Page 32 of Made of Steele
“Not really.” Teagan turned away to hide her lie and held out her hand to Angie, who’d returned with the bottle.
Angie tsked. “Been a while since your last manicure, I see.”
“Yeah. You know how it goes these days. Always busy.”
Lauralee’s eyes ringed with heavy liner widened. “First and foremost, you have to take care of yourself. You don’t want your man looking in other directions.”
She really didn’t know what to say in response to that, so she didn’t speak and watched as Angie dried one of Teagan’s hands.
“Are you married or involved?” Lauralee asked.
“No.” Teagan winced. Not at the question, but at Angie’s forceful nipping at Teagan’s cuticles.
“That’s a shame.” Lauralee put her hand in the nail dryer. “I always made it a practice not to be without a man, and it’s served me well for over forty years. Never had to work a day in my life.”
“Do you have only one son?” Teagan asked, changing the subject before she said something that might make Lauralee mad.
“We have two boys, but the youngest has gone off to California trying to find himself.” She shook her head, but her hair remained stiff and in place. “Why a man in his thirties has to find himself, I’ll never know, but he’s always been a bit flighty. Not solid and dependable like Oliver. Maybe he takes after me.” She laughed, a light tinkling sounding more like a young girl than an older woman.
“Sounds like Oliver is invaluable to the company.”
“He is.” She stared off into the distance. “I mean, this latest deal that will help me realize my dreams is beyond amazing. It’s almost too good to be true.”
“I guess he sold a lot of geological equipment.” Teagan got more obvious with her fishing expedition and held her breath that it didn’t put Lauralee off.
“As I said, I try to tune out my hubby and Oliver when they talk business. But I’ve heard enough to realize that Oliver bought something that he’ll resell for a huge profit. Like millions of dollars of profit.”
“Oh, wow. Must be something special.”
She shrugged and giggled. “Since I don’t really listen, I don’t really know. Just show me the money.”
Teagan didn’t want to press this line of questioning anymore as she would seem too obvious. “When will you begin looking for this villa or have you already picked one out?”
“Chauncey—that’s my husband—says I have to wait until the money’s in the bank.”
“That must be hard.” Teagan tried to sound sympathetic but struggled. She was trying to keep the family business afloat and pay basic wages to her family members, let alone buy an Italian villa.
“Not really. He said the deal will be concluded in the next few days. I’ve waited my whole life for this villa. What’s a few more days?” She leaned closer again. “Between you and me, I already picked a place out and inquired with the real estate agent listing the property. I’m waiting to hear back.”
So the deal, whatever it was, was going down soon. Maybe the deal she’d overheard them mention. Teagan needed more information. “How much time will you spend at your villa?”
“Just for vacations at first, and we’ll rent it out when we’re not there. But Chauncey said this big score will set us up for retirement, and he’ll retire soon. We’ll have so very much more time then.” She frowned.
“Why the frown? Don’t you want him to retire?”
“Honestly? I doubt he’ll ever fully retire. He’s always after the next big score. Once this one is done, I can see him searching for something to top Ollie’s deal.”
No. No he won’t. We’ll be arresting him soon enough.
Of course Teagan didn’t say that. She nodded and couldn’t wait to tell Drew what she’d learned.
“But maybe I’m wrong.” Lauralee took her other hand out of the soaking gel. “Oliver really wants his independence from his father.”
“Is that what you want?”
“Yes, not only so Chauncey retires, but so Oliver can spread his wings. And I want him to find a nice young woman to settle down with.” Her eyes flashed open. “Say, you seem like a nice young lady, and you’re not with someone. Maybe I could arrange for the two of you to meet.”
Teagan didn’t answer right away. Should she play this out? Try to meet Oliver? What would Drew say? He would probably tell her to back off.
