"Of course I do," she said.
"But--" He shrugged. "O.K. O.K. I just wanted to know."
The door closed behind him. Gloria felt a little relieved. If matters
had gone on the way they'd threatened, why, she might have had to change
Harold Meedy's mind for him. Not that it would have done him any harm,
but ... well, she just didn't like doing that sort of thing for purely
personal reasons.
She was glad she hadn't had to tamper with him at all.
And now it was over, and she could forget about it. Humming under her
breath, she put her beret on at last, and gave the stack of folders a
pat to keep them absolutely neat, before she left the office.
She still felt a little sad about leaving on time, when there was so
much work to be done. But tomorrow, she told herself, she would be able
to get back to helping people. Tomorrow--
* * * * *
Tomorrow.
Ten minutes to nine, and Gloria put her beret away, reached for the
first folder--and froze.
A second later the door opened. Gloria looked up and smiled helpfully.
"Mrs. Wladek," she said. "Is there anything I can do for you? This isn't
your day for--"
"It is not my day," Mrs. Wladek said. She closed the door behind her.
"This, I know. But I am here. Does this mean anything to you?"
Gloria forced her face to remain expressionless. "Can I help you in any
way?" she said. "Is there anything I can do?"
"You?" Mrs. Wladek barked. "You have done enough. I am not here to see
you. But your supervisor, your boss--him, I will see."
"My supervisor?" Gloria looked round. "He isn't here yet."
"He will be here later?"
"Of course he will," Gloria said.
Mrs. Wladek sat down in a chair next to Gloria's desk. "I will wait,"
she announced. "And you should know that there is nothing you can do to
me now." She reached into her bag and brought out a small wooden cross
she had brought with her from the old country. She waved it at Gloria
wildly.
"Do anything to you? What do you mean, Mrs. Wladek?"
"Hah," Mrs. Wladek said. "You need not pretend with me. This frightens
you. No?"
Gloria blinked. "I'm afraid not," she said.
"But ... you are trying to fool me," Mrs. Wladek said. "And I will not
be fooled. I wait here for your boss, your supervisor."
There was nothing else to do. "All right," Gloria said.
* * * * *
Everybody stared, of course, but none of the other workers came over to
find out why Mrs. Wladek had come in on a day that wasn't her
appointment day. With Mrs. Wladek right there, asking questions just
wasn't possible. Gloria tried to get some work done, but that wasn't
possible either, and she resigned herself at last to sitting quietly and
waiting for Mr. Fredericksohn's arrival.
She promised herself she'd make up for the loss of time by taking a
shorter lunch hour, and that relieved her mind a little. But she did
hope Mr. Fredericksohn would be early.
Thankfully, he was. At nine twenty-five exactly, the door opened and Mr.
Fredericksohn entered. He glanced once round the office, saw Mrs. Wladek
and went on. A second later he stopped.
He didn't have a chance to say anything. Mrs. Wladek was at his side. "I
must see you at once," she said. "I must see you alone, at once."