I put my hat on the desk and sat down. “Yeah,” I said, “Nick Mason. I want to see Lu Spencer.”
Her eyes opened a little. “Mr. Spencer’s engaged. You can’t see him without an appointment.”
I sat back and looked at her. I couldn’t understand what this girl had got that interested me. She didn’t make up much, she wasn’t over-or under-dressed, and yet I thought she was swell.
She broke in on my thoughts. “If you’ll let me know what you want to see him about, I might arrange it.”
I said, “It’s a little involved, Miss… er… Miss….”
She didn’t help, but just sat there, looking at me a little old-fashioned, and waited.
I got an inspiration. “Suppose you an’ I go out and eat somewhere, an’ talk it over.” I glanced at my watch. “It’s just after one, so the time’s right. I got a lot to say, and maybe you can tell me if Mr. Spencer’s the right guy to see.”
I could see she was all set to say ‘no.’ At the same time, her eyes told me that I wasn’t something out of cheese. She almost looked like she could be persuaded.
“Now don’t be high-hat,” I pleaded. “Give me a chance to tell you all about it.”
She got to her feet. “Very well, Mr. Mason, let us go to lunch.”