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The Beast on Her Leash novel · Chapter 20 of 24

Chapter 20: Black Tie

The Carlisle Hotel ballroom held four hundred people, and by seven forty every chair was full.

There were crystal chandeliers, white tablecloths, a stage with a lectern, and a banner behind it in blue letters.

CROWE INDUSTRIAL FOUNDERS' DINNER. FIFTY YEARS OF PITTSBURGH.

Under the banner, a long head table faced the room.

The county executive sat at its center, a round man in a tuxedo with a face made for ribbon cuttings.

Lyle sat to his right.

Bram sat on Lyle's other side, in a black suit.

He had picked it himself on Tuesday, in a shop on Penn Avenue, and he had not let me say a word.

It fit him.

His white-blond hair was combed back, and his beard was trimmed, and from where I sat he looked calm.

I knew his knee was going under the tablecloth.

I had a table at the front, number one, with Fern in a plum velvet dress and a cane with a ribbon on it.

The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of The Beast on Her Leash are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.

← Chapter 19 · All chapters · Chapter 21 →

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