“Just what I told you. He’s not going to ask you.”
“But you askedme. He didn’t know?”
There was a pause on the phone line, and then an exhale. “No. He didn’t.”
“Well I’ll be damned.” Gweneth Winthrop was beside herself with anguish. “Then why did you come to me if he didn’t even want me?”
“He wants you. There’s no doubt about that. But he’s still reeling from what happened. You know how he is.”
Gweneth exhaled. “Yes, I know. But I miss him so much. He never returned not one of my calls or emails or texts or even messages I sent to him by other people. All I want to do is explain to him.”
“That’s why I thought this trip would have been the perfect opportunity for you. His old man adores you. Or at least he used to.”
“And I adore him. But Harrison can be so stubborn!”
“You know it and I know it too.”
“And who is this other person he’s decided to take with him anyway? Do I know her?”
“Not in the least. He barely knows her.”
“What do you mean? Who is she?”
“Some waitress that rides around on an e-bike, and that dented his limo because his driver splashed her.”
Gweneth frowned. “What? Awaitress? Ane-bike? You must be joking.”
“But I’m not. And that’s not even the kicker.”
“It isn’t?”
“No.”
“Then what is?”
“This waitress, this young lady he plans to present to his father as his brand-new fiancée, is a person of color.”
“Which color? His father has a preference you know.”
“She’s African-American.”
Gweneth looked defeated. “That won’t hurt his cause in HB’s eyes. He has a thing for the blacks. Perhaps her family is in our social class? There’s a lot of blacks that are these days.”
“No such luck. Nowhere near it. In fact, she’s estranged from her family. Carter had Security to run background on her and when I tell you her family is a mess, I’m not just whistling Dixie. Bunch of alcoholics and drama kings. Her mother is okay, but her siblings are rather awful.”
“But is she like them?”
There was a pause on the other end of the phone. “I can’t speak to that because I don’t know. But I do know that she has his attention. That she has turned our Harrison on quite completely.”
“So what you’re saying is that she turned him on, and that’s it? A physical attraction?”
“I wouldn’t say that’s it. That may be a part of it, but let me put it this way: I heard she turned his offer down.”
“She turned it down?” Gweneth was shocked.
“That’s what I heard. And Harrison himself went to her to get her to change his mind. That’s how much he wants her with him when he meets with his father and brother.”
“That doesn’t even sound like Harrison. He never begged me.”
