Chapter 29 Chapter 29
Over the weekend, Grace went alone to the designer boutique in the mall and bought a coat similar to Isabella's. She then called Isabella to ask for her address and added, "I should have delivered it to you long ago, but I just couldn't find the time these past few days."
Isabella was surprised and delighted by the call. "You're too kind!" she exclaimed. "No need to send it—I'll come pick it up. I'm bored out of my mind right now anyway.”
Grace considered her options and settled on a compromise. "How about this? I'm out and about now. If you have time, I'd love to treat you to lunch. I really appreciate what you did last time."
Isabella readily agreed. “Sure, lunch is fine.”
They arranged a meeting spot. Isabella hung up, scrambled out of bed, still half-naked, and pounded on the next-door neighbor's door, shouting, "Xena! Xena! Wake up!"
After three or five minutes, the door finally opened. A beautiful, sleepy-eyed girl stood there, yawning and complaining, "Isabella, what time is it that you're waking me up? We're night-shift workers doing physical labor here. Trying to kill us? You think we sex workers don't have a union, huh?”
"I'm your union!" Isabella reached out to pat her right-hand woman's cheek, then grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "You're the most educated person working for me. Tell me, what do cultured people like? What kind of nonsense do they spout?”
Xena asked in surprise. “Isabella, are you going straight?”
"If you weren't useless, would I have to beg others?" Isabella cursed, eyeing Xena's feigned shock. "Don't pull that dumb act on me. You think I’m one of your customers?"
Reluctantly dropping her act, Xena sighed, "Isabella, you won't even tell me what this is about. How am I supposed to advise you? Intellectuals? There are all kinds. Which type are you going to suck up to? And you complain about my skills? Which of your VIPs have I failed to please?"
“What about Mr. Norman? Did you please Mr. Norman?” Isabella said sharply.
Xena choked, unable to resist rolling her eyes dramatically. “Isabella, can we not mention that guy? I swear, the only reason I walked out of that place alive was because my mom prayed for me every single day.”
“Admit you're incompetent if you are.” Isabella smirked, unable to resist recounting what happened at the club that day to Xena. "Getting Mr. Norman to lose his temper in public was a miracle. But the real kicker came later—she stormed off in a rage. Yet, when he called her without apologizing or softening his tone, not even saying a kind word, Mr. Norman somehow managed to get her back to his place. He only let her go after they slept together."
Xena had heard about the first part, but the latter was news to her. She stared in disbelief and stammered, "Impressive."
"It really was. I heard she's a teacher, too—Hill, I think." With time running short, Isabella couldn't linger. After asking a few more questions about intellectual pursuits, she hurried out the door.
They had arranged to meet at a distinctive ethnic restaurant. When Isabella arrived, Grace was already waiting. Grace immediately handed Isabella a garment bag and explained, "I couldn't find the original, and since I wasn't sure about your preferences, I bought a similar one based on the previous one. Would this work? The receipt is in the bag. If you don't like it, you can return it.”
The mere presence of the receipt pocket signaled the new garment's considerable value—far superior to the old one. Though Isabella could easily afford it, she appreciated the gesture, especially since it came from someone connected to Benjamin. Without even glancing at the coat, she said, "I trust your taste. This is undoubtedly better than my previous one!"
Grace couldn't help but smile. "You’re so easygoing and agreeable."
One is eager to climb the social ladder; the other has ulterior motives. Yet, the two found themselves chatting quite happily. Grace intended to use Isabella to reel in Benjamin, but she was afraid of rushing things. So, she steered the conversation toward trivial topics. It was Isabella who couldn't resist probing first. "You and Mr. Norman are okay now, right?"
Grace paused before softly replying, "I upset him quite badly over since last time. But it's fine—these things blow over eventually."
Isabella chimed in, "Don't worry too much about it, Ms. Hill. After Mr. Norman scolded Vito, he'll know to be polite from now on."
Grace gave a chuckle. "No matter what, Isabella, they're cousins. I'm just an outsider."
“Nonsense!” Isabella waved her hand dismissively. "When men get angry, they can be far more ruthless than us women."
Her humorous tone made Grace laugh, too. "I'll have to tell Benjamin that later and see his reaction."
Isabella gasped, half joking and half serious, "Don't you dare! Mr. Norman would sew my mouth shut!"
Grace chuckled along, deliberately shifting the conversation away from Vito. "By the way, Isabella, I need a favor. Someone asked me to find someone. You know so many people—could you keep an eye out?"
Given Isabella's social circle, anyone she knows would likely be a client or a courtesan. Isabella raised an eyebrow and asked, "Who are we looking for?"
Grace handed her the photo of Gia she'd prepared earlier. "This girl. She's changed her phone number, and her family can't reach her. They've asked me to find her."