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6:17am read the clock in Anna's car. She was used to getting up early, but still hated every single morning when the alarm buzzed. More than one expletive came from her mouth and she cursed life, creation, her existence, responsibility and every other intangible thing she could think of to blame. Still, she was thankful she had something to do, somewhere to go. She hadn't emitted a single curse in the last couple of days. She wouldn't insult life when it had given her this opportunity. Now, if it could only give her the chance of a warm shower.
It had been a surprise when she arrived home on Friday night to find Mary in hysterics. They had no running water in the flat and she had a date she needed to get ready for. The building supervisor had told them there was an electrical issue in their building's grid that served the roof top, where the water heater and pump that distributed the water to the tenants were housed. It would be several days before it would get fixed properly. The result was no water and Mary towel bathing in her father's pub in the water closet. By Sunday they had water, albeit it being a trickle, but the electrical issue in the water heater had not been fixed. The result was cold trickling water.
It had helped that she needed to trade notes with Elsie and Pops and managed to bathe at their flat on both Saturday and Sunday. She wouldn't trudge back there again on Monday and thought of a most brilliant alternative. Bates Airlift had those private shower stalls in the pilot locker room. Surely no one would object if she went there early enough to groom herself? Even if Mr. Bates came in early like he had done last week, she would already be dressed and ready. That meant getting to the office a whole hour earlier than last week.
So now, at 6:18 am, she was driving through the gates again. It was pitch black, the sun had not risen yet, but her car's headlights illuminated a lone vehicle in the carpark. John Bates' car was there. She couldn't believe it. Would he always be there if she wanted to do something in surprise? She shrieked in despair. It was no use to go back home now. She looked down, glancing at her attire – she was wearing an old Hello Kitty pink jumper and sweatpants that read "Princess" across her bum. They were her comfort, stay-at-home-and-never-be-seen-in clothes. No matter her embarrassment, she would have to ask permission to go through with her plan. She dragged her overnight bag that held her grooming essentials from the back seat, and pulled her outfit that hung from the support rungs in her car. She breathed in and walked towards the entrance, expecting full force humiliation at any moment.
The lights were out throughout the floor. That was unexpected. As far as she could make out, there were none turned on anywhere. If Mr. Bates was here, he wasn't working in his office. Maybe he was taking a nap in the quiet room? Perhaps he and Vera had a fight and he had left? She walked slowly and quietly.
"Hello. Anybody here? It's Anna Smith."
There was no response.
She realized that some lights were turned on in the hangar. The entire airfield was visible from the crew room where she now stood. The left hand side of the hangar was empty, where she was used to seeing Maggie. From a distance, she could also see the golf cart. She peered around the corner, towards where they usually parked it and she saw it was missing. Mmmm. He must be out on a flight. Perfect! Luck was finally on her side. She moved towards the showers to set everything up.
John saw the lights he had left on in the hangar. He knew his way over the terrain well enough, even in the darkness, but he always felt just a little happier when he was able to distinguish his airfield from the other city lights. In a few minutes, he would be home. This night, as all his middle of the night excursions were, was quite fraught with tension. He really wanted a long hot shower before getting to work and reviewing his work list. It might be the only thing to help him relax.
Anna stepped into one of the two available shower stalls. It was clean, but small, and thankfully had a lock. Not that she would need it now. She was alone.
She wondered how Daisy managed in here. There were no distinct male and female quarters. The two genders were supposed to share and it was definitely designed for men. There were no hooks to hang things, or towel racks to dry your towels. At least there was an electrical outlet close to the sink with a mirror. She would at least be able to blow dry her hair calmly. The lighting was dim, though. When she did her make-up, she would have to sit close to a window with natural light if she did not want to end up looking like Sarah O'Brien.
She unwrapped a towel from her body and draped it over the stall door. She started the shower and was relieved to see there was excellent water pressure, providing a heavy and steady stream. It was hot within a minute. She took at least two minutes to herself, without doing anything while the scalding liquid rained over her body. It was a glorious feeling and she realized that it was one of those things that were taken for granted until they were gone. She poured a generous portion of shampoo and lathered, then rinsed.
All of a sudden, the stall started to tremble lightly. That was odd. She looked at the shower head. Sometimes, her old bathroom fixtures trembled when there was too much demand on water from the pump on the roof, meaning too many people in the building were trying to shower. Maybe the pipes here did something similar. She ignored it and poured another amount of conditioner, smoothing it over her hair. She took her liquid soap and lathered her body completely. The trembling continued then stopped. When she was completely covered from head to toe, she had an epiphany, and to her horror, realized that the trembling was a helicopter announcing its arrival. She'd only been there a week and had heard the hard to ignore sound plenty of times, but here, in the shower, surrounded by tile, and running water, the sound was muffled and quite different than what she had experienced before. How could she not have figured this out sooner? - Specifically, the moment she first heard it. Too many precious minutes had passed. It was probably already on the ground.
Crickey! No doubt it was Mr. Bates returning from wherever he went. She frantically washed the soap and conditioner from her body and hair, running her hand all over to quicken the pace. Just a few minutes earlier, she had shuddered from the humiliation of having him see her ungroomed in sweatpants and a frumpy jumper. Wrapped in a towel was positively worse. What would he think of her?
John parked the golf cart in its place and unlocked the doors, letting himself in through the customer waiting room.
As he made his way through the dark hallways, he unzipped his pantsuit and shrugged it off his shoulders, leaving the top part dangling from his waist. The anticipation of having the hot water running over his body made him walk with haste towards the crew room. He had left everything he needed in a locker, including a fresh change of clothes. He pulled his undershirt over his head, leaving his torso bare.
He stopped for a moment in contemplation. He saw a sliver of light coming from underneath the door of the locker room. Had he forgotten to turn it off when he arrived hours ago? It was too early for any of his pilots to be out an about and there were no early departures booked for this morning. He had checked before leaving on his trip. Yet, he could remember turning it off. He always did, conscious that electric economy was key in keeping their costs down. He was always turning off the lights when other forgot to.
He opened the door to find Anna Smith wrapped in a towel and clutching her clothing against her body. She must have heard him arrive and was struggling to get all her things together before she was found in a compromising situation.
"Anna. I …..I….wasn't expecting to see you here." He could barely get out the words. He shivered at the sight he saw. He felt his temperature rise, and it wasn't from the accumulated steam in the room.
Her long wet hair clung to her body, dripping water over the mountains of her small breasts. He couldn't help but follow their path until they disappeared, absorbed quickly by the towel that covered her strategically. Even while she was shrouded and hidden behind such coverings, he could appreciate the curves of her body and see her shapely legs and calves, delicate shoulders and graceful neck. Lord, she was alluring. She was trying to be modest and show some decorum in this peculiar situation, but, she unwittingly failed, because she had not clutched her clothing appropriately. She was unaware that a black lace bra dangled from the pile, quite noticeably. It was too much for him. He felt a stirring and his body was reacting to the sight in front of him. He gasped internally. Bollocks. That was the worst thing that could happen to him. Then he thanked the Lord that the jumpsuit was not made of stretch material and could contain his growing embarrassment. He was bare-chested and ought to put on his shirt, but keeping it bunched together around his midsection was more appropriate.
"I am so, so, sorry Mr. Bates. I only have a trickle of water in my flat since yesterday and it is as cold as ice. I thought that if I came early enough, I would not run into anybody." She was very flustered, and her embarrassment was increasing as he stood with his mouth open, not reacting to what she was saying. She could tell something was happening. He looked flustered. He must be upset. She probably ruined this opportunity. He would want her out of there.
She was trying to think straight, but the sight of his uncovered torso was causing her to stutter. He had broad shoulders and a large hairy chest. He was so masculine. She couldn't stop staring and imagining herself running her hands through it. It was beckoning her, calling her to feel the silk between her fingers. She should turn around, but she was glued to the floor. She couldn't willingly move while he was still there, distracting her, but, she found words once more.
"This, This is clea, clearly abusing our business arrangement. I would understand if ….."
He raised his hand to stop her.
"It's not a problem. Just holler when you're done. I'll be in my office." He stepped back slowly and left her all alone.
John turned on the lights in his office, hoping the sudden flash of brightness could erase his memory. Will Smith, where are you? He sat down and put his head between his hands for the second time that week. That Will Smith movie prop, the one from that alien flick where he could flash you and make you forget a memory came to his mind. It could be of real help in this situation. Maybe not, he quickly reconsidered after only a few seconds. Aliens were meant to be forgotten and erased. Not a beautiful, sexy blonde sprite that just happened to be wrapped in a towel in his locker room. What a treat to have experienced. No, he did not want to forget and who was he kidding? Anna Smith did something to him. He hardly knew her, this couldn't be love, it was too early for that, but there was an undeniable attraction between them. He was sure she felt it too. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him.
Anna had dressed and groomed in record time. So much for her brilliant idea, she thought. She would have to face him soon to remove the awkwardness of their situation. They wouldn't be able to work together if she didn't. She wouldn't hide. She wasn't after all, stealing from him or doing anything illegal or crass. He had showers, she had bathed. Hopefully they could move past this.
When she was back on the administrative side, she was reminded of why she was at Bates Airlift to begin with. She found the anonymous note on her desk, in an envelope. He probably left it while she was finishing getting dressed as he did not take too much care to hide it. It was a quarter after seven and there was nobody else in the office, so she pulled it open.
YOU SHOULD NOT TRUST ALL YOUR PERSONNEL. THERE IS DECEIT ALL AROUND YOU. HEED MY WARNING.
That was strong. Why did he think this had to do with Vera and her liaisons? The letter would have said something referencing an affair, yet he was convinced it had to do with his wife. Mmmm. This was an odd way to word such a thing. She looked at it closely. It was normal office paper, a standard font but in slightly larger size. There was some fading on a couple of the words, no doubt caused by toner inconsistency in the copy machine. The toner should have been replaced by now as Mr. Bates had mentioned it had been at least a year since he received it. Reproducing the faded effect would be difficult. She would have to find a way to print something from every printer in the office to determine who the potential anonymous tipper could be.
Mr. Bates walked back to his office, leaving the smell of his aftershave cologne in his wake. It hit Anna as he walked past her desk towards his own. A warm feeling made its way into the pit of her stomach. She had never been confronted with such a sensation, such a visceral reaction to a man's scent. She'd had relationships before and was used to the clean smell of a freshly washed man, but she had never reacted this way.
She needed to pull herself together and quickly. The other employees would be arriving soon. If she was to confront him, she had to do it now.
She shook her head from side to side, trying to dispel the feelings that were threatening to derail her progress. She closed her eyes with concentration and stretched, allowing new energy to flood her senses and with as much aplomb and courage as she could muster, she walked the few steps to his office.
"Mr. Bates?" Her voice was sweet and melodious. She stayed at the entrance, not daring to come in fully.
He looked up and smiled. Hearing her say his name, with the elongated "A" was music to his hears. She said it so beautifully, almost like singing…..but she was here to talk about what just happened. That embarrassed him greatly. He hoped she hadn't seen what seeing her had done to him. He would rather not face her, but that wouldn't help accomplish their business together. He needed her to find the truth about Vera.
She couldn't read him. He didn't look upset. There was an odd look about him. Was that embarrassment?
"I won't make it a habit, this was a one time situation and I am truly sorry to have imposed myself on your good graces." She reminded herself to smile and act congenial. This was an issue of horrible timing and her taking slight liberties; it was not a reprehensible crime and she wasn't trying to take advantage of him. She hoped he saw it that way.
"No need for concern. You startled me, is all. I am not used to opening that door and encountering a scantily clad beautiful woman. Mostly, just the sorry lot of pilots who work for me."
Oh Lord, did he just put his foot in his mouth and make this more awkward? ….Scantily clad beautiful woman….. How moronic of him. She was likely to think he was a pervert. Apparently, too many years living with the ice queen had stunted his senses. Yet, Anna did not look like she was taking offense. Confused maybe, but not upset.
Anna was trying hard to hide any emotion from bubbling to the surface. Did he just call her beautiful? You must play it cool, Anna. Don't mess this up. Yet, his scent was still wafting in the atmosphere and it was threatening to override her thinking.
"Well, I can't say I've ever experienced being walked in on by a handsome bare chested man either."
That was it. There was no way of denying that her statement had not come out as blatant flirting. She had said handsome, bare chested man. It was the epitome of her stupidity. She had gone in there to settle things, not make it worse, and she had. What could she possibly say now that could fix this, whatever it was that they were doing?
There was a glimmer in his eyes after she said this. He looked pleased and at the same time, conflicted. Maybe she should just leave. Neither was very good at resolving the awkwardness of the situation.
Luckily, the sound of somebody punching the code to come through the entrance cut their time together short.
"I'll just get back to work, then." She smiled weakly and turned to leave.
Phyllis Baxter said polite and hurried hellos as she came through the front and passed behind her. Phyllis didn't even look her in the eye. She lowered her gaze as she walked past.
"Good morning." Both Anna and John responded to her in unison.
Anna felt uncomfortable and wondered if the quiet lady might have picked up anything from her body language. She couldn't imagine that Phyllis would have heard anything. That would be impossible. Mr. Bates seemed uncomfortable too and tried to avert any suspicion.
"Thank you Anna for your report…. Excellent first week."
"You're welcome Mr. Bates."
"I can't believe they have assigned you to me already." Sarah was none too pleased when Anna pulled up her chair, ready to start learning.
Anna had invoked all the patience she could gather. All last week while she was with Gwen, she had heard this Ms. O'Brien complain about everything. Nothing could be done without everybody else hearing about it.
"Well, it was Mr. Bates' schedule. I am sure he had his reasons when he organized it this way. I am all yours."
"How comforting." Sarah rolled her eyes as she opened up an excel spreadsheet.
"I'll show you how I do it, so pay attention as I will only explain it once."
"You do all of the bookings and organize the pilot rotas?" Anna asked sweetly
"You make it sound so easy. It takes more than that." There was a slight tone of offense in her response.
After several agonizing hours, Anna realized that Sarah's methods were completely ancient and unreliable. Her entire scheduling system was laid out on an excel workbook with a tab per day, a workbook per month. Each tab had all six choppers with columns underneath for every single pilot that was certified to fly it. Not every pilot could fly every helicopter. If there was a booking, Sarah greyed out the pilots name and added the time of the flight and the route details. She then filled out an information sheet for the pilot, called a "trip sheet". She had a tray with each pilots name and she would slip it into their slot. If there was any change in the schedule, or a cancellation, a similar sheet was filled out and added to their tray again.
Anna was no expert, had not even worked in anything requiring scheduling besides her university course loads, but this seemed wasteful. There had to be some sort of automation where a pilot could log in and see their schedule and not have to go through a handful of paper slips to make sense of it. Any changes could auto generate email notifications. Everybody had smart mobiles these days. If they could have information at their fingertips and at the moment, they could probably plan their days better.
As an amenity, they did provide lunch boxes with a sandwich, crisps and a piece of fruit, complemented by cold beverages. Many of their clients who were on the go rarely stopped for lunch and this kept some of their customer happy. Sarah would estimate what they would need in a week and Patmore's Executive Catering service would deliver early on Monday mornings. Anna had seen the refrigeration units in the hangar so it made sense. If supplies were depleted from unexpected bookings, the owner supplied them immediately. Sarah added the customer preferences onto the trip sheet after pulling a card from her rolodex.
A rolodex? Who uses those anymore? Surely they could have an online customer database that when you made the booking and pulled their name from the list, it would auto-populate everything else?
Anna asked how Sarah kept track of a pilot's flight hours for the day or for the week to make sure she didn't overschedule them. Anna assumed they would adhere to a similar amount of hours worked like the office staff did, even if their hours required early morning departures, late arrivals and the occasional weekend trip. Maybe even more stringent, Anna thought. She had heard reports of the risk of pilot fatigue from commercial airlines if a pilot worked too many hours without rest and wondered if it was similar with helicopter pilots. They may not fly as far away as the other pilots, but fatigue could happen to everybody. Sarah was not forthright with her answer and left Anna with many questions, the result, Anna mused, at Sarah's attempt at job security. She wouldn't show Anna all of her tasks lest she be replaced.
Anna was still more shocked when she learned that Sarah's complex spreadsheets were only backed up once a month onto CD's. If a server ever crashed, they could not protect the data that was stored. They wouldn't know what they had booked. That was a huge risk. The document was also on a shared drive, which meant everybody in the office could have access to it. When she was sick or on holiday, Gwen and Phyllis shared the load to cover for her, so more than one person had access, but there was no audit trail. You couldn't know what was booked by whom or who had touched a file. There was no accountability at all. She had to urge Mr. Bates to do something. His business was at risk.
This was a frosty morning that required lots of hot tea. Elsie poured the scalding water from the metallic thermos bottle into the disposable cups that were placed in the car's beverage holder. She didn't understand the craze about buying from the big chains – the Starbucks and Costa outlets that seemed to be all over the place. A whole box of tea at Sainsbury's was less than 2 quid and it cost as much for only a cup at any one of those fancy locations. No, she was happy doing it the old fashioned way; the way it was done before any of those modern locations had proliferated like the plague.
She opened the glove box to find the tea bags.
"Do you want Blackcurrant with Dragon fruit, or Citrus Explosion?" She held up and waved the colorful boxes for Charles to look at.
He sighed and pouted.
"Elsie, I want tea. Good old-fashioned tea, not fruit salad converted into tea. Have you no Earl Grey or Darjeeling anywhere in there?" He pointed at the accumulation of dry goods stored within the minimal space afforded in the glove box. They kept a lot of provisions in there, never knowing what a day's surveillance would bring.
"Oh bother…. You never want to try anything different." She fished out a box of his favorite morning blend and reluctantly dropped a packet into his cup. She did the same to hers, albeit trying the Blackcurrant option, and added a packet of sugar to each as well. She was slightly annoyed.
He sensed her frustration. "I get enough excitement from our profession, thank you very much…. my tea, and my woman, I like exactly the same." He winked at her, diffusing her irritation.
"Oh, you big lump." His words generated the intended effect and they shared a sweet peck that was interrupted by the pinging noise of Vera's GPS signal.
"She's on the move," observed Elsie as she held up the small screen for Charles to look at.
"She doesn't seem to be going to work." The small icon representing her vehicle had her coming towards the center of York, not going towards Elvington.
"I guess we shall need to intercept her." Charles started the car and drove towards the point they thought they would meet up with her vehicle. They had anticipated a break in her routine and had driven to a strategic location where they could drive easily if should she come towards York.
It had been a surprise last week when she had eluded them. They were absolutely sure that she was unaware of their existence and that her actions were spurred by deceit. Her need to take a very impractical route, to get to wherever she was going by using public transportation, did indicate that there was something she was trying to hide. If one has the luxury of owning a vehicle, reason would dictate that she would not have gone to extreme of parking so far from where she was headed. Mr. Bates must be right. There was substance to his accusation.
When they had arrived back home, they were able to cross reference the zone where they thought she may have descended, against the addresses of the Bates Airlift male employees. Anthony Strallan, Evelyn Napier and Tom Branson lived in the vicinity, but they were not convinced she had descended with a specific target in mind. Most likely, she had hailed a cab when they could not have seen her.
Now that they knew that she was hiding something and that catching her would require them to be the smarter party, they were ready. Most of their targets tended to be clueless and their objective of catching them in their deception was over rather quickly. They enjoyed the more complex cases and Charles often told Elsie that he likened it to a hunt and their target was their prey. This wasn't about strength and agility. This was about cunning and outmaneuvering. Charles rarely lost and Vera Bates would not win.
"Here she comes, love." Elsie could see the target approaching them.
When Charles saw her, he merged onto the street and soon enough, she passed him, speeding ahead. After a few kilometers, she put on the signal lights and turned into a commercial street lined with all sort of shops. They stayed farther behind and saw that she had been lucky enough to find a parking spot on this street. Elsie took a quick sip of her now tepid tea, pulled her hair into a low bunch and donned a pair of large rimmed sunglasses, shielding much of her upper face. As Vera positioned the car correctly, she descended the vehicle. Charles drove on, looking for a place to hide while Elsie texted him any instructions.
Elsie found herself staring at a small housewares display in a shop window. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Vera leave the vehicle and walk down the street. Elsie followed a short distance behind her, stopping frequently to look into the windows of the other establishments. Vera finally ducked into a store. Elsie sauntered slowly. The storefront read, "Maisie's Beauty Salon." Elsie took her mobile and pretended that she was trying to get a better signal, justifying her presence right outside the window. She could see Vera inside and before too long, she was ushered to a room in the back.
This could be a trick. She had eluded them once before. There were only two more businesses and she turned the corner, seeing to the backside of the establishments. There was a narrow snickelway and she came upon the door which would be the rear exit of "Maisie's Beauty Salon". There was a window where she would be able to look in, but, it was too high up. She texted Charles to explain her location and within a few minutes, he encountered her by foot.
All of a sudden, they heard a female's voice moaning, followed by a loud yelp.
"What do you need?" There was a sense of urgency in his voice. They might have stumbled into an opportunity. He didn't see anybody in the narrow lane they were on, but continued whispering, lest they be heard as well. If they could hear the moaning, then those on the inside could hear them too.
She pointed towards the window. "I need to look in there."
He looked around and there was no debris he could pile together to support her. He would have to hoist her up there himself. They had a rule while working and following on a lead. They would not question the other's need as long as it wasn't outrageous. When they were in work mode, they supported each other 100%.
"Do you want my back, or hands?"
She thought for a moment. They weren't getting any younger and her weight would do him harm either way, so, the fastest would be his hands. She made sure she had everything she needed for her camera, adapting the zoom lens, preparing it for immediate use.
They heard another loud moan. Was it possible that she was meeting her lover clandestinely in this location? Elsie hoped so. She did worry about Anna working in that place. The sooner they could catch Vera, the better it would be for everybody.
"Your hands will be quicker."
He laced the fingers of both hands together, and then leaned against the wall for support. He spread his legs to balance himself better, then stooped a few inches to make this "virtual step" easier for her.
She took hold of his shoulder and positioned her foot in his hands. She was boosted into the air at just enough height that she could peer into the room through the small window. He was having a hard time keeping her steady and she found herself swaying and holding onto the window sill for stability. She could also hear Charles moaning below, and trying to suppress the noise.
They heard another moan and Elsie shuddered with what she had just seen. It had been enough and she tapped his shoulder as a signal to let her down.
He was red faced from the strain.
"We can go. She's in there getting a Brazilian."
"What?...Quick! It doesn't matter where he's from. Take her picture with him. That's all we need." He was whispering loudly.
She sighed. He clearly did not understand.
With a hint of shame in her voice, she whispered back. "She's getting her VA-JAY-JAY waxed, Charles. It's not a man."
"I don't understand. Waxing her VA-JAY-JAY? What is that?"
Elsie was not a prude, but she was a bit old fashioned. Speaking about the female genitalia to her husband out in the open was a bit of a stretch for her…. and knowing him, he would be quite flustered when he realized what that was. She would have to spell it out in clearer terms.
She took his hand and with a motherly and firm tone, she explained. "She is getting her vagina waxed, love. That involves removing most of her pubic hair by having it covered in hot wax, applying a strip of paper or cloth, then ripping it quickly from her body. I've heard it can be quite painful. "
His eyes popped open wider with disbelief, then shock.
"Oh, God," was all he said.
"John, can I have a moment?" He heard the distinct suave voice of his Sales Manager walking through the door.
"Of course. What's on your mind?" John knew what this was about and sighed internally. He did not want to upset Richard. He was a good man, but he was asking too much.
"Have you had the opportunity to look at the partnership proposal that I put together?" He was very eager to get a response.
"I have, but I'm just not sure….. " John reflected concern. He wanted to be very tactful. "It's very bold. You're asking for a 50% stake in the company."
Richard smirked with a bit of cynicism.
"Come now John. You know we can negotiate and you know I am worth it. I have the capital to invest and it is through my work that you have all the accounts that you do. In the last five years since I have been here, you've grown from two to six aircraft and added personnel to meet the demand you've had. That didn't all happen by itself."
Richard had him there. He was very gifted in Sales. Bates Airlift did owe him a lot.
Richard continued.
"If I land the CONOCO EXPLORATIONS account, it will be worth millions and when I do, you will have to consider this partnership. I won't continue to work here if you do not value my contribution."
There was a raised tone of indignation in his voice. John wanted to diffuse the tension.
"Richard, I cannot deny that your contribution hasn't helped us grow over the last five years. It has. I also pay you a very generous commission for each contract, so this contribution has not gone unnoticed." He paused to emphasize a point. "I am willing to entertain a different percentage, but I have to talk to Vera. She has to have a say in this as well."
Richard smiled. It was a small gain.
"I trust you will know how to convince your wife."
Anna took a couple of calls while Sarah listened in and filled out several "trip sheets" that day. For all of Sarah's antagonism, the day seemed to be going smoothly. So much so, that the sour woman had left her alone for a whole hour to fend for herself. Anna quite enjoyed the challenge and spoke to two more accounts that wanted modifications on their schedules. After each call she took, she decided to email herself the tab she had changed from each workbook that was touched so that she could track what changes she had made. She also enabled the "Track Changes" function in excel. Gwen had made it absolutely clear to her that when working with Sarah, you could never be careful enough. Save every email from her; print every change you make. Basically – CYA – Cover Your Arse. As crass as that sounded, Anna decided she wouldn't question Gwen's good judgment. She had lived with it for longer and new better than she did. That and her own sixth sense told her not to trust the woman at all.
Thomas and Sarah leaned against the golf cart taking a smoke in the shade.
"Is she any good?" Thomas asked before puffing on the cigarette.
"If by good, you mean - overzealous-job-stealing-bitch, then, the answer is yes."
Thomas rolled his eyes with surprise.
"Blimey. That was harsh. What makes you think she is out to steal your job? Has she said anything?"
"She doesn't have to. Anybody who interns in a placement program is out to find a job. Why should this one be any different?" Sarah was emphasizing her words as the emotion started to catch up with her. "There she is asking all of these questions, trying to learn, trying to be perfect…. She even asked me if I had considered automating some of my processes. Who does she think she is? All of a sudden she is an expert?"
"That does seem a little presumptuous for somebody that is so new." Thomas looked upset. "What will you do?"
"Well, she can forget about my job. I won't let her get the better of me, that's for sure. I'll show her where her place is…."
"What do you mean?"
"I know how to get her in trouble. Watch and learn." Sarah put out her cigarette and went back inside.
"Toneeeeee….."
Anna cringed when she heard Vera yelping for Anthony Strallan from her desk. He wasn't that far away to not hear her, but he was removed enough for it to be rude for her to call out like that. She should have walked to his office herself or dialed his extension. It was disturbing the entire office. She had only gotten to work half an hour ago, even when it was almost mid-day. Anna hoped Pops and Elsie had made progress tracking her movements. The sooner she could help Mr. Bates, the better it would be for everybody in this office
"Toneeeeeee…"
When she called a second time, Anna saw a very befuddled man walk across the hall to where she was.
"Yes, Vera."
He disappeared into the office.
"Angieeeeeeeee….."
Anna closed her eyes. She should have known she would be next. The damn woman couldn't remember her name either. She repeated to herself that getting that woman whatever beverage she wanted allowed her more insight into her conversations. That calmed her enough. She stood and walked towards the office, anticipating the request.
"Yes, Mrs. Bates?"
"Tea with one sugar… and quick, I'm suddenly very cold." Anna was about to leave. "Wait. Tony, do you want something?'
He turned towards Anna with a kind and perturbed look. "No, I am fine. I can get my own drink."
She could not have been gone more than five minutes. She returned and observed that Anthony looked very uncomfortable.
"Will you do that for me, pleeeeeeease…..?" She drew out the syllables of the last word, elongating the question. She sounded whiny. From the corner of her eye, while she was setting down the mug, she noticed Mrs. Bates feet wrap around his legs, playing some sort of very improper "footsies" with him. He didn't pull his feet away, although he didn't have much room if he would have tried.
Before Anna left, she could hear him say. "I'll do my best."
She returned to her desk and sat down, wondering what to think of that. Not a moment later, Mr. Bates himself walked out of his office towards hers. Anthony encountered him outside and his expression made him look very guilty. He couldn't look him in the eye and left. That was odd. Mmmm. Anthony Strallan, the lover? Not being able to face Mr. Bates was a definite clue. She would have to check him out.
Before she could process any further, she heard Vera raise her voice again. Mr. Bates was closing the door behind him as he stepped into the office, but she managed to hear her say, "So, slipping out in the middle of the night Batesy? What's her name?"
A/N: My intention was to post a chapter a week, but RL is not allowing me to respect my allotted writing time. IT may be a while before I can get back to a weekly update.
Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think..
