The Day I Met Mikkelsen
I've had this one in a drawer for a while. It's broadly inspired by the life of Howard Hughes. Most of the people who have read it feel that it's more of a first chapter of a novel than a short story, and they're likely not wrong.
The job listing in the Review-Journal read “Executive Assistant required - Discretion of highest importance - Veterans of the Pacific Theater preferred.” I wasn’t sure what an Executive Assistant was, but I was a veteran. I spent two years behind a cold steel desk at a Navy depot in San Diego thanks to childhood asthma and a bad knee, but I was a veteran all the same. Also, my wife thought applying for the job was a good idea. Something to get me out of the house, she said.
I called the number in the ad and waited dry-mouthed as the line rang. A deep, gravel-worn voice that sounded slightly Texan answered and I made my inquiries. He gave me an address a block off the Strip to report to the following day.
