Bunco Babes Gone Wild

by Maria Geraci

  The Babes shook their heads. Georgia didn’t have to ask anyone to know Breast-Fest must be Pilar’s word for that infamous night. Despite the somber mood, Georgia had to smile a little.

  “They can’t fire you, can they?” Lorraine asked.

  “Let them try,” Pilar said, “I’ll slap them with a discrimination suit faster than they can say ‘arroz con pollo.’ ”

  Shea rolled her eyes. “Don’t start getting your Cuban up. We need you to be levelheaded about this. As a matter of fact, we might need you to put some legal pressure on these companies if they don’t follow through on their promises.”

  “Unless they’ve signed something, there’s probably not a lot you can do about that,” said Georgia. “But I just can’t see a company take a risk with their reputation and not make a donation they’ve promised. It’ll look bad for them.”

  “They can try to get around it by making a donation to the rec center under another fund-raiser. That way the money will still go to the cause, but it won’t be associated with us,” said Pilar.

  “If that happens, we can forget ever trying to organize another charity event,” concluded Kitty.

  Shea sighed heavily. “It gets even worse. I got an e-mail from the manager of the Harbor House. He says they’re rethinking about donating all the food.”

  “It’s too late for that now,” said Tina.

  “Not if they send us a bill,” responded Shea.

  “Can they do that?” asked Mimi.

  “They can try,” said Pilar, “but I’m going to review all the correspondence. I’m sure I can find something to hold them to their deal.”

  “I don’t think they’re actually going to send us a bill,” said Shea, “but I think they’re definitely going to give us a hard time about it. And I’m afraid there’s more.”

  The Babes moaned.

  “Bruce Bailey called me this morning—”

  “He’s got a lot of nerve,” said Liz. “After the way he attacked poor Moose last night.”

  Georgia didn’t think poor and Moose could be used in the same sentence, but she didn’t say anything. It was awful, sitting here listening to what was happening to the Babes. No matter what anyone said, Georgia still felt like a big part of this was all her fault. They’d told her what Bettina was capable of. But she hadn’t listened. Instead, she’d mocked Bettina to her face and encouraged the Babes to stand up to her. If it hadn’t been for Georgia, they’d have gone on hu moring her. They would never have blackmailed Carrie to get that dress and none of this would be happening.

  “As I was saying,” Shea continued, “Bruce called me this morning. He said the city council is asking that we resign from the Friends of the Rec Center committee.”

  “And his wife, who started all this I might add, gets off scot-free?” asked Mimi. “Tell me how that’s fair.”

  “Bruce Bailey is just pissed because Moose beat him up last night,” muttered Pilar.

  “Moose did not beat anyone up last night,” Shea said hotly. “He did get a punch in,” she amended, lifting her chin up a notch, “but that was only after my honor was questioned.”

  “What has Zeke found out about the missing money?” Kitty asked Mimi. “Maybe if it’s found, we can still save face.”

  “Zeke won’t tell me anything. It’s official police work,” Mimi mimicked using a deep voice. “I’d have to be either Rusty 1 or Rusty 2 to get his attention right now,” she grumbled.

  “Who do you think could have stolen the money?” asked Lorraine.

  “I wouldn’t put it past Bettina. Just to make us look even worse,” said Kitty.

  “Ladies, do you mind if I interrupt?” a deep male voice asked.

  All heads turned to see Spencer standing at the bottom of the stairs. What was he doing? She’d told him this was a private meeting.

  “Spencer,” began Georgia, trying not to sound perturbed. “I should be done here soon.”

  He walked to the center of the room and took up a casual stance at the head of the table. Georgia had to admit, he looked particularly handsome today, with his khaki pleated slacks and light blue oxford shirt that complimented the color of his eyes. “Let me see if I got this right, and pardon me for eavesdropping.” It was the voice he used to charm clients. Or charm her whenever he wanted something.

  Georgia glanced around the room. By the looks on the Babes’ faces, it was working on them too.

  “Um, everyone, I’d like to introduce my . . . boss, Spencer Moody.”

  The Babes all glanced at one another. They obviously remembered exactly who Spencer was.

  “It seems that the fair people of this town have a very unforgiving nature,” he drawled.

  “Ha!” said Pilar.

  “I couldn’t help but overhear about the corporate sponsorships being withdrawn,” he continued. “If it would help matters, I’d like to make it up to you. Or rather, Moody Electronics would.” He nodded at her. “Georgia, did you make that donation we talked about?”

  Georgia had forgotten Spencer had told her to make a donation on behalf of the company. Of course, her attention had been elsewhere most of the evening. She cleared her throat. “No, I forgot.”

  He smiled slowly, revealing a row of perfect white teeth. “Then on behalf of myself and my very competent CFO, Moody Electronics would like to donate ten thousand dollars to the rec center fund.” He paused. “And I’d like to make my own private donation. Would forty thousand be enough?”

  Shea gasped. “You’re kidding!”

  “I believe that’s the amount of sponsorship money that’s in danger of being pulled?”

  Shea nodded eagerly.

  “Granted, my donations are contingent that you lovely ladies remain on the fund-raising committee.” Spencer gave Georgia his serious head-of-the-company look. “We can afford it, right?” He turned to the Babes with an apologetic smile. “I’m afraid I don’t have much of a head for figures. I depend on Georgia for that.”

  He knew damn well he could afford it. Spencer was show-boating. And the Babes were lapping it up like kittens with a bowl of cream.

  “You can afford it,” she said tightly. She was happy the Babes weren’t going to lose out in donation money. And like she’d said, both Spencer and Moody Electronics could afford it. But somehow it felt wrong. Like Spencer was trying to buy her off by impressing the Babes.

  “Then it’s a done deal,” he said.

  The Babes burst into a wild round of applause.

  “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate this,” Shea gushed.

  “It’s only fitting I give back to the community. After all, it’s not the first time we’ve gotten involved here in Whispering Bay, and hopefully it won’t be the last.”

  “What do you mean?” asked Frida.

  Georgia froze. Spencer and his big, fat mouth.

  “Thanks to my brilliant CFO here,” Spencer said, putting his hand on Georgia’s shoulder, “I was convinced to invest in the future of Whispering Bay.”

  “You’re one of the investors in the condo project?” asked Kitty.

  “I was more than happy to help. I know how much this community is depending on the condos to bring in jobs and boost the local economy. It was an added plus that I had my own personal ties here.” He said this last part with a smile aimed at Frida.

  Georgia had almost forgotten how good Spencer could be at spinning things. You’d think the condo project was a fund to feed starving children instead of a real estate deal he was hoping to cash in big on.

  Georgia couldn’t meet Frida’s stare.

  The newspaper made its way around the Babes and back to Shea. She folded it in half and stuffed it in her bag. “There’s not much we can do about this article, but thanks to Mr. Moody, we don’t have to worry about falling short on donation money.” She gave Spencer a warm smile. “On behalf of the Friends of the Rec Center committee, I’d like to thank you for your very generous donations.”

  “Is there anything else we need to d
iscuss?” asked Pilar.

  Shea shook her head.

  Pilar pulled out the cowbell and clanged it in the air a few times.

  “I get goose bumps just hearing that cowbell,” whispered Liz.

  A few of the Babes giggled.

  “Then I officially call this emergency meeting to an end,” said Pilar. “If anyone hears anything else, use the phone chain. Hopefully, this will all die down and Zeke will find the missing Bunco money.”

  The Babes began to disperse.

  “Bunco at my house this week, seven p.m. sharp,” Kitty called out. She turned to Georgia. “Will you be in town? We’d love to have you.”

  “No,” said Georgia. “I’ll be back at work. In Birmingham.”

  “Too bad,” said Brenda.

  “Yeah, we’ll miss you,” said Liz.

  “Thanks. I’ll . . . miss you guys too.” It was weird. But she really meant it.

  “You should join a Bunco group in Birmingham,” suggested Tina. “Or start one of your own.”

  “Maybe,” said Georgia. Now that was an idea. She could put Denise in charge of it. Maybe even form a group from the office.

  “How about we go out to dinner?” asked Spencer, touching Georgia’s elbow to get her attention. “We can celebrate. We can invite Frida and Ed.”

  “Celebrate what?”

  Spencer blinked. “Our engagement of course.”

  Out of the corner of her eye, Georgia saw Kitty walk out the Bistro door. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Spencer.

  She caught up with Kitty by the side of her car. “Do you have a second?” Georgia asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice.

  “Sure,” said Kitty. “What’s up?”

  “I was just wondering if Dave was around today.” At the curious look on Kitty’s face, she added, “I needed to ask him a question.” It was lame, but what could she say?

  “Dave went to Tampa this morning,” said Kitty. “I’m not sure when he’s coming back, Steve and I haven’t had much of a chance to talk. This whole video thing has got me crazy. Do you want his cell number?”

  Dave went back to Tampa?

  Don’t overanalyze it, Georgia. Sometimes, a fuck is just a fuck.

  “No, that’s okay.”

  Kitty cocked her head to the side. “Are you sure?”

  She almost changed her mind and said yes. But if she had Dave’s number, she’d call him, and then what would she say?

  Georgia tried to see last night through Dave’s eyes. They’d had some great, spontaneous sex. But she was still involved with Spencer. Technically, she still worked for him. And Dave wasn’t staying in town. He had a life back in Tampa.

  She smiled brightly. “I’m sure. Thanks, anyway.”

  It didn’t matter that Dave was gone. It was a closet quickie. Nothing more. She had bigger things on her mind anyway. Like what she was going to do about Spencer’s proposal, and how she was going to explain the condo deal to her sister.

  26

  Frida blasted her the second Georgia stepped back in the Bistro. “You should have told me Spencer was an investor with the condo project.” It was just the two of them now. The Babes had all gone and Ed had found something to distract Spencer’s attention outside.

  “I thought you’d be in favor of it,” said Georgia. “I thought new development would be good for the local economy. When Spencer asked my opinion on it, I looked into Ted Ferguson’s track record and as Spencer’s financial advisor, I told him to go for it. It wasn’t like I rubbed my hands together and thought, What can I do to screw up my sister’s life today?” She sounded semi-hysterical, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t have the energy to do this now. All she wanted was to run after Kitty and beg her for Dave’s cell phone number.

  Frida softened her voice. “Hey, what’s wrong?” She put her arm around Georgia’s shoulder.

  Georgia blinked hard. She wasn’t going to cry, damn it. She just wasn’t. She’d already done that last night and look where it had gotten her. Screwed in the closet. And more confused than she’d ever been in her entire life. This wasn’t the way things were supposed to go. She had a well-thought-out life plan. She should have stuck to it. It was like she had failed the first test that had been put in her path. “I’m just a little overwhelmed by everything right now.”

  “It must have been a shocker to see Spencer show up last night.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “Have the two of you made up? I know his proposal took you off guard.”

  Georgia glanced out the back window. Spencer and Ed were sitting in the patio, drinking a beer. They appeared to be having an amicable conversation. Georgia briefly wondered what two men who had absolutely nothing in common found to talk about.

  She was dying to confide in Frida about Dave. But if she did, she’d have to admit she lied to Zeke about her alibi, which would mean that Ed had lied to Zeke too.

  Why had Ed lied for her? She had to find out.

  “I’m really not sure if we’ve made up or not,” Georgia said.

  “That settles it. Ed and I aren’t crashing your dinner. You and Spencer need some one-on-one time to figure things out.”

  One-on-one time with Spencer.

  That’s exactly what Georgia was trying to avoid.

  Leave it to Spencer to find the most expensive restaurant on the coast. Georgia couldn’t even pronounce the name. It had something to do with mussels. At least, she thought that was the translation. She’d taken Spanish, not French, in high school. She wondered briefly if Dave spoke Spanish, since he was part Cuban and all.

  She frowned. She didn’t want to think about Dave.

  “There’s something different about you,” Spencer said. He paused and sat back to let the waiter uncork their bottle of wine. The waiter poured a small amount into a glass and offered it for Spencer’s approval. Spencer took a whiff, then a tentative sip. He smiled and nodded.

  The gesture always came off as pretentious to Georgia. But not when Spencer did it. It was like he’d been doing it since the cradle, it seemed so natural. Georgia wondered if Spencer’s mother had done that with his formula.

  The waiter poured out two half glasses and left them alone. Their table was secluded, hidden from the rest of the restaurant by a half-drawn heavy red-velvet curtain. Georgia had on the same outfit she’d worn to Shea’s now-infamous Bunco party, or Breast-Fest as Pilar called it—the cream-colored slacks, lime green shirt, and Manolo Blahnik satin buckled sandals that would forever remind her of Dave.

  Focus, Georgia.

  “Different how?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” Spencer said quietly. He took a sip of his wine. “But I like it.”

  Georgia stilled. “Maybe it’s my hair. I’m wearing it a little bit differently.”

  “No, that’s not it. I missed you, Georgia.”

  She should be giddy. This had been part of her plan. That Spencer would miss her enough to come running down and propose. But she wasn’t giddy at all. She felt sick to her stomach. She’d cheated on a good man. And now in some weird, twilight-zone kind of way, by having dinner with Spencer tonight, she felt like she was cheating on Dave.

  She could almost laugh from the irony.

  He reached across the table and took her hand. “I’m not a fool, Georgia. A man doesn’t get punched in the nose by another man unless it’s personal.”

  Punched in the jaw, she wanted to amend. She held her breath.

  “I was an idiot. I drove down doing eighty-five miles an hour expecting that you’d jump at my proposal. And when you didn’t, I behaved badly—”

  “Spencer—”

  He squeezed her hand. “Let me finish. I didn’t sleep a wink last night. For the first time, I realized that I could lose you. Maybe I already have.” He searched her face.

  If ever there was a time to confess, this was it. “Spencer, I have something to tell you—”

  “It doesn’t matter, Georgia. Whatever you have to say
won’t change the fact that I love you and that I want to marry you. I could kick myself for giving you that calculator the night of our anniversary. If I had the chance to do it differently, I would.” He paused and lowered his voice. “Haven’t you ever done anything you’ve regretted?”

  Dear God. He knew. And in a roundabout way, he was taking the blame for it.

  “Spencer, did you know Frida and I were raised in a commune?” she blurted.

  He smiled. “Yes.”

  Georgia let go of his hand. “You did?”

  “I’m sorry, babycakes, but when you first came to work for me I had you investigated.”

  “What?”

  “It’s not what you think. The company was up for a few big defense contracts and we had to do background checks. Don’t you remember?”

  She nodded. She did remember. She’d just thought the information had been kept personal. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

  He shrugged. “I guess I thought you were embarrassed.”

  “I’m not embarrassed,” she said quickly. “It’s just, most people find it weird.”

  He nodded.

  “Does it bother you?” she asked cautiously.

  “Not if it doesn’t bother you.” The waiter came to take their orders, but Spencer sent him away. Georgia was glad. She and Spencer hadn’t talked this honestly in ages.

  “I can’t say yes to your proposal. Not right now.”

  Spencer didn’t seem surprised.

  “And I don’t want to go back to Birmingham. Not until I make a decision.” She hadn’t known she was going to say that. But it was the most rational way to go. If she didn’t marry Spencer, she just didn’t see how she could go back to work for him. Not after all they’d been through.

  He didn’t seem surprised by this either.

  “Fair enough,” he said. He picked up his wine and swirled it. His smile was slow and confident. “But just know this. I’m going to do whatever it takes to win you back. I’m not going home without you, Georgia.”

  27