title: Dazzling Disguises and Clever Costumes
author:  Angela Wilkes 
description: Angela Wilkes is the author of more than 30 popular children's books. Her work covers a wide range of subjects and includes a number of best-selling titles for DK.
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  ##  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ## CONVINCING ALEX
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Nora Roberts
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  For Pat Gaffney, to even things out
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## Chapter 1
  
  
  
  
  
    
  
  
  
  
  
  The curvy blonde in hot-pink spandex tottered on stiletto heels as she worked
  her corner. Her eyes, heavily painted with a sunburst of colors, kept a sharp
  watch on her associates, those spangled shadows of the night. There was a
  great deal of laughter on the street.
  
  
  
  
  
  After all, it was springtime in New York. But beneath the laughter there was a
  flat sheen of boredom that no amount of glitter or sex could disguise.
  
  
  
  
  
  For these ladies, business was business.
  
  
  
  
  
  After popping in some fresh gum, she adjusted the large canvas bag on her bare
  shoulder. Thank God it was warm, she thought. It would be hell to strut around
  half-dressed if the weather was ugly.
  
  
  
  
  
  A gorgeous black woman in red leather that barely covered the essentials
  languidly lit a cigarett