Page 14 of Three Times You

“Just an espresso, thanks, and some still water,” Giorgio replies.

“And for you?”

“Same for me, thanks.” And I receive a smile of gratitude for a gift I had no idea I’d even sent her. As soon as she leaves the room, I turn around and look at Giorgio. “Excuse me, but would you mind explaining?”

“Good job, you came off handsomely.”

“That I realize, but I have no idea what for or how.”

“She’s crazy about Alessandro Baricco, and her colleague is a huge Luca Bianchini fan. And you, an extraordinarily discerning human being, sent a copy of the exact right book to each young lady.”

“Yes. Okay, but still, she seemed just a little too overjoyed, as if she were about to break into tears.”

“Maybe that’s because of the personal dedication that you managed to obtain from the authors themselves!”

“Are you serious? I managed to get personally autographed copies of books by Baricco and Bianchini? Well, I have to admit, I’m quite impressed with myself…”

“It was only predictable that Simona would be justthrilledto meet you.”

“In fact, I’d be thrilled myself. But how did you do it?”

Giorgio smiles at me. “You have to become impeccable, charming, loved, and desired. You are the boss of Futura, the company I work for. I only ask you one thing, seeing that Simona is very attractive and understandably swept away by your allure. For the moment, I’d avoid spawning any other children…”

We start laughing. I’m about to reply when at that very moment Simona comes back in, accompanied by another young woman.

“Here you are…”She sets the tray down on the table. “This is the espresso, and here’s the water, and this is my colleague. She so much wanted to make your acquaintance.”

“Pleasure to meet you, I’m Gabriella.”

Not always is a good deed met with a good effect, and yet I am forced to admit, in the presence of Gabriella, that there is a certain perfection to life. She’s tall, blond, and shapely with big blue eyes and a straight nose. She extends her lovely hand, which I cannot help but admire, and I reply, “The pleasure is all mine. I’m Stefano Mancini.”

She blushes and looks down. “You made me so happy.” Then she turns on her heel and leaves.

“My colleague is a little shy,” Simona points out. “I’ll have to ask you to be so kind as to wait for a few more minutes, and then you can go in.” And she leaves us alone.

“You can just imagine, that Gabriella…you shook hands with her and now she’s already pregnant!”

I punch Giorgio lightly on the shoulder. “Oh, just cut it out with this routine.”

“Come on, let’s be serious. We’re about to go in.” Giorgio opens the little sugar packet and pours it into his demitasse of espresso. “It’s 11:05. We had an appointment at 11:00. Wait and see, it’ll be at least twenty minutes before Gianna Calvi condescends to see us.”

“Wait. How on earth do you know that?”

“She only reads Marco Travaglio, the articles inAffari e Finanza, and to be absolutely contradictory, Nicholas Sparks and his books about love and destiny. She’s making us wait even though today’s appointment was made possible, absurdly enough, by the very person who gave her her job. Do you understand how power works? She wants us to understand that, whatever happens, she’s the one who counts, she’s the one who decides…she’s the one who dominates.” And he gives me a cunning smile. That’s just the way Giorgio does things. He goes straight to the heart of the problem, the enemy’s heart, and laughs about it.

I drink my espresso, too, before it can get cold, and I sip some still water. I take a look at the three projects we’re presenting, and I find a sheet of paper atop each of the three.

“Who wrote this?”

“Alice, this morning, without me having to say a word. She tells me that it’s a little crib sheet on the plot, which ought to be useful for a quick review before the pitch meeting.”

“It’s a very well-done crib sheet.”

“Next time you see her, I’d recommend you compliment her on it. We fire those who betray us, but we give the proper measure of appreciation to those who deserve it.”

“Right you are.”

I look at the clock. It’s 11:28.

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