— Eh?
— He said you talked to him about moving to Geneva, living in Geneva… Lucien?
— Eh?
— Well what have you told him, what are you…
— Perhaps he goes there to school some day, in Geneva.
— Yes but you can’t, someday maybe but you can’t simply take him…
— Look Amie… Bedsprings strained abruptly under weight coming up in the dark, — you are always afraid. So he went to Genève with no friend? He must not also be always afraid Amie, until something is settled…
— Well why won’t you then! Why won’t you settle things?
— I? Yes, I wait for the lawyer, this one of your father, tell him. The Nobili settlement? I still wait, tell him.
— I’ve never heard of it it doesn’t…
— Yes, I still wait, tell him.
— I don’t know what you’re talking about Lucien.
— The boy, yes?
She lay awake, half awake in the dark, then awake at the sound of the bedroom door opening, the rustle across the carpet, the faint figure paused between the beds and then, as she started to one elbow and caught her breath, and sank back, the strain of the springs across the gap, and the toss of covers on the bed there.
When she waked it was empty. She’d sat up and looked over in the cut of sunlight, and said — Francis? But it was only a swirl of blankets, and she got up slowly and went into the bathroom to dress. A man’s shirt hung from the shower rod, a boy’s lay crumpled on the floor and she reached to hang them on the hook on the bathroom door where, when she swung it closed, a douche dangled. She washed quickly and dressed, threw the shirts on a bed, and leaned across the high chest of drawers to follow the line of her lips in the mirror with a barely discernible lipstick, of her lids with black eyeliner, looked at herself for a moment and abruptly pulled open the shirt drawer and took out the portrait, paused the eyeliner over the opulent décolletage, and then drew a huge mustache over the pouting lips and thrust it back under the shirts. There was a note on the table in the foyer. It was signed love, F. and she read it three times in the cab downtown. The doors opened silently. She pushed 15 and ascended alone to The Light Cavalry Overture as far as 3, where the doors opened silently on youth unbuttoned to the waist shifting packages to enter and press 5 and stare into the top of her dress until they opened silently and he ran a hand up 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 before they closed behind him, to open silently on her alone at 6, and close, and open silently at 7, and close, and then at 8, at 9, at 10 she suddenly got out, pressed the up button and stood there waiting till, behind her now, doors opened on him waiting, and closed as she recovered her quick step forward to turn and press the up button again, and then again behind her doors opened silently on youth here white buttoned to the throat and black above it wheeling a cart of interoffice mail back for her entrance, staring at black backs of hands the bar or two mounting a Spanish rhythm for his exit at 11, the door closing silently behind him suddenly seized and held and now, as it closed, she caught her breath and her eyes away from the glistening chest and buttons flung loosely undone down it for those on the wall panel orderly numbered but for one reading simply, Doors, another Alarm, The Peanut Vendor seething through the palm sized screen above, an idly scratching hand thrust down the front of denims burnished where it moved hidden as the other, empty, rose behind her gasped against the waist high rail there for — You like to give head? posed in a tone as vacant as the face she fled for the lobby length explosion of blacks streaked with mad reserve on white doors opening silently on a coatless figure askew there as though he’d just burst free from the painting’s restless labyrinth like a demented Virgil for the amorphous Dante surfacing behind him, dropping a briefcase of Gladstone bag design square before her in collision to stare, with apologetic fixity blurred by rimless lenses, into the top of her dress.
— Ma-dame…
— Oh, Mister Davidoff…
— Mister Skinner, you’ve just met Mrs Joubert…
— Gosh.
— No damage done? Recovering full stature from his version of a bow, Davidoff came up closing his tie full throttle at the throat with a punch for the down button and — get us some figures, just get us some figures on it. Mrs Joubert ought to be interested in this little project too, she… he turned to see her already out of reach. — Oh Mrs Joubert? Oh and Skinner… The doors had opened silently on youth lounging unbuttoned, empty handed along the waist high rail at the back of the car, motionless for the amorphous entrance pursued through the closing doors by — that writer you’re digging up for us Skinner, a name, we want a name. Mrs Joubert…? he came cornering like a vehicle to get past her for the doorknob. — Glad you could get in today… he held the door just far enough opened to obstruct her passage, — I’m up to my ears since your dad left but you’ll…
— I don’t need to bother you at all Mister Davidofif, I just…
— Don’t worry about it, no bother at all… he’d got the door opened far enough now to bar her way with a look at his wristwatch. — Pretty tough sticking to a schedule, it just took me an hour to teach that fellow Skinner the facts of life, he’s just…
— But please don’t let me keep you.
— Don’t worry about it that’s what I’m here for, he’s just joined Duncan and Co in their top sales slot doesn’t even know the difference between perfect binding and Carol? Oh Carol, Mrs Joubert wants a look at those picture proofs for the Annual Report, oh and Carol? Get the ones in Mister Eigen’s office too they’re in there for captioning, I want to get a set of these right off to your dad, he came on a half step ahead.
— I’m sorry I’m in rather a hurry Mister Davidoff, I have to see Mister Beaton and…
— Beaton? Beaton can wait, he’s used to it. Now I see this whole thing as, sorry… he’d stopped abruptly to frame nothing in a square of fingers up before her, — whole feature on your youngsters buying their share in America built around the concept of corporate responsibility present and future tense, and… he recovered his half step ahead to emphasize — and giving the stockholders and the security analyst boys a sneak preview imagewise of our entry into the fastest growing market in the economy, once this new corporate restructuring is nailed down I guess you saw the site of the new parent world headquarters building up the street, you saw the sign? Nothing but a big hole there now but the next time you talk to your dad, I think I’ve got him pretty steamed up about getting a foot in the door with this Romance of Cobalt we’re sponsoring, it’s what I had this Skinner in here for just now, good solid background in the textbook field and of course you know Duncan and Company, really solid old line prestige publishers this Skinner’s digging up a topflight name writer for the project right up in the class of this name painter with the lobby mural out here. I even had to fight getting hold of that for us till even the Beatons around here got the picture we could subsidize name art and get a tax break at the same here, this way, I’m down this way…
— But Mister Beaton is…
— Probably something I can help you clear up in half the time Beaton would…
— No it’s a, something legal.
— Meant to tell you yes, we’ve got this minority suit all squared away, it came across my desk last week and…
— This what?
— I put an authorization right into the works don’t worry about it, corporate democracy in action and all the rest of it, I saw what you’re getting across to your youngsters right off the bat you get Beaton in on something like that he…
— I don’t think I quite…
— Don’t worry about it. Bring Beaton in on something he’ll pick it to pieces till you don’t recognize it, just hasn’t got what it takes to make an on the spot decision I’ve heard the Governor himself tell him, trouble with you lawyers, all you do is tell me why I can’t do something instead of how I can and Beaton…