“You’re right. It’s not all that different,” she agreed.
Keith glanced at Jocelyn and Dan in surprise.
“What’s changed isn’t the nature of the request, so much as my willingness to acquiesce to it,” Violet said. “Helping him adjust to a new city and new job responsibilities is one thing, but I regret any part I’ve had in making that man think his worth is measured in the length of his hair or whether he prefers boots to loafers.”
Violet set her napkin on the table beside the bowl of untouched lobster bisque. “Cain deserves to be measured on his merit, and his merit alone. I’ll mention the haircut to him, because it should be his choice if he wants to play your game. But if he asks my opinion, I’ll give it to him plainly. I think he should tell the whole board to go screw itself.” She stood. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I seem to have lost my appetite.”
Seventeen
You actually said that?” Ashley asked with a delighted laugh. “Damn, I wish I could have seen it.”
“I keep waiting to feel ashamed or guilty about it,” Violet said, smiling herself. “But I’d repeat my entire speech all over again if given the chance. They were horrid.”
“Do you think Cain’ll go through with it? The cut, the shave, the whole deal?”
“I don’t know,” Violet said truthfully. “I’ll do as promised and mention it to him, because I believe he deserves to have all the information, and make his own decisions. But if I had to guess, he’s going to be pissed. Not so much at the suggestion of a haircut and shave—no huge surprise there—but because they met with me behind his back, discussing him as though he’s a mannequin to be positioned and placed and styled at their will.”
“Well, if he does decide to do it, I’m glad I’m meeting him now before he goes through with it,” Ashley said.
She looped her arm through Violet’s as they made their way down Fifth Avenue, then gave a contented sigh. “Is there any better feeling than playing hooky on a weekday?”
Ashley’s boss was out of town at a conference, and they’d taken advantage of the extra flexibility in her schedule to meet for a long, late lunch of Cobb salad, profiteroles, and sparkling lemonade before Violet’s appointment to meet Cain at the tailor’s to see how the rush job on the gala tuxedo had turned out.
“You’d know better than me,” Violet said to Ashley, distracted for a moment by a particularly cute Tiffany window display. “I’m guessing playing hooky feels different with a paying job.”
“Something you would be more familiar with if you quit being so stubborn,” Ashley said with the gentle chiding of a good friend. “Edith has offered to pay you for years for all the random crap you do for her. The party planning. The errands. Buying the perfect gifts for her employees.”
“It would feel weird taking Edith’s money,” Violet replied. “I don’t need it. And I’m happy to help her out.”
Ashley said nothing, and Violet knew her friend’s silence was a deliberate decision to steer them clear of an old argument. Violet’s volunteer status as Edith’s assistant wasn’t something that they saw eye to eye on.
Violet could see her friend’s point, in theory, but she also had never had the slightest interest in becoming an official Rhodes employee. She’d always thought it was because she didn’t need the money, and working for Edith “for free” felt like the least she could do to help out a woman who’d taken her in.
Now, however, she was wondering if there wasn’t another reason she’d been resistant to the idea of a steady paycheck:
She didn’t want to do it forever. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do it at all. Violet wondered if some part of her was resisting this path, demanding that she search harder for what she wanted from her life.
Violet was finally searching. She just hadn’t found any answers.
“Does Cain know I’m tagging along today?” Ashley asked curiously.
“No, and I hear that excited tone, but, Ash, I’d temper your expectations a bit,” Violet warned. “Cain’s not exactly the charming, easy-to-talk-to type you’re used to.”
“Even better. I love rooting for an underdog.”
“Cain Stone is no underdog,” Violet said. “More… dark horse.”
“Damn, that’s sexy,” Ashley said, then stopped and set her hand on Violet’s shoulder, adjusting the heel of her stiletto. “Hold up. New shoes, and incoming blister alert. How close are we?”
“Two more blocks. It’s the same tailor Keith uses.”
Ashley’s professionally shaped eyebrows lifted. “Interesting. And how does Keith feel about the fact that you’re using his tailor to dress up the enemy?”
Violet shrugged. “What he won’t know won’t hurt him. Plus, we broke up.”
“Well, I can tell you what he’ll think if he finds out,” Ashley said with confidence as they resumed walking. “He’d hate it. They’re already two dogs after the same bone. Bad news to send them to the same groomer.”