Kevin Jackson is part of the management of the Fox & Sons bookstore chain, working directly for Joe Fox. His exact position is never specified, but it appears to relate to getting new locations up and running. At one point, when they are in the recently-opened Westside store, Joe tells him You must have a lot of work to do , but Kevin denies this, saying This place is a well-oiled machine. In addition to their professional relationship, Joe and Kevin clearly have a strong friendship. Joe takes Kevin's kidding in stride, and relies on him for help in his personal life. (Their friendship has a strong parallel to the relationship of Mr. Kralik and Mr. Pirovitch in the original The Shop Around the Corner. As with Joe and Kevin, Kralik has Pirovitch peek in the cafe for him, and the latter eases into revealing who is waiting there by mentioning her coloring .)Kevin (unlike Pirovitch) is obviously single, and likely to remain that way for a while. When in a relationship, he takes it to the next level, then the level after that, and so on until it becomes necessary for him to leave.