William Gaddis - J R

— They want copies of any news releases on the educational…

— Florence is Mister Eigen out there? ask him where’s that news release on all this educational stuff and, Carol? Is Carol out there Florence?

— Mister Eigen Miss Flesch wants to know if you…

— Look Florence I’m standing right here, I’ll get a copy.

— Hello Miss Bulcke? Yes Carol will bring it right in…

— Anyway he said the trouble’s my main character coming right on stage and telling all about himself before anybody in the audience is interested in him at all and I…

— Thank you Mister Eigen… and he straightened from his file drawer to watch her out the door, out of sight up the corridor where the shock of her heels alerted passing glances till blue carpeting stilled them, a door closed behind her and she rounded a corner. — Oh excuse me Governor! Gee sir I’m sorry…!

— All right, ’ts all right… he listed, gathered way again.

— Gee I’m sorry sir… she backed off, backed as far as the sentry desk — Miss Bulcke here’s this news release you just…

— Yes thank you Carol, good morning Governor we didn’t expect the pleasure of seeing you out of the hospital today, is…

— Won’t be a pleasure for some people, anybody here yet?

— Mrs Selk is right here in Mister Beaton’s office sir and…

— Blaufinger here yet?

— No sir… she got ahead of him for the door, — General Blaufinger called to say he…

— When he shows up let him wait in the board room, Stamper gets here bring him right in.

— Yes sir. Excuse me, Mister Beaton…?

— But he didn’t hit me ma’am he simply shook me by the lapels and, excuse me…

— Excuse me Mister Beaton the news releases you wanted and Governor Cates is here…

— I said I wanted him arrested and put in prison.

— Usual gracious self Zona, what poor bastard you putting in prison now.

— What poor bastard, the poor bastard who’s been sneaking around selling paintings to ninnies to hang in office lobbies while he lives on my money and Beaton sits here with his thumb in his ass and blubbers about a lawsuit.

— Excuse me sir you can sit right here when I, move this… he’d parted his paired shoes and got round his desk to struggle the folds of fur into an armload and start across the room with it.

— Beaton if you can’t carry it don’t drag it.

— Not a damn carnival worker Zona, expect him to carry a tent like that Beaton just sit down and…

— If he wasn’t such a little pissant he would have charged this ape with assault and put him in prison where he belongs. You just said he grabbed your lapels and shook you Beaton, isn’t that assault?

— Legally yes ma’am with competent witnesses but it seemed more prudent… he’d reached his desk again and paused to get breath, — in light of the unpleasant publicity that could result it seems more prudent simply to start an action rising from your original agreement, with private detectives on the lookout for him if he should appear in this vicinity and attempt to…

— I’ll tell you where he is right now, he’s breaking into my Saybrook house and stealing every painting of his he can lay his hands on and I want…

— Told you not to store them up there in the first place Zona, dampness ruin all the damn frames now Beaton sit down and be quiet, some things I want you to clear up before this board meeting.

— Just hold your water John, he can clear them up when he’s cleared this up, I want…

— Zona don’t give a damn what you want, Beaton’s not your black girl he’s secretary and general counsel of this company and he can’t drop everything just to…

— Yes Beaton what about her, I can’t be expected to get along without her this way and I want…

— Yes ma’am Deleserea, we’ve located her and I have a call in to Judge Ude’s office to arrange bail but she refuses to cooperate regarding the diamond brooch and it appears we…

— What diamond brooch, what are you babbling about now.

— When you reported her missing ma’am, I understood you to connect her disappearance with a diamond brooch you believed she…

— Don’t be ridiculous Beaton I found that in my steam cabinet weeks ago, if that’s all they’re holding her for I want her back by lunchtime.

— As a matter of fact ma’am she was originally arrested at a bus stop and charged with soliciting, it’s that charge we intend…

— Beaton don’t be ridiculous who would want to hump Deleserea, you just get the lead out of your ass and have her back by lunchtime.

— Yes ma’am in, incidentally have you notified the insurance company the brooch has been recovered…

— That’s your job Beaton I don’t know what makes you think…

— Yes ma’am but of course I was unaware that…

— By God Zona that’s not his job his job right now’s this board meeting and if you want to bring up your black girl you…

— You brought her up I didn’t, and you brought me all the way in here this morning to do something about Boody’s shares didn’t you?

— Wasn’t for social reasons Zona you can be damn sure of that, talk about this damn fool law lowers the age of minors from twenty-one to eighteen could give Boody and all these young hooligans the right to make contracts and all the rest of it, safe enough in jail right now but if this tender offering for Diamond doesn’t go through while you’re still her guardian no telling what she…

— Excuse me sir I thought you must have seen the pictures in the paper of Miss ah, of Boody’s…

— If you expect to see those two hundred thousand shares go the way you want them this morning John you can just hold your water. The agreement Beaton drew up for me with this painter has seven years to run and if you think I broke my ass for a corner in his work so he could go out and peddle it on the side while he’s living on my money Beaton how much did the company pay for that atrocity.

— Twelve thousand dollars ma’am the actual purchase was…

— Would have been a damn fool to turn it down too, seen monkeys do better.

— If he thinks he can get prices like that on his own he can kiss mine, isn’t that right here in the agreement Beaton?

— Yes ma’am not ah, yes not precisely in those words of course but…

— Both cheeks, if he tries it again while this agreement’s in effect I’ll dump his work at prices that wouldn’t open a pay toilet and he’ll stand outside trying to sell one till his back teeth float. Where’s that twelve thousand now Beaton, if it’s anybody’s it’s mine and I want…

— Yes ma’am of course when you recovered the painting itself we sought to recover the purchase price for the company by locating his bank account and attaching the balance but it appears to amount to less than eight thousand dollars, I understand he bought a ah, an abandoned roller coaster which of course we intend to attach as soon as we can locate it but…

— Beaton by God Zona you think I left that hospital to come in here and attach roller coasters? Got Blaufinger coming to sit in on this board meeting’ll want to get things cleaned up in Gandia, Stamper out there wants to know what the devil’s holding up his pipeline consortium, peace group breaking windows down at the bank and now this damn nonsense in the papers about Typhon grabbing the education market with this Diamond tender hanging fire and you’re attaching abandoned roller coasters? See all this Beaton…? Streamers of newspaper were appearing from inside folds, — monopoly, the medium and the message, tell me what the devil it’s all about?

— Last night’s paper yes sir apparently this news release sent out by Mister Davidoff just before he…