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  “Liz, look, I—”

  Liz cut him off. “Listen, Parker, I’m really happy about Heather, I’m off, it’s a gorgeous day, I want to see you. What do you say?”

  “I have no money,” he said flatly.

  “Since when do they charge for a walk?” Liz demanded.

  Parker chuckled. It was the first time Liz had heard him do that since the scandal.

  “Come on,” Liz urged. “You know you want to.”

  “Okay,” Parker said, his voice sounding warmer. “But just for a little while.”

  “Thanks, Parker. I’ll meet you on Central Park South at Fifty-ninth, near the statue.”

  “I’ll be there,” Parker said.

  And I need to come up with something fantastic to do! Liz realized. Fast!

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  high in the sky

  Liz hurried to meet Parker. She didn’t have time to change, so she hoped she didn’t smell like the horse show.

  She spotted Parker leaning against the side of the statue. He had his head down, as if he didn’t want anyone to notice him.

  He looks so…defeated, Liz thought. Usually Parker carried himself with confidence and style. Today he slumped against the statue like a kid afraid he’d be picked last for a team.

  “Hey,” he said as she approached. “So, I made it.”

  “And I’m really glad,” Liz said. Despite the fatigue and obvious worry on his face, Liz thought he looked as handsome as ever.

  “So which way?” he asked. “Where do you want to go for this walk?”

  “I know a fabulous place with an incredible view. We can have drinks and something to eat there.”

  Parker’s jaw tensed. “You know I can’t do that stuff right now. I thought you understood that.” He sounded aggravated.

  “Hey,” Liz said. “Trust me.”

  “I don’t like you treating me, Liz.”

  “We’ll split it,” Liz said. “And I promise you that it is cheap. Super cheap. And I can guarantee you’ve never been anywhere like this before.”

  Parker gazed at her a moment, then shrugged. “Lead on.”

  They walked east along Fifty-ninth Street in an uneasy silence. Liz really hoped that her plan wouldn’t backfire.

  “How are things going?” she asked finally, breaking the silence. She wasn’t sure if she should give him space or encourage him to talk. She opted for talking—all the unspoken words between them made her feel too awkward.

  “Not so great,” Parker admitted.

  “Really?” Liz said.

  “My dad’s out on bail, at least, but he still isn’t around much. Mostly he’s with the lawyers. The freezing of the accounts is hard. My mom is keeping everything afloat with her own money, but the feds are trying to stop that, too.”

  “Sounds hard on you,” Liz commented.

  “It’s hard on me because it’s hard on them. Well, it’s hard on me, too, because my so-called friends have all dropped me. I’m dead to my old posse in New York.”

  Liz shook her head. She couldn’t believe that his friends would drop him just because he was going through hard times. “You’re not dead to me,” Liz said firmly.

  Liz came to a stop on Second Avenue, right under the Queensborough Bridge. Because it was the weekend, traffic wasn’t too bad, but it was still a busy intersection. Parker looked at her quizzically.

  “So…this is it? You wanted to walk to the East River?” he asked.

  “You’ll see,” Liz said. “But first you buy the drinks.” She pointed to a hot dog cart at the curb.

  “Really?” Parker asked.

  “Diet Coke for me,” Liz said. “Tell him a cold one from the bottom of the fridge.”

  “Okay. You’re in charge,” Parker said.

  They strolled up to the cart. The pungent smell of the steaming hot dogs, grilling onions, and hot pretzels made Liz’s mouth water.

  “A Coke and a Diet Coke,” Parker told the short hot dog man. “Cold, and from the bottom of the fridge.”

  The hot dog man pulled out the sodas, gave them to Parker and took the money. “Anything else?” he asked in a thick Hispanic accent.

  “Two bags of Fritos, please,” Liz said, holding out three dollar bills.

  Transaction completed, Liz slipped her arm through Parker’s. “Now for something really special. Time for a ride on the Roosevelt Island tram!”

  “Are you serious?” Parker asked.

  “As a heart attack,” Liz said, leading him into the tram terminal. She pulled out her MetroCard and swiped her fare and pushed through the turnstile. She handed the card back to Parker, who had a confused expression on his face.

  “Come on!” Liz urged. “We don’t want to miss it.”

  Shaking his head, Parker swiped the card and walked through the turnstile. They trotted up the stairs to where the tram was waiting. Liz was thrilled to see they were the only ones taking the trip.

  “I’ve never been on this thing,” Parker admitted as they stepped into the bright red cable car.

  “Adrienne and I sometimes take it over to Roosevelt Island in the summer. It’s the cheapest trip out of New York!”

  The doors slid shut, and the cable car lurched as it rose high above the East River. Liz stumbled into Parker, who gripped her tightly.

  “Maybe we should sit,” he said.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Liz said. “It’s kind of like our own little amusement park ride!”

  As the tram rose higher, the wind made it sway. “I see what you mean,” Parker said, laughing. He strode to the enormous windows and gazed down.

  “This view is amazing!” Parker said.

  Liz smiled up at Parker. She was happy to see that he was grinning.

  “Very fabulous,” she agreed. “And over on Roosevelt Island there are all these parks, and even an old, abandoned building we can explore.”

  “Cool,” Parker said. She felt his arms go around her waist and he pulled her into him and kissed her neck. “Though I think I could just ride our private tram back and forth all day.”

  Liz snuggled closer. “Works for me!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  lock and load

  “I knew Graydon and Cam couldn’t be up to any good,” Liz said. “I knew it.”

  “I should have known it,” Adrienne wailed. “Why do I always give people the benefit of the doubt?”

  Liz and Adrienne sat in Emma’s room on Sunday morning—the day of the benefit—working out the details of Adrienne’s revenge. Liz had been both horrified and disgusted by the shocking plot between Cameron and Graydon, and she had promised Adrienne she would be on board for anything Adrienne wanted to do.

  “Speaking of benefits…” Liz looked at Adrienne. “What are you going to do about the Young Lions event?”

  “I’m going,” Adrienne said firmly.

  “Are you kidding me?” Emma shrieked. “I thought you said you went to a school for smart kids. You are so dumb!”

  “Actually, Emma, I think you’ll approve.” Adrienne shut her eyes and shook her head. “Though I’m being a terrible role model and encouraging all kinds of bad behavior.”

  “Really?” Emma asked, suddenly interested. “Like what?”

  “Do you have Mimi’s phone number?” Adrienne asked Liz. “I tried to look it up, but the family is unlisted.”

  “You need Mimi’s number?” Emma asked. “I can get it for you.”

  “How?” Adrienne asked. “You can’t ask Cameron for it. She can’t know that I’m going to talk to Mimi.”

  “She won’t,” Emma said, turning to her computer keyboard. “I’ve done this before. It will just take a minute.”

  “What are you doing?” Liz asked as Emma’s hands flew over the keyboard with the same agility she demonstrated at the piano.

  “I’m hacking into Cameron’s Sidekick,” Emma explained. Suddenly the screen went pink, and scores of phone numbers appeared against the background.

  “917-PCS-MIMI,” said E
mma triumphantly. “Thirty-eight seconds. That’s a record, even for me.”

  “You’re a wonder,” Adrienne said. “I knew you were the perfect ally. Hand me the phone.”

  Adrienne punched in the numbers and waited for Mimi to answer. She crossed her fingers for luck. Liz and Emma watched her with curiosity.

  “Hello?” Mimi answered cautiously. Adrienne figured it must have been because she recognized Cameron’s number on caller ID.

  “Mimi? This is Adrienne Lewis. You probably don’t remember me, but a couple of months ago we had dinner at Khmer with Cameron Warner.”

  “I don’t,” Mimi replied, annoyed. “And I don’t know how you got this number.”

  “That’s not important,” Adrienne said. “What is important is that I know that Cameron has been trying to destroy you ever since you won Deb of the Year. I know that she was behind that nasty piece on Page Six, and I know that even now she wants to make sure you are embarrassed at the Young Lions event at the New York Public Library.”

  “I’m listening,” Mimi said. “What’s your name again?”

  “Adrienne,” she replied.

  “Right,” Mimi said. “The redhead. I remember. The one with the dull boyfriend Cameron turned into a plaything.”

  “Ex-boyfriend.” Adrienne winced. She hated that Mimi remembered her as someone Cameron had tromped on.

  “What do you want?” Mimi said.

  “I want to meet you in an hour to tell you how I’m going to help you stop Cameron.”

  “It sounds to me like you want to fix Cameron even more than I do,” Mimi said. “Well, okay, I admit I’m curious. But I don’t want to meet you in public. Cameron will hear about it. Come to my place. Ten-oh-one Park Avenue.”

  “Which apartment?” Adrienne asked.

  “Oh, please,” Mimi said. “Just ask for me at the door.” She hung up.

  “We’re meeting her at her place in one hour,” Adrienne announced.

  “Adrienne, what are you going to do?” Liz asked.

  “I’m going to get Princess Mimi to help me make New York see what pigs Cameron and her brother are.” Adrienne sighed. Plotting revenge against Cam and Graydon was the only thing that was keeping her from sobbing into her pillow all day. How she hated that they had used her!

  Adrienne turned to Emma. “I may need you to help with some of the technical aspects, since you seem to be so good at spy toys.”

  “You see,” Emma said, “my CSI training comes in handy.”

  The three girls froze at the sound of a knock on the door.

  “Adrienne?” Graydon asked from behind the door. “You need a ride home?”

  “Here goes nothing,” Adrienne murmured, slipping the disks into her bag. “Everyone act normal.”

  “Stay out, you creep!” Emma shouted.

  “Normal, Emma!” Adrienne whispered.

  “That is normal!” Emma hissed back as the door opened.

  “So, you want to take off?” Graydon asked, leaning in the doorway.

  “Actually, Liz and I have plans,” Adrienne said.

  “Getting ready for tonight?” Graydon asked. “I can’t wait to show you off to all of New York at the benefit.”

  “I can’t wait to go,” Adrienne purred, sidling up to Graydon and letting him wrap his arms around her. Stay calm, Adrienne told herself. Resist the urge to strangle him.

  Graydon leaned in toward Adrienne. “And after the event,” he whispered, “I’ve got a big surprise for you.”

  “Graydon,” Adrienne said, putting as much flirtation into her voice as she could, “I can’t believe that anything you could do would surprise me.”

  “I bet I can!” He smiled, and Adrienne wondered how she had ever seen that grin as anything other than a slimy smirk.

  “Liz, see you around. Munchkin,” he added, addressing Emma, “you have got to get out more.” Graydon grinned and left the room.

  Adrienne, Liz, and Emma all looked at one another, then simultaneously mimed gagging.

  “Now tell me why you’re here,” Mimi said, settling into a gilded chair in her vast living room. She picked up a glass of iced tea from the silver tray brought to her by her uniformed butler.

  “We have a proposal for you,” Adrienne said. She sounded more confident than she felt. Mimi’s extraordinary penthouse was extremely intimidating. She was really grateful that Liz had agreed to come with her.

  “Just get to the point,” Mimi snapped. “I have Frederic Fekkai coming to do my hair in an hour.”

  Adrienne swallowed and glanced at Liz. Liz gave her a small nod of encouragement. Well, I’ve come this far—and it is for Mimi’s own good.

  “There’s something you need to hear.” Adrienne held out a CD.

  Mimi looked at the disk disdainfully, but she took it and got up from her chair. She touched a button on a remote control and a large painting of a castle rose on the wall, revealing a hidden stereo system. She slipped in the disk and turned up the volume.

  “So, the article went well, huh?” Cameron asked.

  “Better than you imagined,” Graydon responded. “How great was it that it ran in the same issue as the photos of us reading to those kids?”

  “Mimi’s such an idiot.” Cameron giggled. “She’ll never figure out that I was the one who switched the papers and leaked the rumor. Princess she may be, but I think the inbreeding has knocked out a few brain cells. Mimi’s not exactly the brightest diamond in the Fallschirm family tiara.”

  Adrienne glanced at Mimi. Although the princess seemed perfectly composed, Adrienne noticed two bright pink spots high on her normally pale cheeks.

  “I’m surprised you asked her to be part of the presentation,” Graydon said. “I’d think you’d want all eyes on you. You don’t usually like sharing the spotlight.”

  “I didn’t want to have to write that stupid speech about funding and percentages and crap,” Cameron said. “Let her be the drone.”

  “She’s going to get up onstage in front of all those people who think she’s practically illiterate?” Graydon snickered. “Genius. I wish I’d thought of it.”

  “This benefit should shove Mousy Mimi off the society pages once and for all.”

  “Enough,” Mimi said, clicking off the CD player. She looked at Liz and Adrienne with new respect. “I don’t know how you two got this,” she said, “but I’m in. What do you need me to do?”

  Adrienne walked to the curb, where the Warner town car sat waiting. The chauffeur opened the door, and Adrienne slipped in, lifting the hem of her Zac Posen dress so that she wouldn’t step on it.

  “Are you ready for an absolute blast?” Graydon said, leaning in for a kiss.

  The only blast I want to see tonight is your plan blowing up in your face, Adrienne thought. She forced herself to kiss him back, knowing that her scheme depended on Graydon believing all was well in Warner-land. Pretend he’s Orlando Bloom, Adrienne told herself. Pretend he’s Jake Gyllenhaal. Pretend he is anyone else—just don’t throw up.

  A few days ago they would have used this time alone in the car for some serious fooling around. Now she hoped she could hold him off till they got there. She really didn’t know how well she could pretend to be into him anymore. Fortunately, traffic on Fifth was light, and they soon pulled up in front of the library.

  Graydon pulled her a little closer. “I have something for you.” He reached into his pocket.

  “Tonight’s a big night for us,” he said, looking deep into her eyes. Adrienne wanted to Taser him. “We should celebrate in a very special way.” He pressed a key into her hand. “This is for the Royal Suite at the Waldorf-Astoria—for when the party’s over.”

  “Wow,” Adrienne said, fighting the competing urges to laugh and to deck him. “You think of everything, Graydon. That is so special.”

  “No, you’re the one who is special,” Graydon said. “So different from the other girls.”

  Right. So different, you think it’s cute to humiliate me just to amuse
yourself and Cameron. Luckily, her hurt and shame had been completely taken over by anger, and she didn’t feel the urge to cry—just the determination to make sure he got what was coming to him.

  Graydon helped Adrienne out of the car and took her hand. The long, wide steps to the library were covered with a red carpet and votive candles. The cameras flashed as they ascended the stairs, and the socialites around them smiled at the paparazzi.

  They reached the top of the stairs, and Adrienne peered inside the historic, majestic New York Public Library.

  The white marble gleamed in the Astor-Lenox-Tilden Hall, and the gilded names of library donors carved into the walls sparkled in the party lighting. Enormous floral arrangements stood on either side of the doors, and more flowers were draped along the molding like garlands. Gorgeous people in elegant gowns and handsome tuxes chatted animatedly in groups.

  What a pretty setting, Adrienne thought, looking up at Graydon, for such an ugly scam.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  the center of attention

  Liz gripped Parker’s hand as they stood on Forty-second Street and waited for the light to change. The imposing white library building seemed strangely ominous to her. Maybe it was the special lighting that made it shimmer ghostlike in the spring night. Or maybe I’m just worried about what’s going to happen tonight, she thought. To Parker, to Adrienne, to everybody.

  Parker had the cab drop them off on the opposite side of the street so that no one would see that he wasn’t arriving in a limo. Unlike the rest of the guests tonight, he had only two transportation options: subway or taxi.

  Parker stared across Fifth Avenue. Photographers were snapping pictures and shouting out the names of the celebrities and society people attending the benefit.

  “Oh, man,” he murmured. “The vultures are out in force tonight.”

  “Do you think the other entrance will be open?” Liz asked.

  “What other entrance?” Parker asked.

  “On the Forty-second Street side,” Liz explained. “When I did research here, I got out of the subway right next to a side door.”