Page 142 of Bookworm

"Yes," she said quickly, "but I was just trying to assure Lottie I don't harbor secret feelings forher man. You've gotta believe me, Mrs. Lee. I love Bo like a brother."

"Hmph."

I jumped in then. "It's true.We were just spilling the tea."

Mrs. Lee's face remained expressionless. "I see no tea in front of you, only unhealthy fluff."

"Oh no," I said, smiling, "it's just an expression."

The woman sitting on the other side of Mrs. Lee leaned forward then.

"I believe 'spill the tea' is code for gossip," she said then looked to me. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes, ma'am. Gossip, girl chat, that kind of thing."

Mrs. Lee frowned at her friend. "Then why didn't they just say that?"

"Kids today," the woman said with a sigh. "They have a code for everything."

I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed her before. True, she'd been half-hidden by Mrs. Lee,but this woman would've been hard to miss in any crowd. Her gray hair was styled to perfection. She wore a tinymint green fascinator with a matching dress that must've been tailored because it hugged her curves like a glove. She'd paired that with high-heeled shoes which she had crossed at the ankle while she sat on her barstool.The woman commanded attention, in a different way than Mrs. Lee, but the effect was just as powerful.

"Remember the code name they gave me?" she asked.

As Mrs. Lee grinned, Meech and I exchanged a surprised look. Guess I wasn't the only one whohadn't seen anything besides a scowl from my former boss.

"I do," Mrs. Leesaid. "I also remember you arguing withyour service detail until they changed it to something you liked."

"A girl's got to have standards," she said."There's was no way I could be called the Pink Pearl. I needed something better. Like the Pink Mamba or the Spider, something catchy."

"Only you, Constance." Mrs. Lee shook her head then looked back to the two of us. "Mi-Cha."

"Yes, ma'am?" she said.

"I forgive you for saying those things about my Bo."

Meech seemed to breath for the first time since Mrs. Lee's appearance.

"Charlotte-Lottie-Lotte, I have something to discuss with you."

"Okay," I said.

Meech gave me a supportive look then said, "I'll take your bowl back to the booth."

With a nod, she left, andI turned my attention back to Mrs. Lee. "I hopeyou'reokay after what happened. I didn't really get a chanceto talk to you at the shop before I left—not that you had any trouble dealing with that robber."

Mrs. Lee waved it off, but Constance sat forward.

"What's this about a robber?" she repeated.

"Nothing," Mrs. Lee said. "Some idiot tried to steal from us."

"Oh no!From your charming little flower shop? The nerve."

"Yes.He pointed a gun at Charlotte-Lottie-Lotte, but she distracted him until help came."

"She was the help," I said with a smile. "Mrs. Lee came in, and the guy didn't know what hit him."

Constance let out a tinkling laugh. "I bet he didn't. You've still got it, Seung, even after all these years."

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