Chapter Four
The next two weeks were pure bliss for Miss Brinkman and her assistant, Joel Cameron. Every afternoon at five, she moved into his office, closed the door and waited like a penitent child for him to make himself ready. They didn’t even discuss the proper protocol for her demeanor. She seemed to know instinctively what was required. She required it of herself. All the years of being in charge, this was the one time she didn’t have to be, and every day she became more submissive, more relinquished. Her workload seemed to even out, the stress seemed to fall away and a smile graced her pretty face more often. Some believed that she and Joel were having an affair, Mrs. LaPine eyed her judgmentally, and the rest were simply curious speculating about her abrupt change in behavior. Sa
