“You’re not doing so hot, Gluck, or else you’d be reading right now you should stop clowning around.” Jesso got up and ground his cigarette out. “Let me know when you’re ready for a cabinet meeting, Gluck, about Vegas and so forth. Or better yet, go out there yourself next time and don’t send a flunky.” He turned to the door and then he heard Gluck’s chair creak.

“I didn’t,” said Gluck.

Jesso stopped. That was another thing about Gluck. He always got the last word or the last lick. And once Jesso turned around there would be jolly old Gluck swishing his cigar around. Jesso turned and went back to the desk. He put his hands flat on the top and leaned.

“How did you mean that, President?” He sounded calm as hell. “You mean you didn’t send a flunky or you didn’t send me?”

“I didn’t send a flunky.” Suddenly Gluck wasn’t smiling any more. “So you shouldn’t have gone there, Jesso.”

Gluck hardly ever insulted a man in a straightforward way. And he hardly ever had a lit cigar in his mouth. Gluck was lighting it now and he never even blinked when the strong smoke crawled up around his face.

“Sit down, boy. I want to talk about Vegas.”

Jesso didn’t sit. He pushed himself away from the desk and thought about walking around to the other side, where Gluck was sitting, and starting out by grabbing lapels.

“This is important. It’s all about you, Jesso.”

Jesso sat.

“You goofed, Jesso.”

But this time Gluck made no impression. Jesso never goofed unless he knew about it.

“And I’m taking the time to explain it to you because in this new setup, you working for us, you can goof and not know it. You haven’t got the background to know it.”

Jesso kept still because Gluck was making sense.

“Who told you to go to Vegas, Jackie boy?”

“Nobody.”

“So you goofed.” Gluck sat back and started smiling.