William Gaddis - J R

— Damn it Beaton what are you talking about, class six J…

— Yes sir the class of schoolchildren Mrs Joubert brought in to buy a share of Diamond Cable stock as their share in America you may recall sir, she…

— She’s a ninny.

— Just be quiet Zona what do you mean threatened a lawsuit.

— Always said Emily was a ninny, had her little pissants running all over the boardroom…

— No Mrs Joubert seemed quite unaware of this so-called suit sir, Mister Davidoff seems to have arranged it as a game to give the children a looksee at the system I believe he put it, a few corporate dollars to play with…

— What in hell do you mean corporate dollars to play with!

— Yes sir before I learned of any of this sir Mister Davidoff had settled this so-called suit for cash from his public relations budget, he was thoroughly unpleasant when I…

— Cash damn it Beaton how much cash!

— Eighteen hundred some odd dollars sir, he…

— Some odd dollars by God you can get every one of those some odd dollars right back out of his pay, damned…

— Yes sir but I thought you were aware he no longer…

— What damned excuse he could have for a stunt like this…

— Frankly sir with this and the attentions he gave her class for an Annual Report feature I felt he was trying to make an impression on Mrs Joubert…

— Same way that driveling Frenchman got into her pants, what are you doing about that.

— Done it. What’s the latest quote on Nobili, Beaton.

— It opened at thirteen and a half sir, I haven’t checked the…

— Tell Crawley start picking it up again at twelve, probably sold it short himself at about that, hear from Amy tell her we settled her lulu for her shouldn’t have any more problems with him.

— Yes sir but she, didn’t she get in touch with you sir?

— Been in the hospital damn it Beaton what do you…

— Yes sir I gave her that number, she’d apparently met Mister Crawley in the Metropolitan Art Museum and learned of this pressure being brought on Mister Joubert and became quite distraught…

— Must have been the Natural History Museum Beaton what the devil would Crawley want in the Metropolitan.

— Wherever it was she was quite frantic sir, alarmed at the way Mister Joubert might react to being pressed to the…

— Not a damn thing he can do to her now is there?

— No sir but her concern for Francis was extremely…

— Don’t see what he can do there either, day she brought her class in here we tied up both those foundations so he couldn’t touch either one of them with a ten foot pole, forgot the little lesson I gave you that day Beaton?

— No sir but right now I think her fears concerning Francis are what really…

— Better not forget it either, come up with another half-baked proposition like that when she comes in to sign this final set of papers on those two foundations we’ll all go to the poorhouse and that fourth dividend, you keep your eye on the date hear me?

— Yes sir it’s, excuse me. Hello…?

— That’s Stamper I told them to send him right in.

— It’s Mister Cutler in Washington sir. Yes, hello? Dick?

— What’s he doing down there.

— Yes just a minute. He went down to settle the details of this Endo Appliance divestiture with the Justice Department sir but apparently some question’s just come up regarding…

— Here give me that… Cutler? What the devil’s the problem down there… Yes I damn well am out of the hospital, spent another day there we’d all be out of business. What the devil’s going on, this Endo nonsense should have been cleared up a month ago… Took title to the patents didn’t we? Without them nothing left but a damn shell, last year’s inventory and some lamebrain salesmen I know that, so does the Justice Department whole damn point… The what…? Hasn’t mentioned it no but… Well you tell them this whole damn thing was settled two months ago, they agreed not to give us any problem on this Diamond tender if we tied the can to the Endo outfit and that’s… what do you mean some question… Course I saw the newspapers… Well you tell Frank Black I, wait damn it tell him myself. Beaton? Here, get me Frank Black.

— Yes sir…

— Put in a call to Monty too, damn nonsense about withdrawing this tender…

— Yes sir… Miss Bulcke? Yes get Frank Black please and then… yes and then put in a call to Mister Moncrieff…

— One newspaper headline they’re ready to close shop, Beaton what the devil’s this about irregularities in the Endo inventory.

— Yes I was going to mention that sir, apparently Mister Davidoff was making gifts from the inventory to…

— Just what the devil do you mean making gifts, to who.

— To various schools and institutions apparently sir, he…

— What in hell was he doing that for!

— I believe he felt it could be used to bring the attention of the press to the company’s…

— The press! Bring the attention of the Justice Department the SEC and every damn leftwing politician looking for a headline, nothing left to that Endo outfit but its damn inventory he’s giving away with one hand while we’re complying with this Justice Department ruling to sell the company with the other, already jeopardized the Diamond tender with this damn fool news story tell me what in hell he thinks he’s been doing?

— In his rather inflated notion of improving the corporate image he appears to have…

— This keeps up by God there won’t be anything left but the damn image, who the devil gave him this kind of authority.

— In Mister Moncrieff’s absence sir I believe he had the impression that he, in his own phrase that he was running the store.

— Running the, by God anybody ever run a store by giving away everything in it? Get him in here Beaton, see what else he’s given away. And get Crawley, Frank Wiles, whoever’s handling this Endo divestiture, find a buyer at any damn price they can get and just write off the rest, get rid of the whole thing and anybody connected with handing out its inventory before this whole deal with the Justice Department blows up in our faces. Get him in here, see what else he’s given away damn it Zona just be quiet…

— But he’s no longer with us sir he…

— Gives away the whole damn company and then quits? Where the devil is he.

— I understand he’s joined a public relations agency sir but his departure was hardly…

— Lucky to get out of here with his hat and his ass and I want him arrested too Beaton. When he interfered with my workmen removing my painting to take to my house he went out of here ass over teakettle John, and Beaton I want him arrested.

— Yes ma’am if there were any possible grounds I’d be…

— You’re a lawyer think of some grounds, do I have to do all your work for you? He arranged that purchase in direct violation of my contract with that ape of a painter and if that doesn’t make him an accessory I don’t know what does, Beaton if you can’t have them both arrested and tried for conspiracy to defraud and sent to prison you’d better get off the pot because you’re not doing anything on it and the next thing I…

— Yes ma’am excuse me, hello…? Yes sir just a moment he’s right here. It’s Mister…

— Here give me that. Hello…? Yes it is damn it put him on. Monty? What the devil’s going on down there, just had a call from Cutler says Frank Black recommended withdrawing this tender offer for Diamond, had everything settled with Justice on this Endo divestiture and now he says you’re afraid they… No just heard about it from Beaton, sounds like damn nonsense maybe gave a few stoves away but that don’t… came down there to see you? What the devil did he think he could… No just a damn nuisance, no reason to… Broos said what…? Well that’s damn foolishness, call more attention to Typhon withdrawing this tender now than just letting things ride and the sooner we… threatened to what…? What the devil’s that got to do with it, not a damn thing wrong with that smelter contract whole thing was negotiated signed sealed and delivered before you left the company, get some leftwing politician in there threatens to try to lower the cobalt stockpile requirements not a damn thing to do with the government’s contractual obligation to Typhon to buy every damn ounce of… Well what the devil’s Broos doing on the Armed Services Committee, no damned reason he can’t step in there and… Because management services are management services cost plus contract or any other kind, charge the government or anybody else for management services what’s so damn… No damn it if Typhon wants to hire management services on this contract from Pythian whose damn business is… Monty damn it I know a plant can’t be declared surplus and sold until it’s built but why in hell we should hold up this Diamond Cable tender until… Don’t see why that should call anybody’s attention to anything, Pythian’s interest in Typhon is nobody’s damn business, got Blaufìnger coming in here this morning and that whole situation in Gandia should be cleared up in a week or two, had Nowunda up thereon the platform when Box gave the groundbreaking speech and Doctor Dé declared the secession of Uaso province same night, Nowunda sending in troops but there’s not a damn thing he… No, talked to him on the phone, won’t see us intervening to support that red regime of Nowunda with all the… what…? Yes worked so damn well even got peace groups wearing signs keep out of Gandia and Africa for Africans smashed a window down at the bank this morning, why the devil they always pick the bank about time we… No and I don’t want to, got Blaufinger coming in here this morning let him get together with Frank Black on it, said something about small arms surplus shipment from Bonn and I don’t want to know any more about it… What the devil we got Frank Black for highest paid damn lawyer in Washington… yes got a call in to him now, one more thing Stamper’s going to steam in here any minute want to know whether we’re still in this pipeline deal with him or not, still got that bunch of damn Indians camping out right in the middle of the… well you know Stamper he don’t want easements he wants title free and clear, damn reservation spread out right in the middle of the… I told him that but this damn Senate Concurrent Resolution twenty-six disavowing termination’s nothing but a damn resolution is it? not a damn law is it? That damn sheep state senator down there making all the… well get Broos on to him, I’ll get Broos onto him. Beaton? Here, get hold of Broos for me.