Babette’s nails, by contrast, were shaped square on the ends because that was easier for her to do on her own, and they were painted a color deemed Knock ’Em Dead Red that had been on sale in the Cosmetics section at Wal-Mart.
“But I’m willing to pay you triple your normal fee, plus all expenses for you to stay at the same complex where he owns a condominium. It’s on the beach, so it shouldn’t be a terrible hardship,” she continued, while Babette simply nodded, speechless. “Lenora said you typically require three weeks to contact the old flame, talk with them and smooth the waters.”
“That’s the average time required and has proven to work well,” Babette admitted, glad for delivering a controlled response, instead of blurting it out in Have mercy, she’s paying me triple! fashion.
And Kitty had done her homework. Three weeks was Babette’s average for a relationship repair. She usually took one week to learn as much as possible about the person’s current lifestyle, another week to establish a connection with the individual and, most importantly, read their body language toward the other person, then the last week to actually meet and discuss the prospect for reconnecting with their old friend, or in this case, old fiancé. It was a process that worked, or at least it had worked every other time. There were always emotions hiding beneath the surface, and Babette truly enjoyed the task—something akin to an emotional treasure hunt—of unveiling them. So far, every client had suspected correctly that the significant other from their past still cared. Kitty obviously suspected the same about Jeff and simply wanted Babette to help her prove it.
But this assignment would be different, because Babette didn’t need the first steps. She certainly knew everything there was to know about Jeff’s lifestyle, and heaven knew the two of them already had an established connection. Or disconnection.
In any case, Babette really wanted to make this fence-mend between Kitty and Jeff work, even if she were dealing with her own old flame, because triple her normal fee would give her enough cash to completely pay off that last student loan. And she really wanted that thing to disappear for good.
“Here’s a check for your services,” Kitty said, sliding it across the table. “I’ve already reserved a beachfront condo for you in Destin.” At Babette’s shocked expression, she explained, “I wanted to make sure one was available before I presented the offer to you, and naturally, I’d hoped you’d take me on as a client.”
“You’ve made the reservation already? When did you plan on me starting?” Kitty wasn’t expecting Babette to turn her down. Babette wondered if that were part of the woman’s techniques for success; she simply assumed she’d get what she wanted, went for it and got it.
Kitty’s smile tightened, only slightly, but Babette noticed. She did not want to be turned down. “The reservation starts tomorrow, with check-in at 4:00 p.m., and I have it reserved for two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” Babette asked. The woman had already stated that she knew a mending of fences typically took Babette three weeks. Granted, it shouldn’t take nearly that long with Jeff, since Babette knew him, but Kitty didn’t know that.
“That’s why I’m tripling your pay. I don’t want to wait three weeks to have him back. I need you to do it in two.” She placed both palms on the table as she spoke. Easy body language there; she was taking a position of authority and wasn’t open for discussion on the matter at hand. And since she was the one with the big check, and Babette was the one who wanted said big check, Babette swallowed past the urge to tell her what she could do with her money and her demands.
“Your confidence in my abilities is flattering,” Babette said. “And I do believe I can accomplish everything in two weeks, if I have a bit of background information from you to get me going. Basically, you can help me with what I would normally do during week one.”
“Of course,” Kitty said. “What do you need to know?”
Babette held her pen poised and ready to write. “Tell me about your relationship with Jeff Eubanks,” she said, glancing at his name on the page as she spoke. “The details about how you first met, your background and all. And the breakup, of course.”
“It was at the annual Bruno’s charity golf tournament in Birmingham. He was there to represent his family’s department stores—they own a