Free Killer Career by Morgan Mandel Page A

You
actually believe the weather man? What kind of lawyer are you? If
he took an oath, he’d be indicted for perjury.”
    Julie smiled. “You’re right. I should know better.”
    “That’s okay. I kind of like the wet look,” he said, with a
wide grin.
    “Watch it, you letch.” Another shiver escaped her. Suddenly she
felt washed out and shaky. Earlier in the shower she’d suffered
another dizzy spell.
    Dade’s smile turned serious. “You don’t look so good.”
    “No woman likes to hear that.” She made a dour face, as she
tried to ignore the unexpected stab of hurt.
    “Hey, don’t take it that way,” Dade said, automatically tuning
in to her wavelength. “What I mean is you might be coming down with
something. I’ve got an extra shirt in the office. You can wear that
until your clothes dry.”
    “I don’t think so,” Julie said with a wry grin. “That would
certainly make an impression on what’s left of our office staff.”
    The elevator stopped on the 12 th floor.
    “Tell you what. You go inside. I’ll run over to Walgreen’s.
They always have sweats there. I’ll be right back.”
    “Then you’ll get wet.”
    “No problem. My monster umbrella will protect me from the evil
forces of nature.”
    “Are you sure you want to go back out there? I could wait until it
stops.”
    “Anything for you, oh wet and wonderful partner.”
    She gave him a playful shove. “All right, nut, go. In the meantime,
I’ll dry my hair with my handy dandy mini hair dryer.”
     
    * * *
     
    Julie was unplugging the hair dryer from the socket, when a knock on
the bathroom door signaled Dade’s return. Thank God it hadn’t
taken him long. Her clothes felt cold and clammy. She was completely
chilled.
    Smiling, he handed over a sweatshirt, sweat pants, underwear and
socks. “I guessed on the sizes.”
    “Don’t worry. Anything will do. You’re a lifesaver. I can
hardly wait to get out of these wet clothes.”
    He flashed a suggestive leer. “Don’t let me stop you.”
    She put her hands on her hips. The wetness made them slide, but she
did her best to look stern.
    “You can leave now. Remember, you’ve got Anderson up today.”
    “Spoilsport,” he said, flashing a regretful look before closing
the door.
     
    * * *
     
    Julie emerged refreshed, with the cuddly sweatshirt warming her skin.
The thick socks caressed her chilled toes.
    Dade had already left. Julie’s secretary, Dee, and Pam, the
receptionist, laughing and comparing weekend notes, strolled in the
door, and gave her a double take. She didn’t blame them. Monday
wasn’t casual day.
    “You were lucky. The rain must have just stopped,” Julie said. “I
got drenched. Dade rescued me with a quick trip to Walgreen’s. Oh,
by the way, there’s something I have to tell you.”
    While Julie explained the extent of Nora’s treachery, including the
fact that Dade’s ex-secretary appeared to be missing, the two
office workers looked even more dumfounded than when they’d
glimpsed Julie in sweats.
    “What are we going to do? Did she ruin the forms, too,” Dee
asked, her voice rising in panic.
    “The good news is I had most of them saved on my laptop computer,”
Julie said. “Unfortunately, I got behind on my backups. Anyway, the
basics are there. For now, we’ll prioritize and split the workload.
Dade and I will type what we can ourselves. I’ll call for a temp to
fill in, until we find a permanent replacement for Nora.”
    Pam looked doubtful, which was understandable since they’d had
their share of experiences with the temporary work force. Sometimes
it didn’t seem worth trying, yet they had to do something. There
was too much to do and not enough people to do it.
    Dee, already nodding in flight, headed toward her computer to survey
the damage.
    Julie went straight to her own office. There she called a one-hour
dry cleaners, followed by a temp agency, where she requested the best
assistant available.
    Mondays were busy enough with