She Owns the Knight (35 page)

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She Owns the Knight
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A great big thank you to Heather Horrocks and Bruce Simpson for the fun plotting day. Draining the dragon didn’t end up in the story, but it sure was hilarious at the time!

Also, Melody, Heather, Lesli, Kristin and Sandra. Thank you so much for taking the time to read and refine. You ladies are awesome!

Serendipity

She’s Just Right

Once in a Blue Moon

A Penny for Your Thoughts

The Christmas Star

Steal His Heart

She Owns the Knight

For previews of upcoming books by Diane Darcy, to sign up for the mailing list, or for more information about the author, visit
www.DianeDarcy.com

Successful businesswoman, Melissa Kendal, has it all. Two kids, a gorgeous, albeit difficult-to-manage husband, her dream house, and a thriving, exciting career as an L.A. fashion designer. So what if her home life is falling apart. It’s her career that’s important and makes her feel alive. But when a science fair project goes awry, and a Blue Moon transports their family back in time to the Wild West, Melissa suddenly has to live a much simpler life. She doesn’t have a job, the kids can’t play Xbox, and the locals find her hilarious. Meanwhile, her husband Richard is determined to keep their family together, no matter what the century. Can they find a lost treasure, solve a Civil War mystery, and save their family before the next blue moon? They have three months to find out.

Chapter One

The dress was good.
Too good
!

Anger burned in Melissa Kendal’s chest as she forced her fingers to unclench the silken material; forced herself to relax.

She held up the evening gown again, easily able to discern at a glance it was a size four, tall.
Her
size. As the high-quality black silk slid through her fingers she cynically wondered if Kari had sized it that way on purpose. At the same time, she reluctantly acknowledged the silk charmeuse was an excellent choice of material for the cut of the dress.

When had Kari gotten so good
?

Melissa could feel the young girl waiting anxiously, fidgeting, the delay obviously driving her mad—as it was meant to do. Melissa let her wait a while longer, then sighed and tossed the dress on the oversized worktable.

Kari stepped forward, her hands clutched together. “So, what do you think?”

Melissa breathed in slowly and forced herself to calm, to look normal, relaxed. She didn’t answer right away; didn’t trust her voice.

“Hold on.” Adopting a pensive expression, she turned her attention to the television in the corner of the office and pretended to listen to the news for a moment. The television was always on and that particular habit had paid off more than once. It gave her a chance to think. Besides, it was always a good idea to stay tuned to world events and to know what was going on in case it affected the fashion industry.

She needed to be in control; on top; the best.

Melissa glanced at the dress again. She
was
the best. She’d worked hard to be and at thirty-five she was young, had a great figure, and a career that was skyrocketing. No barely-out-of-college assistant was going to intimidate her with good work.

Picking up the dress, she flipped it over the back of a nearby chair. “No, it won’t do.” Her voice came out cool, controlled, with no hint of emotion; precisely the way she liked it.

Kari remained silent a moment, then stepped forward. “But, why?” Her voice cracked on the last word.

Melissa met her gaze and stared her down. Because the creation was a little too good and she didn’t need competition from her own staff. “We’re moving away from slinky. The trend in formal wear is cotton and linen, so I can’t use this. You really need to keep up with the industry, Kari. Now, why isn’t my office cleaned? What if an important client stopped by? Let’s get back to work.”

Tears in her eyes, Kari picked up the dress, her long blonde

hair falling forward to hide her expression as she stumbled toward the door on imitation designer heels.

Melissa pushed back a twinge of sympathy and sighed in exasperation. When was Kari going to learn to play the game better? Did she really think Melissa would ever give her a break? What Kari was getting was an education in the fine art of staying on top. A hard lesson Melissa had learned; one everyone in the business needed to learn if they were to succeed. Melissa was doing Kari a favor by teaching her how to be a player. If Kari had brains, someday she’d appreciate it.

Melissa plucked a thumb drive from her desk. “Take this to Xavier. It contains a new design for the winter line; and try and pull yourself together before you come back.”

Kari stopped; came back for the thumb drive. When her trembling fingers closed over it, Melissa didn’t let go and Kari was forced to meet her gaze.

“Kari, make sure nothing happens to this.”

Resentment and understanding filled Kari’s eyes. “I wouldn’t do that to you,” she said meaningfully.

Melissa smiled. Meaning, of course, that while Kari wouldn’t stab Melissa in the back, the reverse wasn’t true. “See that you don’t. Leave the dress. If it’s that important to you I’ll think about it some more.”

Melissa saw the distrust in Kari’s expression before she lowered her gaze, set the dress down, and slipped from the room.

The dress would, of course, disappear.

Melissa gazed around her office feeling intense satisfaction. She was at the top, literally. Penthouse office, exclusive furnishings and an enviable view. A fashionable desk and chairs, computer, assorted plants and worktable graced one corner. Several dress mannequins stood in a half-circle around a walnut cabinet holding an assortment of scissors, bolts of material, and sewing paraphernalia. And, of course, her treasured sewing machines. It might be a working environment, but it was all very elegant, client friendly and expensive; just like her.

Melissa was one of the few designers not in the general work area. She’d served her time not only in this design house, but in three others; two of them in Europe.

She walked over to the huge glass windows. Twenty floors up, she had a wonderful view that overlooked some of L.A.’s best real estate. Yes, she was at the top of her game and she planned to stay.

She picked up the phone. “Stacy? Please hold my calls. You know the ones I mean.”

“Of course; I’ll tell your family you’re still busy when they call again.”

Melissa heard the disapproval in the secretary’s voice and, refusing to feel guilty, simply placed the phone back in the cradle.

She inserted a new thumb drive into the computer. She had hours of work ahead of her and needed to come up with several ideas for an important client. She wouldn’t go home until it was finished. Having a strong work ethic got you ahead in this game. She wasn’t going to be displaced by anyone. Especially not by Kari.

Moments later there was a knock on the door. Annoyed, Melissa considered not answering, then sighed. “Come in.”

Bernie Sparks poked his head around the corner, bright orange hair sticking out in all directions. “Is it safe? Or are you going to make me cry too?”

Melissa smiled, genuinely glad to see Bernie. “I think you’re safe; nothing could make you cry.”

As he stepped into the room, he placed a cowboy hat on his head and she got a good look at what he was wearing: a tasteless western outfit and his traditional huge grin. He walked across the room and twirled his lean frame around on one boot heel. “So, what do you think?”

Melissa groaned in genuine distress. “No, stop.” She raised a hand into the air as if to ward him off. “Don’t go there.”

Laughing, Bernie turned again, this time walking slowly in a circle so she could get the full effect. He wore a tailored cashmere shirt with banded collar and pearl buttons, a broche silk vest, and a string tie with an alamar knot. The black hat sat jauntily on his head, a belt with a huge silver buckle circled his waist, and faux snake-skin boots made her shudder. From head to toe he was hideous.

“You know you love it; check out the boots.” He lifted one foot so she could see the pattern of the snake skin.

She sighed. “I hate western but if you tell anyone I said so, I’ll deny it.” In the apparel design business there wasn’t a choice; yes, they set fashion, but they also followed the newest trends or found themselves out in the cold.

She herself had recently come up with a few western designs but only because a couple of clients had specifically requested it. “What I don’t understand is
why
it’s making a comeback.”

Amused, Bernie lifted both hands in the air. “Don’t sound so self-righteous. You made an outfit for,” he snapped his fingers, “that country music star. What’s his name?”

She didn’t name him. Sharing her client list with Bernie would be extremely stupid. “Against my will and against my better judgement I assure you.”

“Your husband likes this stuff.”

Yes, Richard would be happy when he realized the direction fashion,
one very small segment of fashion
, was headed. Finally, he would fit in again with his denim jeans and snap button shirts. He was so stubborn in his choice of apparel. “I’m working on him.”

“You’ve had him for what? Fourteen years now? It ain’t gonna happen, honey. If anything he’s working on you; he’s got you living out in the sticks, doesn’t he?”

At the reminder Melissa’s fists clenched. She
was
living in the sticks, and Bernie was right; Richard
would
always go his own way where fashion was concerned.

Bernie perched on her desk and she quickly closed the program she’d just opened. They both smiled. Bernie was an equal and a competitor; and while she might count him as one of her few

friends, they still didn’t trust each other.

“I need to get back to work.”

Bernie swung a leg back and forth. “Heard the latest?”

She perked up. Bernie could be relied upon to know the current gossip and it was usually accurate. “Tell me.”

Bernie leaned forward enjoying the moment. “Apparently someone, whose name I will not mention but, whose initials are T.K., has finally found a buyer.”

“No! He’s sold his business?”

“If I’m lyin’, I’m dyin’.” He laughed apparently amused by her stunned expression.

“Who is it? How much? Could this be a merger?”

“That I don’t know yet.”

She raised a brow. “Don’t know or won’t say?”

Bernie shrugged and plucked the remote off the desk and turned up the volume on the television as the weather report came on.

Melissa wasn’t interested. “
Bernie
!”

“Just a minute; I’m going out on the town tonight and I want to hear this.” He flashed her a grin. “I might need to waterproof my new outfit.”

Exasperated, Melissa turned to see a weatherman with a cheesy grin and a J.C. Penny suit fill the screen.

“It’s the blue moon tonight, folks! For those of you who aren’t sure what that is, listen close. No, it does not mean the moon will turn blue. What it means is it’s the second full moon to occur in the same month. It doesn’t happen all that often; on average about every two or three years, hence the term
once in a blue moon
. And lucky us! We’re going to have clear skies in California tonight to see it!”

Melissa’s brows furrowed; why did this ring a bell for her?

The weatherman continued. “But warning, watch out for crazies tonight! Weird things happen on the night of the blue moon! Stay tuned, because later we’ll be interviewing a man who says strange and unusual things happened to him during the last one!”

“Please.” Melissa rolled her eyes. “Some people will do anything to get on television.”

“
Awoooooooowooooowoowooo
,” Bernie threw back his head and did a very poor imitation of a wolf howling. He ran out of breath and grinned.

She shook her head. “Bernie sometimes you worry me.”

He laughed. “I thought you liked that science fiction stuff. You told me
Star Trek
was your favorite show as a kid. Heck, after a few drinks, you can quote whole episodes; and you love to design that futuristic crap!”

Melissa regretted ever telling Bernie anything about her personal life. She didn’t need him prodding memories best left behind with her drunken mother and their trailer house.

The door swung open and Xavier walked in. Their boss looked fantastic as always; clothed in black slacks and a black mock turtleneck. His colored blond hair professionally cut short, he wore a minimum of gold jewelry as well as trendy spectacles. Very understated chic. “Hello children, working hard?”

Bernie simply shrugged and Melissa straightened in her chair. Xavier always made her feel she should be doing more, working harder.

Xavier smiled, fake and tight. “The work you did at the fashion show on Saturday was brilliant, Melissa. Simply brilliant. You are even mentioned in the
Los Angeles Times
, so the fashion editor apparently thought so too. A bit of luck, that, was it?” his tone was cold, his voice soft.

They stared at each other; both knew it wasn’t luck. She’d plotted and planned to get her own name mentioned, and she had.

He lifted the article which she’d already read. “It says here, ‘up and coming Los Angeles designer Melissa Kendal’s creation was the hit of the show. The silk metal alloy gown set off several metal detectors, causing a hilarious moment when security guards jokingly considered having blonde beauty, Miriam Bertram, remove the gown for inspection.’”

Melissa smiled slightly, everything had gone according to plan.

Xavier’s smile was long gone. “Now why do you suppose Xavier Ellison, the design house you
work
for, is not mentioned? Hmmm?”