Connecting the Dots Part Eleven
O bed! O bed! delicious bed!
That heaven upon earth to the weary head.
THOMAS HOOD, Miss Kilmansegg - Her Dream
When I woke, it was 4 P.M. and the usually craziness was afoot in the outer office. Emily told me later that Vincenzo had walked into his office at 7:30 that morning, and had, upon finding me sawing logs on his couch, unplugged his land line and backed out quietly, closing the door as he went.
He then held court for the rest of the day from my desk.
What are you supposed to do with a boss like that, hmm?
My dreams had slipped away when I woke, just like normal. That was an encouraging sign, but my mind was now set on the real problem; somewhere in L.A. there was a dangerous painting on walkabout. I felt like I had the mother of all jet-lags, and would have been glad to return to the couch, but I had work to do.
I opened the door at Explore Decor. More posh carpeting. A huge black African statue squatted in the corner. Animal skins...
"May I help you?" a young woman seated behind the desk rose and came to me.
"I'd like to rent a painting." My voice was still growly, but my balance was much improved. I no longer staggered.
"We don't rent to individuals, our clients are the corporate world."
"Well, exactly," I said putting on my best CEO persona. "I need a painting for my headquarters!"
"Oh, I see! Welcome to Explore Decor, I'm Jackie Hoyt.", she expended a dainty hand.
I shook it. "Carl Kolmann, How do you do?"
"I'm certainly pleased you thought of us for your decor needs. What sort of company do you run, Mr. Kolmann?"
"Ah, Mens' Wear."
She glanced me over, hat to shoes. The smile never left her face. "Really? That must be fascinating!"
"Yep, I have a line of franchises all over the country, but my headquarters is here in L.A. and we need a facelift for the office. I've heard you have mighty interesting paintings."
"Well, you've certainly come to the right place. What direction were you thinking for your theme?"
"I was thinking of something, say, in the direction of ... Australia. We're coming out with a new line this year of adventure clothing, you know, alligator wrestler and the like..." I blinked my burning eyes.
"Well," she said , taking me over to a bookshelf full of three-ring binders, "Of course we would handle more than just paintings, we offer color-ways specialists, plant suggestions, the whole package for you. Our painting selection is only one small slice. But it is impressive." She opened one binder and proudly flipped through slick pages of photos of different paintings.
"Yes, I see." I took the binder from her and paged through it carefully. The binder was labeled Dream Paintings. There were colorful, graceful paintings like in the library. I leafed through the pages.
"There has been a high call for these dot paintings lately. We have the most recent shipment from Down Under. They are very hot."
I glanced at my right palm. Honey, I thought, you have no idea. Then suddenly, there it was. The painting I had seen only once at at Herrmann, Miller, and Nash, laying in my hands in an 8x10 glossy. I nearly dropped the binder. "Why, this one here catches my fancy! I'll take it."
"That one?" she asked, taken aback. "Of all the selection, you like that one?"
"Yep, I know what I like and this is just what I want." I said with finality. "I'll take it with me now."
She laughed nervously, "Why, Mr. Kolmann, that's not how it's done! We need to send an expert to your office, discuss hues, layout, botany arrangements, the whole service... ah... that one?"
"Is there a problem? Do you have it or don't you?"
"Of course we offer this painting, it wouldn't be in the catalogue otherwise. But we've had some...complaints about this particular one...mm...once people see it on the wall, they're not as enthusiastic..."
"I'm a decisive man, Ms. Hoyt; a CEO needs to be. It's this one or none. I'll take it with me now."
"What ever you want, of course! But it's still not that simple. It's not in this office. The paintings are all stored at our warehouse. And that's not even near downtown. We could arrange to have it delivered to your headquarters within business 10 days. But we really must do an in-sito color study first..."
A wave of sleep-debt came over me. Marbles were all over the floor. I swayed but stayed upright. I eyed the photograph in front of me warily. No funny business, I warned it silently.
"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned.
"How have you been sleeping, Ms. Hoyt?" I asked.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Sorry, not important," I waved my hand. "May I at least take this photo with me now? To hold up to the wall, and see how it looks?"
"Well," she seemed uncertain. "It's not protocol. That's our only photograph..."
"Perfect." I said. "Here, I'll leave you my contact information and you have your color expert come over as soon as she can." I wrote some nonsense down on a paper.
"Mr. Kolmann, we haven't even discussed our fee––"
"Money is no object, my dear. I'm a decisive man, and I've found what I want. Send your expert right over. I'll return the 8x10 to her then."
"Well, I guess that's alright..."
As soon as I was clear of the building, I whipped out a lighter and, removing it from its plastic cover, held the flame under the cursed image. It burned so pretty, and disappeared into a light ash that scattered on the sidewalk.
One more down, I thought, grimly. One more to go.