"Mr. Atherton, there is a...a man out here who says he has to see you," William's secretary told him over the intercom the first thing the morning after he'd spent the afternoon with Arlene. "He said to tell you Arlene Ott gave him your name."
William heard the distaste in his secretary's voice and knew the man outside wasn't anyone he knew. But the fact that the man knew Arlene's name worried him. He had to find out who the man was, and how he was connected with Arlene. "Send him in, Selma," he said. "I-I'll see him."
"If that's what you want, Mr. Atherton," the secretary said.
Mel Ott walked into William P. Atherton's posh office wearing a smug grin and plunked down in a chair in front of William's desk.
"Thanks for seein' me, Willie," Mel said, leering at William. "You showed real good judgment by talkin' to me."
William looked at the grubby, fat man sitting across his desk and wondered how Arlene was connected to him. "Who are you, sir?" he asked. "And what connection do you have with Mrs. Ott?"
"Arlene's my old lady," Mel replied. "Ex-old lady, actually."
William was shocked by the man's answer. He knew Arlene had been married, but she never talked about her husband, except to say that marrying him was the worst mistake she'd ever made. Now that he'd seen the man, William knew what she meant.
He did wonder, though, as he looked at the man sitting in front of his desk, how Arlene could have ever gotten married to him. He also wondered if she were somehow involved in whatever it was her ex-husband was here for.
"What, exactly, did you want to discuss with me, Mr. Ott?" he asked.
"Money," Mel replied. "Lots of money."
"I see," William said. "You are looking for investment advice, is that it?"
Mel shook his head. "Nah, I ain't lookin' for investment advice," he said. "I'm givin' it."
"I'm not sure I understand," William said.
"Come on!" Mel said. "How the fuck stupid, are you, Willie-boy? You're goin' to invest some money in me."
"I am?" William replied. "Why on earth would I want to do something like that?"
"Jesus!" Mel exclaimed. "How the fuck did someone as stupid as you are get to be rich? Probably inherited your dough, right?"
"I'm not sure that's any of your business, Mr. Ott," William said. He stood up. "I'm not sure there's anything for us to talk about. Please leave, Mr. Ott. Now."
Mel smiled and shook his head. "Not yet," he said. "I ain't about to leave. First I want you to tell me something, Willie-boy. How much is it worth to you for your folks to not find out you're screwing a divorced waitress?" He paused and watched a look of shock form on William's face. "And if your old man might finds out you been skipping work to fuck around in the afternoon, whadda ya think he'd do? He'd probably send ya back to the fuckin' mail room, wouldn't he?"
William, trembling, sank back into his chair. Had Arlene conspired with her ex-husband to set him up for blackmail? He couldn't believe she'd do something like that to him, but the man was here. And he had mentioned Arlene's name.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about, Mr. Ott," he said softly, his voice quavering.
"Yeah you do, Willie-boy," Mel said. He was sure he had Atherton on the run now. The rich idiot was going to pay. The only question was, how much?
"You...you want me to pay you so you won't tell my parents that I'm having a...a relationship with your ex-wife, is that it?" William asked.
"Damn!" Mel exclaimed, smiling. "See, Willie-boy, I knew you wasn't stupid. You got it and I only had to tell you once."
"How...how much do you want?" William asked.
"How much is it worth to you?" Mel asked.
"Would...would a thousand dollars be sufficient?" William stammered.
"No, a fucking thousand ain't suffishint!" Mel said. "Come on, Willie, we're talking about protecting your dirty little secret here. We're talking about your fuckin' miserable life, Willie-boy. How much is the fuckin' fancy life you live worth to you?"
"Ten thousand?" William asked.
Mel smiled. "Better, much better," he said. "A damn good start, in fact."