Alexandra Mullen hurried to the round table where her friends were gathered. They were meeting for lunch as they usually did, only this time the location had shifted to a little diner across the way from the courthouse.
The diner was oddly quiet for the lunch rush, but Alexandra wasn't complaining. They all had to be back at their respective offices in less than an hour.
It smelled heavenly in the diner though. And delicious whatever was being prepared.
The young twenty something blonde woman practically skidded to a halt next to an empty chair and dropped herself in it with a dramatic flourish.
"Ta Da!" She crowed triumphantly and then set her purse down next to her feet.
"I'm sorry I'm late, but thanks so much for meeting me all the way over here on virtually no notice," she said sincerely while she smoothed out the skirts of her tea length powder blue dress.
Vivian Morgan, another member of the secretarial pool, shook her head with a chuckle.
"You really are the D.A's secretary. The both of you are so overly dramatic…," she teased. "A match made in legal heaven, I'm telling you."
Alexandra took a long sip of her ice water as the waitress approached with the drinks the other women had ordered before she had arrived.
"Someday she hopes to get the legal part dropped and it will just be a match made in heaven. We ordered you some ginger ale," Gertie said to Alexandra as the drinks were passed out.
Perry Mason's receptionist went first in ordering her lunch. So preoccupied were the girls in their ordering and chit chat that no one noticed the discreet arrival of legendary defense attorney Perry Mason and the District Attorney Hamilton Burger. They were seated within earshot but at a booth against the wall and were not as easily visible to the girls as the girls were to them.
Alexandra ordered last so she had a little more time to look over the menu; and after the waitress shuffled off the gaggle of girls resumed their lunchtime gossip. She settled on tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich and handed the menu back to the waitress.
"So, Alex…," Vivian began. "What was the little emergency that has us meeting up at this new rally point? Inquiring minds want to know."
Della Street glanced over at Alexandra and smirked. She unfolded her napkin and settled it over her lap.
"She was trying to save Mr. Burger's bacon," she said. There was a hint of pride or admiration in her voice.
"Don't you mean save his burger," Ruby Whitestone, Mr. Burger's receptionist, quipped.
The group erupted in a fit of giggles, but Alexandra was the first to sober up.
"I assure you when I discovered the mistake on the document I was hardly laughing. I was near panic. I don't know what Louise was paying attention to yesterday while I was out sick, but it wasn't her work," she said. Her voice sounded tense and strained just recalling the all too fresh memory.
"It appeared that she accidentally typed in statements belonging to another, but similar case," Alexandra continued. "I just hazarded a guess that Mr. Burger wouldn't want to be embarrassed in court or have his case held up because of a document mishap so I fixed it as fast as I could and rushed it to him."
The arrival of their waitress with the salads that Vivian and Della had coming ahead of their meals caused Alexandra to fall silent for a moment. Gertie took that moment to excuse herself to the powder room to freshen up.
"As harsh as Mr. Burger is with you most of the time, Alex, it's awfully kind of you to go to so much trouble to save him from that embarrassment," Ruby groused.
"Ah yes, the power of love," Della glanced over at Alexandra with a caring, sympathetic expression.
Alexandra's face colored and she slid down in her seat a little bit, wishing she could just slide underneath the table and right out of the restaurant.
"Her face is about as red as Mr. Burger's hair…," Ruby noted.
Della and Vivian giggled as Alexandra hid her face in her hands.
"Must we skewer me about him every lunch hour?" Her voice was muffled behind her hands.
"Yes, we must, dear," Vivian teased. "I don't think even Perry Mason himself could defend your taste in men, girl."
Groaning, Alexandra's hands fell away from her face, though the fierce blush coloring her face had not lessened in intensity.
"I'm so glad he's not around to hear all this. He's already furious with me for interrupting him in court this morning. I'd be getting a stern talking to for sure!"
Returning from the powder room, Gertie took in Alexandra's state of mortification and sat back down as their meals arrived.
"Well, I don't need to hire Paul Drake to find out what I missed," she said, gesturing toward Alexandra. "Can you believe it? Of all the attorneys out there in Los Angeles, our irascible D.A. is the one whose secretary is pining for him."
She picked up her sandwich and watched while Alexandra twirled her spoon around in her soup, seemingly uninterested in actually eating.
"See? She's so head over heels in love with him she can't even eat!" Gertie said, taking a bite.
"We can call it The Case of the Lovesick Secretary," Della suggested light heartedly. "Since we don't know how it ends yet."
Alexandra looked up from her soup and smiled shyly.
"You all just haven't seen him smile yet," she defended her boss. "Or laugh. They're both infectious."
She looked pointedly over at Gertie and took a big bite of her sandwich.
"But rare," Ruby elaborated with a snicker. "He's won more cases against Perry Mason than times he's genuinely smiled or laughed."
"I wish you guys didn't pick on him so much," Alexandra sighed. "I love him so it hurts my heart sometimes."
The group fell silent and continued eating as they digested Alexandra's admission.
She knew they weren't trying to be mean, but she found herself feeling defensive and overly protective of Mr. Burger at times.
"We're sorry, Alex. I just see how hard he is on you sometimes and well, I just thought joking about him would help lighten the mood," Ruby explained.
Nearby Mason and Burger were waiting for their meals and overheard the women's conversation. Mason glanced over at Burger with a serious, yet curious expression. Burger's big blue eyes were wide with surprise.
He looked over at Mason as if seeking confirmation that he had heard what he thought he had.
The gravity of his courtroom nemesis' expression told him he had.
"Oh boy…," Burger blew out a long breath and ran a strong hand through his red hair. "What am I going to do with this one now, Perry?"
Clasping his hands in front of him on the table, Mason pondered that.
"Examine the evidence, Hamilton. Proceed thoughtfully and carefully. And gently, especially if you don't return her interest," he said.
Burger appeared to consider that for a moment before they turned their attention to their waitress arriving with their meals. And back to the women.
"So finish your story, Alex," Vivian prompted impatiently, noting they were going to have to head back to work soon. "You interrupted Mr. Burger in court and?"
Alexandra held her finger up, signaling she needed a moment to finish chewing before she responded.
"And if looks could kill I wouldn't be here now and Perry Mason would have him as a client," she joked when she could speak again. "You know that uncomfortable feeling when you're late or unexpected to an event and everyone looks at you like you're some kind of social pariah? That's what walking into a courtroom when court is in session feels like. I quickly and quietly explained the mishap, handed him the corrected document, and went to leave when he told me to have a seat and wait until the lunch recess so he could speak with me. Hence, why I'm late here."
Vivian whistled softly, obviously caught off by that. "That surprises me. You'd think he'd want you back in the office working rather than loafing in court all morning."
Alexandra shrugged and picked up the pace finishing her lunch. Arriving late back at the office would only land her in more hot water and she had no wish to displease her boss any more than she already had.
Across the table, Della flagged down the waitress for the check and began digging through her purse for cash to pay for her portion of the tab.
Ruby glanced over at Alex as the rest of the women began following Della's lead.
The waitress arrived with their check and asked the women if they needed anything else. Five heads with different haircolors simultaneously shook their heads no with a chorus of thank yous and the waitress bustled off elsewhere.
"Viv and I are still going out to dinner tonight. Are you joining us?" Ruby asked Alexandra. "Della and Gertie already have plans, but we still want to go."
A wide, bright smile lit up Alexandra's face. She plucked her purse up off the floor and rummaged around in it for a one dollar bill and set it on the table with her check.
"I can't tonight. I have dinner plans," she said, rising from her chair.
"Dinner plans?!" Ruby parroted. "With who?!"
Alexandra just grinned and mimed sealing her lips as she began walking toward the exit.
"Hey, you can't just leave us with a cliffhanger like this!" Vivian called after her.
Alexandra laughed and headed out the door.
It was then when Vivian turned back to the rest of the girls that she noticed Mason and Burger sitting across the way.