[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
could see, private academia looked like an untapped gold mine.
Either professors got a better salary than she'd thought, or they had plenty of
family cash. Whichever. They were prime for the picking, and Maddy? She was
ready for the harvest.
Gracefully accepting a crystal flute of champagne from a passing, discreet waiter,
Maddy sipped the sparkling liquid gold and let herself smile.
Oh, yeah. This was the life.
Heaven ... I'm in Heaven ... she sang to herself as she moved forward, floating
like a swan and passing out her best professionally seductive smile in response
to approving appraisals and nods. These guys didn't know her from Eve, but
they knew class, and they accepted her just like snap. She belonged.
One of the right people".
Nothing's gonna stop me now, Maddy thought in triumph, sipping her
champagne. Nothing in the whole wide
"Oh, dear Lord! Did you see her? What a walking disaster!"
A burst of laughter startled Maddy into almost dropping her glass. She frowned.
Okay, gaucherie? Way out of place. People might chuckle, titter, or giggle behind
their hands at a function like this, but they did not fucking guffaw.
What the hell had just happened?
Curious, she angled forward to find out. Maybe some old fart emeritus had
slipped on a fallen escargot, or
Her heart sank.
Oh, shit.
Lissy.
Lissy, standing in front of a plate of spilled food. Way too much food, probably
once piled high on a dainty china saucer. She must have been startled somehow
and dropped it. Big-time mess.
50
51
But while a tiny fraction of Maddy's brain calculated cleaning bills, the rest of her
made straight for her sinking heart.
Oh, Lissy...
Her little waif had buried her face, blazing red, in both hands. She'd spilled some
expensive sauce down the front of her designer original. Drops slid down her
fingers to her wrist and plopped to the floor. Each time a glob fell off, the
laughter got louder.
Laughter.
At Lissy.
Lissy, who just liked to eat.
Lissy, who didn't know any better than to fill up her plate.
Lissy, who looked about ten years old, and like she wanted to crawl in a hole,
curl up, and die.
Her Lissy.
Maddy couldn't have explained herself afterwards, no matter how she tried, but
at the moment she didn't waste time thinking. She moved straight into acting, to
hell with the consequences. The things she heard as she elbowed her way
through paunchy bellies and bulging butts made her see flaming red.
The Bitch was back.
"What was the Dean thinking to hire someone like her?"
"Honestly. So gauche."
"Untutored child."
"Book-smart and life-stupid, eh?"
"What will the girls in her classes think?"
"Their parents certainly don't send them here to be taught by bumpkins."
51
52
"What is her family name? MacVeigh? Not the ranching MacVeighs, for heaven's
sake!"
"Oh, yes."
"Hicks."
"Countrified farmers."
"No wonder she can't handle herself in public."
"Disgraceful. Positively disgraceful."
Maddy rounded on that last one, an elegantly slim woman whose face-lift lied
about her being thirty, dye job confessed to forty, and her own trained eye could
tell was pushing sixty. She jabbed a sharp red nail into the bitch's fake boobs and
hissed: "Shut. The. Fuck. Up."
Then, for good measure, added: Cunt."
Horrified gasps replaced the laughter. Maddy couldn't have given less of a
flaming shit. She'd reached Lissy, and her arms were wrapped tight around the
girl she loved.
Loved?
Analyze later. Comfort and rescue now.
"Lissy? Maddy hugged her close. Come on. We're out of here."
"Maddy?"
"Yeah, doll. It's me."
"Maddy, they they laughed and all I did was trip and "
"I know. Shush, shush, I know. She nudged Lissy forward. Walk with me,
chica. Come on. You can do this."
"Wh where are we going?"
52
53
Maddy lifted her head to glare at the gawping elite, the moneyed American
royalty she'd worked so hard to win over ... saw her career gurgling merrily
down the toilet ... but could only think of just one thing to say.
For the fun of it, she said the words out loud: The hell with you."
Holding Lissy tight, protecting her against the world, Force of Nature Maddy,
Category 5, got them out of there at hurricane speed. Woe betide anyone who got
in their way. Maddy had a new mission, and she meant to plunge in and win the
game.
Save the day, and rescue the maiden fair.
Sounded like a good deal to her.
What?
She could be adaptable.
Chapter Ten
There was one good thing about old faculty centers, Maddy soon discovered
they had all sorts of great nooks and crannies. Shadowy places to hide.
Not that Maddy felt like hiding. For all she cared, every single faculty member
could file on by in a line and take pictures if they wanted. She had more
important things on her mind. In her arms.
Lissy.
Her Lissy.
God, what an idiot she'd been.
I always knew I was a great liar, Maddy griped to herself, but I didn't know how
much of a dumbass I could be or how good I could fool myself.
Sure, the High Life was all I ever wanted, but God, it's a fucking shallow pool
and Lissy's deeper than the deep blue sea.
I know where I'd rather swim.
So, bye-bye career. Hello, alternate lifestyle.
53
54
Wonder what'll happen next?
Does it matter? Nah ... not right now, I don't think. I'm still me, and I keep my
priorities in order. Which means...
"Hush, baby, hush, Maddy crooned, rocking Lissy back and forth gentle as a
baby. She felt so light and fragile in Maddy's Amazon arms. A broken butterfly,
helpless on the cold hard street after the shock of falling from a first try at taking
wing. A shattered china doll. It's okay, you. I'm here. It's okay." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl wyciskamy.pev.pl
could see, private academia looked like an untapped gold mine.
Either professors got a better salary than she'd thought, or they had plenty of
family cash. Whichever. They were prime for the picking, and Maddy? She was
ready for the harvest.
Gracefully accepting a crystal flute of champagne from a passing, discreet waiter,
Maddy sipped the sparkling liquid gold and let herself smile.
Oh, yeah. This was the life.
Heaven ... I'm in Heaven ... she sang to herself as she moved forward, floating
like a swan and passing out her best professionally seductive smile in response
to approving appraisals and nods. These guys didn't know her from Eve, but
they knew class, and they accepted her just like snap. She belonged.
One of the right people".
Nothing's gonna stop me now, Maddy thought in triumph, sipping her
champagne. Nothing in the whole wide
"Oh, dear Lord! Did you see her? What a walking disaster!"
A burst of laughter startled Maddy into almost dropping her glass. She frowned.
Okay, gaucherie? Way out of place. People might chuckle, titter, or giggle behind
their hands at a function like this, but they did not fucking guffaw.
What the hell had just happened?
Curious, she angled forward to find out. Maybe some old fart emeritus had
slipped on a fallen escargot, or
Her heart sank.
Oh, shit.
Lissy.
Lissy, standing in front of a plate of spilled food. Way too much food, probably
once piled high on a dainty china saucer. She must have been startled somehow
and dropped it. Big-time mess.
50
51
But while a tiny fraction of Maddy's brain calculated cleaning bills, the rest of her
made straight for her sinking heart.
Oh, Lissy...
Her little waif had buried her face, blazing red, in both hands. She'd spilled some
expensive sauce down the front of her designer original. Drops slid down her
fingers to her wrist and plopped to the floor. Each time a glob fell off, the
laughter got louder.
Laughter.
At Lissy.
Lissy, who just liked to eat.
Lissy, who didn't know any better than to fill up her plate.
Lissy, who looked about ten years old, and like she wanted to crawl in a hole,
curl up, and die.
Her Lissy.
Maddy couldn't have explained herself afterwards, no matter how she tried, but
at the moment she didn't waste time thinking. She moved straight into acting, to
hell with the consequences. The things she heard as she elbowed her way
through paunchy bellies and bulging butts made her see flaming red.
The Bitch was back.
"What was the Dean thinking to hire someone like her?"
"Honestly. So gauche."
"Untutored child."
"Book-smart and life-stupid, eh?"
"What will the girls in her classes think?"
"Their parents certainly don't send them here to be taught by bumpkins."
51
52
"What is her family name? MacVeigh? Not the ranching MacVeighs, for heaven's
sake!"
"Oh, yes."
"Hicks."
"Countrified farmers."
"No wonder she can't handle herself in public."
"Disgraceful. Positively disgraceful."
Maddy rounded on that last one, an elegantly slim woman whose face-lift lied
about her being thirty, dye job confessed to forty, and her own trained eye could
tell was pushing sixty. She jabbed a sharp red nail into the bitch's fake boobs and
hissed: "Shut. The. Fuck. Up."
Then, for good measure, added: Cunt."
Horrified gasps replaced the laughter. Maddy couldn't have given less of a
flaming shit. She'd reached Lissy, and her arms were wrapped tight around the
girl she loved.
Loved?
Analyze later. Comfort and rescue now.
"Lissy? Maddy hugged her close. Come on. We're out of here."
"Maddy?"
"Yeah, doll. It's me."
"Maddy, they they laughed and all I did was trip and "
"I know. Shush, shush, I know. She nudged Lissy forward. Walk with me,
chica. Come on. You can do this."
"Wh where are we going?"
52
53
Maddy lifted her head to glare at the gawping elite, the moneyed American
royalty she'd worked so hard to win over ... saw her career gurgling merrily
down the toilet ... but could only think of just one thing to say.
For the fun of it, she said the words out loud: The hell with you."
Holding Lissy tight, protecting her against the world, Force of Nature Maddy,
Category 5, got them out of there at hurricane speed. Woe betide anyone who got
in their way. Maddy had a new mission, and she meant to plunge in and win the
game.
Save the day, and rescue the maiden fair.
Sounded like a good deal to her.
What?
She could be adaptable.
Chapter Ten
There was one good thing about old faculty centers, Maddy soon discovered
they had all sorts of great nooks and crannies. Shadowy places to hide.
Not that Maddy felt like hiding. For all she cared, every single faculty member
could file on by in a line and take pictures if they wanted. She had more
important things on her mind. In her arms.
Lissy.
Her Lissy.
God, what an idiot she'd been.
I always knew I was a great liar, Maddy griped to herself, but I didn't know how
much of a dumbass I could be or how good I could fool myself.
Sure, the High Life was all I ever wanted, but God, it's a fucking shallow pool
and Lissy's deeper than the deep blue sea.
I know where I'd rather swim.
So, bye-bye career. Hello, alternate lifestyle.
53
54
Wonder what'll happen next?
Does it matter? Nah ... not right now, I don't think. I'm still me, and I keep my
priorities in order. Which means...
"Hush, baby, hush, Maddy crooned, rocking Lissy back and forth gentle as a
baby. She felt so light and fragile in Maddy's Amazon arms. A broken butterfly,
helpless on the cold hard street after the shock of falling from a first try at taking
wing. A shattered china doll. It's okay, you. I'm here. It's okay." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]