Adam wondered how Arolen managed to do so well with such a small list of new products. They had to sell a lot of drugs to pay for the impressive headquarters. He put the book back, deciding Arolen’s financial base was none of his business. At least not as long as they continued to pay his generous salary.

Two days later, Adam was waiting on the street in front of his apartment house for the Arolen rep to pick him up. McGuire had called the preceding evening and said that a Percy Harmon would meet Adam at eight-thirty and take him on a round of sales calls.

Adam had been standing outside for nearly twenty minutes, but despite the cold drizzle he was glad to be out of the apartment. Although he and Jennifer had patched up their quarrel, she was still upset that he had dropped out of medical school and taken a job at a drug company. He knew part of the reason her reaction bothered him so much was his own ambivalence about working for Arolen. Still, it wasn’t forever and it did solve their financial problems. Maybe his in-laws would even tell her he’d done the right thing when she went out to visit today, but he doubted it.

A blue Chevy was slowing in front of him. The driver stopped and rolled down the window. “Can you tell me where 514 is?”

“Percy Harmon?” called Adam.

“You betcha,” answered the driver as he leaned over and opened the passenger-side door.

Closing his jacket against the rain, Adam ran down the steps and ducked into the car.

Percy apologized for being late, explaining that traffic on the FDR Drive had been murderous due to an accident at the Forty-ninth Street exit.

Adam liked Percy immediately, appreciating his friendliness. He was a little older than Adam and was dressed in a dark blue suit with a red polka-dot tie and matching handkerchief. He looked businesslike and successful.

They turned north on Park Avenue and headed uptown.

“Clarence McGuire was pretty enthusiastic about you on the telephone,” said Percy. “What’s your secret?”

“I don’t know for sure,” said Adam, “but I suppose it’s because I was a third-year medical student at the medical center.”

“Good God, of course that’s it!” said Percy. “No wonder they loved you. With your background, you’ll be way ahead of us laymen.”

Adam was far from convinced. He’d learned a lot of facts about bones and enzymes, and the function of T-lymphocytes. But how useful was that information to Arolen? Besides, such facts had a disturbing way of dropping out of Adam’s mind after a particular test was over. He glanced around the inside of Percy’s car. There were pamphlets in boxes on the back seat. Next to the boxes were looseleaf notebooks, computer printouts, and a pile of order forms. Printed memoranda were stuck into the recesses on the dash. The car had the look of a busy office. Adam was not convinced that his medical-school background would be of any use in his new job. He glanced over at Percy, who was busy navigating the New York City traffic. The man looked relaxed and confident and Adam felt envious.

“How’d you get involved with Arolen?” asked Adam.

“I was recruited straight out of business school,” said Percy. “I’d taken some health economics courses in college and was interested in the health field. Somehow Arolen found out and contacted me for an interview. I researched the company and was impressed. Being a sales rep has been fun, but I’m looking forward to the next step. And thanks to you, I’m heading off for the managerial training in Puerto Rico.”

“What do you mean ‘thanks to me’?”

“Clarence told me that you were going to be my replacement. I’ve been trying to go to Puerto Rico for a year.”

“They offered me the same opportunity,” said Adam.

“To go straight to Puerto Rico?” exclaimed Percy. “My God, man, take them up on it. I don’t know if you know it but Arolen is owned by an extremely fast-growing financial group. About ten years ago some clever guys started an organization called MTIC to invest in the health industry. Arolen was one of their first acquisitions. When they got control of the company, it was an inconsequential drug house. Now it is challenging the biggies like Lilly and Merck. Joining now, you’ll still be getting in on the ground floor. Who did you meet out at Arolen besides Clarence McGuire?”

“Bill Shelly and Dr. Nachman.”

Percy whistled and took his eyes off the traffic long enough to give Adam an appraising glance. “You got to meet two of the original MTIC founders. Both are rumored to be on the board of directors of MTIC as well as having executive positions with Arolen. And how did you meet Nachman? He is the head of research down in Puerto Rico.”

“He was here for some meeting,” explained Adam curtly. Percy’s response made him wonder anew if Arolen was interested in him or, despite their assurances, his father.

“The other thing about Puerto Rico,” Percy was saying, “is that the center there is as luxurious as a resort. I’ve only been there once, but it is out of this world. I’m looking forward to training there. It’s going to seem like a paid vacation.”

Watching the rain beat on the windshield, Adam wondered what kind of maternity facilities they had in Puerto Rico. The idea of bright sun as well as the chance to get Jennifer away from her parents had certain appeal. He sighed. It was nice to daydream, but the fact of the matter was that he wanted to stay as near to the medical center as possible. Puerto Rico was out of the question.

“Here we are,” said Percy, guiding the car over to the curb in front of a typical midtown New York City apartment building. He parked in a “No Standing” tow zone, opened the glove compartment and took out a small sign that read: “Visiting Physician.” “This represents a slight distortion of the usual meaning of this phrase, but it’s nonetheless true,” he said, smiling at Adam. “Now let’s plan the attack. The idea here is for you to get some idea of what it’s like to call on a typical physician. This fellow’s name is Dr. Jerry Smith. He happens to be a very successful Park Avenue obstetrician. He’s also a horse’s ass. He thinks of himself as some intellectual giant, so it will be extremely easy to butter him up. He also likes free samples, a predilection which we will be happy to indulge. Any questions before we go to battle?”

Adam said no, but Dr. Markowitz’s comment about defecting to the enemy haunted him as he got out of the car. Percy opened the trunk and gave Adam a large umbrella to hold while he got out a bunch of drug samples.

“Smith’s favorites are tranquilizers,” said Percy. “Whatever he does with them all, I have no idea.” Percy loaded a small cardboard box with a variety of drugs, then closed the trunk.

Dr. Smith’s office was packed with women. The air was close and smelled of damp wool.

Adam hurried after Percy, who went straight to the receptionist. Reluctantly, Adam glanced around and saw many pairs of eyes regarding him over the tops of magazines.

“Hello, Carol,” Percy was saying. “What a stunning outfit. And your hair! There’s something different. Don’t tell me. Let me guess. You got a perm. God, it looks terrific. And how’s that little boy of yours? Good, huh. Well, let me introduce you to Adam Schonberg. He’s going to be taking over my customers. Now, would you mind if he looked at that dynamite photo you have of your boy? The one on the bear rug.”

Adam found himself holding a cube of plexiglass with different photos on each side. Percy adjusted it in his hand so that he was looking at a chubby baby lying on a bath towel.

“And Carol, what about your father?” asked Percy, taking the picture cube out of Adam’s hands and putting it back down on the desk. “Is he out of the hospital yet?”

Two minutes later Percy and Adam were standing in the doctor’s consultation room, waiting for Smith to appear. “That was an amazing performance,” whispered Adam.