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Chapter 3
Stephanie sat down with her calendar open on her laptop, and a flavoured coffee by her side. She had woken up in the king-sized bed alone and the sheets cool to the touch. She felt a sense of remorse that she had not wakened up as Ranger prepared to leave. She missed his morning kiss, and come to think of it, a lot more than the kiss.
She had the cards in front of her. Ella had made a few notes on the back of each one with respect to what they specialized in. Stephanie noticed that all of the cards were from stores in New York.
She had thought that she would take her time and shop locally, or when she was out of town. It appeared that Ella had different ideas on that matter and had given her a choice of different stores. Stephanie did not have time to shop at stores selling individual product so chose a number that specialized in both clothing and accessories.
She picked up her phone and dialed the first number. A pleasant voice answered on the second ring.
"Saks on fifth, how may I direct your call."
Stephanie looked at the card.
"May I speak with Jennifer Halstead, please?"
There was silence on the line.
"I'm sorry, Ms. Halstead is on presently on leave from Saks."
Stephanie thought about her next question.
"Her name was recommended to me, but I will be attending a Summit next month and I was wondering if I could set up an appointment for perusing your line of women's apparel complete with accessories."
There was a pregnant pause.
"Will you be presenting or just attending, miss."
Stephanie looked at the phone. She was getting a definitely hinkey vibe and was feeling uncomfortable.
"Thank you for your time. I will contact you later with respect to making an appointment."
She hung up the phone and took the card, throwing it in the garbage can by her desk. Take that!
She picked up another card and dialed the number.
"Barneys, how may I direct your call?" came over the phone.
Once again Stephanie spoke.
"I would like to make an appointment with Miguel Thompson, please. His name was recommended to me."
Stephanie could hear keys being tapped.
"I have Mr. Thompson's schedule in front of me, but unfortunately he is solidly booked through a month from now."
Stephanie looked at her calendar. A month from now would be the Summit week and she needed the clothes before then. This would not work.
She spoke to the lady on the line.
"I am sorry but my schedule is completely booked up at that time. I thank you for your assistance and will keep Mr. Thompson's card in case I get another chance to see him at another time."
The lady was very polite.
"I am sorry that Barneys was unable to help you, ma'am. Please consider us when you are visiting New York again."
Stephanie put a note on the card and slid it into her blotter. She picked up the next card, hoping that third time was the charm.
She dialed the number and it was picked up on the second ring.
"Halston Heritage, how may I direct your call?"
Stephanie looked at the new card in her hand.
"I would like to make an appointment with Rodney Hammond, please. His name was recommended to me"
There was a moment of silence. The lady on the line appeared to be finding a screen and Stephanie could hear her clicking keys as she spoke.
"May I have your name, please?"
Stephanie spoke. "Stephanie Plum."
Obviously her name had come up somehow and the lady spoke again.
"One moment, Ms. Plum. Mr. Hammond is expecting your call."
Stephanie sat back in her chair. He was expecting her call? There was a click on the line and a silky voice spoke.
"Ms. Plum, I am delighted that you chose to call me. Ella has spoken to me about you attending the Summit and unfortunately I have only one cancellation that I can pencil you in. I was very pleased to hear from my lovely Ella and please give her my love when you see her."
Stephanie looked down. Her schedule was getting pretty full with the start of the racing season beginning. She already had a number of shows booked. Her thought of taking a few hours and just finding something was rapidly losing ground to a slight twinge of panic.
She spoke.
"Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Hammond. I had originally thought of flying in a few days before the conference, but I am getting the impression that I should be looking at something a bit sooner?"
There was an audible gasp and Mr. Hammond spoke.
"My dear, for a conference as important as this, we will need some lead time. Unfortunately the later you wait the more chance you will possibly find someone else wearing your same ensemble which would not do at all. Now, I have my schedule in front of me and time is certainly of the essence here. I have an opening tomorrow at 9:30 am but if that is a bit too soon in the day, I can push it back to 10:30. I have your measurements already and will have a selection of outfits for you to peruse and hopefully choose. Will you need a car to pick you up from your hotel?"
Stephanie was sitting literally with her mouth hanging open. She had always just gone shopping days or hours before an event and had always found something. It appeared that there was going to be some maneuvering needed. She looked at her schedule. Tomorrow was penciled in as an off-day, a day that she had wanted to visit with Lula and the boys, see her parents and hang out with her nieces.
Thinking quickly she spoke.
"I would prefer 10:30 if that is not too much trouble and I will fly down tomorrow morning. Thank you for the offer of a ride but I will make my own arrangements. "
Mr. Hammond spoke again.
"Thank you for choosing Halston Heritage, Ms. Plum. I hope you have a very nice day and I look forward to meeting you."
Stephanie responded.
"Thank you for your kindness. I will see you tomorrow."
Stephanie pressed the button on her phone ending the call.
She sat looking at her now altered schedule and sighed. This was becoming a harder assignment and she had not even begun to fully comprehend her efforts that would be needed to prepare for taking the time away while attending the conference.
Stephanie received a beep on her phone, and she pressed the button to call back.
She could not help it and a bit of her whiney voice made an appearance.
"Ranger, were you aware of the time commitment I would be needing for my freaking wardrobe for the conference? And on top of it, I think this is going to be very, very expensive for Rangeman to cover."
Ranger chuckled. He had talked to Ella about just that very thing not an hour ago. He knew that she was very good at scouting out a good deal but with the expanded list of movie stars and personalities attending that the paparazzi would be out in force. He wanted her to look good and feel good as she mingled and took in the conference.
"I talked to Ella about that and she assured me that you would be up for the challenge."
Stephanie sighed.
"I have an appointment at Halston Heritage at 10:30 and I have absolutely no idea where it is in New York. Ranger, I am afraid that I am going to be spending a lot of your money very, very soon. Are you sure about this?"
Ranger sighed. If she only knew how much money he had, but he was not about to bring that into play so he tried to play it calm.
"As I told you yesterday, Babe, the contract is extremely lucrative and even taking into account your estimated clothing budget for this, we are very confident of making a lot of money. Now stop worrying. What time should I have the plane available for you and I have already booked your car service from the airport for the day."
Internally she was still reeling that she had almost lost her window of opportunity and the fact that the different clothiers were fully booked up for over a month in advance except for this one cancellation. In the past, she would have headed for her favorite store, flicked through racks until she had found a few things, then tried them on, then wander to another store to find more if they didn't work. She had always had a set pattern; clothes, shoes, then lingerie. That routine had always worked for one outfit, but needing a few more for the conference would have taken considerably more time and that she was short of. Stephanie shook her head at the learning curve in high fashion. If she was helping Rangeman, even silently, she wanted, no, needed to play the part and show up in appropriate apparel.
Stephanie could feel her anticipation begin to build. She was determined to make this fun and to enjoy the Summit and to learn something. Was that not why she had applied in the first place?
Her mind had been wandering and Ranger came back on the line. He had put her on hold for a phone call and while she was waiting, had been making notes thinking what she might need.
Unfortunately her wardrobe contained mostly business casual right now and it was starting to look a bit tired in her opinion. She made a mental note that she really needed to take some time to update it. Besides, it still had that Trenton look and working out west, she figured that she might have to adjust her wardrobe a bit to cater to more of a temperate climate. Kentucky did not have the extreme weather changes that New Jersey enjoyed and she was finding that a large portion of her wardrobe stayed home.
Stephanie planned on taking a few hours off back in Kentucky and check out some stores there. Unfortunately as busy as she was now, she had to schedule everything. No longer could she just drop everything and go shopping.
Ranger came back on the line.
"Babe, I have arranged for the plane to be ready for take-off at 0830. Taking into consideration the traffic you should arrive there a few minutes ahead. Your driver will contact Mr. Hammond when he is approximately ten minutes away and they will co-ordinate the entrance you arrive at and the entourage awaiting you."
She mentally looked at her closet and started to plan outfits to pack for her next trip. She would have to leave from New York instead of Newark.
"Can you suggest a hotel, Ranger? It appears that I will be staying overnight then flying from New York to Lexington for my meeting."
Ranger nodded as he spoke.
"I will book you into The London, Babe. We have an account there for clients. The plane will be ready for you to leave by noon the next day. I know you have to be in Lexington for your four o'clock."
She was not surprised that Ranger had her calendar memorized. He had probably glanced at it as he had dressed that morning. She had made a paper copy and left it on her desk.
Stephanie worked on her laptop for the rest of the day, planning and moving meetings around. Her cell-phone rang with incoming calls and questions, inquiries and specific questions for the first of many Open Houses.
She looked at the time. Where had the day gone?
Stephanie stood up from her kitchen table and she could feel how stiff she was. Once again, she groaned at her lack of planning on purchasing a condo with no exercise facilities. She looked outside to gauge if she could chance a run to the park down the road. It was still light, but by the time she finished with her fitness routine, darkness would have fallen.
Stephanie pulled out her yoga mat and began a shortened but invigorating exercise routine. She was used to a small space to work in because of hotel rooms, and looking at the clock once again, she noted that over an hour had elapsed.
After a refreshing shower to remove the sweat glistening her body, she wandered into her kitchen, checking the freezer for something, and hopefully, somewhat healthy in there.
She smiled. Some food fairy had obviously been in and there were packages of frozen food with cooking directions plainly attached.
Stephanie looked through her choices and pulling out a chicken dish, set it to heat.
Just then her phone rang again and she grabbed it before it went to voicemail. It was a rancher from out west, calling with some questions.
Stephanie hung up the phone. She pulled her trusty suitcase out of the closet and started to pack. She would need clothes for just over two weeks this time.
The oven timer dinged and she sat down to eat. Ella had hidden a frozen dessert in the corner and licking the fork, she sighed. She loved Ella.
She took a solitary shower and climbed into bed. She was wearing one of Ranger's t-shirts and the smell of his body wash calmed her. She fell asleep quickly and woke up refreshed and ready for the day. A quick shower and some time in the bathroom fixing her hair and make up and she strode out the door to her bedroom.
She was planning on wearing a spring wrap-around dress with sandals and a mesh handbag to match.
Her phone beeped. Her ride was at the front door waiting to take her to the airport.
Stephanie looked around at her condo. She was spending less and less time here every time she came home. Locking the door behind her she pulled her suitcase behind her to the elevator mentally cataloging that she had everything. Purse, check, computer bag, check, suitcase, check, farewell kiss from Ranger, missing and very unhappy about it.
She stepped out the door and smiled.
Ranger was standing by the passenger door of the Turbo. He had perched a chauffeurs hat on his head and had slipped on a black jacket. He was wearing his 1000 watt smile as he opened the door.
She walked to him and gave him a kiss. He was so thoughtful to take her to the airport.
Ranger continued to play the part of her chauffeur. It was m'lady this and yes, ma'am that. They pulled up to the plane and James was standing by the steps. He took her suitcase, putting it in the small hold and locking it in then climbed into the plane.
Ranger hugged her to him. He had been hoping to spend a few more hours with his Babe, but she was helping Rangeman with this detail and he couldn't be more proud of how she had accommodated the sudden change in plans.
He held her close and spoke.
"Take care Babe. I was only trying to set the stage for you with respect to having drivers cater to your transportation needs."
Stephanie hugged him back.
"I may have someone driving me around a strange city, but I loved how you took on the part this morning. I don't think that my driver could handle my other needs, Ranger, so you better not accept any short-term missions before I see you again."
With that, she stepped out of his embrace and headed up the stairs into the plane.
She looked back at Ranger and giggled to herself. His eyes had narrowed to that dangerous level and she could see him visibly clear his throat.
Well, that should keep him thinking until she returned.
The door of the aircraft closed and the engines started. Ranger watched as his Babe looked out the window and waved at him and blew him a kiss.
If she only knew.