“What a great idea, having a piano in every living room…”
“I love the fireplaces…”
“I’ll certainly recommend this to all my friends…”
Well, Lara thought, even if The New York Times hates it, it’s going to be a success.
Lara saw Paul Martin and his wife as they were leaving.
“I think you really have a winner here, Miss Cameron. It’s going to be the talk of New York.”
“You’re very kind, Mr. Martin,” Lara said. “Thank you for coming.”
Nina Martin said quietly, “Good night, Miss Cameron.”
“Good night.”
As they were walking out the lobby door, Lara heard her say, “She’s very beautiful, isn’t she, Paul?”
The following Thursday when the first edition of The New York Times came out, Lara was at the newsstand at Fortysecond Street and Broadway at four o’clock in the morning, to pick up a copy. She hurriedly turned to the Home Section. Todd Grayson’s article began:
Manhattan has long needed a hotel that does not remind travelers that they’re staying in a hotel. The suites at the Cameron Plaza are large and gracious, and done in beautiful taste. Lara Cameron has finally given New York…
She yelled aloud with joy. She telephoned Keller and woke him up.
“We’re in!” she said. “The Times loves us.”
He sat up in bed, groggy. “That’s great. What did they say?”
Lara read the article to him. “All right,” Keller said, “Now you can get some sleep.”
“Sleep? Are you joking? I have a new site picked out. As soon as the banks open, I want you to start negotiating a loan.…”
The New York Cameron Plaza was a triumph. It was completely booked, and there was a waiting list.
“It’s only the beginning,” Lara told Keller. “There are ten thousand builders in the metropolitan area—but only a handful of the big boys—the Tisches, the Rudins, the Rockefellers, the Sterns. Well, whether they like it or not, we’re going to play in their sandbox. We’re going to change the skyline. We’re going to invent the future.”
Lara began to get calls from banks offering her loans. She cultivated the important real estate brokers, taking them to dinner and the theater. She had power breakfasts at the Regency and was told about properties that were about to come on the market. She acquired two more downtown sites and began construction.
Paul Martin telephoned Lara at the office. “Have you seen Business Week? You’re a hot ticket,” he said. “The word’s out that you’re a shaker. You get things done.”
“I try.”
“Are you free for dinner?”
“I’ll make myself free.”
Lara was in a meeting with the partner of a top architectural firm. She was examining the blueprints and drawings they had brought.
“You’re going to like this,” the chief architect said. “It has grace and symmetry and the scope that you asked for. Let me explain some of the details…”
“That won’t be necessary,” Lara said. “I understand them.” She looked up. “I want you to turn these plans over to an artist.”
“What?”
“I want large color drawings of the building. I want drawings of the lobby, the corridors, and the offices. Bankers have no imagination. I’m going to show them what the building is going to look like.”
“That’s a great idea.”
Lara’s secretary appeared. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
“This meeting was called for nine o’clock, Kathy. It’s nine-fifteen.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Cameron, my alarm didn’t go off and…”
“We’ll discuss it later.”
She turned to the architects. “I want a few changes made…”
Two hours later Lara had finished discussing the changes she wanted. When the meeting was over, she said to Kathy, “Don’t leave. Sit down.”
Kathy sat.
“Do you like your job?”
“Yes, Miss Cameron.”
“This is the third time you’ve been late this week. I won’t put up with that again.”
“I’m terribly sorry, I…I haven’t been feeling well.”
“What’s your problem?”
“It’s nothing, really.”
“It’s obviously enough to keep you from coming in on time. What is it?”
“I haven’t been sleeping very well lately. To tell you the truth, I…I’m scared.”
“Scared of what?” Lara asked impatiently.
“I…I have a lump.”
“Oh.” Lara was silent for a moment. “Well, what did the doctor say?”