Page 17 of Play of Love
Hilda smiled. “Oh yes,chica, there’s a lot of that that goes on here.”
“That’s the mild stuff, too,” Gabriella cut in.
“Mild?” I raised my brows.
They both nodded and exchanged secret smiles.
“Mild indeed. The biggest scandal now is that we think Mrs. Campbell is planning to kill husband number fifteen so she can get her hands on husband sixteen and keep husband fifteen’s fortune. There’s no way all her fourteen husbands could have mysteriously died of a heart attack. Particularly because they were all under the age of forty. She’s sixty-five.”
“Really?” I rested my elbows on the table and leaned forward with keen interest as they nodded.
“While we wait for that story to unfold, we’re casting bets on how soon Mr. Fox will get caught for embezzling money from the children’s hospice, to pay for his wife’s new boobs.”
I was laughing now.
“So, what else did Josh Mancini do?” Gabriella asked. “We understand the rats, but something else must have turned you away.”
I reached into my pocket and handed her the list Josh wrote. Hilda moved over so she could read too. They started to laugh again and I sighed.
It was funny if you were on the outside looking in.
“There’s no way he was being serious,” Hilda stated, shaking her head.
“Yes, he was.” I saw that he was absolutely serious.
“Oh my God.Dias Miós, everything on here is ridiculous. I’m guessing his plastic friends require this.”
“Plastic friends?” I giggled.
“Yes, the two skanks he’s always with.”
That was another story entirely. “They’re practically glued to him,” I stated.
“We’ve seen them.”
“Do you live nearby?”
I shook her head. “Downtown L.A.”
“Chica,” Gabriella grimaced. “That’s a bit rough for a girl like you. How long have you lived there?”
“Just the last week and two days. I used to live in New York, but I’m from Atlanta. I’m a fashion designer.”
They both looked interested to hear that, and as I continued talking their interest grew. I told them about my application to Dior and all that I’d done so far. That led to explaining about mom and why I was here.
We talked for hours and even had dinner. I got to know a lot about them and found their acquaintance quite refreshing. I learned that Gabriella was from Colombia and Hilda from Puerto Rico. They’d come to the States when they were young but tried to go back to visit their families every year. Since I would give anything to go to either of those two amazing countries I enjoyed hearing about the wondrous things you could see there.
They talked until it got dark and agreed to meet for lunch the next day if I was still here. They made me feel better and I thought whether I was still working for Josh or not I’d come for the lunch invite.
As I made my way back to my dank apartment I checked my messages to see if the consultant had gotten back to me. He did, stating that he’d call me tomorrow morning after his morning clinic, which finished at eleven.
Fingers crossed I could find a way out of this mess and still fix things. I wondered how mad Josh was when I didn’t come back with his stupid items. I didn’t care. If I didn’t see him again it would be the best thing that ever happened to me .
And those women that hung with him. Gabriella told me that he paid for the brunette to get implants and the other one, Hilda called the dumb one, had collagen fillers.
It was all so extravagant.
