The Glittering Life of Evie Mckenzie Read online

  ‘But I have to do a few things first,’ Evie said. She seemed to be talking to herself.

  ‘You’re really going to Paris?’ Tug asked.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know. But it feels good to have an option. Maybe I’ll go right after the convention. I have to go as the Mouse.’

  ‘Or maybe you don’t.’ Tug picked up the paper again, and Evie’s face fell.

  ‘You’re right. I told Tobias I wasn’t political. Maybe that’s why he brought someone else in.’ She paced some more. ‘Either way I have to speak with him.’ Evie crossed the room and took the paper from Tug’s hands, rolling it up tightly. ‘And how have you been, Tug?’

  ‘Life’s grand, Evie.’ Tug knew that Evie was too distracted to hear about her problems or successes, so she didn’t bother trying to tell her about them.

  ‘Oh, I’m so glad.’ Evie moved toward the door. ‘Hey, thanks, Tug. You really helped me work things out.’

  ‘I did?’ Tug didn’t see how Evie was any better off than when she’d arrived at her doorstep.

  ‘Absolutely.’ Evie gave her a quick hug and then disappeared out the door.

  It seemed that Tug might soon be truly alone in Manhattan.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Evie

  As Evie marched down the familiar aisle toward Tobias’s office at the paper, she felt as if everyone watched her move past. She felt judgment and pity, and wondered how much they all knew about her failings as the Mouse, and about her real life.

  ‘There you are, Mouse,’ said Tobias, smiling when she poked her head through his door. ‘Come in, sit down.’

  Evie did as instructed, sifting through her conflicting emotions as she did so. Should she quit? Or demand an explanation?

  ‘Did you see the latest column?’ Tobias raised an eyebrow. He was trying to figure out how she would respond, too, it seemed.

  ‘I did.’ Evie stared at him for a moment. ‘I didn’t write it.’

  ‘I know.’

  They stared at each other for a moment, a thick silence falling around them as each evaluated the other.

  ‘Why?’ Evie finally said, her voice breaking.

  ‘Mouse, it’s nothing personal.’

  Did he know how personal it had become? Did he know who she really was or not? Evie suspected that he did, and that he knew that the last column had been very personal indeed.

  ‘You told me you needed help. I found you some help.’

  ‘I see. And the convention next week?’

  ‘You’ll have backup. I’ll use whatever works best. If I get a lot of good stuff, I’ll use it all. It takes the pressure off you, Mouse, see?’

  ‘But who’s the other Mouse?’

  ‘Doesn’t matter. It’s better if you don’t know. Hell, it’s best if no one knows.’ Tobias cocked his head to the side for a moment and appeared to be thinking. ‘You know, this is new to me, too, Mouse. Maybe this type of thing, maybe the writer has a short life when gossip is the subject. How long can you stay anonymous, anyway? I think we may see lots of writers being the Mouse before this thing is done.’

  ‘So I’m out?’

  ‘Not yet.’

  ‘No,’ Evie said, standing. ‘I think I am. Thank you for the opportunity, Mr Tobias.’

  Tobias’s eyebrows shot up, his ruddy face reddening even more. ‘It takes a lot to surprise me, Mouse. And you’ve done it. I didn’t think you’d leave.’

  ‘Good day, Mr Tobias.’

  ‘Now, hang on a second. Don’t get your whiskers twisted up.’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘Do you want a job, or not?’

  Evie stood still a second, contemplating. Was he going to offer her something else? She watched him, waiting for more.

  ‘I need a girl,’ he said.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ Evie replied. ‘Any sentence that begins with “I need a girl” seems like it will only end up somewhere that angers, offends, or belittles me. I think I’ll just say “no thank you” right now and be done with it.’

  ‘Oh, don’t be like that.’

  ‘I think I am like that. Thank you for the opportunity, sir.’

  ‘A girl to keep receipts and type letters, and manage correspondence, Mouse!’

  Evie was already walking toward the door. She turned back. ‘I believe I’m leaving town for a while. When I get back I’ll come see you, Mr Tobias. If you are still looking to fill a position at that time, perhaps we can speak about it then. But you should know that I’m not a “girl”, sir. I’m a writer.’

  A wry smile crossed the older man’s face. He shook his head and laughed. ‘All right, but we’re going to have to come up with another name for you. You’ve gotten bold, Mouse.’

  ‘My name is Evie, sir. I’ll see you when I return.’ Evie could hear Tobias laughing as she walked back out of the offices of the Herald Tribune. She held her head high as she left and exited to the busy street below.

  *****

  Evie had two more stops to make, and the last one would be the hardest. But before she went to see Roger, she needed to speak to Jack.

  Buck pulled up at the curb along the street next to the University and gave Evie a smile. ‘I’ll be right here.’

  Evie thanked Buck, wondering how much he knew about her troubles. Probably much more than she actually told him. She swallowed hard and walked toward Jack’s office.

  She found him seated at his desk, looking impeccable as always as he held a pen over a stack of papers.

  ‘Hello, Jack,’ she said, her voice shattering the perfect silence.

  Jack looked up quickly, and a smile overtook the serious face, lighting the blue eyes. ‘Evie,’ he said, standing.

  ‘I just wanted to drop in …’ Evie felt suddenly unsure what to say. Her stomach had begun twisting into knots and her heart was racing. ‘I needed to tell you …’

  Jack had come around the desk and pulled her into an embrace, stilling her stuttering by pressing his sculpted lips to hers. ‘I’ve missed you, darling,’ he said, his voice a low purr.

  Evie’s mind seemed to leave her as Jack’s manly scent filled her senses. Oh, why couldn’t she seem to control herself around this man? ‘I … no,’ Evie pulled herself from his arms, despite the immediate emptiness that filled her at the distance suddenly between them. ‘I came to say goodbye.’

  Jack’s brow furrowed. ‘Where are you going?’ He took her hand and held it between his own.

  Evie tried to keep her mind from focusing on the strength and warmth she felt in those long perfect fingers. ‘To see Jane. To Paris.’

  ‘For how long?’

  ‘I don’t know.’

  ‘When do you go?’

  ‘As soon as my mother can arrange passage.’ Evie’s mother had warmed to the idea, after the coverage in the paper. Evie had become a tarnish on her mother’s good social standing, and while she didn’t love the idea of sending her alone to Europe, she had agreed that a break might be a good solution.

  ‘I’m very sorry to see you go,’ Jack said. ‘Are you leaving because of me?’ His eyes were glowing and compassionate, and Evie wondered what it was that Jack felt for her exactly. He’d come to her door after she’d broken things off all those months ago, telling her that he loved her. Was that still the case?

  ‘I’m leaving because I just don’t think I can stay.’

  ‘Evie, don’t go. Stay here. With me.’ The smooth voice broke as he spoke. He pulled her close again. ‘Don’t you know by now that I’m crazy about you?’

  Evie stared up at him. She wanted to say the things that flew into her head, but uttering any of them would make her more unfaithful than she already was. And telling Jack she loved him would only be leading him on. After all, she had no doubt that she loved Roger, too. ‘I have to go,’ she said, pulling herself out of his arms again. ‘I’m sorry. And about my grade … I’d hoped to complete my courses in the fall. Maybe you can just mark me incomplete.’

  Jack stared at her, but his eyes seemed to be
looking past her. ‘Whatever you’d like,’ he said. ‘You’ll be back, then?’ His voice was a whisper, and something about the shredded quality of it pulled at Evie. Jack had been many things to her in the time she’d known him, but he’d never been vulnerable, as he seemed now.

  ‘I’ll be back.’

  The vulnerability that Evie had seen in the blue eyes disappeared, and the gaze that held hers chilled. Jack’s chin lifted and he broke their stare, walking around his desk to seat himself. ‘All right, Miss McKenzie. I suppose we’ve covered everything then. I will see you when you return.’

  ‘Jack … I …’ Evie faltered. He had withdrawn. ‘Goodbye, Jack.’

  Jack said nothing more, just watched her with those cold eyes until she finally turned and walked quickly out the door. With every step that she moved away from him, her heart seemed to squeeze a little tighter in her chest. She found her way to a low bench beneath a tree along the paved walkway outside and sank down to the hard surface. For a long minute she stared out at the landscape before her, seeing only Jack’s face.

  ‘What have I done?’ she whispered aloud. Jack’s strange devotion to her was as confusing as it was endearing. He had always been the dangerous choice for her; the man she couldn’t have. And for a short while, when they’d first met, he had seemed to revel in that role and want nothing more. But this Jack, this man who let her see him vulnerable, this man who confessed that he cared about her, this man was more complicated than she had ever believed. And she didn’t doubt for a second that she loved him.

  Soon she rose again and continued out to where Buck waited.

  ‘Are you all right, Miss Evie? You look awful!’ Buck held the door for her.

  ‘That’s not very kind, Buckie.’ Evie shot him a smile and slid into the car.

  ‘Sorry,’ Buck said, peering in the open window. ‘I’ve been worried about you, kid.’

  ‘I know. But I’m fine. Just doing what I need to do.’

  Buck came around and took his place in the driver’s seat.

  ‘Can you take me by Roger’s, please?’

  Buck looked back at her and smiled a sad smile, as if he knew exactly what she was doing. ‘Sure.’

  They said nothing else as he navigated the busy streets toward Roger’s house.

  *****

  Roger left Evie waiting for more than twenty minutes in the parlor at his parents’ house. She sat and wrung her hands in her lap, and every moment that ticked by increased her anxiety. She knew Roger would be angry with her. She was well aware that his mother probably hated her at this point for embarrassing her son by being seen out with another man. As a heavy footfall sounded on the stair, Evie didn’t know what to expect.

  ‘Hello, darling.’ Roger’s voice was cold. Still, he crossed the room and greeted Evie with a kiss, then took a seat across from her.

  ‘Roger,’ she said, her voice sounding weak. ‘How are you? Have you been all right?’

  ‘I’d be better if I could read the papers without finding out that you’ve given up on me.’

  So they were going to get right to it, then. Evie bowed her head, ashamed, then raised her eyes to meet Roger’s. ‘It’s complicated,’ she whispered.

  The pain and exhaustion that Evie found on the familiar handsome face pulled what was left of her heart to shreds.

  ‘It would have to be, I suppose.’

  ‘I had to go to that fundraiser. And I needed an escort.’

  Roger was shaking his head, a sad smile on his face. ‘The thing about having a fiancé, Evie, is that you always have an escort when you need one. Maybe no one explained that part to you.’

  ‘I thought you’d be too wrapped up in handling the charges against you and Chuck,’ she said. That was partially true. As the Mouse, she’d also needed to blend into the environment, and Roger’s recent notoriety would have caused more of a stir than would have been helpful.

  ‘Why did you have to go in the first place?’

  Evie looked into the dark liquid eyes. She couldn’t stand to lie to him anymore. ‘I’ve been writing a column for the paper,’ she said. ‘And the editor wanted me to go.’

  ‘A column?’ Roger looked pleased for her, but as the moment passed, an even darker look came over his face. ‘What column? I haven’t seen your name in print.’

  ‘No, it was … anonymous.’

  Roger stared at her as understanding rolled like an angry wave across his features. Silence seemed to billow between them like a cloud of angry smoke. Finally, Roger whispered, ‘You’re the Mouse.’

  ‘I was.’

  ‘But …’

  Evie had no doubt that Roger was rereading the columns that had discussed their engagement, Roger’s perceived dalliance with the showgirl, his arrest. Shame filled her. She had been unfaithful to him in every way. ‘It got out of control, Roger. I’m so sorry. I honestly never meant to hurt you.’

  ‘Why would you write about yourself?’ Roger’s eyes were narrow as he worked to understand the secret she’d been keeping from him.

  ‘I didn’t. I … they hired another Mouse.’

  ‘So the columns about me? The showgirl in Connecticut?’

  Evie knew she had a chance to clear herself in Roger’s eyes. She could tell him it had been the other Mouse that had written those things. But she couldn’t stand to lie to him anymore. ‘That was me,’ she whispered.

  Roger shook his head slowly. ‘I don’t understand. Any of it, Evie.’ His voice was sad and heavy.

  ‘I’m so sorry.’ Tears of shame coursed down Evie’s cheeks and her heart crumpled as she looked at Roger’s dark eyes. Like Jack’s, they had turned cold.

  ‘I don’t know what you’re expecting at this point, then,’ Roger said, his back straightening.

  ‘I came to apologize. To see how you’re doing,’ Evie said.

  ‘I’m in a lot of trouble, Evie. My father is working night and day to get the right person to let this go, but it seems likely that I’ll spend some time in prison.’ He said it matter-of-factly, and it was clear that he’d already accepted this possibility. ‘I’m not sure this is any of your concern at this point.’

  Evie tried to sit up straight, but she felt as if the world was pressing her down into the soft cushions on the couch where she sat. ‘I was worried about you.’

  ‘No need.’ Roger stood. ‘Was there something else?’ He was speaking to her like a stranger.

  ‘I also wanted to tell you that I’m going away for a bit, as you suggested. I’m going to see Jane in Paris.’ She didn’t look at him as she spoke. She didn’t have the strength.

  ‘I think that’s for the best.’ Roger turned and walked toward the entryway.

  She rose and followed him, her misery wrapped around her like a suffocating mink stole.

  ‘Maybe it would be wise to leave the ring here,’ he said as he opened the door for her. ‘I would hate for it to interfere with your social calendar in Paris.’

  Evie turned to face Roger, one hand on his arm. ‘I never meant to hurt you.’ She found the strength to look into those chocolate eyes, the ones that had always held affection for her. But they were cold and closed.

  Roger pulled his arm away. ‘Well, perhaps you can just leave it with your parents to send along,’ he said. ‘Enjoy your trip.’

  She looked up into his face a moment longer, and then shame flooded her. Here was a good man, a man who had loved her and offered to give her everything. And she’d sullied their relationship with lies and dishonesty. She knew that she’d lost him. Evie pulled Roger’s ring from her finger and held it out to him. ‘I’m so sorry, Roger.’

  ‘Goodbye,’ he said, his rich voice cracking on the last syllable as he took the ring.

  As the door closed behind her, Evie made her way back to the waiting car feeling as if she wore iron manacles. How had she managed to do everything so exactly wrong? All she had wanted was a chance to be a different kind of woman, a woman who made choices for herself and found her own way in the world
. And she’d made horrible choices, and found herself alone. She sat in the back of the car and cried as Buck glanced at her worriedly and drove them home.

  Chapter Twenty

  Tug

  Tug had been working as Guinan’s assistant for two weeks before she finally felt as if the blonde truly trusted her. She performed a wide range of odd jobs for her new boss – everything from bookkeeping to bartending. And she’d handled all of it with ease. After all, it was nothing she hadn’t done at Evie’s before.

  Guinan kept her busy, asking her to come in during the day to help set things up to be ready for the evening. She’d had her work with the dancers to ensure that their routines were flashy but not too illicit, walking the line of impropriety without crossing it. She’d had her run errands around town as well, and Tug found herself falling into bed in the early morning hours exhausted.

  ‘You ready for something new?’ Guinan asked her when she arrived in the late afternoon after her first weeks were at an end.

  ‘Always,’ Tug said.

  ‘Grand.’ Guinan held out a slip of paper and waited for Tug to take it. ‘Go to this address. Knock on the door six times and give the man my name. When he lets you in, tell him you’re the new manager and then get to work.’

  Tug stared at her. ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t be a dumb Dora, Tug. Your talents are wasted running errands for me. I’m opening a new club and I can’t manage both. This one’s yours. For now, at least.’

  Tug felt her smile threatening to leap off her face. ‘Oh, thank you! I won’t let you down!’

  ‘I know you won’t, Tug. I think you and me are a lot alike.’ Guinan gave Tug’s arm an affectionate squeeze. ‘Go get it set up. You open in a week. And don’t go making any deals. You get my drift?’

  Tug knew too well what Guinan was referring to. With a sheepish nod, she turned and went to see her future.

  *****

  The new club was a smaller version of the club where Texas entertained the New York and Hollywood elite. There was a small stage, an alcove of more private tables for VIPs, and a long ornate bar outfitted with a brass rail. Tug felt her heart swell as she looked around the space. She had made it. She pushed down a warning feeling that rose in her throat as memories of what had happened the last time she was in charge threatened to overtake her. She straightened her spine. She would let her past mistakes guide and inform her. She would not let them cow her into submission. The dark cloud receded as Tug looked around.