{"product_id":"2940013696501","title":"Sinfully Rich","description":"As noon approached, Mike Speedon cleared his desk preparatory to\u003cbr\u003eleaving his office in the Recorder-Press Building. It was a very small\u003cbr\u003eoffice, but the fact that he had an office of his own testified to his\u003cbr\u003eimportance on the premises. He was usually called Society Reporter,\u003cbr\u003ewhich he didn't like; \"Social Commentator\" or \"Columnist\" pleased him\u003cbr\u003ebetter. His column was more and more widely syndicated and he had\u003cbr\u003ebecome a big figure in the smart life of the town and, in fact, of the\u003cbr\u003enation. And nobody knew it better than Mike himself. He didn't have to\u003cbr\u003ekeep office hours any more, but he attended every morning from nine to\u003cbr\u003etwelve because of what he called his Puritan conscience. In other\u003cbr\u003erespects he was not exactly a Puritan.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe telephone rang and he picked up the instrument. It was Warner\u003cbr\u003eBassett, City Editor. Hearing the silky quality in Warner's voice, Mike\u003cbr\u003efrowned; around the shop he wanted to be treated as one of the gang.\u003cbr\u003eSince he had become a \"feature\" on the paper, Mike was no longer under\u003cbr\u003eBassett's direct control.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Hi, Mike! Stop by a moment on your way out, will you?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Sure!\" said Mike, thinking: What the hell does he want of me?\u003cbr\u003eSomething I don't want to do, that's certain.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs he picked up his hat, he considered his engagements for the day; 1\u003cbr\u003eP.M., lunch with Peggy Rhinelander _et al._ at the Colony; a dull bunch\u003cbr\u003ebut the food would be good; ought to be able to get away by 2:30. Then\u003cbr\u003ehome for a good sleep. This afternoon nap was Mike's secret. He posed\u003cbr\u003eas a superman who didn't require more than three hours' sleep in the\u003cbr\u003etwenty-four. 5 P.M. cocktails at the Alexanders'; 6 would be plenty of\u003cbr\u003etime to get there. Half an hour was enough for the Alexanders. Must\u003cbr\u003elook in at Mrs. Overton's afterwards; that woman had the commanding eye\u003cbr\u003eof a rising star. Home to dress; 8 P.M., Sloan dinner at the St. Regis;\u003cbr\u003ebig bow-wows; wear the jeweled gardenia and Inverness cape. Get away in\u003cbr\u003etime to look in at Gilbert Miller's first night before the show let\u003cbr\u003eout; then a quick round of Jack and Charlie's; Stork Club; El Morocco.\u003cbr\u003ePromised to join the Paley's party at 12:30. And at 1:30 ... Paradise!\u003cbr\u003eMike smiled to himself. No danger of forgetting _that_!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe passed through the littered city room and into Warner's enclosure in\u003cbr\u003ethe corner. Warner, keen, gray-faced, chewing an unlighted cigar, was\u003cbr\u003ethe picture of a city editor. He was only a year or two older than\u003cbr\u003eMike. Looking up at the latter's fresh complexion he asked sourly:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"What time did you get to bed this morning?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Somewhere around three-thirty.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"How the hell do you keep it up?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"It's a gift.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Yeah, a gift,\" said Warner bitterly. \"Christ! you have it soft! Look\u003cbr\u003eat me! Look at all the boys here! It takes this whole damn manure pile\u003cbr\u003eto produce one perfect blossom like you! You stink like a gardenia!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere was no unfriendliness in this, and Mike merely grinned. \"Sure!\u003cbr\u003eBut you didn't ask me here to talk about the flowers. What...?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Mrs. Charles Warrington Ware is going to conduct a hay ride up\u003cbr\u003eBroadway at midnight tonight,\" said Warner abruptly. \"I've just been\u003cbr\u003etipped off.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Sure you've been tipped off. And every other newspaper in town. Why\u003cbr\u003eelse give a hay ride?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You're supposed to be a friend of hers,\" said Warner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMike said nothing.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Have you been invited on this hay ride?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I have.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Are you going?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Can you see me?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"No,\" grumbled Warner, \"but I don't know the requirements of your job.\u003cbr\u003eI reckon you have to pay for your fun one way or another.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I'm getting to the point where I can pick and choose,\" said Mike.\u003cbr\u003e\"I've got better copy for my column than old Flora Ward's hay ride.\"","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47152654483696,"sku":"2940013696501","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013696501_p0.jpg?v=1763597378","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013696501","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}