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They wanted him to go in through the back. 

Mr. Samuel Wu, Esq, could tell simply from looking at the building. Upper East Side, clad in marble. The kind of building where the tenants had names like Stuyvesant or Rockefeller. A Chinese man such as himself would be expected to go around to the servants' entrance and scrape and bow. The only reason he would be expected is if he spoke in broken English and was delivering a load of “crean raundry”. 

And so he walked towards the front door. He wasn't suicidal, if asked he would go around to the back. This wasn't the time or place to be obstinate. But it felt good to take a minor stand.

[color=6A5ACD]“Greetings, my dear fellow,”[/color] he said to the uniformed doorman with a winning smile. [color=6A5ACD]“Mr. Samuel Wu, Esq, here as a guest of Miss Hobbs.”[/color] He adjusted his tie, waiting for the order to turn around and walk away, waiting for his entire lunatic adventure to collapse at the first obstacle. 

But the improbable happened. The doorman looked him over with a credulous and vaguely disgusted air, but let him through. He actually let him through, with a recitation of an obviously prewritten welcome and directions. By George. 

Mr. Wu took a moment to savor the rare combination of wealth and taste that marked the décor in the lobby, then  let himself in through the stairs- he may have gotten past the doorman, but he wasn't going to press his luck any further in interactions with the elevator operator or other residents of this building. Besides, a man his age who spent most of his time in an office had to keep trim. The ten stories were a brisk climb.

He was greeted by a matronly Irishwoman and escorted into the study, once again displaying sensibility and taste. And there, at last, was the elusive Miss Hobbs, clad in a daringly short dress. Mr. Wu cleared his throat nervously, uncomfortable with the nude statues and overt display of feminine sexuality. His eye lingered for a moment over the bronze form of a male athlete, before he greeted the two women and one man in the room. [color=6A5ACD]“Hello. I trust that I am on time, tardiness is an abominable habit with which I take great pains to not engage. I am Mr. Samuel Wu, Esq, of the Benevolent Fraternity of Merchants. Please, take one of my cards.”[/color] He reached into his vest pocket, dexterously sorted through the three business card holders with his fingers- one for English, one for Mandarin, one for Cantonese. With a small bow, he handed each person in the room an English card. [color=6A5ACD]“I must confess that I have little experience with the art of detecting, however I hope my own small talents will be in their way a worthy contribution to our endeavors.”[/color] With that, he sat in one of the available armchairs, determined to watch and learn.