Free Tell Them I'll Be There by Gerard Mac Page A

‘Hey, Danny! How are you? How nice to see you.’
    â€˜I’m fine, thank you,’ Dan said. ‘I was in town and I thought …’
    â€˜Here,’ she said. She handed him a couple of the shopping bags and the girl took another. ‘Come on upstairs. There’s no lift in this goddam place. Thank you, Janet. I’ll take care of Mr Dolan.’
    The girl glanced sheepishly at Dan and he winked at her, adding to her embarrassment, as she turned to lead the way up the stairs.
    Janet had her desk in a small outer office. There was a much bigger office where an older man and a stenographer looked busy. Partitioned off in one corner was another office with a glazed door, the name Paul Merrick stencilled in gold letters on the glass. Facing them a closed door made up the suite.
    Barbara left her shopping bags with Janet and signalled that Dan should follow. She tapped lightly on the closed door and looked in. Joe Baker was, as usual, holding a telephone. He beckoned her inside and when he saw Dan he nodded and smiled and indicated the chairs by his large desk.
    â€˜Danny boy!’ he exclaimed, when he put the telephone down. ‘Good to see you.’ He shook Dan by the hand, kissed Barbara lightly on the cheek and asked, ‘Where did you find him?’
    â€˜He was downstairs, trying to convince Janet he was on the level,’ Barbara said with a laugh.
    Baker opened a drawer in his desk. ‘A drink?’
    Dan shook his head. ‘Not during the day, Mr Baker. In fact, I don’t drink much at all.’
    He laughed. ‘I’m not asking you to get plastered, for God’s sake. Just a little celebration. You’ll have one, Barbara?’
    â€˜Sure,’ Barbara said. ‘Why not?’
    He set three small glasses on his desk and poured three shots of Jack Daniel’s. Dan felt he ought to explain why he had come but he didn’t know how. He looked at Baker uncomfortably.
    â€˜You want a job.’ Baker laughed, sensing his discomfort. ‘Sure you do. Why else would you come here?’
    Dan was twisting his cap as if it was wet and he was wringing it out. He felt as though he was in a court of law and he was the accused. ‘I just stopped by to say hello, Mr Baker. I shouldn’t have come. I mean, I expect you’re pretty busy right now.’
    Baker turned to Barbara. ‘Will you listen to him?’ he said in exasperation. ‘Talking himself out of a job before it’s offered.’
    Barbara leaned over, took Dan’s cap and threw it in the waste bin. ‘You are not going to need that old thing no more.’ 
    â€˜So what can you do, son?’ Baker asked.
    â€˜Not much,’ Dan admitted. ‘But I’m willing to learn.’
    â€˜Good,’ Baker said. ‘That’s what I want. Someone who knows nothing, but ain’t dumb.’
    Dan had imagined Joe Baker Associates had a finger in all kinds of pies and he might be offered a small job somewhere in Baker’s empire. But it wasn’t like that. Joe Baker Associates seemed to do all their business from this small office.
    â€˜I want a young man I can trust totally, someone who will do all the running around and in my best interests. Not his own. This is my business, OK? Loyalty is number one.’ He was watching Dan intently. ‘You seen Julius Caesar ?’
    â€˜No, sir,’ Dan said. ‘But I will.’
    Baker nodded in approval. ‘What I want is a Mark Antony, not a Brutus.’
    â€˜What would I have to do, Mr Baker? I mean, where would I work and what kind of work would it be?’
    â€˜You wouldn’t do much at all at first. You would just listen and learn. Where would you be? You’d be here with me. A gofer, a Man Friday, a kind of personal assistant.’
    â€˜A gofer?’ Dan queried. First time he had heard the word.
    â€˜You go for this, you go for that. When I need something, anything, from