Gertrude Lade didn't understand Della Street. Gertie didn't understand Della Street at all. As Perry Mason's receptionist, Gertie felt it was part of her job to know everything there was to know about everybody in Mr. Mason's office. In short, Gertie was a busybody. Much to her dismay, Miss Street, Mr. Mason's private and confidential secretary, was not a gossip. When Gertie was hired several years earlier, she thought she had a ready-made best friend in Della Street. Della was a smart dresser, wise to the world, and terribly witty. As she settled into her new job, Gertie tried in vain to extract from Della all the juicy tidbits about the staff in the Brent Building- including which men were single. Unfortunately, it was clear that these important details of their workplace were insignificant to Miss Street. So, Gertie delegated the task to herself, and made everyone else's business her own.
Try as she might to engage Della in office tittle-tattle, Miss Street rarely had the time or desire to indulge Gertie. Indeed, Della smiled politely and laughed at some of the stories, but Gertie could tell she was waiting for the moment when she would be released from the conversation.
Gertie didn't see much of Miss Street during the day. She was typically in her office typing up depositions for Mr. Mason, meeting with Mr. Mason and clients, or accompanying Mr. Mason to court. Gertie rarely even had the chance to go out to lunch with Della, as she was always busy with The Boss. Several of the stenographers made off-color comments about Della's relationship with Perry Mason. They seemed certain that since they spent so much time together, there was surely lots of hanky-panky going on behind the closed mahogany doors. Gertie was unwilling to jump on that bandwagon, however much she enjoyed dwelling on romance. Della Street was just too professional to get mixed up with her boss.
Gertie never saw Della's face flushed or her lipstick smeared. There were certainly never any rumpled clothes or awkward moments between Della and Mason. As much as Gertie would have loved to indulge the stenographers' whispers with proof of an affair, she just didn't see anything to indicate anything more than a platonic relationship between Mr. Mason and Miss Street… until late one Friday night.
Gertie closed up the outer office at 5:00 as usual. Della Street had been on the phone with Paul Drake when Gertie popped into her office to say goodnight. After locking the door, she headed to the elevator and pushed the button with a delicately gloved finger. When the door opened, out came Jack Reynolds, who worked in the insurance office at the opposite end of the hall. He was devilishly handsome, and Gertie had a terrible crush on him.
"Why Miss Lade, how nice to see your pretty face on this dreary afternoon," Jack flirted as he tipped his fedora.
"Mr. Reynolds!"
"Going down, Miss?" Asked the elevator operator.
Before Gertie could respond, Jack asked, "Are you in a hurry, Miss Lade?"
"Not particularly," answered Gertie, smiling.
"I'm heading back out in a few minutes. Why don't you come down to my office and smoke a cigarette with me while I gather my things. Then, I can escort you out," Jack suggested.
Gertie beamed at the thought of spending time with Jack. His brown eyes were smoldering. Without any hesitation she said, "Why that would be just lovely, Jack!" She turned to the elevator operator. "You can go on down without me."
Jack Reynolds offered his arm to Gertie, and Gertie savored the feeling of strength and warmth he provided as they walked down the hall together. The phone was ringing when they got back to the office. Most of the staff had already gone home, so Jack raced to pick up the phone in the reception area. He motioned for Gertie to take a seat while he picked up the receiver.
"Hello Mr. Monroe…. No, it seems that mostly everyone has left…. What? The Herman case again? I thought we had figured out that it wasn't fraud….. He did? There was?" Jack hesitated, shrugging at Gertie. "Sure, I can stay. Should I just wait here until he calls? Ok. Goodbye."
Jack looked at Gertie sheepishly. "Well, Gertie. I'm afraid my Friday night is ruined. I'm stuck here waiting on a call from a detective. Apparently there is some case of insurance fraud, and I need to be here to put through the paperwork as soon as we have the proof. I'm sorry I can't walk you out. Guess I'm going to be having soggy hamburger sandwiches for dinner tonight, sitting here, twiddling my thumbs until I get this call."
"What a horrible way to spend an evening! I'll tell you what…my girlfriend cancelled plans on me tonight. Why don't I run down to Clay's, get us some nice roast beef and mashed potatoes to go, and I can bring it up here and I'll keep you company while you wait?"
"Gee Gertie, that'd be swell. But you've gotta put the dinners on my tab at Clay's. I'm not going to have you spending your hard-earned money on me." He winked.
"Sure thing, Jack. See you in a bit." With that, Gertie left Jack's office and headed down to Clay's to pick up dinner. She felt like she was walking on air.
PDPDPDPDPDPD
"So, Shirley told me that Mr. Harrison was kissing Joan Williams in the corridor on the third floor! Apparently they were really necking to beat the band. Shirley said her face turned red when she saw them. Can you imagine how embarrassing that would be for all the parties involved? Not to mention that Mr. Harrison has a wife at home and 3 children!" Gertie exclaimed. "I'm sorry Jack. I'm just talking your ear off."
Jack smiled at Gertie. "You amuse me, doll. I don't think there is anything that goes on in this building that you don't know about."
"You may be right about that, Mr. Reynolds!" Just then, the ringing phone interrupted their laughter.
Jack picked up the receiver. "Jack Reynolds," he answered. "Yes… ok…. Do you have the license number?... Yes….." As Jack continued talking to the detective, Gertie was distracted by the lightning outside of the window. Suddenly, it started pouring down rain. Getting home at this hour of the night in pouring rain would certainly not be a treat. She glanced at her watch. 9pm. She couldn't believe that she had spent the last 4 hours with Jack! How lovely! And how sad that the end of his phone call would mark the end of their evening together! As he wrapped up the conversation, Gertie remembered that she had an umbrella in the closet at Mr. Mason's office.
"I'll be in touch. 'bye," Jack said.
"Jack, I just remembered I left my umbrella in the closet. I'm going to run down to the office and get it."
"Sounds good, Gert. I should be done with this report by then, and I'll be happy to drive you home. This rain is miserable!" He winked. Her heart fluttered as she opened the door.
"I wonder if he'll kiss me tonight?" She mused. "Goodness. I hope he does!" She glided down the hall humming happily to herself.
When she arrived at Perry Mason's office, there was no sign of life. The outer office was dark. She quietly switched on the lights and went over to her desk. She opened the closet to pull out her umbrella. Suddenly, she heard a moaning sound coming from the law library. She froze, scared to death. Someone was in there. Before she gathered her wits, she heard more moaning and a grunt. Could someone be hurt? Without really thinking, she walked over to the door, ready to throw it open. At the last second, she decided to open it just slightly and sneak a peek before committing herself to anything. She was too shaky to confront anyone with only an umbrella to protect her. She slowly turned the knob and opened the door. She almost passed out at the sight she saw!
Law books were spread out all over the table. Some were open, some were piled up, waiting to be read. Papers and file folders were mixed in with the law books, notebooks, and pencils. And, sitting on the edge of the table, almost on top of all the paperwork, was the always-professional Miss Della Street.
Her long, flowing dress was pulled up well-above her knees, revealing the tops of her stockings. Her long legs were wrapped around none other than Perry Mason, who was standing in-front of her, one arm wrapped around her back, the other rubbing her exposed thigh. His lips tasted hers hungrily. As Gertie watched, she saw Della Street move her hands down his back to his rear, forcing him to push himself more firmly against her. Perry moaned at the sensation. Della pulled her lips from Mason's, nuzzling his neck before taking his earlobe with her teeth and then gently licking him into a frenzied passion. When she went for his belt, Gertie closed the door. It was clear that they were too engrossed in their ardent embrace to notice an intruder. Quickly, Gertie switched out the lights, grabbed her umbrella and locked the office.
She could feel that her face was flushed as she walked down the corridor. She never would have suspected that Perry Mason and Della Street were having such a fiery liason. They were always so wrapped up in work, so painfully professional, so seemingly unaware of romance. "Good for them!" Gertie thought. Her next thought surprised her. "Well, if they are so good at keeping that little secret, I'm certainly not going to enlighten the world about it!" As she reached Jack Reynold's office, she couldn't help but feel good about her decision to keep her big mouth shut about what she had seen. Maybe she'd give up gossip forever. Then again, maybe not. But one thing was certain. She would kiss Jack Reynolds tonight. After seeing Perry and Della's little display, Gertie was quite beside herself with desire.