PALINDROME by Lawrence Kelter Read Free Book Online Page B

a
warm hand and a broad smile. “Thank you so much for agreeing to
this meeting. My name is Emilio Bolan. I am here representing Keith
Cooper.” Gelfman exchanged greetings with Bolan.
    “For the record,” Gelfman began, “this is an
informal proceeding. Even so, please direct your questions to me
and not to my client. Are we agreed?”
    “Of course,” Bolan said. He was beyond
cordial, accommodating to the fullest extent.
    “Great,” Gelfman continued, “Shall we get
right to it?”
    “Let’s,” Bolan said. He turned to face me. He
looked at me as if I alone existed in the room. “Mr. Cooper would
like to express his most sincere apology for his conduct the other
evening and would like to offer you a monetary settlement in
exchange for dropping all charges against him, civil and criminal.
He now realizes the error of his ways and promises that he will
never display such insensitivity with any woman ever again.” Bolan
reached into his portfolio and withdrew a check. I made no attempt
to look at the amount inscribed on it. “I have a check which my
client has instructed me to deliver to you, if it meets with your
approval. We only ask that you drop all charges against him and
sign a simple release, preventing you from discussing the matter in
public.”
    “A gag clause?” Gelfman asked.
    “That is the generically accepted term. Gag
order has a harsh sound to it. My client simply wishes to settle
this matter and not have it haunt him any further. He knows he has
made a terrible mistake and hopes this cash offer will be viewed
acceptably.”
    How much? How much? I hoped they could
not hear my heart banging against my rib cage. I wanted to punish
the guy for what his friend Vincent almost did to me. Cooper had
already been taught an acceptable lesson.
    “May I present the offer?” Bolan continued,
still cordial and still damn charming.
    Gelfman nodded, and Bolan slid the check
toward him. I could see Gelfman’s eyes widen. He tugged at his
necktie to loosen it and then exhaled heavily through his nostrils.
He handed me the check.
    Fifty thousand dollars? OH-MY-GOD. I
couldn’t believe it. I only wanted to scare the guy. He had been
stupid, very stupid, and very irresponsible. He dropped a pill into
my drink through the instructions of his friend, Vincent. He was an
accomplice and he was a jerk, but he had never attempted to rape
me. I felt a little guilty.
    I did an amazing job of controlling my
emotions. I maintained a poker face that Lady Gaga would have been
proud of. I placed the check on the conference table and slid it
back to Gelfman without lifting my eyes, giving Bolan—and yes, even
Gelfman—a moment to wonder which way I would go. The first thing
that came to mind was the Allie-like BMW I had always wanted and a
new air conditioner to replace the unit in the condo that was
perpetually on the fritz. Ax’s car was no better than mine. He was
constantly at the junkyards looking for parts to swap out. Fifty
grand would take us a long way. Neither Ax nor I ever imagined
anything like this happening. We figured Cooper would spend a
couple of nights in jail and then we would drop the charges. That
was all we had hoped for, to scare him straight. Vincent, the true
criminal, had already paid the tab with his life.
    “Excuse us for a moment,” Gelfman said. “We
would like to confer privately.” Gelfman stood. I followed him to
the door.
    “Take your time,” Bolan said. We made eye
contact. He was very impressive. For a moment, the silly idea of
kissing him popped into my head, and then we were in Gelfman’s
office again and the idea was gone.
    “Do you know if Cooper comes from a wealthy
family?” Gelfman asked.
    “Wealthy?” I was sure Gelfman could read the
question mark on my face. “I—” Was he wealthy? His bullshit story
raced across my mind. Was his father really the inventor of the
cell phone? No, I knew better. We had checked him out thoroughly.
The story about being a cell phone