Althea's carefully constructed composure was tested to the limit during her first week as Ward Kingman's assistant. As luck would have it, during her second day on the job Miss Dunston was taken ill and was rushed to the hospital, where she underwent an emergency appendectomy, and Althea was left to learn the ropes and cope with her difficult employer on her own. He was forceful, blunt, demanding, and, as much as she hated to admit it, absolutely brilliant. He had an agile mind that worked with all the precision and speed of a computer, and he tended to be impatient with anyone who couldn't keep up with him. Most of the time Althea felt as though she were floundering like a banked fish. Well, you wanted a challenge, and that's certainly what you got, she reminded herself as she gazed at an open file drawer, trying to make sense out of Miss Dunston's system. "Miss Winters, will you come in here." Ward Kingman's sharp command rasped over the intercom.
