"Davis, Jerry - Scuba" - читать интересную книгу автора (Davis Jerry)

was glad he was dying, it was time for him to die. I thought it
was proper of him to refuse to go to the hospital. But on his
deathbed he tells me, 'Watch over the company,' he says, 'It's
part of me, it's been my life. As long as the company is alive,
I'll be alive.' Then he died. Any other person who dies, dies. But
not him. He's still here. He is this division of DGD, he is
Harvest. He still has absolute power over my life. Still."
"You're talking nonsense."
"He's here. His ghost is here."
"Ghosts." Neil half-chuckled. "You've got more to worry about
than ghosts."
"I can prove to you that ghosts exist."
"Get out of my office," Neil said, suddenly irritable. "Go
on, get out of here." In his mind he saw himself pushing this
little misshapen out of his immediate area, out into the broader
range of his sphere of influence. With Jack out of his office, he
picked up the phone and dialed his new employee. In his mind he
saw his enormous inflated hand nudging a figure with exaggerated
breasts, setting it into action. It made its way though his sphere
of influence to carry out his will.

#

Jack spent the rest of the day falsifying receipts to turn in
for an expense reimbursement. The woman he turned it in to looked
at it skeptically but made no comment. He ducked out of the office
a half-hour early and headed for his car, only to find that
another car had wrecked into it. He stopped and stood motionless
in the acid rain, unbelieving. He would not have been surprised to
find the car missing, taken by the repo men --- but to find it
sitting there with a giant dent in the driver's side door was a
shock. The car that had hit his was still there, its driver
waiting.
She saw him and got out of her car to talk. It was the new
girl, Christie. She was crying. "I'm sorry. Mine's a rental, it
came with insurance. I'll make sure yours is fixed."
"The whole side of my car is bashed-in."
"I know, I'm sorry. This rain, it made the road slick, and
the front wheels slid. I'm sorry." She walked up and grabbed his
hands, holding them. She stared into his eyes, her expression
asking for forgiveness. She was so earnest that he suddenly felt
bad for her.
"Are you okay?" he asked her.
"I'm really shaken up." He could feel her tremble, it wasn't
a lie. "I really need a drink," she said. "Let me buy you a drink.
Don't say no."
Jack helped her push her car into a parking place near his
and then walked with her to a bar at the top of the Hilton
building a few blocks away. By the time they were seated both were
soaking wet with the rain. To Jack it felt like salt water. It was