Obliquely find out what Dec's like to work with? (6)
I believe the answer is:
askant
'obliquely' is the definition.
(askant can mean at a slant)
'like to work with?' is the wordplay.
'like' becomes 'as'.
'to work with?' becomes 'kant' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'as'+'kant'='ASKANT'
'find out what dec's' acts as a link.
This may not be correct. Some or all of it may be part of another bit of the clue.
(Other definitions for askant that I've seen before include "Mistrustfully" , "awry" , "regarded thus with suspicion" , "With an oblique glance" , "showing suspicion" .)