peacefully sleeping. They looked like cherubs.
I couldn’t help myself; I had to get my camera. I couldn’t pass up this perfect picture. If Emmet didn’t catch me, he would thank me. If he caught me…he would probably feed me to Romulus. I tiptoed into my room to get my camera. I was surprised that Emmet would take my laptop, phone and keys but not confiscate my camera. That was a big detail for him to miss.
I had already packed my suitcases, even though I wasn’t to leave until Monday morning. While I bent over my suitcase rummaging through it, the two glasses of wine I had drunk impaired my balance and I felt myself teetering back and forth on my high heels. I was searching for my camera that was no bigger than a deck of cards. Finally, persistence paid off and I quietly slipped back into Emmet’s bedroom. I shot pictures from six different angles. It was so much easier working with still subjects.
Before leaving the room, I straightened up the covers and tucked the boys in. I walked over to eject the movie and turn the television off. When I turned back around I saw Emmet standing at the door.
“I didn’t hear you come in,” I said, trying to sound matter of fact, realizing I had set my camera down on the night stand and there was no way to get to it now.
“Just came up to check on the boys.”
“I know you prefer they don’t sleep in your room, but—”
“They can stay,” Emmet said as he opened the door wider to suggest it was time to go back downstairs.
I headed toward the door, gracefully tripping over my own feet, recovering just before I crashed into Emmet. “High heels and wine,” I said with a grimace. I hoped my actions would distract him from noticing the camera, but Emmet noticed everything.
“Annie,” he said, with a scolding tone.
He noticed, I thought. He’s going to throw me out of his house tonight… or worse, call the police and have me carted away. I guess I deserve it, though. How could I have exercised such a lack of judgment?
“You did an exemplary job with everything tonight. Jack is truly touched you used his flashlights for the lighting. Amanda said it was your idea.” His words were complimentary, but his tone made it seem as if I was being reprimanded.
“Thank you.” I exhaled in relief and quickly exited the room hoping he would follow right behind me, and he did. As we headed toward the stairs, I had a brilliant idea. Well, it was at best an average idea, but at the time the wine made me think it was a true genius attack.
“Emmet, I’m going to freshen up a bit before I come back downstairs.”
“You look fine, Annie,” he said with a stoic expression.
“Wow, every woman’s goal…to look fine,” I said, walking toward my room. This would give me an opportunity to retrieve my camera once he was downstairs. I went into my room, freshened up my lipstick and was ready to head to Emmet’s room. He met me in the hallway.
“Looking for this?” He asked, holding up my camera. What made me think he wouldn’t notice?
“No, it’s for you.” I lied.
“I’m supposed to believe you are giving me your camera?”
Might as well keep the lie going… “No, I am giving you the pictures on the camera.”
“Well, show them to me,” he insisted. He had no idea how to view them and I knew it.
I took the camera from his hands.
“Josh will show you in the morning. You weren’t supposed to see it until the morning.”
I walked back into his room, set the camera on the nightstand, and headed back downstairs.
“I don’t believe you,” he snapped.
“I don’t care,” I snapped back while defiantly raising my eyebrows. “I’m already fired.”
“It’s a shame too. You have a flair for entertaining.” His words were complimentary, but again it sounded like I was being reprimanded. And his mannerisms were dismissive at best. We walked back to the party in silence.
My conversation with Emmet was sobering. No longer distracted with the excitement of the party, apprehensively I reentered the atrium with a totally different perspective. I scanned all the faces in the room. Did they know me? Did they recognize me? Did they know Lawrence? Would they go tell him where I was and would he come for me? As I looked from one face to another a slight panic grew inside. How large was the world of international attorneys? Somehow, someway, at least one of these men or women had met Lawrence. My eidetic recall for faces was failing me for they all looked familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.
“Come here, I’ll introduce you around,” Amanda said, taking my arm in hers. But I didn’t want to be introduced. I wanted to fade into the corner for fear I would be recognized.
“No, that’s okay. I’m more of a people watcher than a people person.” I took a deliberate step backward.
“Well, tonight you’re a people person,” she said, taking my arm once again. “You were my partner in crime with this event and everyone in the firm wants to meet you. Emmet never talks about his personal assistants to anyone in the office but me. For all they know, you could have been here for years and they finally have an opportunity to meet you.” She pulled me unwillingly further into the room. Amanda couldn’t have weighed more than ninety pounds, but Emmet had warned me she was a pit bull at getting her way. She towed me from one group to another, introducing me to most of the partners in the firm first. Once my brain was full of too many names to remember, she began introducing me to the board members and executive team of Purdy Co. Each time I did my best to direct the conversation to what they did for the company so they would ask the same kind of questions of me…and then Amanda would move me to the next group. I didn’t want anyone asking where I was from or how long I had worked for Emmet.
As Amanda continued to introduce me, I couldn’t help but notice two men watching. At first I thought it was just my paranoia, and then I realized they were watching me and talking about me. I tried not to make eye contact and when they looked away I asked Amanda who they were. Wrong move.
“Hey Rich, Bob, come here,” she said as she waived them over. “Hey guys, I want you to meet Annie. Annie this is Rich and Bob. They handle the international distribution channel for Purdy.”
I was sure my face went sheet white. International—surely they knew Lawrence. I tried to act natural, as if I was just meeting anyone else in the room, but I could tell they recognized me.
“Annie, I was just telling Rich how familiar you look, but I couldn’t place you. Where are you from?” Even if they had seen me before I would have looked quite different clad in a stiff business suit with my red hair pulled back off my face. Half the time I even wore glasses, although I only needed them for distance. Tonight in my ice-blue flowing cocktail dress and long dark hair they would be hard pressed to recognize me. The more they stared, the more I panicked.
“Michigan,” I answered too quickly. “Are you from there?”
“No, Rich and I are based out of Florida.”
The words he said immediately made me feel faint. I swayed
