Bellmore holdings, scattered throughout the Northeast, comprised shopping malls, office parks, hotel complexes, and condominium villages. The prerogative and power of the chief executive officer emanated from a clear, quiet appearance and an un-deflectable gaze. The high walls of his office pulsed with contemporary art. The carpeting had an aura of depth, as if the bodies of lesser men had disappeared into it. Beyond his desk Boston peered in through thicknesses of glass. Seated at his desk, he did not look up when his secretary of ten years brought her face down to his. Sadness entered her kiss, for she had given up on possibilities. She received no acknowledgment of the steaming black coffee she had set before him, for he expected things without asking and took them without thanks. He had an ice-smooth personality, his true feelings frozen deep. Without warning, he rose and stretched as an athlete might before picking up a bat or tossing a ball at a hoop. He was of medium height and neither thin nor fat, though his face had a boyish pudginess that rimless glasses stiffened.
