"Whoa," Adam said, his eyes wide as they stepped into a huge room with a broad, winding staircase at the center. There were ladders and scaffolding positioned all around the room, and white paint peeled from the domed ceiling overhead.
"They usually hold the NoBash in this room, but as you can see,
217
it's under construction," Brigit said, her heels clipping at an uneven pace as she crossed toward the staircase. "I'll show you guys my dad's office upstairs. He still has my nursery set up next door and it's just the way it was when I was a baby."
She started up the steps, holding the skirt of her gown up with one hand and clinging to the oak railing with the other. Her heel caught on the carpet about halfway up and she stopped, took a breath, and kept going.
"You sure I can't take off the shoes yet?" she asked Ariana, glancing over her shoulder.
"Not yet!" Lexa, Soomie, Kaitlynn, and Ariana all chorused, then laughed.
Brigit shook her head and pointed out a few more paintings and tapestries as they ascended the stairs. Ariana was impressed with all the knowledge she had accrued about the various artists and their styles. Brigit was a girl of many layers. Ariana liked that in a person.
"Can you believe this place?" Kaitlynn said to Ariana and Palmer, waiting for them to catch up. She eyed the paintings with a covetous glean in her eye. "It's all so beautiful."
Ariana wondered what she was really thinking. Was she planning on trying to lift one of these priceless works of art? The girl would never even get out the front door with it. But the idea got Ariana wondering . . . what exactly was Kaitlynn's task for Stone and Grave? Was it something that was supposed to happen tonight, specifically, like Brigit's had been?
218
She hoped it wasn't anything that would get Kaitlynn arrested. Because if it was, they were both going down.
"Oh, look at this one, Ana," Kaitlynn said, pausing at the top of the stairs in front of a painting of two cherubs. Ariana stopped and shot Palmer a look that told him she'd catch up with him and the rest of the group. He strolled ahead slowly, keeping himself between Ariana and Kaitlynn and the rest. Clearly, he had no interest in being with anyone else. The thought made Ariana's heart flutter.
"It's great," Ariana said to Kaitlynn through her teeth. "Can we go now?"
"I just wanted to check in with you about your plan," Kaitlynn said, looking at the painting with feigned interest. "You do realize that tonight is your deadline."
"Believe me, I know," Ariana replied. She glanced back down the stairs, thinking of the ballroom. Realizing she really should get back there and get the deed done already. "I told you not to worry. I've got it all under control."
Kaitlynn slipped a sideways glance at Ariana. "You'd better." Then she looked past Ariana at her friends, who were just starting to crowd into a room at the end of the hall. "Because if you don't, what happens next is all on you."
219
NECESSARY
Tahira stood at the center of the ballroom, stopping every waiter who passed by and hoarding hors d'oeuvres like they were the last morsels of food on earth. Ariana had seen the girl eat before, and knew she was a glutton. It was a key element of her plan. But watching her now made Ariana's stomach turn. The girl was so slovenly, so rude, so unworthy of her position. Ariana was about to do the world a favor, really. No one needed a girl like this flitting around the globe pretending to be a role model.The door to the hallway opened, the door from which the waiters had been emerging all night, and Ariana spotted a handsome, college--age guy in a white tuxedo jacket and tails weaving his way toward her. Ariana had been studying the waiters' movements for the last fifteen minutes or so and understood the intricate dance of their circuit. If she was right, this one would work his way along the north wall, where she was standing, then veer toward the center of the room when he hit the bar. Veer toward Tahira, Zuri, and Rob.
220
It was now or never. Ariana slipped the small vial of peanut oil from her purse, stepped away from the wall, and stood in front of the waiter.
"Hi," she said with a bright smile.
He looked her up and down and smiled in return. "Good evening, miss. Would you like a canape?"
Ariana was glad that Palmer and the rest of her friends were out on the verandah somewhere, taking in the view of the city. At least no one had to see her flirting with the help. Not to mention poisoning their classmate.
"Sure," Ariana said, plucking one from his silver tray. "But I really just came over here to tell you that your shoe is untied."
"Oh, thanks," he said, placing his tray down on the end of the bar behind her. "I guess it would be bad if I tripped and showered all the dignitaries with canapes."
"Probably," Ariana replied, her heart pounding.
As soon as the waiter crouched down, Ariana turned and dumped the peanut oil all over the canapes. By the time he had realized neither of his shoes was, in fact, untied, and stood up again, Ariana was looking in the other direction as if nothing had happened.
"Nope. I'm good," he said.