On the other hand, maybe Gifford was going to offer me a raise. The P in Please was large and looping, suggesting Promise.

    After all, I had been a loyal employee for over seven years. No . . . I had been more than an employee. I had been a friend.

    When his wife, Elizabeth, telephoned the office, didn't I take the time to chat with her, even though we had never met?

    When their daughter, Rita, (a stranger to me) got married, didn't I send a silver place setting, even though I'd never had a wedding of my own?

    Did I ever complain that they were Jewish?