“Lies have a way of coming back and biting one on the ass.”
“Oh, handle it, Stone,” she said.
Dinner came, and the waiter began pouring an expensive bottle of wine.
“That’s two, Dino,” Stone said.
“And two to go,” Dino replied.
THE FOLLOWING MORNING Stone was in his office when the phone rang. Joan had gone out for something, so he picked it up. “Stone Barrington.”
“You answer your own phone?” Hackett said. “Don’t you have a secretary?”
“You place your own calls?” Stone asked. “Don’t you have a secretary?”
Hackett laughed heartily. “Let’s have lunch today,” Hackett said. “There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“All right,” Stone replied.
“The Four Seasons at one?”
“That’s Eggers’s hangout,” Stone replied.
“All right, Michael’s?”
“Good,” Stone replied. “See you at one.” He hung up and called Eggers. The secretary put him through.
“Good morning, Stone,” Eggers said. “I thought that went well yesterday.”
“I don’t know about you, Bill, but it wore me out,” Stone replied.
“You should stay in better shape,” Eggers said, chuckling.
“You going to get any business from Hackett?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“How close are Hackett and Wight?”
“They know each other. I don’t know any more than that.”
“Hackett just called and invited me to lunch today. I accepted.”
“Now you listen to me, Stone…”
“Easy, Bill.”
“You’re not going to…”
“Bill, if I were job hunting, I wouldn’t be telling you about it, would I?”
“Then why are you having lunch with him?”
“Because I need some information for one of my own clients, and Hackett may have it.”
“What client?”
“You know I can’t tell you that. I can tell you there’s no conflict with Woodman and Weld.”