Secret Prey

a little shaky, and he also happens to own almost six million shares of our stock which, until the merger talk started, had been sitting in his portfolio like a brick. He’s now up sixty million, and due to go up quite a few more if the merger goes through. If it doesn’t, he’s sucking wind again.’’
    ‘‘So if you tell him the board is thinking about backing out . . .’’
    ‘‘He’ll be on the phone to the board. And he’s got some serious clout when it comes to electing board members.’’
    ‘‘Good. That’s exactly how we’ve got to think.’’ She stood up. ‘‘I know this changes our relationship somewhat, Mr. Bone, but I really think you’ll have a much better chance at this job if you listen seriously to my proposals. And I’ll critique yours.’’
    ‘‘Of course,’’ he said.
    ‘‘Don’t dismiss me like that,’’ she snapped. ‘‘I’m as smart as you are. I might not know as much about investments, but I know a lot more about the way this place really works. If I’m going to save my job, you’ve got to listen to me.’’
    He laughed despite himself, and again, was somewhat shocked: ‘‘Is that what this is all about? Saving your job?’’
    ‘‘That’s half of it,’’ she said.
    ‘‘What’s the other half?’’
    ‘‘The favor you’re going to do me—that’s the other half.’’
    As she was going out the door, he said, ‘‘Maybe you better start calling me Jim.’’
    She stopped, seemed to think for a minute, pushed her glasses up her nose, and said, ‘‘Not yet.’’
    ‘‘THEY’RE GONNA SCREW YOU,’’ AUDREY MCDONALD shouted. Wilson was in the den, staring at a yellow pad. Audrey had gone to the kitchen to get a bowl of nacho chips and a glass of water; she snuck the vodka bottle out of the lazy Susan, poured two ounces into the glass, gulped it down, took a pull at the bottle, screwed the top back on, put it back on the lazy Susan, turned it halfway around, and shut the cupboard door. Then she stuffed a half-dozen nachos in her mouth to cover any scent of alcohol, got a full glass of water and the bowl of chips, and carried them back to the den.
    ‘‘If they were gonna give you the job . . .’’
    ‘‘I heard you, I heard you,’’ Wilson McDonald snarled. ‘‘I heard you a dozen fuckin’ times. You’re so full of shit sometimes, Audrey, that you don’t even know you’re full of shit. I’m running the board—I chaired the meeting today—I can handle them.’’
    ‘‘Yeah? How many board members have you talked to, who were willing to commit?’’
    He was shoving a fistful of chips into his mouth, chewed once, and said, ‘‘Eirich and Goff and Brandt . . .’’
    ‘‘You told me that Brandt—’’
    ‘‘I know what I said,’’ he shouted. ‘‘I’ll get the fucker. That sonofabitch.’’ Brandt had equivocated.
    ‘‘You can’t count on—’’
    The phone rang, and they both turned to look at it. ‘‘Did you talk to your father?’’ Audrey asked.
    ‘‘Yes.’’
    ‘‘Huh.’’ She stood up, took two steps, picked up the phone. ‘‘Hello? . . . Yes, this is Audrey.’’ She turned to look at Wilson. ‘‘Why yes, he’s here, somewhere. Let me call him.’’
    She pressed the receiver to her chest and said, ‘‘It’s Susan O’Dell. She said she needs to talk to you right away.’’
    ‘‘Okay. Jesus, I wonder what she wants, right away?’’
    ‘‘It won’t be good news,’’ Audrey said. She was seized by a sudden dread, looking at her husband’s querulousness. This wasn’t going right.
    Wilson took the phone. ‘‘Hello?’’ He listened for a moment, then said, ‘‘Sure, that’ll be okay. Give us an hour . . . Okay, see you then.’’
    ‘‘What?’’
    ‘‘She’s coming over. She wants to cut a deal.’’
    Audrey brightened: ‘‘If we can cut a deal, we knock Bone right out of contention. For that, we could offer her quite a bit.’’
    ‘‘That’s right. And we basically agree on—’’ The phone rang again, and he turned and picked it up, expecting to hear O’Dell’s voice again. ‘‘Hello?’’
    Again he listened, and finally: ‘‘Really can’t until about, say, ten o’clock. We’ve got guests . . . Okay, we stay up late anyway. See you then.’’
    He hung up and Audrey raised her eyebrows.
    ‘‘Bone,’’ he said. ‘‘And he wants to cut a deal.’’
    Audrey smiled, almost chortled: ‘‘My my. Aren’t we popular tonight. Aren’t we popular