Description: Glenn Sabine, still fretting over the possibility of Juliet Jones ruining his grand vision for a Miss Teenager contest, gives orders to his illustrious assistant to keep her occupied until the show is in the books. With his mind on how to keep her pleasantly occupied, Pike Setter is more than willing to follow his orders.
Eve Goes to New York – PART 25
To Glenn Sabine, the host of the Miss Teenager pageant, Juliet Jones was the enemy of all that was unholy. And he would know. He did know. At least, he could act like he knew. By George, he was an actor, after all, and in his tiny little mind that ran on four-and-a-half hours of sleep a night and castor oil to keep his brain working at capacity, he was an actor of the finest quality. In his humble opinion, he was second to none, 5-star, bang-up, blue-ribbon, possessing a don't-count-your-chickens-before-they-hatch kind of greatness. That was before the critics showed up and ripped his stalwart ego to shreds.
His last show was an off-Broadway musical entitled Paint The Town Anything But Red, in which he played bellhop number two. Critics blasted him for being miscast, saying that he looked more like an elder statesman than a proper bellhop at a hotel. It was the word "elderly" that got under his skin. He was only approaching thirty-four, for Pete's sake. How could they call him old? Since no one told him that the critique had nothing to do with his age and had actually been meant as a compliment, he almost decided to quit acting altogether. That was when he got the idea of taking a "break" from his dramaturgy and hit the road on this crazy quest to find girls who could be gullible enough to sign up for a Miss Teenager contest. He had met Pike Setter at a bowling alley in some washed-up Podunk, and the rest was history.
They had begun this whole shindig a year ago to the day. And were they now going to be stopped by Miss Juliet Jones high and mighty?
Sabine grabbed Pike Setter by the lapel and yanked him forward in a miff. Setter wasn't fazed in the least. The same expression that he had when Sabine grabbed him was the same blasé look he would have had if he were crossing the street in front of a bus. As always, Setter's cigarette hung loosely from his lips. But Sabine had bigger fish to fry than Pike's nasty smoking habit.
"Get ahold of that Juliet Jones, Pike, and talk to her," Sabine spat, livid with the emotion of pent-up frustration and lost patience. "She could ruin the whole gambit!"
Pike's tone was sarcastic. "You mean convince her of your inherent honesty and sincerity, Mr. Sabine?"
Sabine looked left and right, confirming that the Miss Teenager contestants were a safe distance away before he spoke right up in Pike's ugly mug. "Tell her anything that comes into your devious mind," he ordered. "Just keep her immobilized until this thing is over."
That afternoon in Central Park as the autumn leaves tumbled across the sidewalk, Pike Setter settled next to Juliet Jones on a park bench for two. The breeze produced tiny ripples across the surface of the lake, the perfect romantic scene, Pike thought. She had been asking him about the contest again.
When he edged closer to confide a secret, Miss Jones made a face and scooted away, watching the lake. Pike grinned at her playing hard-to-get.
"Now I'm operating under specific orders to calm your jittery nerves," he explained, "placate you, and keep you out of Glenn Sabine's receding hairline."
Pike was happy now that he had an excuse to get closer to her. Even better, now he had orders from his boss to do just that.