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And as Dooley started listing all the trouble Advantage’s CEO was facing, Brutus fell back, and gestured for me to do the same.

“I don’t know what to do, Max,” he told me in a low voice once we were out of Harriet’s earshot.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Harriet wants me to be in the shoot with her. She says it’s important for the contrast. She calls it the beauty and the beast effect. But I don’t know. Do I really want to be the beast to her beauty? WhenCat Life hits the stands I’m going to be the laughingstock of the whole town. They’re never going to let me live it down.”

“I think you’ll find that these short bursts of notoriety pass very quickly,” I said. “It’s just one news cycle, Brutus. The next day something else pops up, and that picture will be yesterday’s news, that copy ofCat Life used to put at the bottom of the litter box.”

He gave me a look of astonishment.“My face is going to be at the bottom of a litter box?”

“At the bottom of many litter boxes all across the country, I’m sure. Or to wrap up a nice fat piece of codfish. Or even to light a fire in the stove.” I gave him a pat on the shoulder. “What’s more important: Harriet’s face is going to serve the same purpose. So there’s something to consider.”

His face lit up with a smile.“I better not tell her. She’ll be appalled.”

“Fame is fleeting, Brutus, and so is notoriety. So I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Gee, thanks, Max. You certainly put things in perspective for me.”

“Glad to be of assistance, buddy. Now you be the beast to Harriet’s beauty, and have fun while you’re at it. It’s not every day that you get to be a photo model.”

I didn’t want to bore him with my private thoughts about the dark clouds gathering over the Advantage Publishing Company. It just might detract from his enjoyment, and Harriet’s, over being the belle of the ball for a day—or the beast.

[Êàðòèíêà: img_4]

On the other side of town, Alec Lip and Charlene Butterwick were panting heavily. They’d just tried out another tip from thatGlimmer article’15 Ways to Spice up Your Love Life,’ as written by one Tom Mitchell, and were frankly beat.

“I don’t know how people do it,” Alec lamented as he placed a hand on his painful back. “I think I’ve pulled a muscle—or ten.”

“Me, too,” said Charlene. She tried to move her leg and when a spasm shot through it, winced. “This Tom Mitchell, whoever he is, must be a sadist.”

“Or a masochist,” Alec supplied. “One of them BDSM fanatics.”

“You liked the whip, though, didn’t you?”

“The whip was fine, until your secretary walked in.”

“Imelda is very discreet,” Charlene assured her boyfriend.

“I’ll bet she is. So discreet the whole town will know about our escapades by this time tomorrow.”

Charlene frowned at this piece of news.“You think?”

“Absolutely. Her best friend is Dolores Peltz, and Dolores just happens to be the precinct’s biggest blabbermouth. So if she knows, everybody knows.”

“Oh, let them gossip,” said Charlene. “We’re consenting adults, and we’re doing nothing wrong.”

“No, I guess not,” said Alec, wiping the beads of sweat from his brow. “Still, it’s going to be weird when the chief of police and the mayor are the talk of the town.”

“It might help me with my ratings,” said Charlene as she gingerly crawled back into bed, from where they’d fallen when practicing this latest stunt. “Ouch,” she muttered when another twinge of pain shot through her leg. “I just hope I’ll be able to walk tomorrow.” A spicy love life was one thing, but not if it turned you into a cripple.

“I’m going to have a word with this Tom Mitchell,” Alec grunted as he stretched out on the floor, hoping to give his painful back some respite.

“He probably doesn’t even exist. TheseGlimmer editors all use fake names so they can avoid people complaining about the stuff they write.” She glanced down at her boyfriend. “Do you want to move on to number four on the list?” But Alec gave her such a look of despair that she quickly dropped the idea. To be honest, she’d had enough herself for a while. “How about I warm up a pancake and make us some hot chocolate?” she suggested.

“Oh, yes, please,” said Alec. He tried to get up, but failed. “Maybe a little later.”

They hadn’t wanted to turn into a boring old couple, but sometimes you simply had to accept the naked facts: they were a boring old couple, and there was nothing wrong with that.

So she turned on Netflix, and before long they were engrossed in the latest romantic comedy, this one of Brazilian origin. Tom Mitchell might not approve, but she didn’t care. By then, Alec had managed to crawl back into bed, and they watched the movie together, like the boring old people they were—and loved it.

CHAPTER 19

[Êàðòèíêà: img_2]

The next morning I woke up from an incessant ringing. At first I thought the ringing was in my ears, but when both Odelia and Chase’s phones started buzzing, I finally rubbed the sleep from my eyes and paid attention.

“Your uncle,” said Chase as he picked his phone from the nightstand.

“My uncle,” Odelia echoed as she did the same.