Lyza's Story: Book One of The Lane Trilogy. Vicki Inc. Andree

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СКАЧАТЬ exactly.” Leesa jumped up and grabbed her sister’s bag, and they headed for the staircase. “My deal went through with flying colors, but we can talk about all that later.”

      Lyza yawned. “What time do you want to go?”

      “Take at least three hours. Let’s leave about eight o’clock.”

      After helping carry Lyza’s luggage upstairs, Leesa returned to her afternoon of reading, checking e-mails, and shopping on the Internet. She sought an unusual piece of jewelry to indulge in, her usual celebration after closing an important deal, but she couldn’t find anything captivating. Perhaps her usual jeweler could help her find something new. After all, something glitzy seemed an appropriate reward, particularly after putting up with Norton.

      Leesa preferred diamonds. Yes, those sparkly, bright stones are a girl’s best friend. She pulled up the jeweler’s website. Immediately she disregarded the small grouped-type settings and browsed the jewelry with larger stones. Humming the tune to “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” she moved to rubies, then emeralds.

      She looked at the tanzanite stones, and then jewelry with sapphires. Looking for more “fire,” she turned to opals. The red ones in particular especially reminded her of herself—soft, rare, precious, and beautiful. Before she knew it, it was time to get ready for an evening of fun and celebration. Already? Time flies when you’re shopping.

      She strolled into her spacious closet, enjoying the luxury of leisurely preparation for a fun night out on the town. Dresses arranged by length and color lined one wall of the closet. Another wall displayed blazers, jackets, and business clothing. Jeans, casual tops, and sports attire occupied the third wall. In one corner, a stand held every kind of belt and boa imaginable. The island, completely covered with shoes, made matching outfits easy. Choosing a purple miniskirt with a sequined crop-top and matching heels, she entered the small room at the side.

      Leesa changed and studied her outfit in the vaulted room’s floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Not perfect yet. She turned to the island of thick glass drawers that contained her collection of fine jewelry—even better than Lyza’s, in her opinion. Finding the perfect earrings, pendant, watch, ankle bracelet, arm bracelets, and rings would take some time.

      ***

      In her own room, Lyza woke refreshed, and she glanced at the nightstand clock. She’d slept deeply for the past two hours and felt ready to party. Lyza quickly showered, then whipped through her closet, choosing the pink shift, matching shoes, and jewelry. Feeling festive, she added a light pink boa for fun.

      At eight o’clock, Lyza watched her sister descend the stairs looking like something out of a fashion magazine. Lyza teased her sister by imitating Frank Norton. “You look fantastic, Miss Lane.”

      “Ja, ja, so do you, my little missy,” Leesa echoed, imitating Klaus Müller.

      Lyza giggled. “Oh, yes, Klaus Müller sounds exactly like that. And the ‘little missy’ stuff was so hilarious, trying to sound like an American from Texas.”

      Through the laughter, Leesa gasped for air. “You should have been at my closing with Norton. You wouldn’t believe it. Let’s talk about it at dinner. Is the Willow River Grille in the Roosevelt Hotel all right?”

      Lyza licked her lips. “I love their fish. Let’s do it.”

      They hopped in their shared red Mercedes convertible, top down. Leesa drove while Lyza picked a CD, and they cruised into LA, music blaring as the twins sang along like teenage girls out after curfew.

      At the restaurant, the valet took the car, and the women strolled into a packed house. The host seated them immediately. Lyza looked around to see familiar faces. These were her people. Not that she knew everybody in the room, but she recognized faces of people frequenting this and her other haunts. Most patrons were friends of her parents. Edith Hudson, host of the The Talk of the Town talk show, looked as if she’d come in off the beach, her blonde hair wind-tossed. Film producer Ted McKee and his family sat directly across the room. The distinguished mayor of Los Angeles sat at a round table on the patio with seven other men dressed in business suits; it looked like a working dinner.

      Lyza ordered the best champagne on the menu. After the wine steward poured, she lifted her glass to toast her sister. “To success.”

      Their glassed clinked and Leesa returned to the conversation of her closing with Norton. “You wouldn’t believe what that good ol’ boy did after we closed our deal. Norton had the nerve to…” She laughed. “It’s not funny, but now that I look back on it, maybe the guy has a sense of humor. More likely he’s just an old letch. Lyza, he slapped me on the rear! Can you believe it?”

      “You have to be kidding.” Lyza couldn’t help grinning. “I mean, does the guy not know that cavemen are out of style?”

      Leesa grimaced. “Evidently he didn’t care.”

      Lyza set her drink on the napkin in front of her. “Well, what are you going to do about it?”

      “I reprimanded him in front of his attorney, then our attorneys came in. I made them wait ten minutes before I went back into the room. He apologized right there in front of his attorney, our attorneys, and the secretary. His face was bright red, and he actually stammered his apology.”

      Lyza’s eyebrows shot up. “Old man Norton stammering? That must have been a sight to see.”

      Leesa wiped at a drop of champagne on her chin. “Then he said it wouldn’t happen again. I had to wonder what his woman attorney puts up with.”

      “He has a woman attorney?”

      Leesa nodded and looked around for their waiter. “Oh, yes. I e-mailed her this afternoon. I told her she didn’t have to work for a letch like Norton; after all, she’s an attorney, for heaven’s sake. Turns out, he’s her uncle. She told me she had to work for him for three more years because he paid for her schooling and that was part of their agreement. One day he’s going to mess up and she’ll get the courage to leave. Anyway, I think she enjoyed watching him grovel as much as I did. I let him stew a few minutes before I told him it had better never happen again.”

      Lyza frowned. “You forgave him? You are such a softie.”

      Leesa held her hands up. “You should have seen him. He held up both his hands, like it was a stick up, and begged me. He kept saying, ‘It won’t, it won’t—I promise. It will never happen again.’ I finally accepted his apology, signed off on the deal, and left.”

      “So you completed the contract, that’s good.” Their waiter appeared, and Lyza stopped talking. She chose the fish of the day with house salad, and Leesa duplicated the order.

      Leesa leaned forward. “Your turn. What happened in Nuremberg?”

      As the waiter served them, Lyza down played the drama of the negotiations in Germany. “Smooth sailing. In fact, it turned out easier than I thought it would. The attorneys had already worked everything out, and it was a matter of the presentation and signing the papers.”

      Leesa picked up her salad fork. “You mean you had no objections, no walls thrown up at the last minute?”

      Lyza winked. “Not at all. Piece of cake. In fact, I enjoyed it. We are lucky, just incredibly lucky, aren’t we?”

      Lyza put up her hand for a high СКАЧАТЬ