Prince Of The City

She had a lot to deal with today, and getting a late start as she already was, she couldn’t afford to be anything but at her very best.

The walk did indeed do her good. The sights and sounds of the bustling city and the people moving past her on the sidewalks with seeming strength and purpose, lifted her spirits another notch.

Yes, her beloved New York City had been down for a while following the destructive attacks by a band of mad terrorists. But the city and its people were healing, and signs of renewed faith, hope and love were visible all around her.

Especially within the walls of Manhattan Multiples, Eloise reminded herself with a slight smile as she headed toward the double glass doors that led into the warm and inviting reception area on the first of the organization’s three floors.

“Good morning, Ms. Vale,” Tony Martino greeted her as he stepped forward and opened one of the doors for her.

A personable young man, five-ten, with a sturdy build, black hair and kind brown eyes, he was the daytime security guard she’d hired after she’d started receiving threatening letters from an anonymous but frighteningly disgruntled man who seemed to despise everything Manhattan Multiples represented. Tony’s twin brother, Frank, took over as the nighttime security guard, which was extremely fitting and amused Eloise to no end.

She loved the idea of multiples looking out for the well-being of Manhattan Multiples.

“Good morning, Tony, although I should probably say good afternoon. I’m running way late today.”

“Hey, no problem, Ms. Vale. You’re the boss. Ain’t nobody I know gonna get on your case,” Tony replied with an engaging grin. “And if they do, you tell me about it and I’ll take care of them for you.”

“Thanks, Tony. I will.”

The soothing blue of the sky motif covering the wall behind the elegant antique reception desk never failed to lighten Eloise’s mood, as did the lovely mix of New Age music piped through the sound system. She recognized a favorite cut from a Danny Wright CD that had been getting lots of play lately.

And with good reason, she acknowledged, seeing Josie Tate Dunnigan, her receptionist, newly wed to Michael Dunnigan and proud mother-to-be huddled with her personal assistant, Allison Baker Perez, also newly wed to Jorge Perez, and expecting. Eloise was more and more certain she would have twins or maybe even triplets if her rapidly expanding tummy was any indication.

Love had been in the air at Manhattan Multiples for several months now, much to Eloise’s delight. She had always been a romantic at heart, and having so many of the special women she had come to care about over the past few years finally finding happiness with some very special men had given her great joy. And a great, but very secret, desire to find that same kind of happiness for herself.

Maybe that explained why she had been so attracted to Bill Harper last night. Maybe she had just been overly receptive to any possibility of love, and Bill had simply been available. Of course, that would only be the case if her attraction to Bill was something new rather than something she had first felt seventeen years ago and had continued to feel ever since.

Again Eloise remembered the kiss they’d shared, and again she realized how easily he had swept her off her feet. And would again, she warned herself, given half a chance. Unless she kept in mind the cause she had to support—a cause that was in direct opposition to Mayor Harper’s own stated goals for the city.

“Sorry I’m late,” Eloise said again to Josie and Allison as she approached the reception desk.

“I would have been surprised if you weren’t, all things considered,” Allison replied, her smile as teasing as her tone of voice.

Amazing how her formerly oh-so-prim-and-proper personal assistant had changed in the past few months, Eloise thought. Allison could still be businesslike when necessary, but she was so much more relaxed, and so much happier now. Marriage to Jorge Perez and impending motherhood seemed to have made it possible for her to reveal the more lighthearted side of her personality that she had once seemed impelled to hide.

“Nor would I,” Josie chorused, still cute as a button and still a free spirit at heart despite her own recent marriage to firefighter Michael Dunnigan and her unexpected, but thoroughly welcome, pregnancy.

Her eyes danced as merrily as Allison’s did, making Eloise wonder what kind of news the two of them might have for her. They were in such good humor, not to mention so full of devilry for it to be anything as routine as one of Manhattan Multiples’ clients successfully delivering healthy babies.

Though always a cause for celebration, Eloise was sure such an announcement wouldn’t have had them quite so…atwitter.

Only as she paused by the reception desk to collect the large sheaf of message slips Josie had ready for her did Eloise spy the source of Josie and Allison’s merriment. Spread out on the gleaming cherry wood surface of the reception desk were several of New York City’s daily papers. All were open to the Lifestyle section where photographs of the Mayor’s Ball were featured prominently.

Not just any photos of the ball, though, Eloise saw at once as she wordlessly picked up one newspaper after another and viewed the pictures more closely. Jumping off the pages were pictures of Bill and her—pictures that showed the two of them having a wonderful time together, as, of course, they had.

But there was so much more revealed in the photographs, and what she saw made Eloise blush hotly all the way to the roots of her smoothly styled ash-blond hair.

“Oh, my…” she murmured, her hands starting to tremble ever so slightly as she studied the look in Bill’s eyes as he touched the rim of the champagne glass he held with hers.

The same look was in her eyes as she smiled at him across the small table she had thought hidden away in an alcove. And it was apparent again in both their eyes as they swayed together on the dance floor, their bodies appearing to meld much more closely than she’d realized at the time.

She couldn’t believe that two mature adults, as well schooled in the importance of public behavior as she and Bill, had each let down their guards so carelessly and so completely. She didn’t know about Bill, but she hadn’t intended to wear her heart on her sleeve. Yet it appeared she had done just that, quite blatantly, in fact.

And, Eloise admitted, quite honestly, as well.

Here, for her and the whole world to see was proof that she was still in love with Bill Harper. And if the expression on his face was any indication, not only was the feeling most definitely mutual, but also a source of great delight for the newspapers’ headline writers.

“The Mayor and Manhattan Multiples Maven—Enemies No More?” read one. And “Ms. Vale v. the Mayor—All Bets Off!!!” read another of the more sensational banners under the photographs. Eloise was almost afraid to read the accompanying text, although she knew she must.

“You look lovely in the pictures,” Allison said, as if sensing her need for reassurance. “And the articles I’ve read are pretty fairly divided as to which one of you has possibly gone over to the other side.”

“Well, that’s something for which to be grateful,” Eloise replied. She quickly scanned first one article that claimed she now went along with the mayor’s cuts in funding, then another saying the mayor must certainly have been charmed into rethinking his long-held position. “Everyone could have assumed I’d given in completely. Especially considering the sappy look it obviously appears I had on my face all evening.”

“You don’t look sappy at all,” Josie retorted. “You look like a woman in love, and Mayor Harper appears to be positively smitten, as well. How could that not work in our favor?”

“Mayor Harper isn’t the type to allow personal relationships to get in the way of public policy,” Eloise pointed out pragmatically.

In fact, he wasn’t the type to allow a personal relationship to get in the way of any action he deemed necessary for the public good. She had learned that the hard way seventeen years ago when his very earliest political aspirations and involvement had been of primary importance to him. But such an in-depth explanation would only serve to stir up Josie and Allison’s curiosity that much more.

“Maybe he just hasn’t met his match till now,” Allison suggested with a knowing smile.

Her life had turned around completely since Jorge Perez had entered her life, and so had Jorge’s. The same was true of Josie and Michael. Thus Eloise chose to forgive them both for fantasizing a similar happy ending for her. She also resisted the urge to offer elaborate explanations as to why such an outcome would never be possible for her and Bill.

“I may be his match, but that gleam he seems to have in his eyes is hardly the result of affection for me,” she stated in a dismissive tone. “He’s simply enjoying our latest and first face-to-face confrontation.”

Since she and Bill hadn’t actually discussed their differing viewpoints last night, Eloise knew she was stretching the truth. But if she succeeded in throwing Allison and Josie off track, maybe the rumors of a budding romance between her and the mayor apparently already stirring in the press would be quickly put to rest.

“So you don’t feel as if you made any headway in convincing Mayor Harper to reconsider his proposed cuts to city funding?” Allison asked, her ever-present concern over the possible closing of Manhattan Multiples echoing in her voice.

“I can’t honestly say that I did,” Eloise replied, her cheeks burning all over again.

She could only imagine what Allison and Josie would think if they knew she had been so enamored of the mayor that she hadn’t brought up the issues dividing them even one time while she had been with him last night. The two young women were depending on Manhattan Multiples for their livelihoods as well as for much-needed support during their pregnancies. So were a lot of other women.

Eloise had admitted that she’d been a selfish socialite partying hearty last night, and downtime or not, she was more than a little ashamed of herself just then.

“At least a lot of people seem to think you did,” Josie pointed out, waving a hand at the newspapers. “As Allison said, the articles are pretty fairly divided. Some of the reporters seem to think progress has been made in favor of our side of the issue, and some in favor of the mayor’s side. It’s more than obvious that you’re a force to be reckoned with. Otherwise your presence at the ball with Mayor Harper wouldn’t have rated such publicity.”

“And I’d better take full advantage of it before Mayor Harper makes a final decision.” Tossing the newspapers aside, Eloise picked up the pink slips of paper containing her telephone messages and turned toward the hallway that led to her office. “Allison, make an appointment for me to meet with Mayor Harper later today. A follow-up to our outing last night seems to be in order.”

“I’ll get right on it,” Allison replied, gathering the newspapers into her arms, then following Eloise down the hallway.

Having gotten such a late start to the day, Eloise concentrated first on returning as many telephone calls as she could. Some were from acquaintances wanting to chat about the personal aspects of her date with the mayor. Those people she politely cut short. Others were from supporters of Manhattan Multiples congratulating her on having gotten the mayor’s attention at last. Those people she thanked graciously while also requesting that they continue to fight to save city funding for nonprofit organizations, reminding them the battle hadn’t actually been won yet.

Early in the afternoon, Eloise also had a visit from Leah Simpson, the pregnant homeless woman she and the staff of Manhattan Multiples had made a special effort to help over the past few months. Leah now had a small but tidy apartment of her own. She was also currently on paid maternity leave from her job as a clerk at Manhattan Multiples, and had been keeping busy caring for her newborn triplet daughters, fondly and appreciatively named Eloise, Allison and Josie.

All three babies, dressed in darling little outfits and secured safely in the triple-seat stroller Eloise had given Leah at the baby shower they’d held for her at the office, were glowing with good health. Leah, too, seemed to be doing well, though she was understandably tired.

With the help of various friends she’d made at Manhattan Multiples, however, she seemed to be coping with the stress of caring for three tiny babies. And finally more confident of her own ability to take care of herself and her babies, she no longer seemed inclined to reconcile with the alcoholic and abusive husband who had left her when she was pregnant.