There was a moment of stunned silence, then Norman Mathews's voice bellowed, "What did you say?"
Pinkerton stared at the machine, transfixed. "Mr. Mathews, is that you?"
"You're damned right it is. Get your fucking ass in here. Now!"
A minute later, a copywriter pressed down a button on the machine on his desk and said, "I've got some copy for you to run downstairs."
Aaron Berkley's voice roared back at him. "You what?"
It was the beginning of pandemonium. It took four hours to straighten out the mess that Alexandra had created, and it was the best four hours that the employees of Berkley and Mathews had ever known. Each time a fresh incident occurred, they whooped with joy. The executives were being buzzed to run errands, fetch cigarettes and repair a broken toilet. Aaron Berkley and Norman Mathews and Lucas Pinkerton turned the place upside down trying to find out who the culprit was, but no one knew anything.
The only one who had seen Alexandra go into the various offices was Fran, the woman on the switchboard, but she hated her bosses more than she hated Alexandra, so all she would say was, "I didn't see a soul."
That night when Fran was in bed with Vince Barnes, she related what had happened.
He sat up in bed. "The Blackwell girl did it? I'll be a sonofabitch!"
The following morning when Alexandra walked into her office, Vince Barnes, Alice Koppel and Marty Bergheimer were there, waiting. They stared at her in silence. "Is something wrong?" Alexandra asked.
"Not a thing, Alex," Alice Koppel said. "The boys and I were just wondering if you'd like to join us for lunch. We know this great little Italian joint near here..."
Chapter 28
From the time she was a little girl, Eve Blackwell had been aware of her ability to manipulate people. Before, it had always been a game with her, but now it was deadly serious. She had been treated shabbily, deprived of a vast fortune that was rightfully hers, by her scheming sister and her vindictive old grandmother. They were going to pay in full for what they had done to her, and the thought of it gave Eve such intense pleasure that it almost brought her to orgasm. Their lives were now in her hands.
Eve worked out her plan carefully and meticulously, orchestrating every move. In the beginning, George Mellis had been a reluctant conspirator.
"Christ, it's too dangerous. I don't need to get involved in anything like this," he argued. "I can get all the money I need."
"How?" Eve asked contemptuously. "By laying a lot of fat women with blue hair? Is that how you want to spend the rest of your life? What happens when you put on a little weight and start to get a few wrinkles around your eyes? No, George, you'll never have another opportunity like this. If you listen to me, you and I can own one of the largest conglomerates in the world. You hear me? Own it."
"How do you know this plan will work?"
"Because I'm the greatest living expert on my grandmother and my sister. Believe me, it will work."
Eve sounded confident, but she had reservations and they concerned George Mellis. Eve knew she could do her part, but she was not sure George would be able to do his. He was unstable, and there was no room for error. One mistake, and the whole plan would fall apart.
She said to him now, "Make up your mind. Are you in or out?"
He studied her for a long time. "I'm in." He moved close to her and stroked her shoulders. His voice was husky. "I want to be all the way in."
Eve felt a sexual thrill go through her. "All right," she whispered, "but we do it my way."
They were in bed. Naked, he was the most magnificent animal Eve had ever seen. And the most dangerous, but that only added to her excitement. She had the weapon now to control him. She nibbled at his body, slowly moving down toward his groin, tiny, teasing bites that made his penis grow stiff and hard.
"Fuck me, George," Eve said.
"Turn over."
"No. My way."
"I don't enjoy that."
"I know. You'd like me to be a tight-assed little boy, wouldn't you, darling? I'm not. I'm a woman. Get on top of me."
He mounted her and put his tumescent penis inside her. "I can't be satisfied this way, Eve."
She laughed. "I don't care, sweetheart. I can."
She began to move her hips, thrusting against him, feeling him going deeper and deeper inside her. She had orgasm after orgasm, and watched his frustration grow. He wanted to hurt her, to make her scream with pain, but he dared not.
"Again!" Eve commanded. And he pounded his body into her until she moaned aloud with pleasure. "Ahh-h-h...that's enough for now."
He withdrew and lay at her side. He reached for her breasts. "Now it's my - "
And she said curtly, "Get dressed."
He rose from the bed, trembling with frustration and rage. Eve lay in bed watching him put on his clothes, a tight smile on her face. "You've been a good boy, George. It's time you got your reward. I'm going to turn Alexandra over to you."
Overnight, everything had changed for Alexandra. What was to have been her last day at Berkley and Mathews had turned into a triumph for her. She had gone from outcast to heroine. News of her caper spread all over Madison Avenue.
"You're a legend in your own time," Vince Barnes grinned.
Now she was one of them.
Alexandra enjoyed her work, particularly the creative sessions that went on every morning. She knew this was not what she wanted to do for the rest of her life, but she was not sure what she wanted. She had had at least a dozen proposals of marriage, and she had been tempted by one or two of them, but something had been lacking. She simply had not found the right man.