Read Online Talk by Laura van Wormer - Free Book Online

mean-how?"
    That's what they were all wondering. How the heck had the stalker not only gotten into West End again, but down below ground level into the control room?
    "Look, Jessica," Dirk said, stepping closer to her, "I am frankly scared about what can happen to you." He paused for effect.
    "And Slim knows that he could have cost you your life by not being there."
    Jessica rolled her eyes; she couldn't help it.
    "Right, my stalker's a vice president at Procter & Gamble."
    "He very well could be."
    "Get a life. Dirk," Jessica said, grimacing.
    "I've been dealing with stalkers for a lot longer than you've been here."
    "Oh yeah? Well, I was dealing with stalkers who killed their victims long before you blew into town, babe. So if you're content to just let this guy waltz in and out of West End, until you displease him and he kills you, then fine, I'm all for it. Just as long as I get my paycheck."
    Jessica looked at Langley.
    "I think Dirk's the stalker."
    "That's it, Langley!" the security expert yelled, throwing his hands in the air.
    "How can I possibly work with her!"
    As the argument escalated, Langley looked down at the enclosure card that lay on his desk in a plastic bag.
    For my precious Jessica, With all my love, Leopold
    In another plastic bag was an oblong ornate silver case, in another, a box from Tiffany's. In a fourth bag was the wrapping paper, in the fifth, the ribbon. Langley picked up the bag with the silver case to examine it.
    Jessica turned from yelling at Dirk to comment to Langley, in a perfectly normal tone of voice, "It holds a highlighter pen. I've seen them at Tiffany's, but I've never seen anything like that one. I don't think it's from there."
    "It looks old," Langley commented.
    "It's from someone who certainly knows me well," Jessica said. She went through hundreds of markers a year, highlighting her notes, in books, magazines and scripts, newspapers, faxes and Email.
    "And doesn't the fact he knows your habits worry you?" Dirk wanted to know.
    "Because it does me."
    "Anybody who reads People knows about Jessica and her highlighters," Cassy said quietly, speaking for the first time.
    "They ran that picture of her with all of them on her desk."
    "And what about her real name, Cassy?" Dirk said.
    "Look at the initials engraved on that thing."
    Langley looked at the ornate monogram, unusual because it was four letters, even odder since there was no / to be found in it. sehw.
    "Sarah Elizabeth Hollingstown Wright," Dirk said.
    "How would whoever it is know that? It's not even in the almanac."
    "He may have gotten a copy of her book," Cassy said.
    "Damn it," Dirk said, rubbing his eyes.
    "So he could have been in that audience last night." He looked at Jessica.
    "You gave each one of them a galley, didn't you?"
    "Look, I'd love to stay and chat some more," Jessica said, slapping the arms of her chair and standing up, "but I've got work to do. In case you've forgotten, Alexandra's out there entertaining half the Dow Jones Industrial Average by herself. Come on. Slim. If he fires you, I'll hire you as my administrative assistant."
    Slim looked to Dirk as Jessica started pulling him toward the door.
    Dirk waved him off.
    "Go on."
    When the door closed behind them, Cassy said, "You don't really think one of our sponsors could be the stalker, do you?"
    "Honest to God, one of them could be."
    Cassy and Langley looked at each other and, without speaking further, fell in line to follow Dirk into the cy" porate dining room. ;
    S~ii," hea said to Jessica later that evening, following the taping with Roger Jard.
    "I saw part of the interview and you handled him very well."
    "Thanks," Jessica said, looking through the in-box on Bea's desk. She had come back up to the office to get the stuff she needed to review over the weekend.
    "Alexandra wants you to call her in the newsroom," Bea continued, "I put that book you wanted on your chair, your dentist confirmed your appointment for next week, Sotheby's wants to know