Restoration: A Novel (Contemporary / Women's Fiction) Read Online Free PDF

appétit.”
    Ingrid called over her shoulder, “Thank you, Sharon.  I’m
sure I’ll see you soon.”
    Ingrid turned to Francesca with a smile and began speaking
in German while Francesca pressed her hand between Ingrid’s shoulder blades,
encouraging her to venture out into New York’s chilly fall air.  Tess caught a
glimpse of silver insignias on the blue blazer Ingrid wore beneath her blue
overcoat.  She guessed Ingrid was wearing a uniform when she saw silver brocade
peeking out of her coat sleeve, details Sharon could extract into a biography.
    “That I will never understand,” Gianni said from behind
Tess.  She hadn’t noticed he’d followed her out of his office.  He frowned at
Francesca and Ingrid walking briskly down the sidewalk arm in arm, sharing a
flurry of words between them. 
    “I think they make a nice-looking couple,” Sharon said.
    “It is not natural.  An abomination, just like the pope
says.”  Gianni shook his head adamantly.  “And such a waste.  Both such
good-looking women.”
    Sharon made a face at Tess but changed it quickly to a
tight-lipped smile when Gianni glared at her.
    “If my wife calls about carpeting, tell her the green and
gold or the burgundy and tan are my choices, in no particular order.  Tell her
I will call her back if she cannot decide, but she does not need to hear from
me to place the order.  Whichever one she likes is the one I like.  Capiche? 
Okay?”
    “Will you have your cell phone with you?”
    “No calls!  No interruptions!”  Gianni jabbed his finger
in the air, punctuating his order, and headed toward the front door.  “I will
be at an important business lunch.”
    Sharon waited until the front door closed behind him
before muttering, “Monkey business.”  From her desk, she looked up at Tess. 
“Now, you tell me: Francesca is off to have lunch with her girlfriend, and Mr.
Mazzaro is off to screw his girlfriend during lunch while his wife picks out
carpeting.  Which one is the abomination?”
    Tess glanced over her shoulder at Gianni’s office, then
surveyed the lobby.  “You certainly have a view of the entire universe from
here.”
    “Yeah, I feel sort of omnipotent.  I’ve never seen Mr.
Mazzaro’s girlfriend, but I bet he’s jealous as hell that Francesca snagged a
better-looking one.  Did you see the way he stared at them, just checking them
out and envying everything he can’t have? 

    “And Ingrid is so cool.  She has a great job, and the best
thing about working for an airline is those flight benefits.  I’d love having
those and be able to travel all over the world for free, although she told me
she gets blasé after a while.  But bring it on!  I’d love the chance to get
blasé.”
    “There’d better be some good benefits,” Tess commented. 
“Being a stewardess is a thankless job, putting up with passengers in cramped
spaces and having to wear an ever-present smile when you really want to say
‘you suck’ to some passengers.”
    Sharon scrunched up her face.  “Aren’t you stuck in the
last century!  Get with it!  Ingrid is a pilot.  She flies those big bad boys
across the ocean.  In fact, that’s how they met.  Francesca flew on one of the
planes Ingrid piloted.  When they landed in the Paris airport and Ingrid came
out from the cockpit to thank the passengers for flying with her, they had one
of those little eye exchange things go on. 
    “And when they saw each other in the airport two days
later, they exchanged words and ended up skipping their flights so they could
walk along the Seine and get to know each other better.  Isn’t that romantic?”
    “You glean all of that from sitting up here?”
    Sharon laughed.  “No, Francesca told me that over lunch.”
    “Lunch?”
    “Yeah, you know, the second meal of the day.  The one you
never go out for.  Do you eat?  I never see you.  I don’t think I’ve seen you
go to lunch one time since I’ve been here.”
    Tess smirked at