One Cold Moment

Chapter 11

Poppy sat cross-legged at one of the fancy dinner’s glass oval tables, staring through the glass wall of the dinner hall toward the garage until she saw the BMW drive in.When Luciana had called her two nights ago to arrange a date here at the dinner, Poppy had immediately cut the call.

“I want us to meet,” Luciana had said on the phone, and Poppy had replied.

“Meet with who? You? I’d never do that even if you were the last person on Earth and I was dying of company!”

“Shut up and listen, okay? Let your brain do some thinking first. This is about Yankee.”

“I know your game, Luciana, so get off my phone and don’t ever call me again!” With that, she hung up.

After thinking it through, Poppy decided to call her back and accept the meeting. She did mention it was about Yankee anyway, so it had to be interesting.

Poppy continued to watch Luciana walk out of the BMW light makeup barely noticeable on her face, mostly concealed by dark shades, except for the pink lip gloss highlighting her thin lips. A designer handbag hung from her right hand, matching the striking pink shoes that complemented the peach gown hugging her delicate frame.

Poppy frowned and scrunched her nose at the rather pleasant sight. Even Lucy’s blond hair looked amazing. She hated it when anyone looked good especially when she thought they looked almost as good as her. Or maybe the bitter feeling was because of her hatred for Luciana. But again, she reminded herself she was only here, about to share a table and space with Luciana, because of Yankee.

She looked down the moment Luciana pushed open the two spinning doors and stepped inside. Luciana walked elegantly to the table where Poppy sat. Taking off her shades, Luciana addressed her.

“You’re Poppy, right?” she asked.

Poppy looked up and plastered a wide smile on her lips, both palms clasped together, one elbow resting on the table.

“You clean up pretty well,” Luciana commented on her plain white sundress.

“You clean up pretty well too, Luciana,” she replied, the smile still on her lined lips.

“Well,” Luciana pulled out the chair opposite, “what can I say? My husband owns one of the most successful businesses in New Mexico.” She sat down and dropped her bag on the table.

“You mean he gets you your dresses?” Poppy asked mockingly, batting her eyelashes though Luciana was probably enjoying the moment too much to notice.

“Sure. I get my brand from Rome. The classics, you know that?” she asked.

“Yes,” Poppy chuckled. “I see.”

“My designer is Rebecca Kings. Who’s yours? What’s your brand?”

Feeling offended, Poppy replied, “Seriously? My brand is from Paris. The French étoile of Flavida. Ever heard of Flavida Jones? Guess not.” She folded her arms. “Why do you want to meet? You miss me?” She laughed.

“I understand that you’re head over heels for Yankee and am willing to let our differences slide if you do me a favor.”

“What will that be?” she asked.

“I want you to sleep with Yankee.”

For a nano-second, Poppy almost laughed. She wasn’t mistaken it wasn’t the 1960s, but the 21st century. Who still does this? Then she burst out laughing anyway.

“Excuse me,” she held out her hand amid laughter, taking Luciana by surprise. “What kind of girl do you think I am, Luciana? A call girl?”

“Maybe,” Luciana replied with a shrug.

“Okay. I’m really not offended.”

“You know you want to sleep with Yankee,” Luciana said seriously. “You’ll jump at the opportunity.”

Poppy thought for a moment, then asked, “Why do you want me to do this?”

“Because I want him to be yours,” Lucy replied.

“Where is that coming from?” Poppy tried to hide her surprise.

“Because I don’t like the company of the girls he hangs out with,” Lucy said.

Poppy shot her a look and asked immediately, “Marina?”

Luciana nodded.

“So… what you’re asking me to do is snatch Yankee from Marina?”

“Bingo, Poppy. You’re smart after all.”

“Hold on, Luciana. I could never snatch Yankee. He’s not like that.”

“I’m surprised,” Lucy retorted.

“What makes you a woman?” Poppy winked.

Her eyes opened in realization, and she said, “You want me to sleep with Yankee?! You know that will never happen, Luciana.”

“Yes, it will.” Luciana opened her bag and retrieved a paycheck.

She threw it in front of Poppy, who glanced down to see the sum written on it.

Looking back at Luciana, Poppy said, “You’re really hiring me to do this?”

“Yes,” she replied with a grin.

Poppy pushed the check back and said, “I don’t need your money, Luciana.” She settled back into her chair, smiling, and added, “Like you said, this is an opportunity thrown at me, and you should trust that I will do this perfectly. I have an idea right now, in fact.”

“That’s good to hear, Poppy.”

“But if he leaves Marina, what next?”

“You ought to know that, Poppy.”

Have him all to myself, she thought, smiling.

“Fair enough. I’ll do just that.” She smiled wickedly.

“And for your information, no one must know about this. Do I make myself clear?”

“Whatever, Luciana.”

“This is our dirty secret, okay?”

“Like I said, Lucy, you don’t have to worry about anything. You should keep your mouth shut, okay?”

“Don’t talk too much, Poppy. I’ve got this under control. I’m just worried about you.”

“Worried about me? You aren’t the one doing the dirty job, are you? So please, just shut the hell up while I do this.”

“Alright then, have fun,” she replied, picking up her bag.

“Oh, I will,” Poppy said with a satisfied smile.

Luciana rose and shifted back her chair, tilting up her dark glasses before marching out.

“Can I get you anything, ma’am?” The tomboy waitress addressed her, a board tucked under her arm.

With an unfading smile, Poppy replied, “Water, please.”

Poppy watched the waitress walk away before dwelling in her thoughts again.

Having Yankee to herself was a call she could never ignore, no matter how hard she tried. She was going to do anything just to have him, and Marina had no idea what was coming her way.