Darlene glanced around, then leaned in slightly. “What is that, exactly? The supportive friend? Or friend with benefits.”
“I’m whoever I need to be,” Marise said. “Though you already know that.”
“Oh?” Darlene sipped her wine, tilting her head. “You looked rather domestic out on the terrace with Miss Goody Two-Shoes.”
“She’s sweet in her own way,” Marise said, the word almost an apology. “And she hired me for the night.”
Darlene raised an eyebrow. “Why did you take her on as a client.”
Marise frowned. “Elise doesn’t like us refusing.”
Darlene’s smile curled. “Yet you knocked me back.”
“She’s Elise’s favourite. Kathleen comes first,” Marise said lightly.
“The woman’s infatuated with you, Veronica. It was plain as day on the terrace.”
Marise let that hang before answering. “I like people who understand what something is, and don’t try to make it more than that.”
Darlene gave a soft laugh. “Now that sounds familiar.”
“You, on the other hand, are a woman of the world,” Marise said. “No fantasies. No clinging. No strings.”
“I was a client,” Darlene replied, eyes gleaming. “Not a schoolgirl.”
Marise smiled faintly. “Exactly.”
Their eyes met. It wasn’t flirtation, it was recognition—a mutual awareness of roles, and of how easily people like them could slip into and out of character.
Darlene took a slow sip of her wine, her gaze flicking toward Kathleen who was talking to a man in a tweed jacket. “She’s pretty in a mundane sort of way.”
Marise’s voice was even. “She is. Not like you, though.”
Darlene tilted her head, clearly enjoying the response. “No. I’m different.”
She reached out and lightly touched Marise’s arm, barely there, but deliberate. “We can’t have you bored now, Veronica, can we?”
Marise lifted her glass, the faintest smile on her lips. “What do you propose?”
Darlene’s eyes glinted. “I’ll be waiting for you at the hotel after you ditch her.”
Marise gave her a measuring look as if making up her mind. “You understand that I won’t be coming as an escort to service a client. I want out of this business and a lot more out of life, nor do I expect to be a kept mistress to be hidden away. I have much to offer someone as a partner,” she paused for a minute before going on. “And I haven’t any qualms when it comes to making money. If that’s not what you want, then we’ll part ways now and no hard feelings.”
Darlene gave a brittle laugh. “You’d be joking, darling. You’re acting as though you’re my equal. I give you this…you’ve got balls.”
“I’m not a naïve young woman, Darlene, I’m not going into this blind. I’m in my mid-thirties and need security. I’m ready to settle down with someone who thinks like me. I’m well enough off, but I’m ambitious.” Marise shrugged. “Perhaps I read you wrong.”
Darlene frowned. “How exactly do you read me?”
Marise leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I see an attractive woman a little past her prime, who has everything except passion in her life. She’s had two husbands who didn’t satisfy her as much as a woman could, and she seeks that fulfillment. Desperate for it. I also think you’re a manipulator and a wheeler and dealer with few scruples. You have money but you crave more. Wealth is power. That’s what you want more than anything. For all that, you need someone to share your life.” She stepped back. “I’ll see you around.”
As she turned to go, Darlene grasped her arm. “Wait. If you’re with me, you’ll be exclusively mine.”
“Of course, that’s a given. We’ll look after each other.”
“What about Kathleen?”
“I won’t see her again.”
