Continuation of Chapter One...
Peter Prentice marvelled at the
Dutch blue sky with not a wisp of fog in sight and then gave the seating
assignment one last look. “Perfect,” he said, returning the typed sheet to his
personal assistant scuttling about in a purple paisley bow tie and pink shirt.
The table had been set with
exquisite care, everything decorated in navy and white. The theme was to mirror
Fleet weekend. Twenty guests due to arrive within the hour were to take in the
spectacular views of the bay from Peter’s Presidio Heights mansion and be awed
by the Blue Angels performing their daredevil precision manoeuvres. You can practically see the pilots faces,
he remembered, delighted the weather was on his side knowing his Midwestern
associates would talk of the party for years to come.
Peter Prentice had done very
well for himself considering his circuitous avoidance of his meagre background.
His father walked out of the family apartment one stormy night and was never
heard from again. His mother worked seven days a week as a seamstress with
little more than broken English and a knack for sewing. Peter helped after work,
often as her mannequin. He was different from other boys his age who worked off
steam on the neighbourhood basketball court, got drunk and canoodled with the
local girls.
The weight of responsibility
hemmed him in early: he took odd jobs in the nearby New York garment district
and learned about the trade from the ground floor up. Privately, he felt
misunderstood by his peers and suffered from suicidal thoughts. Mrs. Prentice
worried about Peter’s loss of childhood. She took on extra work, which kept her
up all hours of the night, but her son was determined to break their chain of
scarcity and vowed he’d one day to ensure she would never have to work again in
her life.
The arthritic ridden seamstress
retired her sewing machine when Peter turned twenty-five. His first major
investment, a small furnished apartment in Brooklyn, went straight to his
mother the day he got transferred to Georgia to run sales and marketing for a
top consumer goods company.
Prentice’s career leapfrogged
from height to height. Articles about Peter described him as driven and
single-minded, a man with a knack for spotting trends. The graying redhead also
possessed an unerring dress sense, watched his waistline and absorbed all
things cultural with a passion.
He saw his driver, Bradley, pull
up curbside with a blonde in the backseat. Peter adjusted his silk tie. He had
been quick to hire Wilhem Vestey’s daughter fresh out of college three years
ago for more than her cosmopolitan education.
Victoria was a cross between
Grace Kelly and Tippy Hedren, Bassadai’s very own Hitchcock blonde—and just as
glacial.
“Victoire,” he said, proffering
her the European two-kiss version he had incorporated into his repertoire. “I
am very glad you could join us.”
“So happy to be here,” she
replied, flashing a perfect smile. She softly touched his arm. “I hope I’m not
the first one.”
Peter’s personal assistant
bristled. She always is, the little bitch.
He loathed—and admired—everything about the icy blonde. He knew Peter’s
inclination for men but couldn’t help feel threatened whenever the young swan
floated into his boss’s opulent turf.
The young man’s open expression
did not go un-noticed. Peter bit back a smug grin and offered Victoire a flute
of chilled champagne.
Gay or not, the
fifty-five-year-old was smart enough to abide by the unspoken decorum that
still prevailed in the progressive West Coast city. He kept his involvements
behind closed doors and handled his affairs with utmost discretion. The glass
ceiling that applied to female executives also applied to his category, an
obstacle Peter Prentice was not about to let get in his way.
Victoire graced her end of the
table and listened attentively to the conversations on either side. She
delighted in being chosen as hostess well aware of the whispering circulating
through the corridors of power. The age difference was lost on her: Victoire
was more sophisticated and self-assured than the average twenty-five-year-old
and stood out that much more in what she termed as Cowboy Country.
Her stepfather’s place was
smaller by comparison, though beautifully decorated, its look said traditional,
and the bay window views did not include the Golden Gate.
This
is where I should live, she
thought wondering who could possibly provide it for her in the Silicon Valley
nerd gene pool. Victoire tapped her foot under the table and frowned. Maybe one of classless but cash-rich
international distributors could be an option. The sparkle in her eyes
sharpened at the idea.
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