Chapter 11
Able Crowell had just returned from lunch at one-thirty that Monday afternoon when a pert-boobed secretary informed him that the old man himself, Thompson Read, president and chairman of the board of Tri-Compass, wanted to see him in the office immediately.
"He looks mad," the toothsome young wench said, and she blushed when Able winked at her. She'd often issued subtle invitations to him before his foul mood of the last weeks had come on, but he'd never responded. Now she was no doubt surprised, especially since she'd just suggested that Able might well be on the carpet in a matter of minutes.
The summons did give Able a moment of tension, you were always tense when you were called up before the seldom-seen Thompson Read. But if you were Able at the present moment, you quickly relaxed. Read probably intended to lower the boom because of Able's recent depression and general incompetence, and the young engineer took it as a high compliment that the old man was going to do the dirty work rather than leaving it to George West. For that matter, he might even intend to issue only a stern warning.
In any case, Able felt quite capable of coping with the situation. He felt capable of coping with any situation. As far as he was concerned, the incident with Fern Lancing on Saturday night had been morally wrong, but it had done him a world of good. Since good intentions frequently led to the most disastrous results, the human race was fortunate that good occasionally resulted from evil. Somehow or other, despite the weakness and the malice of man, humanity kept right on winning in the long run. At least that was the way Able Crowell felt today.
As he took the elevator up to the executive suite, he wondered if Daisy realized that he was once again his old self. Well, not quite his old self but perhaps someone a little bit better and stronger, more of a man. He doubted that she did, though she'd given him a couple of speculative looks last night. But they'd spent most of Sunday sleeping, and had had little to say to each other during the evening. He'd pretended to be reading while actually trying to absorb his experience with Fern.
He wondered if his marriage could be saved. He doubted that it could, though he was willing to try, if Daisy was willing to accept him in good faith for what he was, temper her ambitions, and try to live a decent life with him. But with the wisdom of hindsight he could now see that their marrige had been increasingly frayed for a long time, and he could honestly say that the fault hadn't been his. He'd done his best. Even the trip to George West's luxurious "cabin" had been an attempt to regain the genuine togetherness which, he'd thought, they'd once shared.
And the second honeymoon had failed. In the most definitive kind of way.
Thompson's Read's private secretary, a buxom, sloe-eyed, leggy lass, announced Able on the interoffice phone and told him to go right in. He had to say one thing for the old man, he did keep a batch of good-looking women around the establishment.
He took a deep breath and readied himself for battle. He'd have to convince Read that his doldrums were over, that he was at the height of his competence, that "it would never happen again" and all that jazz.
He stepped through the doorway. The door swung closed behind him.
Thompson Read looked angry.
He was a tall, athletic man of sixty, gray haired and bushy mustached, dark browed. Now, as he sat behind his one-acre polished mahogany desk, his cheeks were flushed, his blue eyes stormy.
Able was surprised to see two men he'd never met standing at one side of Read's desk.
"Crowell, come here," the old man growled, and Able advanced to the front of the desk.
"I ought to fire you, Crowell, and maybe I will."
"What seemes to be the trouble sir?" Able asked. He found that he actually felt good, keyed for battle and confident of winning but not particularly concerned if he lost.
"Perhaps you'd be interested to know that my daughter is suing George West for divorce."
That did come as a surprise but he kept his face straight and blank. Read searched for a reaction but didn't get any.
"As of now," Read went on, "West is out of here. Out, gone, finished. If I have anything to do with it, from now on out he'll be lucky to get a job as a draftsman's assistant pencil-sharpener. And I'm not sure that I shouldn't give you the same trouble I'm going to give him."
Able had never seen Read this deeply angered, but that only contributed to his own fine edge.
"I asked you, sir, what the trouble seems to be. If you'll tell me, maybe I can be of help."
Clearly something unexpected was going on. He had no idea what it could be.
Read glared at him. Then he looked down at a file folder on his desk. He picked up the folder and extended it toward Able, and for the first time in Able's memory the man's hand shook.
"I don't know if I'm giving you a shock or not," he said. "Quite possibly I am. But you might as well see the facts and understand the situation immediately."
That was exactly what Able wanted. He took the file and opened it.
"Those were taken this morning in your home," Read said. "They're enlargements, of course, and they'll serve their purpose in court if need be."
Able hardly heard the man's last words.
Stunned, he looked at the glossy prints.
There was Daisy, stretched out on the bed he knew so well, her legs raised high, completely naked. And there, just as naked, was George West, stretched out over her, up on his hands, every detail clear. Their eyes were nearly closed, their faces distorted by passion.
He turned to the next picture and the next. He found that there were half a dozen or more, and they all showed the same thing. Only the positions of Daisy and George varied somewhat as they raced through the act of love, apparently approaching, or right at, its summit.
He didn't know what to think. After what had happened three-and-a-half weeks ago, he'd known that Daisy was capable of being unfaithful to him again, but he certainly hadn't expected this.
"You look somewhat surprised," Read said drily.
"I am, somewhat," Able said, still looking at the pictures.
"If, like my daughter, you should want a divorce, there's the evidence."
"I shall make use of it."
As he said the words, Able knew that he would. There was no point in his staying with Daisy. He knew now that there wasn't a chance in the world of their making a real marriage. From now on she would betray him again and again, he would betray her, and all they would do was torture one another.
"Yes," he said softly, "I shall make use of it."
He put the file down on the desk and stared at it until he felt Read's eyes on him.
"What's the matter with you, Crowell? Can't you control your own wife?"
"Can you control your son-in-law? Can you control the manager of your engineering division? Is either one of us some kind of omnipotent god?" Able wasn't surly or defensive, but at this point in his life he was unwilling to take any guff.
Read's glare never wavered, and the seconds ticked by.
"I understand that your efficiency has gone way down during the last few weeks. Has your wife had something to do with that?"
"Everything."
"Then I suppose you'll be even worse from now on."
Able found that he could actually grin. "No, sir. I should say that from now on everything is coming up roses."
That made Read sit back in his chair, and for a moment he looked puzzled. Then his expression cleared, and he appeared to relax. Some of the flush left his cheeks.
"I think we understand each other," he said. "You can take those filthy pictures if you wish, and I'll give you the names of the witnesses. Neither you nor my daughter should have any trouble, but if you do, let me know, and I'll do whatever I can to be of help."
"Thank you, sir."
Read leaned forward, an elbow on his desk. "You may be curious about one other thing. I'm sure you are, and that has to do with the promotion in the engineering division." i
"Yes, sir." That promotion had been such an intimate part of his difficulties.
"Benjamin Lancing is getting it."
"Yes, sir. That was what I always expected."
"You're a good man, Crowell, in spite of your recent slump. I keep tabs on things around here far more closely than most people realize, if not closely enough." He glanced at the folder of pictures. "Lancing's getting the job only because he's older than you and more experienced. Your hour will come, and you'll go far."
"Thank you, Mr. Read."
"I suppose you'd like to take the rest of the day off, perhaps several days, to get your affairs in order and make arrangements with your wife."
"That would help."
"You're off duty as of now. And if you should need a good lawyer...."
Soon thereafter he left Read's office. He felt utterly clear-minded and yet still in a daze at what he'd learned. But he wasn't too dazed to cast appreciative looks at Read's buxom secretary or at the pert-boobed girl who'd given him the original summons to the big boss's office. The latter's eyes met his, and she blushed.
Well, he thought, gazing down at her trim calves and noting the way her skirt clung to her thighs, why not? Already he felt free, perfectly free, and one of these evenings....
He cleared off his desk and notified a few people that he was leaving and wouldn't be back for a day or two. Personal reasons. Then he left the office, went to his car, and headed for home. The sooner he saw Daisy, the better. No doubt she was waiting for him to appear, and if she gave him any trouble he would-
Laugh in her face.
He was halfway home, mentally reviewing the events of the last few weeks, when he suddenly remembered that he had some unfinished business.
He grinned to himself.
He shouldn't, he thought. No, he really shouldn't.
He should keep right on going and see Daisy as soon as possible.
Nevertheless he turned the car.
Then minutes later he parked in front of Edna Graham's house. He got out of his car and walked casually up to the front porch. The door was open but the screen was latched, and he rang the bell.
Thirty seconds later Edna appeared at the door, startled to see him. She was wearing a white off-the-shoulder peasant blouse and a brown and green dirndl skirt and sandals, and she looked good. Very good.
Her hefty boobs had a great way of filling out a blouse.
"Why, Able ... hello. Her tone was tentative, uncertain.
"Are you alone, Edna? I've got to see you about something important."
Her eyes widened. "Has something happened? Has something happened to Chuck?"
"You might say so. May I come in?"
Still looking worried, she unhooked the screen, fastening it again after he had entered the hallway.
"Where can we talk? The game room?"
"Why, yes-I guess...."
Without waiting for her answer, he had already headed for the game room, which he knew from previous visits and which would do quite well for his present purpose. He heard Edna following him.
"What's happened to Chuck?" she asked worriedly as they entered the room.
He turned to face her. "You might say it's not what's happened to him but what's going to happen."
"What do you mean?"
He grinned at her. She looked puzzled. She also looked great. He took in her smooth, bare shoulders and the way her blouse stood out in front. Whatever else he might say about the blonde, she was a first-class package of female.
"Edna," he said, "don't you figure you owe me something?"
"Owe you?"
"You and I were at a little party a few weeks ago. You were perfectly willing for Chuck to make love with Daisy, as I recall. Anyway, neither of us did anything to stop them. Now your turn and mine has come, hasn't it?"
Her eyes hardened. "Is that what you're here for?"
"That's what I'm here for."
He took a step toward her, but she took a quick step back. She clenched her fists and bared her teeth. "Why, you stupid jerk!"
"Now, Edna-"
Her fingers turned into claws. "You try it! You just try it!"
"Edna, honey, please cooperate!"
They circled, and he managed to block the way to the door. He was already becoming excited. If he succeeded in this, Edna should be very nice. Very nice indeed.
Suddenly she stopped backing away. She put her hands on her hips and laughed harshly.
"You can't!" she said. "You couldn't the last time you tried, and you can't now! You're not man enough!"
He grinned at her. "Shall we test that theory?"
Her hands fell from her hips, and she looked considerably less certain of herself.
"Able, you'd better get out of here."
He grabbed her, pulling her lush body tightly against him, and they struggled. She turned her face away, but he forced kisses on her cheek, her ear, her neck. She cursed him in a low, vicious voice and tried to thump and claw him.
"Relax, honey," he said, "you know you want your share."
"You bum! You jerk! What do you think you're doing!"
"We both know what I'm doing."
She tried to knee him, but he blocked her leg. He threw her onto a couch and pulled one side of her blouse down off a breast, exposing a strapless bra.
"I'll scream!" she threatened. "I'll yell my lungs out!"
"What's the matter? Afraid you can't handle me any more?"
"You louse."
He tugged at the back of the strapless bra, and it came loose. He pulled it away from her and hurled it across the room; one large, pink-buttoned breast was exposed. They were practically lying on the couch; he held her arms and pressed his mouth over the nipple. She wiggled under him, cursed him, and tried to claw his back.
The tip grew plump against his tongue.
He laughed and raised his head. "You want to, don't you, Edna baby? Actually, you'd love to!"
Whether he was right or not, she was almost speechless with rage. Her skirt had worked up to her hips, and her bare legs kicked and flayed.
He pulled her blouse off the other breast and went to work there with his mouth; the nipple grew as taut as the first.
"Give in, Edna!" he crooned. "Give in and put out!"
"You'll have to rape me!" she swore.
"And you'd love that, wouldn't you! A new thrill!"
As the struggle continued, Able was encouraged. The fact of the matter was that Edna wasn't fighting him off nearly as hard as she might have, though she certainly wasn't giving him an easy time. She hadn't screamed, she'd kept her voice down for the most part, and she did show certain signs of passion. Her nipples were stiff, the blue veins at the tops of her breasts had become more prominent, and her lips looked fuller.
As for Able, he felt more eager and ready by the second.
The time had come, he decided, to take her panties off.
He rose up over her and reached under her skirt. She tried to push her skirt down and his hands away, but he was too fast for her. His fingers clutched silken material. He pulled.
The panties ripped completely away.
For a moment she froze, staring aghast at her nakedness from the navel down as if she'd never seen herself before. Able, on one knee above her, quickly unfastened his trousers and shoved his briefs and shirt tails out of the way.
Then she stared at him.
He was obviously as ready to go as he'd been that night several weeks ago, and now he showed no signs of cooling.
"No!" she said as he hovered over her again.
He forced his way, trying to get closer to her, trying to get close enough. Her eyes widened.
"Able, don't! Don't, you fool!" She sounded as if she'd realized for the first time that he might actually take her.
"By the way, Edna, about Chuck," he said, panting. "! think you should be the first to know. He didn't get the promotion."
Again she froze, staring.
"What are you talking about?"
"I talked to Thompson Read just before I came over here. Ben Lancing is the new manager of the engineering division."
"You're lying."
"No, Edna, Ben is the man. Not Chuck, not me. Ben."
She slowly closed her eyes and relaxed. Carefully he reached and stroked her, and she didn't even seem to notice. But he found that she was ready, and he moved still closer until they touched.
"That fool," she murmured. "That bloody fool."
"Who? Me? Chuck? Ben? Read?"
"All of you. Every bloody one of you."
He tried to adjust his position. The waiting had become unbearable.
"Chuck never gets home before six," she said softly as she raised her hips to assist him. "We have the rest of the afternoon."
He was home free.
At five-thirty he left her brooding on the hard time she was going to give Chuck when he arrived. She wasn't sure whether she'd stay with him or not. And after she got done with him this evening, she doubted that he'd want to stay with her.
Able returned to his car and once again set off for home. If Edna's doubts about his manhood had been genuine, they were certainly dispelled now. He'd performed, this afternoon, with a competence which he hadn't displayed since they'd all first gone up to the cabin. And he had to admit that Edna had done her bit. She'd shown that she had a competence of her own.
Now all he had to do was to get things squared away with Daisy, and he didn't foresee any great difficulty there. He had the pictures of her and George, and there were witnesses, as she knew well.
He wasn't altogether surprised to find that she wasn't at home when he got there. In their bedroom he found a few empty drawers still pulled open, and a couple of suitcases were missing from a closet.
On the dressing table he found a note:
Able-
I'm going to a hotel. If you'd rather leave the house, I'll come back. I'll call.
D.
That was all.
And really, there wasn't any need for anything more.