Finally, he held out his hand and took the book.
“You forgot to pay your bar tab, too. You owe me sixty pula and fifty thebe, whatever that works out to in dollars.”
Henry pocketed the book, reached into another pocket and withdrew a one hundred pula note. “Here, keep the change.” He pivoted and rushed out of the room.
“Thank you, Henry. I’ll have a drink in your honor.” He turned to Brenda. “He bought a scotch and a beer and didn’t drink either one. Left them on the bar.”
“What was in the book?” Brenda steered them to a booth away from the door where they couldn’t be seen from the corridor.
“How would I know?”
“I saw you reading it, so don’t give any of your—”
“Okay, I looked. I couldn’t tell for sure, but I think he has been a naughty boy.”
“Meaning?”
“I could put something really big on permanent hold if I wanted to. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Does it have something to do with the public offering?”
“How’d you know about that?”
“There’s lots of stuff I know, mister. Just because I ain’t been to Yale or someplace like you did, doesn’t mean I’m a complete ditz.”
“I didn’t attend Yale, either. Okay, you called for this meeting. What is it you want from me? I’ve already laid down the rules for redeeming your husband’s stock. You will do me a favor if you will let this all ride for another two weeks at least.”
“I’m okay with that for now. I want you to level with me. What are you up to that needs Bobby’s stock in play?”
Travis weighed his options. He could feed Brenda Griswold a line of complicated nonsense and hope to fool her, he could give it to her straight, or he could shoot for something somewhere in the middle. The fact she’d tumbled on to anything at all persuaded him that nonsense wouldn’t sell and might possibly antagonize her to the point she’d precipitate a move that would be rash, or stupid, or both. Before he decided which way to go, Brenda started to guess. She laced her thesis with more Anglo-Saxon epithets and figures of speech than he’d heard since his days in the army, and he’d heard plenty. And that didn’t include the straight up profanity. His mother, had she been there to hear it, would have described her discourse as “earthy.” Somehow, a business deal as Brenda described it sounded wholly different than when the same deal was presented in a board room with PowerPoint and spreadsheets.
And her guesses were very nearly correct. He looked at her with new respect. Potty mouth or not, this woman had a functioning brain in there with all that organic fertilizer. Clean her up and she’d really be something. Educate her and she’d be dangerous.
He had to interrupt her in midstream.
“You’re close. Do me a favor. Cut out the locker-room language and listen.”
“I didn’t spend much time in locker rooms, pal, at least not since the year I was a junior cheerleader and had some things on with the football team, but that was a long time ago. I learned this way of talking from CEOs, COOs, and other hot shots like you, with alphabets after their names that came to the club and figured they could let go with the girls. You never came to the club, did you?”
“No, never had the pleasure. Unlike the guys who can’t or won’t go home, I live a very full…That’s all neither here nor there, though, is it? The truth is, I can do this without Robert’s stock. It will take a little longer and cost more, but I can still do it.”
“What if Leo finds out you’re trying to move in on him?”
“He won’t unless you tell him, and I’m betting you won’t.”
“Why?”
“Because your stock holdings give you zilch unless Leo drops dead. With that crappy heart of his, that could happen, of course, but if you throw in with me…” he left the rest hanging.
Brenda frowned. “I think we need to take this conversation somewhere private. We can’t go to my room. Bobby’s there and if
“You forgot to pay your bar tab, too. You owe me sixty pula and fifty thebe, whatever that works out to in dollars.”
Henry pocketed the book, reached into another pocket and withdrew a one hundred pula note. “Here, keep the change.” He pivoted and rushed out of the room.
“Thank you, Henry. I’ll have a drink in your honor.” He turned to Brenda. “He bought a scotch and a beer and didn’t drink either one. Left them on the bar.”
“What was in the book?” Brenda steered them to a booth away from the door where they couldn’t be seen from the corridor.
“How would I know?”
“I saw you reading it, so don’t give any of your—”
“Okay, I looked. I couldn’t tell for sure, but I think he has been a naughty boy.”
“Meaning?”
“I could put something really big on permanent hold if I wanted to. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Does it have something to do with the public offering?”
“How’d you know about that?”
“There’s lots of stuff I know, mister. Just because I ain’t been to Yale or someplace like you did, doesn’t mean I’m a complete ditz.”
“I didn’t attend Yale, either. Okay, you called for this meeting. What is it you want from me? I’ve already laid down the rules for redeeming your husband’s stock. You will do me a favor if you will let this all ride for another two weeks at least.”
“I’m okay with that for now. I want you to level with me. What are you up to that needs Bobby’s stock in play?”
Travis weighed his options. He could feed Brenda Griswold a line of complicated nonsense and hope to fool her, he could give it to her straight, or he could shoot for something somewhere in the middle. The fact she’d tumbled on to anything at all persuaded him that nonsense wouldn’t sell and might possibly antagonize her to the point she’d precipitate a move that would be rash, or stupid, or both. Before he decided which way to go, Brenda started to guess. She laced her thesis with more Anglo-Saxon epithets and figures of speech than he’d heard since his days in the army, and he’d heard plenty. And that didn’t include the straight up profanity. His mother, had she been there to hear it, would have described her discourse as “earthy.” Somehow, a business deal as Brenda described it sounded wholly different than when the same deal was presented in a board room with PowerPoint and spreadsheets.
And her guesses were very nearly correct. He looked at her with new respect. Potty mouth or not, this woman had a functioning brain in there with all that organic fertilizer. Clean her up and she’d really be something. Educate her and she’d be dangerous.
He had to interrupt her in midstream.
“You’re close. Do me a favor. Cut out the locker-room language and listen.”
“I didn’t spend much time in locker rooms, pal, at least not since the year I was a junior cheerleader and had some things on with the football team, but that was a long time ago. I learned this way of talking from CEOs, COOs, and other hot shots like you, with alphabets after their names that came to the club and figured they could let go with the girls. You never came to the club, did you?”
“No, never had the pleasure. Unlike the guys who can’t or won’t go home, I live a very full…That’s all neither here nor there, though, is it? The truth is, I can do this without Robert’s stock. It will take a little longer and cost more, but I can still do it.”
“What if Leo finds out you’re trying to move in on him?”
“He won’t unless you tell him, and I’m betting you won’t.”
“Why?”
“Because your stock holdings give you zilch unless Leo drops dead. With that crappy heart of his, that could happen, of course, but if you throw in with me…” he left the rest hanging.
Brenda frowned. “I think we need to take this conversation somewhere private. We can’t go to my room. Bobby’s there and if
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