Dusky Rose Read Online Free PDF Page A

woman.
    "Well," Laura said, "it's true, whether you choose to believe it or not! He was just very impressed with the way I decorated his lobby with my plants. You know, it wasn't easy to add warmth to that ice box of a room after some fashionable decorator had done her best to make it as cold as an Alaskan igloo." Laura hoped that her last remark would upset Janine the way Janine's remarks were infuriating her. Then she did a double take. "Did you say that I have final approval in the decoration of the house?" Janine's lips lifted in a humorless smirk. "Yes, didn't you know that? Anything
Miss Canaday
disapproves of is to be removed. No new furnishings are to be added without
Miss Canaday's
approval. I don't mind telling you that I'm not exactly happy with this new arrangement. I've been working on the decoration of this house for over a year. Now, all of a sudden, everything has changed and my plans are to be subject to the whims of some young chit with no background in decorating other than throwing a few plants into a room to add a touch of green. I have a fine reputation in my field and I don't like the idea of taking orders from an unknown young snip."
    Janine had been growing visibly upset as she spoke, and Laura was completely taken aback by her outburst. "I'm sorry, Miss Hartmann, I really am. I don't understand this myself. I thought that I was just supposed to add some plants to the furnishings which you selected. I don't understand this new arrangement. If you like, we can call Mr. Lattimer's office and get to the bottom of this. I'm sure there must be some mistake."
    Janine looked at Laura and smiled. "One does not call Mr. Lattimer to question his decisions about anything. One merely obeys Mr. Lattimer's orders, if one wants to keep working for him. And he never makes mistakes. I suppose you would know that if you knew Jon Lattimer. So, ridiculous as your story is, it's probably true. I'm sorry about my behavior a moment ago, but I thought you were trying to steal a client from me. These things happen all the time in this business, and you're just young and attractive enough for Jon to take more than a business interest in you. Anyway, I admit I was wrong and I apologize. Let's try to be friends." Janine offered her hand to Laura and smiled. Laura took the offered hand and smiled back. "Jon pays so well that it would be foolish for either of us to lose the money this job is going to pay. Come on, let me show you through the rest of the house."
    To the right of the entry was a huge room, furnished with only an antique white, grand piano. "We had that imported from France. When the rest of the furniture I've ordered arrives, this is going to be a lovely music room. Jon is an accomplished pianist. Did you know that?"
    Laura hadn't heard a word Janine had said; her eyes were riveted to the glass wall beyond the piano. She walked quickly toward it and opened the door leading to a large brick patio. Beyond the patio was a massive area of barren soil and it was around this area that the entire house was built.
    Laura turned to look at Janine. "Do all the rooms open onto this atrium?"
    "All except the kitchen and some of the guest bedrooms. It's intriguing, isn't it? Jonathan wanted to be able to get out of doors from any room he happened to be in. I can't say I blame him. The summer evenings in Hillsborough are just too beautiful for words."
    Laura was walking around the atrium, bending now and then to let the sandy soil run through her fingers. "Can I plant this atrium any way I choose? Design the landscaping and install the greenery wherever I want?"
    Janine smiled in amusement, as if she were speaking with a naive young child, but her eyes were hard with a hint of jealousy as she spoke. "Laura honey, you get to do anything your little heart desires. You've been given carte blanche for finances, choice of furnishings, landscaping and anything else that might enter into that innocent little mind of yours. I must say,