Now maybe the whole thing would fall through. Johnny didn’t know if he could save it or not. If he couldn’t save it, his charitable gesture was going to cost him a substantial piece of money—and the distressing thing was that a man would really have to scramble around to foul up a deal as well set as that one had been. It would be in better shape if there had been no one at all up there.
They turned north on 301 toward Bradenton. Johnny had his parking lights on and he was driving fast. He tried not to listen as Charlie, in his light eager voice, told some interminable and pointless story about how the yard man who came once a week cut down something Agnes hadn’t wanted cut down—what Agnes had said and what he had said and what the yard man had said.
“For Christ’ sake, Charlie!” he said explosively.
“What’s the matter? What’s the matter, Johnny?”
“I got another call from Ricardo last night, after I talked to you. Stevenson had gotten hold of Ricardo and told him that you told Stevenson that you didn’t think there had to be any organizational meeting before approval of the charter.”
“Well, it would be just a formality, wouldn’t it? I mean we know who the officers are going to be and all.”
Johnny gave him a quick glance. “Charlie, what is it that makes you so God damn dumb?”
Charlie tried to smile. His mouth was trembling. “I… I guess I just work at it.”
“I guess you God damn well do. What right did you have to even talk to Stevenson? I told you to stay away from him. He thinks control should be up there. He thinks that Christy and me are a couple of Florida slickers trying to move in on them. Then you go yap yap yap about no organizational meeting. Christ, I don’t care what he thinks after the charter goes through, but now you’ve made him nervous enough so he’s starting to try to bitch it up. And now Ricardo is getting nervous. Whichever way Ricardo jumps, the others will jump. Where the hell did you talk to Stevenson?”
“Well, he came into the office, Johnny. You know. Just passing the time of day. We got to talking.”
“Stevenson isn’t the kind of guy who goes around passing the time of day. He came in to pump you.”
“I didn’t think so, Johnny.”
“Face it. You just didn’t think. And I can tell you just what the hell you did and why.”
“What do you mean?”
Johnny heard the anxiety in the thin voice and he felt the anger swelling thick inside of him, clotting him, thickening his chest. Gene had told him to try to keep from getting angry.
“I’ll tell you what you are, Charlie. You’re a damn clerk. You never were anything else but a clerk in your life. You had to have somebody standing right over you telling you just exactly what the hell to do. I should have seen that before I sent you up there alone. You get an office of your own you think you’re some kind of a big shot. You weren’t a big shot and you aren’t a big shot, Charlie. I sent you up there to keep in touch and let me know developments. But you have to prove you can sit at a desk. So you open your mouth and start talking policy. You don’t know anything about policy. But you have to hear the sickening sound of your own voice. You have to tell those people up there how important you are. You led Ricardo to believe you’d be in on the operation after we get the charter. I wouldn’t keep you up there after the charter comes through if all you had to do was sweep the floor. I gave you this job because Agnes kept after Babe about it, and I didn’t feel sure about you and I should have had more sense. Jesus Christ! You up there acting like a big expert, and all the time you were as far out of your league as… Hell, you were a kitten up there, and those are big hungry dogs. You aren’t worth a poop, Charlie. Not one little poop in a whirlwind. And when you aren’t paddling around gumming things up, you’re a God damn bore.”
He felt the anger begin to fade. The hard
They turned north on 301 toward Bradenton. Johnny had his parking lights on and he was driving fast. He tried not to listen as Charlie, in his light eager voice, told some interminable and pointless story about how the yard man who came once a week cut down something Agnes hadn’t wanted cut down—what Agnes had said and what he had said and what the yard man had said.
“For Christ’ sake, Charlie!” he said explosively.
“What’s the matter? What’s the matter, Johnny?”
“I got another call from Ricardo last night, after I talked to you. Stevenson had gotten hold of Ricardo and told him that you told Stevenson that you didn’t think there had to be any organizational meeting before approval of the charter.”
“Well, it would be just a formality, wouldn’t it? I mean we know who the officers are going to be and all.”
Johnny gave him a quick glance. “Charlie, what is it that makes you so God damn dumb?”
Charlie tried to smile. His mouth was trembling. “I… I guess I just work at it.”
“I guess you God damn well do. What right did you have to even talk to Stevenson? I told you to stay away from him. He thinks control should be up there. He thinks that Christy and me are a couple of Florida slickers trying to move in on them. Then you go yap yap yap about no organizational meeting. Christ, I don’t care what he thinks after the charter goes through, but now you’ve made him nervous enough so he’s starting to try to bitch it up. And now Ricardo is getting nervous. Whichever way Ricardo jumps, the others will jump. Where the hell did you talk to Stevenson?”
“Well, he came into the office, Johnny. You know. Just passing the time of day. We got to talking.”
“Stevenson isn’t the kind of guy who goes around passing the time of day. He came in to pump you.”
“I didn’t think so, Johnny.”
“Face it. You just didn’t think. And I can tell you just what the hell you did and why.”
“What do you mean?”
Johnny heard the anxiety in the thin voice and he felt the anger swelling thick inside of him, clotting him, thickening his chest. Gene had told him to try to keep from getting angry.
“I’ll tell you what you are, Charlie. You’re a damn clerk. You never were anything else but a clerk in your life. You had to have somebody standing right over you telling you just exactly what the hell to do. I should have seen that before I sent you up there alone. You get an office of your own you think you’re some kind of a big shot. You weren’t a big shot and you aren’t a big shot, Charlie. I sent you up there to keep in touch and let me know developments. But you have to prove you can sit at a desk. So you open your mouth and start talking policy. You don’t know anything about policy. But you have to hear the sickening sound of your own voice. You have to tell those people up there how important you are. You led Ricardo to believe you’d be in on the operation after we get the charter. I wouldn’t keep you up there after the charter comes through if all you had to do was sweep the floor. I gave you this job because Agnes kept after Babe about it, and I didn’t feel sure about you and I should have had more sense. Jesus Christ! You up there acting like a big expert, and all the time you were as far out of your league as… Hell, you were a kitten up there, and those are big hungry dogs. You aren’t worth a poop, Charlie. Not one little poop in a whirlwind. And when you aren’t paddling around gumming things up, you’re a God damn bore.”
He felt the anger begin to fade. The hard
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