It seemed to Judith that Nadia had picked herself up so
often with the liquor in the lobby that she ought to be floating on air. But the administrative assistant’s drinking habits
were none of Judith’s business.
“I think there’s a bottle in that tall narrow cupboard on
your left,” Judith said. “It’s in with the various kinds of vinegar.”
“Ah.” Nadia had to stand on tiptoe to reach the sherry.
“As I was saying, Friday afternoons can be absolute hell. A
negative news story in the early edition of the evening paper.
A decision handed down by the state utilities commission.
A disaster with a member of the board. One of the worst
happened just recently. Do you recall the Santa Claus debacle?”
Judith’s interest was piqued. “You mean when Santa ran
off with Barry Newcombe?”
Pouring sherry into a juice glass, Nadia shook her head.
“No, no. That was over a year ago. This happened during
the recent holiday season. We’d offered a nine-hundred toll
number so that children could call Santa. Of course there’s
a charge for nine-hundred numbers. Quite a few parents became upset because their children ran up rather large phone
bills. The story made the newspapers, and OTIOSE was referred to as a Grinch or a Scrooge or just plain
in point of fact, those irresponsible parents should have exercised some control over their ill-behaved children. Some
of them actually made obscene calls to Santa, and we had
at least two adults who complained that he didn’t sound like
the real one. But the most unfortunate part was that when
the article came out that particular Friday in December, none
of the officers were around. I never could figure out where
they’d all gone, but I was the one who ended up having to
field the media’s questions. It was horrible.”
it was, to Nadia Weiss. “Tell me about the board,” Judith
said, picking up the silverware and indicating for Nadia to
bring the plates. “Do the members actually control the company?”
“There are twelve directors,” Nadia replied, following Judith
into the dining room. “Three are OTIOSE officers—Frank,
Leon, and Ward. It’s traditional that the president, the executive vice president, and the chief financial officer sit on the
board. The rest of the members come from throughout the
region. They include only the most prominent names in
business, education, and private endeavor.”
laying a fresh cloth on the table. “But you’re short two
members,” she pointed out.
“What?” Nadia looked up from the pile of dinner plates.
“Yes, yes, we are.” Her mouth, which seemed to accelerate
with every swig of sherry, turned down. “It’s incredible, isn’t
it? Two vacancies to fill. Four, really. Ray Nordquist of
Nordquist’s Department Stores is about to retire, and William
Boring Jr. of the Boring Airplane Company feels he’s overextended.”
