The initial cover story pivoted on Rachel pretending to have to come to Geneva alone and thereafter inviting Gloria to go skiing with her at Zermatt. However, Jolly’s violent coughing fit had obviously blown that cover. Thus, Gloria would now know that Rachel had not come alone.
Thankfully, Jolly thought of a brilliant way to continue the bluff. She cleared her throat loudly and said, “It’s me!” She scooted over to where Rachel was, popping up on the screen. “As if I’d let her travel without her trusty assistant!”
At the sight of Jolly, Gloria rolled her eyes and scoffed. “You’re a lot of things, but trusty isn’t one of them. You keep getting caught by the paps when you and Leroy are on your dates. I bet you even brought him along to Switzerland so that you can have a couple’s trip!”
“Whether or not I’m on a couple’s trip is none of your concern. Anyway, we’ve pretty much concluded the work part of our trip, so we’ll be having fun for the next few days. We’re heading to Zermatt tomorrow morning for skiing. I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed skiing with Chris. I think the last time we did that was two years ago.”
Upon hearing this, Gloria said at once, “I wannal go!” Rachel froze. She couldn’t believe the girl would rise to the bait so easily.
Jolly’s triumphant gaze flickered over to the others who were crowded on the other side of the room. She and Gloria had been fighting over the position of Rachel’s best friend since the first day they met, and there was nothing scarier than when two women had their eyes set on a goal.
“Why are you going?” Jolly asked, the challenge clear in her tone. “You don’t even know how to ski, and the slopes at Zermatt aren’t kind to amateurs. Don’t torture yourself, little maestro. Wouldn’t want you getting hurt and canceling your show in Geneva.”
“Don’t patronize me! I had professional training on skiing too, you know!” “Yeah, I’m not convinced. You can’t fake your way down the slopes in Zermatt-not even if you did hire a professional coach at the very last minute.”
Desperate to prove herself, Gloria almost shouted, “You girls have to wait for me! You can’t go to Zermatt without me! We’ll go to Zermatt together as soon as I get off the plane in Geneva. Rachel, you’ll have to be the judge and see which of us is better at skiing!”
When Rachel heard the panic in the girl’s voice, she nearly sputtered. “Okay, calm down. We’ll head to Zermatt in the morning, so why don’t you stay a night in Geneva before you join us the following day? It isn’t safe for you to drive all the way there at night, especially while it’s snowing.”
“Aren’t you going to wait for me?” Gloria asked, looking wounded. “We’ll wait for you in Zermatt,” Rachel said soothingly.
Gloria’s agent added helpfully, “Miss Hudson is only looking out for you, so don’t be stubborn about this. Besides, there aren’t any trains servicing Geneva and Zermatt at night.”
Trains were the only way one could get to Zermatt from Geneva; no other motor vehicles were allowed to traverse between the two points. Considering this, Gloria reluctantly acceded. “So, it’s just the two of you right?”
Jolly and Rachel exchanged a brief look with the others. The former smirked as she gloated, “Of course, it’s just the two of us. It’s a girls’ trip, after all.”
Meanwhile, the four men in the room each wore different expressions. One looked anxious about the next step of the plan; one was practically buzzing with excitement; one looked entirely indifferent, and the last one was mesmerized by his girlfriend’s smooth lying skills. As things were, the operation was well and underway.
When the video call finally ended, Rachel let out a huge sigh of relief and gulped down a whole glass of water. “Oh my gosh, I was so nervous I thought my heart was going to leap out of my throat!” She had come so close to blowing their cover. Had Jolly not interfered in time, she would have given away the name of their hotel.
There were plenty of hotels in Geneva. If Gloria found out that Rachel was staying in the same hotel she would be checking into tomorrow, she would undoubtedly grow suspicious of her.
“Whew, that was close! Thank goodness our cover wasn’t blown!” Jolly looked immensely pleased with herself as she added, “I deserve an award for that incredible improv. Aren’t you glad you brought me along?”
“Yes, totally. I’m so glad, Rachel humored her with good-natured exasperation. “You’re our lucky star.”
Rachel went on to praise the girl for her quick wit. After a while, she looked at the clock. hanging on the wall above the fireplace. “Okay, everyone, we should turn in for the night. We’ll be leaving for Zermatt early tomorrow morning, and we’ve got plenty to do when we get there.”
Save for Victor, who was a bundle of nerves, everyone else was exhausted and obediently shuffled into their rooms. It was in the early hours of the morning when Justin woke up and padded out of his room to order room service.
However, he had only just gone into the living room when he saw another figure sitting there. “Did you get any sleep at all?”
Victor snapped out of his reverie when he heard the cool and crisp voice sounding from behind him. He turned and registered Justin’s presence, then said, “I did, but I couldn’t stay asleep for long, so I got up and came out here. Why are you up so early?”
“I was going to order room service. I figured we could all use some breakfast before we head up to Zermatt.”
“How thoughtful of you,” Victor commented. Upon seeing how nonchalant the other man looked, Justin decidedly pulled up a seat across from him. The only thing that separated them was the corner of the rug, which kept them at a pleasant distance.
Justin gave Victor a measured look, then broke the silence by pointing out, “You know, it isn’t too late to change your mind now if you’re having second thoughts about proposing.”
Victor was shocked to hear this, and he gaped at Justin incredulously as he accused, ‘Are you asking me to back off and recognize my place?”
“Sure, if that’s how you interpret it.” A grim look passed over Victor’s face, and he bit out angrily, “You just don’t like the idea of me and Gloria being together.”
“What makes you think that?” “Because you think Gloria can do better than someone of my background, and my job is far less impressive than anyone might expect of a great pianist’s boyfriend. Also, you’ve been on my case after all that has happened that year. I’m probably the one person you wish Gloria would never choose to be with.”
Justin did not deny any of this. Instead, he asked indifferently, “So? Are you going to give up?”
Victor blinked at him. He was not expecting this, but for some reason, the words ‘give up’ made him contemplate the possibility that he and Gloria might separate. His heart tightened at the thought of losing her, and his fists clenched as well
He glowered at Justin darkly as he retorted, “If giving up were part of my plans, then I’d never have gotten together with her in the first place.”
“In that case, what I think of you wouldn’t matter, right?” Justin went on to point out. “Are you going to give up on a future with her just because everyone else is against you?” “Of course not.”
“Then whatever you said to me earlier is completely meaningless.” Justin’s gaze was calm, and he gave Victor a pointed look before fixing his eyes on a spot above the fireplace. “You shouldn’t be too concerned about what others think of your relationship with Gloria. If you guys want to make things work, then no one else’s opinion matters as much as your own. As long as the both of you are in this together and continue to choose each other, then whatever the rest of the world says is just moot.”
“You’re not asking me to give up?” Victor was incredulous.
“Have I ever? You’ve made it this far. If you don’t pull yourself together and continue to wallow in self-pity, I can’t imagine the mess Gloria would be saddled with for the rest of her life if she says yes to your proposal. In fact, you’d back. out of the marriage before I even asked you to.”
“No, that won’t happen, not unless Ria changes. her mind about me.” “Whether or not she changes her mind about you does not depend on her, but on the both of you.”
This was the first time Justin had had such a serious conversation with Victor, particularly on the point of his relationship with Gloria.
It was as if everyone else had forgotten that he and Gloria had grown up together. Justin was like a father and brother to her, and she meant more to him than anyone could imagine. It was hard for him to step down and let someone else take care of her.
“Victor, Ria is a musician. Playing the piano and performing all around the world will be a lifelong career for her. She will continue to take her place on the stage and shine before an adoring crowd. Furthermore, she’ll only gain more fame along the way. You’ll probably always be in the shadows, supporting her while she basks in the limelight. Both of you are self- centered, and you have some self-esteem issues you need to work on too.”
Victor wanted to deny it but frowned and said nothing in the end. He knew Justin was only pointing out the truth.
