“Push that back for me, Denise. At least a week. There’s no hurry for that right now.” The truth was I just wasn’t interested in the articles Seymore Ireland was asking me to contribute to. It was more of a headache than it was helpful.
“You’ve got an appointment with your chiropractor at two o’clock today.”
“That’s one bright spot in my day. Other than seeing you, Denise.”
“Mr. Reid, I’ll be sure to tell my husband of thirty-eight years you said so.”
“Thirty-eight years? How do you do it, Denise? What is your secret?”
“Separate beds and separate bathrooms. Now, are we going to continue on or do you need me to explain the birds and bees to you, too?”
“Denise, we have work to do. Don’t tempt me.”
It was always funny to get Denise to laugh. She had the other secretaries terrified of her since she was in her sixties and rarely smiled during business hours. She knew how to use a computer better than most of the new hires coming right out of college but because she carried around an old stenographer’s pad, some of the girls thought she was just some fossil waiting for retirement. They’d quickly learn that she was as sharp as a tack and twice as painful if you got stuck.
I had hired her after I inherited the business from my father. He had built up this corporation by slowly buying off bits of businesses and selling them for a profit. Then he realized some of the businesses were just poorly managed and took a stab at running a few by himself. Whatever it was in his fingers, it seemed whatever he touched turned into gold. Heading out before the sun rose and getting home long after it set made my father a successful businessman.
He also had a way of smoothing over the most hardened, crusted over hearts of the stingiest misers around by pouring on the kindness, inquiring about their wives and children, offering sound advice and laying all his cards out for them to see. Dirty deals were for insurance agents and ambulance chasers he’d say. He had nothing to hide from any man so they always knew where they stood with him. It was a good way to do business. And because of the old man’s brilliance I still did work with the sons of some of those men.
In fact, I was supposed to play golf with Morton Susberg, the son of Michael Susberg who loaned my father enough money for him to crack his first million. The Susbergs were good people and I liked Mort a lot. He had an excellent business sense and often had a couple of insider investment tips for me. So far, he was five for five on the stocks he told me to invest in, more than tripling the value of my portfolio.
But sadly, my schedule was too full right now. And I knew when I could finally come up for air Mort would be on some big-name trial working thirty hours in each twenty-four hour period.
“Some good news for you.” Denise said, snapping me out of my daydream of golf.
“Good news? That’s a switch. Tell me.”
Denise smiled and the wrinkles pushed up to fold her skin around the corners of her eyes.
“First,” she said as she looked at the steno pad. “Mr. Carson confirmed he will be able to join you for the Knick’s game.”
“Of-course, he will.”
Her face scowled a little and she rolled her eyes.
“And what is that all about?”
Taking a deep breath Denise folded her thin arms over her chest and looked at me from beneath her heavily eye-shadowed eyes.
“You’ve been trying to get a meeting with him for how long? You, the fifth wealthiest man in the country and now he can me
et with you because you’ve got game seats on the floor. He’s got to be able to smell their jocks…”
“Denise!” I said pretending to be shocked.
“Oh please.” She waved me off with her hand. “You know how I am, Marty. I have to call it as I see it and I’m just not sure much good will come from cozying up with Carson.”
“It’s the nature of the beast, Denise, you know that.”
“That doesn’t make it right, Marty. What would your mother think of a guy like Carson?”
I smiled as I let Denise’s words sink in. My mother was a tough old broad. She had to be. From the beginning my father probably had to work hardest for my mother. Not because she was mean or ungrateful. But because she always reminded him of what was really important and made him pay attention. In between business meetings he came to the hospital for me to be born and every baby afterward.
He made it to a handful of school plays, a couple of dances and of course high school graduations. He may not have been around for everything but he made his presence known.
When it came to business deals my father would run almost everything past my mother. Especially if it was going to require he put in extra hours or travel anywhere.
And as the bank account continued to grow so did the schools of barracudas that circled the old man in an attempt to get their hands on some of it. And some of those barracudas were of the female persuasion to which my mother made it very clear. My father only got one chance. If he screwed that up his stuff would be packed and on the stoop before he could say “honey please”. There was no gray area.