Jason said hurriedly: “Wait a moment. Don’t run away. Whatever you do, don’t put that hat where I can’t get it quickly. I may not stay. My nerves are fluttering right now. I suppose you’re used to this—this magnificence? You would be. Yeah, no doubt I could get use to it. But right now I’m shaken. Those guys down front certainly made me nervous. I don’t think it is a smart idea having those guys. I guess they turn away a lot of business.”
The girl looked at him closely, rejected the idea that he was drunk, and decided that he was just a little soft. “You don’t have to worry about them,” she said. “Most of our clients come here tight and they never notice them.”
Jason considered that. “To hell with that for an idea,” he said finally. “However, now I’m here, what do you advise?”
“If I were you,” she said seriously, “I would go to the bar and buy myself a lot of drink. Then I should go into the restaurant, get a table close to the band, buy myself a small but carefully selected supper and enjoy myself.”
Jason fingered his white tie. “You think it is necessary to break down my repressions with drink, do you?”
She giggled. “I think it will help an awful lot.”
“Very well, I’ll do exactly as you suggest. I’ll let you know how I get on. Thank you very much.” Jason smiled at her and walked into the bar.
Here again everything was remarkably tasteful and luxurious. The bar was very long and somewhat crowded. Jason climbed on to a high stool, carefully spread his dress tails, and sat down.
Next to him was a tall man, going grey at the temples, who was talking in a completely inaudible voice to a very young egg-yolk blonde, who appeared to be wearing nothing at all under an extremely tight-fitting bottle-green gown. The gown, in itself, was modest and smart. It was modest because it was high at the throat, long in the sleeve and reached to the floor in a very graceful sweep.
The tall man prevented Jason from seeing as much of the girl as he wished. By leaning forward, Jason could see her head and a little of her figure; by leaning back, he could just see her neat little behind, perched on the stool. He wished the tall man would go away.