because she said the table was heavier than it should be. It was a bogus suit, and she was obviously looking for a settlement, but she was making so much fuss about it that the legal department had brought it to Olivia’s attention. She wasn’t sure yet what she wanted to do. She was thinking of giving her the eight chairs that went with it as a gift. It was the sort of claim that required that kind of attention. The woman was either poor or cheap if she had refused to pay for delivery. Olivia was making a note about it when Peter Williams walked into her office. She smiled when she looked up at him. She was happy to see him, and also mildly amused about the suit. The woman had written her a letter personally, and had said that using such high-quality wood made the table too heavy and dangerous for their customers to carry. Dragging it up four flights of stairs hadn’t been their intention when they made it. It was from one of their Indian factories, and Olivia knew the piece. It was a good-looking table at an incredibly low price, and John had designed it.
“Bad time?” Peter asked her, ready to leave if she was too busy, but she shook her head and sat back in her chair with a grin.
“No, I was just reading about the Stockholm suit. That can’t have been a lot of fun dragging that table up the stairs. I’m thinking of giving her the set of chairs to go with it. The memo said she didn’t buy them.”
“If you do, be sure you have them delivered, or she’ll up the ante on the suit,” he said, laughing. “I saw it too. I don’t think she’ll really sue us.” But there were others who had and would. Peter always advised her well. There had been a head injury case of a bookcase that fell on someone in an earthquake. They hadn’t bolted it to the wall, and it said to do so in the instructions that went with it, but Olivia paid the settlement anyway. They carried astronomical insurance to cover real claims, and when reasonable, they settled, in order to maintain goodwill. They weren’t trying to hurt anyone or take advantage of them, even when their customers were foolish.
“You look terrific,” Peter said as he gazed at her admiringly. She seemed healthy and tan and relaxed. He could see that the boat trip with her children had done her a world of good. Her vacations with them always did. And he looked well after his time in Maine too. He had come home a week early. He said he had a lot to do. And they both knew that a strike at their Spanish stores was coming and probably couldn’t be avoided. Local government had made the situation worse, and it would keep them busy if it happened. And there had been an arson fire in their warehouse in South Dakota. It was hard to keep on top of it all, but they both did. You had to have a clear head and think on your feet, and be able to make rapid, intelligent decisions to prevent any bad situations from getting worse.
“Thank you, Peter,” she said as he sat down across from her. “How was Maine?” His eyes were the same color as hers, and she saw them cloud over for a moment.
“The same as always. Emily and I don’t have a lot to say to each other. I left when the kids did. I enjoyed it, but I’m happy to be home. She’ll be up there for a few more weeks till Labor Day. What about you? No more travel plans for August?” He had been more expansive than he usually was about his marriage, but she knew it anyway. He had confided in her for many years. The marriage had died shortly after their children were born, when he discovered that his wife was an alcoholic. She had promised to get treatment for years and never did. Nothing had changed, and now they had the form of a marriage but not the spirit. He had gone to Al-Anon meetings for years, and finally gave up begging her to stop drinking. He had given up on the marriage then too. Olivia had met her, she was a nice woman, and intelligent, but she looked ravaged by her addiction, which still burned out of control like a forest