Walter Franks sat in the director's office; his feet on the director's
desk. He was smoking one of the director's cigarettes. He was drinking
the director's liquor, filched shamelessly from the director's private
filing cabinet where it reposed in the drawer marked "S." Drawer "B"
would have given beer, but Walt preferred Scotch.
He leaned forward and dropped the director's cigarette into the
director's wastebasket and then he pressed the button on the desk and
looked up.
But it was not the director's secretary who entered. It was his
own, but that did not disturb Franks. He knew that the director's
ex-secretary was off on Mars enjoying a honeymoon with the director.
Jeanne entered and smiled. "Must you call me in here to witness you
wasting the company's time?" she asked in mock anger.
"Now look, Jeanne, this is what Channing does."
"No dice. You can't behave as Don Channing behaves. The reason is my
husband."
"I didn't call to have you sit on my lap. I want to know if the mail is
in."
"I thought so," she said. "And I brought it in with me. Anything more?"
"Not until you get a divorce," laughed Franks.
"You should live so long," she said with a smile. She stuck her tongue
out at him.
Walt thumbed his way through the mail, making notations on some, and
setting others aside for closer reading. He came to one and tossed it
across the desk at Jeanne. She took the message and read:
DEAR ACTING DIRECTOR:
HAVING A WONDERFUL HONEYMOON; GLAD YOU AREN'T HERE.
DON AND ARDEN.
"Wonderful stuff, love," smiled Franks.
"It is," agreed Jeanne. A dreamy look came into her eyes.
"Scram, Jeanne. There are times when you can't work worth a darn.
Mostly when you're thinking of that husband of yours. What's he got
that I haven't?"
"Me," said Jeanne slyly. She arose and started for the door. "Oh," she
said, "I almost forgot. Warren phoned and said that the turret is ready
for a try-out."
"Fine," said Walt. "Swell." He unfolded himself from the chair with
alacrity and almost beat the girl to the door.
"My," she laughed, "you can move after all."
"Sure," he grinned. "Now that I have something for which to live."
"I hope it's worth it. You've sunk a lot of change into that bug-house."
"I know, but we can stand it. After all, since Don took over this
affair, Venus Equilateral is an up and running business. We're out of
the Government subsidy class now, and are making money. If this works,
we'll make more. It's worth a gamble."
"What are you trying to build?" asked Jeanne.
"Why, since this business of contacting ships-at-space has become so
universally liked, we have a tough time keeping ships on the mobile
beam. That's because they are always ducking out of the way of loose
meteorites and stuff, and that screws up their course. We can't see
'em, and must take their position on the basis of their expected
course. We never know whether we hit 'em until they land.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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