Breath of Scandal(91)

were two desks. At one, a secretary was typing on a computer keyboard. A man was speaking into a telephone at the other desk. He had his back to Jade.

The secretary lifted her magenta fingernails off the keys. "Can I help you?"

"I'm here to see Mr. Matthias."

The secretary directed a glance to the opposite end of the trailer. "Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but Mr. Seffrin has spoken to Mr. Matthias on my behalf. If you'll please tell him that Ms. Sperry from GSS in New York is here to see-"

"Ms. Sperry?"

The casters on his chair squealed as he spun it around. Jade turned slowly, keeping her expression cool. "Mr. Matthias? I'm Jade Sperry. How do you do?"

Flustered, he kept his eyes on Jade as he spoke briefly



into the telephone before hanging up. Standing, he buttoned his suit jacket and moved down the length of the trailer, his hand extended. "I didn't know we had an appointment today." He shot his secretary an impatient look.

"We don't. I wasn't sure what my schedule would be while I was here in L.A. As it turns out, I'm free today. On the outside chance that you had no plans for lunch, I thought I'd stop by."

"Lunch? Today? Well, say, sure."

"What about Mr. Hemphill?" the secretary asked. "Cancel," her boss snapped discourteously. "Say, when would you like to go?" he asked Jade.

"Now. I I

"Oh. 1. uh, thought you might want to look around first "I've already looked around, Mr. Matthias."

"Okay, well, that's good. Say, do you have transportation? If not, we can take my car." He rushed forward and held the trailer door open for her.

Once they were settled in the leather interior of his Jaguar and had agreed on a restaurant, she asked, "Have you read the information Mr. Seffrin sent you?"

"Sure have. Cover to cover. I'm your man for that project in South Carolina, all right."

"What makes you think so, Mr. Matthias?"

Jade listened while he, after a token display of modesty, enumerated his outstanding qualifications. One could count on a good business lunch lasting at least two hours. Even fighting L.A. traffic, Jade and Mr. Matthias returned to the trailer well under that amount of time.

She declined his invitation to continue their discussion inside. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Matthias."

She turned to go. He stepped around her, blocking her path on the sidewalk. "Say, wait. When will I hear from you?"

"Mr. Seffrin and I have several other contractors to interview," she lied.

Tbroughout lunch, she had tried to keep an open mind, but every word out of his mouth confirmed her negative first impression. She thought that he must have written his



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Breath of Scandal



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own press releases and recommendations because he certainly seemed to have an elevated opinion of himself.

The more he boasted, the less impressed Jade became, As badly as she wanted to commence work on the project, she faced the dismal fact that this trip had been pointless and she was still without a general contractor.

"It could be weeks or even months before we make a final decision," she told Matthias evasively.

"Say, listen, you aren't steamed because of what happened back there at the restaurant, are you?"

"You mean when you invited me to go to your apartment for dessert?" she asked coldly, dropping all vestiges of professionalism. "No, Mr. Matthias, I'm not steamed. I'm repulsed. "

"Say, you're a classy-looking lady. It was worth a try," he quipped, flashing her a stupid grin. "You can't blame a guy for making a pass at you."

"Oh yes I can, Mr. Matthias."

"Then you're one of those women's libbers; with penis envy. Ball busters, I call you. I believe you had your mind made up about me before we ever left for lunch."

"You're right, I did." Since he hadn't spared any words, she saw no reason to keep her impressions to herself. "Your office is a mess. I'm not talking about the clutter that hard work generates, I'm talking about overflowing ashtrays, empty soda cans, and a muddy floor.

"Secondly, I arrived without an appointment just to see how you would handle the situation. Your previous luncheon engagement deserved a personal call from you to explain the postponement. Furthermore, I couldn't spend months working with an individual who begins almost every sentence with 'say.' And finally, I knew you weren't right for this job the moment I saw your hands. "

"What's wrong with my hands?"

"They're soft, and your nails are manicured." "Say, lady, where do you get off-T'

The siren of an approaching LAPD squad car silenced Matthias. The car rolled to a stop just yards from where Jade and he were standing.

"What the hell is going on?" Forgetting Jade, Matthias marched forward and grabbed one of the policemen by the sleeve. "What are you doing here?"

"Who are you?"

"Wayne Matthias. I'm the boss here."

"We got a complaint call. Apparently one of your workers went berserk and attacked another one. Somewhere up there," the policeman added, tilting his head back and scanning the top stories of the unfinished building.