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floor-to-ceiling windows and listing a few ideas of how to deal with them.
"Noelle, enough is enough. I need to talk to you," I said, my voice strong and clear as a bell in the
wide room. "It's a matter of life and death."
Noelle tsked and slung her thick hair over her shoulder. "So dramatic."
That was it. I walked right over to her, grabbed her arm, and forcibly pulled her away from the
others.
"What are you doing?" Amberly blurted.
Noelle actually tripped sideways, taken off guard by the physical attack. But the moment she
composed herself she pulled away, smoothing the front of her knee-length dress.
"You did not just touch me," she said.
"I'm sorry, but I had to get your attention," I told her under my breath. "Have you even read any of
my e-mails?"
Amberly had almost reached us,
but Noelle held up a hand, stopping her in her tracks. The girl
looked confused for a moment, unsure of what to do, before she sullenly returned to the party
planner.
"Uh, no," Noelle replied. "Those little missives have been directed straight to the recycle bin."
I pressed my lips together, frustrated. "You shouldn't have done that. I--"
"Miss Lange? Everything all right over there?" the party planner asked.
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"Fine," Noelle replied, lifting a hand. "This won't take long. Why don't you two talk Christmas
trees? I'm thinking faux, faux, faux. Maybe something in feathers." She looked at me again, her
brown eyes bored. "Go ahead. What could possibly be so very important?"
"I think Ivy killed Cheyenne," I told her, my pulse quickening. "In fact, I'm about ninety-nine
percent sure she did it. And I think she's going to come after you next."
Or me, I thought, dread radiating through my stomach as I recalled the pills and the defaced photo
of myself and Cheyenne. But there was no reason to bring my own peril into this conversation. In
order for me to keep Noelle's attention, this had to be about Noelle.Unfortunately, all she did was
let out an incredulous laugh that filled the room. "Ivy Slade? That girl does not have the balls. Nice