The Syndrome

Here, no expense had been spared. The reception area that led into the various offices was calculated to create a very particular impression, one of enormous gravitas and means. At once lavish and understated, the area was carpeted in a taupe material so dense that it dragged at the feet, as if the floor had been dusted with matter from a neutron star. A pair of travertine marble columns upheld a fourteen-foot ceiling from which shafts of indirect lighting tu

Slough’s suite was locked, of course, so she put the envelope on the reception desk, and went back to her office for her purse. On the way out, she stuck her head in the cubicle across the hall.

“Hey, Bets—I’m outta here.” Bette was a first-year, too, and, like Adrie

With a wince and a moan, Bette got to her feet. “Jesus,” she said, “I’m seizing-up. I’ve got to remind myself to move once an hour.” She paused, and a hopeful look dawned on her. “What d’you say, Scout? Want to go out for sushi? I’m dying in here.”

Adrie

Bette frowned. “How’s she doing, anyway?”

Adrie

“Uhhh-oh.”

Adrie

Ordinarily, Adrie

The man behind the wheel was an attacking style driver, and as they rocketed along, Adrie

As she entered the building, the doorman recognized her—sort of. “Hey—you’re Nico’s sister, right?”

“Adrie

“Sure thing.” He waved her past him toward the elevators, which surprised her by wheezing open as soon as she touched the Up button. But when she got to the apartment, Nikki didn’t answer. Adrie

In a way, she was more relieved than a

Whatever she was doing—Adrie

But I was there—ask your doorman!

I was only gone ten minutes!

I rang and rang!

I ran out of butter!

How was I supposed to know? You didn’t leave a note.

Her sister. As much as Adrie

If a guy in a hood had screwed me when I was five, Adrie

The subject was more or less verboten now, a thing between Nikki and her therapist. Adrie

Gimme a break…

Then again, even this craziness wouldn’t have been so bad if Nikki had seemed—more like herself. But the Nikki who lived in the Watermill wasn’t the glam’ and fu

Because of Berlin, Adrie

There was a time, just after her sister graduated from high school, when everything was okay with Nikki, even though Adrie

It seemed to Adrie

Nikki could have stuck it out, of course, but she didn’t. She hit the road and kept on going, saying she was “on an adventure.” Adrie

Then—nothing. Adrie