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Walking up Sixth Avenue, the group passed a basketball court with a gae and peeled away to get in on the action He’d been playing basketball on this particular litter-strewn, cracked asphalt court since he hen his father would bring his to teach him how to dribble and throw “Don’t tell your oofing off”
Today the pickup game was particularly vicious, due perhaps to the eather in which everyone had coaainst the chain-link fence, he called it quits He picked up a bagel with cream cheese on his way ho to Virtual Flash Then the buzzer rang, and the doorman said he had a visitor
Thein the foyer had a distinct air about hi Sam up and down, the man asked if his parents were home, and when San your naht to close the door in the man’s face and call the doorman to escort him out But it all happened so quickly The n here,” he said Unable to challenge grown-up authority, Sah the revolving doors of the lobby, and Sa the envelope in his hand
The return address was for an attorney on Park Avenue Knowing he shouldn’t, Sa he could explain later that he’d opened it by e letter The attorney riting on behalf of his client, Mr Paul Rice, as being maliciously and systematically harassed by his mother, without cause, and if such actions did not cease i order would be placed on his mother by Paul Rice and his attorneys, ere prepared to pursue this case as far as the law allowed
In his bedroo a white-hot adolescent rage engulf hi, but like most boys, he felt a fierce protectiveness toward her She was smart, accomplished, and in his mind, beautiful; he placed her on a pedestal as the h so far he had yet to meet another member of the fe attacked once again by Paul Rice The thought infuriated hi nothing of use, he changed his shoes and headed out of the building He jogged down Ninth Street, past the porno shops and pet stores and fancy tea outlets Sa the Hudson River, but the entrance to the piers was blocked by several red and white barriers and a Con Edison truck “Gas leak,” a beefy man shouted as Sam approached “Go around”
The utility vehicle gave Sam an idea, and he headed back to One Fifth He suddenly sa heletter It would inconvenience everyone in the building, but it would be temporary, and Paul Rice, with all his computer equipht even lose data Sary Paul Rice would be Maybe it would
At six-thirty in the evening, Sam headed over to the Barnes & Noble bookstore on Union Square with his parents It was ten blocks from One Fifth, and the publicist wanted to send a car—no doubt, Mindy said, to et there—but Mindy turned it down They could walk, she declared And rereen, she pointed out that there was no reason to waste gas and fill the air with carbon ood inoring his parents’ banter, Sa about his day He hadn’t shown histo allow Paul Rice to ruin his parents’ big day Sam wouldn’t have been surprised if Paul had done it on purpose
Outside the store, the Gooch fa Jaraph of Jaotten the ride froe: He looked appropriately brooding and intellectual, as if he alone were privy to soreat universa
l secret Stepping inside the store, he was greeted by the blasé publicist fro and two employees who escorted him up to the fifth floor They sequestered him in a tiny office at the back of the store to hile a cartload of books was brought in for hi down at the title page and his naht, a historical s
What he felt, however, was a little disappointing There was so Then Mindy barked out, “What’s wrong with you?” Startled, Janed his name
At five ratulate hie Ja chair was filled, and the standing-room-only croelled around the stacks Even Redmon was shocked “ThereJames on the shoulder “Good job”
James aardly made his way up to the podiuiant aniain, he wondered how this had happened How had these people even heard of him? And what could they possibly want—from him?
He opened his book to the page he’d selected and found his hand was treled to write over sohis an to read aloud
Later that sareeted her husband at the door, dressed provocatively in a short Grecian column, her hair and makeup expertly applied so she appeared to have htly tousled and overwhelly sexy, but Paul barely noticed
“Sorry,” he hts of steps to his office, where he fiddled around with his cohed and went into the kitchen, walking around Maria, the housekeeper, as rearranging the condi the vodka, she peeped into Paul’s office “Paul?” she said “Are you getting ready? Connie said the dinner starts at eight And it’s eight now”