Champagne Brunch: The Stiletto Sisters Series by Ainsley Claire (easy readers .txt) 📗

I tell her. “There are great ones out there, and I know you’ll find him.”

Claire wipes a tear away.

“And promise me you’ll send me his name so I can permanently delete him from the Flirt database. I’m not going to let some dickwad do that to anyone else.”

That gets a smile out of her, and I feel a little better.

“You up for some retail therapy this afternoon? Or maybe we can see if Burke Williams has room for us?” I ask.

“Oh, I’d love a massage,” Claire says dreamily. “Anyone interested in a weekend up at Meritage? It might be fun to get out of town.”

I see the look on Caroline’s face. She’s a newlywed and may prefer to stay home.

“That’s a great idea, and if anyone just wants to come up for a day of pampering, they can do that,” I suggest. “Maybe we can get a reservation at French Laundry.”

There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for the idea, so I decide I need to take it on. “All right, do we want to do it over the weekend or should we escape during the week?”

“Oh…during the week sounds good,” Elena says.

“They have really cute bellmen.” Toni wiggles her eyebrows.

“That works for me,” Claire agrees.

Once Claire is in, I’m set. This is for her. “Great. Tomorrow I’m meeting with Marci, and she’ll let me know when I’m expected to meet with the federal prosecutor later in the week.”

“I heard Viviana’s attorneys have asked for a change in venue,” Elena says. “Anyone else hearing that?”

Caroline nods. “We had dinner last night with Walker and Marci. They’re worried about doing it here because Walker was in her group of friends, and because Cecelia was so well liked in town. They’re debating maybe Oregon or Colorado. They don’t want to go back to Nevada, because that’s where it happened. But, Walker is prepared if it gets moved.”

My stomach clenches. “When are they expecting to find out?”

“Probably the beginning of next week,” Caroline says.

Ryder puts her wine glass down. “How are you doing with all of this, Mia?”

I shrug. “I think I’m going through the stages of grief. I’d really just like it to be over so I can stop thinking about it all the time.”

We hang out and chat for the rest of the afternoon. As we go our separate ways, Claire pulls me aside. “I don’t mean to be a downer on your relationship with Axel.”

“I don’t feel that at all. You know I don’t want to advertise what’s going on. That way when it goes sideways, it’s less painful.” I shrug.

She brings me in for a tight embrace. “You’re wonderful. If you need to get together tomorrow after you meet with Marci, just let me know. I promise I can be a good friend.”

“You’re always a good friend.”

Though my appointment with Marci isn’t until late morning, it’s still a Monday, so the drive over is difficult.

“I swear the traffic gets worse and worse every year,” I mutter.

“Frank says the same thing,” Peter says. Frank is his partner. They have three children.

I realize I said that out loud. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be complaining. You’re the one driving.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he says. “They keep squeezing in bicycle lanes. Before long, this will be a walking-only city.”

“That will chase a lot of people away—including me. I don’t mind public transportation, but it’s just too hard for you to keep me safe.”

“Trust me, Jim Adelson has spoken to every one of the city supervisors, and they’re very clear on that.”

We finally pull up to Marci’s building. It’s an all-glass, seventy-story tower on the Bay. I ride up to her offices on the forty-third floor with Peter close at hand. I get looks from a few men, but they’re mostly recognition, not appreciation.

When we arrive, I’m ushered into a large, glass-walled conference room that overlooks the Bay Bridge and the East Bay. I stand at the window. The cars look like Matchbox cars, and the people look like ants below. I wonder where they’re all going. What’s on their schedule today?

The air pressure in the room changes as Marci opens the glass door. “Good morning.”

I turn and see three associates with her. “Good morning.”

Marci holds the door for the receptionist as she brings in a silver coffee and tea service, as well as bottles of water and a few soft drinks. She arranges everything on the table. It’s going to be a long day. Marci points me to a seat at the head of the long table, and the team fills in on both sides of me.

“Did you have fun at the game last week?” Marci asks.

I nod. “I did, and thanks to Nate, I got to meet Jeremy Hamilton. He’s a cute kid—and at seventeen, he’s definitely a kid.”

She nods. “I think Walker was a bit jealous that he didn’t think about going. We’re going to see him play Thursday when he’s due to pitch at home.”

“I’m going to try to go to that game, too. That is, if Walker doesn’t need me for something that day.”

“Let’s see what we can do.” Marci smiles.

I know she’s on my side, but I’m nervous. I didn’t do anything, but I don’t know what Viviana did, and not knowing has me second-guessing all of our time together and every conversation we had.

“Let me introduce you to your team,” she continues. “This is Raven Stewart and Katie Sullivan. They’re helping me with the case. And Cindy Thomas is my paralegal.”

I nod and smile. “Nice to meet you all.”

“Viviana’s counsel has asked for a change in venue, given that Viviana knows Walker Clifton personally. We’re aiming for the District of Oregon, but we just don’t know yet.”

“Will you be