Crazy Rich Asians author KevinKwanBooks's new novel, Sex and Vanity, is out this month. Read an exclusive excerpt now:
The older doorman checked a list in a leather-bound logbook before giving them a curt nod. “Seventeenth floor, Mr. Pike. Ivan will show you the way.”Renée thought, as they were shown to the elevator by the younger doorman. She remembered walking past the building years ago when she first began house hunting in New York and admiring its splendid facade.
The elevator opened onto an entrance hall, and both Renée and Cecil were taken aback by the sight of the enormous pair of Assyrian sphinxes that were at least ten feet tall flanking a fauxset of doors in vibrant malachite and turquoise. They could hear the murmur of the crowd just beyond the doors. This wasn’t the typical Sister Parish meets Mark Hampton decor they had been expecting; the place had a sumptuous, exotic flair that exuded a relaxed grandeur.
Good, good, Cecil is taller than I would have thought. And the mama’s wearing Oscar from one of his last couture collections for Balmain. I almost bought that suit. She’s much prettier in person than her pictures. No wonder she hooked her pike.Renée flashed her signature million-watt smile and said in her unabashed Texan drawl, “Mrs.
“He really did a marvelous job—it holds up beautifully. Tell me, that portrait of you over the fireplace, is that by Magritte?” Cecil asked in amazement, staring at the painting of Consuelo’s face half obscured by clouds. “Congratulations, young man! I knew your grandfather!” the illustrious ambassador-to-be said to Cecil as he pumped his hand jovially.“The Pike side, of course. My family had a camp up in the Adirondacks too, on Upper Saranac.”“He wasn’t? Aren’t you Cecil Pike IV?”“Usually in Europe. For a few summers my parents rented a villa in the South of—”“No,” Cecil said, reddening a little.
My boy did good. Those fuckers at Saint James School in Houston wouldn’t accept him, but look at him now—marrying into the elite of the elite, the kind of people who have never evenLucie blinked back a few tears, though no one in the room—with perhaps the exception of her mother—would have ever suspected the real reason. After making a few rounds of the drawing room, Cecil and Lucie managed to duck out to the building’s roof garden for a little fresh air.
“You’re too funny. You sound like my Tang grandparents, my mom’s folks. Whenever they saw me, they would always praise my ‘features.’ To them, Freddie and I were the most beautiful creatures in the world, and they were always so proud to show me off to their friends that it made me a little embarrassed. But to some of the people downstairs, it was the polar opposite.
“And that friend of your grandmother’s—Ambassador Harry Stuyvesant Fish—what century is he from? Did anyone inform him that we won the War of Independence?”When I was at Brown, he could never stop making disparaging remarks about it. He called it ‘a repository for ne’er-do-wells and the dregs of deposed European royalty.’ ”“I don’t understand how this man is going to be an ambassador. He wouldn’t know what diplomacy was if it hit him on his fat head.
“They were these rather proper but very charming sisters, Paloma and Mercedes. And they weren’t the strange ones,” Lucie said, suddenly getting a faraway look in her face. “I would love nothing more than to leave this miserable party, but I don’t think there’s enough landing room among these azaleas, and we need to make at least one more round and rescue your mother! Besides, I really think my great-aunt Cushing has taken a fancy to you.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
23 Unpopular 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Opinions That Every Fan Should Read23 Unpopular “Avatar: The Last Airbender” Opinions That Every Fan Should Read
Read more »
Essays and works of journalism by Black authors on racism to read - Business InsiderBusiness Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. Launched in 2007, the site is now the largest business news site on the web.
Read more »
What to Read Today to Stay Informed: Remembering Robert Fuller and Oluwatoyin SalauRead & Resist: Stay informed on the investigation into the hanging of Robert Fuller and the disappearance and death of Oluwatoyin Salau.
Read more »
Must Read: Diane Von Furstenberg Faces Layoffs, An Oral History of Pyer Moss's 2015 ShowPlus, the VogueChallenge is more than a hashtag.
Read more »
How To Read 2020 Polls Like A ProWe’re about to enter the thick of general-election season, which means we’re about to get a boatload of polls. Problem is, it can be hard to know which polls to…
Read more »