married, but his wife didn’t move to New York with him.
Patrice Killegrew came from a wealthy family, and could afford to fly back and forth to join him for long weekends.
They had children in school, and she didn’t see any point in
uprooting them and moving back east for what would be a
relatively short time. As you might guess, the inevitable
happened.”
Judith kept pace with Ava as they walked back to the kitchen. “Frank and Nadia had an affair.”
“Exactly. It wasn’t a mere fling, it was serious,” Ava continued. “But as I said, Frank and Patrice had small children,
and she was rich. Not only that, but in those days, divorce
was frowned on by the upper echelon. Potential officer candidates were supposed to be solid citizens, untouched by
scandal. Frank couldn’t possibly dump Patrice.”
“So he brought Nadia with him when he was sent back to
the West Coast,” Judith said.
“That’s right. He promoted her every time he moved on,
and eventually she became his administrative assistant.” Ava
turned rueful. “I’ve often wondered if he did her any real favor. She might have been a bigger success on her own.”
Judith didn’t understand. “Meaning—what?”
Ava turned on the dishwasher, then leaned against it.
“Nadia came along at a time when women were beginning
to rise in the Bell System. Oh, sure, there’s still a glass ceiling
and all that, but she’s smart, she has drive, she’s got the
makings of a good manager. Sometimes I feel she really runs
the company instead of Frank.”
“That crossed my mind, but I don’t know much about the
corporate world. Tell me,” Judith went on, recalling how
frantic Nadia had been when she thought Frank had had a
heart attack, “are they still…intimate?”
“Define intimate.” Ava laughed, a faintly jarring sound.
“Let’s put it this way—Nadia is more of a wife to him than
Patrice ever was. You can see that from the way they behave.
She does everything for him. And if you’re referring to sex,
my guess is that they still have that, too. Patrice is a very
cold woman.”
“Nadia’s not exactly warm and fuzzy,” Judith noted.
“You haven’t met Patrice. She could give those icicles
outside a run for their money.”
“But…Frank and Patrice stay married?” Judith couldn’t
keep the question out of her voice.
“Of course.” Ava’s manner was ironic. “If Patrice knows
about the relationship between Frank and Nadia, she ignores
it. Mrs. Killegrew—and it is definitely
the wife of a CEO. Money and status are her substitutes for
love and sex. Besides, Frank could never risk a divorce.”
“Times have changed, though. Unfortunately,” Judith added.
“Not so much in the old boy network,” Ava said. “For the
most part, Frank’s peer group is still extremely conservative
and old-fashioned.”
