Wheels (38 page)

He turned. In front of him, regarding him amusedly, was a girl of
twenty-eight or thirty, Adam guessed. Her hig
h
-cheekboned face was up
tilted, her moist full lips lightly parted in a smile. Intelligent bright
eyes met his own directly. He sensed a musky perfume, was aware of a
lithe, slender figure with small, firm breasts beneath a tailored
powder-blue linen d
ress. She was, Adam thought, on
e of the most
breathtakingly beautiful women he had ever seen. And she was black. Not
brown, but black; a deep, rich black, her smooth
unblemished skin like silken ebony. He curbed an impulse to reach out,
touching her.
"My name is Rowena," the girl said. "I was told yours. And I've been asked
to see that you get something to eat
.”

"Rowena what
.”

He sensed her hesitate. "Does it matter
.”

She smiled, so that he was aware
of the full redness and moisture of her lips again.
"Besides," Rowena said, "I asked you a question first. You haven't
answered it
.”

Adam remembered she had asked something about-did he always say what he
was thinking?
Not always. I don't believe any of us do really
.”

He thought: rm sure as
hell not doing it now, then added aloud, "When I do say anything, though,
I try to make it honest and what I mean
.”

"I know. I was listening to you talking. Not enough of us do that
.”

The girl's eyes met his own and held them steadily. He wondered if she
sensed her impact on him, and suspected that she did.
The
chef at the buffet, with Rowena’
s aid, filled two plates which they
carried to one of the sun deck tables nearby. Already seated were the
judge-a youngish Negro who was on the federal bench in Michigan-and
another guest from Adam’
s company, a middle-aged development engineer
named Frazon. Moments later they were joined by Brett DeLosanto,
accompanied by an attractive, quiet brunette whom he introduced as Elsie.
'We figured this is where the action is," Brett said. "Don't disappoint
us
.”

Rowena asked, -What kind do you have in mind
.”

"You know us auto people. We've only two interests -business and sex
.”

The judge smiled. "It's early. Perhaps we
should take business first
.”

He addressed Adam. "A while ago you were
talking about company annual meetings. I liked what you said-that people,
even with a single share, should be listened to
.”

Frazon,
the engineer, as if rising to the
bait, put down his knife and
fork. "Well, I didn't. I don't agree with Adam, and there are plenty
more who feel the way I do
.”

I know," the judge said. I saw you react. Won't you tell us why
.”

Frazon considered, frowning. "All right. What the loudmouth one-share
people want, including consumer groups and the so-called corporate
responsibility committee, is to create disruption, and they do it by
distortion, lies, and insult. Remember the General Motors annual
meeting, when the Nader gang called everybody in the industry 'corporate
criminals,' then talked about our 'disregard for law and justice,' and
said we were part of 'a corporate crime wave dwarfing street crime by
comparison'? How are we supposed to feel when we hear that? Grateful?
How are we supposed to take clowns who mouth that kind of claptrap?
Seriously
.”

"Say
.”

Brett DeLosanto interjected. "You engineering guys were
listening. We thought the only thing you ever heard was motor noises
.”

"They heard, all right," Adam said. 'We all heard-those in General
Motors, the other companies too. But what a lot of industry people
missed was that the very words just quoted"-he motioned toward
Frazon-"were intended to anger and inflame and prevent a reasonable
response. The protesting crowd didn't want the auto industry to be
reasonable; if it had, we'd have cut the ground from under them. And
what they planned, worked. Our people fell for it
.”

The judge prompted, "Then you see invective as a tactic
.”
-Of course. It's the language of our times, and the kids who use
it-bright young lawyers mostly-know exactly what it does to old men in
board rooms. It curls their hair, raises their blood pressure, makes
them rigid and unyielding. The chairmen and directors in our industry
were reared on politeness; in their heyday, even when you knifed a
competitor, you said 'excuse me.'
But not anymore. Now the dialogue is
harsh and snarly, and points are scored by overstatement, so if you're
listening-and smart-you under
-
react and keep cool. Most of our top people
have
n’
t learned that yet
.”

"I haven't learned it, and don't intend to," Frazon said. "I'll stick
with decent manners.
Brett quipped, "There speaks an engineer, the ultimate conservative I"
"Adam's an engineer," Frazon pointed out. "Trouble is, he's spent too
much time around designers
.”

The group at the table laughed.
Looking at Adam, Frazon said, "Surely you're not suggesting we should
go along with what the militants at annual meetings want-consumer reps
on boards of directors, all the rest
.”

Adam answered quietly, "Why not? It could show we're willing to be
flexible, and might be worth a try. Put somebody on a board-or on a
jury-they're apt to take it seriously, not be just a maverick. We might
even end up learning something. Besides, it will happen eventually and
we'd be better off if we made it happen now instead of being forced into
it later
.”

Brett asked, "Judge, what
’s
your verdict now you've heard both sides
.”

"Excuse me
.”

The judge put a hand to his mouth, stiffing a yawn. "For
a moment I thought I was in court
.”

He shook his head in mock solemnity. "Sorry. I never hand down opinions on weekends
.”

"Nor should anyone," Rowena declared. She touched Adam's hand, letting
her fingers travel lightly over his. When he turned toward her, she said
softly, 'Will you take me swimming
.”

The two of them took a boat from the floating dock-one of Hank Kreisel's
with an outboard which Adam used to propel them, unhurriedly, four miles
or so toward the lake's eastern shore. Then, within sight of a beach
with towering leafy trees behind, he cut the motor and they drifted on
the blue translucent water. A few other boats, not many, came into sight
and went away. It was mid
-
afternoon. The sun was high, the air drowsy.
Before they left, Rowena had changed into a swimsuit; it was leopard
patterned and what it revealed of her figure, as well as the soft,
silken blackness of her skin, more than fulfilled the promise of the
linen dress she had had on earlier. Adam was in trunks. When they
stopped, he lighted cigarettes for them both. They sat beside each other
on the cushions of the boat.
"Um," Rowena said. "This is nice
.”

Her head was back, eyes closed
against the brightness of the sun and lake. Her lips were parted.
He blew a smoke ring lazily. "It's called getting away from it all
.”

His
voice, for some reason, was unsteady.
She said softly, with sudden seriousness, "I know. It doesn't happen
often. And it never lasts
.”

Adam turned. Instinct told him that if he reached for her she would
respond. But for seconds of uncertainty he hesitated.
As if reading his mind, Rowena laughed lightly. She dropped her
cigarette into the water. "We came to swim, remember
.”

With a swift, single movement she rose and dived over the side. He had
an impression of her
lithe dark body, straight-limbed and like an arrow. T
h
en, with a whipcrack
sound and splash, she was out of sight. The boat rocked gently.
Adam hesitated again, then dived in too. After the sun's heat, the fresh
lake water struck icily cold. He came up with a gasp, shivering, and
looked around.
"Hey I Over here I" Rowena was still laughing. She bobbed under the surf
ace, then re-emerged, water streaming down her face and hair. "Isn't it
wonderful
.”

"When I get my circulation back, I'll tell you
.”

"Your blood needs heating, Adam. I'm going ashore. Coming
.”

"I guess so. But we can't
leave Hank’
s boat to drift
.”

'Then bring it
.”

Already swimming strongly toward the beach, Rowena
called back, "Thafs if you're afraid of being marooned with me
.”

More slowly, towing the boat, Adam followed. Ashore, and welcoming the
sun's warmth again, he beached the boat, then joined Rowena who was
lying on the sand, her hands behind her head. Beyond the beach,
sheltered in trees, was a cottage, but shuttered and deserted.
"Since you brought it up," Adam said, 'at this moment I can't think of
anyone I'd sooner be marooned with
.”

He, too, stretched out on the sand,
aware of being more relaxed than he had felt in months.
'You don't know me
.”

"You've aroused certain instincts
.”

He propped himself on an elbow,
confirming that the girl beside him was as breathtakingly lovely as she
had seemed when be met her several hours ago, then added, "One of them
is curiosity
.”

"I'm just someone you met at a party; one of Hank Kreisel's weekend
parties where he employs
hostesses. And in case you're wondering, that's all be employs us for.
Were you wondering
.”

"Yes
.”

She gave the soft laugh he h
ad grown used to. "I knew you were. The
difference between you and most men is that the others would have lied
and said'no
.”

'
"And the rest of the week, when there aren't parties
.”

"I'm a high school teacher
.”

Rowena stopped. "Damn
!
I didn't mean to
tell you that
.”

'Then we'll even the score," Adam said. "There was something I didn't
intend to tell you
.”

"Which is
.”

He assured her softly, 'Tor the first time in my life I know, really
know, what it means when they say'Black is Beautiful.'"
In the silence which followed, he wondered if he had offended her. He
could hear the lapping of the lake, a hum of insects, an outboard motor
in the distance. Rowena said nothing. Then, without warning, she leaned
over and kissed him fully on the lips.
Before he could respond she sprang up, and ran down the beach toward the
lake. From the water's edge she called back, "Hank said you had the
reputation of being a sweet man when he told me to take special care of
you. Now let's go back
.”

In the boat, heading for the west shore, he asked,"What else did Hank
say
.”

Rowena considered. "Well, he told me you'd be the most important person
here, and that one day you'll be right at the top of your company
.”

This time, Adam laughed.
He was still curious, though, about Kreisel and his motives. Sunset came, the party at the cottage continuing-and livening-as the
hours passed. Before
the sun disappeared, at last, behind a squad of white birches like
silhoutted sentinels, the lake was alive with color. A breeze stirred its
surface, bearing fresh, pine-scented air. Dusk eased in, then darkness.
As stars came out, the night air cooled and the party drifted from the sun
deck to indoors where, in the great rock fireplace, heaped brush and logs
were blazing.
Hank Kreisel, an affable, attentive host, seemed everywhere, as he had
throughout the day. Two bars and the kitchen were staffed and bustling;
what Kreisel had said earlier about drinks and food available
twenty-four hours each day seemed true. In the spacious, hunting
lodge-style living room the party split into groups, some overlapping.
A cluster around Pierre Flodenhale fired auto racing questions. ". . .
say a race is won or lost in the pits. Is that your experience
.”