Johnny Fargo - Hero_s mistress

Just then he heard Mr. Randolph's rich baritone boom over the intercom and Miss Guralnik reached for the call button and answered him promptly. "Yes, Mr. Randolph, he's here. I'll send him in." And then, as if he had not heard the whole brief conversation himself, she told him, "Mr. Randolph will see you now." He smiled politely as he rose from the tufted leather armchair and crossed the ankle-deep carpet to the heavy oak door marked D. B. Randolph… Private; there was a nervous lump in his throat as he turned the knob, but when he got his first look at the men assembled inside… God, it looks like a lynching party!

There was Randolph, of course, plus Phitts and one of the lesser vice-presidents. And Larry Knotts from the development firm plus a couple of his underlings he recognized but whose names he could not immediately recall. Randolph greeted him in his usual gruff manner and made a quick round of introductions, including both the R amp; P vice-presidents, whom he had known for over a year, and Larry Knotts. But he overlooked the old man's absentmindedness and shook their hands like he had never seen them before. "Have a seat, gentlemen." It sounded like a suggestion, but from D. B. Randolph it was meant to be a call-to-order. Eddie Mangum knew that whatever this was about, he was in it now. Up to his neck.

"Mr. Mangum, I understand from my people that you are the one responsible for this release that was in yesterday's financial section, is that correct?"

Eddie took a quick look at the clippings the board chairman held open to him in a manila folder. They were his, all right, he had written that release himself. It was a run down on the Knotts Company's pace-setter research into their innovative Tot-Lots, miniature child-care centers for busy mothers using their shopping centers. "Yes, that's my material, sir. Is something wrong?"

The aging gentleman looked around at his colleagues and then back at Eddie… with a smile on his face! He had never known D. B. Randolph to smile and it was a standing office joke that he had only smiled once… the day the office boy tripped going down the back stairs and broke his leg in three places. "Wrong, Eddie? Of course there is nothing wrong! You just single-handedly pulled off a mighty fine piece of work, son!"

Eddie! Why, he never called anyone by his first name. Even his rumored old-flame was Miss Guralnik! "How did you know, son, that this government report would run in the same issue? Have you got an inside track in Washington you've been keeping to yourself?"

Eddie look confusedly at the other clippings his employer had in the folder. Of course, the commission report on child-care centers! He'd been so anxious to get out to the beach with Dottie he had not even read the second page! "To tell the truth, sir, I wasn't sure when it would run, but I supposed it would be this weekend or next."

"Well, it was a splendid guess! This government report recommends precisely what Mr. Knotts here is already in the process of setting up. We have managed to get the jump on practically every competitor, not to mention the promotional boost of being featured in the same issue. Why, it's like having the government endorse our service! A fine job, Eddie, a fine job indeed! And because you have done so well, we have a surprise for you." He gestured to the client and his assistants. "With Mr. Knotts' consent and approval, we are making you account supervisor on the Knotts accounts including the new ones which he has seen fit to offer us in light of your outstanding bit of work. Of course, there will be a substantial salary increase in it and I suggest you see the accounting department tomorrow regarding your new classification. They already have instructions from me. Congratulations!"

Eddie answered something he could not remember later and somehow managed to shake all the proper hands and say the right things, but he was walking around in a daze, like an accident victim in shock… account supervisor! That had to mean at least a couple of hundred more a month! Man, Dottie will flip her wig! We can get that new car we've been putting off and take a real vacation this summer instead of spending it at the same beach we see every weekend!

He didn't walk back up that corridor… he floated! And when he leaned over and kissed his redheaded secretary on the cheek, she nearly jumped off her typing chair. "Mr. Mangum!"

"I'm afraid I won't be seeing much of you, Miss Brooks," he said in mock-somber tones.

"And that is quite a shame."

"Oh… Mr. Mangum, did you get…"

"Fired? Nope… I'm a brand-new account supervisor. I'm moving up, honey! Moving up!"

"Oh, I'm so happy for you! I heard some rumors around but you know how the office grapevine is. I didn't want to say anything. And now it's really happening!" She threw her arms around his shoulders and planted a big wet kiss right on his lips that was something other than fraternal. Eddie made a mental note to kick himself later for passing this little number up for so long, but there was plenty of time for that later!

"Get my wife on the phone for me, would you? I feel like taking the rest of the day off and getting good and drunk… on champagne of course! We executives can afford it!"

The redhead looked very surprised and blurted, "Oh, I forgot, your wife called you just after you went in to see D. B. I didn't think it would be wise to interrupt you in there so…"

"Wise! Baby, that was the best move you ever made," he laughed. "Tell you what, forget the call. I'm going to go home and surprise her. This is too good to waste on a phone call!"

Damn it, why didn't he return my call? It's not like Eddie to ignore me this way… if he's in the office, surely he could have found time to call home by now! Dottie was pacing the carpeted living room of their house trailer like a caged animal. She was becoming increasingly restless and nothing seemed to keep her attention more than a few minutes.

Maybe some more sun would help, she ventured, and a nice cold gin and tonic wouldn't hurt either! She found a third-full fifth of Gordon's on a shelf in the kitchen cabinets and then proceeded to make herself a good strong drink. Looking for ice, she tried the obvious, the freeze compartment of the refrigerator… damn it, empty! Somebody forgot to fill the ice trays last night… and that somebody was probably me. Wait a minute, what's this? There was a styrofoam ice bucket there in the refrigerator, uncovered and inside were the remnants of last night's ice… frozen together in one half-melted glacial chunk that resembled an enormous quartz crystal. She lifted the solid piece intact and dropped it with a resounding crash into the bottom of the stainless-steel kitchen sink.

"Now I've got ice," she said out loud and proceeded to pick out the bigger pieces until she had enough to fill her tall summer tumbler.

Instinctively, she poured a normal healthy slug of gin into the glass and reached for a bottle of tonic… No, wait a minute! Might as well make the first one do the trick, right? No more ice anyway and who could stand a gin and tonic in this weather without ice? So she hefted the bottle again and doubled her first slug. Satisfied, she tossed in enough tonic to make it all bubble and went outside to lie on her chaise lounge and get happily, contentedly… drunk! That was the only way she knew to get this obsessive notion out of her head…!

Overhead the Virginia summer sun glazed down like a yellow torch high in the sky and she could feel its soothing warmth in every pore of her body. She was beginning to perspire already from the gin and tonic, but the hot sun quickly evaporated the moisture that appeared tinglingly on her bare flesh. She was on her back on the comfortable lounge chair, her pale pink bikini top rolled over so that only the barest legal minimum of her breasts were covered. Who cared if the neighbors were watching? She didn't care at all!