‘I’m not worrying,’ I said curtly. ‘See you on Monday,’ and nodding, I left her, her eyes wide with surprise, her expression hurt.
Joe came out of his office as I walked down the corridor.
‘Give me a lift to the station, Ches?’
‘Okay.’
I didn’t want him with me, but I couldn’t very well refuse, as he knew I had to pass the station on my way to the bungalow.
We went together to the elevator.
As we were going down, Joe said: ‘Seeing R.A. tonight?’
‘No. He told me to take the weekend off. I’ve got the Wasserman TV script to look at. From what I’ve seen of it, it’s not too bad.’
‘Why don’t you lay off work and take a rest?’ Joe asked as we crossed the lobby. ‘You’re getting pretty nervy. What’s biting you?’
‘Nothing’s biting me,’ I said shortly as I made my way across the crowded sidewalk to where I had parked the Cadillac.
Joe slid in beside me.
‘Well, for the past two days you’ve been snapping everyone’s head off. You made Paula cry this afternoon.’
‘Paula’s a moron. I asked her three times to get Wasserman and she couldn’t raise him.’
‘He happened to be out. She can’t perform miracles.’
I started the engine.
‘What is this, Joe? Since when do I want your criticism?’
‘Here we go,’ Joe said, sinking down into the cushions of the bench seat. ‘Now it’s my turn. Well, okay, boy, if you think this is the way to act the Big Wheel, I won’t stop you, but take my advice and try to relax. You’re leaning too hard on the job.’
I knew he was right and I suddenly felt ashamed of myself.
‘Yes. Sorry, Joe. I’ll be okay after the weekend.’
‘I guess I’d act the same,’ Joe said generously. ‘You have quite a job to hold down now.’ Then changing the subject, he went on: ‘You know I envy you this car—what a beaut!’
‘I always wanted a Caddy. It cost me plenty, but it’s worth every nickel. Although I’ve had it now for eighteen months, I still get a bang out of it.’
‘I would too. When this New York job jells, and if R.A. ups my salary, I plan to buy one just for the hell of it.’
‘If we land the job, Joe, I’ll see you get a rise.’
‘What are the prospects? Has he said anything about it again?’
‘He was talking about it last night. I think it’s in the bag. He asked me how soon I could raise the money.’
‘Do you think it’s a good idea to invest your money with him, Ches?’
‘I’m sure of it. An office in New York can’t go wrong. With a stake in the business, I get five per cent of the gross as well as my salary. I’d be crazy not to take the chance. Besides, I’ll be running the business more or less myself so I can protect my stake.’
‘Wish I had some dough,’ Joe said. ‘Five per cent of the gross! You’re going to be rich, Ches.’
My hands tightened on the driving wheel. I could be rich if I wasn’t found out, I thought. I might even be rich enough to take Lucille away from Aitken.
‘Well, a lot depends on how we run the place, Joe.’
‘How soon can you raise the dough?’
‘I’ve told my brokers to go ahead and sell out. I should have it in a few days. The market’s just right. A bit of luck that: I could have been stuck.’
I slowed down as we came to the station,
‘Thanks, Ches,’ Joe said as he got out of the car. ‘Maybe I’ll buy this off you one of these days,’ he went on, patting the Cadillac’s wing, ‘You’ll be able to get an Eldorado when you get to New York. Would you think of selling it to me?’
‘You wait until you get some money,’ I said and grinned at him, ‘but I might. So long. Have a good weekend.’
I drove fast towards my bungalow.
II
At one minute to nine, I pulled up outside the tall wrought-iron gates that guarded the entrance to the Gables. Lucille was standing in the shadows, waiting for me. I let the driver’s door swing open as she came quickly towards me. As she came out of the shadows and into the hard light of the moon I saw she was wearing a pale- blue dress with a flared skirt. Her hair was taken back by a narrow ribbon. She looked pretty enough to take any man’s breath away.
She slid under the driving wheel as I moved along the bench seat out of her way.
‘Hello,’ she said, smiling at me. ‘You’re beautifully punctual. Do you like my dress? I put it on specially for you.’
‘It’s terrific,’ I said, ‘and you look terrific also.’
She laughed happily.
‘Do you think so? Do you really think so?’
‘Yes.’
Maybe there was something in my voice that startled her. Anyway, she looked quickly at me, but I had my back to the moonlight and she couldn’t see much of my face.
‘Well, where shall we go?’ she said. Let’s go down to the sea.’
‘All right.’
This night she didn’t seem in the mood for speed. She drove at a steady twenty-five miles an hour, and at that speed, she drove pretty well.
We turned off the highway and cruised along one of the secondary roads until we reached a narrow dirt road that led down to the sea.
She hummed to herself softly as she drove and she was relaxed, her hands no longer clenched the wheel in a knuckle-white grip. I felt a little pang as I realized that she would soon be competent enough to apply for a permit, and the lessons would come to an end.
We drove slowly down the dirt road and turning a sharp bend we saw ahead of us a great stretch of sand with palm trees and the sea glittering like a polished mirror in the moonlight.
‘Isn’t this wonderful?’ she said. They were her first words since she had driven away from the Gables. ‘You don’t know how much pleasure I get from driving this car, Ches. There’s no sensation like it. I can drive now, can’t I? I’m really good now, aren’t I?’
‘You’re not so bad. You want more practice before you apply for a permit. You haven’t tried reversing yet. Do you want to have a shot at it now?’
She shook her head.
‘Not now.’
We drove down the lonely beach road, and she slowed, drove the car off the road and on to the hard sand, then she pulled up and turned off the ignition.
I sat motionless, my hands damp and clenched, my heart beating fast while I stared at the vast expanse of sand, sea and palm trees. In the hard light of the moon, the beach was lit up for miles. There was no sign of anyone out there, no cars, nothing. We might have been the only two people left in the world.
‘I’m going for a swim,’ she said as she turned off the car’s lights. ‘Will you come?’ This was unexpected, and it took me by surprise.
