"Oh, I uh....I'm sorry," she apologized. "I don't know what came over me." She turned back to Callie. "I am afraid you will have to leave or I will have to call security and they will escort you off the premises."

"I'm not leaving without Joe," Callie said, her expression set.

"Would you please get over it?" Joe demanded, glaring at Callie. "Can't you see I don't want to date your sister any more?"

Callie froze imperceptibly. Had she come close to blowing Joe's cover? "Then you should have the common decency to tell her that," Callie snapped.

Joe gave an inaudible sigh of relief. Maybe this could be salvaged after all. "I will," he agreed. "When she gets back. Now, how about that cup of coffee?" he asked, turning back to the receptionist, his blue eyes twinkling and his smile bright.

Callie turned to leave. She saw Frank slinking away from the desk and realized what had been going on. Now, Joe would need an excuse to leave. "No," she said, turning back to Joe. "I think you should call her and tell her right now. After all, she might meet someone while she's away."

"For crying out loud, woman," Joe roared. "Must you torment me so?"

"Make a clean break from my sister and I will never bother you again," Callie vowed.

"Do it," the receptionist urged him. She went to the desk and wrote something down on a slip of paper and handed it to Joe. "And when you are finished, give me a call. I get off work in two hours."

"Thanks," Joe said, winking at her. He left the lobby with Callie dogging his steps.

Callie followed Joe to the van and climbed in the back. "What are you doing here?" Frank asked her curiously.

"Applying for a job," she admitted.

"On a Sunday afternoon?" Joe demanded in disbelief.

Callie shrugged. "Hotels are a twenty-four hour place," she explained her reasoning.

"Did you get it?" Joe inquired.

"I have to come back tomorrow at nine a.m. and talk with the manager," she confessed a bit sheepishly. "Now, what were you two doing?"

Joe told her what had been going on over the wekend then looked at Frank. "Well?" he asked. "Who was in the royal suite?"

"Hurd Applegate," Frank answered.

Joe's eyes widened for an instant. "Oh, yeah," he said. "Mr. Applegate is having some renovations done on his house."

"If you two are finished, how about going to see a movie with me?" Callie asked, looking at Frank.

"We have one more hotel to check out," Frank informed her. "But we should be done by seven. Meet you at the theater then?"

"Okay," she agreed. "Sorry for almost blowing everything," she added to Joe.

"It worked out," Joe shrugged it off.

"See ya later," Callie said, leaning over the seat and giving Frak a kiss before getting out of the van.

Frank drove to The Excelsior and parked the van. "Maybe you should stay in the van," Frank told Joe. "If these guys are here, we don't want them to see you."

"But they knew me before they met me," Joe pointed out. "Why else would they have wanted to play golf with Stan and me in the first place? And that means, they will know you too," he ended.

"When you're right, you're right," Frank admitted, reaching down under Joe's seat and pulling out a medium sized cosmetic case. He opened it up and removed a small mustache which he secured to his face with some glue. Next he pulled out a little box which held colored contacts and put those in his eyes. Joe grabbed a cap with long hair attached to it and put it on his head. Lastly, he donned a pair of sunglasses. "Let's go," he said, opening the door and getting out of the van.

Inside, they found the manager on the phone in a snit. "Look, I can't wait. One of the bellboys has quit and one of the cooks and two of the maids. I need help now!" She paused, her furrowed expression never changing. "Then I will just have to put a help wanted sign on the front door of the hotel," she said. "I can't wait for two days until your employees return from their vacations. I thought you were a temp service that could be counted on. You will not get The Excelsior's business ever again," she declared and slammed down the phone.

"Excuse me," Frank said, as the woman looked up and saw them. Her name tag read Marilyn Anderson.

"Yes," she said, plastering a smile on her face. "How may I help you?"

"I was hoping I could put in an application," Joe said, smiling at her.

She looked at him, half in hope and half in despair. "We could use a bellboy," Marilyn admitted. "But I am afraid you would have to do something with your hair."

"My hair?" Joe asked in shock. "You mean I can't work here if I have long hair?"

"I could give you a position as a maid," she told him. "But our bellhops must be clean shaven and have short hair."

"I'll shave," Frank volunteered for the position.

"Wonderful," she stated, giving them a real smile. She pulled out two applications and handed one to each boy. "Fill these out," she told them. "You may bring yours back at ten tonight when you come on duty," she told Frank. "As for you," she said, turning to Joe. "Could you start now?" Joe nodded. "Excellent," she enthused, relief evident on her face and in her tone. "You can fill yours out now. I'll be back in a few minutes to tell you where to go."

"What are you going to do when she demands you take the cap off?" Frank hissed at Joe once Marilyn was out of earshot.

"Don't worry," Joe told him. "I've got it covered," he added, smiling. "At least you don't have to start work until after your date."

Frank's eyes went wide. "I'd forgotten," he said, glancing down at his watch. "I'll let mom know what's going on. Be careful."

"You too," Joe added but if Frank heard, Joe never knew because he was already half way to the front of the lobby.

Marilyn returned with a woman in tow. "This is Shelia Marten. She is your supervisor."

"Hello," Joe greeted her. "My name is Jim Hooper."

The woman looked at him critically, not acknowledging the introduction. "You will have to lose the hat," she ordered.

"I can't do that," Joe said, shaking his head.

"Why not?" she demanded.

Joe leaned over and whispered in the manager's ear. She looked upset and then looked over at Shelia. "It will be all right for Jim to keep his cap on," she stated.

Shelia looked stunned but Marilyn did not elaborate. "As you wish," Shelia agreed. "Jim, if you'll follow me, you can get started."

Joe handed Marilyn his application and followed Shelia from the lobby.