I nodded.
I looked back into my empty office.I should have gone back to work.I hesitated instead.
It was quiet in there.Empty.Just how I liked it.
But now…
It had a certain absence to it.
And there was a large empty space to the right side of the door.
“I’ve lost a lot of secretaries,” I said out loud.
I looked back in the silence to see Keaton watching me.“Oh?”he said.He seemed not to know what to do with the information.
“Maybe it’s time for a different approach.”I hesitated only a moment longer before moving to his desk.I leaned over and pressed a button on his phone.Quick dial.It rang twice and connected.
“You’ve reached the Harvey Agency, this is Fernando Quijada.”
“Fernando,” I replied.“I need you and two others to my office.”
“Yes, sir.”He hung up.I appreciated the direct and quick response to my orders.Far more valuable than any small talk.
“Stand up and collect your things,” I told Keaton.At the instantly stricken look on his face, I realized my mistake.“You’re not getting fired.Come inside.”
He followed me after a short moment.He was clutching a few items against his chest.A coat and a leather satchel with his coffee.He didn’t have much here yet.Good.So much less to move.
It took only a minute longer for Fernando to arrive.I quickly began to direct them while Keaton watched on.Within moments I had them in motion.I took the end of the desk with one of our former quarterbacks at the other end.Fernando supported the middle.The other agent he’d brought carried the chair.
We moved the whole set-up fully inside my office.Computer and all.The others scrambled for plugs and cables.Once the chair was down I gestured for Keaton to sit back in it.
“Right,” I said.“The new policy for this office is: knock on the door before you enter.Keaton answers and lets you in.Or he doesn’t.Understood?”
The three agents in front of me nodded eagerly.
“Spread the word,” I told them.They correctly understood this as my dismissal and left promptly.The doors swung closed behind them.
I looked back at my handiwork.Keaton installed at his desk inside my office.I put my hands on my hips.Yes.This would do very nicely.
Now I could keep an eye on him at all times.No temptations from Ace.No gossip distracting me from my work in the corridor.And maybe I could keep a secretary for longer than a month.
Those were the only reasons.
I didn’t need any others.
Not even the desire to look at this strange man’s face whenever I wanted to.
“Right,” Keaton said.His tone was stunned.
“We can work closer this way,” I pointed out.
“Of course,” he said.He seemed to recover well.“So, is there anything you need me to do right now?I could organize some files, or send out some emails for you, or book some travel if you have something coming up, or…”
His phone rang.
“You can start with that,” I said.I began to make my way over to my desk.
“Hello, you’ve reached the Harvey Agency.Oliver Harvey’s desk.How may I direct your call?”Keaton answered.I smiled to myself.He was already answering the phones correctly.I’d had a few secretaries who took weeks to learn.
