“Stone, I’d like to introduce you to Madeline Santiago. Madeline, this is my good friend Stone Barrington.”
“Miss Santiago, it’s a pleasure,” Stone said.
“Please, call me Maddie,” she said with a prominent Spanish accent. “All my close friends do.”
“Thank you, Maddie. And you must call me Stone.”
“Stone it is then.”
“Do you live in the city?”
“Yes, but not this one. Madrid mostly, and when I’m not there, you can usually find me in Paris or Monte Carlo.”
“Three of my favorite places.”
“I’m sure you’re familiar with the M. Santiago brand,” Mike said.
Stone’s eyes widened. “That’s you?”
Maddie smiled. “Guilty.”
M. Santiago was one of the premier fashion houses in the world and had been for several decades.
“You must have been a child when you started it.”
Maddie laughed. “It was my mother’s company first. She named it after me.”
“That explains it. What brings you to New York?”
“What brings anyone in the fashion business to New York?”
“It’s not Fashion Week, is it?”
“Not until September. But there is much work to do before then.”
“She’s meeting with her designers and event planners,” Mike said.
“And my security company,” she said, touching Mike’s arm.
“So, this is a business dinner,” Stone said.
“Sure,” Maddie said. “We can call it that for now.”
“Yes, well, um…” Mike said, looking like he was about to blush.
“If you gentlemen will excuse me for a moment,” Maddie said. “I have to, as they say, powder my nose.”
“Of course,” Stone said.
She slipped off her stool and headed for the restrooms.
“If you’re here alone, Stone, you’re most welcome to join us.”
“Thank you, but I’m actually waiting for someone.”
Mike looked confused. “Not Tamlyn?”
“No, a friend of Peter’s. Josie Hale.”
