“Hello, Ms. Kirchoff, I’m Kathleen Haley.” Kathleen closed the distance between them, but for some reason unknown to her, didn’t extend her hand to be shaken. The other woman’s rigid posture and arms folded defensively across her chest spoke a very eloquent body language.
“Ms. Haley, I’m Hazel Kirchoff,” she said, nodding her head like a feudal lord greeting a serf. “My brother told me that he had hired you.”
How did one respond to a comment like that? There was nothing to say, so Kathleen merely inclined her head, much in the same way Hazel Kirchoff had only moments before. There was an uncomfortable silence while the two women squared off and assessed each other.
Hazel Kirchoff was a short woman with a matronly, though well-proportioned, figure. Her tussah silk suit was impeccable in cut as well as fit, and her blonde hair was worn in a short, soft style. If anything was a trifle overdone, it was her jewelry. She wore two diamond-encrusted rings on each of her third fingers, a diamond watch and three bangle bracelets. At her ears were small diamond studs. Her makeup was attractively applied but couldn’t completely camouflage faint, weblike lines around her eyes and mouth. She was considerably older than Seth, Kathleen thought, and well established in middle age.
Her eyes, like her brother’s, held one’s attention. Though unlike his, which shone with compassion and tolerance, hers were cold and haughty. They weren’t the same rich chocolate-brown of Seth’s but a colorless gray that reflected no life, no spontaneity, and were chilling in their blank, piercing stare that revealed nothing, yet saw everything.
“I trust you have found our city to your liking,” she commented at last.
“Yes,” Kathleen said. Then she smiled and laughed under her breath. “It’s certainly different.”
“Indeed.”
There was another one—a sentence for which there was no easy response. Undaunted, Kathleen tried again. “I’m looking forward to working at Kirchoff’s. Seth has outlined some very attractive prospects.”
“My brother often does and says things impulsively.”
Had Hazel Kirchoff been better acquainted with Kathleen, she would have realized that the glimmer of green fire that suddenly flashed in her eyes was a warning of the temper now lying close to the surface.
Kathleen pushed her caution aside even if she was facing a new employer. “And you think hiring me was one of these impulsive gestures?”
Hazel smiled, though there was no humor in the expression. “Many young women would love to work for Kirchoff’s, but Seth was quite taken with you. He came home with a glowing report of your physical attributes. He described you perfectly.” The gray eyes raked down Kathleen’s body as if they were looking at something distasteful. “You are not the first opportunist to take advantage of my brother.”
Kathleen was aghast at the blatant insult. “I did no such thing! I am qualified for this job and I’ll work hard for Kirchoff’s. Seth is a very intelligent, visionary man—”
“He is a cripple,” the woman snapped. “I must constantly protect him from women preying on that fact. He depends on me for everything.” She had almost impassioned herself to anger, and just in time saved herself that indignity. She pulled herself up to her full height and turned away from Kathleen in a gesture of dismissal. “However, nothing we say matters. I’ll see to it that you’re not with us for long. Your type never is.”
Before Kathleen could issue the furious retort on the tip of her tongue, George swung the door open and Seth wheeled into the office. “So! My two favorite ladies! I see that you’ve met.”
Chapter Ten
Yes, they had met, but to Kathleen it seemed more of a confrontation. That first morning set the tone of each subsequent encounter she had with Hazel Kirchoff. Since Hazel was general manager of the store, her path crossed Kathleen’s often. Whenever they were alone together, she was
aloof and snide, but within Seth’s hearing, she was charming and gracious.
Kathleen had never seen a temperament more deadly than Hazel’s and kept her dealings with the woman at a minimum. It didn’t take long to observe that Hazel was disliked by most of the employees at Kirchoff’s. She was critical, capable of reducing even the staunchest personality to tears with her vicious tongue. But that same tongue dripped honey when Seth was around. For her brother, she smiled and praised his ideas, which she scorned outside his hearing.
She was fiercely possessive of him. Even George took a backseat when Hazel was around to see to Seth’s needs. Often, the handicapped man seemed embarrassed by her constant coddling, but he never berated her for it. He accepted her unwanted help with the kindness that characterized all his dealings with other people.
As his sister was disliked, Seth was adored by his employees. It was difficult to pity a man who didn’t pity himself. He joked constantly about his wheelchair, referring to it as his chariot. He flirted with the women employees, shared a camaraderie with the men, and made even the newest clerk feel important to the company. He paid his people well, and they knew it. In return, he expected diligence from them, and they gave it. For this reason, patrons of Kirchoff’s were faithful and were treated with a deference that other department stores could learn from.
Those first hectic days, Kathleen and Seth spent mostly in his office going over the books, checking orders that the former buyer had placed, seeing what goods had been received and which were still forthcoming for the holiday season. Some were not too bad, others were atrocious, and Kathleen and Seth groaned in despair.
“We’ll make do the best we can. In October, I want you to make a trip to New York and buy to your heart’s content for spring. That’s when we’ll make our first big breakthrough.”
“In the meantime,” Kathleen said, “I’ll call some of the houses I’ve bought from and ask if they can send me a few of their better pieces. I hope it’s not too late.”
He agreed and Kathleen set about to learn the “personality” of the store. She and Seth visited it together, riding there in his specialized van. George escorted them out the front of the office building to the van, parked in a reserved space only a few feet from the doors. The converted van was painted silver and had a black interior. A hydraulic lift raised Seth’s wheelchair into it. The van was luxurious, and Kathleen commented on it as she sank into the rich leather upholstery while George locked down Seth’s chair.
“Yeah, it’s okay,” Seth conceded dryly. “I wanted a Ferrari, but the damn chair wouldn’t fit in one.”
Kathleen laughed easily.
* * *
Much to Seth’s surprise, Kathleen asked that a small storage room on the ground floor of the seven-story building be given over as her office rather than the one he had designated as hers on one of the upper floors.