Femme Tales Read online

  “Serge, I have to leave.” Cass felt a migraine coming on.

  “No worries. I’ll have you all packed and a car waiting to take you to the airport by the time you finish your shower,” he promised, still watching her worriedly.

  “Thanks.” Cass headed into the bedroom. On her way, she noticed something red peeking out from beneath the coffee table. She walked over to find Faith had left her shoes behind. Cass picked them up and stared down at them in disbelief. Once again, she racked her brain wondering what could have happened that she would be in such a rush that she didn’t even bother grabbing her shoes or saying good-bye?

  With a sigh, she carried the shoes into the bedroom, stuffed them into her backpack, grabbed a pair of clean undergarments, jeans, and a T-shirt on her way to the bathroom, and was ready within forty-five minutes.

  Serge waited by the front door with her bag. “There’s a car waiting at the hotel for you. It’s been a pleasure attending to you, Cass.”

  “Thank you, Serge. You’ve been great and I’ll make sure the head honchos know it,” she said with a small smile.

  “You sure there is nothing else I can do for you before you go?” he asked.

  Cass hesitated. “If you see Faith…” She wasn’t even sure what she could say to her. She shook her head. “Never mind. Thanks again for everything, Serge. Good luck to you and your mom with the inn.” She pulled out one of her business cards and handed it to him. “Be sure to let me know when you’re up and running. I’d like to be one of your first guests.”

  Serge looked down at the card, and his eyes widened in surprise at Cass’s title. “I will definitely do that.”

  They shook hands and Cass walked out feeling as if her whole world had just collapsed beneath her feet.

  * * *

  Faith sat at her drafting table staring at a blank piece of paper. She was supposed to be drafting up various ideas for a custom order, but her heart just wasn’t in it. She had been back from Turks and Caicos for a week now, and she just couldn’t get Cass and how she had left things with her off of her mind. She realized a couple of hours after she had run out that she should have given Cass an opportunity to explain. After all, she did say she and the family didn’t really talk to her uncle that often so there was no way she would have been involved in any schemes Craig had going. She had also realized that the sister who called her mother and told her the truth about Craig was more than likely Cass’s mother.

  Unfortunately, by the time she swallowed her pride and walked back over to Cass’s villa, she had left. Serge was there with housekeeping prepping the villa for a new guest and told her Cass had an emergency and had left that morning. When Serge told her how upset Cass seemed Faith almost cried and poured her heart out to Serge. He told her what she already knew; she had been foolish to leave the way she did. Not seeing any reason to prolong her stay any longer, Faith had booked a flight out the next day. She couldn’t even call Cass and apologize because she had never gotten a chance to get her phone number. Even though Cass had her business card, Faith doubted she would be calling her after what she had done.

  A knock on her door interrupted her thoughts. She looked up to find Ezra standing in the doorway.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said in his usual greeting.

  Faith met him halfway across the room. He gave her one of his healing bear hugs and a kiss on the cheek.

  “You always seem to know when I need one of your hugs,” she said.

  “Uh-oh, what’s going on?” he asked, looking at her in concern.

  “Foolish pride stuff,” she said.

  “Anything I can do besides supply hugs?” he asked.

  “Not really,” she indicated they should sit on the sofa in her office. “What brings you to my humble shop?”

  “Well, Craig Lawson is dropping the claim on the house, and they have vacated the property,” Ezra told her.

  “Good riddance,” Faith said in relief.

  “Unfortunately, not quite. It seems he made a couple of shady real estate deals and forged your mother’s signature on them, and now the contractors have come to collect since they can’t seem to find him.”

  Faith buried her face in her hands. “He’s like a bad penny that just keeps showing up. What’s the damage?”

  Ezra hesitated in answering.

  Faith looked at him worriedly. “Ezra.”

  “Ten thousand dollars.”

  “You’re kidding,” Faith shouted.

  “You know I would not kid about something like this, especially concerning that crook.”

  Faith walked over to a window “What are our options?”

  “They’re threatening to sue if we don’t pay what’s owed. I think we can fight it, but it may take some time since Craig has conveniently dropped off the face of the earth,” he said.

  “For now, until his next victim,” Faith said angrily. “Pay them.”

  “Are you sure? I think we should fight it out. That’s a lot of money to just give away.”

  “Craig Lawson has caused enough trouble. I just want it over with and him out of my life,” Faith said tiredly.

  “Okay. Let me see if I can get that number down considering this all occurred while your mother was in hospice at the time the deals happened and there was no way she was in the frame of mind to make deals.”

  “Thank you, Ezra.”

  “The other reason I’m here is to ask if you would like to be my plus one for a charity event coming up.”

  “I don’t feel much like partying, Ezra. Besides, wouldn’t you want to go with a real date? Someone you have a chance at a romantic connection with?”

  “Honestly, there’s no one I’m interested in asking, and I think it will do you some good to get out and socialize. There could also be a business opportunity for you. I got a tip from a client that one of the suppliers included in the swag bags they are giving to the platinum donors pulled out and they’re looking for swag from an upcoming fashionista to replace her.”

  Faith turned toward him, “Seriously?”

  “Seriously. I was thinking you can offer your custom shoe designs. Just imagine some big name celebrities strutting the red carpets in a custom pair of Glass Slippers,” Ezra said.

  Faith’s mind raced with the possibilities this opportunity could afford her.

  “So, what’s it gonna be? Sitting at home on another Friday night or schmoozing with some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry?” Ezra asked with a knowing grin.

  “Who do I need to talk to?” Faith said.

  “Now that’s the Faith I know.” He pulled a card from his wallet and handed it to her. “Her name is Eve Monroe. She’s the event planner. I told her to expect your call.”

  Faith took the card. “And what if I had said no?”

  “I know you better than that. I’ll call you soon about the contractors.”

  They embraced once more. “Thank you, Ezra. You’re a good friend,” Faith said sincerely.

  “Who are you kidding, I’m your only friend,” he said with a wink, chuckling as he ran out of the room before the pencil Faith threw at him could hit its mark.

  * * *

  “Not the fashion choice I picture you in, but hey, who am I to judge,” Ebony said as she walked into Cass’s office. Cass was staring at Faith’s red stiletto shoes on her desk.

  Cass laughed. “They’re not quite my size.” She placed the shoes on the credenza behind her. “What’s up, Eb?”

  “I just want to go over the final run-through for tonight. I ran into Steph heading out to meet Eve for the setup, and she said you had a couple of questions.”

  They discussed the guest list, performers, song lists, and the meet and greet scheduled with the performers and media after the event.

  “Also, we sold out of the one hundred tickets we offered to the public,” Ebony told her.

  “Great. So we’re all set then,” Cass said.

  “Yeah. What about you? Are you all set?” Ebony asked. />
  “What do you mean? I’m good.”

  “C’mon, Cass, ever since you got back from Turks and Caicos you’ve been in some kind of funk. You keep saying you aren’t mad at us, but something is bothering you. And what’s up with the shoes?”

  Cass sat back in her chair and told Ebony about what happened with her and Faith. When she was finished she felt as if a huge cloud had cleared from her mind and she was able to think clearly.

  “Wow,” Ebony said. “And you haven’t tried to contact her since you got back?”

  Cass shrugged. “Why? She obviously didn’t want to continue what we started after returning to New York or why else would she have left the way she did. Maybe I was just a pleasant distraction from having to deal with the loss of her mother.”

  “So you think she just meant for you to be a one-night stand?” Ebony asked.

  “I don’t know. She obviously wanted to get out of there so fast she slipped out the back door without her shoes,” Cass pointed to the red shoes on the credenza behind her.

  “Those are hers? You actually brought them back? Why if you hadn’t planned on contacting her? You could have easily given them to the butler to return since they’re friends,” Ebony said.

  Cass grabbed one of the shoes, balancing the heel in the palm of her hand. “I don’t know. I guess I just wanted something to remember the time with.”

  “What if you could talk to her and ask why?” Ebony asked.

  “Don’t see how that will happen unless I call her, which I don’t plan on doing.”

  Ebony opened her iPad and scrolled through something on the screen. When she was finished, she laid the screen in front of Cass. “This is the list for the swag bag vendors. Scroll down to the bottom.”

  Cass did as Ebony said, her eyes widening as she saw the last vendor on the list. She looked up at Ebony suspiciously. “When did this happen and how long have you known?”

  “Stephanie sent me the list this morning. Said Essential Fashions had to pull their swag item out due to some issues with the product. Eve had mentioned something to her attorney who is attending the ball, and he told her about one of his other clients who might be interested in adding her product. Everything was handled by Eve and Stephanie a couple of weeks ago and I just found out this morning,” Ebony explained.

  Cass looked back down at the name on the list and felt her heart skip a beat. “Does she know who the event is for?”

  Ebony shrugged. “I’m assuming she does since she spoke with Stephanie. So what are you going to do?”

  Cass looked at the shoe sitting beside the iPad and smiled. “I need you to do me a favor.”

  * * *

  Faith paced nervously in front of her bedroom mirror. “I don’t know what I was thinking agreeing to do this.”

  Ezra watched her in confusion. “Faith, it’s just a charity ball and your costume looks fantastic. What are you so anxious about?”

  Faith stopped and gazed at her reflection in the mirror. The event theme was an enchanted garden masquerade ball. Faith had created a fairy costume to go along with Ezra’s elf. She wore a flowy sparkling gown with a halter top and a flowy skirt that gave the impression of dozens of gossamer scarves stitched together so when she walked each layer flowed as if she were caught in a constant breeze. Her shoes resembled open toe glass slippers with a stiletto heel and silk ribbons that laced up to her knee. The finishing touch was a set of gossamer fairy wings she had also created herself. She used colored hair spray to give her hair a gold hue and her makeup consisted of glittery gold shadows, stick-on jewels, and dramatic eyelashes. She had to admit she did look fantastic, but she didn’t feel it.

  As soon as she had contacted Eve Monroe and found out Pure Music was hosting the charity ball she was committing to, she had seriously considered changing her mind. There was no doubt she would run into Cass at the event, she just had to figure out how to avoid any prolonged face time with her. After all this time she was too embarrassed to bother trying to explain why she ran out the way she did and hadn’t even tried to contact Cass when she returned.

  Serge told her Cass took her shoes so she had hoped she would be the one to reach out, but when Faith didn’t hear from her she knew she had screwed up too badly to fix anything. For all she knew, Cass could have given her shoes to some other woman. After all, they were from one of her best designs and practically brand new. Faith had only worn them twice and that included the night with Cass. Faith flopped dejectedly down beside Ezra.

  “Faith, what the hell is going on with you?”

  “There’s something I should warn you about before we go to this event.”

  Faith told Ezra everything about Cass from the subway encounter to when she ran out on her in Turks and Caicos. Ezra sat and listened quietly, then when Faith finished he looked at her curiously for a moment.

  “Would you say something?” she said in annoyance.

  “You really don’t know who Cass is, do you?” he said.

  “I told you. She said she’s a producer at Pure Music. Why are you grinning like a Cheshire cat?”

  “Faith, I simply adore you, but you really should read something more than sales reports and fashion industry literature. First of all, Cass Phillips is not just a producer for Pure Music, she is the CEO and owner.”

  Faith looked at Ezra in confusion. “We must be talking about two different people. She told me she was just a producer.”

  Ezra pulled out his phone and pulled up an article from XXL magazine about Cass with her picture plastered right at the top standing casually in front of a trophy case filled with various music industry awards.

  “Why wouldn’t she tell me who she really is?”

  “A successful woman like that with the money she has, there are gold diggers left and right trying to get at her. Can you blame her for not saying anything to some woman she’d just met on the beach. Then you didn’t even bother sticking around knowing she was just a producer. If she had told you the truth and you had stayed she really wouldn’t know if you had done it because you genuinely liked her or her bank account,” Ezra said.

  “But I’m not like that,” Faith said angrily.

  “How was she to know that? You guys literally met and slept together all within a twenty-four-hour period and then you dashed before you could even take the time to really get to know each other. How would that look to you?”

  Faith sat quietly for a moment and thought about what happened, then sighed. “I was the one who asked her to lunch and dinner. I was the one who pretty much threw myself into her bed, and it now looks like I’m the one who ghosted her.”

  “Exactly. Would you contact someone that did that to you?” Ezra asked in that reasonable lawyer tone of his. She always hated when he was right.

  “That doesn’t explain how she knows Chanelle,” Faith said, not wanting to fully admit blame for the situation.

  “If you had stuck around to ask you would have found out, but since you didn’t I can fill you in on that,” Ezra said matter-of-factly.

  Faith looked at him in confusion again.

  “When your mother got the call from Craig’s sister, she asked me to look further into him and his family. His sister is Cass’s mother, but she had not been involved with her brother for several years because he had run one of his real estate scams on her and her husband and almost bankrupted them. Cass has talked about this in early bios about her life. She had been trying to help her cousin Chanelle with her music career at the time, and they had a falling out when Cass found out Chanelle knew about the scam the whole time and didn’t say anything. Cass ended up bailing her parents out of the situation, but she refused to continue helping Chanelle. The Lawsons have been outcasts from the family ever since. I couldn’t imagine why she would have been calling Cass, but it wasn’t because Cass knew what they were doing.”

  Faith laid her head back on the sofa and groaned painfully. “I can’t believe I screwed this up so badly.”

  Ezra stood, gr
asped Faith’s hands, and pulled her up with him. “Well, here’s your opportunity to fix it and possibly win the heart of a wealthy businesswoman.”

  Faith smiled affectionately at Ezra. “What would I do without you?”

  Ezra shrugged. “Probably spend the rest of your life single and clueless,” he said, then placed an affectionate kiss on her cheek. “Now, put your wings on and let’s go capture us a CEO.”

  * * *

  Cass walked into the Chelsea Market Passage on the High Line and felt as if she had just stepped into a real life enchanted forest. Moss and ivy dripped from above and along the walls intermingled with fairy lights and paper lanterns. Imitation grass covered all but the center of the space where room was left clear for dancing. The performance stage stood amongst a copse of faux flowering trees. The sound of birds chirping mingled with a live harpist and violinist playing in the background setting the enchanted mood. They had also obtained usage of the High Line Sundeck which connected to the Chelsea Market Passage to accommodate the overflow of guests. The deck’s natural greenery and view of the Hudson was all the décor needed so they simply added heat lamps along the deck.

  “What do you think?” Stephanie asked.

  “It looks unbelievable. Eve is a miracle worker,” Cass said.

  “It is fabulous. If you’d like to thank her, she and Lynette are in the catering tent with Chayse and her crew.”

  “Great, I’ll go find them in a bit. Right now I want to thank you for all of your hard work.” Cass handed Stephanie an envelope.

  Stephanie took the envelope. “What’s this?” She asked.

  “Ebony and I just want to show you our appreciation for all of your hard work. You’re so busy taking care of everyone else we don’t want you to forget to take care of yourself as well.”

  Stephanie opened the envelope and found confirmation for an all-expense paid one-week vacation for the very resort they had sent Cass to.

  Stephanie smiled with tears in her eyes and pulled Cass into a tight hug. “Thank you. I was so jealous planning your vacation,” she admitted.