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.When it did, he breathed a relieved sigh.Up a quarter point in the past ten minutes.Lawrence started through the cubicle aisle.His leather briefcase swung in alternate time to his pumping legs.Behind him, heads stuck out from cubicles.It was a morning ritual.The taunts trailed behind him."Nyuk-nyuk-nyuk.""Soitenly, Moe.""You had a hallucination.No, I had a hunk of pipe."The words were meant to be insulting.However, as usual he had no idea what they meant.This morning, Lawrence Fine didn't care.He had a very important meeting to get to.They had given him his own office while he was working with this special client.For the past three years, this had been a career goal, but thanks to the client he'd been given, Lawrence found himself missing his old cubicle.Page 12ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlHe stepped from the cubicle sea and into the adjacent hallway.The vague sick-building smell was replaced by an odor of rich wood and leather.Lawrence had only just stepped into the corridor when he caught sight of the man coming toward him.His heart sank.He didn't need this.Not today.It was Arthur Finch.Distantly related to the Butlers, Finch had been with the firm for only three months and had already moved from the cubicles to a small office.The privilege of breeding.Finch's face broke into a broad smile when he spied Lawrence coming toward him."Hey, Moe, where'd you get the sunglasses?" LFB's latest management trainee called down the hall to Lawrence.Lawrence frowned at the non sequitur.He hardly ever knew what Finch was talking about."I'm not wearing sunglasses.""Of course not, knucklehead," Finch smiled.They were side by side now.Finch was still wearing the same idiot's grin he had sported since the moment he learned Lawrence's name.He was the one who had inspired the taunts from the other workers during his three months of goofing off in the cubicles.When he'd left, the jokes had stayed.It was a quarter of a year later, and Lawrence still didn't want to admit that he hadn't the foggiest idea what everyone was laughing about."Hey, I saw the Corleones a few minutes ago," Finch said, stopping Lawrence with a palm to the shoulder.With his forefinger, he pressed his nose to one side."They're here already?" Lawrence asked anxiously.Finch nodded."They brought a washtub full of cement.One of them wanted to know your shoe size."Lawrence tensed visibly."You shouldn't make fun of them," he whispered."Why? They can't hear me.""Please," Lawrence begged."And they're not thugs." He pulled out a handkerchief, wiping sweat from his forehead."Gee whiz, Larry, lighten up."Larry.All his life he'd been Lawrence.That had stopped the minute Finch showed up at the brokerage house."Excuse me," Lawrence said.He stepped around Arthur Finch.Spine rigid, he marched down the hall."If they try any funny stuff, start a pie fight and escape in the confusion," Finch called after him.Doing a quick one-legged shuffle, the Butler progeny backed up.Spinning, Arthur Finch marched merrily down the hall in the direction opposite the terrified Lawrence Fine.Lawrence arrived at his small office thirty seconds later.When he opened the door, his nostrils were assaulted by the sickeningly familiar mixture of noxious colognes.There were three men in the room.Two were huge mountains of flesh and muscle.They stood just inside the door.The third was an oily little man in a shiny blue suit.He sat in a chair before the tidy oak desk."I'm not late, Mr.Sweet," Lawrence pleaded with the attorney as he pushed the door closed.He whimpered as he eyed the two behemoths."Not to worry," Sol Sweet replied."We're early."Lawrence breathed a sigh of relief.His briefcase a makeshift leather shield, he stepped past the two bodyguards and sank into his chair."The stock's performing well." Sweet smiled as Lawrence settled his briefcase onto the blotter.In his element now, Lawrence Fine nodded."I just checked the board.It's gone up another half point since I entered the building.""What about block trades?""Not many now.But remember, it's only 9:00 a.m.And because of the nature of this, um, business, word of mouth is carrying us at the start.I'd say things Page 13ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlare going very well.Better, in fact, than I predicted
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