The Boy Next Door Read Free Page A

to law school. So impressive.
    Not that there’s anything wrong with being a reporter. Reporters are just as important as lawyers! And Lord knows we all need to read some nice gossip now and then. Why, did you hear about Ted Turner and Martha Stewart? You could have knocked me over with a feather.
    Well, enjoy! And you make sure you lock your door at night. Daddy and I worry about you, living there in that big city all alone.
    Bye for now,
    Mommy
    Attachment: (Glam photo of wedding couple)
     
    Deborah Marie Phillips, the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Reed Andrew Phillips of Lansing, was married last week to Michael Bourke, the son of Dr. and Mrs. Reginald Bourke of Chapaqua, New York. The Rev. James Smith performed the ceremony at the Roman Catholic Church of Saint Anthony in Lansing.
    Ms. Phillips, 26, is an associate at Schuler, Higgins, and Brandt, the international law firm based in New York. She received a bachelor’s degree from Princeton, from which she graduated summa cum laude, and a law degree from Harvard. Her father is a dentist and oral surgeon in Lansing, operating the Phillips Dental Practice.
    Mr. Bourke, 31, received a bachelor’s degree from Yale and an MBA from Columbia University. He is an associate at the investment banking group of Lehman Brothers. His father, now retired, was the president of Bourke & Associates, a private investment firm.
    After a honeymoon trip to Thailand, the couple will reside in Chapaqua.

To: Mel Fuller
    From: Dolly Vargas
    Subject: Mothers
    Darling, when I heard all that anguished shrieking from your cubicle just now I thought at the very least Tom Cruise had finally come out of the closet. But Nadine tells me it’s just because you received an e-mail from your mother.
    How well I understand. And I am so glad my mother is far too drunk ever to learn to operate a keyboard. I highly suggest you send your doting parents a case of Campari and have done with it. Trust me, it’s the only way to shut them up on the dreaded subject of “M.” As in, “Why aren’t you M yet? All your friends are M. You aren’t even trying to get M. Don’t you want me to see my grandchildren before I die?”
    As if I would EVER give birth. I suppose a well-mannered little six-year-old would be all right, but they simply don’t COME that way. You have to TRAIN them.
    Too tiresome. I can understand your anguish.
    XXXOOO
    Dolly
    P.S.: Did you notice Aaron shaved? It’s a pity. I never realized what a weak chin he has.

To: Mel Fuller
    From: Amy Jenkins
    Subject: Staff Assistance Program
    Dear Ms. Fuller,
    You might think it amusing to make light of the Human Resources Department’s Staff Assistance Program, but I can assure you that we have helped many of your coworkers through dark and difficult times. Through counseling and therapy, they have all gone on to lead meaningful, profitable lives. I find it disheartening that you would belittle a program that has done so much for so many.
    Please note that a copy of your latest e-mail has been placed in your personnel file, and will be available to your supervisor during your next performance review.
    Amy Jenkins
    Human Resources Administrator
    New York Journal

To: Amy Jenkins
    From: Mel Fuller
    Subject: Staff Assistance Program
    Dear Ms. Jenkins,
    What I find disheartening is the fact that I reached out to you and all the other Human Resource Administrators, and instead of being given the aid I so desperately need, I was brutally rebuffed. Are you saying that my chronic status as a single woman is not worthy of assistance? Do I have to tell you how demoralizing it is to buy Lean Cuisines Fiesta Meals for One every night at the Food Emporium? What about having to order my pizza by the slice? Do you think that isn’t whittling away at my self-esteem, slice by