The Sapphire Pendant (12 page)

Michelle impatiently shuffled through a couple of papers. “What are you talking about?”

She kicked off her shoes and took a seat. “I’ve been hired to look after his niece. I’m a damn nanny. Can you believe it?”

Michelle’s head came up. “How did that happen?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I went there thinking I was applying for a vacant position with his company, and the next thing I knew he was telling me he was glad that Ace liked me.”

“Ace?”

“Yes, that’s the kid’s name. I met her when…” She trailed off. The less said about their introduction, the better. “She’s going to be a handful,” she finished lamely.

“How do you know?”

Jessie wiggled her hands. “She has sticky fingers.”

“Oh.”

“I start on Monday.” She swung her foot. “Now, I ask you: how am I supposed to win him over if I’m with his niece and he’s away at the office?”

“That’s a question you should ask Teresa.”

“Teresa’s busy. I’m asking you.”

Michelle sighed. “How old is the kid?”

“Eight or nine, I guess. That’s another thing. You know I’m not good with kids. I’m not very patient.”

“There’s nothing wrong with learning a new skill.” Michelle drummed her fingers. “You know, this might work to your advantage. You can appear domestic.”

“Domestic, me? How?”

“Let me think.” She tapped her chin. “You could cook. No, he doesn’t deserve that kind of punishment. You could play an instrument, if you’d ever learned one, or…”

Jessie narrowed her eyes. “This is not helpful.”

“You’ll just have to hope he thinks of you as his Jane Eyre.”

“His what?”

“Jane Eyre, the governess in Charlotte Bronte’s novel.” She stopped when Jessie’s eyes glazed over. She picked up a pen. “Never mind.”

Jessie rested her head in her hands. “I’ve never admired men who fall for their staff. There’s something sort of incestuous about that.”

“You need to charm him, not admire him.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “This sort of makes me his servant, right?”

“Don’t look at it that way. Think of it as strategic planning. You know, in the time of Jane Eyre, the role of a governess—”

“It’s okay.” She wasn’t in the mood to listen to the history of hired help. Jessie brushed her foot against the carpet. “He…he wants to talk about what happened.”

Michelle went back to her papers. “What happened?”

“About the prom.”

“Oh, that,” she said, with a dismissive gesture.

Jessie stood, annoyed by her sister’s disinterest. “Not everyone can turn off their emotions like a switch.”

Michelle shook her head sadly and sat back in her chair. “See, that’s the difference between you and me. A statement like that is meant to hurt, but it doesn’t, because it isn’t true. Of course I have feelings, though limited, I admit. They’re just not ready to rise up at the smallest provocation. You enjoy being a victim, otherwise you would let go of the fact that Kenneth teased you about not having a date for the prom. Jes, that was how many years ago?”

Jessie turned away and looked out the window at the boats in the distance, bobbing up and down on the water. “It was more than that.”

Michelle put her pen down and pushed her papers aside. “What are you talking about?”

“He was supposed to take me.” Jessie’s toes curled into the carpet. “But he stood me up.”
If only it were that simple
.

Michelle’s voice cooled. “Kenneth was supposed to take you?”

Jessie spun around. Her sister’s voice always grew soft when she was angry. “I didn’t tell you because I was too ashamed.”

“He’s the one that should have been ashamed.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a quick angry movement. “I remember how you sat there in your lovely yellow dress, waiting for your mysterious date to come, and how devastated you were when he didn’t. I thought you’d made him up. Did he ever explain why?”

Jessie walked to her chair. “I never gave him the chance.”

“Why not?”

She groaned. “Not everyone can explain their actions.”

Michelle rested her chin in her hands. “So you’ve been angry all this time, wallowing in self-pity, when he probably has a perfectly good explanation?”

“The explanation seemed pretty clear when I saw him with another girl. And I mean with another girl.”

“Hmm…that doesn’t sound like him.”

Jessie smiled with sweet sarcasm. “Of course it doesn’t sound like him. He’s perfect.”

“I’m only thinking.” Michelle stood and sat on the edge of the desk. “I’ve never really had the chance to know Kenneth, but one thing I do know is that his heart is good.”

“You’re wrong, Mich.”

“Rarely, and not about this. For some reason, he frightens you.”

She folded her arms. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“He still does, and I don’t know why.”

“You’re—”

She held up a hand. “Just listen.” She pushed Jessie into a chair. “It’s really very simple.” Jessie rolled her eyes. Michelle had said the same thing when she was describing trigonometry. “Back then, you couldn’t believe that a guy like Kenneth would be interested in you. Remember the first time you saw him?”

Jessie nodded, but Michelle continued anyway.

“It was September or October, and you were kicking a ball by yourself. He was in his yard across the street, creating a structure out of twigs. You accidentally kicked your ball into his yard, and it fell right on top of his building. He stared at the ball and his ruined creation for a long time, then picked it up and came towards you. You were terrified, because you thought he was going to be angry.”

Jessie let her arms fall. “I wasn’t terrified.”

“So I guess it was only the ground under you that was trembling?” She continued before Jessie could protest. “Anyway, he handed you the ball and said, ‘If you wanted to get my attention, all you had to do was say hello.’ Then he smiled, and you stuck out your tongue and ran back into the house.” Michelle smiled, remembering the moment. “Even then, you couldn’t accept him being nice to you.”

“I couldn’t believe he didn’t get mad. How can anyone be that nice? He didn’t even swear. Hell, I would have. It’s unreal.”

“It’s not his nature to get angry, and you have a hard time accepting that.”

She glanced away. “He does get angry.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do. Everyone gets angry at times,” she added, not wanting to give away too much. “But I think you’re right about other things.” Jessie crossed her legs and swung her foot. It was irritating, but sometimes her sister’s brutal honesty was good. It was a trait they had all inherited from their mother. Michelle, however, seemed to have received an extra dose.

“Of course I’m right.”

“Your modesty is enviable.”

Michelle shrugged.

“It was too incredible.” Her mind flashed back to when he’d come up to her that cool autumn day, a time when things should be dying or passing by. It was a time when her youthful heart had begun to bloom. He was a lanky older boy with a bright grin and warm eyes offering friendship to a tough eleven-year-old girl. She hadn’t been able to believe that he liked
her
. She wasn’t a clever student, and was boyish and plain, she didn’t think there was anything special about her that would captivate the attentions of someone like him. But for one semester, she had believed that he truly liked her, only to discover the true extent of her attractiveness.

Her voice was soft when she spoke. “He never liked me, Mich. Not the way you think.”

“Of course he did. I didn’t blame him. You were talented and courageous. You made me proud.”

Jessie shook her head. Her mouth quirked at her sister’s attempt at flattery. “You thought I was young and lacking in direction.”

“You still are, but I know what you’re capable of. A girl of hidden depths.”

Unfortunately, none of her potential had risen to the top this morning. She sunk lower into her chair. “When I saw him today, I froze. I couldn’t even open my mouth. If it was any other guy, I could do it, but not him.”

“Let me tell you a secret about Kenneth that will make this easier for you.”

“This isn’t a trick, is it?” she asked, cautious.

“No.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “One day, Kenneth and I were watching a nature film in biology about an orphaned wildebeest that couldn’t find another mother to nurse him. So the little baby just curled up alone, and we knew it would die. The room was basically quiet, with some compulsory snickers, but I turned to Kenneth, and in the glow of the screen, I saw tears in his eyes. He blinked them away before the lights came on, but then I knew.”

Jessie frowned. “Knew what? That he was a sissy?”

“It was sad,” Michelle said defensively.

Jessie smiled. “Did you cry too?”

“You’re missing the point.”

“What’s the point?”

“He is like anyone else. He has his own hurts, fears, and joys. He’s just a man, Jessie. And luckily, as a woman, you have everything necessary to catch him. You just need the confidence.”

Jessie fell into silence.

Michelle sat behind her desk to resume work. “By the way, don’t tell Kenneth this story.”

“Why not?”

She glared at her. “Because if he doesn’t kill you, I will.”

* * *

“This is so exciting,” Teresa said at dinner, after Jessie had explained the situation. She wiggled in her seat, like a child ready to open birthday presents.

Michelle took another helping of curried goat. “Why is everything so exciting to you?”

Jessie ignored her. “He said that I could either commute or live in his house.”

“In his house? Are you serious?” Teresa rubbed her hands together. “It gets better and better.”

“What are you planning to do?” Michelle asked.

Jessie toyed with her food. “I’ll commute, I guess.”

Teresa waved her fork. “Wrong answer. You’re going to stay there. It’s perfect. That way, you have more opportunities to bump into him.”

Michelle and Jessie stared at her. “
Bump
into him?”

“Yes.” Teresa gazed up at the ceiling fan. “Draped in a silk robe, you go down to the kitchen for a late-night snack, and there he is—wearing just his red boxer shorts and a milk mustache. Your eyes meet, your lips part, then—”

Michelle groaned in disgust. “Oh, no. Have you been reading those sappy romance novels again?”

Teresa smiled sweetly. “Yes, I took them from your bedroom.”

Properly rebuked, Michelle made a face and began to eat.

“So what are you planning to pack?”

Jessie shrugged. “I don’t know. Clothes, books…” She rubbed her temples. “I’m not sure I want to stay at his place. He probably uses it as a harem or something.” She still didn’t like the fact that she was going there as a nanny. She didn’t like any situation that put Kenneth in control.

“I seriously doubt it.” Teresa stood up. “Let’s go see what we have to work with.”

“What’s the rush? We have all weekend to decide.”

“Yes, but why wait when you can start now?”

They left the table and went to Jessie’s room. Michelle opened the closet, and Teresa opened a drawer while Jessie just sat there bouncing up and down on the bed.

“I wish you’d stop shopping at the Salvation Army,” Teresa said, lifting a worn flannel nightdress.

“Look, I don’t expect Kenneth to see me in my nightdress, so what does it matter? I’m supposed to try to charm him, not seduce him.”

“You never know. Seduction might be faster.” She tossed the nightdress on the bed. “You’ll just have to borrow some of Michelle’s.”

Michelle turned. “Why mine?”

“Because you have the best nighties of all three of us. The way you shop, one would think you had stock in Victoria’s Secret.”

Michelle rested a hand on her hip. “I like the material.”

Teresa grinned. “Yes, and men buy Playboy for the articles.”

Michelle left the room.

“I don’t see why we have to put so much emphasis on my clothes,” Jessie said as Teresa went through her wardrobe.

“You have to think of this as a championship game,” she said, trying to appeal to Jessie’s competitive nature. “To play, first you have to have the right gear. You wouldn’t wear a helmet to play tennis, right?”

“No.”

“So in charming a man, some of your attire has to be more alluring.”

Michelle returned with two silk nightdresses. “Stain them and die.” She gently placed them on the bed, as though laying out diamonds.

Jessie frowned. “How could I possibly stain them?”

Michelle opened her mouth, then shook her head. “Still a virgin, are you?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

She nodded. “Question answered. Just be careful.”

Teresa went through some more clothes in Jessie’s closet, then folded her arms. “It’s official. We need to go shopping.”

“You’re just trying to find an excuse,” Michelle said.

Teresa smirked. “Like I ever need an excuse. Jessie cannot charm a man in these.” She picked up a worn tie-dyed T-shirt as though lifting it from a rubbish heap. “Let’s shop.”

It would have helped if Jessie knew how to shop. She roamed around the women’s section like a fish caught in seaweed—she didn’t know which way to turn. She was used to grabbing whatever fit and hoping it matched what she had. She glanced at her sisters, who were quietly arguing about what she should wear. Michelle wanted a conservative, old-money look, while Teresa wanted a modern look with a New Age flair.

Jessie wasn’t sure which look she favored. A cream, crocheted ballet blouse caught her eye. She liked the soft feel and simple style. She picked it up and held it out to her sisters.

“What about this?”

They looked at her in surprise. “You must be joking,” Michelle said. “You could never pull that off.”

Teresa touched the hem of the blouse. “It’s just a little too feminine for you. Don’t worry, we’ll come up with something.”

Jessie glanced at the blouse once more, then put it back. Her sisters were right. She’d probably end up looking like a man in drag.

Unfortunately, in the end, they could not agree on anything. Michelle bought herself a blouse, Teresa bought a skirt, and Jessie purchased a pair of gym socks.