"... has called twice," the secretary was saying.
"I—uh—whom did you say has called twice?"
"Miss Laara, sir. The procurement agent."
"Ah, yes. Miss Laara. I'd better see her. At once. Yes. Yes, at once. Don't tell Miss O'Conner...."
Just then the door to the Executive Offices opened. An angry Patty stood there, hands on hips. "Don't tell Miss O'Conner what?" she demanded. "Heck, are you trying to avoid me?"
"Why, no, sweetheart. Whatever—"
Then Patty's face changed. The anger and the certainty were replaced by a small-girl look of surprise and awe. "Heck," she said in a soft voice, "what is all this? What has happened to you? How—how can you afford a setup that could bankrupt Amos Weatherby?"
"I can explain everything," Heck said, realizing how ridiculous and incriminating the words sound. "No, I mean it, I can." Of course he could. But whether she believed or not was another story.
"Now?" Patty asked.
"Not now. Right now I'm busy."