Gorham smiled too, and they parted. But alone that night, he asked himself: What have I done that I can put my hands on? What can I look back on in my career and say, “This is mine. This is what I created and left behind”? And he could find nothing, nor could he feel anything but a terrible, spiritual emptiness.

In January 2001, Gorham Master signed on with a headhunter. He told no one, not even Maggie. Perhaps the headhunter could find something for him that would make sense of his life, before it was too late.

The Board Game

September 8, 2001

GORHAM GLANCED AT his watch just as the telephone rang. It was time to go. If he and Maggie had privately quarreled the night before, no one seeing them now would have guessed it.

The boys were all excited: Gorham, Jr., Richard, and Gorham, Jr.’s, best friend Lee. Gorham was looking forward to it, too. They were going to a Yankee game, for God’s sake.

“It’s John Vorpal,” said Maggie. Why the hell did Vorpal have to bother him now?

“Tell him I have to go to the game,” said Gorham.

“Honey, he says he has to talk to you.”

“He’s coming to dinner this evening, damn it.”

“He says it’s private. Board business.” Maggie gave him the phone.

Gorham muttered a curse. The truth was he didn’t really like John Vorpal; however, they both served on the co-op board, so he had to make efforts to get along. But since Vorpal became chairman of the board, he and Jim Bandersnatch were doing a bunch of things that Gorham didn’t approve of.

“John, I can’t talk now.”

“We need to discuss 7B. They want an answer. Are you around on Sunday?”

“No, I have to be up in Westchester.”

“That’s too bad, Gorham.”

“After dinner tonight?”

Maggie gave him a dirty look. But what could he do? At least this might keep it brief.

“After dinner then.” Vorpal wasn’t pleased either.

But if John Vorpal insisted on having a private talk about 7B, which was already on the schedule for the meeting next Wednesday, well, to hell with him. He could stay after dinner.

There was only one problem. If John Vorpal was going to say what Gorham thought he was going to say, then he, Gorham Vandyck Master, was going to have a very serious disagreement with him. It could be a blazing row. And one really didn’t want to have a blazing row with the chairman of the board of a Park Avenue building.

The game was due to start a little after 1 p.m. They really needed to get going.

“Come on,” he said. “We’re taking the subway.”

“We are?” his son said, in astonishment.