Yes, Luigi decided, he was a very lucky man to live in a country where there was always a new duke for the castle.
A shadow crossed Luigi’s mind, fast-moving like the earth shadow of a sea cloud crossing the Via Torrenzo, when the wind was from the Mediterranean. It was too bad that the carillon could not ring but that was one of the things that was not understood in America … that the bells could sound both grief and joy at the same time.
3.56 P.M. EDT
In those first few moments after they had entered the office that had been Avery Bullard’s, Mary Walling felt that there was something almost improper in their presence, that they were guilty of irreverence in thus entering the precincts of death. She knew that Don had felt it, too, because he had said obliquely, “I don’t actually move up until Tuesday, of course.”
“I’m glad you brought me,” she said. “Now I’ll be able to imagine you here.”
“Probably take a lot of imagining,” he said in a tone that asked for denial. “You never thought that anything like this would happen, did you?”
She said, “No”—because she thought it was what he wanted her to say—and then, “You were wonderful out at Julia’s. I’ll always remember every word that you said.”
“Will you?” His arm found the curve of her waist and, looking up at him, she saw his boyish grin of confession. “You know, all the way down here I’ve been trying to remember what the devil I did say. I didn’t make any crazy promises, did I?”
“Only a whole new world,” she laughed, breathless with the hope that this moment would last, this wonderful sharing, this moment when his mind was hers, when she could completely understand.
But the door was closing. His face sobered. “God, but there’s a lot to do! I suppose I should have talked to him out there at Julia’s—gotten him started on some things for Monday morning.”
“Who, dear?”
“Loren Shaw. He’ll be executive vice-president, of course.”
“He’ll be——?” She stopped in astonishment.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I—well, I never thought you liked him, that’s all.”
The door was tight-closed now. “Where did you ever get that idea? Damned capable man—Shaw. Not too much imagination, perhaps—but sometimes that’s an asset. It’s possible to have too much imagination around the place. I’ll need somebody to help me keep my feet on the ground.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“Well, let’s get out of here,” he said, tensely impatient. “Oh—better leave a note for Miss Martin.”
He found a piece of paper and a black pencil and she watched as he wrote:
Call executive committee meeting nine o’clock Monday morning.
MacDonald Walling
She heard Julia’s voice … you’ll never understand him completely … don’t try … you’ll be happier if you don’t … he’ll be happier, too.
Julia was right.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready,” she said—and they walked together out into the dark corridor.
About the Author
Cameron Hawley (1905–1969) was simultaneously a businessman who rose through the ranks to become a top executive at Armstrong Cork Company and a prolific author of short stories and articles, which frequently appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, Life, and Good Housekeeping. In his midforties, he decided to devote all of his time to writing. The result was Executive Suite, the bestselling, iconic novel about the dynamic men and women who work at the highest levels of corporate America. Executive Suite was produced as a 1954 motion picture that starred William Holden and Barbara Stanwyck, and was nominated for four Academy Awards. Hawley continued to focus on the themes of free enterprise, big-business adventurers, and the pressures of modern life in his later novels: Cash McCall, which was made into a 1960 film starring James Garner and Natalie Wood; The Lincoln Lords; and The Hurricane Years. Hawley lived for many years on a farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where he enjoyed hunting and fly-fishing.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1952 by Cameron Hawley
Cover design by Kat JK Lee
ISBN: 978-1-5040-2571-3
This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.openroadmedia.com
EARLY BIRD BOOKS
FRESH EBOOK DEALS, DELIVERED DAILY
BE THE FIRST TO KNOW—
NEW DEALS HATCH EVERY DAY!
EBOOKS BY CAMERON HAWLEY
FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Available wherever ebooks are sold
Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.
Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases
Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign up now at
www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM
FOLLOW US:
@openroadmedia and
Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia
Executive Suite Page 36
