Lauren Weisberger 3-Book Collection: Everyone Worth Knowing, Chasing Harry Winston, Last Night at Chateau Marmont. Lauren Weisberger

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СКАЧАТЬ I said, diverting my eyes to my sneakers and wondering for the umpteenth time what, besides his admittedly flat stomach, Penelope saw in him. ‘I was just heading out. Gotta get home and get ready for the big dinner tonight. Speaking of which, what does one wear to the Four Seasons?’

      ‘Whatever you’d normally wear to dinner with your parents,’ Penelope said as a very ADHD Avery starting shooting hoops with his balled-up pairs of socks.

      ‘You might want to reconsider that. Unless, of course, you want me showing up in palazzo pants with a matching GIVE PEACE A CHANCE T-shirt. I’ll see you both there tonight.’

      ‘Right on,’ Avery said, holding up two fingers in a sort of combination peace/gangster sign. ‘Later, B.’

      I hugged Penelope and let myself out, trying not to envision what would inevitably take place the moment I left. If I hurried home, there’d be time to drag Millington out for a quick walk and maybe even take a bath before dinner. I cabbed it home and chased Millington around the apartment for a few minutes as she made a concerted effort to duck me. She instinctively knew when I was planning to take her outside, and unlike any dog I’d ever met, she hated it. All that dust and pollen and ragweed – she’d be incapacitated for hours afterward, but I thought it was important for her to get out every now and then. Otherwise it was around the block and back. I marveled at her metabolism. We’d just made it to Madison Square Park and managed to dodge the crazy guy who usually chased Millington with his grocery cart when I heard my name.

      ‘Bette! Hey, Bette, over here!’

      I turned to see Sammy sitting on a bench, drinking coffee, his breath visible in the icy air. With what appeared to be an absolute knockout of a woman sitting right next to him. Dammit. There was no escape. He’d obviously seen me and then watched as I looked right at him, so there was no conceivable way to pretend the whole thing had never happened. Plus, Millington decided to be social for the first time in her entire short life and took off toward them, yanking her Extend-a-Leash to its maximum capacity and hurling herself into his lap.

      ‘Hey there, puppy, how are you? Bette, who is this cutie?’

      ‘Charming,’ said the brunette, eyeing Millington coolly. ‘Of course, I prefer the Cavalier King Charles, but Yorkies can be appealing as well.’

      Meow.

      ‘Hi, I’m Bette,’ I managed to say, extending my hand to the girl. I’d tried to smile warmly at Sammy, but I imagine that it looked like a grimace.

      ‘Oh, formal, are we?’ she said with a little laugh. She gave me her hand after making me wait three seconds longer than was comfortable. ‘Isabelle.’

      Isabelle was no less attractive up close, but she was older than I’d originally figured. She was tall and thin in the way that only the truly hungry can be, but she lacked that certain freshness of youth, that dewy-faced contentment that said ‘I haven’t gotten too beat up by the Manhattan dating scene – I still even hold out hope that I’ll meet a good guy one day.’ Isabelle had clearly given up the dream long ago, although I imagined that her size 2 Joseph pants combined with her gorgeous chocolate brown Chloe bag and obscenely pert breasts provided some sort of comfort.

      ‘Uh, so what brings you here?’ Sammy asked, clearing his throat with such awkwardness that it was obvious these two were not friends or siblings or coworkers. And more to the point, he wasn’t volunteering any explanations.

      ‘Walking the dog. Getting some fresh air. You know, the usual,’ I said, realizing that I sounded more than a little defensive. For some reason my polite conversation skills had just evaporated.

      ‘Yeah, same here,’ he said, sounding sheepish and slightly embarrassed.

      When it was clear that neither of us could think of anything else to say, I scooped Millington from Sammy’s lap, where she was obviously enjoying being stroked – how I could understand! – mumbled a good-bye, and tore off in the direction of my apartment with a speed that bordered on humiliating. I could hear Isabelle laughing and asking Sammy who his little friend was, and it took every ounce of willpower not to whip around and suggest that next time she have her doctor adjust her Botox injection so she wouldn’t have that telltale deer-caught-in-headlights expression.

      So it was official, I thought, as I stood under the shower’s scalding hot water: Sammy had a girlfriend. Or, rather, I suppose it was more appropriate to call her a woman friend, since the female in question couldn’t conceivably be a day under forty. Of course he hadn’t been jealous that day in Starbucks when he’d made fun of Philip. Feeling more ridiculous with every passing moment, I quickly dressed in one of the old, navy bank pantsuits that had been relegated to the back of my closet and spent not one second longer than necessary drying my hair and applying the faintest traces of concealer.

      By the time I’d arrived at the Four Seasons, I’d almost managed to convince myself that I didn’t care. After all, if Sammy really wanted to date someone with better clothes, more money, and a chest three times the size of mine, well, that was certainly his prerogative. Who needed someone that shallow, anyway? I was just working myself up to start a list of his many, many flaws (none of which were immediately apparent, but which certainly must exist somewhere) when my cell phone rang. It was Elisa, probably calling, as usual, to ask obsessively detailed questions about when, where, why, and with whom I’d last seen Philip, so I screened it and approached the mâitre d’. The phone rang again mere seconds later, and even though I switched it to vibrate, she sent a text message that read: 911. CALL IMMEDIATELY.

      ‘Bette? Hey, have you found them yet?’ Michael asked, walking toward me, looking haggard and slightly miserable. Penelope had told me he was on yet another huge M&A deal. All-nighters four days and running.

      ‘No, are we the first ones here?’ I kissed him on the cheek and thought about how long it’d been since I’d seen him. Weeks and weeks; so long I couldn’t remember. ‘Where’s Megu?’

      ‘She’s at the hospital. I think Pen said they might all have a private table in the back, so let’s go there.’

      ‘Perfect.’ I took the arm he offered and had an odd feeling of homecoming. ‘You know, it’s been forever since we’ve all hung out. What are you doing afterward? Why don’t we talk Pen into going to the Black Door for a drink or six?’

      He smiled even though it looked like it took all his energy and nodded. ‘Definitely. We’re all already in the same place, and when the hell does that ever happen? Let’s do it.’

      The table looked to seat about eighteen or twenty, but just as I was saying my hellos to Penelope’s father, my phone began to vibrate again.

      ‘I’m so sorry, please excuse me,’ I said to Penelope’s dad and bolted toward the door again to turn it off. Elisa again. Christ, what could be so important that she needed to take the full-stalk approach? I waited for it to stop buzzing and then flipped it open to turn it off, but she must have dialed again because I heard her voice emanating from my palm.

      ‘Bette? Is that you? Bette, it’s crucial.’

      ‘Hey, listen, this really isn’t a good time for me. I’m at my friend’s—’

      ‘You’ve got to get down here right away, Kelly’s freaking out because—’

      ‘Elisa, you didn’t even let me finish. It’s eight-thirty on a Saturday night and I’m just about to start dinner at the Four Seasons with my friend and her entire family and it’s really important, СКАЧАТЬ