that had some built-in flexibility. Everyone shook hands amicably on the new interior specs and Allison breathed a sigh of relief—crisis averted for today. She took the elevator down with Bradley.
"Don't ever pull a stunt like that again," she said as the elevator doors closed. "I'm only letting you keep your job out of deference to your father."
"You can't keep blaming your shortcomings on me, Allison," he said.
She laughed. "Bradley, I went to the best prep school in New York. I was the queen bee there. If you want to play it like you're still in school, be warned—I will crush you."
"Well, I didn't go to prep school, or an Ivy League college. My family missed out on the benefits that you and Jeremy enjoyed."
"I'll remember to cue up the violins next time. Any benefits that came our way were courtesy of hard work and tenacity on my Dad's part. You wouldn't even be standing here with me now, if not for him."
"And you'll use every chance to throw that at me," Bradley said.
The elevator pinged and the doors opened.
"Straighten yourself up, cousin. I'll share one more piece of advice I learned the hard way. If you don't want to be pitied, stop acting pitiful." She marched off and left Bradley standing alone amidst the moving throngs of people passing through the busy building lobby.
Chapter 10
Allison had hardly slept on the flight home the night before. She was wired for the day and headed out early the next morning for the gallery. Balancing two lattes, her oversized tote bag and a flyaway umbrella, she handed a cup to Emily as she walked in.
"Here," she said as she took a big swallow. "I need a caffeine transfusion." She looked out the expansive windows. "I love fall until it rains, then it's just an awful mess. I got some leaves stuck under my shoes this morning, and I swear I almost slid down the subway steps on my ass," she added. "How were the last couple of days?"
"One thing at a time," Emily said as she fluffed her blonde shaggy bangs. "How did things go at the auction?"
Allison took another large gulp from her hot coffee. Emily sipped, too and waited patiently. “You do know that I will get the information from you eventually, so you might as well tell me before I have to hurt you," Emily said.
Allison smiled, "Well, it turns out that Alex, formerly known as a country bumpkin, is a hot, sexy mess who's brighter than a firefly on a sultry August night."
"I knew something there wasn't adding up," Emily sighed.
"Well gosh darn, Em, you coulda shared that with me. I got snowed—big time."
"Your radar is always up; how did he slip by you?"
"Lack of sleep. My brain is foggy. Tragedy will do that to a person," Allison said.
Emily put down her coffee and put her hands on Allison's, "You're doing an amazing job handling all of this. You're strong and smart and very resilient. Things will start to smooth out soon, you'll see. On another note, did everything get cleared up in L.A.?"
"It was almost a total disaster. I'll be surprised if there's a company to run after I'm done trying to figure out all of the political machinations. I can't get out of this predicament fast enough!" Allison said. "And my cousin, Bradley, what a head case. He's bitter and carrying around so much baggage, it's any wonder he can even stand up straight," she finished.
"It just so happens that I thought of a brilliant idea to help get you out of this bind as quickly as possible," Emily said.
Allison threw herself onto a cushioned bench. "Go on, let me have it."
“Since you have to make a decision soon about who will run the company, or you’re just going to collapse, why don’t you do what they do on that show The Bachelorette ?”
“What are you talking about? You want me to date twenty-five guys? I’m busy enough,” Allison said.
“No, no, when they're down to three candidates, each guy takes the bachelorette back to their hometown. She gets to meet their families, their old schoolteachers, etc. It helps her
"Don't ever pull a stunt like that again," she said as the elevator doors closed. "I'm only letting you keep your job out of deference to your father."
"You can't keep blaming your shortcomings on me, Allison," he said.
She laughed. "Bradley, I went to the best prep school in New York. I was the queen bee there. If you want to play it like you're still in school, be warned—I will crush you."
"Well, I didn't go to prep school, or an Ivy League college. My family missed out on the benefits that you and Jeremy enjoyed."
"I'll remember to cue up the violins next time. Any benefits that came our way were courtesy of hard work and tenacity on my Dad's part. You wouldn't even be standing here with me now, if not for him."
"And you'll use every chance to throw that at me," Bradley said.
The elevator pinged and the doors opened.
"Straighten yourself up, cousin. I'll share one more piece of advice I learned the hard way. If you don't want to be pitied, stop acting pitiful." She marched off and left Bradley standing alone amidst the moving throngs of people passing through the busy building lobby.
Chapter 10
Allison had hardly slept on the flight home the night before. She was wired for the day and headed out early the next morning for the gallery. Balancing two lattes, her oversized tote bag and a flyaway umbrella, she handed a cup to Emily as she walked in.
"Here," she said as she took a big swallow. "I need a caffeine transfusion." She looked out the expansive windows. "I love fall until it rains, then it's just an awful mess. I got some leaves stuck under my shoes this morning, and I swear I almost slid down the subway steps on my ass," she added. "How were the last couple of days?"
"One thing at a time," Emily said as she fluffed her blonde shaggy bangs. "How did things go at the auction?"
Allison took another large gulp from her hot coffee. Emily sipped, too and waited patiently. “You do know that I will get the information from you eventually, so you might as well tell me before I have to hurt you," Emily said.
Allison smiled, "Well, it turns out that Alex, formerly known as a country bumpkin, is a hot, sexy mess who's brighter than a firefly on a sultry August night."
"I knew something there wasn't adding up," Emily sighed.
"Well gosh darn, Em, you coulda shared that with me. I got snowed—big time."
"Your radar is always up; how did he slip by you?"
"Lack of sleep. My brain is foggy. Tragedy will do that to a person," Allison said.
Emily put down her coffee and put her hands on Allison's, "You're doing an amazing job handling all of this. You're strong and smart and very resilient. Things will start to smooth out soon, you'll see. On another note, did everything get cleared up in L.A.?"
"It was almost a total disaster. I'll be surprised if there's a company to run after I'm done trying to figure out all of the political machinations. I can't get out of this predicament fast enough!" Allison said. "And my cousin, Bradley, what a head case. He's bitter and carrying around so much baggage, it's any wonder he can even stand up straight," she finished.
"It just so happens that I thought of a brilliant idea to help get you out of this bind as quickly as possible," Emily said.
Allison threw herself onto a cushioned bench. "Go on, let me have it."
“Since you have to make a decision soon about who will run the company, or you’re just going to collapse, why don’t you do what they do on that show The Bachelorette ?”
“What are you talking about? You want me to date twenty-five guys? I’m busy enough,” Allison said.
“No, no, when they're down to three candidates, each guy takes the bachelorette back to their hometown. She gets to meet their families, their old schoolteachers, etc. It helps her
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