"Napoleon! I am fed up!"
The CEA looked up from his desk to observe a furious April Dancer standing in his open doorway holding a sheaf of papers in her hand. The look on her face killed the joke he was about to utter in its tracks. His first thought was, Please don't let this be about Illya! "What's up, April?"
She stepped farther into the office and slammed the papers onto his absent partner's desk. "I am sick and tired of the crap the secretarial pool is giving me! My reports are always the last to be typed!"
"Calm down, April. How can you say that?"
"Because it's true! Joe Thomas put his report in to be typed hours after I did and he already has it! This is not the first time so don't accuse me of paranoia!"
Napoleon placed his splayed hand on his chest. "I would never," he replied sincerely. "I will speak with Lisa and get this all straightened out. Leave those reports with me." He watched his newest agent storm out of the office and as soon as the pneumatic door slid shut, he picked up his phone and called Lisa Rogers. "Hi, I'm having a problem that I hope you take care of for me."
"Of course, Napoleon; what is it?"
"Apparently, the typing pool is treating April's work as less important than the male agents' work. That needs to get nipped in the bud before bodily harm is performed. April may be a lady, but she's a Section II and she's not going to allow herself to be disrespected by anyone."
"I understand, Napoleon. Maybe I'll assign someone to handle her paperwork exclusively."
"No, that's not good. That's singling her out for preferential treatment; she won't accept that, either. She just wants her work done when it gets to the top of the pile, just like anyone else's. Can you make that happen?"
"Of course; consider it done. Can I tell you something?"
"Absolutely."
"I like her, Napoleon. We had a brief conversation in the Commissary not too long ago.* I find her to be intelligent, funny and real. She is already a good agent and she will only get better. If she has any more problems getting her reports typed, you tell her to come to me."
"I'll drop her reports at the pool in a bit. Thanks, I knew I could count on you, Lisa."
Two weeks went by. Mark and April had been assigned a couple of affairs and had been out of the office. Napoleon and Illya were in the Commissary enjoying a coffee break when April entered and got on line to buy food. Napoleon caught her eye and she approached their table after paying for her purchases. "Hello, Darlings. Nice to see you."
Both men had stood, but she motioned for them to sit. "I'm not staying; Mark is waiting in our office for me." She looked at Napoleon. "Thank you for speaking to Lisa Rogers. All the reports I left with you were on my desk when we got back."
"Glad to hear it. Speak with Lisa directly if you ever have a problem again."
She smiled and replied, "Thank you, Boss Darling" before looking at the blond. "I'll see you later, Darling," she purred before turning and heading for the exit.
Illya smiled quickly and said to his partner, "I am glad you were able to work things out for April with Lisa."
"It was just a formality that she came to me. She could have handled it herself, but she went through channels to be respectful to my position. April Dancer is a force to be reckoned with, whether in the field on in HQ."
"Yes, she is."
*ref. "Girl Talk"
