I’ll get one of the housekeepers to take care of this.”

  “Are you sure? About the rug, I mean—”

  “Go!” Joanne pointed her manicured nail toward the door. “Berkley has a hundred rugs like this one. He won’t miss it, I promise.”

  Well, I’d offered. That was all I could do. This wasn’t the first rug I’d ruined, and it wouldn’t be the last. In fact, there were several locations in the greater Bigtime area where I was no longer welcome because I’d caused so many catastrophes. Just last week, I’d been barred for life from Jewel’s Jewel Emporium. I’d obliterated not one, not two, but three diamond-solitaire pendants. It was very, very hard to break diamonds, but somehow, I’d found a way to reduce them all to powder. With my bare hands.