When Empires Fall (41 page)

Just as she reached for a gleaming tennis bracelet to slide over her right wrist, her eyes fell upon her tattoo and held. Her breath caught in her throat, but she refused to shed any tears. The stark black outline of the IX stood out like a glaring, pitiful mistake against her skin. There had once been a time when she had put all of her faith into that symbol, all of her hopes, dreams, and fears. It had gotten her through the hardest of times, given her strength when she had nearly succumbed to weakness, shown her the path when she had felt lost.

Now it took all she had not to claw it from her very skin.

In time perhaps she would come to terms with the disaster her grandfather had left her. It would have to happen soon, seeing as she had specific instructions on how to fix the mess her family was in. She would have to trust him this one last time and hope he knew what he was doing.

Until then, the next step was to attend the fundraiser, looking vibrant and focused; grieving, but strong as a rock and just as formidable.

She was going to see to it that her family pulled through this catastrophe, even if she had to beg, steal and borrow her way into hell to do so.

Quinn sat glumly
in the lobby of the Vasser hotel, feeling as out of place as a mutt in a kennel full of purebreds. Men and women breezed past her, heads held high and bodies donned in clothes fit for royalty. Armani suits and Versace gowns with glittering diamonds, sapphires and rubies assembled into jewelry that she could only dream of even touching. Oh, and the
shoes
on these women…Quinn sighed as she watched a particularly dreamy pair of silky, scarlet red pumps waltz on by on the legs of a woman who belonged on the cover of Vanity freaking Fair.

She didn’t necessarily
want
to be like any of these people, Quinn assured herself, averting her eyes and staring instead at the lobby doors, hoping Grant would arrive soon so she would have something else to do besides wait. She just wanted their shoes and maybe the name of their hairdresser. Lord knows she could use a good stylist to tame her mass of unruly dark curls now and again.

She ran her fingers through her hair anxiously, frowning down at her own pair of plain black pumps. She’d had them for four extremely long years and they were entirely more practical looking than elegant. She would have splurged for new ones, but it just wasn’t in the budget right now, what with her still trying to save for culinary school just on the off chance that Grant couldn’t secure her a position in the kitchen of the hotel.

A smart girl always had a back-up plan.

What she had done, however, was make a quick trip after work to the local department store to scour the clearance dress rack. After several frantic minutes of searching, she had uncovered a respectably pretty cocktail dress that thankfully suited her curves and didn’t make her look too short. She pulled at the hem of the emerald green dress, tugging it further down her thighs, wondering if Grant was going to find it acceptable. When standing, the full skirt hovered just above her knees and the cinch at the waist accented her hourglass figure nicely. The heart shaped bodice with halter straps that tied in a bow at her neck were a nice touch, as was the pretty bow at her lower back where the dress dipped low enough to reveal some skin. All in all, she was more or less happy with it, even if she did still feel inadequate in a thirty dollar department store dress while surrounded by women in designer gowns that must of cost thousands.

But her mother had always taught her that coveting was a sin, so she dismissed the feelings of envy as best she could.

A waiter wandered by and handed her a slender glass of champagne which she accepted with a numb smile and simply held, too nervous to drink. Just then, she spotted Lynette as the other woman wandered through the lobby doors, looking lovely in a rose pink off the shoulder gown of lace and silk, her long waves of copper hair piled elegantly on top of her head.

Waving to her, Quinn saw the pleasure and relief chase away the nerves on Lynette’s face. It made her feel better to know she wasn’t the only one who was uncomfortable.

“Hey,” Quinn greeted as Lynette approached, hugging her with a grin. “Of course you look just as gorgeous as the rest of them. Is it okay if I hate you for awhile?”

Lynette laughed, her smile slow and kind as she looked Quinn up and down. “I should be hating you. I can’t pull off a dress like that. I’m all scrawny legs and no curves.”

“I guess we’re even, then,” Quinn decided, reaching out as a waiter passed and grabbing a glass of champagne for Lynette. “Here, might as well make a toast, don’t you think?”

“To what?” Lynette accepted the glass and eyed Quinn skeptically. “Seems as though we’re both here as distractions.”

“Mmm…yes, distracting the Vasser brothers does seem to be our specialty.” Quinn smirked deviously, considering the thought. “No, but we should toast to having the guts to put up with this crowd for the evening. Hopefully we make it out in one piece.”

“Amen.” Lynette giggled, tapping her glass against Quinn’s and taking a gracious sip. “You’d think I’d get used to them, being in the political spotlight after so many years. But the judging, the spitefulness, the drama…it never gets easier to bear.”

When Quinn only looked confused, Lynette elaborated.

“My father is a senator back in South Carolina, where I’m from, so I’ve been dealing with social elites all my life. Even after I moved here to work as a dancer for the New York City Ballet, I still couldn’t escape it.” She pursed her lips then, irritation flashing in her eyes. “In some ways they are worse, though, simply because they take something I love so passionately and turn it into nothing more than politics.”

“I know how you feel. All I wanna do is cook for a living, but you wouldn’t
believe
the hoops they make you jump through just to get into the business,” Quinn said as she took another sip of champagne, her lips curving then as she spotted Grant and Linc coming through the lobby doors. Their heads were together as they spoke to each other in hurried whispers. “Looks like our dates are finally here.”

Lynette spun around, surprised to feel so nervous. Hoping to distract herself, she leaned in to speak in Quinn’s ear, her lips curving into a soft smile. “So I just
have
to know…are you and Grant more than just boss and secretary?”

Quinn jolted as if she had been shocked but kept her eyes forward instead of facing Lynette, worried what she would give away if she did. “No, no we’re just friendly, that’s all.”

Lynette nodded and pulled away, but noted the flush that came over Quinn’s cheeks and wondered just how involved they really were. She and Linc had their hunches, certainly. But perhaps there was more to this than even they had theorized.

A few yards away, Linc stopped walking and put his hands on his brother’s shoulders, turning to face him. “You’re holding out on me, I can tell. That detective told you something that you won’t tell me.”

Grant grimaced, feeling uncomfortable. “This is not the time nor the place to discuss this.”

“Damnit, Grant. You’re being selfish by keeping this to yourself.”

Eyebrows raised, Grant blinked in surprise. “That’s a new one. I don’t think you’ve ever called me selfish before.”

“Well, I’m saying it now,” Linc sighed, running his hands through his hair. “Look, I-”

But he paused as he spotted Lynette and Quinn standing together a few yards away. He let out a slow whistle, a pleased grin curving his lips. “Would you look at that?”

Grant followed his brother’s gaze and saw Quinn. He watched her in stunned silence as she walked towards him, Lynette at her heels and a champagne flute in her hand. A sunny smile glowed over her face as she approached him.

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to keep a lady waiting?” she chided playfully, her gypsy eyes glittering with humor.

Grant frowned, taken aback by her words. He managed to glance down at the watch at his wrist, earning a laugh from her. “Grant, I’m only joking.”

She reached out to touch his arm. He stared down at her hand for a brief moment before meeting her eyes again.

“You look beautiful,” he said impulsively, clearing his throat immediately afterward as he realized his brother and Lynette were both staring at him with curious grins on their faces. But he wasn’t lying when he said it. He was completely and unexpectedly floored by her. She’d done something clever with her makeup, darkening around her eyes to highlight the green in them, honing her Sicilian bone structure with blush and painting those lush lips of hers an alluring rose color. Her hair she’d left loose and curled nearly to her shoulders, and the ebony mass of it tempted his hands to run through and stake claim.

Not to mention that smile of hers was going to be his undoing.

“Thank you,” Quinn beamed, reaching up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek softly. It was a move that appeared remote and professional, given the distance between their bodies and the casualness of the movement, but the spark hit them both as her lips brushed his cheek and her hand clenched tighter on his arm.

The scent of her engulfed him and he found it took all he had just to politely push away from her.

“We should be heading upstairs,” he said brusquely, straightening his tie and holding his arm out courteously for Quinn to take. She accepted, and tilted her head to smile and wink at Linc.

“Grant thought it would be funny for me to make a fool of myself and trip down some stairs, but the joke’s on him. We’re taking the elevator.”

Linc and Lynette started laughing and Grant tried his best to prevent his mouth from twitching into a smile. He had been right in his assumption that having her around for the fundraiser would greatly improve his mood. Already he felt calmer, more centered. Just having her there beside him gave him something he thought he would never find again. She was a source of light to combat all of the darkness he was facing. And thank God for it.

The four of them made their way to the elevator and then up to the third floor, where the hotel’s exquisite and renowned ballroom resided, once home to countless celebrity weddings and elite social and political events, all spanning the ballroom’s fifty year history. From icons like Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly to political movers and shakers like FDR and Eisenhower, the hotel had served them all, and had done so with impeccable class and a dignified ambiance that guests had come to expect of the Vasser Hotels. Grant was determined to see to it that their reputation for excellence remain intact, regardless of how damaging he knew this scandal with his grandfather was likely to become.

At one time they had come in droves, with events booked up to three years in advance. Would they still, with the scandal tearing apart his family’s name? Would the hotel continue to remain a luxurious and prestigious New York City landmark?

Time would only tell.

He led Quinn off the elevator and down the stately hallway towards the double door entrance to the ballroom, where the doorman, Barry, stood to accept coats and greet the guests.

“Hello, Miss Quinn.” Barry smiled brilliantly, bowing slightly to Quinn as she approached with Grant beside her. “And Mr. Vasser. It’s going to be a lovely event tonight, sir.”

“I expect it will be,” Grant murmured, handing off his coat to Barry before nodding politely and beginning to lead the way into the ballroom.

Quinn, however, held him back and took a moment longer for conversation. “If you’d like, I’ll sneak you some dessert later. Whaddya want? Chocolate? Cheesecake? I’m sure they’ve got it all in there.”

Barry laughed and met eyes with Grant briefly before reaching out to clasp Quinn’s hand affectionately in his own. “Sugar, you just go on in and enjoy yourself. I’ll be fine right here.”

Quinn smirked and eyed her friend knowingly. “Cheesecake it is.”

With that, she patted Grant’s arm and the two of them walked into the ballroom, Linc and Lynette directly behind them. Quinn fought to take it all in at once but found that it was simply impossible. Instead she just paused and let out a long breath as she stared.

The room was wider than it was deep, with a tall, light colored coffered ceiling resembling the gilded one downstairs. But here, instead of the quiet, stately elegance of the lobby, blatant extravagance was on full display. Three chandeliers, two small and one large in the center, descended from amidst the elegantly carved coffers, each a glittering mass of lights that were as luminous as diamonds in a smooth, rounded shape that sent a soft, golden light radiating throughout the room. In addition to the chandeliers were hundreds of tiny puck lights, embedded in the ceiling, giving the appearance of looking up into sunlight breaking through the clouds of Heaven itself.