"I'm Sophia, the jewelry buyer for Saks," she says. "I have been trying to get in touch with you all week long. I saw your piece on Fox News and Sheila buys some of her clothes from Saks."

"Oh." I wonder where this is going.

She waits while I order my two coffees., and hands a twenty-dollar bill to the barista.

"I'll get these," she says referring to my coffees.

"Wow, Sophia, that's not necessary."

Way necessary. New BFF Sophia. Where have you been these past eight weeks?

"I want to take some of your samples to the board meeting today. I think Beadnicks will go in our spring line."

I put both cups of coffee down, afraid of third-degree burn due to me dropping them from shock.

Am I okay? No. This is big.

Compose yourself. Breathe, Hallie, breathe.

"I'd be honored to sit down and talk with you about Beadnicks and a spring line."

We make an appointment during lunch.

Sophia and I walk over to Saks together. She asks me how I got started with beading, and where I'm going with it. I tell her about the boutiques in Chicago and how I plan on moving home in a few weeks. And my business will be fully run in Chicago because my accountant is there.

"What about Gucci?" She brings up a good point. "You know this is going to be very lucrative for you?"

She looks at me the way Inas had looked at me. All-knowing, uncomfortably so.

I do. I have a feeling this is going to be bigger than I can imagine. The anticipation is building more, causing my insides to curl. My roller coaster mood is now on the best part of the ride.

It's hard to keep a straight face when I see Beatrice. It's a fine line doing Beadnicks business on Gucci time.

"Why do you keep checking your watch?" Beatrice asks.

She is trying to go over last week's numbers as we do every Monday before the boutique opens, but I can't keep my head in the game.

"I need to take lunch at eleven." I try to keep my excitement in check.

"It's only eight-thirty. I'll let you know when it's ten-forty five." Beatrice's eyes narrow in suspicion.

I wink at her and dig into the numbers.

After we dissect the numbers. I pick out a few key pieces for the boutique's fall line when the call came. The call I'm not expecting to get at work.

"This is Hallie." I speak in my chipper, oblivious voice. "How can I help you?"

"Why did you leave?" Bo's voice sounds dreamy to my ears.

Stop! Red flag! Don't fall for his tricks again.

"I had to get back for the fall line." Lie, lie, lie.

He doesn't like a liar, but I don't like a cheater. "I'm a little too busy to discuss our personal relationship. Remember, we agreed, no commitment while I'm away."

"I thought we connected and I was .... " he stops and I wait. "I want to make sure you're still coming up this weekend for the concert?"

Oh, yeah! You bet I am! I wouldn't miss it for the world. Or are you asking for a little pre-planning time so Piper won't be there?

"I hope to make it," I say.

"Well, I want you to." He insists. "I really want to see you there, Hallie. I'm a little confused. You don't sound like the same person."

"Listen, Bo," I've got to get off the phone before I start crying and yelling at him. "I'm really busy and I can't take personal calls here. Can I call you later?"

"I tried calling your cell and it's turned off. As a matter of fact, it was turned off all day yesterday."

Man, he's good. He's starting to make me wonder if my eyes are deceiving me. But since they're making me some good deals on beading designs, I'm going to have to side with my eyes.

"Okay, then, bye." I hang up.

I lay my head on my desk and don't pick it up until the phone buzzes again. Albeit just thirty seconds later, but it does.

"This is Hallie." I'm not going through the rigmaroles of the title I'm supposed to use when I answer the phone.

"Hey, girl." Prudence's voice is music to my ears.

She's going to love my news. I let her in on Sophia and her idea for Beadnicks and Saks. I even think she's jumping up and down because I can hear the clunk of her heels in a castanet kind of way.

"You need a lawyer," she says. "Daddy is doing business there and Wilson is flying back with him. I'm going to draw up a few contracts with all the particulars. You're going to fax me. And I mean fax me now. I'm going to be sitting next to you."

It's actually a great idea. Besides a plane ride from Chicago to Cincinnati is only forty five minutes. The legal side of the business never crosses my mind. I'm excited Saks has an interest. It's never been about legality or money, until now.

Chapter Thirty-Nine.

"Hallie, I hate to disturb you before you get ready for your lunch date, but a really fancy lady is here to see you." Beatrice nervously bit her lip.

I throw my head back and start laughing. I forgot to tell Beatrice about Prudence.

"She claims she doesn't need an appointment." She hesitates.

I can totally picturing Prudence acting highfaluting.

"Head-to-toe Gucci?" I confirm.

"Yes." Beatrice's eyes pop open. She whispers, "Is she with corporate?"

"No. Best friend from Chicago, and a lawyer." I don't want to tell her about the meeting, but she latches on to it.

"Lawyer? Why do you need a lawyer?"I glance out to see Prudence holding items up to her waist.

"Listen, Beatrice, this is very serious." I want to stress how important it is for her not to say anything and make sure she knows how much trouble I can get into with doing Beadnicks work on Gucci time. She grabs the edge of the desk waiting for she thinks will be dreadful.

But it's just the opposite.

"Yea!" Beatrice does her famous snoopy dance around the office.

Prudence bursts through the door, ready to hurt someone. "What's wrong?"

I sit on the edge of the desk, basking in the fun. Beatrice grabs Prudence and hugs her.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm so happy for Hallie." She continues to dance around my office.

"Stop before you break your ankles in those four-inchers." I point to her Gucci Drew high-heeled sandals with zip closure.

"I love those." Prudence bends to inspect them a little closer.

"New line for the fall." Beatrice points her toe to accentuate the shoe. "I've got connections." She smiles at me.

"Prudence, Beatrice, Prudence." I've never noticed how much their love for Gucci makes them more alike than not. "Beatrice is my assistant."

"Assistant extraordinaire." She is proud to be helping me out and I'm proud to help her out.

"What was all the noise?" Prudence asks and frees herself from Beatrice.

"Beatrice just found out why you're here."

"Oh." She did a double take at Beatrice. I can tell she's sizing her up to see if she'll rat me out.

"Don't worry. I haven't done anything on company time. I've done a pretty good job of keeping them separate."

"I hate to interrupt, but it's almost eleven." Beatrice rolls up on her tiptoes and hands me my purse. "I'll have fresh coffee for the two of you when you get back."

I look back and Beatrice holds her crossed fingers in the air.

"Wish us luck." I gush, rushing out the door with Prudence hard on my heels.

We make it over to the board meeting just as they were getting back from lunch.

Sophia met us at the office doors in Saks.

"Ladies, I'm glad you found us okay." She smiles. "You must be Prudence. Hallie told me her lawyer might be attending. It makes the bigwigs see that Beadnicks is a real operation, even though Hallie started it out of her home." Sophia is all business with Prudence.

We follow Sophia and take a seat around a huge twelve-person conference table. All twelve, apparently, are needed to sign off on any deal. I'm glad I've got my one person, Prudence, on my side.

Once everyone sits down, Sophia asks me to give some background information on myself as well as Beadnicks. My life isn't that exciting or fun, and by the looks of it, the suits feel the same way. It looks as though they want me to stand on my head and juggle balls with my feet.

Luckily, Sophia seems to understand. Her smile shows true sparkling happiness at the idea of what Beadnicks can bring to her counters.

"I want to share some of the statistics from the Channel 19 viewers when Sheila Gray wears Beadnicks." Sophia hands out copies.

I have no idea how she got the statistics and I don't care. The only thing I care about is that three out of five emails are about my single orange bracelet. And that's from just the first broadcast, not since she's been wearing the new stuff.

My mind and heart are fighting each other to see who can give me a freak attack first. How the hell am I going to keep up with all these orders?

All the suits look pleased with the stats on the spreadsheet in front of them.

"How long do you think this trend will last?" The suit closest to me asks. She snickers under her breath. "Do you think you can keep up with the David Yurmans of the world?"

I don't like her attitude or the tone of her voice.

"Obviously you like Mr. Yurman by the bracelet you are wearing, but what about all the other people who can't afford Mr. Yurman?" I point to her bracelet. "Or Gucci?" I use my hand to wave across my Gucci ensemble.

I continue on the attack. "I have over four hundred orders from four different high-end Chicago boutiques before Saks came knocking on my door." I pull out the copies of spreadsheets showing what I've already sold.

"I'm already selling out in a boutique in Hyde Park." I start to distribute them one by one. "These reflect this fall's colors, with the anticipation of a spring line. The orders are already streaming in, using spring colors and many new designs."

"If you notice, Beadnicks and Fit Pregnancy joined forces on the fall fashion shoot, shot here on your own Fountain Square." Prudence passes out the copies for each suit. "This will hit the shelves in two months. I can guarantee you a write-up on the copy that Saks here in Cincinnati provided the clothing from the Gucci boutique and Beadnicks jewelry featured in Saks."

"What are you saying?" The stone cold suit asks Prudence.

"I'm saying that you're going to make a grave mistake if you don't consider a prime location in your jewelry case for Beadnicks and you're going to be missing out on an excellent business opportunity." Prudence picks up her briefcase and motions for me to follow her. "We will be anticipating your phone call. You will find our terms in the marketing packet Beadnicks has put together for you to be agreeable."

Prudence leaves the business proposals in the middle of the table.

Sophia along with the other twelve suits watch us leave in silence. It's a long silence that rang in my ears with a frightfulness I've never felt.

"Keep walking and don't say a word." Prudence's heels clink as she struts down the hall of Saks, head held high with perfect posture in tow.

Her legs are so long, I have to run to keep up with her.

"What was that?" I slam the door to my office. "I think you just flushed my retirement down the toilet."

I fan my face. It feels like it's on fire.

"That's how business is done, my dear." Prudence pulls a bottle of champagne out of her bag and two plastic Dixie cups. "I wasn't going to sit there and let little Miss Puritan tear apart something important to you. We don't need Saks! We have Chicago and Nordstrom's."

Her eyes flash at the exact moment the cork darts across the room. "Woo-hoo!"

She pours a little champagne in my cup and a lot in her cup.

"Nordstrom's?" I question.