First Sight by Danielle Steel Read Free Book Online Page A

while she waited for the interviewer to come to her suite. “I hope you have a lousy time without me in Paris.” She’d been with men like him for too long. His saying that to her didn’t even shock her anymore. She was used to men now who were handsome, and fun to play with, but it never occurred to them to take care of her and comfort her, or even rub her shoulders when she was tired. She carried the full weight of her life and responsibilities on her own. It was a burden she felt acutely at times, and she did now.
    She stood up with a smile when the interviewer walked in. He was a tall, thin, balding, angry-looking man who was about to challenge her about the meaning of fashion. And suddenly, she didn’t care about that either, as she pretended to greet him warmly, and smiled as she shook his hand, invited him to sit down, offered him tea or coffee, and pointed invitingly to the platter of chocolates.
    “This is quite a hotel you stay in,” he said after accepting her offer of coffee, and devouring four chocolates. “Does it embarrass you to live like this, and spend this kind of money, all earned from exploiting people and their whims about fashion?” he asked in a single breath between chocolates, as Timmie smiled kindly at him, and wondered what the hell to answer. It was going to be a long afternoon, she realized, as she looked at him, and knew that Zack’s wish was about to come true. She was having a lousy time without him. But then again, had he been there, she might have had a lousy time with him too, depending on his mood. Nothing in life was sure.

Chapter 2
    Both of Timmie’s interviews on Wednesday afternoon were predictably tiresome. She had been doing interviews just like them for twenty-three years. She rarely enjoyed the publicity aspects of her work. What she loved was the designing, and coming up with fresh ideas for new collections several times a year. It had been even more fun since she had added all the additional lines to her company. The possibilities were infinite.
    Presenting the collections at the ready to wear shows in New York and Europe was an important aspect of her work. It was particularly exciting for her since she was the only American designer to show her work in both American and European venues, which made the ready to wear shows that much more challenging for her. She took the ready to wear shows seriously twice a year, and it was crucial to her that their runway shows went off impeccably. She was a perfectionist about every detail. It nearly gave her an ulcer fitting the models to the clothes, seeing that every possible element was the right one, every accessory the perfect choice, and then watching everything intently in rehearsal. Timmie was normally good-natured and even-tempered, but it drove her insane if anything went wrong, or the models didn’t look right when they were on the runway, if their hair was wrong, if they moved wrong, or some piece of an outfit got misplaced.
    By Friday afternoon all the models had been fitted in the outfits they were to wear. The rehearsal was set for Monday, and after her last textile meeting on Friday afternoon, Timmie realized she’d had a stomachache all week. She had hardly eaten, and the less she ate, the worse she felt. Jade asked her if she was all right, before she and David left on Friday evening to catch the Eurostar to London. They had decided to spend the weekend there, and David had agreed to give up his weekend in Prague to accompany Jade. They were going to three parties, and he was determined to visit the Tate.
    “Are you feeling okay?” Jade inquired again just before she took off. She looked concerned. She thought Timmie looked unusually pale, and she had seemed nervous and anxious all week. It wasn’t surprising before the ready to wear shows. Timmie was always stressed before the runway shows, but this time she seemed more jangled, and Jade thought she didn’t look well. She looked exhausted, and somewhat