The Pepper in the Gumbo (Men of Cane River #1)(83)

“Why? Couldn’t you just pick it up downstairs?”

Paul shot him a look.

“Oh, right. She doesn’t know your secret identity.” Andy unzipped his sweatshirt and tossed it on a chair. “So, Meg Ryan just sent Tom Hanks a book but…”

“No, Meg Ryan just sent NY152 a book, which was then overnighted to Tom Hanks, who lives above Meg Ryan and knows she’s Shopgirl, while she has no idea he’s NY152.”

“I’m a little disturbed you know that movie so well.”

“It was actually a remake of a 1937 play called Parfumerie by Miklós László.” Paul blew out a breath. “And it’s really not as fun as they made it sound.”

“But hey, at least you can say you’ve got mail,” Andy said, chuckling.

“You’re hilarious,” Paul said. He peeled the package open and The Duke’s Secret dropped into his hand. Alice had been right. The binding was broken, there were water spots on the cover, but all the pages were there. It was the perfect candidate for a Browning Wordsworth Keats upload. He might just make it through the day if he had another project.

“Are you leaving the apartment today or should I call your mom to help stage an intervention?”

“You want me to set up shop down at the Starbucks and see if I get anything done?” Paul walked to the table and picked up his X-ACTO knife.

Andy followed him. “Listen, I don’t care if you go into hibernation mode until the party. It would probably add to your mystique. But we’ve got some big meetings coming up. I need to make you sure you’re going to be at the top of your game. You seem… like you’ve been gutted by an orc and left on a pike at the city gates.”

Paul turned around, knife in hand. “Am I really giving that impression?”

Andy held up his hands. “Watch where you wave that thing. I’m just looking out for you.”

He went back to slicing pages out of the book. “I’m good. You know me.”

“Yeah, I do know you.” Andy’s voice was quiet. He didn’t say any more, moving toward the couch and picking up the controls.

Paul worked quickly, and soon The Duke’s Secret was stacked carefully, free of its binding and ready for the scanner. He examined every page for spots and tears but it was in remarkably good condition. And it only cost him a million dollars. He smiled at his own joke. Buying off Norma Green was one of the most satisfying things he’d done all year and he had no regrets.

He stacked the pages into the feeder and turned on the machine. The ScreenStop logo sticker had gotten scratched somehow during delivery and he smoothed back one of the angel’s wings. Alice’s letter to BWK still made him wonder. He wished he could walk down the hallway and ask her.

His cell phone rang and he answered it, frowning at the local number.

“Mr. Olivier? This is Peter Chatham from city hall.”

“Hi. How can I help you?” Paul punched a few buttons on the scanner and adjusted the papers, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder.

“I wanted to let you know that Alice Augustine dropped the lawsuit against your company this morning. The injunction has been lifted and construction can resume on your building.”

Paul lifted his head and the phone fell to the floor with a crash. It bounced under the table and Paul stood motionless for a moment before he dropped to his knees and grabbed it. “I’m sorry. Can you say that again?”

“The injunction. She asked her lawyer to unsuit it, or cancel the petition for a temporary stay.” He was speaking slowly now, as if he didn’t think Paul was very bright.

“Thank you for telling me. Is there anything we need to do?”

“No, not on this end. If you had your lawyers preparing a defense then you can tell them they can let it go.”

Paul thanked him again and disconnected. He stood there, watching the pages of The Duke’s Secret slide into the scanner, disappear for a few minutes, then emerge out the other side.

“What was that about?” Andy called over, his gaze fixed on the screen as he fought his way through an army of white orcs.

“Alice dropped her suit.” Paul’s voice sounded odd to his own ears.

“What? It sounded like you said―”

Paul turned around. “I did. She did. And we have a store to open.”

Andy stared at him for a moment. Then he logged out of the game and stood up. “Let’s get this party started.”

“You just razzed me for dropping out of a game like that,” Paul said, laughing.

“Yeah, well, you did it for a piece of mail. This is serious.” Andy grabbed a laptop and pulled up the ScreenStop official page. “People are going to start getting real confused if we keep changing the venue.”

“I don’t think we’re going to have a problem.” Paul sat next to him, watching the seraph logo pop up on the screen and feeling an enormous sense of relief wash over him. The opening was happening. Fans wouldn’t be disappointed. And for some reason, he and Alice were no longer legal adversaries. Her letter to BWK was making more and more sense.

“Whoever said Mondays sucked never had a Monday like this one,” Paul said.

“Agreed. That girl could have done some damage. Forget selling gossip to TMZ. I’m just glad she didn’t decide to drop your dox onto one of those crazy fan boards. Someone got ahold of Steve Job’s info once. The next day, fifty pizzas and three tow trucks showed up at his house.”