Free Parisian Affair by Judith Gould Page A

meaningless now.' She
looked around them, then leaned in toward Allegra. 'Anyway, can you
talk now? If so, let's go somewhere we don't have to yell to be
heard.'
    Allegra nodded. 'Sure, why not?' She was
curious as to what Sylvie wanted to discuss. They had met several
years ago when a mutual friend had introduced them. Sylvie had
bought a piece of jewelry from her—the first of several choice
pieces—and they had been friendly ever since. But they had never
really been confidants, sharing secrets like best girlfriends.
    'Good,' Sylvie said. 'Let's go upstairs,
then.'
    She led the way and Allegra followed until
they reached the expansive
    staircase. When they were seated in a darkly
lit, uninhabited corner, Allegra was the first to speak. 'Okay,'
she said, 'what's this all about?'
    Sylvie leaned in close to her again. 'You
swear you will not discuss this with anyone? Not Jason? Not even
Todd?'
    Allegra looked at her with surprise, but
nodded. 'I promise,' she replied, putting her hand on her heart and
laughing.
    Sylvie did not return her laughter. 'This is
very serious,' she said solemnly, 'and really must be kept secret,
Allegra.' Her voice dropped to a whisper. 'It has to do with my
boss, Hilton Whitehead.'
    'Hilton . . . Whitehead,' Allegra said
slowly, as if testing the name on her lips. Her curiosity was more
aroused than ever. She knew, of course, that Sylvie worked for the
somewhat elusive software billionaire, but she also knew that
Sylvie never discussed him, his business, or his private life with
anyone. Allegra remembered that he'd made her sign a ten-page
confidentiality agreement before giving her the job.
    Sylvie leaned in closer and put her hand to
Allegra's ear. 'He has a proposition for you,' she whispered, 'and
he wants to meet with you tomorrow morning.'
    'A proposition?' Allegra said. 'For me?' She
pointed her fingers at her chest. 'I don't even know the man,
Sylvie.'
    'Yes,' she said, 'but he knows all about you.
He's asked me more than once about one of the brooches you made for
me. You know, the one that looks like a dollop of caviar?'
    'Yes,' Allegra nodded, remembering with
fondness the brooch made of hundreds of little gray pearls. 'But
what about it?'
    'I told him that you know all about jewelry,'
Sylvie said. 'How you are an actual gemologist and all that. Not
just a designer.'
    'So?'
    'So, he wants to talk to you about
something,' Sylvie said.
    'But what?' Allegra asked, beginning to
become exasperated with Sylvie's vague answers. 'If he wants a
piece of jewelry designed and made, then why doesn't he simply come
down to the atelier and place the order?'
    'I'm not permitted to discuss that,' Sylvie
said mysteriously. 'You must come to the office to discuss it with
him.'
    Allegra emitted a short, nervous laugh. 'But
why? I just don't get it. Even rich people come to the
atelier.'
    Sylvie shook her head. 'No, no, cherie ,' she whispered. 'He can't do that. It's far too
confidential a matter for that. Come to the apartment tomorrow
morning about eleven o'clock. He will explain everything then.'
    Allegra looked at her, but she finally
nodded. 'Okay,' she said. 'I'll be there, but I don't know
why.'
    Sylvie hugged her, then drew back and cried
merrily, 'Merveilleux. I'll see you at eleven.' She opened her
gem-studded minaudiere and took out a thick vellum business card.
'Here's the address,' she said.
    Allegra took the card and slipped it inside
her beaded bag. 'Okay.'
    'Remember. Not a word of this to anyone,'
Sylvie said. She air-kissed Allegra on both cheeks, then stood up.
'Now I will try to find Jean-Pierre. Are you coming downstairs to
have some fun?'
    'Yes,' Allegra replied, getting to her feet.
'And I should probably hunt down Todd.' But she wondered if she
could have fun until her curiosity was satisfied regarding the
billionaire Hilton Whitehead.
     
     
    'How about a nightcap, baby?' Todd asked,
nuzzling the nape of her neck.
    'Don't you think we've both already had too
much?' Allegra asked