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Jade closed her eyes and placed her hand on the nape of her neck underneath her long red hair.
She swirled her tongue around the vinegar in her mouth, raising her head slightly as she swallowed. A barely audible sound of pleasure escaped from her lips.
Mark, her ex-boss and former lover, arrived late and walked over to her. "It's big of you to still throw this New Year's Eve party, Jade, and it has such a creative slant." In a lower voice he said, "I'm glad you're not holding a grudge. It isn't anything personal, just workforce reduction."
She tried to suppress a smile. "I'm aware of that, Mark."
Jade then walked over to talk to Craig and Ben, commercial artists, who were sampling the juice of lemons and grapefruit and marveling at their taste. Most of the employees, however, gathered around the table that held silver bowls full of food.
Danielle, Mark's secretary, walked across the room to Jade. She ate a piece of chocolate-covered apple out of the dish that Jade held out to her. "Jade . . ." Danielle paused to catch her breath, overcome by the sensual enjoyment of it. "This night is perfect."
Jade shook her head. "It won't be until midnight." In a louder voice she called out, "Everyone line up for the final toast."
On a table in the corner, a large cut-glass decanter filled with bright-red liquid sparkled against a black velvet backdrop. A gold label suspended by a chain named its contents, "The Sweetest," in elegant cursive. Each person filled his crystal goblet and stood waiting. The air was heavy with anticipation. They stared at the office clock and tried to will the minute hand to capture the other one now. At the stroke of twelve, her guests cheered and raised their glasses to their lips. Jade had the biggest smile as she poised her goblet a tiny but safe distance away from her mouth.
When the police showed up five hours later, the sighs of pleasure had long since ceased. In a room full of shattered glass, what met them instead were mouths opened in silent screams, faces splashed with red, and bodies contorted into grisly pictographs.
At an airport across town, four hours before the corpses were found, a black-haired, short-coiffed Jade in stiletto heels and a dark suit walked into the terminal. Retrieving a crumpled bag from her alligator purse, she took out the remaining red orb. Jade popped it into her mouth. With a smirk, she read the label for the last time - "Experience Miracle Fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum). Eat just one crimson berry, and for two hours any food or drink tastes like the sweetest ambrosia."
Jade deposited the empty bag in a trash container. Walking toward the gate for Flight 24 to Buenos Aires, she looked forward to her private toast with a Bloody Mary.
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