Chapter Seventeen
The late spring Texas air was already so humid it clung around Paige’s armpits and in the skin beneath her nose. Though in the low eighties, it felt at least ten degrees warmer. After deboarding, they were met by a chauffeur holding a handwritten sign which read, “Lindon and Keller.” Once they pulled away from the airport, her nose was glued to the window.
Unlike the Northwest where every view was punctuated and obstructed by green forests, Dallas was wide and flat. Buildings were everywhere, but the streets were wide enough that it didn’t feel crowded in. While the landscape was somewhat bland, the skyscape captured her. Each large cloud seemed to be molded by some divine modern artist, begging for an interpretation to his masterpiece. She couldn’t help but comment on it. “Sterling doesn’t that one look like an elephant on a unicycle.”
He laughed for the first time since they had left. “I guess it does.”
In all the excitement of the flight and the flurry of speed reading hundreds of papers in preparation for her first assignment, Paige hadn’t considered how oddly Sterling was behaving. Did he still felt guilty for lying to her? She might as well deal with the elephant in the car instead of the one in the sky. She turned to him. “Okay, Sterling, spill it. What’s wrong?”
He peered out the window. “Nothing, really.”
She took his hand in both of hers. “Okay, so I might have been really upset when this first all happened, but I think it’s all worked out for the best. Our first encounter may have been bumpy, but I get that Elaine probably told you to check me out and not tell me who you were. I’m not mad anymore.”
He stared at her hands and wouldn’t meet her eyes.
She could tell he was struggling deeply with something and wracked her brain for what it might be. “And I’m sorry about that whole feet washing thing. It only started because you made me a little jealous.”
That brought a smile to his lips. “Jealous, of whom?”
“Who do you think?” She was happy to finally see light in his pale eyes. “Of Julie and her friend. They just seem to be more in your league.”
He gave her half a smile. “Uh, you thought I was homeless and jobless then.”
“Who you are has nothing to do with what you do for a living. You know that, right?”
He never answered her question. Instead, they were coming up on the Galleria Mall, and he pointed to her window. “We’re here.”
The driver maneuvered into the porte-cochere of the Westin, and a uniformed valet opened her car door. While the driver retrieved Sterling’s bag from the trunk, Paige entered the opulent lobby and couldn’t help but gasp. In the center of the room, a glass vase, the size of a water tower for a small town, sat on a marble table. It was at least twice her height and filled with wax flowers that looked so authentic she wanted to touch them to make certain they weren’t real. Huge paintings covered the walls. One was an oil of a simple pear that followed the contours of a woman’s bare buttocks and another of a wilted rose that seemed to reflect not just the flower but a missed opportunity at love. There were dozens of other paintings she would have loved to enjoy, but she noticed Sterling was at the desk and strolled over to him to see if he needed her for anything.
He turned to meet her. “Everything’s set. Do you want to go to the room first and freshen up or hit the mall?”
Paige put her hands on her hips. “You’d really ask that? How much luggage do I have? Think about it.”
Sliding the room keys into his wallet, he motioned to the back end of the lobby which opened to a wide hallway. “The mall it is.”
Proceeding down the corridor at the back of the hotel, they came to a massive ice skating rink, three stories high at the center of the mall. Each floor was exposed, and she could see scores of unique stores selling clothes, imports and jewelry.
The chill was refreshing and reminded Paige of early mornings back home. She leaned against the glass partition dividing the skaters from the shoppers. “I wonder how the goats are doing.”
“You could call Austin.” Sterling held out his cell.
Paige considered it for a moment before she wagged her head. “Nope. It will only stress him out. I know he’s doing an awesome job.”
“From what I know of Austin, you’re right on both counts.” He stuck the phone in his shirt pocket. “Nordstrom’s first?”
The side of the rink near the hotel was almost empty, but she wasn’t ready to leave and become part of the bustling crowd quite yet. “Do you ever get tired of the fast lane and want a quieter, smaller life?”
Sterling quick answer hardly resembled the humble cowboy she’d gotten to know. “Compared to your life, mine is quieter and much less hectic.”
“Maybe.” She nodded deeply. “But, I don’t know, it seems a little cold.”
He took her arm. “That’s only because your standing next to the skating rink.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon skimming over the nicer department stores. Paige had assumed all men hated shopping, but Sterling thrived on it. He had a great eye when it came to classic styling, and within a relatively short amount of time, they had picked out three pant suits that looked exquisite on her. He even found accessories, a chunky necklace and earrings of the same copper hue as a silk blouse and a chignon pin that tamed her curls unlike anything she had ever tried.
By seven o’clock, their arms were overflowing with tissue-lined shopping bags, but they weren’t done. At least one of them wasn’t. Paige turned to him. “I’ve got a suggestion to make. Why don’t you head back to the hotel with all of this and decide where you want to meet for dinner while I get a few things by myself?”
His arms were loaded with bags, but he had one hand open. “Let me go with you. I can carry more.”
“No, there are some things I’d like some privacy for, if you know what I mean.”
“Oh,” he reddened. “I’ll put these in your room. Should we meet at eight? There’s a five-star restaurant in the hotel.”
She had spent more on clothes than she’d ever spent in her life. The bill was upwards of eight hundred dollars, and with the proposed dinner the total would be over a thousand for sure. She was going into spending shock, even if it wasn’t her money. “Eight o’clock works, but how about we try the little bar and grill that I saw on the first floor?”
She could see a dimple on his left cheek; he was smiling so big. “I’ll meet you there.”
As Sterling left, juggling the output of her shopping spree, Paige felt her cheeks bubble up in an involuntary grin as well. He was such a gentleman, and to see the way Elaine trusted him and Austin admired him made her feel confident he was a man of honor. While she and Sterling were both employed for Elaine, she would keep things appropriately civil, but after this week, she wouldn’t be against seeing more of him. A lot more.
At the lingerie area, she got stockings and underthings then was off to the makeup counter for essentials. As she headed back to the common area of the mall, something caught Paige’s eye. In a specialty store window, a dress unlike anything she’d ever seen sparkled at her. Deep blue with crystal’s scattered across the shoulders, it looked like a night sky. With no air conditioning in her house, Uncle Bill would often let her sleep in the back meadow on summer nights. The dress reminded her of lying on her back under the stars, hearing the bleating goats in the background. How odd that such an elegant dress would speak to her of home.
Though he loved every minute with her, Sterling was relieved when Paige had him bring her things to the hotel. For some reason he felt he was keeping a secret from her, but he wasn’t really. For now, he didn’t know anything of Elaine’s plan. Was it so farfetched that Elaine was just doing a favor in memory of an old friend? Yes. Though every bell was ringing in his head that something was seriously wrong, without evidence he really had nothing to share.
The answer was sitting in his pocket. He lifted out his cell phone and dialed Dotty’s number. She’d know something. It rang four times before goi
ng to voicemail.
Her sassy voice chimed over the airwaves. “You know what to do.” Beep.
“It’s Sterling. Your boss. Please tell me what’s going on.” He hung up.
Unsatisfied, he took his time arranging each of Paige’s purchases in the closet and laid the jewelry and hair accessories in her drawers. They had adjoining rooms, and he unlocked the doors between them. That done, he headed to the bar and grill a little early. Every minute with Paige seemed precious, and he hated to waste any of it. Down a wide corridor he saw her ahead at a large window display. He slowed then snuck up, standing not six inches behind her without her knowing.
She was gazing at a sapphire gown in a specialty store. The bodice had crystals scattered tastefully across the top. “You should get it,” he whispered in her ear.
She jumped and put a hand to her chest. “Oh, it’s you.” Her voice sounded shaky.
“Sorry. I saw you and—” He was surprised he’d scared her so badly. Her hands were still trembling. “That’s a stunning dress. Are you going to try it on?”
She shook her head back and forth. “Why? I’d never use it on the trip.”
“You never know,” he said, taking her by the arm toward the store’s entrance. “We might end up taking our client out to for a congratulatory dinner. We won’t have time to stop and get a formal if you need it later. I brought my tux.”
The sales woman was on top of the situation and carried a dress her size out to them immediately. Paige touched the tag. “It’s as much as I’ve spent today. That’s crazy.”
“But it’s here already, and I’d love to see it on you,” he urged.
She hesitated only a moment. “I suppose.”
While she changed, Sterling kept fidgeting. As she stepped from the dressing room, he smiled so big he thought his cheeks would burst. The cap sleeves and fitted bodice led to a straight cut skirt that had the look of a movie star from the thirties. He could imagine her with her hair up and a few loose ringlets cascading down her back. “Beautiful.”
She reddened. “It makes me feel elegant. At least.”
“I vote we buy it.”
She retreated for the dressing room. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“In that dress, anyone would sign a deal for you.”
A light chuckle drifted from out of her changing area. “You make it sound like I’m for sale, not the dress.”
“Not at all. Look, we can return the dress if you find you don’t need it. Better to be safe than sorry, right?”
“If you’re sure.” She threw back the curtain with the dress draped over her arm.
“I am.” He took it from her before she could change her mind and handed over the dress and his credit card to the clerk.
As they walked to the bar and grill, Sterling was determined that no matter what happened with Earth Tech, they would dance together with her in that dress.
***