She sailed across the outer office, conscious of the curious eyes of the new secretary, jerked open the door in the corridor, tried to slam it behind her, and frowned with irritation as her pull on the knob was slowed down by an automatic door check.
3
A Friend and Well-Wished
Elsie Brand said to Bertha Cool, “Your man’s in again.”
“Belder?”
“Yes.”
“To hell with him. He can’t haunt the office. I only made my proposition to Nunnely yesterday. Give the man time. Belder came to get a report yesterday. Then he came back— The hell with him. I’ll go out and tell him where he gets off.”
Bertha pushed back her swivel chair, strode across the office, jerked open the door to the reception-room, and snapped, “Good morning.”
Belder jumped to his feet. “Good morning, Mrs. Cool. I want to see you. I—”
“Now listen,” Bertha interrupted. “We’ve laid an egg. I’m sitting on it. You can’t make an egg hatch any faster by sitting on it harder.”