A Stranger in the Mirror By Sidney Sheldon

“Call me Al.”

“Yes, sir—Al.”

“You got a future, Toby. I’ve seen ’em come and I’ve seen ’em go. But the ones with talent last a long time. You got talent.”

Toby could feel a pleasant warmth suffusing his body. He fleetingly debated whether to tell Al Caruso to discuss business with Clifton Lawrence; but Toby decided it might be better if he made the deal himself. If Caruso is this excited about me, Toby thought, I can make a better deal than Cliff. Toby decided he would let Al Caruso make the first offer and then he would do some hard bargaining.

“I almost wet my pants,” Caruso was telling him. “That monkey routine of yours is the funniest thing I ever heard.”

“Coming from you, that’s a real compliment,” Toby said with sincerity.

The little Santa Claus eyes were filled with tears of laughter. He took out a white silk handkerchief and wiped them away. He turned to his two escorts. “Did I say he’s a funny man?”

The two men nodded.

Al Caruso turned back to Toby. “Tell you why I came to see you, Toby.”

This was the magical moment, his entrance into the big time. Clifton Lawrence was off in Europe somewhere, making deals for has-been clients when he should have been here making this deal. Well, Lawrence would have a real surprise in store for him when he returned.

Toby leaned forward and said, smiling engagingly, “I’m listening, Al.”

“Millie loves you.”

Toby blinked, sure that he had missed something. The old man was watching him, his eyes twinkling.

“I—I’m sorry,” Toby said, in confusion. “What did you say?”

Al Caruso smiled warmly. “Millie loves you. She told me.”

Millie? Could that be Caruso’s wife? His daughter? Toby started to speak, but Al Caruso interrupted.

“She’s a great kid. I been keepin’ her for three, four years.” He turned to the other two men. “Four years?”

They nodded.

Al Caruso turned back to Toby. “I love that girl, Toby. I’m really crazy about her.”

Toby could feel the blood beginning to drain from his face. “Mr. Caruso—”

Al Caruso said, “Millie and me got a deal. I don’t cheat on her except with my wife, and she don’t cheat on me unless she tells me.” He beamed at Toby, and this time Toby saw something beyond the cherubic smile that turned his blood to ice.

“Mr. Caruso—”

“You know somethin’, Toby? You’re the first guy she ever cheated on me with.” He turned to the two men at the table. “Is that the honest truth?”

They nodded.

When Toby spoke, his voice was trembling. “I—I swear to God I didn’t know Millie was your girlfriend. If I had even dreamed it, I wouldn’t have touched her. I wouldn’t have come within a mile of her, Mr. Caruso—”

The Santa Claus beamed at him. “Al. Call me Al.”

“Al.” It came out as a croak. Toby could feel the perspiration running down under his arms. “Look, Al,” he said. “I’ll—I’ll never see her again. Ever. Believe me, I—”

Caruso was staring at him. “Hey! I don’t think you were listening to me.”

Toby swallowed. “Yes. Yes, I was. I heard every word you said. And you don’t have to worry about—”

“I said the kid loves you. If she wants you, then I want her to have you. I want her to be happy. Understand?”

“I—” Toby’s brain was spinning. For a crazy moment he had actually thought that the man sitting across from him was looking for revenge. Instead Al Caruso was offering him his girlfriend. Toby almost laughed aloud with relief. “Jesus, Al,” Toby said. “Sure. Whatever you want.”

“Whatever Millie wants.”

“Yeah. Whatever Millie wants.”

“I knew you were a nice man,” Al Caruso said. He turned to the two men at the table. “Did I say Toby Temple was a nice man?”

They nodded and silently sipped their Cokes.

Al Caruso rose, and the two men with him were instantly on their feet, one positioned on either side of him. “I’m gonna give the wedding myself,” Al Caruso said. “We’ll take over the big banquet room at the Morocco. You don’t have to worry about nothin’. I’ll take care of everything.”