«You’re not repping her?»
«That’s right, Frank.»
Frank looked at Roy. Roy sat like hardening plaster. Then he looked at FJ, who was shaking his head.
«Is her old man still her manager?» Frank asked.
«I don’t know, Frank. Why don’t you ask her?»
«You were with her yesterday,» Frank said.
«So?»
«So what were you two doing?»
Myron stretched out his legs, crossing the ankles. «Tell me something, Frank. What’s your interest in all this?»
Frank’s eyes widened. He looked at Roy, then at FJ; then he pointed a meaty finger at Myron. «Pardon my fucking French,» he said, «but do I look like I’m here to answer your fucking questions?»
«The whole new you,» Myron said. «Friendly, changed.»
FJ leaned forward and looked in Myron’s eyes. Myron looked back. There was nothing there. If the eyes were indeed the window to the soul, these read no vacancy. «Mr. Bolitar?» FJ’s voice was soft and willowy.
«Yes?»
«Fuck you.»
He whispered the words with the strangest smile on his face. He did not lean back after he said it. Myron felt something cold scramble up his back, but he did not look away.
The phone on the desk buzzed. Frank hit a button. «Yeah?»
«Mr. Bolitar’s associate on the line,» a female voice said. «He wanted to speak with you.»
«With me?» Frank said.
«Yes, Mr. Ache.»
Frank looked confused. He shrugged his shoulders and hit a button.
«Yeah,» he said.
«Hello, Francis.»
The room became still as a photograph.
Frank cleared his throat. «Hello, Win.»
«I trust that I am not interrupting,» Win said.
Silence.
«How is your brother, Francis?»
«He’s good, Win.»
«I must give Herman a call. We haven’t hit the links together in ages.»
«Yeah,» Frank said, «I’ll tell him you asked for him.»
«Fine, Francis, fine. Well, I must be going. Please give my best to Roy and your charming son. How rude of me not to have said hello earlier.»
Silence.
«Hey, Win?»
«Yes, Francis.»
«I don’t like this cryptic shit, you hear?»
«I hear everything, Francis.»
Click.
Frank Ache gave Myron a hard glare. «Get out.»
«Why are you so interested in Brenda Slaughter?»
Frank lifted himself out of the chair. «Win’s scary,» he said. «But he ain’t bulletproof. Say one more word, and I’ll tie you to a chair and set your dick on fire.»
Myron did not bother with good-byes.
Myron took the elevator down. Win – real name Windsor Home Lockwood III – stood in the lobby. He was dressed this morning in Late American Prep. Blue blazer, light khakis, white button-down Oxford shirt, loud Lilly Pulitzer tie, the kind with more colors than a gallery at a golf course. His blond hair was parted by the gods, his jaw jutting in that way of his, his cheekbones high and pretty and porcelain, his eyes the blue of ice. To look at Win’s face, Myron knew, was to hate him, was to think elitism, class-consciousness, snobbery, anti-Semitism, racism, old-world money earned from the sweat of other men’s brows, all that. People who judged Windsor Home Lockwood III solely by appearance were always mistaken. Often dangerously so.
Win did not glance in Myron’s direction. He looked out as though posing for a park statue. «I was just thinking,» Win said.
«What?»
«If you clone yourself, and then have sex with yourself, is it incest or masturbation?»
Win.
«Good to see you’re not wasting your time,» Myron said.
Win looked at him. «If we were still at Duke,» he said, «we’d probably discuss the dilemma for hours.»
«That’s because we’d be drunk.»
Win nodded. «There’s that.»
They both switched off their cellular phones and started heading down Fifth Avenue. It was a relatively new trick that Myron and Win used with great effect. As soon as the Hormonal He-Men pulled up, Myron had switched on the phone and hit the programmed button for Win’s cellular. Win had thus heard every word. That was why Myron had commented out loud on where they were heading. That was how Win knew exactly where he was and exactly when to call. Win had nothing to say to Frank Ache; he just wanted to make sure that Frank knew that Win knew where Myron was.
«Tie you to a chair and set your dick on fire,» Win repeated. «That would sting.»
Myron nodded. «Talk about having a burning sensation when you urinate.»
«Indeed. So tell me.»
Myron started talking. Win, as always, did not appear to be listening. He never glanced in Myron’s direction, his eyes searching the streets for beautiful women. Midtown Manhattan during work hours was full of them. They wore business suits and silk blouses and white Reebok sneakers. Every once in a while Win would reward one with a smile; unlike almost anybody else in New York, he was often rewarded with one in return.
When Myron told him about bodyguarding Brenda Slaughter, Win suddenly stopped and broke out in song: «AND I-I-I-I-I-I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU-OU-ou-ou-ou-ou-ou:
Myron looked at him. Win stopped, put his face back in place, continued walking. «When I sing that,» Win said, «it’s almost like Whitney Houston is in the room.»
«Yeah,» Myron said. «Or something.»
«So what is the Aches» interest in all this?»
«I don’t know.»
«Perhaps TruPro just wishes to represent her.»
«Doubtful. She’ll make somebody money but not enough for pulling this.»
Win thought about it, nodded his agreement. They headed east on Fiftieth Street. «Young FJ might pose a problem.»
«Do you know him?»
«A bit. He is something of an intriguing story. Daddy groomed him to go legit. He sent him to Lawrenceville, then to Princeton, finally Harvard. Now he’s setting him up in the business of representing athletes.»
«But.»
«But he resents it. He is still Frank Ache’s son and thus wants his approval. He needs to show that despite the upbringing, he’s still a tough guy. Worse, he is genetically Frank Ache’s son. My guess? If you trample through FJ’s childhood, you’ll stumble across many a legless spider and wingless fly.»
Myron shook his head. «This is definitely not a good thing.»
Win said nothing. They hit the Lock-Horne Building on Forty-seventh Street. Myron got off the elevator on the twelfth floor. Win stayed in, his office being two flights up. When Myron looked at the reception desk -the place where Esperanza usually sat – he nearly jumped back. Big Cyndi sat silently watching him. She was far too big for the desk – far too big for the building, really – and the desk actually teetered on her knees. Her makeup would be
