THREAD OF EVIDENCE

 













































Chapter 1



         Jim Frasier turned his Jeep Cherokee into the parking lot of Vincenzi Clothiers.  A scowl marred his face as he headed up the walk.  His thoughts were focused on the fact that he had to find yet another secretary.  Women!  He could do without them.  They were so incompetent and unreliable. He had fired the last one just the day before.

         He had little time for women.  Except for work, he had not extended himself to them, and then not enough for anyone to notice.  He had no time for the idiotic chatter often associated with the female gender.  He preferred instead to spend his spare time alone, usually on his boat where he could be in complete control; or with long time friend Jake Hamilton.  They had known each other since childhood, and were in the Navy together. Jake understood him, when no one else did.

         The Spring and Summer catalog show had been on Heshvan eighth. It had been a great success, as always.  They had added ten new chains to their clientele, as well as several private accounts.  He made it his business to know all the clients for Vincenzi Clothiers, and gave each one the personal attention he would want himself.

         Orders needed to be shipped to the stores by the end of Shebat.  It was Chislev twenty-fifth.  The first orders had gone out on Chislev twenty-first, which consisted of smaller orders for individual patrons as well as some of the smaller specialty shops.

         With the spring and summer fashions behind them, they were hard at work on the designs for the fall and winter catalog.  It was a cycle that never ended, and he needed a competent secretary.

         Though his attention was on his own thoughts, any deviation to the shrubs, which lined either side of the walkway, or the well-manicured lawns and marble statues of a man and woman dressed in beautiful creations, which showcased it for the special place it was, would have brought his attention to them.  Rose bushes climbed the walls and alternated with bushes and other plants, which leant grace and beauty to the front and sides of the building.

         Vincenzi Clothiers was a building, simple in design, which evoked to the casual eye, terms such as graceful, beautiful, and elegant.  The lines of the building were at a thirty-degree angle from the entrance point.  Constructed of blue and white stone, the building stood two stories high and eighty feet in length from the entrance point in both directions.  The upper story was half the height of the first floor, and was half the length.  Tall metal framed windows looked out on the graceful lawns, and added to the architectural beauty of the building.  The sides of the building were fifty feet wide.  The back of the manufacturing plant went straight across, which caused the building to be triangular-shaped.

         Jim entered the building through glass doors with long wooden handles.  Each door was on either side of the angle.  The name of the company was engraved on the glass in bold gothic print proclaiming it as VINCENZI CLOTHIERS and MANUFACTURERS.

         Penny White looked up from her computer a smile on her face as he entered the lobby.  “Good morning Mr. Frasier, I have a message for you.”

         He looked up at her, surprised to see her there already, though he rarely noticed anyone before his first cup of coffee.  He had no time for delays, and the scowl on his face showed his annoyance with the interruption.  “What is it?”

         “Mr. Vincenzi wants to see you immediately on your arrival.  He’s waiting in his office.”

         He frowned, and looked at his watch.  He had a meeting in camera in less than half an hour, and before that, he would have to do something about a new secretary.  “How long has he been here?”

         “He was here before I was.”

         “Thank you.”  He proceeded down the hallway immediately behind her, turned to his right, and took the stairs two at a time to the second floor where the owner’s offices were located.  His thoughts were centered on the fact that he needed a new secretary.  The one he had fired had been the epitome of incompetence of all the secretaries he had had in the past six months.  She had lasted only a week before he couldn’t tolerate her incompetence any longer.

         At the top of the stairs, he went through the door and found Mrs. Vincenzi already at her desk.  She looked up a smile on her face as he came through the door.  “Good morning Jim.  He’s waiting for you.”

         “Good morning Mrs. Vincenzi.  Thank you.”  He went to the door that led to Mr. Vincenzi's office, and went in.

         Leonardo Vincenzi rose as he entered and indicated a chair on the opposite side of the desk.  “Jim!  Good of you to come so quickly.  Sit down please.”

         Jim took the seat he had indicated.  “Penny indicated it was urgent.”

         Mr. Vincenzi looked across the desk at him a grave look on his face.  “It has long come to my notice that you have a problem keeping a secretary.”  He put up his hand to silence any protests when Jim would have said something, and continued.  “Jim you’re the best foreman and manager I have, and the hardest worker.  I can’t fault your work ethics.  However, I have known for quite some time that you have a passionate dislike of the fairer sex.  You’re hard on them and you run them ragged.  But.”  He held up his hand again.  “I have also seen what you saw in them.  They were unsuitable for Vincenzi Clothiers.  And that was why I haven’t interfered with your judgment until now and why I called you here this morning.”

         Jim’s face took on a hard countenance at the mention of his secretary.  “I fired the last one yesterday.  They’ve been an incompetent lot.  I can’t abide women, and incompetent ones even less.”

         Mr. Vincenzi sat comfortably in his chair; his hands folded in front of him on the top of some papers on his desk a smile on his face.  “So I’ve heard.  That’s why I’ve taken it upon myself to find a replacement for your last secretary.”  Again Jim was about to protest, and Mr. Vincenzi stopped it with a wave of his hand.  “I’ve gone to a lot of trouble to find a woman suitable not only as your secretary but also suitable for the image of this company."

         “Oh?”  Jim was amazed that he would take an interest in such a small matter as a secretary.  Mr. Vincenzi was the type of man who was interested in every aspect of the company he had meticulously built.

         “Yes.  I have been to the University of Loshi, and interviewed a large number of women.  I’ve looked at their records, and determined the best candidates.  Then I went to the debates held by the business club, and came up with a woman who fills the bill completely.  She did not graduate at the top of her class.  However, she did graduate with honors, third in her program.  She’s very intelligent, and also very quiet.  I know you don’t like women who talk a lot.  I had your needs as well as those of the company in mind in my search.”

         “When will she be here?”

         “Be patient.  She’s already here.  You’ll meet her shortly.  I know what your schedule is for the day, but first I just want to make you aware that she has a contract for one year.  Jim, you can’t fire her.  If for some reason you have trouble with her, she will be given paid time off.  It will be up to you to make sure it works.  I know she can do the job.  I had a lot of things to consider.  Her abilities as a secretary naturally, but also her ability to handle stressful situations.  Now a school setting isn’t the perfect place to determine that, but deadlines have to be met there as well as in the workplace.”

         Jim tried to smile.  “I’m that difficult to please?”

         “Believe it or not, yes!  Don’t get me wrong, Jim.  Your meticulous nature has made this company what it is today.  You have some really great insight.  It just doesn’t lend itself to women.  I wouldn’t change a single thing about the way you manage this company.  It would be foolish for me to do so.  When I hired you fifteen years ago, I hired a prize.  I’ve always been grateful that you worked for me and not for the competition.  There are so many places you could have gone.  I’m sure you had a lot of offers.”

         “I’ve had the offers.  I still get offers, but I prefer my work here.  May I meet her now?  There is a lot to do, and I’d like to get started.”

         “Yes, of course.”  Mr. Vincenzi pressed a button on his phone.  “Mama, could you please send her in?”

         “On her way,” Mrs. Vincenzi answered.

         A light knock sounded on the door.  “Come in.”  Mr. Vincenzi stood to his feet as she entered the office.

         Jim followed suit.  His first glimpse of his new secretary was one of intrigue.  She wasn’t as beautiful as the models in their employ, but she was pretty in her own right.  Not real tall.  Perhaps five foot five or six.  She had hair the color of an autumn’s burnished copper, and wore a tailored suit of cream and dark orange.

         “Jim, this is Claudia Peterson.  Miss Peterson, this is Jim Frasier.”  Mr. Vincenzi looked from one to the other expectantly.

         Claudia tentatively held out her hand.  She had heard a lot about the infamous Jim Frasier of Vincenzi Clothiers.  “I’m glad to meet you.”

         Jim took her hand, and sensed something that had been missing in the previous dozen secretaries he’d had, though he couldn’t account for it at the moment.  “I’m sure we will work well together.”

         Mr. Vincenzi sat and looked at the two of them.  “I expect only good things from you.  How are the new designs coming?  Do you think we can see some preliminary drawings soon?”

         “We should.  We need to start finalizing the decisions for the fall and winter catalog soon,” Jim said.

         “I look forward to seeing them when you have them.”

         “I’ll try to have them in your hands before the end of the day.”

         “Very good.  Okay, this meeting is over.”

         Jim stood and followed Claudia out the door.  He started to lead the way to his office when Claudia noticed another door.  “What’s through the other door?”

         Jim was impatient, but knew he had to work with her.  “That leads to the mechanical area.  Whenever we have a breakdown in the ventilation, the maintenance men can fix it easily enough.  Here, I’ll show you.”  He opened the door, and showed her a large space filled with ventilation shafts and pipes.

         Claudia looked around at all the various ducts, large and small, and the various panels that took care of the entire building.  “Easier than crawling around in a small space to make repairs.”

         Jim closed the door, and led the way downstairs.  “Much.  Mr. Vincenzi helped design this building.  He didn’t want any part of it to be hard to get at in an emergency.  In addition, with the many storms and typhoons we have here, he wanted to make sure that the maintenance area was easily accessible.  What do you know about Vincenzi Clothiers?”

         She knew the questions would start soon.  She had given the appropriate answers to Mr. Vincenzi at the various interviews.  She looked up at him.  Okay it was his turn.  “I know that Vincenzi’s is the leading clothing manufacturer in the world.  You ship to every port worldwide, and your designs are sought by anybody who’s anybody.  From the stars in Hollywood in the United States, to the average person on the street, like me.”

         They reached the bottom of the stairs and he turned the corner around Penny’s desk.  “What kind of job were you looking for before Mr. Vincenzi interviewed you?”

         “I was looking for a future as a secretary.  The field wasn’t important.  Secretaries are needed in every field.”

         “Are you happy to be a part of Vincenzi’s?”

         She wasn’t sure how she should answer that question, but after a moment’s hesitation, she plunged ahead.  “I’ll be honest with you Mr. Frasier.  You have a reputation that is widely known.  You were the last person I wanted to work for.  However, I promised myself that if I got this job, I would do the very best I could, whether I pleased you or not.  After all, it’s not you I have to please.  It’s my God and myself.  If I don’t live up to His expectations for me, then I have no business being here or anywhere.”

         Her declaration of faith surprised him.  It had been a long time since he had even considered God, and even longer since he had been in church.  He was very much aware of the Island’s background and his own heritage, but that didn’t mean he openly bought into the God thing.  What had God ever done for him?  For that matter where was He when it had mattered most?

         His silence wore on her senses.  She began to doubt her candidness for the first time.  She knew she had a habit of being outspoken where her faith was concerned.

         She followed silently at his side.  Her thoughts condemned her for her candidness, and she promised herself not to be so forthright in the future.  She knew that her job was secure, but she didn’t need to get on his bad side right away.

         She had watched him arrive.  Mr. and Mrs. Vincenzi had put her into a smaller room until they were ready to introduce her to him.  She had peeked out the door when she had heard him arrive.  Her first glimpse had been one of intrigue.  She had heard a lot about him.  She had never seen him before and wasn’t surprised that his image lived up to what she expected him to look like.  Almost.  He was much more handsome than she expected.  He was at least six inches taller, with sun-bronzed skin.  She realized that he liked the outdoors, and wondered what he did when he wasn’t at work.  He was definitely older, but even she couldn’t guess how much.  He had that ageless quality about him.  His shoulders were broad, and his body lean.  A good combination.  It was his face that arrested her.  Handsome couldn’t begin to describe it with his black hair, black eyes, Romanesque nose, and square chin with a dimple in the center.  However, in the look was also a hardness that she couldn’t deny.

         It was widely known that he was hard on the women he employed.  Mr. Vincenzi had told her that the last secretary had been fired just the day before.  Her friends had warned her about him and those she had gone to school with were equally glad that it was her that had gotten the job and not they.

         He opened a door, and stowed his briefcase in the inner office.  “This is the office.  I don’t have time to show you where everything is.  We have an appointment in camera.  You’ll need a pen and notebook.  Your job is to tag along and take notes on everything.”

         Jim left the office and headed to the camera area.  Claudia quickstepped behind him.  It didn’t take her long to realize that he waited for no one.  He opened the door to the camera area and was met by a young black man in his mid twenties.

         “Glad you’re here.  We’ve got a problem,” he said.

         Jim followed him into his office.  “What’s wrong?”

         “The order for Mrs. Thomas-White was shipped to Hazel’s Of Hollywood.  And the order for Hazel’s was sent to Mrs. Thomas-White.”

         Claudia followed them, into his office.  The nameplate on the desk said Ken Douglas.  She took a seat, listened, and took notes as Jim questioned him.  “Who was in charge of shipping out the orders?”

         Ken handed him the log.  “I was.  I have the mailroom log here, and according to it, everything was sent out properly.”

         “Tampering with the mail is a federal offense.”  Jim looked over the log before he handed it back.  “Who usually oversees the shipments?”

         Ken set the log on his desk before he looked up at him again.  “There is no set person.  As you can see I took the shipment myself to the mailroom.  It was the first shipment of the season, and I wanted to make sure that everything was in good order.  Mr. Antonias checked the boxes and made sure that the labels were in place.  There was nothing out of order.  The orders have been sent back here, and are ready to be redelivered to the proper addresses.”

         The scowl reappeared.  He knew that Ken wouldn’t be irresponsible with the shipments, but there was nothing to indicate that anyone else had been in the mailroom after he him.  “You don’t know how the mix-up occurred?”

         “We’re looking into it.  Everyone is accounted for.  It doesn’t make any sense.  Mr. Antonias is expecting you.  He’s just as mystified about how this happened as I am.  ”

         “I’ll go to the mailroom after I’ve seen the designs you’re working on.  Mr. Vincenzi is hoping to see them as soon as possible.  The decisions for the fall and winter catalog have to be decided on soon.”

         “The designs will be ready on time.”  Ken stood to his feet and led the way out to the design floor.  He held out his hand to her and introduced himself.  “Name’s Ken Douglas.”

         Jim looked between the two.  “My new secretary, Claudia Peterson.”  He walked through the door, while Ken ushered Claudia in ahead of him, a smile on his face.

         The design area was large, with windows that looked out at the front of the plant.  Claudia could see the marble statues on the lawn.  She had been impressed by them when she had arrived.

         Ken indicated the two women and two men at work at their tables.  “This is where all the action takes place.”

         Jim went directly to the table of one of the women, and looked over her work.  She looked up at him.  “I’ve got more specs over here.  I’m almost finished with this one.  Just putting the finishing touches on it.”  She took a sheaf of papers from the top drawer in the filing cabinet next to her table.

         Jim took them from her, and flipped through them, as he studied each in detail.

         She turned and saw Claudia behind Jim and held out her hand.  “Miranda Wilson.  Known far and wide as Randi.  You must be the new secretary.”

         She took her hand a smile on her face.  “Yes.  My name is Claudia Peterson.”

         “My co-workers are Stephanie Anderson, known to everyone as Stevie, Randy Lawson, and Dennis Vilner.”

         She had a ready smile on her face, as she shook hands with each person, and studied what each person drew.  “Glad to meet you.”

         Dennis looked up at her and sat back from his work.  “Do you like it?”

         “It’s very good.”

         “Ever been in a clothing plant before?”  Dennis asked.

         “This is my first time.”

         “Better get out your best pair of roller blades.  Jim there is a man on the go.  All the time,” Randy said.

         “I’ll keep that in mind.”  Claudia looked up at Jim amazed that they would make a comment like that only to find he paid no attention to anything except what he was focused on.

         Jim heard and saw everything as he studied the designs of the other members of the team.  “Very good.  Have the completed designs in my office after lunch.”

         “I’ll see to it,” Ken said.

         “Now let’s get to the mailroom.”  It was the first he’d said to her since they had come into the design area.

         “Let me get the log to take back to him.  I’ll also let him know you’re on your way to see him,” Ken said.

         “Good enough.”  He watched him go back to his office and return a short while later with the log.  “Thanks.”

         “I told him you’re on your way.”

         Jim left the camera and design area.  Claudia found that she could use a good pair of roller blades if she was to keep up with him.  He had been go, go, go since she had met him.

         She kept herself aware of where she was at all times.  She had no doubt that before the end of the day she would know the layout of the plant as well as the seasoned employee.

         The mailroom was a large room at the back of the plant.  Jim went directly to the door marked ‘Willard Antonias, Postal Supervisor’.  He stopped him as he came through the door.  “Jim, good to see you.  We have a new policy here.  Could you both sign in please, and then follow me to my office.”

         Jim wasted no time with preliminaries as he signed the ledger.  “Ken informed me about the mix-up with the Thomas-White order.”

         Willard ushered them into his office and indicated the chairs opposite his desk.  Jim declined the offer to sit, but Claudia took one of the chairs.  “Yes.  I don’t understand it.  I oversaw the shipping of both orders myself.  Ken was with me.  Everything was in order.  When the mail truck arrived I didn’t think it was necessary to go over the shipment again.  I had seen to everything the night before.  Imagine my surprise to learn this morning about the mix-up when it was returned here.”

         “What time did you leave that night?”

         “Usual time, five p.m. Locked up myself.”  He sat behind his desk, and picked up a ledger, which indicated the time he had left, and handed it to Jim.

         He looked it over, and noted that the next entry was for the following morning at 7:55.  Satisfied he handed the ledger back to him.  “I’d like to see the shipping area.”

         “Certainly.”  Willard took the ledger from him, got to his feet, and ushered them from his office.

         Claudia had noted the name on the desk as she took notes on the meeting.  Willard Antonias was an older man.  Slightly bald, with black glasses.  His desk was cluttered at the moment, but she didn’t doubt that he knew what every slip of paper was and where it was.

         Jim seemed to notice her for the first time and introduced her.  “My secretary, Claudia Peterson.”

         Willard smiled at her and offered her his hand.  “Welcome aboard.”

         “Thanks.”  She found his grasp to be firm and his smile genuine as she followed them to the shipping area.

         Jim noted the boxes to be reshipped to their correct addresses.  “You did check these before you repacked and relabeled them?”

         “With Ken present.  I wasn’t about to make the same mistake a second time.  I’ll be interested in knowing how it got mixed up in the first place.  I'm taking these personally; to make sure no mix-up occurs again.  As you saw when you came in we’ve instituted a new policy of signing in and out of here.  Anyone who comes in here has to sign in just as I asked you to do when you came in, and not just the staff.  I get postal employees in here as well.”

         “Good idea,” Jim said.  “I'd better get back to the office.  This will be shipped today?”

         “Yes.  I was just waiting on you to have a look at it, and give the final okay.”

         “I’m going to talk to Mr. Vincenzi about installing cameras at strategic areas.  The entrance, and shipping doors, for starters,” Jim said.

         “That’s an excellent idea.”

         “I just hope it was a fluke.  A matter of putting the wrong label on the box.  We don’t need anything to go wrong with orders being shipped out at least once a week.”

         “If that’s all it is, I’ll be happy as well, but with all the precautions we go through with every shipment, I have a hard time believing that.”

         “So do I.”  Jim left the mailroom with more questions than answers.  Barely aware of the woman who followed in his wake.

         In the office once again, Claudia sat at her new desk, and turned on the computer, grateful that she was familiar with the software program.  She entered the notes, printed them up, took them into his office, and set them on his desk.

         She turned to leave when he stopped her.  “Just type up one set of notes at the end of the day.  Sit down.  Take a memo.”

         She grabbed a pen and paper from his desk.  “To all department heads, effective immediately, there will be a camera installed at the entrance to each department.  Finished designs will be locked in my office at the end of each day.  Send that to each department.”  He studied the other papers on his desk, then reached for the phone, and called a local security shop to make arrangements for the cameras to be set up before the end of the day.

         Claudia went back to her computer, clearly dismissed, and sent the memo via e-mail to each department head.

         Jim came from his office as she finished sending out the last e-mail.  “Get me some coffee, black.  Then I need to see Mr. Vincenzi about what happened.”

         “Right away, Mr. Frasier.”  Claudia found the number on a list and called the cafeteria.  “This is Mr. Frasier’s office.  I need a cup of coffee sent up immediately.  Black.”

         The coffee arrived a short while later.  “Thanks.”  Claudia took it from the deliveryman and straight in to Jim.

         He didn’t look up at her.  He was busy going over sketches he had received the day before.  “Set it on the desk.  You should know that before anything is done in this office, I get my coffee.  That’s all.”

         “Yes, sir.”

         The deliveryman was still there when she returned to her desk.  “Is there something else you need?  Was I supposed to pay for the coffee?  I’m sorry I should have gotten some money from him.”

         “No.  He pays at the end of the week for his coffee, or whenever he comes into the cafeteria, which isn’t often.  I just wanted to get a look at the new secretary, before you weren’t here anymore.  Name’s Joe.  If you need anything just call.”

         “Name’s Claudia.  Thank you.”  She watched him leave and was at odds about what to do.  Her first day and she didn’t have a clue what was expected of her, or where anything was kept.  She started to go through the files when the door to his office opened.

         Jim gave her a glance as he passed her desk on the way out of the office.  “Grab a notepad and pen.”

         She did as she was told, and followed him up to Mr. Vincenzi's office.

         Rosa looked up from her computer, a ready smile on her face when he opened the door.  “He’s expecting you.”

         “Thank you.”  Jim went to the door, and knocked before he entered.

         “Sit down.  I just talked to Ken, after your call.  He told me you’d been to the mailroom.  What can you tell me?”

         “I’ve called Business Securities.  They’ll be here this afternoon to install cameras at the entrances to each department.  I’ve also sent a memo informing everyone of this step, and that the designs will be locked in my office at the end of each day.  Whoever is behind the mix-up will have a harder time achieving whatever it is they intend.”

         “Good, good.  Let’s hope this is just an isolated incident, and nothing to worry about.”

         “Willard instituted a new policy in the mailroom.  Every person must sign in and out.”

         Mr. Vincenzi made some notes.  “Good idea.  Have Penny do the same.”

         “Will do.  Ken told me he would have the completed designs ready as soon as possible.  I’ve had a look at the sketches.  The new designs are very good.  As soon as you’ve approved them we’ll get them made up, and get the models to camera so we can get them into a catalog and out to our customers.  We’ll be ahead of the game if we can beat the clock with our competitors.  From what I saw they are on track.”

         “Very good.  We still have four months before we have the showing.”

         “Before then there is a lot of work to do.”

         Mr. Vincenzi stood to his feet, and indicated the end of the meeting.  “I agree.  Let me know as soon as the cameras are installed.”

         Jim stood to his feet, and headed for the door, Claudia right behind.  “Will do.”

         Mr. Vincenzi watched them leave.  “Mama come in here.”

         “On my way.”  She stood to her feet and headed into her husband’s office.

         “What do you think?”  Leo asked.

         She took a seat beside the desk.  “I think they make a good pair.”

         “You are a romanticist at heart.  They do look good together.  I won’t deny that.”

         “She has the grace to stand beside him and compliment him in every way.”

         “Did you notice how quiet she is, and let me tell you what I saw.  She was very attentive to everything that was said.  She wrote everything down.”

         “I just hope that she’ll be able to hold up under that no nonsense attitude he has for his work.”

         “That’s the only thing that worries me.  You remember when I first set eyes on her?”

         “Yes.  You said that you hoped she would prove to be the one person who would make a difference not only at the plant, but also as Jim’s secretary.”

         Leo looked fondly at her.  “How many times have I made a judgment error?”

         “At the plant?  None.  At home?”

         “We’re not talking about home.  Speaking of which, what are you planning for supper tonight?”

         “I thought ribs and corn on the cob would be good.”

         “Sounds good.  I think she’ll work out just fine.  I just hope he isn’t too hard on her before he realizes what an asset she is to us,” Leo said.

         Claudia entered the notes, and noticed that it was only nine o’clock.  She felt rushed off her feet.  She was very glad that she was athletically minded.  She jogged five miles every day usually before breakfast.  She would need to alter her schedule.  She had a pair of roller blades that she would work out with.  It would help her calves keep limber.  She doubted that she would grow lazy in her job.  Randy had been right about the fact that he was constantly on the go.  So far that morning she had been at her desk maybe fifteen minutes.

         She took the time to become familiar with the office.  There was a file cabinet in the corner where she found the clients that did business with Vincenzi Clothiers.  It was also stark.  She thought that a large rubber plant would go a long way to make the office a pleasant place to work.  She would stop by the florist shop on the way home and see what she could find.

         Her desk was void except for the computer.  She had some pictures of her family that she would put there.  She had noticed that the other offices she had been in were decorated in ways that made them more homey and pleasant with pictures on the desk, and plants or pictures on the walls to make it a pleasant environment.

         The phone rang on her desk that brought her attention back to her job.  “Good morning.  Mr. Frasier’s office.  How may I help you?”

         “This is Penny at the front desk.  The people from Business Securities are here.”

         “I’ll let Mr. Frasier know right away.  Thank you.”  She hung up the phone and was about to knock on his door when he opened it.

         “Who was that?”

         His tone brooked no nonsense and she realized that she had better not have any private calls, not that anyone would ever call her at work, unless it was an emergency.  “That was Penny at the front desk.  She said that the people from Business Securities are here.  I thought they weren’t coming until this afternoon.”

         “Do me a favor and don’t think.  You won’t need a pen and notepad.  But you will come with me.”  He started toward the door without looking back to see if she followed.  He just naturally assumed that she would do as she was told.

         She brought a notepad and pen along anyway.  How dare he tell her not to think?  Did he expect her to be just another piece of furniture in the office?  She hurried out the door after him and found him at the end of the hall.

         He looked back at her.  She thought she saw the trace of a smile as he noted the notepad and pen in her hand but didn’t say anything about it.

         At the receptionist desk, they met the men from Business Securities.  “My name is Bernard Malcolm, supervisor of Business Securities.  These are the men who will be helping me get the cameras you want installed today.”

         Jim shook their hands and got right down to business.  “Mr. Malcolm.  Gentlemen.  I’m Jim Frasier, supervisor of Vincenzi Clothiers.  How long do you think it will take you to install cameras in each department?”

         “Depends on what you require, but we should have it done by the end of the day.  I know you weren’t expecting us until this afternoon, but we got freed up more quickly than expected and got over here as soon as possible,” Mr. Malcolm said.

         Claudia noticed that the men were dressed in blue striped coveralls, with the name of their business and names over their left breast.  She made the notes of what transpired and waited.

         “What did you have in mind for the type of camera coverage you require?”  Mr. Malcolm asked.

         “I want to be able to see anyone who enters the area, and I want to be able to see what is going on in the workspace at any given time,” Jim said.

         “Very good.  I have just what you require.  Did you want to be able to watch from a central point, or from your office?”  Mr. Malcolm asked.

         “Both.  Let me show you where the plant security office is.  I want a bank of monitors there that will alert the security to all areas of the plant at one time.  Also a set in my office and one in Mr. Vincenzi’s office.”  Jim led the way to the security office where they found one security officer on duty.  He introduced the men to his chief of security.  “Mitchell, Mr. Malcolm and his crew from Business Securities.  He’ll be installing cameras in all the work areas.  They’ll also be setting up a bank of monitors in here.”

         “Very good, Mr. Frasier.  Anything I can do to help you just let me know,” Mitchell said.

         “Marvin you stay here and help Mitchell get set up with about what?  Four sets be enough?”  He looked at Jim for the answer.

         “Let me tell you what I need, and you take it from there.  I want cameras in the work areas: design and sewing.  Also the front entrance, the mailroom, the showroom, and in the leading hallways.  I also want cameras in my office and in Mr. and Mrs. Vincenzi’s offices.  I want cameras at the loading docks, especially for the mailroom.  One on each door, inside and out.  So that will be two cameras per space and four at the front entrance.”

         “Very well.  We can have everything set up by the time you’re ready to leave for the day.  I have everything you need in the van,” Mr. Malcolm said.

         “Then I won’t keep you.  Here is the list of the different departments getting the cameras, Mitchell can show you where they are,” Jim said.

         Mr. Malcolm took the paper from him, and went back out to his van, and got the necessary equipment.

         Jim turned his attention to the receptionist.  “Miss White you will need a log to have everyone sign in and out who comes into the plant.  I trust you have a ledger for that purpose?”

         “Yes sir.”  Penny looked in her desk, and produced a ledger that would be suitable for his purposes.  “Sir, what about people who leave after I’ve gone for the night?”

         “Put the ledger on your desk, the camera will note who comes and goes.  If they fail to sign out, they’ll be caught on camera.  I wouldn’t worry about it,” Jim said.

         “Yes sir.”  She opened the ledger, dated the top of the first page, and set it on the desk.

         Jim turned his attention back to Claudia and noted that she had taken extensive notes about the placement of the cameras.  “I suppose like the rest of the secretaries I’ve had you’ll want a break.  Before you ask for one, don’t.  If I don’t take a break you don’t.  I need to have you available to me whenever I need you.  You go where I go.  You are my eyes and ears.  You write down everything.  You note names, and faces.  Nothing is left to chance here, Miss Peterson.  Your job is to be my shadow.  And roller blades aren’t allowed.”

         She colored at that simple statement, and knew beyond a shadow of doubt that nothing passed his notice.  “It hadn’t crossed my mind.  I roller blade before I come to work.”

         He stared at her for a moment, and almost smiled.  “Good.”  He went back to the office where he ensconced himself in his office for the next couple hours.

         The mail was on her desk.  She found a letter opener in the drawer.  She recognized the correspondence from the client files she had seen in the cabinet.  There were requests for clothing the stores were out of, and which needed to be replenished as soon as possible.  She wondered if that had been the case with the mixed up order that had come to their attention that morning.

         Other correspondence dealt with a private showing.  She looked through her desk and found an appointment calendar.  She would need to get a regular appointment calendar for the office.  The one she looked at was too cluttered.  Nevertheless, in it she found dates for private showings, and appointments all over the island with various merchants necessary to their business.

         She made a note to purchase a proper appointment calendar.  She also made a note of what she could do to liven up the workspace.

         She decided to confront the bear in his den and stood to knock on his door, but the door opened instead.

         He was surprised to see her there.  He expected it was a silly feminine request.  A coffee break or the ladies room.  “Is there something you want?”

         She stood uncertainly for moment.  “I have the mail, and I’ve cross referenced it with the files I found.”

         “Put it on my desk.  Then we’re going to take a look at the progress of the new security system.”

         She did what she was told, grabbed her notepad and pen then followed him out of the office.  He found that the monitors had been set up in the security center.  From there he went to design and noted the placement of the cameras.

         Ken met them just inside the door to the design area.  “They just left here.  They have the whole plant almost finished from what I’ve gathered.”

         Jim looked over the camera that had been placed at the entrance to design, pleased with what he saw.  “Looks good.  They should be getting my office set up soon then.  Is Mr. Malcolm up with Mr. and Mrs. Vincenzi?”

         “He said he was going there.  He also said they should be completely finished in the hour.”

         “Good.  Do you have those sketches for Mr. Vincenzi?”

         “Yes.  In my office.”  Ken led the way back to his office while Claudia trailed behind.

         Jim looked through the sketches; satisfied with what he saw.  “Very good.  I’m sure Mr. Vincenzi will be very happy with what you’ve produced so far.”

         “Those are just the preliminaries.  As long as the styles stay along the simple elegant lines it will be easy to come up with good sketches.  As for me, I’m glad we’ve gone away from the gaudy unrealistic styles.”

         “That was Mrs. Vincenzi’s doing.  She didn’t like the lines that were coming out of Paris and decided to swim against the flow,” Jim said.

         “It worked.”

         “Yes it did.  I’m glad to say I agree with her taste in clothes.  Women don’t have to flaunt everything to the naked eye.  Let men have an imagination.”

         “The same can be said about us men,” Ken said.

         “Yes.”  Jim looked through the styles for men again and was happy to see the simple elegant lines for men.  From the formal elegant to the simple casual.  “Jeffrey and Katie will be able to do justice to these.  I’ll get these up to Mr. Vincenzi.  They have the last word after all, but I don’t see any problem with these.”

         Ken walked them to the door.  “Neither do I.  Let me know what he says.”

         “Will do.”  He left the design area with Claudia in his wake.

         Jim and Claudia entered Mr. Vincenzi’s office and watched as he looked through the designs with his wife.

         “What do you think Mama?”

         “These are good, but I think maybe a little flare with the hems would be nice.  They’re too straight.  And I’d like to see the long coats again in the men’s formalwear.”  Rosa looked through the designs and made some light pencil lines on some of the dresses.  “The men’s formal dinner jackets are cut above the waist with long tails.  We can keep these but I want to see the long coats as well.”

         “I agree.  What do you think about our casual wear?”  Leonardo put those sketches in front of her.

         “Tell me, would you date a woman who looked like that?  Or better yet, would you like to see your daughters in something like this?”

         Mr. Vincenzi looked through the sketches of the swimwear and the sportswear.  “Mama’s right.  We’re going to have to change this.  Miss Peterson, may I have your opinion.  Would you wear any of these clothes?”  Mr. Vincenzi handed the sketches to her, much to her surprise, as well as Jim’s.

         Claudia studied the swim and sportswear with a critical eye.  “I know that living under my parent’s roof, my father wouldn’t allow me to wear anything this revealing.”

         “But what about how you feel about the clothes?”  Mr. Vincenzi asked.

         “I couldn’t.  It’s just too.”

         “Exactly.”  Rosa looked triumphantly at her husband.  “There you see.  It must be changed.”

         “You’re right as usual.  On the other hand the bridal, evening, and lingerie are exceptional.  You don’t want the bride to look like she can’t be touched on that most important occasion of her life.  She wants to show off for her husband.”

         Rosa looked over the bridal lingerie and you could see that the romance wasn’t dead in their lives.  “Yes.  They are romantic.  I could picture the bottle of champagne in the moonlight next to the bed with candles lit on either side to bring out the best she has to offer.”

         Claudia blushed to her roots at what was discussed.  Jim was intrigued by her timidity with the subject.

         “I want to see more bridal gown designs.  People will think that we only have three designs to choose from.  There are all types of women.  I also want to see designs for the older bride who has lost her husband and is remarrying.  They need to have something to choose from also,” Rosa said.

         “You’re right.  I want to have a good selection.  These are good, as mama said, but we need to have more variety.”  Mr. Vincenzi handed the sketches back to Jim, who looked them over to see the various changes that had been made.

         “I’ll get these back to design right away.”  Jim stood to his feet ready to leave.

         “There are some very good designs.  We can leave some of what is there, and make changes as well.  Some of each,” Mr. Vincenzi said.

         “Don’t you agree, Miss Peterson?”  Mrs. Vincenzi asked.

         “I don’t know anything about the clothing industry,” Claudia said.

         “You soon will.  However, you do know what you like to wear.  Would you wear any of these designs?”  Rosa asked.

         “Some yes.  But it will be a long time before I will wear the bridal wear.”

         “And why is that?”  Rosa asked.

         Claudia blushed to the roots as she studied her hands.  “I’ve never had time to have a boyfriend.”

         “Now you will have time.  You are done with school.  You have a job and soon the men will flock around you like flies.  You will see,” Rosa said.

         “I don’t want men to flock around me like flies.  I just want to do what God would have me to do.  And do it well.”  It was the second time that day she had voiced her convictions and again she wondered if she had overstepped her bounds as she looked at the people around her.

         Jim looked from her to Mr. and Mrs. Vincenzi.  “I need to get these back to design.  Ken will need to get the changes made to these as soon as possible in order to get everything ready for the catalog shoot in a decent time.”

         “Yes.  You go and let me know when the revisions are ready.”  Mr. Vincenzi stood to his feet and walked them to the door.  He turned to Claudia as they were about to leave.  “You’ll do just fine.  I have no doubt about that, but you need to have some balance in your life.  Go and celebrate tonight.  It’s the first day on the job.  You deserve it.  Besides that it’s Hanukkah.  A day made for celebrations.”

         “Thank you Mr. Vincenzi.  You are kind.”  Claudia followed Jim out the door.

         Leonardo looked up at his wife.  “Strong convictions and I would guess a good head on her shoulders as well.”

         “She is very attentive to detail.  She wrote down everything.”

         “Yes.  You see the asset she is.”

         “She takes him by surprise.  Did you see the look on his face when she spoke about her convictions?”  Rosa said.

         “I did.  I could hazard a guess that that won’t be the only surprised look he’s going to give her.  She has a head on her shoulders.  He just needs to let her use it.”

         “I saw the amazement on his face when you suggested that she look over the designs and give her opinion of them,” Rosa said.

         “They work well together.  It’s going to take him some time to see that.”

         Rosa stood to her feet and went back to her work.  “Just so long as she still wants to work for us by the time he realizes it.”

         Jim and Claudia returned to design.  They still hadn’t seen the men from Business Securities, but they could see the evidence of their work.  There were cameras set up in the major hallways, one on either side facing opposite directions.  Jim had said he didn’t want to leave anything to chance, and it was evident with the placement of the cameras throughout the plant.

         Claudia sat quietly in Ken’s office while Jim explained the changes that Mrs. Vincenzi had suggested.  However, they knew that the suggestions were more than that.

         “I’ll get on these right away.”  Ken stood to his feet as they left the office and went to the design area and showed the changes to his design technicians.

         Claudia was definitely hungry by that time.  She looked at her watch and noticed it was after two.  She followed Jim into the office where they found Mr. Malcolm.

         “I’m almost finished.  Yours is the last office to be done.  I’ve set up cameras in every major hallway and every office as you suggested.  I thought it would also be wise to have one in the cafeteria as well,” Mr. Malcolm said.

         “Yes that is a good idea.  Thank you.  I’ve seen the work you’ve done.  It’s very good.  Thank you.”

         “We just need to gather our tools and we will be on our way.  It’s been a pleasure,” Mr. Malcolm said.

         “You told Mr. Mitchell how it works, and how to care for the film?”  Jim asked.

         “Yes.  Everything.  And now I will show you as well.”  Mr. Malcolm showed him how the picture changed automatically every few seconds so that he could see every area of the plant in under a minute.

         Claudia went to her desk and wrote up the notes from the several meetings she had just been in with Mr. Frasier.  When Mr. Malcolm was gone she went to his office and stood hesitantly in front of him.

         “Yes.  What is it?”

         He sounded irritated, but she didn’t know what the cause could be unless it was all the changes that had to be done to the sketches.  She was certain that given time she would know how to read him.  “It’s after two.  I was wondering about lunch.”

         Food and breaks.  That was all the previous secretaries ever thought about.  He looked at his watch.  She had been there all day, and hadn’t mentioned a break since he had told her not too.  He had been too busy to think about food himself, and realized that he could use a sandwich.  “Call the cafeteria.  Have it sent up.  I have a lot to do here.”

         She wanted to leave the office for a short while.  She felt like she hadn’t taken a breath since she had met him that morning.  Roller blades wouldn’t be enough to keep up with him.  “Would it be all right if I went to the cafeteria to eat?”

         He looked up at her; he had expressly told her that she was not to go anywhere that he didn’t.  Didn’t women listen to what he said?  “I have all this correspondence to go through.  I’ll need you to take letters in answer to all of them.”

         She saw the look of thunder on his face at her suggestion and thought better of it immediately.  “Yes sir.”  She went back to her desk and called the cafeteria and placed her order, and looked at Jim.  “Did you want anything to eat?”

         “Roast beef and tomato on rye, with coffee.  Have them also bring up a decanter.”

         “Yes sir.”  She gave his order to the person over the phone.

         “Now if that is taken care of, I have business to take care of.”  He was soon engrossed in the correspondence, and looked up when she put his lunch on his desk.  She started to leave.  “Take a seat.  You can eat your lunch right here.  I have a lot of correspondence that needs to be answered.”

         “I’ll get my notepad and pen.”  Claudia hurried to her desk and grabbed her notebook and pen.

         For the next hour she took one letter after another while she barely touched her lunch.

         “Get those typed up along with the notes from today.  When you have that finished leave the letters on Penny’s desk and you can leave for the day.  There’s no more that can be done today.”

         “Yes sir.  Thank you Mr. Frasier.”  Claudia took her unfinished lunch back to her desk and set it to one side of her computer while she got the letters typed up and addressed.  Then she typed up the notes from the various meetings that day and prepared to go home.

         Jim came from his office, prepared to leave for the day.  “Good night Miss Peterson.”

         “Good night Mr. Frasier.”  Claudia looked up at him, as he left for the day, disposed her lunch in the garbage, the sandwich had gotten hard as it had gone untouched.  Hard and unappetizing.  She typed the final notes, and hit the print button, then placed them on his desk, and took the letters with her on her way out.

         She signed out in the ledger on Penny’s desk, and noted that it was after five.  It had been a long day, but with everything she had done it had gone fast.  She wouldn’t take Mr. Vincenzi up on the idea of a celebration.  However, she looked forward to the celebration of Hanukkah with her family after dinner that night.  She was hungry and tired, and only wanted to go to bed after supper.  The celebration gave her something to look forward to, and brought a smile to her face.

         She noted that she would need to be in the office early the next day, in order to have Jim’s coffee on his desk before he arrived.  She had no idea before she had accepted the job, just how much was involved in the makeup of a clothing industry.

         She decided not to wait until the weekend to decorate the office as she pulled into a decorator’s store that was known for everything a home or office could need, from plants to furniture, to pictures.  They had it all.

         After an hour she took her final selections to the checkout.  She had found just the right plant for the office and a couple pictures for the walls as well.  She would leave his office alone, but hers would have some kind of hominess to it.  An outfit with the reputation and prestige of Vincenzi Clothiers should be well represented in every department, and that meant their office as well.  With her selections in hand she was back on the road home.  She was exhausted when she pulled into the driveway.  So much for the first day on the job.