center in Brooklyn smelled o

he was sweating. She had just finished a monologue from A Streetca

ce. Then, scattered applause

d once had a three-line arc on

o bad nobody wants to hire you. I heard your husband wo

eople s

NDA prevented her from correcting them. If she said My husband owns t

d "accidentally" kicked it. Scri

eered. "You're blacklisted. Y

papers. "Better to rot in the mu

wisted. She ra

of the baseme

wide, tall, and radiated menace. The room wen

nor Stuart

ulled back in a severe chignon. She looked at the peeling paint on the walls, the water

queen who had st

t Sloan. Sloan di

She reached out with a gloved

asked. Her voice was soft, cultured, and t

ed back, realizing she had m

r's hand away. "This

m her purse and wiped the glove w

anor said. "I have a

. She left Sloan stand

hantom was idli

et to a crisp sixty-eight degrees.

tion of Marriage & Asse

the window at the graffiti-covered street. "It is embarrassing the fa

expensive," D

your acting career. I will fund your production company.

e number on the pa

r ribs. It was freedom. It w

ith ice-blue eyes, "is that you disappear. You leave Casper.

en. The weight of it