noting the sobering effect of her words. “Thursday afternoon,
I received a call from a former employee of mine
at WaCom. Next week, they’re going to tender a merger offer
with OTIOSE.”
A stunned silence enveloped the dining room. Max was
the first to speak, his usual resonant voice unsteady.
“That’s not a merger—that’s a takeover!”
“We’ll fight them in court,” Gene asserted, but he was
obviously shaken.
“Cutbacks, layoffs, early retirement,” Nadia whispered.
“Just like the divestiture era. Oh, my!”
“Geniuses,” said Russell. “Hordes and hordes of geniuses
at WaCom. They have more ideas than I could ever think
of!”
“Who cares?” said Margo.
Judith gazed at each speaker, noting that all of them
were—as usual—self-absorbed and isolated from one another.
Finally, she looked at Frank Killegrew, who had said nothing.
He was facedown in his game hen carcass.
FOURTEEN
UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, it was natural for everyone to
assume that Frank Killegrew was dead, either by accident or
design. As Nadia finally noticed her superior’s collapse, she
screamed and began shaking him. The others watched in
horror until Margo grabbed Russell by the shirt collar.
“You said you were a medic in ’Nam,” Margo shouted.
“Do something!”
“I never went to ’Nam,” Russell said, quaking in his chair.
“I was assigned to NATO in West Germany.”
“Ohhh…!” Margo gave him a hard shake. “Do something
anyway, you little twerp! You’re still a medic!”
“I was discharged in ‘sixty-nine,” Russell insisted. “I can
barely find the Band-Aids in the official OTIOSE first-aid
kit.”
“No wonder you didn’t know what CPR is,” Margo railed.
“You’re the most worthless, futile…”
But Frank Killegrew didn’t appear to need medical help.
He had lifted his head and was beginning to sputter.
“Oh, my,” Ava remarked, “he’s not dead after all. What a
relief.”
Judith thought Ava sounded more sarcastic than re
lieved, but the CEO was now sitting up and blustering
mightily while Nadia wiped white and wild rice stuffing from
his face.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he asserted. “It’s just another damned
shock I didn’t need.” As Nadia finished her task and resumed
her seat, Killegrew glowered at Ava. “Why didn’t you mention this sooner?”
Looking weary and wan, Ava hesitated before replying. “I
