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Nine
Abby gotout of her car and headed into the park. She caught glimpses of the playground through the trees, heard the voices of children calling out to each other, their laughter traveling through the air like a softbreeze.
It was her favorite time of year in Vegas — the sun still shining but without the searing heat of summer, the sky a deep shade of blue unique to autumn — but her enjoyment of the weather was tinged withguilt.
She shouldn’t behere.
She followed the path toward the playground, scanning the area when it came into view. She spotted the woman right away, sitting on a bench near enough to the playground that the children would be easy to supervise without allowing them to overhear adultconversation.
The woman’s gray hair was still stylishly sleek, her everyday business attire traded for weekend-friendly leggings, a long tunic, andsandals.
Abby continued toward the bench, lifting a hand in greeting as she gotcloser.
The woman stood, a smile breaking out across her face as Abby approached. She wrapped Abby in a hug with a sigh ofrelief.
“I’m so happy to see you, my dear. I’ve beenworried.”
Abby pulled back. “Thanks for coming,Rosie.”
“Don’t be silly,” Rosie said. “I was so happy to hear from you. I wanted to reach out, but I wasn’t sure if it wasappropriate.”
Abby nodded in understanding. Rosie had stayed on at the Tangier after Jason disappeared, continuing in her capacity as executive assistant to a variety of high-level executives who flew in from New York to oversee the Tangier’s operations in Jason’sabsence.
“I understand,” Abby said. “I thought the samething.”
Rosie looked at her. “To be honest, I’m more surprised to hear from you now than I would have been over thesummer.”
Abby nodded. Rosie had been Jason’s executive assistant for years, and while some people might be tempted to downplay her role as nothing more than a glorified secretary, Abby knew better. Rosie probably knew more about the details of Jason’s life — both personal and professional — than Abby had, and Abby and Jason had been friends since they werekids.
It was true that Rosie handled Jason’s phone calls and business email, that she scheduled his meetings and replied to invitations on his behalf, but she also made reservations for his dates, chose gifts from him at Christmas, dealt with maintenance and repair companies for Jason’shouse.
That kind of loyalty diedhard.
Abby looked out at the playground. “Which one isyours?”
Rosie’s eyes locked onto a little girl on the swings. “The one in the red T-shirt. Hannah. She’s keeping me on mytoes.”
Abby smiled as she looked at the little girl named Hannah, pumping her legs with an expression of concentration that made it clear she was engaged in serious business. Her dark hair was pulled into pigtails that flew behind her like curly banners as she climbedhigher.
“She must get it from her grandmother,” Abbysaid.
Rosie laughed. “I won’t deny it. I’m always eager to take her when Elizabeth wants a break, but by the end of it, I’m ready for a stiff shot oftequila.”
Elizabeth was Rosie’s daughter. She lived in Phoenix, but two or three times a year she and her husband went out of town, leaving their daughter with Rosie for a longweekend.
“She looks like fun though,” Abbysaid.
Rosie nodded, then turned to look at her. “How are you? Have you found anotherjob?”
“I haven’t really been looking.” Abby sighed. “I need to regroup, figure out what I really wantnext.”
Rosie patted her hand on the bench. “You should do that, Abby. You’ve worked hard. What’s it all for if not to buy the freedom to regroup now andthen?”
“Exactly,” Abbysaid.
“It’s so great to see you,” Rosie said, “and I’d be more than happy to just sit and chat, but I have a feeling that’s not why youcalled.”
Abby laughed and shook her head. “They didn’t call you The Eagle fornothing.”
