Veil of Night by Linda Howard Page B

Carrie to bring her back to reality with a resounding thud.
    The reception hall was built like a Greek temple, with columns and urns and ivy climbing the walls. The building was about ten years old, and judging by how long it took to get a booking, it had been a wonderful investment for the owners. Carrie had insisted that her wedding be here and nowhere else, and had even pushed back her wedding date when the date she’d selected had already been booked. That was one time she hadn’t been able to throw a tantrum and get her way.
    Because this was a weekday the spacious parking lot was far from full, but a few cars were parked near the side entrance. Jaclyn recognized Carrie’s car, and her smile quickly faded. Carrie had the unique ability to affect time, making a minute seem like an hour, and an hour seem like an eternity in hell. There were times when Jaclyn had wondered what the poor groom saw in the woman he was marrying, but in Carrie’s case she actually felt as if she should call the guy and tell him to run far and run fast.
    As she grabbed her briefcase, slung her purse over her shoulder, and stepped out of the Jag, Jaclyn spotted Gretchen’s car. Her heart dropped. Gretchen wasn’t supposed to be here for another half hour; Jaclyn wouldn’t schedule any vendor to meet with a bridezilla without someone from Premier present to smooth the way. She’d bet the Jag that Carrie had called the dressmaker and changed the time of their meeting. This could not be good.
    Jaclyn picked up her pace as she strode toward the side entrance, hoping she wasn’t too late. She’d taken six steps down the hallway when she found out she was much too late.
    Gretchen turned a corner, all but running toward the parking lot and escape. Her face was red and she was clutching a short length of fabric in one hand. When she saw Jaclyn she skidded to a stop, her jaw clenching for a moment before she let loose.
    “She could pay me a million dollars, and I wouldn’t remake her bridesmaids’ dresses. No amount of money is worth putting up with that bitch.” Gretchen was short and plump, fiftyish and attractive, bottle blond and always nicely dressed. She was also normally easygoing and smiling, but not today. “The bridesmaids can be naked, for all I care.”
    Well, that was fairly definitive. Jaclyn took a deep breath. “What did she say?”
    Gretchen blinked back tears. “Among other things, she said the quality of the work on the dresses is subpar, and I’m lucky she hasn’t fired me. Because my work is so shoddy, she can’t see why I won’t make the new gowns in the next two weeks, because I can’t possibly be that busy, not with so many competent seamstresses in the area.” Gretchen’s chin trembled, then she quickly firmed it. “She said she’d blackball me, that I’d never work on an important wedding again if I didn’t do exactly as she ordered.”
    Jaclyn placed a calming hand on Gretchen’s arm and said in a low voice. “You know better than that. Don’t let her intimidate you. No one in her right mind will take a word she says seriously.”
    “I hope you’re right.” Gretchen gained control of herself. “We’ll find out soon. No matter what, I’m out. Life’s too short to deal with people like her.”
    Jaclyn had to agree, but she was going to do her best to hang in there. The groom’s family was a prominent one; his mother came from an old Georgia family with money up the wazoo, and his father was in state politics. If she could get through the next month, she’d be golden.
    Still, if Carrie ever attempted to hire Premier to plan an event again, they would be much too busy. Even if they were destitute and twiddling their thumbs, they’d be too busy.
    She found Carrie sitting in the main reception hall, claiming a chair near the single table that was set up for her meetings. The rest of the large room was empty, cavernous and open. The stage at the far end of the room was dark, deserted. The hardwood