Page 50 of The High Price Of Loneliness

Angelica looked around the busy salon with customers and other staff milling around close to them and said, “I’m dying to tell you, but I promised to keep it confidential. I’m not sure if I can talk here. Perhaps I can call you later?”

Samantha intervened and said, “Better than that, how about we grab a quick drink next door, and you can tell me all about it? That was my last client, and I can head out now if you are free.”

Angelica agreed with one caveat. “Ok, but just one drink. I have to get home to pack yet.”

Samantha nodded in agreement and said, “Just let me grab my things.”

The two blondes walked the short half block and across the street, to a great little Italian place called Caragiulo’s which had been in downtown Sarasota for two generations. The smell of fresh Italian bread and delicious plates of food on their way to tables filled the air. It was one of those places where if you weren’t hungry when you arrived, just wait a few minutes. Angelica and Samantha made a striking pair of blondes at the bar for anyone passing by on the sidewalk looking into the charming bistro. They each ordered a Grey Goose Cosmo, but only after Angelica started discussing the trip with Edward.

“So, we had our first fight after the black-tie event last weekend,” Angelica said, offering the news about the drama first. “Why is it that men blame us when other men are flirting or hitting on us?” she asked Samantha for her sporting opinion about the topic.

Samantha smiled. “Oh honey, don’t get me started,” she said, laughing out loud as their Cosmopolitans arrived. “Cheers!” she added. They clinked and resumed their quiet huddle to get to the big news.

Angelica shared the story about the stress of the short-lived breakup and the painful details of the silent ride home from Tampa. But when Angelica relayed how she went to his home late at night to beg him to listen to her, Samantha interrupted her and advised, “Oh, sweetheart, never beg a man to take you back or to make up. It can open some bad doors and roads you don’t want to go down,” she said.

Angelica listened to her sage advice but added, “Well, it’s too late now for last time, but I hear you.”

Samantha, wanting all the details, egged her on and said, “So things must have worked out somehow?”

Angelica’s smile was a dead giveaway as she described how they “kissed and made up” all the next day and night at the Ritz Carlton and confided, “I think we actually bonded and were closer after what happened. But I don’t ever want to go through that again.”

All caught up on recent events, Samantha inquired about the trip next. “So where is Mr. Gray taking you? What’s up with this trip all of a sudden?” she asked with excitement, smiling with encouragement to get all of the scoops.

Angelica took another sip of the Cosmo, which was going down very smoothly, and began, “Well, Edward bought a company in Washington, D.C., and has a fancy closing dinner scheduled with the former owner and his son this Friday. So, he asked me to join him and be his dinner date, plus have a long weekend in D.C. with him.”

“That’s huge!” Samantha exclaimed. “He trusts you to be in front of his business associates at an important function.” She recognized it instantly. “That shows how much he trusts you.”

Angelica had thought about that somewhat but had not framed it in her mind as a sign of great trust by Edward until she heard Samantha word it that way. So, thinking more deeply now, Angelica added, “I guess you’re right.”

Samantha shared, “From what I hear about Gray around town, he never lets any woman into his inner circle. So many have tried, and they all crash and burn. He is one of the most eligible bachelors in South Florida but always remains very aloof, unobtainable, if you know what I mean?” Samantha warned her friend, hoping she would be careful and not get hurt.

Angelica thought about her sobering words while finishing her Cosmo. “Thanks, Samantha. That is good to know, I think.”

Then, Samantha inquired, “When are you two love birds flying out?”

Angelica smiled on a much more positive note and said, “Tomorrow night, right after work!” She perked up thinking about the trip just twenty-four hours away.

Samantha said, “You’ll be flying first class and enjoying life to the max. I’m more than a bit jealous!” She laughed out loud and added, “Want one more Cosmo before you go?”

Angelica looked at her watch and said, “Thanks, but I can’t. I have to get home to pack. Edward has ordered dinner delivered for me at home while I am packing tonight, and I need to get going. I don’t want to be late.”

Samantha shook her head with envy and commented, “This is really getting serious with you two.”

Angelica pulled out her card again to cover the drinks and said, with a little wink between friends, “My treat.” Both of them knew full well that Mr. Gray was treating happy hour.

Leaning over to whisper one last secret reveal, Angelica said, “Samantha, one last thing. I thought we would be flying first class on an airline too. But we’re not. He is flying us up to D.C. in a private jet.” She covered her whisper with her hand by Samantha’s ear for added privacy.

“No way. Holy shit!” Samantha said loud enough for a few others to hear. Her face was still in disbelief as her friend was suddenly turning into Cinderella at the ball before her very eyes.

As Angelica signed the check for the drinks, she parted ways with her friend, giving her a hug but wondering if jealousy might spoil her friendship with Samantha.

As she drove home to start packing, her mind kept thinking about how Samantha had reacted to her newfound life of luxury with Edward. And what about her other friends? Might they see this sudden leap of lifestyle and be less than supportive, perhaps secretly even hoping Angelica might crash and burn as Samantha had forewarned? Her mind kept going over the happy hour conversation and wondered,Perhaps this is why Edward wanted her to sign the Confidentiality Agreement?Perhaps the wealthy had to deal with this sort of thing all the time, or worse? She would think about it later, she resolved as she pulled into her driveway. Time to get inside and start packing!

She smiled as she breezed through her front door, excited to start getting ready for her weekend getaway with Edward. In only twenty-four hours, she would zoom away with Mr. Gray to our nation’s capitol. Her adrenaline surged each time she thought of it. She was filled with pre-vacation excitement on the eve of the trip. She poured herself a glass of white wine and started to get organized. First, the suitcase was laid wide open on the bed, ready to receive its cargo.

She would, of course, bring all the new items she had just purchased for the trip at Edward’s suggestion, plus the sexy lingerie she had bought but not worn for him yet. She smiled as she put them piece by piece in her suitcase, each in a separate dry cleaner’s plastic bag—a little travel trick to keep things from getting wrinkled in the suitcase she had read about online.

The doorbell rang just as she was about to start on her bathroom toiletries and makeup.The food is here!she thought, realizing how famished she was. She raced to the door and, as she had hoped, it was her delivery from Edward with two big bags of goodies from P.F. Chang’s downtown. She loved their food and thanked the delivery driver, asking if she could tip him. He held up his hand and said it was already taken care of. She smiled as she set the bags on her kitchen counter and tore them open to reveal the goodies. It was fantastic sushi and Japanese hibachi with stir-fried vegetables, filet mignon, and lobster.

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