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Part II - Chapter 1
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2021-08-23 02:36:42It was unusually cold and cloudy for mid-July. The gloomy weather perfectly mirrored Alex’s mood when he returned to work. His right ear throbbed painfully after being subjected for several hours to the monotonous, repetitious ringing of an unanswered telephone. Exhausted and frustrated, he’d finally fallen into an oblivious sleep sometime around two a.m., only to be awakened by an obnoxiously chipper radio dj a scant five hours later.
The usual routine of the day was transformed into an emotional roller coaster ride, with Alex the only passenger. Each time the front door opened, or the telephone rang, he felt a jolt of heightened anticipation, immediately followed by a sharp plunge into an abyss of disappointment when he realized that whoever it was, wasn’t Rachel.
Alex tried to put her out of his thoughts by concentrating on a variety of mindless chores as he got ready for his move to Albany. He organized his files, straightened out his desk and com
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The glare of the early morning sun reflected off the smooth mahogany desk and shot straight into Alex’s face. He got up from the floor, where he had been trying to adjust the height of the massive desk chair, and closed the blinds. From the moment he had stepped into the ornate office, he knew it was going to take much more than a few slight modifications to the furniture to make him feel comfortable in his new surroundings.The shiny metallic nameplate that read “Alex S. Bentley, Director of Postal Operations”, looked as out of place on the antique wooden door as Alex felt sitting behind the hand-polished desk surrounded by the luxurious paneling, leather furnishings and plush carpet. He was only three hours away from his quiet rural home, but he felt as if he were in a foreign country. He had six months to adjust to his new surroundings, but for now, he needed only to adjust one piece of furniture.Alex continued to struggle with the stubborn chair
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“Jane, did the mail get here yet?” Mark shouted into the hall.“That’s the third time you asked me in the last five minutes, and the answer is still no,” His wife walked into his office with a fresh cup of coffee. “I’ll check again.”“Dammit! It’s after three and I have to file those papers before five. I told that ass to use FedEx, but he’s too damn cheap.”Mark threw some files into his briefcase, slammed it shut, and began pacing the floor. Maybe Rachel was right, he thought, leaving all this behind to pursue a more relaxed, less stressful career. It had been wonderful to see her again, but when she began to ask questions about their relationship, he hadn’t been totally honest. Yes, he had walked out, abruptly, letting her think that the reason was because of her lack of interest in their profession, but that was only part of it. He had, in fact, been planning to break up with her w
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When Alex arrived at his office the next morning, he found a huge stack of files waiting for him. Sighing in frustration, he sat down and began the seemingly endless task of reading through and sorting yet another pile of mindless paperwork. It was well past noon when he finally finished the last file and he was just about to leave for lunch when Brad walked in and dropped a new stack on his desk.“This is ridiculous!” Alex’s irritation was obvious, “Most of this stuff is just interoffice memos and application forms. I’m sure we can eliminate a great deal of this paperwork by sending e-mail. Brad, where’d Nate hide the computer?”“Mr. Richman didn’t use a computer, Alex. In fact, he refused to have any modern technology in his office at all. He was quite adamant about it, too. He’d mail letters to Washington, protesting the sales of stamps at ATMs and grocery stores, accusing these modern conveniences of steal
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“Rachel, what kind of crap is this?” Peter practically threw the pages in her face. “Look, I read Legal Briefs, so I know you can write a helluva lot better than this. I suggest you take the next few days and show me I didn’t make a big mistake signing that contract,”Feeling like a little child being called to the principal’s office, Rachel collected the papers and meekly put them back into her briefcase.“I’m sorry, Peter. You know it’s been a very hectic week with the interviews and promotion..,”“I’m not interested in excuses, Ms Clark,” Peter interrupted her, which made Rachel feel even smaller. “I’m only interested in results. You have the weekend. Three of your best written chapters had better be on my desk Monday morning, or I may have to call your agent. Do I make myself clear?”“This homework assignment had better
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On a normal work day, Cynthia Anderson would never have been rude to a customer, but this was no ordinary workday. So, when the woman had called looking for Alex, she had to quote right from the rule book. She couldn’t take the chance of her conversation being overheard by the two men who had walked in that morning flashing official badges from the US Postal Inspection Service.They told her that they were only performing a routine audit and asked to see the books, which she produced for them in less than one minute. The badges might be a new contemporary design, but the anxiety they created when shown to a postal employee was the same as it had been ever since they were first issued by Benjamin Franklin to William Goddard, the first post office Surveyor in 1776.Postal Inspectors performed their jobs efficiently and professionally, but so did the IRS. Even though the general public was grateful when their watchful eye put law breakers behind bars, no one e
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Over the past six hours, Rachel’s emotions had run the gamut from anticipation, he’ll be here soon, to concern, he’s late. I hope he’s ok, to annoyance, it’s past eight. He could have called!, to disappointment, it’s almost nine, I don’t think he’s coming, and finally to relief when she heard the lobby security guard announce Alex’s arrival. Three minutes later, he was at her front door.“Rachel, I’m really sorry I’m so late, but just when I was about to leave, I got a call that one of our postmasters was in trouble and I had to get in touch with our association legal representative.He followed her into the living room and casually dropped himself onto her couch.“Make yourself at home,” she smiled.Even though he’d never been in her apartment, she was amazed at how comfortable he was. It was as if he’d been there many times
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Dawn in Manhattan. Rachel stood by her window, mesmerized by the breathtaking mural of fiery shades in orange, radiant blue and luminescent yellow, set against the stark gray buildings of the most famous skyline in the world. A wallpaper of colors only nature’s artistry could paint.She never tired of the view, but this morning in particular, it looked especially breathtaking. Drinking her third cup of coffee, she watched the world come alive from her kitchen nook, eighteen stories above Central Park. Rachel felt a surge of confidence, strength, and renewal, not only coming from the rays of a brand new sunrise, but from her own feeling of accomplishment radiating from the 127 finished pages of Guilty Pleasures that lay in a neat pile on her kitchen table.Rachel had typed straight through the night. Dialogue and phrases which had stubbornly eluded her only days before were now flowing effortlessly from her re-ignited creativity, as her fingers typed page
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It was past three when Alex rang the back door buzzer of his former Postoffice. Cynthia looked up from the desk, quickly put away the books and papers she had been reading and opened the door.“Alex! I wasn’t expecting to see you for another few months,”Cynthia sounded a bit nervous and Alex realized it might appear that he was checking up on her, so he explained his surprise visit.“I decided to come home for the weekend and was just going to drive by, but then I saw your car and wanted to see how you were doing. I didn’t know you’d be working late on a Saturday, but I’m glad you were,”Alex began his own tour of the Postoffice. It was all so familiar, yet in a way, a bit strange. He had only been gone a few weeks, yet already he felt as if he had never been here at all. The paperwork was stacked in a neat pile, the counter was perfectly organized and the rest of the office was spotless. At first he hadn&r
Last Updated : 2021-08-23
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Alex woke the next morning, expecting to find Rachel’s warm body cuddled next to him, but when he stretched his arm over the cold mattress, he discovered he was alone in the king size bed.An annoying tapping sound, coming from the far corner of the bedroom, irritated his semi-conscious nerves. Bewildered, he opened his eyes a slit and scanned the room until he located the source of the noise.Seated at the faux antique desk, Rachel was vigorously hitting the laptop keyboard, her attention fixed intently on the screen. Alex sighed and rolled over to glance at the clock on the end table. He was surprised to read a single-digit hour and even more surprised to see that the hour was a six.Not wanting to interrupt her concentration, he propped himself up on his elbow and silently watched as she typed. He could only imagine the words flowing from her delicate, sensuous fingers, the same fingers that had made several painful indentations in his back the night be
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The Catskill Mountain region of upstate New York was in the middle of an Indian summer. Although the calendar read October, the temperature was a blissful seventy-five degrees. Perfect climate for an outdoor wedding.Rachel and Alex walked through the opulent glass entranceway and into a Victorian setting alive with color and beauty. The lobby was decorated in vibrant tones of mauve, olive, and gold, as brilliant as the fall foliage of the countryside.Rachel was amazed to find herself in such an elegant setting in what she considered to be the middle of nowhere. The gothic pillars, mahogany registration desk, and the full crystal chandelier reminded her of some of the best European hotels she had visited on her book tour. She couldn’t think of a better atmosphere for a wedding.“I see Brad at the bar,” Alex said, looking toward his left. “Mind if I join him?”“Not at all. I’ll get our room key and meet you in a f
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For the next six weeks, Rachel devoted herself to her extensive promotional schedule. She traveled the European Book Festival circuit, making personal appearances at every small town throughout Scotland and Germany and attended numerous booksigning events in London and Paris.She returned to the States as guest speaker at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, then flew on to personally meet booksellers at Chicago’s BookExpo America and represent Prelude Press at the American Booksellers Association Convention.During the final conference presentations, it was announced that Legal Briefs had received the National Book Foundation’s award in New Fiction. She flew to New York City on the next flight to attend the awards banquet, which took place the night before Brad and Tanya’s wedding.The moment her plane landed in Newark, Rachel called Alex on her cell phone, but the line was busy. She tried the number a few more times before giving
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“Actually, Mr. Williams, I was surprised to receive your phone call this morning, but I’m very glad to be here,”Cynthia had just finished breakfast when Peter called, requesting a meeting in his office at three thirty to discuss her contract. Feeling the rush of future wealth, she immediately took a cab downtown and treated herself to a manicure, pedicure, facial, hair style and entirely new wardrobe.“You presented a very convincing case, Ms. Anderson. We usually don’t sign contracts directly with authors, which is why I also invited Ms. Glickman here. She’ll be acting as your agent on the contract negotiations and Joan will be your editor,”Cynthia ignored the introductions as she waited impatiently for Peter to hand her the contract and her check.“You were Rachel’s, I mean Ms. Clark’s agent, weren’t you?” she asked Sandra haughtily.“Yes,” Sandra said through c
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A melancholy drizzle fell over the Postal Headquarters Building at eight-thirty Wednesday morning. From the plush leather chair in his office, Alex solemnly watched the drops of rain trickle down the windows. It looked to him as if the heavens were crying tears of disappointment over his recent betrayal.He spent most of the previous night with a glass of bourbon in one hand and the remote control in the other, his guilt not allowing him the freedom of sleep. At four in the morning, he made a decision. After finishing his drink, he put on an old pair of jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers and spent the next four hours transporting his belongings from the Voorheesville apartment to his car.He drove to the Albany office under a dark and dismal sky. After signaling the security guard to open the front door, he entered the empty building and took the stairs to his office. He purposefully arrived long before the rest of the staff. He needed uninterrupted time alone to write his r
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A thick fog forced Alex to drive slowly through the streets of Albany. The occasional green traffic light shining through the haze reminded him of the pleading look in Rachel’s eyes when he’d left her at the curb.Once the fog cleared, Alex turned on the cruise control and let his thoughts wander. While his hands directed the car straight toward Voorheesville, his mind returned him to the scene in the lobby of the Prelude Press office hours earlier.The phones rang constantly, keeping Allison distracted as Alex wandered around. He watched with amusement as a short hefty woman about fifty-ish, stormed through the lobby doors like a hurricane, interrupting Allison’s phone call and demanding, in a voice that nearly shook the windows, to see Mr. Williams immediately. Allison started to hit the intercom, but the woman refused to wait, blowing past Alex and disappearing down the hallway.He checked his watch, wondering how long Rachel’
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It wasn’t the six words Peter spoke that terrified Rachel, it was the frightening tone of utter devastation in his voice that paralyzed her vocal cords.“Peter? What’s wrong?” she croaked.“I don’t wish to discuss this over the phone, Rachel. You’ll need to come to my office immediately. I’ve already sent the car to pick you up,”“You sent a car? Peter, I’m not even dressed,”“Get your ass into this office dressed or undressed, within the hour, understand?”The phone went dead in her hand. Rachel jumped from the couch and ran into the bedroom. A concerned Alex followed her.“Rachel, what’s wrong?”“I have no idea,” She grabbed underwear from the drawer and hurriedly changed her clothes.“That was Peter. He said something about a serious problem and that he wanted to see me right now,”&ldquo
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Alex waited in the truck while Rachel met the officers, who were finishing their search of Cynthia’s house. Rachel was handed a stack of credit card receipts, money orders and several bank statements, which she put into her briefcase. She thanked the detective and the officers and left to join Alex.During the short drive to his house, he was unusually quiet. Rachel was excitedly telling him how important the papers were to their case, but his mind was a million miles away. After pulling into the driveway, Alex lefy the truck and waited for Rachel to meet him before unlocking the front door.He took three steps into the house and closed the door behind them. Before Rachel had a chance to sit down, he gently pulled her toward him, his arms encircling her slender body and feverishly began kissing her.Rachel dropped her briefcase and purse, freeing her hands and returned his embrace. His hands gently stroked her back as he lightly kissed her neck, his mousta
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Rachel’s breathing was beginning to return to normal. “I noticed you were leaving, which is why I just ran the three second dash to catch up to you. There’s been a lot of activity in the past few hours and we need to talk about your case,”“I was going to lunch. Can you join me?”“Absolutely. Let me get my purse and briefcase from the car and I’ll tell the officers to go along without me. I’ll be right back,”As Alex got into his truck and waited for Rachel to return, images flashed through his mind with lightning speed. Tanya flying to West Palm Beach. Cynthia getting arrested on her way to the same destination. Rachel showing up in Crystal Lake.The last mental picture froze his thought process. Rachel was here with him and all the other images were no longer of any consequence. He was about to light a cigarette when he heard the passenger side of the truck open.“Got one of those
