Chapter 31
Kate
The next evening was Nancy’s dinner party. Kate was planning on dressing more conservatively. Nancy would never be so rude as to comment on someone’s appearance, but Kate knew she liked more traditional behaviors and architecture, just with a twist.
Her phone buzzed again. It was another message from Alan. Kate didn’t know what he wanted. His messages made it sound as if he simply wanted to reconnect and catch up. She knew he was too deceitful for that. She couldn’t believe she had had an affair with him. It made her sick to think about. She couldn’t let anyone find out what happened. Jean Claude knew, but thankfully, he hadn’t told anyone yet. He was European, though, so it was probably more normal for people over there to have affairs with their married professors.
“I can’t believe I did that,” she hissed to herself in the mirror.
She hadn’t known he was married. Not until several months into the secretive relationship when his teenaged daughter had contacted Kate and informed her. She had been devastated. But she had still been under Alan’s spell. He had lied to her, told her he was going to leave his wife, had already separated from her, and that Kate was the only thing worthwhile in his life. She had bought it hook, line, and sinker.
Jean Claude had been the one to snap her out of it.
He had been waiting for her at her apartment so they could finish up their capstone project when Alan had left. He had come in the door with a knowing smirk on his face.
“Having a torrid affair with the star professor, Kate? Is this why you didn’t have any time for me?” he had said.
“No, it’s not like that. We’re going to get married.”
He had looked her up and down and said with pity, “He’s not leaving his wife for you. They never do.”
That was a dash of cold reality. She hadn’t even started to cry. She had finished the project in a daze, told Jean Claude to turn it in, and then packed up her stuff and returned home to her grandmother’s house. She didn’t tell her the whole sordid tale, only that she had a bad breakup and wasn’t going to the graduation ceremony.
She had been so depressed. She felt so stupid—still felt so stupid. Then there was Grant, and she had let herself believe, if only for a moment, that she could have something real. But it wasn’t. She shook herself out of her thoughts and finished putting on her makeup.
Her grandmother came with her to Nancy’s. Kate was glad because she didn’t think she could face Grant alone.
“Is Walter actually coming?” her grandmother said loudly in the foyer of the Holbrook estate.
Grant came down the stairs. His bespoke suit fit him like a glove. Kate longed to slowly unbutton the crisp white shirt, breathe in his masculine scent, and kiss his strong jaw.
Stop it, she ordered herself. You are out of chances. We are making a wholesale change. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She tried not to jump. Grant narrowed his eyes. She prayed he didn’t say anything. Thankfully, Grant’s father came out of the study at that moment.
“The gang’s all here!” he said.
“You’re actually coming?” Kate asked.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Walter replied as he reached out to pick a thread off of Grant’s suit. “Nancy called me personally to ask me to come.” If Kate knew Nancy, she had probably come as close to yelling at someone as she could with Walter.
They rode in a limousine over to Jack and Nancy’s house. As they drove up, Kate sighed with envy at the beautiful grounds. The landscaping was impeccable with small lights tastefully tucked into the plants. Kate wanted to stroll around the grounds; the night was warm enough. She imagined Grant escorting her through the garden.
That will never happen, she told herself. You work for his family. Besides, you gave it up too easily even if you had wanted to try to land him as your boyfriend. He doesn’t want someone like you. You ruin everything. He doesn’t deserve that.
She looked over at Grant; he was watching her. She tried to ignore him as they headed up the long drive. When they pulled up in front of the grand entrance, he got out of the car and came around to the other side to offer her his arm. She let herself be helped out as Walter helped Margaret. The front door opened as they climbed the broad stairway up to the grand house.
Kate loved Jack and Nancy Holbrook’s house. Nancy’s touch was everywhere. The interior was still stately but had a softer, more feminine elegance. The dining room table was decorated with sprigs of greenery.
“It’s something fun and simple!” Nancy said with a laugh. “You’re all so dressed up. This is supposed to be a casual evening. Come into the parlor for drinks and pre-dinner snacks.”
There were several people milling around in the parlor. Kate felt herself relax in the room. There was a shelf at one end, displaying the various items brought back from Nancy and Jack’s travels. The walls were covered in a hand-painted wallpaper with a subtle pattern. Jack and Nancy’s elderly cat, Barnes, wrapped himself around Kate’s legs.
“Kate helped me decorate this place,” Nancy said to Linda Fitzhugh, Brandy’s mother.
“Is that so? You two have such impeccable taste.”
Kate laughed self-consciously. “It was all Nancy.”
“Kate is the closest thing we have to a daughter,” Nancy said, clinking her glass with Kate’s. “It’s such fun to have a girl to bake and pore over wallpaper samples with.”
Kate thought she saw Grant wince, but it was probably her imagination.
“Thank you again for hosting the engagement party,” Linda said to Kate’s grandmother as she came up, glass in hand. Kate knew it had a generous amount of whiskey in it. “It was such a beautiful evening. Maybe we can do the same for Kate one day.”
Kate laughed nervously. “I doubt I’ll ever get married.” She thought she felt Grant’s eyes boring into her, but she didn’t dare turn to look at him.
“Maybe one day. You need to settle down!” Linda said. “You and Brandy. She claims there aren’t any decent men here, or they used to tie sticks in her hair when she was little, she claims.”
“Well, there’s one new mysterious bachelor in town,” Nathaniel Fitzhugh said jovially. “I’m surprised you two aren’t at each other’s throats over Grant.”
Walter came over and shook Nathaniel’s hand. “Hey now. That’s my assistant and my son you’re talking about.”
“I can’t help it. I’ve got wedding fever,” Nathaniel said.
“I’m shocked you aren’t completely over it by now.”
“Ginny has a good head on her shoulders. It has actually been a lot of fun. She’s the furthest thing from a bridezilla you would ever see.”
“That’s sort of what I figured,” Walter said. “She’s a wonderful young woman—smart and entrepreneurial.”
“She’s franchising her sister’s dog business,” Nathaniel boasted.
“Is she? She scaled up her sister’s jam business too. I read a segment about it in the New York Times.”
“She’s great. Daughters are the best. I was crying when she told me she was engaged, and you know what she said to me? She said, ‘Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll never leave you.’ Isn’t that the best?”
“Yes, daughters never leave you,” Nancy said as Jack looked at them askance from across the room.
“Not that we could get rid of Brandy,” Linda told them as Nancy refreshed her drink.
“Well, I can’t wait for the wedding,” Walter said.
“You will be coming?”
“Of course. Trying not to work too hard. My philosophy has always been to trust the people you hire for a job. I’m forcing myself to put it into practice again. Micromanaging my company isn’t good for my employees or my bottom line.”
“That’s very wise of you,” Linda said.
“It’s nice to see him getting back into society, isn’t it?” Nancy said.
“Well, now he has a reason. How have you been getting on with Grant?” Linda asked.
“It’s a big change,” Walter said, knocking back the rest of his drink.
“And here is the man of the hour!” Nancy said, waving Grant over.
“You seem like you’re finding your feet,” Nathaniel said as Grant came up behind Kate.
Grant put an arm around her and gave her a hug then let his hand slide slowly down her back afterward. Kate shivered.
“Yes,” Grant said. “Kate’s been a big help in the transition.”
“I need her back at some point,” his father said.
“Is it difficult being an assistant, Kate?” Linda asked. “Now that Brandy’s not doing the dog grooming, not that she ever really was, I was thinking she would make a good executive assistant.”
“It’s a lot of work,” Kate said. “You also need to find the right fit with your boss since you will be spending so much time with him or her.”
“That’s something to think about,” Linda agreed.
Brandy better not be trying to land a job with the Holbrooks, Kate thought. She knew she couldn’t end up with Grant, but she would burn New Cardiff to the ground before she let Brandy nab him.