Lara turned to Keller, “Let’s go.”
Otto Karp was the manager of the New Jersey Panel and Glass Company. He came on the phone almost immediately. “Yes, Miss Cameron? I understand you have a problem.”
“No,” Lara snapped. “You have a problem. You shipped us the wrong glass. If I don’t get the right order in the next two weeks, I’m going to sue your company out of business. You’re holding up a three-hundred-million-dollar project.”
“I don’t understand. Will you hold on, please?”
He was gone almost five minutes. When he came back on the line, he said, “I’m terribly sorry, Miss Cameron, the order was written up wrong. What happened is…”
“I don’t care what happened,” Lara interrupted. “All I want you to do is to get our order filled and shipped out.
“I’ll be happy to do that.”
Lara felt a sharp sense of relief. “How soon can we have it?”
“In two to three months.”
“Two to three months! That’s impossible! We need it now.”
“I’d be happy to accommodate you,” Karp said, “but unfortunately we’re way behind in our orders.”
“You don’t understand,” Lara said. “This is an emergency and…”
“I certainly appreciate that. And we’ll do the best we can. You’ll have the order in two to three months. I’m sorry we can’t do better…”
Lara slammed down the receiver. “I don’t believe this,” Lara said. She looked over at Tilly. “Is there another company we can deal with?”
Tilly rubbed his hand across his forehead. “Not at this late date. If we went to anyone else, they’d be starting from scratch, and their other customers would be ahead of us.”
Keller said, “Lara, could I talk to you for a minute?” He took her aside. “I hate to suggest this, but…”
“Go ahead.”
“…your friend Paul Martin might have some connections over there. Or he might know someone who knows someone.”
Lara nodded. “Good idea, Howard. I’ll find out.”
Two hours later Lara was seated in Paul Martin’s office.
“You don’t know how happy I am that you called,” the lawyer said. “It’s been too long. God, you look beautiful, Lara.”
“Thank you, Paul.”
“What can I do for you?”
Lara said hesitantly, “I seem to come to you whenever I’m in trouble.”
“I’ve always been there for you, haven’t I?”
“Yes. You’re a good friend.” She sighed. “Right now I need a good friend.”
“What’s the problem? Another strike?”
“No. It’s about Cameron Towers.”
He frowned. “I heard that was on schedule.”
“It is. Or it was. I think Steve Murchison is out to sabotage the project. He has a vendetta against me. Things have suddenly started to go wrong at the building. Up to now we’ve been able to handle them. Now…We have a big problem. It could put us past our completion date. Our two biggest tenants would pull out. I can’t afford to let that happen.”
She took a deep breath, trying to control her anger.
“Six months ago we ordered tinted glass from the New Jersey Panel and Glass Company. We received our delivery this morning. It wasn’t our glass.”
“Did you call them?”
“Yes, but they’re talking about two or three months. I need that glass in four weeks. Until it’s in, there’s nothing for the men to do. They’ve stopped working. If that building isn’t completed on schedule, I’ll lose everything I have.”
Paul Martin looked at her and said quietly, “No, you won’t. Let me see what I can do.”
Lara felt an overwhelming sense of relief. “Paul, I…” It was difficult to put into words. “Thank you.”
He took her hand in his and smiled. “The dinosaur isn’t dead yet,” he said. “I should have some word for you by tomorrow.”
The following morning Lara’s private phone rang for the first time in months. She picked it up eagerly. “Paul?”
“Hello, Lara. I had a little talk with some of my friends. It’s not going to be easy, but it can be done. They promised a delivery a week from Monday.”
On the day the glass shipment was scheduled to arrive, Lara telephoned Paul Martin again.
“The glass hasn’t come yet, Paul,” Lara said.
“Oh?” There was a silence. “I’ll look into it.” His voice softened. “You know, the only good thing about this, baby, is that I get to talk to you again.”