‘That’s all you want?’
‘Just a few dates,’ Mr Richmond repeated. ‘Three months tops.’
‘Maybe four,’ Mimi said.
‘Yes, three or four.’ Mr Richmond nodded. ‘At least for the summer.’
‘Maybe some of the fall.’ Mimi paused and said to her husband as an aside, ‘It would be great if he had a date for the annual Halloween Ball which Candace always throws. Maybe Kat can talk him into actually wearing a costume.’
‘Hmm, great idea, I didn’t think of that.’ Mr Richmond nodded thoughtfully. ‘Yes, until the ball. Perfect.’
To Kat, Mimi continued, ‘Get his feet wet. All we want is for him to start seriously dating.’
Kat didn’t move. It was April twenty-fifth. Halloween was the end of October. Suddenly just a few dates had turned into a little over six months. Was Faux Pas really worth it?
Hell, yes!
‘Show him what it’s like to go out and get him to talk about something other than work.’ Mimi pressed her lips tightly together and Kat wondered at the subtle gesture. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she got the feeling something was wrong with the whole picture. Either that or they were purposefully not telling her something. Mimi cleared her throat and continued, ‘Consider it his secret date training. Let him make his mistakes on you, help him and when he’s date ready, you’re done. You know, don’t run away when he’s rude or tries to brush you off or is awkward.’
‘He’s just shy around women,’ Mr Richmond said.
‘What if he’s not interested?’ Kat asked. ‘It’s possible I’m not even his type.’
‘Oh, don’t you worry about that,’ Mimi said. ‘I’m sure Vincent is just going to love you. Besides, you’re an actress. You’ll be able to give him whatever type he likes.’
‘Vincent?’ Kat asked, glancing at the man across from her with a sick feeling in her stomach.
‘Yes, our only son, my namesake and heir,’ Mr Richmond said. ‘Dr Vincent Richmond the third.’
Kat pulled the black wig off her head and dropped it on her suitcase. Scratching her scalp, she fluffed her long dark-blonde hair before giving it a quick comb through with her fingers. The locks were currently streaked with navy blue chunks and oddly crimped from the intentionally trendy mess of spikes and braids she’d worn that morning. Kat chuckled. She’d put the wig on to freak outher mother when she met her for a late lunch in the hotel restaurant.
Falling onto her back on her hotel room bed, Kat was glad to finally have some alone time. Her room was small compared to the Richmonds’ executive suite, but at least there was some colour to the walls and bedspread – not like their untouchable, sterile white. Pastel swirls decorated the comforter and the colour was mimicked by the unobtrusive, bland landscape paintings on the wall. The mauve carpet was new, as was the cheap dresser that doubled as a TV stand.
A large mirror reflected her image back to her. She looked misplaced in the middle-class suburban family style hotel room. With her smudged black eyeliner and dark-blue glitter lipstick, she’d be better fitted to a youth hostel. Kat grinned, the overdone look was mostly to annoy her mother. At twenty-seven, she still loved getting the best of the woman. However, to be fair, after twenty-seven years of having an artist for a daughter, Beatrice didn’t seem too bothered by Kat’s eccentricities anymore. She always encouraged her daughters to be themselves.
After her meeting with the Richmonds, she’d spent all day shopping with her mother. Mostly, Beatrice window-shopped and Kat did her best to concentrate on finding the perfect photograph. If her mother knew what the Richmonds wanted with her, she didn’t let on. In fact, she seemed to be under the impression Kat was going to take some family portraits of them. Kat let her mother think what she wanted.
It was late, but she didn’t care as she reached for the phone. She needed to talk to
‘Just a few dates,’ Mr Richmond repeated. ‘Three months tops.’
‘Maybe four,’ Mimi said.
‘Yes, three or four.’ Mr Richmond nodded. ‘At least for the summer.’
‘Maybe some of the fall.’ Mimi paused and said to her husband as an aside, ‘It would be great if he had a date for the annual Halloween Ball which Candace always throws. Maybe Kat can talk him into actually wearing a costume.’
‘Hmm, great idea, I didn’t think of that.’ Mr Richmond nodded thoughtfully. ‘Yes, until the ball. Perfect.’
To Kat, Mimi continued, ‘Get his feet wet. All we want is for him to start seriously dating.’
Kat didn’t move. It was April twenty-fifth. Halloween was the end of October. Suddenly just a few dates had turned into a little over six months. Was Faux Pas really worth it?
Hell, yes!
‘Show him what it’s like to go out and get him to talk about something other than work.’ Mimi pressed her lips tightly together and Kat wondered at the subtle gesture. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she got the feeling something was wrong with the whole picture. Either that or they were purposefully not telling her something. Mimi cleared her throat and continued, ‘Consider it his secret date training. Let him make his mistakes on you, help him and when he’s date ready, you’re done. You know, don’t run away when he’s rude or tries to brush you off or is awkward.’
‘He’s just shy around women,’ Mr Richmond said.
‘What if he’s not interested?’ Kat asked. ‘It’s possible I’m not even his type.’
‘Oh, don’t you worry about that,’ Mimi said. ‘I’m sure Vincent is just going to love you. Besides, you’re an actress. You’ll be able to give him whatever type he likes.’
‘Vincent?’ Kat asked, glancing at the man across from her with a sick feeling in her stomach.
‘Yes, our only son, my namesake and heir,’ Mr Richmond said. ‘Dr Vincent Richmond the third.’
Kat pulled the black wig off her head and dropped it on her suitcase. Scratching her scalp, she fluffed her long dark-blonde hair before giving it a quick comb through with her fingers. The locks were currently streaked with navy blue chunks and oddly crimped from the intentionally trendy mess of spikes and braids she’d worn that morning. Kat chuckled. She’d put the wig on to freak outher mother when she met her for a late lunch in the hotel restaurant.
Falling onto her back on her hotel room bed, Kat was glad to finally have some alone time. Her room was small compared to the Richmonds’ executive suite, but at least there was some colour to the walls and bedspread – not like their untouchable, sterile white. Pastel swirls decorated the comforter and the colour was mimicked by the unobtrusive, bland landscape paintings on the wall. The mauve carpet was new, as was the cheap dresser that doubled as a TV stand.
A large mirror reflected her image back to her. She looked misplaced in the middle-class suburban family style hotel room. With her smudged black eyeliner and dark-blue glitter lipstick, she’d be better fitted to a youth hostel. Kat grinned, the overdone look was mostly to annoy her mother. At twenty-seven, she still loved getting the best of the woman. However, to be fair, after twenty-seven years of having an artist for a daughter, Beatrice didn’t seem too bothered by Kat’s eccentricities anymore. She always encouraged her daughters to be themselves.
After her meeting with the Richmonds, she’d spent all day shopping with her mother. Mostly, Beatrice window-shopped and Kat did her best to concentrate on finding the perfect photograph. If her mother knew what the Richmonds wanted with her, she didn’t let on. In fact, she seemed to be under the impression Kat was going to take some family portraits of them. Kat let her mother think what she wanted.
It was late, but she didn’t care as she reached for the phone. She needed to talk to
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