Page 28 of Drake Eternal

We spoke for a while about the perils of modern journalism and the decline of the old fifth estate, as it’s called. Then, I walked out of the washroom only to find that Carlton was heading out of the men’s room.

“There you are,” he said and stopped. “Didn’t think you could escape me that easily, did you?”

I tried to keep walking by. “I’m off to get another drink.”

He grabbed my arm and physically stopped me. “Come back and sit with me again. I wanted to talk to you about some ideas I have for articles.”

I smiled and tried to extricate my arm from his grip. “I’ll go get that other drink now,” I said and kept walking. Dana was already back in the main conference room, chatting with someone else.

“Don’t be a stranger,” Carlton called out as he went into the men’s room.

I took in a deep breath, not looking forward to having him pester me all evening. I went to another small group of students I knew from classes, and joined them, hoping I could avoid Carlton’s attentions by appearing busy.

It worked for a while. I saw him leave the men’s room and glance around when he came back into the main room. His eyes came to rest on me and sure enough, he made a beeline to me, his eyebrows raised. He joined our group and came to stand beside me.

Of course, no one thought a thing about it. They didn’t know Carlton had decided I was his for the night, despite me trying to escape his clutches. While he was busy chatting with someone beside him, I took the opportunity to leave, and went to another group of writers who were chatting with one of the editors. Ira Pearson, who taught investigative reporting at Columbia, was talking about some of the work he’d done on political campaigns. I listened eagerly, because I might be interested in working in that area. For the next half hour, it seemed like Carlton had thought better of his attempts to monopolize my time and I started to relax and enjoy myself.

Finally, at around midnight, I checked my watch and called John.

I was ready to leave.

Unfortunately, Carlton didn’t think I should go without at least one more attempt to seduce me.

I didn’t know what his endgame was but when he saw me heading towards the exit, he rushed over.

“Leaving so soon? It’s not even midnight. Why don’t you come with me and a few of the other staff to a rave that’s being held down the street.”

I made a face. “A rave? What — are we teenagers?”

“Come on,” he said and grabbed my hand, undeterred by my sarcasm. “Come and dance. Have some fun. Let your hair down.”

“I don’t think so, I said and slipped my hand out of his. “My driver is waiting outside, so I have to go.”

“Your driver can take us all there,” he said with a smile. “Great!”

“No,” I said. “I really have to get home. My babysitter will be expecting me at midnight.”

“Oh, so does your car turns into a pumpkin at midnight?”

I laughed at that. “Hardly.”

I made my way out of the main room and down the stairs to the front entrance. We walked along the path to the driveway where the valets and taxis were waiting. I glanced around to see where John was.

“How old is he,” Carlton asked, following me.

“My husband, Drake, in his early forties,” I said and of course, it must have sounded old to Carlton, who I assumed was maybe twenty-six or twenty-seven at the most.

“Ahh, in other words, an old rich guy.”

I saw the limo parked at the curb, and John was standing beside the rear passenger door, waiting. I sighed with relief and walked over to where he was.

“Hi, John,” I said when he opened the door.

Carlton was still undeterred. “Get him to drop us off down the street at Franklin Building. That’s where the rave is.”

I put my hand on Carlton’s chest to stop him. “I’m going home, Carlton. Good night.”

He raised his hands up in surrender. “Oh, all right. If you must play hard to get…”

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