… The law office of Welles and Sable was located above a savings bank on the main street of Santa Teresa. I went into a small empty vestibule and, taking an elevator belonging to the firm, found myself in an atmosphere of elegant simplicity. It felt as if, after years of struggle, you had finally—without any effort—ended up in the very environment you had always longed for.
Opposite the elevator sat a woman with hair carefully dyed a copper-red color, casually typing something on an electric typewriter. Next to her, on the desk, stood a vase with a huge bouquet of blooming begonias. Bright pictures hung on the walls, and in the corner there was an armchair.
I sat in it to look better and took up a copy of The Wall Street Journal. Apparently I had done the right thing. The red-haired secretary stopped typing and gave me her attention…