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77: Jinx
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World of Tomorrow 78: Niche
Slogging through the rain-saturated soil, Evelyn fretted about ruining her shoes, but with Andrew gone into the office for the day, she had little else to do with her time. Music drifted across the grounds towards her, most likely from the restored pool and spa of the hotel, so she angled towards higher ground, with the intention of making her way there.As she reached the rise she’d been climbing, the Mona Lisa restaurant she adored came into view. Like her brownstone apartment building in New York, it had been somewhat sheltered from El Cordonazo’s worst destructive efforts by the lee of both the landscape and the nearby buildings.Still, the neon rooftop sign proclaiming ‘Mona Lisa’ tipped at a precarious angle, its supporting frame badly bent. The window awnings on both the first and second floors were mostly gone and what remained hung in limp fluttering tatters. The two upright potted cypress topiaries that had flanked the restaurant&rsquo
World of Tomorrow 79: Cocoanut Grove
The Cocoanut Grove originally opened as a small nightclub lounge in the Ambassador Hotel. Within a few months after, the grand ballroom was annexed to expand the available space of the popular hang-out for the hotel’s guests, the visiting country club set and the crasser Hollywood producers and movie stars. Unlike El Morocco in New York City, in Los Angeles, there was simply no other place to go. No one entertained with the grand, elegant aristocratic manner that the Ambassador supplied. Whether ‘old money’ or nouveau riche, this was where everyone who was anyone got together, to be seen, cosseted, and entertained. While the hotel’s rooms were decorated in pastel tints in the furniture, fine French cretonne, appealing prints and original paintings on the walls, with hanging window boxes and stately palms to round out the tropical theme, the Cocoanut Grove took this far to the extreme. “I can’t believe all of the people here,” Evelyn exclaimed softly as the Moroccan designed gold-lea
World of Tomorrow 80: Fortuitous
“I’ll miss the citrus,” Evelyn sighed, savoring the half grapefruit that had been served with their breakfast. “I’ll ask Mr. Valenzuela to ship some to New York for you, darling.” His eyes followed the valet and maid he’d hired for the morning as they worked in the bedroom, busily packing their belongings from the closets. “Do you have everything you’ll need for the train?” “That’s the third time you’ve asked me,” she chided gently. “Yes. Everything I’ll need is there by the door.” “So you did. I apologize. This whole mess with the route being altered until they can restore the bridge washed out from the deluge has me slightly off-kilter.” Picking up his spoon, he stirred his coffee again, then took a sip. “Is it that? Or the Declaration of Panama and the maritime boundaries it designates?” She smiled when he focused on her somewhat in shock. “I can read headlines, you know.” He sighed. “That didn’t help. It’s not yet approved, but we need to move on it quickly.” “I thought you h
World of Tomorrow 81: Sleuthing
“Evelyn, you are the most extraordinary woman I have ever met.” Andrew’s eyes twinkled blue and green as he smiled down his narrow nose at her. Despite the public venue, he ducked his head and kissed her cheek, lingering just so he could breathe more of her florally Ivory soap scent. “You say that now, but you do realize I’ll have to spend some more time with them in order to weasel for more detailed information,” she cautioned. "You might not be so excited later." “I can tolerate a few hours of the Princes if it will get Charlotte out of my hair permanently. Besides, once we’re in residence in Los Angeles, we’ll likely never see them again. It's my rotten luck that they were in California at all,” he grumbled. He moved up in the line with Evelyn, closer to Rupert’s teller window. “St. Louis. I can’t imagine what possessed her to go there.” “Is it that different than New Orleans? Both seem drastic cultural changes compared to either New York or Los Angeles,” Evelyn commented. “I don
World of Tomorrow 82: Solutions
“I’m so relieved the drawing room suites are in a different car from the connecting bedroom suites,” Evelyn sighed as Andrew tipped the car’s valet and closed the door behind the man. “The further we are from those two, the better.” Chuckling, he turned towards her, unbuttoning his suit jacket. “That might be the most venomous thing I’ve ever heard you say, darling.” He folded the jacket and laid it over the back of a chair neatly. “I’m proud of you.” “Well, I’m not.” Removing her own jacket, she laid it over Andrew’s, then slipped her feet out of her shoes. “I can’t believe those two. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so crude. Even the Hollywood crowds everyone is constantly complaining about aren't as careless about what they say as the Princes. All the insults and snide comments." Her face screwed up into an angry pinch. "And that lecherous staring and pawing. By both of them!I can’t believe they’re accepted in even the basest social circles.” He took a
World of Tomorrow 83: Insults and Injuries
Emerging from their bedroom suite, Evelyn watched as Andrew peeled a generous number of bills off his money clip and handed them to someone just outside the door. “Thank you.” He nodded briefly, then closed their suite door. “Darling,” he smiled, his eyes skimming her from head to toe approvingly as he reached for her waist, “I didn’t hear you come out. Our valet tells me the Princes were involved in a drunken card game until the wee hours with the resident helpful celebrity, Mr. Laurel. Neither have emerged from their suite yet today. Given the amount of alcohol consumed, he’s of the opinion we may not see them until they disembark tomorrow.” Evelyn chuckled, staring up into his handsome face and finding herself getting lost in his eyes, mostly green today with only slight hints of blue. “It’s almost orphic how well you predicted that.” “’Orphic,’ is it?” He grinned broadly at her choice of adjective, greatly appreciating the subtle wit, though he had to adm
World of Tomorrow 84: Retribution
Andrew stared down at Evelyn’s tear-streaked face, his temper rapidly reaching flashpoint. The mark across her cheek was even more prominent closer to the faint light from the overhead lamps. He was sick of men taking advantage of her delicate size. Infuriated that they’d think they ever had the reason or right to strike a woman. More than anything, he was enraged that the woman impacted was the one to which he’d laid his claim. Her slender fingers curled daintily over his harm, pulling gently but insistently. “Mr. Laurel helped me. He pulled Daniel off me. Please, Andrew. Let him go. He’s not responsible for this.” Immediately, his hands relaxed. “Mr. Laurel,” he stepped backwards a pace, drawing Evelyn with him, “my apologies.” Straightening his rumpled clothes as best he could, the actor nodded. “It was an easy misconception. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, at least for the part you witnessed.” He eyeballed Daniel Prince’s limp figure u
World of Tomorrow 85: Deliberation
Andrew wondered if Evelyn suspected anything that had happened, particularly when the train put into the station in Chicago and the Princes disembarked onto the platform. If she did, to her credit, she said nothing. He couldn’t imagine her approving of such vigilante punishment, even on her own behalf, had he told her directly. But he liked to imagine the cold mist in her eyes and the upward tick of one graceful brow was brought on by satisfaction at seeing Daniel Prince trailing along behind his wife and their luggage with a clearly pained gait. Not that it mattered. He’d do it again in an instant if it insured her safety. Like his intuition about the mood of the market, Andrew’s instinct about the foolish and disrespectful Daniel’s mood was crystal clear too. Undoubtedly, they’d encounter the Princes again somewhere in society. Whether Evelyn was officially his wife or not, regardless of her upbringing, she’d be treated with all the respect due her. “Shall we see if there’s a chai
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