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Part III - Chapter 11
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2021-08-23 02:54:18“As you can see, Rachel, orders for Legal Briefs have skyrocketed since your picture landed on the front page of every newspaper in town,”
Having spent most of the previous day staring at numbers, and most of the previous night celebrating what those numbers revealed, Rachel’s eyes weren’t entirely focused on the list Peter placed in front of her.
“So, you can understand our interest in booking as many events as we can while you’re still a hot property. How long do you think the case will last?”
“I’m hoping to have the charges dismissed, so it should be over fairly soon.” Rachel wearily handed the paper back to Peter. “In fact, as soon as we’re finished here, I’m going to try to find a judge who will order an emergency hearing. The new evidence I’ll present to the court should clear my client completely,”
“Damn,” Peter swore. “Any chance yo
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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
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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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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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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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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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“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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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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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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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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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
