Viewing page 383 of 421

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

At the moment I fail to see why any of these factory fellows should have anything to say about price any more than they have on other work. They should give us the cost story, let us know how much they want the job and let us do the price setting to suit, as I see it. 

I asked White to have dinner with me but his wife had a date (I didn't get the reasoning). I asked him what hotel he suggested and he sent me to the Hamilton. When I got there it looked none too impressive and is in the Manger chain but I registered and had dinner there alone. A rather cheap, perfumed blond sat at the next table alone and some gink at the next table to her picked up a jane to dance with so all in all it didn't appear too high class, and I wondered to myself if Niven was staying here. I was so sure he wasn't, I didn't even bother to inquire.

Took a walk after dinner up to Washington Monument and back to the hotel. As a guest at the Hamilton, I walked rather furtively through the swank Willard to see what it looked like. Back in the room, I looked up the fees in the phone book and finally called both Ralph and Fritz. Ralph sounded the same as ever - wanted to make a date with me, have me out to dinner, etc. I told him the next time. But Fritz had the noble idea of having breakfast with me tomorrow and we made that a date. Fritz's voice didn't sound at all familiar in contrast with Ralph. Spent all the rest of the evening until after 11 PM writing notes of today's work and felt really content I had done a job today.