“Would you like me to make a drink for you?”
“No, thanks. Are you interested in a game of backgammon?” Philip asked.
“I’d love it, Mr. Adler.”
“If you’re going to be my backgammon partner, you’d better start calling me Philip.”
“Philip.”
From that time on, they played backgammon every day.
Lara received a telephone call from Terry Hill.
“Lara, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”
Lara readied herself. “Yes?”
“The Nevada Gaming Commission has voted to suspend your gambling license until further investigation. You may be facing criminal charges.”
It was a shock. She thought of Paul Martin’s words. “Don’t worry. They can’t prove anything.” “Isn’t there something we can do about it, Terry?”
“Not for the present. Just sit tight. I’m working on it.”
When Lara told Keller the news, he said, “My God! We’re counting on the cash flow from the casino to pay off the mortgages on three buildings. Are they going to reinstate your license?”
“I don’t know.”
Keller was thoughtful. “All right. We’ll sell the Chicago Hotel and use the equity to pay the mortgage on the Houston property. The real estate market has gone to hell. A lot of banks and savings and loans are in deep trouble. Drexel Burnham Lambert has folded. It’s the end of Milken honey.”
“It will turn around,” Lara said.
“It had better turn around fast. I’ve been getting calls from the banks about our loans.”
“Don’t worry,” Lara said confidently. “If you owe a bank a million dollars, they own you. If you owe a bank a hundred million dollars, you own them. They can’t afford to let anything happen to me.”
The following day, an article appeared in Business Week. It was headlined: CAMERON EMPIRE SHAKY—LARA CAMERON FACING POSSIBLE CRIMINAL INDICTMENT IN RENO. CAN THE IRON BUTTERFLY KEEP HER EMPIRE TOGETHER?
Lara slammed her fist against the magazine. “How dare they print that? I’m going to sue them.”
Keller said, “Not a great idea.”
Lara said earnestly, “Howard, Cameron Towers is almost fully rented, right?”
“Seventy percent, so far, and climbing. Southern Insurance has taken twenty floors, and International Investment Banking has taken ten floors.”
“When the building is finished, it will throw off enough money to take care of all our problems. How far away are we from completion?”
“Six months.”
Lara’s voice was filled with excitement. “Look what we’ll have then. The biggest skyscraper in the world! It’s going to be beautiful.”
She turned to the framed sketch of it behind her desk. It showed a towering glass-sheathed monolith, whose facets reflected the other buildings around it. On the lower floors were a promenade and atrium, with expensive shops. Above were apartments and Lara’s offices.
“We’ll have a big publicity promotion,” Lara said.
“Good idea.” He frowned.
“What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking about Steve Murchison. He wanted that site pretty bad.”
“Well, we beat him to it, didn’t we?”
“Yes,” Keller said slowly. “We beat him to it.”
Lara sent for Jerry Townsend.
“Jerry, I want to do something special for the opening of Cameron Towers. Any ideas?”
“I have a great idea. The opening is September tenth?”
“Yes.”
“Doesn’t that ring a bell?”
“Well, it’s my birthday…”
“Right.” A smile lit up Jerry Townsend’s face. “Why don’t we give you a big birthday party to celebrate the completion of the skyscraper?”
Lara was thoughtful for a moment. “I like it. It’s a wonderful idea. We’ll invite everybody! We’ll make a noise that will be heard around the world. Jerry, I want you to make up a guest list. Two hundred people. I want you to handle it personally.”
Townsend grinned. “You’ve got it. I’ll give you the guest list to approve.”
Lara slammed her fist down on the magazine again. “We’re going to show them!”
“Excuse me, Mrs. Adler,” Marian said. “I have the secretary of the National Builders Association on line three. You haven’t responded to their invitation for the dinner Friday night.”
“Tell them I can’t make it,” Lara said. “Give them my apologies.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Marian left the room.
Philip said, “Lara, you can’t turn yourself into a hermit because of me. It’s important for you to go to those things.”