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Todd had the chiseled look of a Hollywood star and often turned heads whenever they were out as a group. However, Todd Tate had no interest in the arts whatsoever and had made his money as some sort of financier. His lack of interest in creative pursuits made for dull discussions of Eliza’s and Roman’s careers at the Christmas dinner table.
Jocelyn Tate, however, was more interesting to Eliza. A small woman nearing seventy, she appeared outwardly to be in her early fifties. Her blond hair was kept up at the same expensive salon where Eliza received her weekly blowouts, and her figure remained trim through rigorous exercise routines and strict diets. She looked the part of a rich man’s wife, but Eliza suspected that a peek below Jocelyn’s veneered surface would lead to some peculiar secrets.
“It’s lovely to see you, darling.” Jocelyn sat first, gesturing for her daughter-in-law to follow suit. “We’re sorry to hear Roman couldn’t make it, but—”
“Is he still teaching those ridiculous classes?” Todd sat next, his legs spread wide, one arm sprawled over his wife’s chair as if he owned the world. “The ones at that decrepit studio? Can’t believe anyone buys into his nonsense.”
Eliza gritted her teeth. Todd’s habit of cutting his wife off every time she spoke had always grated on her. As her marriage progressed and the years ticked by, Eliza was finding it more and more difficult to keep her tongue in check.
“Roman loves his work.” Eliza measured her words, feeling Jocelyn’s eyes fix on her. “It’s what initially drew us together, actually, but you’ve heard that story.”
“Yeah, yeah. You met in one of those hippie classes,” Todd muttered. “A theater degree. I still can’t believe I paid fifty grand a year for my son to chase women and dance around onstage.”
“Todd.” Jocelyn’s fingers trembled. “Eliza and I would like to enjoy our dinner without your colorful commentary.”
Eliza looked down at her fork, studied it like it was a piece of art. She’d never been under the illusion that Roman’s parents’ relationship was perfect, but recently she’d been seeing more and more cracks appear.
“Eliza knows I didn’t mean anything by it.” Todd eased back in his chair, daring his daughter-in-law to make a peep. “I’ve got nothing against the…” He hesitated and glanced at his wife. “I mean, those kinds of people. Hell, I just didn’t think I’d ever see my son wearing tights.”
“I apologize, Eliza.” Jocelyn’s fingers twisted her linen napkin before she seemed to realize her nervous tic was on full display. She spread the cloth in her lap, smoothed it before turning a pleasant expression back to the table. “Where were we?”
“Actually, I think we can probably order.” Eliza gestured to the hovering server. “We can chat once the food has arrived. I’m sure everyone’s hungry.”
Jocelyn shot her a look that was torn in two—part relief, part something else. Almost as if she had been hankering for an argument. But the server arrived then, the Tate family ordered, and topical conversation ensued, pushing aside all threat of a full-on dinner disaster.
Eliza waited until halfway through dinner to engage the next steps of her plan. It was a delicate thing, and she couldn’t rush it. Before she’d picked up the phone and dialed Jocelyn Tate to invite her to dinner, she’d thought long and hard about whether she wanted to do this. Whether she could do this.
Once her decision was made, Eliza set to finessing the details with the same level of painstaking accuracy that she put into her work. Eventually, the plan rolled into motion when Todd spotted one of his friends at a nearby table.
“It’s Nathan!” Todd pushed his chair back and heaved himself to his feet. “I haven’t seen the bastard in over a year. Traveling with his wife on a big European tour if I remember right. You ladies mind if I catch up with him? Don’t wait on me to finish eating.”
Todd didn’t pretend to wait for a response before tossing his napkin on the chair and pushing his near-empty plate toward the center of the table. Jocelyn had barely touched her Niçoise salad while Eliza had made a valiant effort to nibble at the edges of her ahi tuna, but neither of the expensive platters was even halfway finished. Eliza’s stomach churned, and she, too, pushed her plate away.
“Mrs. Tate,” she began, then stopped when her mother-in-law put down her fork and stared intently back at Eliza.
“Yes?” Jocelyn pressed. “What do you need?”
“It’s not…” Eliza swallowed, glancing at the napkin in her lap.
“It’s not like that.”
Jocelyn lifted one petite shoulder in a shrug. “I’m not silly enough to believe you invited us here because you enjoy our company.”
Eliza’s lips parted in surprise. This was not going the way she’d intended. Usually, Eliza was the overprepared one in a room. She excelled at planning; she was known for obtaining fantastic results during work negotiations, even when the tables were turned against her. That wasn’t the case this evening.
“That’s not true,” Eliza said weakly. “It’s not that I don’t enjoy your company.”
“It’s quite all right,” Jocelyn said. “I believe you enjoy my company fine enough, but my husband can be quite intolerable.”
Eliza’s surprise morphed into shock.
Jocelyn sighed, then peered over her shoulder. Todd and Nathan had moved onto the ruddy, red-faced, too-loud-laughter portion of their discussion. “You’d better speak quickly if you’d like to discuss business before my husband returns.”
Eliza tipped her chin upward and fought back the pink blush of embarrassment. “I did come here to ask a favor of you and your husband. And I’m afraid it’s quite a large favor.”
“I didn’t imagine you’d call for something trivial.”
“It’s money. I’ve recently quit my job, and I’m branching out to start my own public relations company. I need more funding than what Roman and I have in our bank account.”
