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men quieted. She held her breath and invoked St. Anthony the Great to protect her from swine. Hurrying her pace, her hands clenching and unclenching the stem of her glass, she found her seat and slunk quickly down into the upholstery. Just when she was muttering thanks to St. Anthony, she saw a man swerving toward her. She sucked in her breath and averted her face.
    “Excuse me,” he said at her side. “Have we met?”
    It was her boss, Lou Kopp. A chill ran down her spine and she sunk farther into her seat, bringing her hand to her face. From the bar she heard the jeers: “Way to go, Lou.”
    She felt like a trapped animal, but years of ridicule had taught her never to show fear. Taking a deep breath, she turned her head slowly to face him, and, as she looked up, her hair fell back from her face. Lou Kopp’s face registered woozy confusion, then shock as his smile slipped.
    “What the hell—”
    Charlotte winced but willed her voice to remain even.
    “My name is Charlotte Godowski. You might remember who I am. I’m an accountant in your company.”
    Now the voices from the bar turned to hoots of laughter. “Wow! Tonight’s your lucky night.” “Hey, this is Christmas, not Halloween!”
    After each outburst they broke into a renewed round of drunken laughter that riddled like bullets.
    Charlotte’s defense was to pretend not to hear them, or the sympathetic tsks from the women within hearing distance. Yet inside she felt like a slip of paper that had burned, curled and turned to ash. If only she could blow away.
    For Charlotte knew, as she saw Lou Kopp swagger back to the bar to be welcomed with sympathetic slaps on the back, that tonight would be no different from all the other parties she had ever attended. No different from the lunchrooms at school. Now the naughty boys had a target upon which to vent their frustration against all the beautiful girls who’d scorned them.
    Charlotte stood straight and filed past the boozy comrades at the bar. They drunkenly nudged and snickered as she crossed their line of vision. Judy Riker hurried to meet her at the door.
    “Charlotte, I don’t know what to say. Maybe if—”
    “Please,” she responded, holding up her hand. “Merry Christmas, Judy. Good night.”
    It just wasn’t in her to muster a smile. Turning on her heel, she quickly collected her coat, covered the now despised red wool dress, then pressed the elevator button. The bell rang promptly and she moved quickly into the box, punching the lobby button, then closing her eyes in relief at being alone. Just as the doors swept shut, however, a man hurried in. The door bounced from his shoulders then quickly slid shut behind him.
    Looking up, she saw Lou Kopp.
    “Going to the garage?” Lou asked, pushing the G button.
    Charlotte didn’t respond. Silently, she began praying. Hail Mary, full of grace…
    “Listen. About what happened earlier…”
    Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb…
    “I’m sorry.”
    Her prayer halted. Did he say he was sorry?
    “Hey, it was a terrible thing we did in there. Some of the guys were drunk. Not that that’s any excuse,” he hurried to amend. “And, as your boss, I take full responsibility. Please, Miss Goz…Well. Accept my apology.”
    Charlotte hesitated, looking up to gauge the expression in his eyes. Lou Kopp wasn’t a good looking man by most standards. Slick was the word that best described him. His eyes were his saving grace. They were a sunny sky blue that brightened when he smiled, as he did now. You’re the last person who should judge a person by looks, she scolded herself. She accepted his apology with a brief nod.
    “How can I make it up to you?”
    “You’ve said you’re sorry,” she replied. “That’s enough.”
    “No, it’s not. How about I buy you a drink? Wanna go for a drink?”
    “No. Thank you.”
    “How’re you getting home?”
    “I’ll take a cab. It’s not far.” She was planning on taking the