"Can I show you something else?" Kate said to the customer, who was now studying Candy as carefully as the bracelet.
"No." She hesitated, but avarice won over and she took out her credit card. "Would you gift wrap it, please? It's for my daughter's birthday."
"Of course."
She boxed and wrapped, rang up and bagged, all the while keeping a weather eye on Candy's progress. Two customers left without a purchase, but Kate refused to give Candy's viciously criticizing tongue credit for it.
Feeling like Gary Cooper at the end of High Noon, she stepped out from behind the counter to face them alone. "What do you want, Candy?"
"I'm browsing in a public retail facility." She smiled thinly, and exuded a not-so-subtle whiff of Opium. "I believe you're supposed to offer me a glass of rather inferior champagne. Isn't that store policy?"
"Help yourself."
"I was told by a friend there was a perfume bottle that I might like to have." Candy cast an eye over the displays. Her gaze latched on to a gorgeous design in the shape of a woman's body, beautifully fashioned in frosted rose glass.
She would have revealed her own age before she wou
ld have shown a flicker of interest.
"I can't imagine what she was thinking of," she drawled.
"She probably mistook your taste." Kate smiled. "That is, she mistook you for having any. How's the pool boy these days?"
Candy, who had a reputation for enjoying very young men in between husbands, bristled. "How does it feel to be a shop clerk? I heard you were fired. Stealing clients' funds, Kate. How… ordinary."
"Someone must have pruned your grapevine prematurely, Candy Cane. You're way behind."
"Am I?" She filled a glass to the rim with champagne. "Am I really? Everyone knows that with the Templeton influence behind you, all your petty crimes will be brushed aside. Like your father's were." Her smile sharpened when she saw that shaft strike home. "But then, only fools would have you handling their accounts now.'' She sipped delicately. "Where there's smoke, after all. You're so lucky to have rich friends who'll throw you crumbs. But then, you always were."
"Always wanted to be a Templeton, didn't you?" Kate said sweetly. "But Josh never looked twice in your direction. We used to laugh about it. Margo and Laura and I. Why don't you finish your champagne and go diddle your pool boy, Candy? You're really wasting your time here."
Candy's skin darkened, but she kept her voice even. Her approach had been to divide and conquer. She'd never been able to score any real points when Kate had Margo or Laura around. But alone… And this time she had more ammunition.
"I've heard you're seeing quite a bit of Byron De Witt. And that he's seeing quite a bit of you."
"I'm so flattered you've taken an interest in my sex life, Candy. I'll let you know when we release the video."
"A smart, ambitious man like Byron would be very aware of the advantages of developing a relationship with the Templeton ward. Imagine how high up he can climb using you as a springboard."
Kate's face went blank, pleasing Candy enormously. Candy sipped more wine, her eyes alive with malice as she studied Kate over the rim. The malice blurred into shock as Kate threw back her head and laughed.
"God, you really are an idiot." Weak with laughter, Kate took a few steps to the side so she could support herself against the counter. "To think we just thought you were a mean little snake. All this time you've just been stupid. Do you actually believe a man like Byron needs to use anybody?" Because her ribs were beginning to ache, she took several deep breaths. Something in Candy's eyes tipped her off. "Oh, I get it. I get it. He didn't look twice at you either, did he?"
"You bitch," Candy hissed. She slammed down her glass before stalking over to Kate. "You couldn't get a man on your own if you danced naked in front of a Marine band. Everyone knows why he's sleeping with you."
"Everyone can think what they want. I'll just enjoy it."
"Peter says he's an ambitious corporate shill."
Now Kate's interest peaked. "Peter does, does he?"
"The Templetons booted Peter out because Laura whined about the divorce. They were so concerned with protecting their darling daughter they ignored the fact that Peter is an excellent hotelier. All the years he worked for them, helped build the Templeton chain into what it is today."
"Oh, please. Peter never built anything but his own ego."
"He'll use his talents to open his own hotel soon."
"With Templeton money," Kate commented, thinking about Laura and the girls. "How… ironic."