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She took a“ deep breath, then exhaled Slowly, she reached down for the check and picked it up The numbers swam before her eyes ”Okay,“ she said ”Ill do it "

Chapter Four

Ruby cranked the Volkswagens radio to full blast A raucous Metallica song blared through the s to the beat

Fifty thousand dollars

She wanted so badly to share this day with someone If only she had Maxs new number; shed call him and tell him what hed missed out on She would have spent a lot of this money on himon them

The thought brought a quick thrust of sadness, and The drive into Beverly Hills Usually, she didnt pissed her off Max didnt deserve one cent of this fortune

She drove into Beverly Hills Usually she didn’t even drive past this area; it was too depressing to see all the luxuries she couldnt afford But today, she was flying high She felt invincible

When she saw an open spot on Rodeo Drive, she pulled over and parked Grabbing her purse (with the yellow deposit slip for twenty-five thousand dollars inside), she got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her For once, she didnt bother locking the car; if soh for transportation to steal this one, they elcome to it

She strolled around for a while, passing pods of wo No one made eye contact with her In this part of the world, a twenty-seven-year-old woe” simply didnt exist And fifty thousand dollars wasnt nearly enough to get these womens attention

Then she looked into a storeand saw a sheer, beaded, silvery blue dress with a plunging V neckline and a split in the side that cah It was theshed never iined she could own

She held her handbag close and pushed through the glass doors A bell tinkled over her head

Over in the corner, across an ocean of white , a woht with you, dear,” she said in one of those cultured, sorority-girl voices

Ruby felt uncomfortable She wished she could tape the deposit slip to her forehead

Finally the saleswoman came over She was tall and reed-thin, dressed in black froave a little sniff when she saw Ruby, but her voice was kind “May I help you?”

Ruby pointed helplessly toward the“I sawa blue dress in the”