Cracked Ice - Part 2

“CRACKED ICE” - Part 2 by Leora Tozer © 2013

I entered the office and saw Leo standing by what will be my desk. He’s smiling, and says to Art, “Did you find the new temp?”

“Yes, I think so. What’s your name?” Art asked.

“I’m Leora Benson,” I replied; then, I held out my hand.

Art beamed, “Yes; another Benson.”

 Leo shakes my hand and asks, “Nice to meet you. Hope you’ll be here a while longer than our last secretary.”

“Thank you Mr. Archer. I don’t know how long the temp agency will want me here,” I replied. As we talked, I calculated mentally that Leo is 46 and Art is 45, but neither man looks their age.

They explained that the letters in the hall and in a file cabinet all need to be organized and answered. I looked at a few, and decided it’s easier to sort them by who they are to and when they were sent.

It will take a while to sort through, but my mind quickly mapped the next steps. It would be easy to figure out a few templates that could be personalized for each answer. After that, they could be typed up fairly efficiently on the Underwood typewriter.

While I was sorting the letters, I sensed someone was watching me. Leo walked over, stood next to my desk and asked, “Do you want to go out on the town after work?”

“No thanks,” I answered. “You know, if you keep asking the secretaries out, you won’t have anyone left in town to answer all these letters.”

I thought I heard muffled laughter from the closed office nearest to my desk. Leo replied, “That’s fine. It doesn’t hurt a fellow to ask.”

He went back to his office and I kept sorting the letters. After an hour or so, Leo and Art left the office for the day. It was quiet and I still wasn’t sure who was in the main office by my desk, since the door was shut and no one had come out of there since I arrived.

After they left, I was sorting some of Leo’s letters. I found one from well-known gangster stating that Leo owed him money, and that he was going to be stopping by if he didn’t receive payment in 30 days. I looked at the date the letter was written and quickly realized that today was 30 days later.

I was trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly, two burly guys in pinstriped suits came in the office. I turned on the intercom and covered it with some letters, not certain that anyone was in the other office. Both men wore fedora hats and walked towards my desk. The main tough guy asks, “Is Leo here?”

“No, Mr. Archer isn’t here.” I reply.

“Where is he?” he demanded.

“I don’t know,” I answer.

“Why don’t you know?” he pressed.

“It’s my first day working here. Why would anyone tell the temp where they’re going?” I stated. “I can take down your name and contact information, so Mr. Archer can get back to you.”

“Nah,” he answered. “I’ll find him tomorrow.” The two fellows left.

The door closed. I shut off the intercom.

The office door that had been closed opened and a serious man in a nice suit came out. When he spoke, I was taken aback, because even without his stage makeup, I’d know that voice anywhere. I’ve heard him in so many movies.

He said, “Sorry you had to deal with that. Leo didn’t say anything about this.”

I handed Henry the letter I had found. “I’m sure he forgot. I just found this letter. Why didn’t the last secretary give this letter to him?”

 Henry smiled, “Leo was too busy messing around with her. It’s nice to know that won’t be a problem.”

“Would you mind if I leave early after that friendly visit?” I asked.

Henry had a look of concern cross his face, “You could wait a bit and I could drive you home. Maybe they’re still out there.”

“No, it’s alright. I don’t think they’ll bother me, since I didn’t know anything.” I replied. I had a gut feeling from their behavior that they needed to go and check with their boss before they did anything else. “What time did you want me here tomorrow?” I asked.

Henry joked, “Earlier than today.”

“Next time you’ll need to hire a clairvoyant if you want someone here before being hired.” I teased back. Henry gave me a disarming smile. I clarified, “So, 7 or 8 am?”

“You can be here at 7, but I won’t be here until 8,” Henry answered.



To be continued...