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hum. "This evening may seem trivial on the surface, but it reflects one of your most important duties… as my associate ," Antonio said. His tone was all business, even as he reached for a pair of wine glasses from the mini bar, handing one to me. "Consider this the first step in your probation."
    I frowned, carefully holding out my glass, hoping he didn’t notice my unsteady hands. "This is some kind of test? I told you I don’t know anything about your industry. How am I supposed—"
    "There are usually two or three of these events each month that require my attendance. If you do well tonight, I expect you to be available to attend future events with me."
    I took a large sip of wine, feeling the cool sweetness slip down my throat. "As your escort."
    "As my associate ," he said quietly.
    I glanced at him, taking in the strong jaw and stately profile. The wine was already calming my nervousness. But now, as I watched him, thinking back to how he had looked at me just moments before, I had to wonder.
    "Nothing more?" I asked, feeling brazen.
    But that evaporated pretty quickly as he sat there, silently watching me.

Chapter Thirteen
     
    I could not have felt more out of place at the gallery. It wasn't the setting so much as the people who were in attendance. The lobby was filled with champagne-drinking models in some of the current designs from Paris. Around the perimeter of the room, mannequins displayed century-specific designs that reflected artists of the periods more than dresses worn by any of the citizenry.
    Sure, I looked the part of a fashion representative, as Antonio told me several more times between introductions to various people whose names I could barely keep track of. And, I listened politely as he spoke to businessmen and women, politicians, designers, art curators; still, I couldn’t help but feel that I was little more than decoration. Beyond the basic introductions, he made no effort to include me in the conversations, and though I was picking up things here and there, there wasn't much for me to "learn". I most certainly wasn’t comfortable enough to improvise.
    "Excuse me a moment, Antonio," I said when there was a lull in our mingling.
    He turned to me, one eyebrow raised.
    "I-I’m just going to the ladies room," I stammered. I really just needed to get away from the crowd. It was a convenient excuse to get a moment to myself.
    He smiled and nodded.
    I made my way to a ladies room, admiring the mannequins dressed in exquisite and elaborate costumes. Inside, several women were gathered in the sitting area, chatting away among themselves. They paused when I entered, watching me in the reflections of the wall-to-wall mirrors. I smiled at them, and one or two smiled back. I even thought I heard my name as I moved to the powder area to retouch my make-up. A moment later, I heard the rustle of bodies as they all got up and left the ladies room.
    I stared after them, feeling as though I was back in high school.
    "Ah, don’t mind them," said a voice that made me jump a bit. I turned to find a kindly woman sitting in a chair at the other end of the room. "They don’t mean anything by it."
    I gave her a warm smile. "I guess they don’t like new people in their little club."
    "Something like that," said the woman with a grin. "They’ll warm up when they get used to you. This is a pretty tight circle of folks. Lots of business deals and such that require trust. That’s not an easy thing to give."
    "I suppose," I said, riffling around in my purse for some change to drop in the woman’s gilded tip jar. "Thank you."

Chapter Fourteen
     
    Antonio was nowhere to be found when I returned to the main room. I wasn't surprised that someone had captured his attention. Certainly he was well known among the guests.
    I looked around, but couldn’t find him anywhere. I took a deep breath and decided I could probably handle being on my own for a few minutes. I mean, really, what choice did I have anyway?
    I made