In the office of Jewel Butterfly Novel Paradise, there was a rumor circulating that Mr. Halsey liked to lock himself in his private office on Wednesday mornings to practice his golf putting. Whether this rumor was true or not was unknown, but the old employees at the local “Guarantee Transactions and Faithful Surety Company,” known as Wefi, had developed a habit of either finishing important work on Tuesday or postponing it until Thursday.
Halsey’s secretary, Peggy Castle, unlike her predecessors, did not get to rest on Wednesdays. Halsey, having learned that Peggy had worked for a rural newspaper before coming to Wefi, coaxed her into starting a gossip column in the company’s internal magazine. Peggy had a keen interest in people, a photographic memory for names and faces, and a broad, whimsical sense of humor. Her column, which she called “Air Castle,” attracted wide attention, making Halsey very proud and encouraging her to continue. “This is exactly what we need,” he said. “We’ve spent too much money on that ghost of a newspaper. We made it too fancy and pretentious, but who likes such an internal magazine? We want it to be friendly, interesting, and well-loved by our employees. We also hope it attracts customers from outside. What you’re doing now is just that. Keep up the good work; soon, it will bear abundant fruit.”
Halsey always carried a wallet filled with clippings from Peggy’s column. He often selected some of the best clippings and would sneak off to the club to show them to his friends. “I’ve hired a girl in the office as my secretary, and she’s incredibly sharp,” he would say. “You should see what she’s done with the gossip column in our internal magazine. Look here, ‘Air Castle’.”
The pranksters in the bond issuance department didn’t know who was behind the pranks. Bill Filmore vowed that once he found out, he would strangle the prankster until his eyes bulged enough to inscribe Bill’s initials on them. Bill and Ernest’s romance seemed steadfast. Last Thursday at noon, Bill decided to clarify his intentions, and he was accepted. That afternoon, he was walking on air. However, it seemed Bill had previously hinted to some friends and shown them the ring he bought, saying he would put it on Ernest’s finger if she agreed.
