CHAPTER TWO HUNDRED AND EIGHTY ONE – ON A BITTER NOTE

"What the hell is going on here?" Charlotte demanded, her voice shaking with fury. Richard jumped up, nearly spilling his drink. "Charlotte! It's not what it looks like, I swear!" Sabrina, for her part, didn't even bother to look embarrassed. She simply stretched languidly, a cat-like smile on her face. "Oh, don't be such a prude, Charlotte. We were just reminiscing about old times." Charlotte felt as if she might be sick. "Old times? At three in the morning, in our private suite?" Richard approached her, his hands held out in a placating gesture. "Charlotte, please. Sabrina just stopped by to borrow a book. We got to talking, that's all." "Talking," Charlotte repeated flatly. "Right. And I suppose she needed to sit in your lap to do that?" Sabrina laughed, the sound grating on Charlotte's already frayed nerves. "Oh, darling. If you're so insecure that you can't handle Richard having a simple conversation with an old friend, perhaps you're not the right woman for him after all."