Chapter Seven
The Case of Claire P.
The mantle of gracious hostess was one she wore with natural ease. No one could tell that beneath the plastered-on smile of a grand dame, Claire Partridge was seething with rage. The nerve of the man! Stewart, her nephew and one time Vice-Chairman of Transron had the audacity to show up, uninvited, at the bi-annual retreat the corporation threw for its top executives. She had come within an ace of firing the man outright! But some lingering notions of family loyalty held her hand; she had finally relented, and allowed him to be reassigned to the post of Assistant Chief for Cambodian operations. In any event, he now no longer qualified to be included in the upper echelons of corporate management -- and he knew it. Yet, here he was! He had just showed up
