Not wishing to attend the banquet, I pleaded illness.

I have a good banker in this city, but I would not wish to draw upon the house until the time when I shall draw for a round sum.

Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers.[…]Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster. Clever financial ploys are what have made billionaires of the industry’s veterans. “Operational improvement” in a portfolio company has often meant little more than promising colossal bonuses to sitting chief executives if they meet ambitious growth targets. That model is still prevalent today.

We walked outside through the arctic entryway filled with men and women talking and dozing off.