“How much money does Antonio want?” I asked, despite the alarm bells going off inside his head. “Also, explain how you come up with the money for Joe if you get another week.”

“Twenty thousand,” she replied, looking down at her hands. “We’re already wiped clean from the last time. There’s nothing left to get that kind of money quickly. That’s why Joe tried to kill himself. He’s desperate and knows about our insurance. I’m going to get a loan on our insurance policy, but I need time. There’s no other way to do it.”

The room went quiet. Twenty thousand owed to a gangster made this situation a whole lot worse. Hell, in some parts of the country, they’d kill you for your damn sneakers during my own time.

“Well, I can safely say your husband is a moron,” I finally declared. “Maybe you should just get the hell out of town.”

Panic flashed across her face.

“What do you think he’ll do to my husband and me if we try to leave? I’m not stupid. They’re watching the house. The only thing left is to sell everything: my company, my house and all our possessions. I can’t do that in a week. And what happens then?” Sally snapped, then looked down at her bag.

“Joe will still be back, losing more of the money. Can’t you understand I need help? I told you I’m sorry for how I treated you last night. Don’t torture me.”

Sally’s shoulders drooped slightly, and she refused to look at me.

Damn, why throw this at me?

“Listen, it’s not about how you treated me. I’m thinking out loud,” I scrambled to reassure her and himself. “Believe it or not, I want to help. I’m trying to think of a way where we don’t get killed in the process.”

He emphasized the last sentence before going quiet.

“You can’t go to the cops now.” I mumbled to myself. “Antonio will claim you’re lying, then he’ll really come after you.”

“Obviously!” The woman’s sarcasm made me shot her a glare.

“Besides that, if I don’t end up dead for talking to the cops, I have the business to worry about as well. We’re a literary publication,” Sally explained after hesitating. “That’s why I didn’t call the ambulance last night. The publicity would hurt us. All I need is reporters blasting my company’s name all over the papers. My writers and readers will think the entire enterprise is turning into a circus.”

I drummed my fingers on the desktop. Nothing came to my head beyond the idea of evil men hunting me with guns. Sally just plopped a nasty surprise on my lap. I carried the ability and experience of a college kid who lives on part time work to survive. It did not matter if she was beautiful. She’s dealing with gangsters who cut off people’s ears for fun.

“Alright, I’m going to think about this.” I tried to sound like I might have a plan.

“I guess since I confessed, I don’t have any money left. You’re worried that I can’t pay your bill. That’s it, isn’t it?” Her tone grew icy, just like the night before.

“Damn it, what the hell else do you want? A fucking contract written in my blood. Give me until tomorrow to see if I can come up with an idea. What you’re asking is not a simple request.”

Maybe I’m the one that leaves town. No, I can’t leave.

Sally gazed at me for a long time. I recognized the look. She wanted to trust me, but she couldn’t. Adele showed me the same expression before.

“I guess I don’t have much choice. If you decide to help, you can reach me at Usher Magazine or my home.” She sighed and rose from the couch.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Sally hurried out of the office as I stood at my office door watching her. Wandering into the outer office, I leaned against Alice’s desk.

“Tell me something, Alice. Why is it I keep coming into this office? Am I just as nuts as the world out there?” The room remained silent to my questions. I continued talking.

“I think I need to put all of this down on paper. I started thinking about a kind of diary in a way. All the weird, terrifying shit that I’ve been forced to handle might make a great story. A bitch and her goons push me into this place. People don’t realize they look like movie stars. Now I’ve got a woman getting screwed over by a gangster.”

Lifting my face to the ceiling, I suppressed the urge to scream.

“All I want to go home, pack the bags and take Adele as far away from Stull Junction as I can go.”

I looked at the secretary’s chair.

“Is that too much to ask?”

When I arrived at the apartment after meeting with Sally, my brain remained in turmoil. However, the delightful smell coming from the kitchen led me in there. Adele stood by the white enamel stove, repeatedly stirring a saucepan. She smiled at me when she saw me eyeing the pans.

“I made chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes,” she announced. “I’m almost finished.”

Now, this is pretty cool, I thought as I stood next to her.

“Can I help?”

“No, I’ve got everything covered. Everything is staying warm in the oven.”

She looked at my face, reaching up to touch me on the cheek.

“How is your head doing? Any problems come back?” Her heartfelt tone was so sweet.

I laughed, never expecting to hear those words, and she gave me a confused look. I gave her a hug.

“I’m doing just fine, angel.”

When she turned back to the stove, I put my arms around her waist while placing my chin on her shoulder.

“You know, I could get used to this. A beautiful woman cooking for me and asking me how my day went.”

Her smile caught my eye, and I turned her head with my hand. As we kissed, I felt a strong urge building. She realized my thoughts.

“It’ll have to wait until after dinner. I don’t want things to burn.”

“With that kind of promise, I’ll get the plate and silverware,” my fingers groped her ass.

Now, dinner was superb. Adele is a splendid cook. However, my dessert playing with Adele in the master bedroom brought the day to a delightful finish. While my lover mentioned her soreness from the morning’s fun, she never backed off. I gave her my full attention while we enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh over the next hour.

Afterward, we lay together naked and covered in sweat on top of the blanket while I nuzzled her ear. I was content not to think about the bomb that Sally left at my office. Adele told me about her time with Jenny. She noticed my expression at the mention of her friend. I pointed out that some people in life aren’t happy unless they can make other people feel miserable. To my surprise, Adele agreed. However, she avoided talking more about it, changing the subject to my work.

“Tell me something.” I ran my index finger around her nipple as she squirmed from the tickling. “Do you want me to be a private investigator?”

She turned her head with a surprised expression.

“You said you wanted to do something else. What is it?”

I shrugged.

“I think I need to do this for a short while, but I have a bigger goal.”

Her surprise remained as she pressed for more.

“What is that?”

A mysterious grin curled on my lips.

“Well, it’s a secret for now. But I promise that you’ll be the first to know when I figure it more about how to achieve it.”

I might be lying to her. I didn’t know. But my time with Sally told me I’m going to need to think about exposing myself to dangerous situations. For some reason, Miss Wonderful’s words stuck in my head. Feisty and using my brains were the words, and they showed me that some type of risk awaited.

Since I already changed the path that I walked with Adele and moved to keep her at my side, my fate might have changed. Maybe a change in my work might prove worthwhile.

“Did something happen at your office today?” Adele’s question brought me out of my thoughts.

After consideration, I let her know the gist of the conversation while explaining my accidental meeting with her and Joe. I wavered, debating the wisdom of my actions. However, I made a commitment to fix the situation with Adele. That required developing trust. After a few questions, Adele again surprised me.

“I’ve seen Sally Vaugh’s picture in the newspaper when her company had authors in the city. I guess you feel sorry for her.”

I nodded absently.

“Yeah, I suppose so. But she’s carrying a load of trouble that I don’t need.”

“But you like trouble.” she rolled to her side and pulled in close on his arm. “You used to tell me it kept you from getting bored.”

Adele frowned when he failed to reply.

“Sally Vaugh is quite a beauty.

I rolled my eyes, and she laughed.

“Don’t worry, I’m not being jealous.”

“That’s good. I told her she’s a double for Veronica Lake. She didn’t know who I meant.”

“Is Veronica an old girlfriend of yours?”

I looked over and saw Adele didn’t recognize the name either.

Just another instance of this crazy world, I decided.