Persuasive Lips (10 page)

He
said, “You are one gorgeous dame tonight.”

Chloe
gazed
into
his
midnight
b
lue
eyes.
Nobody
has
eyes
like
Bil
l
.
He
has
the
devil
in them. They are so darned…irresistible.
She brushed him aside.

He
threw
down
his
cigarette
and
snuffed
it
o
u
t
with
one
twist
of
his
black
ste
e
l-toed police
boot.
Powdery
snow
blew
off
the
ret
a
ining
walls
as
they
w
a
lked
down
the
salted ramp.
Chloe
and
Bill
entered
the
Bureau
of
Engraving
and
Printing.
He
l
o
wered
the door. It thumped against the concrete floor.

She
led
the
way
through
the
ca
v
ernous
federal
building.
The
scent
of
floor
polish wafted up from the pristine terrazzo.

He
confided,
“We’re
pretty
much
alone
n
o
w.
The
bureaucrats
departed
hours
ago. The
charwomen
came
and
went.
Just
the
s
k
eletal
police
detail
is
l
eft.
Me,
Schwartz
and Krankow
s
ki.”

Bill
follow
e
d Chloe into the printing room. He balked. “Jeez, this place is a pigsty.” In
her
sweet
southern
drawl
Chloe
said,
“Alcohol
was
the
most
popular
guest
a
t
^{our
office
party
tod
a
y,
resulting
in
a
whole
run
of
botched
hundreds.
They
didn’t}
change
the
plates.
The
same
ima
g
e
is
printed
on
both
sides
of
the
notes.”
She
pointed
to the
sloppi
l
y
bundled
currency
and
a
big
ink
stain
o
n
the
floor.
“They
ought
not
to
have bothered
working
at
all.
As
the
currency
inspector,
I
have
to
file
a
report.
I
feel
like
a lousy snitch.”

Bill
eyed
her
fur.
“Hey,
where’d
ya
get
the
coat
from?
It’s
not
from
that
weasel

Myron
in personnel, is it?”

“
Eww!
No,
Bill.
It’s
Mrs.
Grogan’s.
My
landlady.
She
let
me
borrow
it.
I
told
her
this was a spec
i
al night.”

Bill
grabbed her colla
r
. They kissed hungrily.

Finally
taking
a
much-needed
breath,
Chloe
pulled
away
and
smiled
as
she unbuttoned
the
full-
l
ength
sabl
e
.
She
was
wearing
h
i
s
favorite
blue
dancing
shoes…
a
n
d noth
i
ng el
s
e.

“
Jeez,
Chloe—lay off of them doughnuts.”

Before
she
could
process
the
insult,
Bill
slipped
his
fingers
under
the
fur.
She shoved him away.

Her
voice
trembled,
“I
won’t
be
your
dirty
little
se
c
ret
anymore.
Divorce
Vera.”

There,
I’ve said it.

Bill
ran
his
fingers
through
Chl
o
e’s
soft
red
hair.
He
knew
just
t
he
spot
to
touch. “Lovey,
we’ve
been
all
through
this.
You
know
I
can’t
p
ossibly
divorce
her
while
he’s
in office.
How
would
it
look
if
the
Preside
n
t’s
secretary
all
of
a
sudden
up
and
got divorced?
The
Republicans
would
go
wild!
A
n
d
it’d
be
rough
o
n
my
l
i
ttle
girls.
Ju
s
t wait
a
little
bit
longer.
Lovey,
I
promise
we
’
ll
be
together
soon.
He
ain’t
gonna
be
Prez for the rest of his life ya know.”

Chloe
fought
back
tears.
Whatever
was
I
thinking?
Momma
was
right.
I
should
have stayed
in
t
h
e
mountains.
But
eleven
months
ago,
her
country
had
called
for
good
girls
to fill
the
shoes
of
the
boys
at
war.
When
I
was
still
a
good
girl.
I
had
n
o
idea
what
I’d
have
to
do for
my
country.
It
mig
h
t
as
well
h
a
ve
been
ele
v
en
millennia
ago.
I
can’t
ever
go
back.
Not
now.
She
shoved
her
h
a
nds
in
t
h
e
d
eep
silk-lined
pockets…where
s
h
e
felt
the
cold
steel
of
a revolver.

Five
shots
exploded
down
from
the
super
v
isors’
catwa
l
k.
Chloe
dove
under
a
metal desk,
pulling
in
an
olive
drab
trash
can
f
o
r
cover.
Bill
slumped
face
down
into
a carelessly heaped pile of hundreds.

Chloe
peeked
from
behind
the
c
an.
She
watched
a
female
silhouette
blow
smoke from
the
barrel
and
stroll
back
along
the
catwalk
then
out
of
sight.
No!
This
can’t
be happening. I’m in a bad movie. Bad dream. Bad world.

Shaking,
C
h
loe
crawled
to
Bill
a
n
d
rolled
him
over.
A
C-note
covered
his
eyes.
She yanked it off and screamed in horror.

Chloe
ran
through
the
building
and
slamm
e
d
straight
i
nto
the
lo
a
ding
dock
door. She
struggled
to
hoist
it
high
en
ou
gh
to
crawl
under.
Rolling
onto
the
ramp,
she
pushed herself
up
on
hands
and
knees,
then
to
full
height.
She
put
her
hand
on
the
revolver
i
n her
pocket
and
lit
out
running.
As
she
lo
o
ked
back
o
ver
her
s
h
oulder,
she
slipped
on the icy sid
e
walks, battering her knees.