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He leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Sure, I’ll stay with you tonight. But, let’s not leave together and start a new round of talk. What’s your address?”
I told him.
“Okay. When the party is over, just go home and wait up for me.”
How was I going to live through the next three hours?
The urge to immediately shove every single one of the seven Black Pack members and their guests out the front door almost overwhelmed me.
Alyssa couldn’t even pretend to have a good time. She was crying softly as she hugged me. “Jackie, I just want you to know that I’m in your corner. I have a new job now, and it wouldn’t have happened without your help.”
I squeezed her back in delight. “So, Pam Silberstein hired you at Hamilton Welsh & Hamilton?”
“Yes, I’m the new senior editor. But Jackie, I don’t want to talk about that. Isn’t there something I can do to help you out of this crazy situation?”
“Even if there were, Alyssa, I wouldn’t let you get involved in this.”
She jerked her chin stubbornly. “If you call on me for help, I’ll be there. No matter what anyone else thinks about it.”
Those were almost the same words I’d said to her such a short time ago, and I had to blink back tears.
“Thanks, Alyssa.”
She held onto my arm as I started to move away and looked directly into my eyes. “I’m not letting you go until you promise to keep in touch.”
“I promise. By the way, Pam Silberstein is one of the smartest and nicest people I’ve ever met. Stick with her—she’s real cool.”
Alyssa nodded and melted into the crowd.
I mingled, joked, and accepted affirmations of faith for a while and then my feet started to hurt so I took a seat at the bar.
“Are you having a good time?” asked Paul, parking himself on the stool beside me.
I crunched a potato chip and nodded. “This is wonderful, Paul. I don’t know how to thank you.”
He swallowed and cleared his throat. “By staying out of jail. A weekly trip up to Bedford Hills is not how I want to spend the rest of my life.”
Bedford Hills was New York State’s maximum security prison for women.
There was moisture at the corners of his eyes, so I jabbed him in the stomach to lighten things up. “Oh, come on, Paul. I could write a string of best sellers with that kind of time on my hands.”
He laughed. “Yeah. And Elaine Garner could be your editor.”
“I’m sure that’s what they taught her at Harvard.”
He finished the joke. “That’s right. Make the money. After all, this is a business.”
We giggled like children.
Dallas wandered over. “Seems like the party is really over here in this corner,” she grinned. “What’s with all the gaiety and merriment?”
Paul filled her in and she whooped with laughter.
“Penelope Aaron can be your agent. All the Black talk she has picked up over the years will come in real handy in the visiting room,” Dallas said.
“Those women would kick her ass into infinity if she walked up in there spouting that shit,” I said flatly.
Dallas took me by the elbow and whispered in my ear, “I need to talk to you alone.”
