“Good thinking,” Parker said. He gave her hand a squeeze.
Liz squeezed back. She was really glad she had been able to talk Parker into attending the benefit. She wanted him to see that his life wasn’t over just because of his dad’s problems.
They crossed Forty-second Street and hurried toward the narrow stairs which led to the side entrance.
“You were so smart to remember this entrance,” Parker said. “It’s really—”
“PARKER! PARKER!” a dozen voices shouted at once, as the paparazzi leaped from behind the bushes where they were hiding, their cameras exploding with flashes. Liz suddenly saw the world as if it were lit by a strobe light.
“Is your dad innocent?” one reporter shouted.
“Will you visit him in jail?” shouted another.
“How does it feel to be poor?” shouted a third.
Liz felt Parker freeze. “Come on!” she urged. She yanked him through the crowd toward the door.
A library security guard stepped outside and prevented the reporters from entering the building. It gave Parker and Liz a chance to slip into the foyer.
“Wow, buddy,” the guard said after he had locked the side entrance. “You famous?”
“Sort of,” Parker said. “Is there another door out of here?”
“Parker, come on,” Liz coaxed. “We’re here. Let’s go upstairs and have fun.”
Parker sighed. “All right,” he said. “I give up. Let’s go.”
They showed the invitation to the guard and then climbed the steps to the main entry hall of the library.
Liz gasped.
The chandeliers were dimmed, and the hall was decorated with dozens of fully grown birch trees, their branches hung with tiny votive candles that flickered in the dim light. Thousands of trailing strands fell from the trees, some a few tiny inches, others grazing the floor. As Liz approached one of the trees, she realized that the strands were composed of thousands of rose petals threaded onto silk cords.
“I can’t believe it,” Liz said. “It’s all so beautiful.”
“You are beautiful,” Parker said. “That I’ll admit.”
Liz flushed with pleasure. “Well, I guess that’s the most important.”
Luckily, because of Graydon’s position as co-chair of the Benefit Committee, he had a lot of meeting, greeting, and handshaking to do. That meant Adrienne just had to plaster a big fake smile on her face and not cringe if he touched her. That was easier than having to talk to him, or worse, flirt and kiss.
Butterflies were break dancing in Adrienne’s stomach and she wasn’t sure if it was nerves or Graydon making her want to barf. Was her plan going to work—or was it going to backfire horribly?
Graydon slid his arm around Adrienne. “Did I tell you how gorgeous you look in that dress?” he said.
Adrienne glanced down at the sea green gown she was wearing. The intricate seaming formed leaf patterns across the bodice of the dress, and pale beige fur trimmed the scooped neckline. The color set off her red hair beautifully, and the slim fit showed off her tiny waist.
Her shoulders sagged as she remembered how excited she had been when she had tried on the dress, how much she had looked forward to coming to the benefit as Graydon’s date. Back then, she’d thought tonight would be memorable as the night she’d take her place in front of all of Graydon’s society friends as the girl he loved. Instead, she was just some toy mouse he and Cameron were batting around between them for amusement—like a pair of nasty cats.
Graydon nuzzled the back of her neck and she flinched. She felt him pull away, startled. Recovering quickly, she said, “That tickles!” She forced herself to giggle.
Graydon picked up a champagne flute from a waiter’s passing tray. “Drink?”
“No thanks,” Adrienne said. She needed every one of her brain cells tonight. Where is Liz? It would be a lot easier to manage Graydon’s groping if she were here with me.
Adrienne finally caught sight of Liz coming into the main hall with Parker. Liz looked drop-dead gorgeous in a striking midnight blue Armani—bought on super-sale at the legendary Loehmann’s. But even at 75 percent off, it must have put a serious dent in her college fund. Parker looked every inch the sophisticate in his black tie—a junior James Bond. But both of them looked a bit strained.
“Well, Parker’s either got serious stones, or he’s a flaming fool,” Graydon said.
“What do you mean?” Adrienne asked.
“Showing up tonight,” Graydon explained. “Everyone in the city is here. Including most of the gossip columnists and society editors in New York.”
“Good,” Adrienne said. Graydon looked at her sharply.
“I mean, that’s cool.” Adrienne smiled sweetly. “It shows what an important event this is with you and Cam as co-chairs.”
“Hey, there,” Liz said, walking up to them. Parker looked around, anxiously trying to gauge people’s responses to him. Adrienne glanced around, too. A few kids were staring, but most were just into snacking on the tiny hors d’oeuvres and talking. Maybe tonight won’t be so hard for Parker after all, she thought. That will be a big relief for Liz.
“Hi, Liz, hey, Parker,” Graydon said. “Um, Adrienne, we should get our seats.”
Adrienne glanced up at him. He seemed eager to get away from Parker, as if Parker’s family problems were contagious. What a jerk, Adrienne thought. They’d been pals all through prep school. Then again, why am I surprised that Graydon has no sense of loyalty?
“Well, well,” said a voice behind Adrienne. “Is a charity giving away free tickets to this event now?”
Graydon stepped aside, and Cameron joined the group.
She looked incredible, as always. Her hair was pulled straight back, and she was wearing a long white Gucci dress that hugged her body.
“So, Cameron,” Adrienne said, quickly changing the subject. She knew Cameron’s dig was aimed at Liz and Parker. “It must be exciting to be presenting tonight.”
“Yes,” Cameron replied. “It’s wonderful to have been blessed with so much money, and to be able to uphold the family reputation by doing charitable works.” Cameron looked pointedly at Parker, who squirmed under her unspoken criticism.
“Well,” Liz said brightly, “we’ll see you all upstairs.”
No! Adrienne’s brain screamed. Don’t leave me alone with these two! But after Cameron’s snide remark to Parker, she knew there was no way he and Liz were going to hang out with them.
The butterflies in Adrienne’s stomach turned into bats as she climbed the stairs with Graydon and Cameron to the Main Reading Room. Adrienne’s green eyes widened as they entered. The room was breathtaking.
The long reading tables with their brass standing lamps had been transformed into long banquet tables covered with linen and gold-banded china. The lamps had shades made of garlands of rose petals, and the scent of flowers filled the room. The soft lights flattered everyone, even the figures on the incredible ceiling murals.
“Quite romantic, don’t you think?” Graydon said to Adrienne. “The perfect prelude for our special night.”
She bit the insides of her cheeks to keep from blurting out a barrage of insults.
Cameron’s icy eyes flicked from Graydon to Adrienne. “Is that true?” she asked. “Will you and Graydon be going somewhere tonight? Like all the way?” She snickered.
I know where you two are going—straight to hell! Adrienne thought.
“Well?” Cameron pressed.
“We’re going to get to know each other…better,” Graydon said. He pulled Adrienne in closer. “Isn’t that right?”
“He’s absolutely right, Cameron,” Adrienne said. “I’m getting to know the real him.” And what a real slimeball he is.
“Oh, Gray,” Cameron said. “We just have to go say hello to the Huntingtons.” She slipped her arm through Graydon’s. “You understand, don’t you, Adrienne? Family only.”
“Gee, Cameron,” Adrienne said, “I feel like I’ve b
een learning all about how to be a Warner.” And you’re about to find out what a quick study I am.
“You’ll be fine on your own, Adrienne,” Graydon said.
“Yes,” Cameron added, “I’d hate to have to explain that my brother is actually dating the help.”
Cameron and Graydon strolled through the crowd, heads together, talking and laughing. Probably congratulating themselves on how amusing their little bet is turning out to be, she thought. Just you wait.
Adrienne felt a freezing cold hand on her back. She spun around and saw Mimi behind her. She quickly turned back so that it would look as if they weren’t speaking. Adrienne pulled a DVD out of her evening bag and passed it to Mimi, who immediately disappeared into the crowd.
Here we go, Adrienne thought.
Soon everyone was sitting in their seats, and Adrienne found her spot with Cameron and Graydon right up front.
“James Brightlock,” said the man on Adrienne’s right, “Allied Capital.”
“Adrienne Lewis,” she replied, shaking his hand, “Van Rensselaer High.”
Mr. Brightlock laughed and turned to Graydon. “Gray, how’s your dad? He must be very proud of you two.”
“Oh, he is,” Cameron gushed.
Mr. Brightlock craned his head around. “Where is he? I’d love to talk to him about this new investment I’m very excited about.”
“Oh, he couldn’t make it,” Cameron said airily. “He’d rather be the genius behind the scenes. He hates fuss.”
He’d rather stay home and drink, you mean, Adrienne thought, though she was surprised that Mrs. Warner wasn’t here. She thrived in these social settings.
As if she’d read her mind, Cameron continued, “And Christine just couldn’t bear to leave his side. They’re just so cute together.”
“Besides,” Graydon added, “this is really Cameron’s night to shine.”
Ahhhhh, that’s it, Adrienne thought. Christine probably desperately wanted to be here, and Cameron nixed it because she didn’t want to share the spotlight.
To her surprise, Adrienne was actually relieved to hear that Christine wasn’t going to be there to witness the humiliation awaiting Cameron and Graydon. The COW was selfish, vain, self-centered, and a royal pain, but she wasn’t actually cruel. She didn’t deserve to have to deal with the drama of the Warner kids going down in flames.
She can read all about it on Page Six tomorrow. Adrienne smirked. And then the fireworks will really begin for Cameron and Graydon.
“Oh, look, it’s starting,” Mr. Brightlock said, as Mimi took the podium at the far end of the room. “I’m surprised to see Miss von Fallschirm up there.”
“Oh, that was my idea,” Cameron announced. “I just thought it would be good for her to share a little of my joy. After the whole scandal, she was just devastated. But I feel it’s important to face up to the terrible mistakes you’ve made.”
Mr. Brightlock wasn’t the only person at the benefit surprised to see Mimi. A low murmur circulated through the crowd.
“Good evening, everyone,” Mimi said. Her voice could barely be heard, despite the microphone.
Poor Mimi, Adrienne thought. Everyone at this event thinks she’s dumb AND a cheat. She’s got a lot of courage. Adrienne didn’t think she could stand up there in front of all these people knowing they thought the worst of her.
She could see Mimi tremble a bit—though she wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or anger at how Cameron had totally trashed her reputation.
“Oh, poor thing,” Cameron said gleefully. “She sounds so nervous and unsure of herself. She really should never have been made Deb of the Year. You need much more poise and self-confidence to handle all the responsibilities.”
“Someone like you,” Graydon said.
Cameron lowered her eyes demurely. “Well, I would never say that….”
Adrienne fought the urge to smack Cameron. Instead, she focused on her plan. She gave Mimi what she hoped was an encouraging smile. The truth will come out soon, she thought.
Mimi must have understood, because she nodded back and cleared her throat. “Welcome to the Young Lions of the New York Public Library Benefit.” She sounded more confident.
Good, Adrienne thought. Keep thinking about the payoff.
“Cameron Warner has graciously invited me to tell you about the Warner family’s many contributions to the library, and all the good the foundation has done over the years.”
Mimi launched into a long speech filled with facts and figures about donations, growing the endowment, communities served, and philanthropic trends. She even ran a PowerPoint program with graphs and pie charts.
Adrienne’s eyes began to glaze over. No wonder Cameron wanted Mimi to present this portion of the program, Adrienne realized. Cam wouldn’t want to do the boring bit, much less do the research!
As dull as Mimi’s presentation was, it was the key to the success of the plan to expose Cameron and Graydon as the nasty little monsters they were. It gave Mimi and Adrienne access to the audiovisual equipment. And Emma’s techno-savvy made sure their DVD would work.
Mimi stopped the program running the slides on an image of the Warner Foundation logo. “Now, it’s my honor to introduce our next speakers, the co-chairs of the Young Lions Committee for Development, Cameron and Graydon Warner.”
Everyone applauded, and Cameron and Graydon swept to the stage. When the girls met for an air-kiss at the podium, they were so far apart, Adrienne couldn’t believe they had bothered.
“Thank you all so much,” Cameron said, flanked by Graydon at the podium. “And let’s all give Mimi a round of applause.” Cameron beamed at the crowd, straight into the flashing cameras. Graydon stood beside her looking smug. “Now, I won’t take long,” Cameron said. “I know after Mimi’s speech the last thing you want is to sit through a boring presentation. But don’t worry—ours is cool!”
Graydon leaned into the microphone. Cameron looked slightly peeved, but he spoke, anyway. “We want to thank the library for allowing us to use this event to make this very exciting announcement. Our family’s foundation has decided to create a new organization with a brand-new grant: The Little Lions, a remedial reading class for children.”
The audience applauded obediently.
“Anyway”—Cameron crowded Graydon away from the microphone—“we have a video presentation to explain more about our project. So please start the DVD.” Cameron turned to face the large screen.
Sappy music began to play, and the faces of adorable children staring at books filled the screen. Cameron’s voice was heard.
“Children?” she screeched. “I don’t give a flying crap whether or not the urchins can read! Maids don’t need to read, do they?”
“I know,” Graydon said. “What a waste of time. You looked great in that picture, though, reading to those poor kids. You looked almost like you cared.”
Cameron snickered. “I cared about how my hair looked.”
A shocked gasp filled the room. Cameron frowned and stared up at the screen. “That’s not what it’s supposed to say.”
The volume on the sound track went up even higher. “That trick you played on Mimi was brilliant,” Graydon’s voice continued.
“It was so easy to switch her essay with the one I wrote,” Cameron said. “And those gossip writers are such bottom-feeders that they couldn’t wait to snap up the humiliating news.”
Adrienne noticed the Page Six reporter pause mid-scribble, an infuriated expression on her face. Then the woman wrote twice as quickly.
Onstage, Graydon and Cameron tried to grasp what was happening. “Someone changed the audio!” Graydon exclaimed.
“But how did they—who would—” Cameron sputtered.
Cameron flushed a deep scarlet and raced from the stage, covering her face with her hands as photographers snapped pictures in a frenzy.
“Turn that off!” Graydon shouted from the podium. “And whoever did this is fired!”
Adrienne grinned, en
joying every minute of the humiliation.
“I said turn that damn thing off!” Graydon yelled.
The audio track went silent. In fact, the entire room went silent. Then everyone began talking at once.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
mission accomplished
Liz watched Cameron and Graydon flee past her table. “Gee, looks like they’re in a big hurry,” she said to Parker. “Isn’t it rude for the hosts to leave before the guests?”
“Well, you know Cam and Gray,” Parker said. “They’ve always lived by their own rules.”
“Hopefully now they won’t be able to get away with so much.” Liz shivered. “I can’t even imagine being so mean.”
Parker nodded. “This was low even for him.”
Everyone around them was talking about the scandalous revelations about the children of one of the most prominent families in New York. The buzz was practically deafening.
“At least now everyone will be gossiping about someone else for a while,” Parker said. “This should knock my family off the gossip pages for at least a day or two.”
“That should be a relief,” Liz said.
“Yeah…” Parker’s voice trailed off as he looked around the room. Then his blue eyes focused on Liz. “Liz, I—I owe you an apology.”
“You do?”
“I’ve been giving you a really hard time. And you never, ever deserved it.”
Liz shrugged casually, but she flushed a bit, knowing that Parker was really making an effort; that he understood a little of what it had been like for her. “You were going through something really intense,” she said. She gazed down at her lap, not wanting him to see the emotions flickering across her face.
He raised her chin up. “Yeah, that’s true. And all you ever did was try to help. I see that now.”
Liz took in a deep breath. For some reason his nice words were threatening to make her cry.
“Like tonight,” he said, leaning back in the chair and surveying the room. “I so did not want to come. But now that I’m here, I’m glad you forced me.”
“Yeah?” Liz asked, looking up at him.
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