Della's Dream Job
Della knocked gently on Hamilton's door.
"Come in." Della entered and walked over to stand in front of Hamilton.
"Do you have a few minutes, Mr. Burger? I'd like to talk to you about a problem."
Hamilton smiled at her and indicated that she be seated. "Of course, Della. What's wrong? A problem here in the office?"
Della sat down on the edge of the chair, folded her hands and cleared her throat. "No, well, not exactly. It is about my job, but it's quite a bit more serious."
Now Hamilton leaned forward. "Della I'm sure that whatever it is, we can find a solution. Please tell me what upset you."
Della nibbled on her bottom lip, a childhood habit that reappeared when she was very nervous. Taking a deep breath, she recited the sentence that she had rehearsed a hundred times over the past 12 hours, running the words together in her haste to get it out as quickly as possible. "I've been offered a secretarial job and it's with Perry Mason."
Hamilton sat back, managing to look both baffled and defeated - the same expression that appeared across his face after losing a case to Mason. "Well, damn."
The expletive surprised Della, but she hurried on, "I told him that I wouldn't give him an answer without talking to you first. I assure you that I will abide by your judgement on this. I don't want to do anything to upset you and I would never want to hurt your reputation or embarrass this office and I'll just tell him I can't take the job and keep looking. I should be able..." She ran out of breath, and, at the same time, realized that she was shaking. She looked down at her lap as her face reddened and stuttered, "I'm sor-sorry, Mr. Burger, I sh-should never have even considered it and..."
Finally, Hamilton interrupted her, hoping to head off any waterworks. He tried not to sound too exasperated, as he knew that he sometimes did when a female witness went off-script while he was questioning her. "Della, please. Just slow down." When he saw tears form in her eyes anyway, he slid a tissue box across the desk toward her. "Now, take a few deep breaths and let's discuss this, shall we?"
Della took a tissue and swiped at the offending tears. She refused to be one of those women who cried in front of a man to get what she wanted.
"Okay." Della turned her head to the side and focused on the paneled wall for a moment, blinking and slowing her breathing to compose herself. When she looked back into the District Attorney's big eyes, the only leftover sign of the breakdown was the redness around the edges of her eyelids.
Hamilton was visibly relieved to see that she had gotten her emotions under control so quickly. "Now, when did Mason approach you with this offer?"
Della recounted the particulars of Perry's pitch, leaving out just a few of the details, such as the wine and the decadent dessert. She finished by reiterating her caveat that if Hamilton had any reservations about her taking the job, he had unqualified and absolute veto power.
As she spoke, Hamilton had been studying her earnest expression and listening to the real concern in her voice. He finally realized how much pressure that Della had been putting on herself these past few months, to impress him. He began carefully, "Thank you for that consideration, Della. I truly appreciate the loyalty and dedication that you have shown to this office, even though it was only a temporary position for you. First, let me say, I would never deny you the chance to accept what I know would be an excellent employment upgrade."
Della managed a small smile. "Thank you, Mr. Burger." She waited for the "but" part that she knew was coming.
"But..." Della bit her tongue to keep her lips from curling up as he continued, "…bearing in mind Mason's…shall we say…less-than-sterling reputation, are you sure this is really what you want?"
"Mr. Burger...Hamilton. I know all about Perry Mason. After he spoke to me, I did my homework. The library has a large newspaper archive and I familiarized myself with his case histories as well as his social…pursuits. There's probably nothing about him that I didn't uncover. I'm a big girl and I've dealt with egos like his before. I can easily handle his idiosyncrasies in exchange for the opportunity to learn and advance in the legal field. Not to mention the welcome perk of a large paycheck, of course," she finished with a satisfied smile.
Hamilton sighed. "From what I've seen during your brief tenure here, I have no doubt that you will manage anything thrown at you."
Della held the gaze of the man she had come to admire and watched his expressive face tic and contort subtly as he considered how to continue. He had always treated her with a sincerity and respect that she had never received from her prior supervisors. If Burger had told her right then not to take the job, she would have called Perry Mason immediately and told him "no" without any regrets. Well, with hardly any regrets.
"Mr. Burger." When he smiled at her, she almost stopped, but took a breath and continued. "Mr. Burger, I trust you implicitly. If you don't think I should take the job, I'll just tell Mr. Mason to resume his search."
Hamilton stood and walked around his desk to put his hand on her shoulder. "Thank you, Della. You'll never know what that means to me." He looked down at her fondly for a moment, but then withdrew his arm, took a step back, and pointed at the door. "Now please go out and call Mr. Mason and tell him you can start next week."
Della jumped out of the chair, unable to contain a surprised gasp of delight. Without thinking, she rose up on her toes and gave Hamilton a kiss square on the cheek. "Oh, thank you, Mr. Burger!" she gushed, putting her arms around him and squeezing as he chuckled and blushed. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Perry entered without waiting for a response.
"Hamilton I need to speak..." He stopped abruptly as he took in the scene. "Excuse me! Am I interrupting something?" Perry was embarrassed by the obvious note of jealousy in his own voice. Burger hastily withdrew from the embrace and swiped at his cheek with his fingers, smudging the lipstick mark.
Della turned with wide-eyes toward the door, where Perry was frozen with his hand on the knob. "Mr. Mason, I didn't –"
The District Attorney quickly recovered and interrupted her, "Miss Street, if you'll excuse us and hold my calls and appointments, I need to have a private conversation with Mr. Mason." She looked back at Hamilton, who was smoothly tucking his now-stained handkerchief back into his breast pocket. He gave her a surreptitious wink.
Della swallowed a grin, and was able to keep her tone professional as she answered, "Yes, of course, Mr. Burger, Sir." Although she could feel Perry's probing blue eyes following her, she breezed by the usually unruffled defense attorney without a sideways glance. As she passed him, however, she imagined that she could actually smell apprehension under the scent of his expensive cologne. She wondered if Burger could really maintain the upper hand and eke out a rare win against his slick opponent.
Della settled in her chair and tried to concentrate on her work. The men's voices had risen loud enough at points that she could hear them through the door, but she had been unable to make out any of the conversation. A full twenty minutes later, a very subdued Perry Mason walked out of the District Attorney's office. She forced herself to keep her head down and continue with her notes. But when he stopped at her desk and softly cleared his throat, she looked up.
"Miss Street, I would like to offer you the position of confidential secretary in the law office of Perry Mason. If you decide to accept the offer, your salary will be double of what you now earn, with annual and merit increases, of course, as well as other agreed-upon benefits. We can go over any terms that you have questions about and we can fill in the details at a later date. I will, of course, give you time to consider the offer. However, I would very much appreciate your answer by the end of the week." With that he turned and quietly left the office.
It wasn't until she heard a soft chuckle that she turned to see Hamilton standing at his office door, leaning against the door-frame with his arms crossed over his chest. "Wouldn't you know it, the one time I have Mason at my mercy, there's no one there to witness it? Although, considering Mason's record against me, I doubt it will be anytime soon before I am able to successfully pull off my intimidation technique on him again."
Della couldn't hide her surprise. "My goodness! Whatever did you say to him?"
Hamilton just shook his head. "That, Miss Street, shall remain between two gentlemen. However, I do have one last request for you before I turn you over to the…enemy." He grinned to show her that he was teasing. "Will you at least let Mason stew overnight before you call and accept his offer?"