Inocencia relaxed. “You worked in retail?”
“Yes. Designer boutiques. What a thrill to see the clothes created and then produced. Everything was couture. I wish I had a few of those dresses for you.” She lowered her voice. “Not everyone who can afford that kind of fashion has the, ah, ability to display it as it’s meant to be worn.”
Inocencia shocked her by smiling. “A few of my friends try to squeeze into dresses they should not be wearing. Get your fat ass to the gym, right?”
Sage moved close and lowered her voice. “There are a couple of dresses in back being held for the exclusive client list, but I think they’re a little more your style. Let me see if I can shake a couple loose for you.”
Inocencia bent down and picked up her dog. “We’d like that very much. Thank you, Sage.”
“Of course.”
Sage left the dressing room and went into the back. There were no exclusive client collections—just a few items that hadn’t been put out yet. She found two she thought would work. As she grabbed them, her manager walked into the small storage space.
“I heard a part of that,” Berry, the boutique manager, said in a low voice.
Sage froze, not sure what the older woman was going to say next. While a case could be made that she was working the sale, the truth was, she’d lied to a client.
Berry smiled. “Well done. Inocencia is notoriously difficult and she’s never been a regular. I’d like to see her in here more. If this works out and she wants you as her permanent associate, can you handle her?”
Sage thought of all the women she’d helped over the years. There had been the screamers, the criers, the clients who expected her to get them lunch, massage their feet, clean up after their kids or dogs and deliver a dress to them with thirty minutes’ notice on a Saturday night at nine p.m.
“Easy peasy,” Sage told her boss.
“That’s what I like to hear.”
Berry helped her with the dresses. They carried them back to the dressing room where Inocencia sat, texting on her phone. She jumped up when Sage entered, holding the first of the dresses. Berry followed.
“I told Sage she could have these, this one time. Because it’s you.”
Inocencia preened. “I’m a good customer here. I deserve recognition.”
“After you see yourself in these, you’re going to think you deserve an entourage,” Sage said with a laugh.
Berry excused herself. Thirty minutes later Inocencia and her dog had dropped a cool twenty thousand on clothes and Sage had a new client for her file. All it had taken was a little time and giving up her cell number so Inocencia could “let her know when she wanted to come back in.”
Sage rang up the sales and helped Inocencia to her car. She returned to the dressing room to put away the dozen or so dresses that had been rejected, then used the small carpet cleaner to take care of the dog pee. Inocencia was a difficult client, but she spent a lot on clothes, so that made her worth it. Sage told herself that she had a great opportunity here. She needed to pay attention and not mess up—as per usual—and all would be well. She was about to retreat to the break room for a few minutes when Berry waved her over.
“This was delivered to you,” she said, holding up a white gift box topped with a bright purple bow.
Sage frowned at it. “Interesting.”
“An admirer?” Berry asked, her voice teasing.
“I wish, but no. I’ve barely had time to unpack, let alone meet someone.”
She lifted the box lid and found a bottle of tequila, several limes and a note.
I was rude. Drinks tonight, so I can apologize in person? Adam
He’d included his number.
“You do have an admirer,” Berry said.
“I’m not sure I’d call him that. He’s my next-door neighbor.”
“Proximity can be both good and bad.”
“True enough.”
She took the box to the break room and studied the note. She appreciated that he’d made an effort and that he’d recognized that he’d upset her, even if her gut told her he hadn’t meant his comment to sound so harsh.
When they were kids, Adam had been her friend. She wasn’t sure what had changed, and she wasn’t sure it mattered. In truth, she was lonely. She didn’t have any friends, she’d run home because she’d been out of options and her prospects weren’t the greatest. Having someone reach out felt pretty good.
She texted him.
Thanks for the tequila. I’m off work at 7.
Three dots immediately appeared on her screen.
I’ll warm up the blender. Thanks for giving me a second chance.
She was smiling when she put away her phone.
* * *
Daisy walked into the locker room, stretching her neck and trying to release the kinks in her back. The surgery had gone long, with her seven-year-old kidney patient requiring unexpected repair work on her large intestine.
Daisy had worried about the extended time under anesthesia, given her patient’s weak condition. But little Molly had come through like a champ. Daisy had stayed with her in recovery until her patient had woken up. Once she’d confirmed Molly was breathing comfortably and not in too much pain, she’d left her in the capable hands of the recovery room team.
She opened her locker, pulled out her cell phone and saw she’d missed a call from her father. She pushed the button to call him back and took a seat on the bench.
“Hey, Dad,” she said. “I was in surgery.”
“I figured. Everything go all right?”
She smiled. “My patient did great. So, what’s up?”
As she asked the question, she found herself tensing. Her father had retired and moved to Hawaii a couple of years ago. He’d quickly realized that he wasn’t ready to not work and had joined a small general medicine practice in Maui. He worked a few days a week and frequently came back to LA to visit.
Not now, she thought desperately, knowing that there was no way to keep the situation with Jordan a secret if her father came to town. While he often chose to stay at the Bel Air Hotel, he would still be close enough to figure out there was a problem. As she had no idea what was happening with her husband, she doubted she could explain the situation to her father.
“I’m calling about Cassidy,” her father said. “There’s been an accident.”
“What? When?”
Daisy tried to remember if she knew where her half sister was these days. Cassidy was a travel writer. While her home base was in Miami, she was frequently off visiting exotic places. Although hadn’t Sage mentioned something about Patagonia?