to ask. Sophie, on the other hand, at twenty-three, was dying to come to work for her, and had talked about it since she was a child. And Olivia was excited to have that happen. Her dream was that one day all of her grandchildren would work there, but she knew Carole never would. She wanted either to be an artist, or to work for her father and stepmother in film production. She had no interest whatsoever in business, unlike her sister, Sophie. And Alex was too young to know. She felt fortunate as it was to have her sons in the business. She and Joe had always wanted that to happen, and it had. She was happy that he had seen their dream come true before he died. Both boys had already been working for them when their father passed away. It had made them even more responsible at an early age, and she counted on them a great deal now, even though she still ran the show, and hoped to for a long time. But the three of them worked well together. It had brought them closer to her now as adults. They had The Factory in common.
When Olivia got back to her cabin, and went to bed, she lay thinking about her children and grandchildren for a long time. She was looking forward to spending time with them, and pleased that they had this fabulous vacation to look forward to.
In the morning, Olivia went on deck. Amanda was already presiding at the breakfast table. She was wearing pale blue silk shorts with a matching blouse, and a very pretty pale blue hat to match. Olivia was wearing white cotton slacks and a starched white blouse, her white hair was impeccably done, and she had had a manicure in the salon on the boat the day before. Amanda looked ready for anything. Sarah looked sleepy and disheveled when she came up. She said she had slept like a baby, and all three of the men in the family were still asleep. Olivia suspected that Alex had stayed up late watching movies in his room.
“I thought you might like to go shopping this morning,” Olivia said pleasantly to Amanda. “The stores are pretty fabulous in Monte Carlo. Liz won’t be here till about one o’clock, we’ll leave then, so you have all morning.”
“I’d love it.” Amanda beamed from ear to ear.
“I think I’ll stay here. I have some reading I want to do,” Sarah said quietly, which was no surprise either. Sarah had no interest in shopping, and it showed.
“Maybe you’d like a massage in the spa,” Olivia suggested. She was an excellent cruise director, and her whole goal was for each of them to have fun, in the way they wanted to. There were no forced activities here. She wanted it to be paradise for them, not boot camp.
“Maybe I will,” Sarah said with a dreamy look, as she ordered an omelet for breakfast. There was something sinfully luxurious about being waited on hand and foot. She felt guilty about it, and had been genuinely upset by the first-class air tickets Olivia had bought for them, but sooner or later the pampering was very seductive. Olivia was enjoying it herself, although she rarely took time for self-indulgence in real life. But this was sheer heaven, even for her.
Olivia organized a driver and crew member to take Amanda shopping, and half an hour later both of her sons appeared, looking sleepy and relaxed. They were already talking about fishing, as they ordered eggs Benedict, and the steward handed each of them a copy of the Herald Tribune. Amanda was just leaving. Gold sandals and a gold beach bag had appeared to complete her outfit, and she was wearing small diamond earrings. She looked absolutely perfect leaving the yacht.
Alex was the last to join them, and admitted that he had watched two movies back to back and fallen asleep at five A.M. before the second one was over, but he was in good spirits. He could hardly wait for his cousins to arrive, and he and Olivia played gin rummy after breakfast. He beat her fair and square three times.
When Amanda came back from her shopping trip, she was carrying four shopping bags and wore a blissful expression. Phillip was waiting for her on deck, since John and Sarah had gone back to their room for a nap after breakfast. No one ever commented on their frequent disappearances, although Olivia