Bernard Morton sat behind his desk and stared out at the bleak landscape that made up Kutrate Kemicals. Business was good, profits were up and no one in the entire town of Schuyler Square had a clue as to what the company was really up to so why wasn't he happier?
It was a question Bernard had asked himself many times over the course of his life. He was handsome, smart and fairly well off. Women threw themselves at him, he had a job he enjoyed and a new car every two years. Bernard took vacations in exotic spots at least once a year and he was in excellent health.
So why wasn't he happy?
It had something to do with the vague idea that always seemed to be at the back of his head that there had to be more to life than what he was getting out of it. Other people seemed happy. Other people had wives and families and relationships that gave them a lot of pleasure. What was wrong with Bernard that he couldn't find a woman who would make him happy too?
"Mr.Morton?" Looking up, Bernard saw his new administrative assistant standing in the doorway. Mindy Cooper. She was nice looking, he realized, with long dark hair and sharp eyes. "Yes, Mindy? And call me Bernard, remember?"
"All right, Bernard," Mindy said agreeably. "Do you have a moment?"
"Sure." Bernard swung his chair around so that he was facing Mindy. "Have a seat."
"I've been going over some of Kutrate Kemical's promotional materials and I have some suggestions for you."
"You've been working here for about an hour," Bernard observed. "How could you possibly have any suggestions?"
"I'm a fast learner." Mindy sat down in the chair across from Bernard's desk and looked at him expectantly. "Would you like to hear my ideas?"
"Why not?" Bernard couldn't help being amused. Most of his administrative assistants were scared to death of him and it showed. That obviously wasn't the case with Mindy Cooper.
"Well, for starters you really need to change the name of this company. Kutrate Kemicals is simply stupid."
Bernard narrowed his blue eyes at her. "Stupid? My father thought that name up. He wanted to appeal to the masses."
"How? By insulting their intelligence? Besides, the 'masses' aren't buying your products. From what I've read, you sell mainly to production companies. I think you need to change your name to something a lot more solid and classy sounding."
"Such as?"
"How about Morton Chemicals," Mindy suggested. "It's your company. Why not name it after you? And that's another thing--I've noticed that you don't appear in any of your advertisements. If you don't mind my saying so you're a very handsome man. You could be your company's greatest asset. You could be Warren Beatty's twin brother."
Bernard felt his cheeks bronze. "I hardly think so, Mindy."
"Don't sell yourself short. You could be the Ted Turner of the chemical world. Why not?"
"Mindy, I'm afraid you have no idea of what you're talking about."
Mindy ignored him. "Also, this building is really a rat trap. Why don't you build yourself something attractive that you can be proud of? Something out of glass and steel that looks like a chemical company should look instead of a rundown dump in the middle of nowhere. I'm sure it would improve morale around here by about a thousand percent."
"Your quite the idea girl, aren't you?" Bernard asked dryly. "I can't wait to hear what you come up with when you've been here for awhile, like a week or two.
"I've always been interested in public relations," Mindy said. "I know I'm new here--"
"Brand new."
"Brand new but I'd like to be as helpful as I possibly can." Mindy smiled at her new boss and much to his surprise, he found himself smiling back.
"I'll consider your ideas," he agreed. "Maybe we could discuss them over dinner?"
Mindy's smile grew even wider. "I thought you'd never ask," she replied.
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