wife had divorced him. Well she was here and she would start, but she made up her mind
that she would begin looking for another job, a job working for a human being instead of a
despot.
When Catherine walked out of the door, Fraser leaned back in his chair, a smile
touching his lips. Were girls still that achingly young, that earnest and dedicated? In her
anger with her eyes blazing and her lips trembling Catherine had seemed so defenseless
that Fraser had wanted to take her in his arms and protect her. Against himself, he
admitted ruefully. There was a kind of old-fashioned shining quality about her that he’d
almost forgotten existed in girls. She was lovely and she was bright, and she had a mind of
her own. She was going to become the best goddamn secretary that he had ever had. And
deep down Fraser had a feeling that she was going to become more than that. How much
more, he was not sure yet. He had been burned so often that an automatic warning system
took over the moment his emotions were touched by any female. Those moments had
come very seldom. His pipe had gone out. He lit it again, and the smile was still on his
face. A little later when Fraser called her in for dictation, Catherine was courteous but
cool. She waited for Fraser to say something personal so she could show him how aloof
she was, but he was distant and businesslike. He had, Catherine thought, obviously wiped
the incident of this morning from his mind. How insensitive could a man be?
In spite of herself Catherine found the new job fascinating. The telephone rang
constantly, and the names of the callers filled her with excitement. During the first week
the Vice-President of the United States called twice, half a dozen senators, the Secretary of
State and a famous actress who was in town publicizing her latest picture. The week was
climaxed by a telephone call from President Roosevelt, and Catherine was so nervous she
dropped the phone and disconnected his secretary.
In addition to the telephone calls Fraser had a constant round of appointments at the
office, his country club or at one of the better-known restaurants. After the first few weeks
Fraser allowed Catherine to set up his appointments for him and make the reservations.
She began to know who Fraser wanted to see and who he wanted to avoid. Her work was
so absorbing that by the end of the month she had totally forgotten about looking for
another job.
Catherine’s relationship with Fraser was still on a very impersonal level, but she
knew him well enough now to realize that his aloofness was not unfriendliness. It was a
dignity, a wall of reserve that served as a shield against the world. Catherine had a feeling
that Fraser was really very lonely. His job called for him to be gregarious, but she sensed
that by nature he was a solitary man. She also sensed that William Fraser was out of her
league. For that matter so is most of male America, she decided.
She double-dated with Susie every now and then but found most of her escorts were
married sexual athletes, and she preferred to go to a movie or the theater alone. She saw
Gertrude Lawrence and a new comedian named Danny Kaye in Lady in the Dark, and Life
with Father, and Alice in Arms, with a young actor named Kirk Douglas. She loved Kitty
Foyle with Ginger Rogers because it reminded her of herself. One night at a performance
of Hamlet she saw Fraser sitting in a box with an exquisite girl in an expensive white