Chloe couldn’t help but smile as she watched how festive the guests were as they mingled and danced without a care in the world. The band she had chosen played an array of music, alternating every few songs and encouraging different cliques of people to enjoy their own tastes in music. After a few hours, she found that this was the first party she had ever attended where she was genuinely having a good time despite the fact that it would not be ending on a cheerful note, but would be a damn good story for all who wanted to hear it.
Chloe happily mingled with the guests while keeping her eyes on everything from Matthew’s location to what food the caterer was serving at specific times. Crescent and a few of Matthew’s associates were cleverly placed for security purposes and each visiting underboss had an associate with them at all times. Mr. Tempest brought Mr. Schedler with him, and when Chloe was able to acknowledge them both from across the room, she and Mr. Tempest shared a smile.
As far as Madeline was concerned, Chloe was keeping a close eye on her and found it amusing that she had a certain amount of nervousness about her that kept her from leaving her table, preferring to have others approach her. Chloe also didn’t miss the fact that Madeline was doing everything in her control not to look in Chloe’s direction.
Dr. Michaelson seemed to be having a good time visiting with old friends and colleagues, seeming to be finally at peace with the torturous nature of his past and the uncertainty of his future. He was enjoying himself and allowing himself the pleasure of company and laughter. It had been far too long since she had seen a genuine smile on his face.
She spotted David at a table with some of his guests in deep and discrete discussion. While she didn’t know each of his underbosses personally, as a child it had become habit to refer to them by the city they represented unless she knew their name. None of them ever seemed to mind, and David, for some reason, thought it humorous. She knew that habit would need to be broken sooner rather than later.
Chloe’s eyes swept the room and found Matthew in a discrete conversation with Mr. Crescent, and noticed Matthew’s tense body language and carefully controlled animation. She wasn’t particularly worried about Matthew and Crescent at the moment, there was somebody more important she was concerned about as the five men at David’s table stood to greet her as she approached to say hello.
“Gentlemen,” she said with a smile as she hugged each one of them in turn. “Thank you for being here. I’m sorry I haven’t gotten a chance to visit with any of you until now.”
“Not to worry,” said Kansas City, “we understand how busy you’ve been.”
“You’ve done wonders with this party,” said Detroit, who Chloe only knew as Paddy, but had no idea if that was his name or just a nickname.
“Thank you,” she said while casting a questioning glance at Jack. “I hope you all enjoy yourselves. Is there anything I can get you?”
“Would you care to dance with an old man?” Jack asked as he stood from the table.
“Find me an old man first,” she replied, and got a hearty laugh from the others at the table.
The band switched tempo from swing to slow as Jack took her hand to lead her to the dance floor. “Tony Bennett. Say what you will, but nobody can make romance dance with words like Tony Bennett.”
“I don’t know how much longer I can fake this smile, Jack,” Chloe said once they started moving to the music.
“Not much longer, I’m sure.” Jack smiled as they danced to the slow rhythm and couldn’t help but see the despair on Chloe’s face. “He’s fine. Cabin fever is taking over, but he’s fine. Mostly, he’s frustrated because he feels like a caged animal.”
“Can you blame him?”
“No.”
“What about the others?”
“I put Fowler back to work, and Dennis…” Jack said with a smile, “…lucky bastard got a retirement offer he couldn’t refuse.”
“When you go back, could you tell him…”
“I’ll tell him,” Jack said as he let out a soft sigh. “I’m not going to pretend like I know everything. David is keeping whatever plans he has close to the vest, but I can tell you that everything will be okay. You are in no danger.”
Chloe cast a glance at Matthew as he played host and laughed with guests. “He looks worried.”
“He should be.”
She searched Jack’s eyes for some kind of deception but found none. “Thank you for everything you’ve done.”
Jack smiled and gently kissed her forehead. “No thanks necessary.”