(1982) The Almighty by Irving Wallace Read Free Book Online Page A

her?’
    ‘No, no, I think I should handle this myself. You remember how Hugh treated me in Chicago. I owe him this.’ He stood up. ‘Why don’t you two get together with McAllister and Crutchfield in the conference room. Do some brainstorming. I’ll join you when I finish with the girl.’
    Armstead sat on the sofa in his office, fingering the resume and considering Hugh Weston’s daughter seated at the opposite end of the sofa.
    What was surprising was that he had expected Hugh Weston’s daughter to be a child and instead found her to be a woman, very much so. She was a pretty, leggy young lady in a Chanel-style tweed suit and tan sling-back pumps. She had arresting, large hazel eyes and an attractive, tentative smile. She looked disarmingly innocent, deceptively so, he hoped.
    ‘You know, your father and I had a close relationship,’ Armstead said. ‘I admired him.’
    ‘He always thought highly of you,’ replied Victoria. ‘He still does. He was sorry to see your father go -‘ She hesitated. ‘- but he felt it might be good for you.’
    Armstead acknowledged her frankness with a fleeting smile. ‘Yes, Hugh understands. Wasn’t it Freud who said a son can’t be a man until his father dies?’
    ‘I recall reading that.’
    ‘How is your father these days? Does he like his new
    career?’
    She wrinkled her nose. ‘I’m not sure. He’s a die-hard journalist at heart. He doesn’t like being put in an adversary position with the Washington press. He’s on the side of the White House correspondents when he has to spoon-feed them the daily dose of hokum.’
    Armstead laughed. ‘Poor Hugh. But it’s exciting for him, isn’t it?’
    ‘Oh, yes. Very much so.’
    ‘And now you want to follow in his footsteps?’
    ‘Well, he had pretty big feet.’
    ‘But you’re sure you want to be a newspaperwoman?’
    T am a newspaperwoman, Mr. Armstead. I’ve been one day and night for over three years. As you’ll see in my resume -‘
    ‘Ah, the resume, yes. Let me have a look at it.’ He unfolded the sheet and read it carefully. He folded it again. “Impressive. Solid experience. You seem to lean toward investigative reporting. That can be a mean field.’
    ‘I can be a mean reporter. I’m persistent, resilient, acceptably devious.’
    Deceptively innocent, Armstead decided, and was pleased.
    ‘My role model has always been Nellie Bly,’ Victoria continued.
    ‘The little lady who went around the world in eighty days in - whenever it was?’
    ‘In 1889. And she did it in 72 days for Pulitzer’s New York World. She started on a ship named Augusta Victoria - well, Victoria - I always thought that was a good omen for me.’
    ‘It is,’ said Armstead with another smile. He was enchanted by her enthusiasm and seeming lack of guile. ‘As of now, you’ve got a job on the New York Record.’
    ‘You mean it?’ She almost jumped off the sofa with joy, wanting to kiss him, but she restrained herself. ‘That’s wonderful, Mr. Armstead. I promise you won’t be sorry.’
    ‘I don’t expect to be. I expect great things from you.’ He stood up, and she was quickly on her feet beside him. ‘We can use another investigative reporter,’ Armstead said, ‘especially a female one. The two or three we have are men. The best of them is Nick Ramsey.’
    ‘I’ve read his stuff. He’s marvelous.’
    ‘When he’s not drunk,’ said Armstead. ‘A little real competition from you might be a sobering experience for
    him.’ He started her across the room. ‘You’ll begin tomorrow, nine o’clock sharp. Check in with Mrs. Crowe, our personnel director. She’ll discuss your salary, which I’m sure you’ll find satisfactory, and then she’ll turn you over to Ollie McAllister and he’ll assign you a desk. Right now I’m taking you next door to meet Ollie and his assistant and two of my other executives. I want them to meet the first person I’ve hired as publisher of the Record. So you see, I have a very