Free Margot: A Novel by [email protected]

to do 15
something for me, Margie,” he says. “But you can’t mention it 16
to anyone else here, especially not my father, or Miss McK 17
inney.” 18
“Okay,” I say slowly, not sure yet whether to be excited or 19
upset about what he is going to ask of me. My brain is foggy 20
again, since I’d stayed up late last night, then fallen into rest 21
less sleep after dialing P. Pelt’s number once more, just to 22
make sure I had not, indeed, made a mistake dialing. The 23
same woman answered, and I’d hung up. Then I’d called the 24
operator back to double-check I’d written the number down 25
right. I had. It still could be a mistake, I’d been telling myself 26
as I’d been tossing and turning in bed all night. Though what 27
kind of mistake, I cannot wrap my brain around now. S28
N29
    01 “I’m going to write down the address,” Joshua is saying
02 now, and I realize I have missed a bit of his instructions.
03 “The address?” I ask.
04 “Miss Korzynski’s address,” he says, and my heart falls
05 into my stomach, a place it is so often used to tumbling. “I
06 want you to stop by and see her after work today. Find out
07 how many others she thinks will join her suit. Get their
08 names and contact information and bring them back to me,
09 okay?”
10 “But your father . . .” I say, my voice breaking.
11 “Don’t worry about my father,” he says quickly. He picks
12 up his pen, writes Bryda’s address on the yellow legal pad on
13 his desk, tears the sheet off, and then holds it out to me.
14 I hesitate before taking it, because I do not want to seek
15 out Bryda Korzynski, to watch the way her brown eyes call me
16 a liar by looking through me. Maybe she looks at everyone
17 that way. Maybe her eyes are dead too.
18 “Couldn’t we just call her instead?” I finally say.
19 He shakes his head. “Let’s keep this all out of the office, all
20 right?” He pauses. “And besides, it’s always better to do these
21 things in person.” He thrusts the paper closer to me, and I
22 have no choice but to take it from him. “I’d like to get the ball
23 rolling. Leave a little early this afternoon so you’re not working
24 any later than usual, all right?” My whole body tells me to say
25 no, to run out of his office, to quit my job and move back to
26 the safety of Ilsa’s house in Levittown. But I love working here,
27 in this office, for Joshua, and I cannot really imagine leaving
28S it all behind just because of one crazy woman. I have survived
29N
    worse, hidden from worse. So I breathe deeply, and I tell 01
myself to stay. 02
“I know it’s a lot to ask,” Joshua says. “But you understand 03
how important this is, don’t you? Please, Margie. This is 04
really a very big deal for me. And I need your help here.” His 05
gray-green eyes, they plead with me in their softness. And I 06
think guiltily of the way Bryda’s voice shook as she called her 07
boss a Nazi. This is a good thing that Joshua is trying to do, 08
an honorable thing. And what will Joshua think about me if I 09
refuse to help him? 10
“Okay,” I finally agree. 11
“Thank you,” he says. I nod and stand. “And remember,” 12
he says, before I open the door, “not a word to anyone.” 13
14
15
“What was that all about?” Shelby whispers, when I’m back at 16
my desk. 17
“What?” I say, innocently enough. 18
“I was watching through the glass. It looked . . . steamy.” 19
“Steamy?” I say, my voice uneasy. I shake my head. “No. It 20
was nothing, really.” 21
“He didn’t tell you what they were fighting about, did he? 22
Ezra’s still miffed about it.” 23
“That’s not my place,” I say. 24
She rolls her eyes at me. For a second I think she might 25
call me a paragon of virtue. But then she says, “If you find 26
out, you tell me. I’m dying to know.” 27
“Of course,” I say. But Joshua needn’t worry. I am good at