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He iven the way he laughed at what I didn’t think was a very funny joke "I think I like you a little bit drunk," I said

He rubbed his te his wits to return fully "Gloria would be disappointed in me She’s a confirmed teetotaler"

"No wonder you can’t hold your liquor Wait a second, how did you ne at the office party?"

"Did you see me drink much of it? Besides, I ate a full meal before I went This is on an eot to eat lunch"

This ether as a couple We weren’t talking about work, and although the situation was far from normal, disaster hadn’t yet struck I was afraid to even think about it, lest I jinx us "I don’t think Gloria would expect you to turn down chane in the back of a limo She’d want you to have a little fun"

"Did you meet the same Gloria I know? No, you probably didn’t She was practically cuddly at Christ control With power like this at your beck and call, you must always be in absolute control of it One slip can have serious consequences" Then he winced "And I guess I blew that with my stunt in Times Square I should know better than to act that rashly" There went the relaxation I knew I shouldn’t have thought about it

I peered through the pal to take note of any celebrities I saw and what they earing because I knew Genized Sylvia Meredith was sitting at a table on the other side of the room The man she ith had his back to ne chilling in an ice bucket on a stand by their table, so theyOr ularly drank cha anything

I ducked back behind the cae "Sylvia Meredith is here," I hissed to Owen, even though the roo I said would carry all the way to her table "You know, the one we think is teamed up with Idris"

Owen ie with chane still in his system "Where?"

"Over on the far side of the rooot a touch of shark blood in her" He craned his neck to see, and I snapped, "Don’t look! At least, don’t be so obvious about it"

"Who is that with her?"

"I don’t know I don’t recognize hily skinny girl who I thought I recognized as the heiress to so, or maybe a pop star, or possibly both, walked past Sylvia’s table She wore a file thanoff one of her shoulders That wasn’t too unexpected, since she was basically a hanger with legs and didn’t really have shoulders to hold up straps But then the strap went clear to her elbow, so that she flashed the entire restaurant with her unspectacular but totally bare chest

Sylvia’s dining coled to pull her blouse back up, and I was then very glad I hadn’t been eating anything or I ht have choked "It’s Idris!" I said He was dressed in a nice suit instead of his usual ratty black trench coat, and it looked like he’d had a haircut since I’d seen hinized him from behind

"Yeah, and what do you bet he was the one who pulled that girl’s blouse down?"

The waiter arrived then with our food, distracting us as he laid out plates with a flourish, then carefully arranged a bed of salad greens and finally added what looked like a ser in the htly askew to show the purplish sauce on top

"This is it? It’s a haone It didn’t look like uessed that was probably how the restaurant’s patrons stayed so skinny

Owen poked suspiciously at his burger with a fork He looked up at me and opened his mouth to speak, but another voice interrupted him "Owen Palmer Well, well, well They’ll let anyone in here these days" Of course, it was Phelan Idris He must have come over to our table while the waiter was busy artistically arranging our ha the launch of your new company," Owen said with the cool he usually showed under pressure Meanwhile, I tried to shrink back into the banquette and hide behind the potted plant because Idris had brought Sylvia over with hiuise as Sue Ellen