Della's Dream Job
On Monday morning, Della arrived at the office, early as usual. Once she had become accustomed to his schedule, she had made it a point to arrive before Mr. Burger. She made sure that his daily calendar was updated, the files and paperwork he needed for the day were laid out on his desk, and his coffee was ready.
So when she opened the door, she was both surprised and concerned to see the DA already at his desk, going through a stack of papers.
"Good morning, Mr. Burger. Is there something wrong? Did I miss an early appointment? There was nothing on your schedule and..."
Hamilton merely shook his head. "Sit down, Miss Street."
Della sat stiffly in the chair in front of his desk, folding her hands in her lap. She was sure this was not going to be good.
"Della I wanted to..." She felt her dream job and her dignity suddenly slipping away.
"Mr. Burger I'm so very sorry for what happened at the dance. I realize I should never have allowed myself to be put in that situation. I embarrassed you and this office."
Hamilton raised his hand to stop her. "Della, please. It's not about the dance. Although if I could think of a charge to bring against Mason, I would, as the majority of what happened was his fault, not yours."
"But..." Della, unsure what to think now, shut her mouth and waited for him to continue.
"Please, let me finish. I received a call from Mabel yesterday. She has decided to return to work."
Della's heart sank, even though she knew this might happen. "Oh."
Hamilton continued. "I would like you to stay with me for the next two weeks until she comes back. If you would rather not, I'll understand. No matter what you decide, I will give you an excellent recommendation to the employer of your choosing."
"Thank you, Mr. Burger. And of course I will stay until Mabel is back."
"Thank you, Della. I want you to know how much it has meant to me having you here. I couldn't have...well..."
Della stood and smiled at him. "And I want to thank you for all I have learned from you and Mr. Simmons. Now I should probably get to my filing. You have a ten o'clock appointment with..."
"Della?" His voice was gruff. "Did something happen out on the terrace? Did Mason...uh...embarrass you in any way?"
Della was unsure how to answer his questions without outright lying about what had transpired. "No sir. Mr. Mason was just concerned about...ah...he noticed there was some damage done to my dress by his date...and he wanted to offer to pay for any necessary repairs." Della realized how awkward her explanation sounded (even though it was partly true) and that she was blushing furiously. She turned quickly and headed for the door.
"Okay. If that's all it was..." Burger sounded slightly disappointed, but let his voice trail off as she walked away.
"Yes, and thank you again, Mr. Burger," she said over her shoulder as she closed the door quietly behind her.
Sitting at her desk, she simply stared at her typewriter. Two weeks. Well, now she had to decide what to do next. Going back to her old job was not an option. She supposed she'd just have to start with the want-ads. Maybe her friend Janet could give her some suggestions.
PDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPDPD
Perry stood at the balcony doors in his office, staring out at the city. He had told the receptionist to hold all of his calls and cancel the only two appointments he had for that morning. Mondays were hard enough, but with only a few hours of sleep the last couple of nights, he decided he was in no mood to deal with any greedy heirs or jealous spouses.
Paul's coded knock sounded on the private entrance and the lanky detective entered and took his usual chair, throwing his leg over the arm.
Noticing his friend's slumped shoulders right away, Paul wondered what could have happened since he'd last talked to Perry to put him in such a dejected mood. He knew that Perry had attended the Bar Association Dinner with Laura. And since that woman was one of Paul's least favorite people, he could only assume that the jezebel was the problem.
"OK, Perry, spill. Blonde, brunette or redhead?" Paul hoped humor would at least lighten the dark cloud hanging over Perry's head, but no such luck.
Without turning, Perry snarled. "All three, if you must pry into my personal business."
Paul let out a low whistle. "And here I thought I was the wolf."
Perry finally turned and went to slump down in his chair. "You're pushing your luck this morning, Drake."
Now Paul knew it was serious, since Perry rarely referred to him by his last name.
"Hey pal, c'mon. Tell me and let's see if we can figure this out. To start, I'm assuming the redhead is the she-witch?"
Perry just put his head in his hands. "Of course." And then Perry told him everything that had happened at the dinner, including the kiss on the terrace.
Paul let out another whistle and shook his head. "Okay. That takes care of the redhead and the brunette. What about the blonde?"
"Carol."
Paul glanced at the office door with a bewildered look. "Carol, your secretary Carol?"
Perry nodded. "She's getting married and her husband-to-be wants her to stop working and start having babies. So now just when everything is running semi-smoothly around here, I have to start interviewing secretaries."
At that moment, Jackson came in from the law library. Without looking at either of the men, he went straight to the large bookcase. "Miss Street will be available in two weeks." He found the volume he had been looking for and started back to the library.
"Jackson!" Perry's sharp voice caused Jackson to stumble, dropping the thick book on his foot.
"Yessir?" He struggled to contain a pained look, while the book lay open at his feet.
Perry stood, leaning forward, his hands on his desk. "What did you say about Miss Street?"
"Word is that Mr. Burger's secretary Mabel is returning from maternity leave, so Miss Street will be looking for a job. Would you like me to find out more information, Sir?"
"No Jackson, thank you." Perry sat back down. Jackson bent down, brushed at the scuff on his shoe, then picked up the book and continued into the library.
Paul leaned forward in his chair. "Seems to me like all your women problems have been resolved."
Perry scowled at his friend. "And how do you figure that?"
"Well, let's see. You literally pushed the redhead out the door, and even though the blonde is leaving, you can replace her with the brunette that you obviously want to see more of."
Perry lit a cigarette from the box on his desk. "And if the brunette wants to show me the door?"
"C'mon, Perry. It won't hurt to ask. All she can do is say no."
Perry blew out a stream of smoke and frowned. "Yeah, 'no.'"