He’s a very busy man you know. Very busy. I’m not sure what I can do.” Patricia Katchner fidgeted with a handkerchief. The middle aged woman with strawberry hair streaked in silver sat before her with her purse in her lap, and her sensible shoes tapping nervously on the floor. Why send this timid mouse to deliver the news? Patricia wore too much rouge and lipstick, as if drawn on by a crayon. Her face and skin had a shockingly white cast. Her grey eyes remained cast downward from the moment she arrived. Frank Gutierrez, Katchner’s manager, sat at her side preventing any escape. An elderly gentleman with cold eyes, he spoke with a sharp tongue, obviously having some influence over the Katchner’s. Marcella figured he convinced Patricia Katchner to attend this meeting, maybe just to see if there was something Garrison’s could offer. She hoped. The silence lengthened. Garrett expected Marcella to take the lead. She leaned forward in her chair and made sure to look Patricia in the eye.
