The Stars Shine Down

He looked at her, surprised. "No. Why?"

"I just wondered."

The consortium of bankers financing Cameron Enterprises had good reason to be concerned. It was not only Cameron Enterprises that was in trouble; a majority of their corporate clients had serious problems. The decline in junk bonds had become a full-fledged disaster, and it was a crippling blow to the corporations that had depended on them.

There were six bankers in the room with Howard Keller, and the atmosphere was grim.

"We're holding overdue notes for almost a hundred million dollars," their spokesman said. "I'm afraid we can't accommodate Cameron Enterprises any longer."

"You're forgetting a couple of things," Keller reminded them. "Number one, we expect the casino gambling license in Reno to be renewed any day now. That cash flow will more than take care of any deficit. Number two, Cameron Towers is right on schedule. It's going to be finished in ninety days. We already have a seventy percent tenancy, and you can be assured that the day it's finished everybody is going to be clamoring to get in. Gentlemen, your money couldn't be more secure. You're dealing with the Lara Cameron magic."

The men looked at one another.

The spokesman said, "Why don't we discuss this among ourselves and we'll get back to you?"

"Fine. I'll tell Miss Cameron."

Keller reported back to Lara.

"I think they'll go along with us," he told her. "But in the meantime, we're going to have to sell off a few more assets to stay afloat."

"Do it."

Lara was getting to the office early in the morning and leaving late at night, fighting desperately to save her empire. She and Philip saw very little of each other. Lara did not want him to know how much trouble she was facing. He has enough problems, Lara thought. I can't burden him with any more.

At six o'clock Monday morning Tilly was on the phone. "I think you'd better get over here, Miss Cameron."

Lara felt a sharp sense of apprehension. "What's wrong?"

"I'd rather you saw it for yourself."

"I'm on my way."

Lara telephoned Keller. "Howard, there's another problem at Cameron Towers. I'll pick you up."

Half an hour later they were on their way to the construction site.

"Did Tilly say what the trouble was?" Keller asked.

"No, but I don't believe in accidents anymore. I've been thinking about what you said. Steve Murchison wanted that property badly. I took it away from him."

When they arrived at the site, they saw large sheets of crated tinted glass lying on the ground, and more glass being delivered by trucks. Tilly hurried over to Lara and Keller.

"I'm glad you're here."

"What's the problem?"

"This isn't the glass we ordered. It's the wrong tint and the wrong cut. There's no way it will fit the sides of our building."

Lara and Keller looked at each other. "Can we recut it here?" Keller asked.

Tilly shook his head. "Not a chance. You'd wind up with a mountain of silicate."

Lara said, "Who did we order this from?"

"The New Jersey Panel and Glass Company."

"I'll call them," Lara said. "What's our deadline on this?"

Tilly stood there calculating. "If it got here in two weeks, we could be back on schedule. It would be a push, but we'd be okay."

Lara turned to Keller, "Let's go."

Otto Karp was the manager of the New Jersey Panel and Glass Company. He came on the phone almost immediately. "Yes, Miss Cameron? I understand you have a problem."

"No," Lara snapped. "You have a problem. You shipped us the wrong glass. If I don't get the right order in the next two weeks, I'm going to sue your company out of business. You're holding up a three-hundred-million-dollar project."

"I don't understand. Will you hold on, please?"

He was gone almost five minutes. When he came back on the line, he said, "I'm terribly sorry, Miss Cameron, the order was written up wrong. What happened is..."

"I don't care what happened," Lara interrupted. "All I want you to do is to get our order filled and shipped out.

"I'll be happy to do that."

Lara felt a sharp sense of relief. "How soon can we have it?"

"In two to three months."

"Two to three months! That's impossible! We need it now."

"I'd be happy to accommodate you," Karp said, "but unfortunately we're way behind in our orders."

"You don't understand," Lara said. "This is an emergency and..."

"I certainly appreciate that. And we'll do the best we can. You'll have the order in two to three months. I'm sorry we can't do better..."

Lara slammed down the receiver. "I don't believe this," Lara said. She looked over at Tilly. "Is there another company we can deal with?"

Tilly rubbed his hand across his forehead. "Not at this late date. If we went to anyone else, they'd be starting from scratch, and their other customers would be ahead of us."

Keller said, "Lara, could I talk to you for a minute?" He took her aside. "I hate to suggest this, but..."

"Go ahead."

"...your friend Paul Martin might have some connections over there. Or he might know someone who knows someone."

Lara nodded. "Good idea, Howard. I'll find out."

Two hours later Lara was seated in Paul Martin's office.

"You don't know how happy I am that you called," the lawyer said. "It's been too long. God, you look beautiful, Lara."

"Thank you, Paul."