A/N: All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I use them for fun and not profit.

Chapter 11

"Will you honor the client-attorney privilege under any circumstances?" I asked my brother-in-law.

"Of course, I…I will take any secret you tell me to the grave." Albert Kloughn was a good man and I thought I could trust him. I pulled my checkbook out of my purse and wrote him a check for thirty-five thousand dollars. I handed him the check and watched his eyes grow large.

"I need you to handle my divorce, Albert. No one, especially my family, knows I'm married and that's the secret you have to keep."

"Stephanie, I can keep your secret, but this is way too much money." The money wasn't mine and I didn't want it. I figured Albert could use it. He practiced out of a small store-front, serving as his own secretary. Albert was more than capable of the job I needed done.

"You'll earn the money, Albert, and I want you to have it. I need a divorce and I need it as quickly and quietly as possible." I sat in the chair in front of his desk and told him the barebones details of my marriage to Ranger. I didn't want any settlement, I just wanted out and I knew even Albert could handle that.

I left Albert's little office and headed my Cadillac toward Newark. I had a lunch date with Anthony Fenoglio. I didn't really think he'd be able to shed any light on my stalker, but I was going to ask questions anyway.

My job at E.E. Martin ended when appropriate palms weren't greased. The company wasn't owned by the mob, just allowed to exist by the mob. My boss was given his position because of his family connections. In one of life's little ironies he embraced his token position and became very good at his job. When Baldicott, Inc. bought out the failing E.E. Martin they brought Anthony Fenoglio with them. He had wanted to bring me along as well, but there'd only been one vacant position and he regretfully gave it to the assistant buyer with the most seniority, Shirley Blanco.

Anthony was ten years older than me. He'd been a good boss. My time at E.E. Martin was a turbulent one on a personal level. I'd been single when I started with the company and single when I was fired. Dickie happened in between. Dickie Orr and I had a whirlwind courtship. Turns out the courtship lasted longer than the marriage, and through it all Anthony had been a very understanding boss. He and I had shared many lunches during those days and he was a good sounding board for me. Anthony was happily married to his high school sweetheart and it was beyond his experience for a man to treat a woman like Dickie had treated me. When my mother was appalled that I was giving up on the marriage because of a few infidelities, Anthony was firmly in my corner. I was looking forward to seeing him again.

Anthony was one of those men who started out average looking and improved with age. The grey at his temples gave his otherwise nondescript features an air of distinction. He was dressed in a blue suit, white gold and diamond cufflinks sparkling at the wrists of his French cuffed dress shirt. He was the epitome of a well-dressed executive. His dark brown eyes were warm with welcome as I entered his office.

"Stephanie, it's so good to see you." Pushing back his chair he came to his feet and walked forward to embrace me in a warm hug.

"Wow, Anthony," I said, "You've come up in the world. These are pretty fancy digs."

He smiled, "Would you like a little tour before lunch?"

"That would be great."

We ambled leisurely through the offices. It became apparent immediately Baldicott was a step up from E.E. Martin. We passed an open door and I glanced inside to see what looked like a work-room. "What's this?" I asked.

Anthony hesitated and then extended his hand showing me into the room.

"Baldicott is experimenting with importing a small amount of high quality lingerie to be sold at exclusive boutiques." The little hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. The room was filled with exactly the kind of 'gifts' I'd been sent. I walked over and picked up an elegant lavender teddy. There was no manufacturer's tag.

"This is lovely," I said.

"Yes, it is. It's from a new and relatively unknown designer. This new project is kind of my baby. Baldicott will be opening several small boutiques in high end shopping districts in the north-east. If the trial goes well, we may go nationwide."

I wondered for a moment if this was where my gifts had come from. It would explain the wide array of manufacturers and the link to E.E. Martin couldn't be denied. I looked up to find Anthony staring at me with an intensity that was unnerving. The little hairs standing on end at the back of my neck began to dance.

"Stephanie, I have something to ask you." He said it with such a calm, matter of fact voice I lost the feeling of unease. Anthony was a good man. I couldn't believe he was responsible for the threats I'd received.

"Let's go to lunch and we'll talk," he continued. "I'd been thinking about calling you when you called me. I hope you'll be amenable to what I have to say."

We ate lunch at a small elegant French restaurant in the lobby of the building that housed the corporate offices of Baldicott. It was clear Anthony was a regular. I was glad I'd taken time with my appearance that morning. My hair was atypically restrained. I'd opted for a little black suit and a white silk blouse. I wore four inch black pumps and I thought I looked professional…and hot. I'd even shaved my legs.

"May I order for you, Stephanie?" he asked. "I'm quite familiar with the menu." I nodded my assent and knew I'd made the right decision with my first bite of fig and olive tapenade. I looked over to see Anthony smiling at my obvious enjoyment.

As we ate I waited for Anthony to tell me what was on his mind. His increasing nervousness made me uneasy. Finally I couldn't stand it any longer.

"Anthony, you've gotten my curiosity up. What did you want to talk to me about?"

He looked down at his plate and then looked up. I saw pain in his eyes. "Do you remember all the lunches we shared? I'd listen to you talk about your troubles with your husband?"

"Yes," I said.

"Well, I could have used you in the same way," he said. "My wife blindsided me last year. She left me for someone barely above the legal age. I could have used a friend and many times I thought about calling you."

"Anthony, I'm so sorry for you." I reached out and gave his arm a squeeze. He took my hand in his and held it, his arm extending across the small table.

"Stephanie, are you seeing anyone right now?"

Was I? I hesitated before I answered. I was technically married to Ranger and I had a date that evening with Mr. Poughkeepsie. "I'm not involved with anyone right now," I said. Did being undyingly in love with Ranger count?

"I'd like to take you out," he said. "I think of you as a friend, but I could see that changing into something more, at least on my part."

It was on my list. I was going to find someone to spend my life with. The man in front of me was kind, attractive and interested in me. It was time to step up to the plate. "I'd like that," I said.

I was uneasy with the idea of dating Anthony and I wasn't sure why. I was going to go through with it, though. I couldn't get my mind off the lingerie I'd seen in the workroom. If there was a connection with my stalker, I was going to find it. We made plans for dinner the following night. He pulled me to him and gave me a small hug as I left the restaurant.

It was mid-afternoon and I didn't have anything planned until my dinner with Rob Balestere. I stopped by the bonds office partly to see if there were any skips and partly to avoid spending time on my own. Time alone might mean thinking about Ranger, my future, and my stalker. For the time being I was pushing those thoughts into a distant corner of my mind.

"Hey," Lula said as I walked in the door. "Me and Connie was just talking about you."

"Oh yeah? It had better have been good."

"It was great. We just got a new skip in and I told Connie you were gonna love this one."

"Who?"

Connie came through the door from Vinnie's office. She paused for a moment for effect and then said, "Joyce Barnhardt."

"You're kidding!" I exclaimed. "I didn't know Vinnie even bonded her out let alone that she missed a court date. What'd she do?"

"She asked Vinnie to keep it on the down low and he did. She was caught over at the multi-plex having sex in the back row. Lucky for her the kid she was boinkin' just had his eighteenth birthday the day before or this would be a whole different thing." I had no trouble believing Joyce was guilty as charged. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't show up for court.

"She missed her court date," Connie continued, "and Vinnie's pissed. He did her a favor by bonding her out personally and then she didn't show."

"I'll go after her first thing tomorrow morning," I said. "I've got a date tonight at six. I was going to do a little shopping. Anyone want to come along?"

"Is this for your dinner with Mr. Poughkeepsie?" Connie asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll lock up. He was one cute fireman and Lula and I are going to make sure you look hot."

"Yeah," Lula laughed. "You're gonna be so hot there'll be sparks."

"You'll be smoking," Connie laughed pleased with her cleverness.

"Enough with the stupid fireman puns!" I groaned.

"We aren't saying puns," Lula said. "These here are double entendres. I'd a thought Ranger would have taught you all about those."

"And speakin' of Ranger," Lula continued, as she and Connie piled into my Cadillac, "we need the rest of the story."

"There is no rest of the story," I said.

"Well, the other night at the Whiplash you said you slept with Batman. What happened after that?"

Dang that tequila. Oh well, they might as well hear a few small details. I had to tell them enough to make my current situation believable. "To start out with, I didn't sleep with Ranger…I spent all night in bed with him, but I don't remember much sleep." Connie and Lula giggled like teen-agers.

"Tell me he was as good as he looks like he'd be," Connie said fanning herself at the thought.

"He didn't disappoint."

"Why aren't you with him?" Lula asked.

"Ranger doesn't do relationships. He never intended to spend more than one night with me. End of story." Something must have come across in my voice because the topic of conversation turned to our shopping and there were no more questions about Ranger.

The shopping trip was successful. It had taken only an hour and a couple hundred dollars on my Visa. When I got out of the Cadillac and headed toward the entrance of Pino's I felt good. It might have been the extra coat of mascara I'd swiped on or it might have been the Victoria's Secret bombshell push-up bra, but there was a swagger to my step.

Rob Balestere was standing inside the door waiting for me. I smiled as I saw him, taking in his black hair, cut in a short no nonsense style. His eyes were grey and framed by little laugh lines. He was a nice looking guy in a boy-next-door sort of way, and I knew from the night at the Whiplash that what his tight jeans promised he could deliver. I reached into my purse and pulled out a carefully folded g-string. He smiled as he took it from me and slid it into the front pocket of his jeans. My eyes followed his hand down and then quickly back up to his face. He was laughing at me.

We sat in a booth and began an easy conversation immediately. I watched his eyes as I took off my jacket. Yep, the bra made the outfit. Rob turned out to be not at all what I expected.

"You're the first male stripper I've ever shared a meal with," I told him.

"I'm a fireman," Rob said. "I just moonlight as a dancer. Have you ever eaten with a fireman before?"

I shook my head no. "Two firsts at once."

"I consider myself first and foremost a fireman," he said. "We dance to raise money for scholarship funds. The Hose Brigade charges a fee for the performance and the money goes to the families of firemen who've been disabled or killed in the line of duty. We get to keep our tips so I dance mainly for the extra money because it helps pay my kid sister's college tuition." I liked him even more.

"I don't know how I'm going to break it to Lula," I said with a big smile. "All those dollars she was stuffing into g-strings the other night weren't tax deductable after all!"

Our conversation continued throughout the evening, becoming more and more animated. He was funny and charming and he had good friend potential. Occasionally I looked around the bar to see if I saw anyone I knew. I figured there'd be someone watching to report the going's on to my mother. Remarkably there was no one. The evening passed quickly and I found myself standing with Rob next to my Cadillac.

"I had a nice time," I told him preparing to get in the car. He reached out and pulled me to him. He was going to kiss me and I was curious enough to let him. His mouth was gentle on mine. When I didn't resist he deepened the kiss. His tongue slid cautiously into my mouth as if asking permission. I touched my tongue to his and he explored my mouth. His hands ran up and down my back pulling me closer to his body. I could feel all of Poughkeepsie pressing against my abdomen. Slowly, reluctantly he pulled back. He leaned his forehead against mine and the vapor from our breaths intermingled in the cold Trenton night air. As first kisses went, it was nice. I had been hoping for something more than nice. I'd been hoping for the mind-numbing slam of desire that started in my belly and spread throughout my body until I was quivering with need. I'd been hoping for Ranger.

Be careful what you ask for, Grandma Mazur always says. As Rob pulled away and went to open my car door for me I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. Tank and Ranger stood in the doorway of Pino's watching Rob and me. I didn't know if they were on their way in or on their way out, but I knew I was getting the heck out of Dodge. I fired up the engine and with a little wave to Rob took off with my foot to the floor.