“Who are these people?” I ask him. “It’s only for officers,” he says. “From all branches; and senior officials. And trade delegations, of course. It stimulates trade. It’s a good place to meet people. You can hardly do business without it. We try to provide at least as good as they can get elsewhere. You can overhear things too; information. A man will sometimes tell a woman things he wouldn’t tell another man.” “No,” I say, “I mean the women.” “Oh,” he says. “Well, some of them are real pros. Working girls”—he laughs—“from the time before. They couldn’t be assimilated; anyway, most of them
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