The Mobster's Girl

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

It was finally Saturday. Gala day. The day that could possibly decide Stella's fate forever.

The gala wasn't scheduled until the evening, and Stella knew that she needed to get out of bed and decorate, but she couldn't bring herself.

She'd been "sick" since Jack had sent her home, and she hadn't shown up to practice, having called in, claiming that she had some sort of stomach bug. She had Kate and Hazel come over and pick up the clothes that she needed her fellow dancers to wear for the gala, and had kicked them out when they demanded to know why she was lying about being sick.

On top of being angry at Jack, a news article had also stopped her in her tracks. Friday morning, the morning after she had heard Jack talking to the terrifying man in the hotel lobby, there was a headline in the paper, announcing the death of a prominent young man in the war against liquor, named Charles Brown.

He had been found in his apartment, lying face down on the floor, a couple of empty bottles of liquor next to him, and a spilled glass full of alcohol on the floor next to him. Stella found this odd, since the man was for Prohibition. Why would he be drinking alcohol if he was against it?

Normally, a death in the paper wouldn't have caught Stella's attention, but it was the day after she had heard Jack talking about making something look like an accident.

Had Jack ordered a hit on Charles Brown? And why?

The idea that Jack was behind something of the sort intrigued Stella, and she wanted to know more, although she certainly couldn't go up to the man and ask him if he was behind it.

She knew that Jack was obviously involved in bootlegging, and she knew that men like him had more of a reputation for being thugs and racketeers, and it was stupid of her to assume that Jack would be different than them.

It would only make sense that the man she had seen talking to Jack in the hotel the other day was his hitman, so blame could never be placed on Jack, unless, of course, the hitman confessed to everything.

Knowing that she would have to see Jack on Saturday and pretend that all was well between them, she decided to take a day off, where she could clear her head, and get herself prepared.

But, Saturday came quickly, and Stella found that she still wasn't ready to speak to him.

She forced herself out of bed and began to get ready for the day, and took every step to make sure that she would look presentable. She dressed in a cream satin gown, with a modest neckline, and longer skirt, and paired it with a lace shawl. She wore the pearl necklace from her parents, along with stockings and matching shoes.

She dabbed her favorite violet perfume just behind her ears, wanting the scent to be subtle, instead of stronger like she usually wore it, and dabbed a little bit of blush onto her cheeks, but only enough to make her look naturally flushed.

By the time she was ready, she had just enough time to head outside and get a taxi, and head to the Blackstone in order to make sure that everything was ready. She knew that Jack told her that she only needed to show up, but she needed everything to be perfect. She knew her parents best, and she didn't trust anyone else to set everything up.

As soon as she arrived at the hotel, the outside was teeming with people carrying in flowers, and food, and she followed them in, where they went to the ballroom, where she found Jack ordering people about.

Everyone was focused on decorating, and there were people covering the tables with white tablecloths, with another lace, frothy cover on top of it, and people followed behind them and placed white linen napkins, and silverware, and a final person added the china and glasses.