A Spooky Little Girl Like You, Part II
By Christine
A Halloween Tale
DISCLAIMER: Scarecrow and Mrs. King is the property of Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. My use of these characters is intended purely for fun.
"Amanda would look beautiful in that!" Lee thought excitedly as he eyed the window display outside the Alter Ego Costume Shop, "I have to get it for her!" He had stopped to pick out costumes for the party before meeting Amanda for dinner. "LESLIE," he corrected himself, "I'm having dinner with LESLIE! And this costume is for LESLIE! Why do I keep doing that? I know I work with Amanda every day, but why can't I get her out of my mind? This is getting ridiculous!" But as Lee studied the Colonial-style ball gown in pink silk with a white lace-trimmed bodice, his mind rebelled against him and refused to call up a mental image of Leslie. All he could see was a vision of Amanda smiling softly and shyly, the pink satin complementing the soft glow of her skin and contrasting beautifully with her dark hair and eyes. "OK, Amanda would look beautiful in this dress," he conceded grudgingly, "and if she were going to the party I'd tell her about it so she could come here and rent it for herself. But Leslie will look good in this, too." And so, Lee found himself asking the saleslady to reserve it and a Colonial gentleman's costume in his name for this weekend. As Lee walked out of the store whistling, he fantasized about seduction in the parlors of Colonial America. Yes, this party could prove to be lots of fun, after all.
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Tuesday morning found Amanda in Billy's office handing over Lee's expense reports. She was very careful not to ramble, as Billy had not had his morning coffee. She simply asked if there might be any work for her today. Billy felt sorry for her; she struggled so hard to earn money for her family. But he had nothing pending, so he just shook his head and told her he'd keep her in mind if anything should come up later on in the morning. After a quick "Thank you," she left quietly. She hated to grovel, but she really needed more money. The boys' upstairs bathroom was leaking straight down onto the dining room table, Joe was a month late with the child support (again), and Christmas was right around the corner. Oh, it made her head hurt to think of it all. She decided to go home and hope Mr. Melrose would call later in the day. He really understood her predicament and always tried to find something for her to do when she needed money badly. Amanda would ask Lee if he had anything he needed her for, but obviously he was late yet again. That thought felt like an ice pick in her heart. "Well, you'd better wake up and smell the coffee, Toots! Good Ole Amanda has been thrown aside like so much garbage," she thought angrily to herself.
Daniel Paulson watched the pretty brunette gather up her purse and jacket and head towards the door. The time had come, and he sprang up to make his first move in what he began to think of as Operation Amanda. He knew he would have to be good, and he would have to tread lightly, but he felt fairly certain of success. Hopefully, luck would be a lady. "OK, Paulson, lock and load," he muttered under his breath as he strode across the bullpen to make the first contact.
"Excuse me, Mrs. King?" Daniel Paulson called out to her hopefully as she made her way toward the elevator.
"Oh, well, hello Mr. Paulson," Amanda smiled her typical shy little greeting, nodding her head slightly. Her smile made his heart soar and made the blood rush to his brain, momentarily turning everything in his visual field a pretty pink color. "I didn't remember how beautiful she is up close," was his only thought as he struggled to regain some composure. "This may be harder than I first anticipated."
"Hello, Mrs. King. How are you?" he stammered, opting for small talk until he could regain some sort of control. He had never been a believer in love at first sight, so this must be an incredible case of lust.
"I'm fine, Mr. Paulson, and you?" She continued to smile that lovely smile of hers. "Oh, man, this could mean big trouble!" Daniel thought to himself.
"Well, after seeing such a pretty smile first thing this morning, I couldn't be better!" Daniel Paulson practically beamed down at her. "You're acting like a moron," he thought frantically.
"Oh, well, thank you, Mr. Paulson. Is there something I can help you with?" Amanda asked quizzically.
"Yes, well, please, Mrs. King, call me Daniel. And yes, there is something you can help me with. As you know, I'm coming in from 20 years in the field to begin a new life in Administration. My superiors need an account of my whereabouts and activities beginning from day one. It's an almost overwhelming amount of paperwork, and as usual I have put it off until the last moment. I'm told you often help other agents with their reports. I'm also told that you have a fairly high security clearance for a civilian, and that you're a very thorough and hard worker. So, if you have no jobs pending, I would be honored if you would consent to help me on this project. I have to warn you, though; this is going to be a very long and arduous process. It will probably take more than two weeks full-time work to finish, maybe even some overtime at the end if we fall behind. But if you would consider taking this assignment with me, I would be forever in your debt," Paulson smiled down at her as he spoke. He watched her eyes light up and knew he'd managed to find exactly the right hook to use. Single Moms always needed money.
It didn't take long for Amanda to confirm Daniel's suspicions. "Well, Mr. Paulson, I mean, Daniel, as a matter of fact I don't have any other work pending right now. I finished the last of it yesterday. And I could certainly use extra hours on this next paycheck. I would be happy to help with your report!"
"Could this really be happening?" she thought to herself, "I needed this desperately, and here it just fell into my lap. Mother's right. I must be blessed."
"So, Daniel, when do you want to get started?"
"The sooner the better, Amanda. Today, if you're free. We could start by cataloging all my diaries. I have quite a few of them. But first we need to see Billy and make this assignment official for you."
"You're off to a great start, Paulson," Daniel congratulated himself. "But pace yourself. Move slowly and carefully both around her and around Scarecrow, or you'll blow the whole Operation. Before Thanksgiving, you want Amanda safely working full time with you, and Stetson far removed from her life. Visualize your goals and stick to them! Just stay focused."
Amanda felt a great sense of relief. The money was coming! She was already planning exactly what she needed to do with this next paycheck. "I just hope Lee doesn't need me for anything," she thought, but quickly caught herself. "Lee has been too busy with Leslie to know I'm even alive, he certainly won't need me." And with that thought, she turned her full attention to the handsome man beside her. He wasn't Lee, but hadn't Lee brought her more heartache than he was worth?