Chapter 49

Max looked around the conference table at the beautiful women who had assembled there at his request and, for the first time, believed that his new role as seneschal might actually be a real thing. Luba really was behaving like she was his personal assistant. Cat Easton had agreed to his calendar request. Jazz Abdul-Stone had come across town to meet with him. When he’d issued the invitations, he’d been ready for Paige to be the only one who showed up and for her to laugh at him.

He sat down. “Thanks for coming on short notice, everyone. As some of you know, Nick is out of town. While he’s gone, he’s asked me to be his seneschal and to throw a party introducing myself as such. It’s going to be this Friday night. It’s very short notice and I’d like you all to help me make it a success. I and, by extension, Nick would be in your debt as well as being open to the possibility of immediate remuneration. Luba has a short presentation to answer the most obvious questions.”

Luba rose, turned the remote towards the in-room TV screen and it lit up. She’d put together an honest-to-God slide presentation. Max had been more than half kidding when he’d suggested that, but there it was. The first slide read “The Seneschal’s Ball 2015.” The second showed a breakdown of desired guests and who Max hoped could help with each category. Paige was tasked with “NYU Nerds.” Cat he’d asked for “polyamorous community.” Jazz had the word “Ringers” next to her name.

When Luba moved to the third slide, Cat said. “Question?”

Max braced himself. This was probably where it all went pear-shaped. “Yes?”

“I thought Nick was coming back Sunday. This party is on Friday.” said Cat.

“Yes. Nick very specifically asked me to throw this party in his absence in order to firmly establish that it’s my party and that, as seneschal, I have at the very least party-throwing authority.” said Max.

“That seems ... peculiar.” said Jazz carefully.

“You’ve met Nick?” Max asked.

“Fair enough.” said Jazz. “I’ve also met you, Max. How do I know this isn’t some elaborate prank you’re pulling on Nick and us?”

“You’re all free to contact Nick if you have any questions about me.” said Max. When the women seemed uninclined to ask more questions, he said. “Next slide, please.”

The next slide was a list of possible activities for the party, including dancing and refreshments on the roof, games and refreshments on the fourth floor, flash panels, recruiting, and refreshments on the third floor.

“This concludes our slide presentation.” said Max. “What I’m looking for with the Seneschal’s Ball is a combination flash convention with content for nerds at the bottom, beautiful people at the top, and hopefully a creamy mixture of both in the middle. Nick instructed me to throw a party that he would regret missing and I think this fits the bill. He’s definitely a nerd and while I haven’t heard him say so specifically, he is unquestionably evolving into someone rather spectacularly polyamorous. While I plan to enjoy this party immensely myself, I’d also like it to be a networking opportunity where I will meet people I will subsequently introduce to Nick.”

When he finished, he looked around. “At this point, do any of you want no part of this? Or are you all at least a tiny bit enticed?”

“I have questions.” said Jazz.

“Questions imply interest. I hope for lots of questions.” Max looked around the room. “No one has stormed out or started rolling their eyes? Excellent. What are your questions?”

“You want me to provide ‘ringers.’ I assume you mean attractive women whose purpose is to liven up the party?” Jazz asked.

“Exactly. The girls you brought to Milan really helped make it a pretty incredible vacation.” said Max. “Could you invite them?”

“I could, but why would they come?” asked Jazz.

“Why did they come to Milan?” Max asked.

“They were working. I paid them to come to Milan.” Jazz reminded him.

Max’s stomach sank. How had he missed that detail? “We could pay them. Professional partygoers are a thing. Aren’t they?”

“They are, but they’re a different thing from lingerie models.” said Jazz. “There’s some overlap certainly. But I don’t know how much and I don’t think the presence of professional partygoers guarantees the ‘creamy middle’ you’re hoping for.”

“Wait. Didn’t you invite those same models to the July Fourth party? I thought I recognized some of them from that.” Max felt like he was already grasping at straws.

“I did and they did.” Jazz said. “But they mostly came because Nick would be here. No offense, Max. Nick’s seneschal doesn’t have the same draw. I don’t even know what a seneschal is and I doubt many of the women who work with me do either.”

“Go back one slide, please.” Max stared at the imagined guest list. “This definitely doesn’t work without women. Maybe we can find some big name they’d come here to meet. I’ve had a callback from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s agent.”

“Who is that?” Jazz asked.

“He plays Jaime Lannister on Game of Thrones and is a very good looking Hollywood actor.” said Max. “Funny story. He actually still has both hands. Now that’s acting.”

“I do have a model who works for me sometimes who’s obsessed with Game of Thrones. Platinum blonde ... pretty ... Used to work the convention circuit, I think. I can see her face, but her name...” Jazz brought out her phone.

“Casey Osbourne.” said Cat.

“You know her.” said Jazz.

“She’s my and my husband’s girlfriend.” said Cat. “I was thinking she’d be on my guest list.”

“Oh, yeah. I’d think so.” Jazz acknowledged.

“Can I ask an apparently unrelated question that may lead to a solution?” Paige asked.

Max looked to her. “Pretty please with sugar on top.”

“You’ve got ‘games’ listed as a fourth floor activity.” said Paige. “What games are you thinking about?”

“Card and board games mostly, but I’m open to better suggestions.” said Max.

“No. Those are good. Not Dungeons and Dragons?” Paige asked.

“I was hoping for things with a faster play time. Playing D&D would take all night and be that or the party. People wouldn’t be able to do both.” said Max.

“So, like Munchkin and Cards Against Humanity? Probably not Settlers?” Paige asked.

“Uh ... yeah.” Max answered.

Paige clearly heard the surprise in his voice. She smirked. “I’ve spent enough time with Harold to learn a few board and card games, Max.”

“Uh, yeah. I was hoping I could pick his brain on the subject, actually. I’m more of a video game nerd myself.” said Max.

“You want Harold at the party?” Paige asked. It was her turn to sound surprised.

“Yeah. Harold’s a good guy and the only NYU nerd I really know ... unless I count you.” said Max.

“I’m not a nerd. I’m a nerd groupie.” Paige protested.

“You play Magic: the Gathering.” Max reminded her. “That’s pretty nerdy.”

“Explain the difference between Red Hat and ‘real Linux’ to me again please?” Paige taunted.

“Children...” Cat growled. She appeared more amused than annoyed. “Can we focus on business, please. I have a meeting with Gin in a half hour.”

Max turned to Jazz. “Gin is a woman who works here. That wasn’t a euphemism or a cry for help.”

“Good to know.” said Jazz. “What was your idea, Paige?”

“Well, our video where Nick played D&D with lingerie models has like ten million hits. It obviously spoke to some primal nerd fantasy.” said Paige. “I only have anecdotal evidence, but I suspect it tied into some lingerie model fantasies too.”

“What anecdotal evidence do you have of that?” Cat asked.

“None of them have left. There were four models in that video. Two of them now live in the Loft. One is Nick’s girlfriend. And one of them slept with...” Paige froze in mid-sentence, trying not to look at Cat.

“ ... slept with Max while they were in Milan?” Cat smirked. “We know.”

“Oh, good.” Paige gripped her chest. “I wasn’t trying to make trouble. Really.”

“There’s no trouble to be made here. Casey says she had a lovely time.” said Cat.

Max blushed. “Uh ... good. Thank you. Uh ... Paige, what was your idea?”

“Well, let’s call back to that. Set up the tables not just as games, but as a chance to ‘play Cards Against Humanity with a lingerie model’ - that kind of thing. Then you have something for the models to do besides drink, dance, and fend off awkward passes from awkward men-children.” Paige suggested.

“Actually, I should probably ask about this while I have Nick’s seneschal here. Casey wanted to know about moving in with me and Hall here. Would there be any problem with that?” Cat asked.

“None at all. Casey’s welcome here and Nick is constantly saying the apartments are ours. We’re free to have guests or, I suppose, new residents if we want. Rifkeh’s taken up semi-permanent residence in Lev’s apartment.” said Max.

“Am I the only person here who doesn’t know what a seneschal is?” Jazz asked. “Granted, I went to FIT instead of ‘proper college,’ But, I consider myself fairly well educated.”

“A seneschal was like a steward or majordomo of a great house. The term was mostly used in medieval France.” said Luba.

“Nick wanted me to have a title to indicate I had the same kind of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey authority he does over the Loft when he’s not here.” said Max. “That’s what he came up with.”

“Okay. I see Paige’s point. There’s been a lot of chatter about Nick and his video in the fashion world and the general sense I get is that people feel like Pilar, Kiki, Emily, and...” Jazz tapped the side of her head.

“Casey.” Cat reminded her.

“Right. Sorry. I’ve only worked with her twice. I know the others better.” said Jazz. “Anyway, I’m sure you could find plenty of women who’d love a second chance at being part of the ‘play games with lingerie models’ thing and maybe get a three out of four chance at a free apartment and a billionaire boyfriend, but I’m not the person to help you with that. I hired models to model for IBJ. You need a booker like Connie Carlisle.”

Max snapped his fingers. “Connie, of course. She’d also be an awesome celebrity guest. I don’t think she’s ever done a convention.”

“Connie Carlyle from Starfall?” Cat asked. “Hall loves that movie.”

“I think she was in a movie with that name.” said Jazz. “I have to say, Max ... I’d love to help you with this party, but I’m not sure what I can contribute to it. I could probably get a certain number of my friends to come if I promised them a great party, but I’d need to feel like it was going to be great for them. A party planner is only as good as her last party.”

Max nodded, feeling like he’d failed. “Nick recommended you as someone who could help put together a guest list. I didn’t think through what that meant. I’m sorry I wasted your time.”

“You haven’t, Max.” Jazz said softly. “I can help with your guest list. Once you have an idea of who the core of your party is, I can help fill in with people who will add an interesting mix. I have a huge and eclectic Rolodex.”

“Thank you.” Max took a deep breath. “I really do want this to be a great party for everyone who comes, but I have no idea how to do that. This is the first party I’ve ever planned.”

“Well, I can certainly help with general party planning.” said Jazz. “But I have someone who would jump at the opportunity to help Nick’s seneschal organize a party.”

“I can certainly use the help.” said Max.

“Her name is April Snow-Stone. She’s a cousin of mine and Nick’s by marriage trying to make a bigger name for herself in costuming. She’ll understand the value of getting to know Nick’s friends even if Nick isn’t here. And she’s probably at least as hungry as I was on the Fourth.” said Jazz. “Should I call her?”

“Please.” said Max.

Jazz nodded. “I will. If you’re going to be throwing parties with any regularity, you should probably start looking for your next planner during this party. April will probably be good for two or three events.”

“Why?” Max asked.

“One of two things will happen. Either she’ll decide that helping you plan parties isn’t a good use of her time or she’ll get what she wants.” said Jazz. “Before the Fourth, I barely knew Nick and I was probably on his bad side to boot. Now, we’re much closer friends and he’s one of IBJ’s backers. Influence peddling is like selling houses. Once your customers get what they want, they’re off the market for a while and they’ll generally only come back when they want something bigger and better.”

“I ... didn’t realize I was in the influence peddling business.” admitted Max. “But I suppose that’s exactly what I am. Thank you, Jazz. Do you think you might come to the party?”

“Of course. If you keep a half dozen tickets aside for me, I’ll even bring some interesting friends to help mix it up.” Jazz promised.

“Tickets.” Max snapped his fingers again. “We should have tickets, shouldn’t we?”

“Or a guest list.” Jazz suggested. “Some system for avoiding gatecrashers would be good.”

Max turned to Luba. “Please remind me after this meeting that I want to talk about golden tickets.”

“All right.” Luba made a note on her iPad.

“Great. What else do we need to know?” Max started to feel like this party might really happen again.

“What does ‘recruiting’ mean? I assume it’s not recruiting people to polyamory. That process is usually done in private.” said Cat.

“Ah, no.” Max laughed. “That’s for the worldbuilder project and the fund. We’re looking for playtesters and people interested in being field investigators. Nick wants to start a ... kind of like a foreign exchange program where he sends students go live abroad for a while with an eye towards observing where the fund can help bring real change. We’d be recruiting for early-phase volunteers to help us define what the program would be and maybe a few intrepid sorts who would help us alpha test the idea.”

The conversation went smoother after that. Paige pointed out that she didn’t really know more than a dozen NYU nerds and would have to expand the definition to include the staff of Outside Joke. Cat worried that she wasn’t well plugged into the East Coast polyamorous community. Max listened, but he was also formulating a plan in his head at the same time.

“All right. Luba, do you think we could have two hundred swipe cards made up to look like golden tickets by tomorrow morning?” Max asked.

“We can do that.” said Luba.

“Okay. I’ll get all of you tickets tomorrow and see if I can’t crank the hype machine a little in the meantime. Thank you all for your help.” Max said at the end.

As they rose, Paige said. “Can I talk to you a minute?”

Max nodded and waited for Cat and Jazz to leave. Paige gave Luba a significant look. Max’s new assistant rose. “I’ll go see what our options are for swipe cards.”

Once she was alone with Max, Paige asked. “Ok, first question. Who was sex on legs there?”

“You’re going to have to be more specific.” Max admitted. “Every woman in that meeting was pretty damned sexy.”

“The one who just left - the Disney princess with the giant rack. Does she work for Nick?” Paige queried.

“Not exactly. That’s Luba. She’s assistant to the seneschal.” said Max.

“That’s your secretary?” Paige shook her head. “Did you just ask Nick’s magical hot secretary making company to send you the hottest fucking girl they had?”

“Uh, no. Zola brought me five candidates and I chose her. She’s a capable mid-seniority SSCS field agent.” said Max.

“So, you picked the most capable candidate, not the hottest one?” Paige asked.

“I picked the most capable candidate.” said Max.

“But, there was another hotter candidate who was less capable?” Paige asked.

“Well, they were really all pretty much equally competent.” said Max.

Paige gave a little laugh. “Fine. One more insanely fucking gorgeous woman around this place probably isn’t going to make much of a difference. But do you think they grow them in vats at SS fucking CS? Every one of them is like a movie star waiting to happen.”

“I can ask, but I think they’re born the normal way then recruited by the Service.” said Max.

“All right. More immediate concern - now that Casey is going to be living here, do you think you’ll continue what you had in Venice?” Paige asked.

“Milan.” said Max automatically. “And no. That was discrete.”

“You were all over her Instagram.” Paige protested.

“Sorry - discrete as in finite, not as in sneaking around.” Max corrected. “I thought you were okay with me and Casey.”

“I was, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t obsessively cyberstalk the two of you.” said Paige. “Listen, Casey seems nice, but I don’t know that I want to get pulled into some polyamorous cuddle puddle.”

“I ... don’t think people get pulled into those. And I’m not sure they’re actually a thing. It’s the first time I’ve heard the term.” said Max.

“I may have just made it up. But, you get the idea, right? If you keep sleeping with Casey, you’ll probably wind up sleeping with Cat and then Cat’s husband will come sniffing around wanting to have sex with me because we’re all supposed to be one big happy family or something.” said Paige.

“Except that none of those things are likely to happen.” said Max. “Casey and I agreed we would see each other while we were in Milan, but that was it. When she’s here, she’s got Cat and sometimes Hall and I have you and we’re both where we’d rather be. Beyond that, Cat has never shown the slightest interest in me and she’s not the kind of person who bothers to hide her interest in people. Plus, I can’t see Hall sniffing around anyone. He’s very ... proper.”

“Wait. Cat isn’t Cat Easton, is she ... Hall Dunford’s wife?” Paige asked, realization dawning slowly on her face.

Max gave a snort. “Oh, now the cuddle puddle sounds like a good idea?”

Until the moment she turned bright red all the way to her hairline, Max would have sworn Paige was incapable of blushing. Her shamelessness was in fact one of Max’s favorite things about her. Combined with the look on her face, that blush spoke more clearly than if she’d stripped naked, gotten up on the conference table, tap danced and sung a song called, “I’ve got the hots for Hall Dunford.” Max was surprised enough that he couldn’t even tease her.

When Paige finally managed to speak, she said quietly. “Can we not tell Cat about this, please?”

“I don’t see why not. She of all people would seem likely to understand.” Max offered gently.

“That’s my point. It was one thing for me to lust after Hall Dunford while we were making the video together and I knew he was married and unavailable, but quite another if his wife might allow and encourage him to sleep with me.” Paige said quietly.

“He’s an ... odd choice for a sex symbol.” Max couldn’t hide a faint smirk.

“Not for me. He’s smart and funny and buff and he has that accent.” Paige sat back in her chair and closed her eyes. “I told you I’m a nerd groupie. The only reason I got through that shoot without embarrassing myself with him was that shiny new wedding ring on his finger.”

Max considered and rejected a crude joke about fingering and said instead. “It sounds like I owe him a debt of gratitude.”

“How so?” Paige asked.

“Well, by the morning of that shoot, the hottest girl who’d ever spoken to me nicely was my cousin Tracy.” said Max. “Then all of a sudden, these four lingerie models and being friendly with me and this one gorgeous blonde who looks like the woman of my dreams is not just being nice. She seems to want to have sex with me. I figured that was all because I was Nick’s friend. Now, I realize part of it was because I was standing close to the irresistible hunk of man meat that is Hall Dunford. He got you all worked up and I got the reward.”

Paige rolled her eyes. “Oh - and those lingerie models getting you hot and bothered didn’t help me at all?”

“Not at all.” said Max. “I would have happily had sex with you if we’d met out in the woods with nobody else around.”

“That ... sounds a little rapey.” Paige suggested.

“I didn’t mean it that way.” said Max. “How about ... I would have had sex with you if we’d met in an abandoned building?”

Paige laughed. “Now you’re doing it on purpose.”

“I would have had sex with you if we’d met at my Dad’s funeral.” Max suggested.

“Isn’t your father still alive?” Paige asked.

“He is, but he’s got to die some day. Do we have a date?” Max asked.

Paige winced and laughed at the same time. “So dark. Well done, Max.”

Max put an arm around her shoulders. “So, just so we’re clear ... I should or I shouldn’t invite Hall, Cat, and Casey over for a big cuddle puddle after the party?”

Paige looked like she was considering it for a second, then said. “No. Probably not.”

“Are you sure. You looked like you were considering it for a second.” said Max.

Paige shook her head. “Would you seriously be okay with it if I slept with Hall Dunford?”

“I’m okay with you sleeping with vacuous, bubble-breasted cheerleaders once every couple of months.” Max reminded her.

“Dumb jocks.” Paige corrected him. “The cheerleaders were going to be for you.”

“Oh, that’s not as good.” said Max. “But I’m still okay with it as long as you are.”

“Really? I was pretty sure you’d break up with me after I told you that.” said Paige.

Max frowned. “Then why did you tell me?”

“Because it was the truth.” said Paige. “And I thought you might get it. If you do, you’ll only be the second person ever to do so.”

“I mean it makes sense if you think like a guy. There are plenty of beautiful women I would have sex with if they asked and all I know about them is that they’re beautiful.” said Max. “You probably have guys trying to have sex with you all the time and, once in a while, there’s going to be one that you just have to have sex with.”

“You might get it even better than Harold does, then.” Paige said.

“Harold is the other guy who gets it?” Max asked, surprised.

“He says he gets it intellectually, but he doesn’t really get it, but he accepts it and he loves me.” said Paige.

“Harold speaks in run-on sentences?” Max asked.

“I’m probably doing him a disservice and misquoting him. That’s the distillation of many many of hours of conversation where I try to explain it and he tries to talk me out of it.” said Paige. “I can ask him for a more succinct quote the next time it comes up if you like.”

“I think I get the gist.” said Max. “It sound like he cares about you and he worries about you.”

“He’s said that word for word many a time.” said Paige.

“Well, I’ll keep my statement brief and just say ‘ditto.’ As appealing as the fantasy is, I don’t think it would be good for my mental state if I went around having semi-anonymous sex with the Maxim Hot 100 all the time.”

“Just Casey and Emily?” Paige suggested. “Where are they ranked?”

Max allowed a sound like he’d been punched in the gut. “Maxim has their head up their ass on those two, but neither one of them would really be anonymous. They’re friends of mine now.”

“Okay. But, what if you could have semi-anonymous sex with one woman you don’t know except by seeing her image. Who would it be? First one that comes into your head.” Paige asked.

“Kate Middleton.” said Max.

“The Duchess of Cambridge?” Paige asked.

“The Sports Illustrated swimsuit model.” said Max.

“You mean Kate Upton?” Paige asked.

“Oh, yeah. I don’t think I realized those were two different people.” admitted Max.

“You thought Prince William married the swimsuit model?” Paige challenged him.

“Why not? What else does the royal family do except marry beautiful women?” asked Max.

Paige sighed and leaned into Max’s shoulder. “I don’t really want Harold to come to your party.”

Max looked at her. “Why not?”

“Because Harold is a nice guy and you’re going to corrupt him.” said Paige.

“How am I going to corrupt him? I’m a nice guy too!” Max protested.

“You are a sweet guy, but you’re not very nice, Max. You fly me to naked resorts and fuck me in the ass.” said Paige.

“You asked me to fuck you in the ass and the nude resort was a mistake!” Max protested.

“Maybe it was a mistake, but you let me talk you into staying and you certainly seemed to enjoy yourself.” said Paige. “I wouldn’t have tried that with Harold. We would have been out of that place like a shot.”

“So, wait. I’m not a nice guy because you talked me into something you wouldn’t have tried to talk Harold into? How is that about me?” Max challenged her.

“Maybe it’s not.” Paige admitted. “But, I tried it with you because I knew you’d probably cave. Harold is a nice guy and I’m a nice girl when I’m with him. When I’m with you, I’m so much dirtier.”

“Why?” Max asked. “Not that I’m complaining about the results, but I haven’t exactly pushed you to be dirtier. Most of the time, I feel like I’m barely keeping up with you.”

“I have to up my game with you, Max. The competition is way more intense. You are surrounded by hot girls all the time. Even if you swear they’re not hotter than me and you mean it, they’re still really hot. And there were four of them and only one Nick. I figured one of them would win the catfight for his affection and then the other three would start looking around for someone else to devour. I had to move fast and establish my bona fides if I were going to get and keep you. When I’m with Harold, I don’t have to compete with lingerie models. The only other girl who’s shown an interest in him since I met him had a back brace and greasy hair.” Paige explained.

Max found himself feeling sorry for his rival and wishing Harold would up his game. He really couldn’t say that, so instead he said. “Bring him to the party. You can be nice with him until his bedtime, then be dirty with me afterwards.”

As soon as they reached Opal’s house in Sydney, Emily saw that Pilar had been correct. Waiting in her bedroom was a rack of funeral-appropriate clothing mostly in black in her size. There was a second rack of smaller clothing in the same style as well. Emily was still considering the mystery of the second rack when Tanvi strode in, looked, and said. “There it it. I’ll get someone to bring it to my room shortly.”

“Or you could try them on here. Modesty seems a bit wasted between us now.” said Emily.

Tanvi lowered her head for a moment. “I don’t want to be presumptive.”

“We’re going to spend the majority of the next week on a plane together. I don’t think changing in the same room as me is presumptive under those circumstances.” said Emily.

“Part of a field agent’s job is to be only as visible as necessary.” said Tanvi. It sounded like a recitation before she added. “I’ve never been very good at that part of my job, but I try when it seems like a client would prefer it.”

“It sounds like you’re asking if I want you to make yourself scarce.” said Emily. “I don’t.”

“Thank you.” Tanvi took down a black suit from the rack. “But what I’d really like to know is how you’d like me to handle what happened the other night.”

“It didn’t happen. We did it. Or I did it and you went along with it.” said Emily. “You seemed to be enjoying yourself.”

“I did. I was.” Tanvi said. “But it only has to matter as much as you want it to. That’s what I mean by not being presumptive. Whatever my personal feelings, I’m paid a lot of money to put my job ahead of what I want or what I enjoy for a few years. My job is to keep Nick’s life running smoothly and I’m not going to do that by insisting we have a relationship if all we were was two people who didn’t want to spend that one night alone.”

“Does that mean it could be more than one night if I want it to be?” Emily asked. “I’m glad to be invited on this adventure, but I feel like kind of a fourth wheel ... or a fourth whatever on something that works better with three things.”

“Oh. I haven’t ... I haven’t been with Nick or Pilar.” said Tanvi.

Emily didn’t want to admit she was disappointed to hear that. She hadn’t specifically slept with Kiki or Tanvi as a stepping stone to Nick’s bed, but if one of them had turned out to fill that role, she wouldn’t have complained. She reached out and stroked Tanvi’s hair. “Does that mean you’re free to be with me?”

Tanvi closed her eyes and shivered. “I’m not really ever free. If I thought anything I was doing was making Nick unhappy, I’d have to stop doing it.”

Emily liked the idea of having a lover she could make quiver. She ran her fingertips down the line of Tanvi’s jaw and tilted her head back to lay a purposeful kiss on her lips. “I don’t think this is going to make Nick unhappy, Tanvi.”

A woman quietly said. “Miss King?”

Emily looked up. Another SSCS staffer, one who worked for Opal, stood in the doorway. She said, “Brenda Whitehall-Stone and a guest are here and asking to see you.”

Emily’s heart leapt in her throat and looked down at herself. She was wearing blue jeans and a white athletic tee with no bra. She couldn’t be seen looking like this. She looked like she was on her way to a wet t-shirt contest, not a funeral.