Your Heart's Desire

by Melody Carlson

  Miss Warner led her to an elevator in the front of the building. “I usually take the stairs,” she said as she pushed the button. “The elevators are for executive personnel. But when we give client tours, I’m allowed to take this elevator. And, since you work for an executive, you get to use it, too.”

  As the doors closed, Caroline observed that the elevator, like the foyer, had a marble floor and handsomely carved wooden walls. Impressive.

  “I think we’ll skip the second floor,” Miss Warner said as she pushed the button for the third floor. “Besides, you already saw some of it when you went to Mr. Stokes’s office. The rest is mostly storage and a few offices for bookkeeping and finances—middle-management stuff.”

  On the third floor, Miss Warner showed Caroline a large employee lunchroom, which overlooked Production and Packaging down below. The sounds and smells of the chocolate production wafted up. She pointed out where employee lockers, restrooms, and even shower rooms were located. Everything was clean and practical, plain and utilitarian.

  “Will I have a locker, too?” Caroline asked eagerly.

  “No, this area isn’t for you. I just wanted you to see it—to get the lay of the land.”

  “Oh…” Caroline wasn’t sure what that meant as she followed Miss Warner back to the elevator. Was it because she was considered a temporary employee until Miss Bentley returned?

  “Now we go up to the executive offices,” Miss Warner said as she pushed the button for the fourth floor in the elevator. “There are four departments: Production, where you’ll be working. Distribution, Marketing, and Sales. Each department has a vice president.” Miss Warner started rattling off names, but Caroline knew she wasn’t going to remember all this—she needed to take notes, and her fingers were itching for a steno pad.

  As they exited the elevator, Caroline was immediately aware that they were on the executive floor. The foyer outside of the elevator, with marble floors and richly paneled walls as well as several handsomely potted plants, was even more posh and polished than the main entrance foyer downstairs. But what really captured her attention was the open walkway that appeared to circle the building. She peered over the brass rail to see that it overlooked the manufacturing floor, where her tour had started. It was four stories below them, but highly visible from this bird’s-eye view.

  “Some of the workers think the catwalk is so the VPs can spy on them,” Miss Warner said quietly. “But I think it’s just to make them feel connected.”

  “I like it,” Caroline told her. “Makes for an interesting perspective.”

  “The offices on this side are for Production and Distribution. And over there, on the right side, are Marketing and Sales.” Miss Warner pointed across the open area to the opposite end. “And that is the president’s offices.”

  Miss Warner paused by a large glass door with the word Distribution in large letters. As they went inside, she introduced Caroline to a pleasant-faced young woman named Miss Fowler. Her blond hair was styled, and her gabardine suit was more fashionable than Caroline’s.

  “Our job in distribution is to get the product out of the factory and to its final destination—in excellent condition,” Miss Fowler told her. “It sounds simple enough, but believe me, it’s not always easy.” Then, as she was telling them about how a delivery truck broke down in a snowstorm up north, an older man stepped into the office. “And this is my boss, Mr. Price, vice president of Distribution.” Miss Fowler quickly explained to him who Caroline was, and he said a polite but brisk hello, hurrying on into his office.

  “Welcome to MG,” Miss Fowler said cheerfully. “See you at lunch.”

  Caroline thanked her, and Miss Warner led her to the next glass door. “This is where you’ll be working.” Miss Warner pointed to the big gold letters, Production, as she led her into the spacious office area. Similar to the distribution office, this space was carpeted in a deep red rug, and several club chairs and a coffee table made a waiting area on one side and a large mahogany desk was on the other.

  “That’s Miss Bentley’s desk,” Miss Warner said, “but yours for now.” She pointed to a door off to one side. “That’s a closet for your things.” She pointed to the opposite side. “And those are the offices of some of the production employees.” Now she went over to the big door in the rear wall that said Vice President of Production, Glen Hancock in gold letters. “And that is your boss’s office. Mr. Hancock.” She gave the door three sharp knocks.

  “Come in,” a male voice called out.

  Caroline felt nervous as she followed Miss Warner into the spacious office, where one whole wall was floor-to-ceiling windows. Everything about this place was so much bigger and grander than what she was used to at her previous place of work. She wondered if she was out of her league here. What if she couldn’t measure up to their expectations?

  “Good morning, Mr. Hancock,” Miss Warner said respectfully. “I’d like you to meet your temporary secretary.” She did a quick introduction. “Mrs. Clark will be filling in for Miss Bentley until she recovers from her broken leg.”

  Mr. Hancock stood and extended his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Clark.” He smiled warmly at her, but as she exchanged the usual pleasantries, she felt surprised that he wasn’t older. Not that he was young, exactly, but her best guess was that he wasn’t much more than forty. The VPs back at the leather factory had all been close to retirement age.

  “I’m very impressed with the factory. Miss Warner just gave me the tour. And the machines and the automation all appear to be so very modern. Everything down there looks so sanitary and well organized. Very impressive.” Caroline didn’t want to blather, but she was trying to suppress her nerves.

  “Great. Glad to see you appreciate a well-run factory. And I’m relieved they found someone so quickly.” He sat back down at his desk and picked up a folder. “I was already starting to feel overwhelmed. Especially since Valentine’s Day is only six weeks out. We’re in our most demanding production season right now. I need someone who can jump right in where Miss Bentley left off.”

  “I’m ready to do that.” Caroline hoped that was true, but she had her doubts. How ready was she really?

  “So can you begin work today?” he asked hopefully.

  “Well, I, uh, I don’t know. I suppose I could.”

  “Tomorrow’s a holiday,” he reminded her. “And every day we lose in these next couple of weeks is critical.”

  “I’ll start today,” she declared. “I just need to give someone a call…let them know my plans.”

  “Thank you!” He nodded eagerly. “There’s already quite a pile of correspondence on Miss Bentley’s desk. Do what you can with it. And we close early today, so it will be a short day for you.”

  “I just want to finish her tour,” Miss Warner said as they were leaving. “She hasn’t seen the marketing and sales offices yet. Or Mr. Gordon’s office.”

  “By all means, finish the tour.” He waved them off. “And let me know if you have any questions, Mrs. Clark. I’m busy, but not too busy to help you get off to a good start.”

  “Yes, I’m sure I’ll have some questions,” she said as they backed out the door. “But I’ll write them down so we don’t waste too much of your valuable time.”

  “Good.” He nodded. “I appreciate that.”

  Now Miss Warner led her in the opposite direction from the elevator. “This first office is the sales department.” She peered in the door to what appeared to be an empty office. “But it looks like they might be in meetings. Mr. Russell is probably getting his salesmen ready for the big convention next week.” Caroline vaguely wondered if this was where Terry worked. He’d seemed so smooth and polished…like a salesman.

  Miss Warner led Caroline on down the catwalk, pointing to a large wooden door with no words on it. “This is the executive break room,” she said as she pushed it open to reveal a surprisingly luxurious room—nothing like the break room Caroline had been acquainted with back in Minnesota. Besides
a modern kitchen area, there were several glass-topped dining tables and a comfortable-looking seating area. Miss Warner made a longing sigh. “My dream is to be up here someday. Oh, I don’t have the proper training yet, but I just started a secretarial correspondence course last fall. And sometimes I fill in for the middle-management secretaries, just for a few hours. Once I did a whole day. But they would never let me take six weeks.”

  “Well, good for you, for pursuing your dream.” Caroline smiled.

  Miss Warner paused in front of the next glass door. “And this is the lovely marketing department. Miss Stuart is the vice president of this department.”

  “Miss?” Caroline asked in surprise. “This vice president is a woman?”

  “Yes.” Miss Warner pushed open the door just as a fashionably dressed young woman emerged from the executive office. “Hello, Miss Thornton, this is Mrs. Clark. She will fill in for Miss Bentley.”

  Miss Thornton shook Caroline’s hand with a questioning look. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Clark.”

  “Mrs. Clark just moved here from Minnesota,” Miss Warner told her.

  “Minnesota?” Miss Thornton’s brow creased. “This must be quite a change for you.”

  “Yes, it takes some getting used to, but I’m happy to be here.”

  “So…welcome to the team,” she said in a slightly superior way, “even if it’s just temporarily.”

  “Thank you.” Caroline noticed Miss Thornton narrowing her eyes ever so slightly, almost as if evaluating her. And judging by this secretary’s stylish coral suit with its big shiny black buttons and her matching high-heeled pumps, she would probably concur with Marjorie—Caroline definitely looked dowdy and old-fashioned in comparison.

  “Would you like to meet Miss Stuart now?” Miss Thornton offered. “I think she might be able to spare a minute or two.”

  “Yes,” Caroline said, “I’d appreciate that.”

  Miss Thornton cracked open the door, calling out first. “Mr. Hancock’s new secretary would like to meet you.”

  “I only have a minute, Barbara. Keep it short.”

  “Right this way.” Miss Thornton led her in, jumping immediately into introductions, although this vice president seemed uninterested, keeping her back toward them as she studied what looked like an advertisement for chocolates.

  Caroline stared openly at the back of the woman leaning against the large, elegant glass-topped desk. Wearing a sky-blue suit, with the poster in one hand and a cigarette in the other, she looked so chic that she might’ve been posing for her own advertisement. The caption would read: “The modern career woman at work today.”

  When Miss Stuart turned around, Caroline nearly fell over. It was the same blond woman she’d met in the sanctuary yesterday. The same gorgeous woman who had snatched Terry away from her. Caroline was speechless.

  Evelyn appeared taken aback as well. She snuffed out her cigarette in a heavy glass ashtray, then approached Caroline with slightly narrowed eyes. “I believe we’ve already met.”

  “Yes.” Caroline nodded nervously. “At church yesterday.”

  “Yes, that’s right.” Evelyn laid down the poster to shake Caroline’s hand, staring at her with a skeptical expression.

  “Well, isn’t this nice,” Miss Thornton said swiftly. “Everyone knows everyone now. So off we go, back to work, ladies, lots to do and not enough time to do it.”

  “That’s right,” Evelyn agreed. “Short day today.”

  Before they left the VP’s office, Miss Warner pointed to Miss Thornton. “I’ll bet you have big plans for New Year’s Eve tonight.”

  “You’ve got that right.” Miss Thornton smiled smugly as she slid into her desk chair, reaching for the phone. “Marketing,” she said smoothly, “how can I help you?”

  Caroline was still trying to get her bearings as they exited the office and walked around the catwalk. So Evelyn was Miss Stuart, not Mrs. That meant she and Terry weren’t married. But did Terry really work here? She considered asking Miss Warner, but didn’t want to appear overly interested.

  “Those marketing ladies,” Miss Warner said longingly. “If I had the right training, I’d love to work in that office.”

  “Why that office?” Caroline asked uneasily.

  “Partly because they’re so modern and stylish. But not only that. The marketing department is exciting. It’s where all the fun happens.”

  “Fun?” Caroline wanted to remind Miss Warner this was a workplace, but didn’t care to offend the young woman. Especially after she’d been so helpful and friendly.

  “Oh, yeah. Everyone says that Miss Stuart gets away with murder around here.”

  “You mean because she’s so pretty?” Caroline felt dismayed. Was this really that sort of company? She hadn’t gotten that impression at all until now.

  “I’m sure her looks don’t hurt a bit. But it’s also because she’s so cozy with the boss. Her family and the Gordon family are really close. Have been for years. We’ve got a secret pool—some of us girls—where we try to pick the day when Mr. Gordon will propose to Miss Stuart. Some girls picked tonight—New Year’s Eve. But I picked Valentine’s Day.”

  “Uh-huh.” Caroline didn’t know what to think—but something about this was bothering her. “Isn’t Mr. Gordon a bit old for Miss Stuart?”

  “Oh, I don’t know how old he is.” She giggled. “Certainly, he’s a lot older than me. And it’s possible that all the speculation about him and Miss Stuart is wrong. I probably shouldn’t repeat it.”

  “Maybe not.” Caroline knew her tone came out chilly.

  “Anyway, those marketing women really are fun,” Miss Warner said a bit defensively. “Just wait, you’ll see.”

  “Well, I must admit that Miss Stuart and Miss Thornton are quite glamorous, but I’m not sure I’d like to work in their office for that reason alone.”

  Miss Warner laughed. “Well, it’s not for everyone.” She pointed ahead. “One more stop. The big boss. Mr. Gordon might be a busy man, but he always wants to meet the new employees.”

  However, when they got to Mr. Gordon’s very impressive executive suite, his secretary, a sweet older woman named Mrs. Gallagher, informed them he was on an important conference call. “I’m afraid he’ll be on for another thirty minutes,” she said. “But I’ll let him know that Mr. Hancock has a replacement secretary. I’m sure he’ll be relieved.” She smiled warmly. “And welcome to the MG team, dear. I hope you like it here.”

  “And that completes your tour,” Miss Warner informed Caroline when they were out on the catwalk again. “If you’ll excuse me, I really should get back to the reception desk.”

  “Certainly. And thank you for the tour.” Caroline frowned toward the executive suite, wondering if it were possible. But then slowly shook her head. Miss Warner had said Mr. Gordon was “a lot older.”

  “You can find your way back to your office from here okay?”

  Caroline smiled at her. “No problem.”

  They parted ways at the elevator, and, feeling somewhat overwhelmed and a bit confused, Caroline returned to the production office. She put her handbag, hat, and gloves in the narrow closet, thinking how much nicer this was than a locker. But at the same time, she warned herself not to get used to it. She was over her head, and she knew it. If she could hold on for six weeks, she would be surprised.

  Chapter 8

  Of course, you must stay and work,” Marjorie assured Caroline after hearing the good news about the job. “Joe and Danny have been playing outside all morning. I tell you, Sis, your boy’s a whiz at keeping Danny occupied. Maybe I should hire him as a babysitter.”

  “Joe always wanted a little brother. Danny is as close as he’ll probably get.” Caroline started sorting the large stack of mail with her free hand.

  “Well, congratulations on getting a job so quickly. And such a good one, too. Rich will be happy to hear it.”

  “And because it’s New Year’s Eve, we quit early today, so I’ll be home a little
past three, and I can watch your kids tonight, in case you and Rich want to go out.”

  “No, we had our big date on Saturday. I just want a quiet evening at home.”

  “I should get to work.” Caroline slit open an important-looking envelope.

  “When you get home you can tell me all about it.”

  Caroline ended the call and continued sorting through the mail, separating the urgent from the mundane, and making a list of questions for her new boss. Then she went to work familiarizing herself with her new work space. But she quickly discovered that Miss Bentley (of the broken leg) was not nearly as organized as her tidy desktop had suggested. And if one dug a little, it was obvious that Miss Bentley’s filing skills were “unique” at best. However, Caroline respected the fact that this was Miss Bentley’s domain and her job was simply to fill in until she recovered.

  Hopefully she would figure out the filing system and find a way to stay on task without changing too much. For now it seemed the most important job was to keep up with the mail, deal with Mr. Hancock’s calls, take dictation as needed, transcribe the letters and orders that were ready to be sent out, and to keep everything in the production department moving as smoothly as possible.

  Before long, she met two other production employees—Mr. Vincent, the production foreman, who split his time between the office and the floor, and Mr. Divers, the head mechanic in charge of keeping the machinery running smoothly. They spent nearly an hour meeting in Mr. Hancock’s office before they broke up for lunch.