The Set Piece Read Online Free

like to read it first.”
    “Of course,” Horowitz said. “Can Rachel get you anything while you do so?”
    “A coffee, please.”
    Rachel came back in to offer a choice between a regular coffee, a latte, or a cappuccino.
    Amy asked for a latte and for half a second savored being the costumer and not the barista. She turned her attention to the contract in her hands. One pre-law class at Penn was not enough for her to truly comprehend what she was reading, but she read every word and underlined key phrases with her finger. Basically the agreement said that the three of them would have a conversation, and subsequently, she could not let a word or even an inference leave this room. If she did, all sorts of terrible things would happen, not the least of which would be lawsuits, court cases, and debt up to her eyeballs. In short, her life would be over.
    Rachel returned with a latte, which she placed before her on a Horowitz and Kane coaster. Amy took one sip and knew that the coffee was a South American blend and that the firm had a very expensive coffee machine. The fact that she knew more about the latte than her reading material sent her back to the contract with a renewed focus.
    She finished reading and paused, her pen hovering over the line with her name printed under it. She resisted the urge to run her fingers through her hair. Should she sign? Should she just get up and walk out? The remaining four hundred dollars had appeared at the other end of the coffee table while she read. It was a clear draw, but what finally put her over the edge was simple curiosity. There was no way that she could live the rest of her life not knowing what all this was about. Probably the conversation would be a huge disappointment. She might very well end up behind bars, but at least she would know.
    She signed. The expensive pen moved smoothly over the thick paper.
    Paul Knight licked his lips as if he were about to devour something very tasty. Horowitz picked up the money and handed it to her in a slick trade for the contract. “Okay. Down to business. Rachel, can you step in here one last time. Ms. Kimball, just to make sure that you’re on the up and up, we would like Rachel to pat you down to make sure that you’re not wearing a recording device.”
    “Are you kidding me?” When he didn’t react, she said. “I just signed the agreement.”
    “You can never be too careful.”
    Amy stretched her arms out as an answer. Rachel patted her down without making eye contact. “Nothing there.” She nodded at Horowitz.
    Amy wondered if patting down women was in her job description. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head at the men. “Well?”
    “Remember, what we’re about to tell you is completely confidential,” Knight began. Amy nodded for the umpteenth time.
    Knight thrust his head forward. “We want to offer you a job. It pays very well. Fifteen hundred dollars a week plus room and board.”
    Amy couldn’t believe her ears. They knew how to get a girl’s attention, all right.
    “Doing what?” she asked. Her mind was already whirling into high gear. She could do a lot with that kind of money, like get new running shoes and pay off student loans and maybe even make a dent in the debt her parents left.
    “We want you to date one of our clients,” Paul Knight stated.
    Her stomach dropped, and a slow flush crept up her throat into her cheeks. “Christ. I’m a bartender, not a prostitute.”
    “Nobody said you were,” Horowitz jumped in, raising a palm to Knight who was already opening his mouth. “You’re going about this all wrong, Paul. Sit down. Let me do the talking.”
    Knight’s jaw jutted, but he sat down and shut up.
    “We have a client. A famous client, who, shall we say, has certain proclivities that if they were to come to light would destroy his career. Not his main career, you understand, but the only one that matters. His endorsement deals are worth multi-millions. We want to protect those deals by