Breath of Scandal(50)

incredulously.

11 'Fraid so." -It's so tiny."

-That's the only way you can survive the traffic over here. you,ve got to be able to slither through or you're stuck for hours



She gauged the small interior against tile length of Dillon's legs. -Can you fit into that?"

"It's a tight squeeze. As a result, there's something I've



got to tell you. " Solemnly he said, "I can no longer father children. "

Debra pressed her hand against his crotch. "As long as it still works, I don't care."

He was momentarily shocked by her public flirtation, but she reminded him that they were in France and that the French were famous for their tolerance of lovers.

He apologized to her for their apartment, which was on the third floor of a building with an elevator he didn't trust and that he ordered her never to use. It was a narrow, drafty building with four apartments on each floor. "It was the best I could do," Dillon said regretfully as he unlocked the door and swung'it open. "Everything here is so expensive. "

What he found antiquated and inconvenient, Debra dubbed quaint and charming. "We've got a balcony!" she exclaimed, rushing toward the window and pushing open the shutters.

"Not a very good view, though."

The balcony looked down over a sadly neglected courtyard. Within weeks, however, there were primroses blooming from the window boxes Debra had installed. She covered the cracks in the interior walls with colorful travel posters and made casual slipcovers out of bedsheets; to hide the tackiness of the furniture, which had come with the apartment. It soon became a home that Dillon wouldn't have traded for the nearby Versailles Palace.

On weekends, native Parisians made an exodus to the country, leaving the city to tourists like the Burkes. They parked their car on the outskirts of the city and used the Metro. Soon they became expert at negotiating its multilayered, underground stations. Like hungry gourmands at a feast, they consumed everything French. They fell in love with the sights, smells, and sounds of the City of Lights. They haunted the museums, parks, and historically significant public buildings, and discovered hideaway cafes where even Americans were charged fair prices for exquisite meals.

Cathedrals with windows of stained glass were dark sanc-



140



Sandra Brawn



Breath of Scandal



141



tuaries where they sought privacy to kiss instead of prayin comparison to those sold in American hotdogs paled ,

Montmartre alongside original paintings.

To celebrate their first wedding anniversary, they spent a long weekend in the wine country, sampling the local vintages until they grew maudlin, and sleeping in small hotels where the featherbeds were as thick and sumptuous as the sauces served in the intimate dining rooms-

in their paradise.

But there was a serpent canlan. Dillon's title was superHis name was Haskell S ction. Haskell handled vising engineer in charge of constru



business matters-PaYTOII, purchasing, and bookkeeping. They bad met briefly in Tallahassee. Dillon had hoped that his first impression of the man would change once they got



ake he had hoped they could be to France. For Debra's s



friends with Haskell and his wife. out to be as big a Unfortunately, Haskell Scanlan turned estic. None of the pain in the ass on foreign soil as on dom



construction workers could stand him. An unmerciful timekeeper, he docked their pay if they clocked in thirty seconds late, When the foreman approached Dillon about a pay increase, he took what he believed to be a fair request to Haskell Scanlan. Haskell adamantly refused even to consider it.

-For Chris' sake, give them the raise!" Dillon shouted after a half-hour of heated argument.

"Across the board?" -Across the board."

-That'll only encourage them to ask for more later on." "Hell, Haskell, they're only asking for what amounts to twenty cents an hour-"

"Multiply it out. It adds up."

so raise them ten cents an hour. That would "Okay,

demonstrate our goodwill and might give them enough incentive to stay with us. I lost two good carpenters last week because they could make more money working on that new sports arena that's under construction."

"The carpenters YOU lost were replaced."

"But it took several days out of MY work schedule to



interview and hire them. I don't like losing days. The building is scheduled for completion sometime next summer. I'd like to finish it by early spring."

"Why?" "Because Debra's pregnant. Much as we love it here, I'd like my baby to be born at home."

"Personal interests shouldn't override the interests of the company. "

"Fuck you."

Haskell had all but tsked him. "Resort to that kind of language if it makes you feel better. I assure you it's not oing to change my mind."

9 Dillon res6rted to that kind of language and a whole lot worse before the issue was settled. "I hate to jump the chain of command on him, " he told Debra that night over dinner. "But the man's a penny-pinching prick who can't see anything except the bottom line. What he doesn't seem to understand is that the sooner we get the building up, the more money he'll save Pilot Industries."