Steele Admiring You Part 1

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Steele Admiring You
Part 1
Author's note: This takes place near the end of Season 4. For the purposes of this one, "Bonds of Steele" and the unfortunate Fifth Season never take place.-N.E.

"Laura!"

As the tall, dark haired man entered her office, Laura Holt sighed deeply before looking up at him. "Yes, Mr. Steele?" she asked sweetly, fully aware of what he was going to say.

He lifted his coffee cup. "There's no coffee," he told her. "And my morning paper isn't on my desk. When is Mildred supposed to be back?"

"I think we've been through this before, Mr. Steele," Laura reminded him. "Mildred will be back as soon as she finishes talking to the ticket agent at the airport about the Walker case. As for the paper, you KNEW she wasn't going to be here, so you COULD have bought it yourself at the newstand downstairs." Having said that, she returned her attention to the paperwork spread out before her on the desk.

"What about the coffee?" Remington wanted to know, looking for all the world like a lost little boy. "I mean, the last time this happened . . ."

"The LAST time this happened," Laura reminded him from between clenched teeth, "*I* made the coffee- and you said it tasted like a cup of the Thames! If you want coffee, Mr. Steele, I suggest you make it yourself. After all, YOU'RE the gourmet cook around here!"

Remington backed off slightly, looking offended. "Really, Laura, there's no need to become so testy."

"Testy? You want testy? You think you've got it bad? I've got FOUR reports to get finished and out in this morning's mail if we want to keep our license. If YOU hadn't suggested to Mildred that she spread her wings and agreed to let her get her license, none of this would be happening. She'd be here, where she belongs instead of out working on a case! So I think the LEAST you can do is make the coffee, Mr. Steele," she said.

Remington smiled nervously, backing out of the office and into the reception area. Going to the coffee machine, he sighed, then put on a pot of coffee before heading downstairs to buy himself a newspaper.

*****

"Look, Miss Joseph," Mildred told the younger woman who sat behind the counter, "I really need this information."

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but we're not allowed to . . . "

Mildred moved closer, lowering her voice. "It's my daughter, you see. I'm afraid that she's involved with a married man and that he's convinced her to run away with him. If you could just tell me if Mr. Walker has two tickets for a flight and where he's going, I might be able to do something about it."

The young woman looked at her for a long moment, then punched something into her computer. "Two tickets for next week to Switzerland."

"Thank you, Miss Joseph," Mildred said gratefully. "You've no idea how much you just helped me."

"I hope it works out. I was involved with a married man once. I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy."

Mildred nodded, turning away. She had to get back and tell Miss Holt and Mr. Steele what she'd found out. She smiled as she thought that Mr. Steele would probably meet her at the door asking for coffee and his newspaper. She was going to have to talk to Miss Holt about finding someone to take up the slack in the office, she supposed.

"Excuse me?"

She turned to look at the tall brunette who had stopped her. "Yes?"

"Did I hear you tell the ticket agent that was at the counter earlier that you worked for Remington Steele?"

Mildred winced. THAT tack hadn't worked at all. The regular agent had been totally uncooperative. It's the reason Mildred had been here for so long. She'd had to wait nearly half an hour before the woman's relief had taken over. "Yes, I do," she said warily. Admitting that one worked for a well known detective agency wasn't always a wise move.

The woman smiled. "You HAVE to be Mildred. Am I right?"

"Do I know you?" Mildred asked, looking the woman over with a closer eye. Tall, dark hair, expensive clothes. She looked like a fashion model more than anything else.

"No. But I've heard about you. Look, do you have time for a cup of coffee?"

*****

Laura looked up as she heard her office door open again, only to smile as she saw Remington standing there, a newspaper under his arm, and two cups of coffee in his hands. "Thought you might like a cup," he said a bit sheepishly.

"Thank you. Look, I'm sorry for snapping earlier," she apologized. "I guess I've gotten a little spoiled as well by Mildred's attention to detail. She keeps things running so smoothly that I don't know HOW we're ever going to replace her."

"Replace her?" Remington questioned, pausing as he lifted his own cup.

"Well, if she's serious about becoming a detective, she won't be able to keep running the office as well. We'll have to find another receptionist."

"Allow me to take that burden off your hands, Laura," Remington suggested quickly. "I'm sure I can find someone who . . ."

Laura lifted her hand. "Hold it. I don't think so. I'll send word to the employment agency that we're interviewing and hire someone myself. The LAST thing we need is someone like Mildred was before . . ." her voice trailed off.

"Before she found out the truth," Remington finished. "Ah, but if you'll remember, Laura, YOU hired Mildred, not I."

He was right about that, Laura thought to herself. He hadn't been overly fond of the INS investigator upon their first few meetings. "That's true."

"Can I help it that she tended to follow what she thought was the chain of command a little too fervently? After all, she DID believe that I was really Remington Steele and head of the agency." He looked down into his cup. "You realize that anyone new you hire is probably going to feel the same way? Unless it's your intention to tell her the truth right off the bat."

"Of course not. We'll just have to see what happens, won't we, Mr. Steele?" Laura said, smiling sweetly. "Thanks for the coffee," she said, turning her attention back to the reports.

"Need some help?" Remington offered.

Laura slowly looked up at him. "YOU? Offering to help with paperwork? Things are more serious than I thought they were," she teased.

Remington shook his head. "Momentary aberration," he assured her, sitting down across from her and opening his paper. "I'll just stay here and read my paper. Keep you company, as it were."

Laura smiled at him, then bent her head back to the task at hand.

*****

They both heard the front door of the agency open and Remington lowered the paper to meet Laura's eyes as Mildred entered the office, closing the door behind her. "Ah, Mildred," Remington said. "Remembered the way home at last, did we?"

Laura shot him a look. "Did you find out anything, Mildred?"

"Well, it took a little longer than I planned, but I found out that Mr. Walker has two airline tickets to Switzerland for next week."

"A Swiss bank account," Remington said, giving Laura a look which clearly said, "I told you so."

She ignored his gloating smile. "We'd better set up a meeting with Mr. Warner and let him know. Find out how he wants to proceed on this," Laura told Mildred.

"Right away." She glanced at the reports on Laura's desk and the newspaper in Remington's hands. "Miss Holt, Mr. Steele, I know that I haven't been taking care of the office the way I usually do, and I've been thinking that-well, maybe we need to hire someone to at least answer the phones and make the coffee, type reports, that kind of thing."

"We?" Laura questioned, then smiled to take the edge off her words. "Actually, Mr. Steele and I were just discussing that very topic, Mildred. I'll going to call the employment agency and have them send over some applicants."

"That's just it, Miss Holt," Mildred said. "You may not need to do that."

Remington smiled. "You mean you've changed your mind about being a detective?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh, no, Mr. Steele," Mildred assured him quickly. "It's just- I think I may've found someone who's perfect for the job."

"Really?"

"Where, Mildred?"

"At the airport. Now, before you say no, Miss Holt, hear me out."

Laura sat back in her chair. "I'm listening, Mildred."

"She's experienced. She worked for a PI before she got married a few years ago. Her husband recently died, and she's looking for a job to keep her busy. Now, she would only work part time at first to see if it worked out, but . . ." she paused as Laura spoke softly, her eyes widening as she did.

"Used to work for a PI? Recently widowed?" She was on her feet and out the door before Remington could react.

"Laura?" he questioned, standing looking at Mildred. The look of confusion changed to one of uncertainty as he heard Laura greet the woman.

"Ber-NICE!"

Remington looked at Mildred. "Not- Miss Wolfe."

Mildred frowned. "I thought her maiden name was Foxe, Chief."

"Hmm. Six of one, a half dozen of the other," he muttered, following her with an uneasy frown, feeling as if he were going to his execution. He would have to find some way to convince Laura that this simply wouldn't work.

To Be Continued.---