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Message-ID: <57227asstr$1201497001@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
From: "Victor Echo" <victor.echo@gmail.com>
Subject: {ASSM} Luci - Chapter 12 (MF+, anal, cheat?, food, tech, slow, rom....etc, etc, etc.)
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Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:10:01 -0500
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(c) 2008 Victor Echo

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents
are either the product of the author's disturbed imagination and are
used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual persons, living, dead,
undead or mostly harmless, business establishments, events, or locales
is entirely coincidental.

Author's note: Thanks for reading and thank you for your comments.  I am
also online at http://storiesonline.net/auth/Victor_Echo

Luci - Chapter 12

The alarm's buzzing woke me from a sound, deep sleep.  Did I mention I hate
alarm clocks?  I think I hate alarm clocks worse that I hate cheap hotels.
 So an alarm clock in a cheap hotel ranks right down there on the bottom of
the list.  The bed was warm and comfortable, if only a little crowded and I
was fighting the urge to burrow down between the bodies and the blankets
and go back to sleep, but work was calling me and her song was one I was
fighting.  I do not like disasters and for the better part of the last two
weeks it seemed like I had been fighting one fire after another.  The only
thing worse is when it is still dark outside.  And it was.  I was supposed
to meet Louise in the lobby at 7:30 so I had set the alarm clock for 6,
time enough to get up, showered and dressed and shovel some breakfast into
me before we started what I suspected would be an extraordinarily long day
that would tax all of our skills.  Janice had reached over and killed the
alarm, and I was hoping, the clock, but such was not my luck as I was
nudged repeatedly.

"OK, OK, I am awake," I said surly and with a little grump in my voice.

"Two feet on the floor mister," Janice said half-awake.  How well did she
know me?

"Don't want to," I said, somewhat petulantly, extracting myself from
between the two of them before sliding down to the foot of the bed and
standing up and walking over to the window.  It was, indeed, still raining
outside, the weather fitting my mood, dark and gloomy. getting a snort from
Christine as she rolled over and tried to burrow deeper into the blankets.
 The room was noisy, even at night with people in the hallway already,
rattling plumbing and heating units, thin walls.  It was not conducive to a
good nights sleep, even as fatigued as we had been.  My body was protesting
the hour, the lack of solid sleep and the fact that it still seemed to be
pouring down rain outside.  It fit my mood.

I managed to get through my morning routine without slitting my throat and
got dressed.  Janice was awake by that point.  She had always been a
morning person and I detected that Christine was too, although not very
happy about it.

"Might as well start getting ready too," Janice said as she climbed out of
bed and came over to kiss me.  "We will meet you..." she let the sentence
trail off, the question implied.

"In the lobby," I replied, not having a better suggestion at the moment.

"OK.  Go get some food.  It could be the last for a while," she said, as
she walked into the bathroom.

I walked over and kissed Christine who only grumbled a little and began
stretching herself.  I let myself out of the room and headed down to the
lobby.  Breakfast was not on the menu it would seem.  Instead there was bad
coffee and a couple of slippery looking donuts.  I skipped the donuts and
did not finish the coffee.  We would have to stop somewhere on the way to
the airport so I could get some food into me.  I agreed with Janice.  I do
not normally eat breakfast, but I suspected that once we got started, the
day would evaporate into a flurry of activity and remembering to eat would
be lost in the shuffle. I sat down in one of the chairs and scanned the
headlines of the local paper while I waited for Louise to arrive.

"Good morning Gary," Louise said, waving towards the continental breakfast
laid out on the buffet in the lobby.  "You better grab something now.  It
could be a long time until lunch."  I looked at her, one eyebrow raised
while she turned to the breakfast bar.

"They call this breakfast?" Louise asked me a few minutes later as she
walked back to where I was sitting.  She was wearing the same clothes as
yesterday and still not looking pleased.  If it were possible, she looked
less rested than I felt.

"Well, that is what they are calling it, but I don't think I would find
anyone that would agree with them," I replied folding the paper and
standing up.  "Personally, I think we can find some Golden Arches on the
way to the airport.  Actually, I would recommend we do."

"I agree," she said, looking around the lobby.  "Ready?"

"Lead on Macduff," I replied.  "For today we meet our executioner."  OK, so
I would never be a theatrical performer, but it was going to be one of
those days.  Louise seemed to agree.

"Don't quit your day job, Gary," she said.  "Besides, the executioner has
already been and gone.  I think we are the clean-up crew."

"I am afraid you might be right on that," I replied holding the door for
her as we made our way out into the rain.  We dodged drops, unsuccessfully,
and Louise drove us out into the morning.

"Do we have a game plan for today or are you just going to try and find the
office and fire everyone in sight for being idiots?" I asked as we pulled
into the morning rush hour traffic.

"I actually like that idea, I just wish we could.  No, I am not sure what
sort of game plan Craig has in mind.  There is no question that Ethan over
stepped himself on this one.  The office was supposed to move, but we were
still in the preliminary discussions with the leasing company and had not
even gotten to the point of getting your people involved.  Even I know you
do not just move a bloody office full of computer gear and not tell the
corporate IT people you are doing it.  How bad was the damage?"

"Well, on first blush, I would say it was bad.  Ripped and cut cables are
hard fix.  You just cannot Krazy Glue them back together again like a
broken pot.  Depending on how much stress was put where, you could have to
replace whole segments of cable.  Certainly cutting the head off of the
router cable is a bad thing.  Those are not cheap cables, and you cannot
just run out to Radio Shack and get another one.  Beyond that, there could
be systems damage to the physical hardware at the interface level. If the
servers were not shut down correctly the hard disks could be damaged.  Data
could be lost.  It is not something I can really give you a good handle on
until I get a chance to look at it all and see where we are at.  Turn in
here, please.  Want anything?"  Louise shook her head and I dashed inside.

"So you cannot even give me an estimate on how long it will take to get
them operational?" Louise was not looking happy as she asked me that after
we pulled back out into traffic.

"Louise, I cannot even tell you I can get them operational.  Worst case is
we are looking at a total loss of corporate data and complete system
unavailability until new gear is delivered.  It could be weeks before we
have this office back on-line.  Or it could be a simple matter of waiting
for the phone company to expedite a high-speed line and plugging it in.
Until I actually see it, I am only guessing."

"Did I tell you I hate it when you guess?" She was not really smiling, but
she was resigned to the idea that it could be a long period of time before
the office was fully operational.  Something that I know she was not happy
about.  I was not happy either.  This should not have happened.  Sadly, the
site administrator did not work for the IT group.  The position had been
outsourced before I got here by the previous group VP in a cost cutting
move, so there was no one really on-site who worked for us, at least not
directly.

"Louise, one thing we need to address and this incident really drives it
home, is the need to make sure that while the sites are autonomous, or as
autonomous as they can be, that the IT people work for IT rather than for
the site lead."

"You mean they don't?"  She seemed surprised.

"No, they are overhead in most of the organizations and are part of the
operation budget of the site, which is why there is no IT person here.
Well, there is a person on site, but he is not one of our people anymore.
Actually, given the size of this site there should be at least three people
here.  Last I heard they were contracting with a local company to cover the
break/fix while we took care of the servers on an as needed basis.  Of
course, the company that has the maintenance contract hired the
administrator that we cut loose.  It is not an ideal arrangement.  We need
to rework the whole IT structure I think."  Wheels started spinning in my
head as I tried to remember what Jerry and I had discussed on this subject
a couple of times.  It was really his area but we had both suffered through
the frustrations of trying to get stuff done at a site and been stonewalled
or flat out told to go away by the site lead because they did not have
enough money or manpower available to support our needs.

"Jerry knows about this?" Louise asked, hoping the answer would be one she
liked.

"Oh, he knows all about it.  We both have gained several grey hairs over
the issue and the problems it has introduced."

She nodded her agreement and seemed about to say something else when we
pulled into the parking lot at the airport with plenty of time to spare.
Louise set about finding a second car while I started looking at the ads
around the airport.  The hotel we were in was fine if you were only bunking
overnight, but it would not support the operation I suspected we were about
to enter into.  By the time Louise had got the car, I had made a few calls.

"Once we get the boss," I began, "I suggest we gather our belongings and
change venues."

"I was going to suggest something similar," Louise replied, "my back is
killing me."

"They were not the most comfortable of beds were they?"

"No, not by a long shot.  What do you have in mind?"

I told her my plan and she agreed, leaving me to make the arrangements
while she went to check the status of the plane.  We were outside security
waiting when Craig, Patricia and Maureen arrived a little after 9:00 AM.
Louise brought Craig up to speed while I wrangled the bags, carts, and
keys.  Louise took Craig and Patricia back to the hotel while Maureen and I
rode out to the rental car lot to pick up the second car.

"So, it is bad?" Maureen asked.

"I guess it depends on your definition of bad," I replied.  "I mean, for a
moving job, it is pretty thorough.  They cleaned the place to the bare
walls and didn't leave a thing behind.  I would call that pretty good
myself.  Of course, I might actually have unplugged some of the equipment
before moving it rather than ripping it out or cutting the wires, but
that's just me."  I was already on a low boil and Maureen seemed to sense
it.

"What are the options?" She asked.

"I guess it all depends on the story they tell.  The equipment is missing a
key cable, based on what we found on the floor, and the router will
probably have to be reprogrammed, even if they have managed to get a new
data line from the phone company.  Janice and I would have to inspect the
rest of the equipment to see what condition it is in.  Technically, the
whole plant could be operational, at least at the local level, but I am not
going to place any money on that.  More likely they are barely operational
and have someone's relative doing their networking.  Someone who doesn't
really understand what is involved."

"From an operational standpoint, the site manager and probably every other
senior person in the place is looking at a swift kick in the ass, followed
by a pink slip for gross stupidity.  I could see formal charges brought as
well for a variety of things like malfeasance, theft of corporate property,
negligence.  I could go on but why bother.  What really torques me is that
there are probably good people at that site that are going to loose their
jobs because some twit that should never have been making management
decisions made an executive decision to up and move the operation without
any thought to the consequences and we have to take time out of our
schedules to clean up the mess."  I wound down and focused on my driving as
I pulled into the parking lot of the hotel.

We got out and walked into the lobby where everyone had gathered.  Craig
looked furious and Patricia was no happier.  Janice and Christine were
checking us out while I outlined the plan for Craig.  We were pulling up
stakes here and moving to a more central hotel between the two sites that
had conference rooms and the ability for us to take over one and turn it
into our war room for the duration.  I had booked a week knowing we could
be here longer and hoping I would be able to get out for a change of
clothes this evening at least.

"At least someone in this company is thinking," Craig growled not really
looking at anyone as Louise ushered him and Patricia back out to the car.
Maureen stayed with me and Janice and Christine piled in the back seat.
Louise indicated I should lead, which I did, pulling out of the parking lot
and into traffic.  It was not a long drive, but it was a work day and
Atlanta is like every other city in its fair share of traffic and
bottlenecks.  We reached the hotel about 30 minutes later and pulled into
the parking lot.  At least the rain had let up, leaving the pavement wet,
the air damp and chilly and the sky still a very leaden grey.  It was doing
nothing to lighten my mood.

We checked in.  The rooms were not ready yet but the conference room was,
so we migrated there with the manager in charge.

"So what will you be needing?" He was positively hovering over Craig, who
was deferring to me.

"A couple of data drops with Internet access, six large tables we can write
on, a dozen chairs, a couple of flip charts with markers and the name and
directions to the nearest consumer electronics store," I said.  "We will
bug you if we need anything more."  I left the statement open as I looked
at Craig.

"No, that should be sufficient for now.  We will work meals in as we go.
Oh, better bring a couple of pitchers of water and glasses," he added.

The manager scurried away to get the things we asked for while we walked
into the room.  It was a ballroom technically, and big enough to host a
large gathering of several hundred people.  We would be crowded around a
couple of tables against one wall, but it was better than trying to work
out of the rooms.

"If you will excuse me," I said, "I will go and get the rest of the
supplies we need.  Who brought their machines with them?"  Hands went up
around the room and Janice set about collecting them while I headed out the
door.  She would call me on the way and tell me what sort of things I
needed.  I was hoping to get away with a quick and dirty wireless set-up
and made a note that I should lay in supplies for this sort of emergency
gathering.  I was back into traffic and off in less than 10 minutes.

The directions were adequate.  I missed the place the first time, which,
for a big box store is hard to do, but it was set back from the road and
not visible from the direction I was driving.  My phone rang as I was
pulling into the parking lot and Janice gave me the quick update.  We could
do wireless.  Christine's machine needed a card, but the others had
wireless adapters on-board.  She also suggested I bring back a couple of
lengths of cable in case we needed to hook up to their data connection.
For what we were paying, they should be providing the cable but it made me
think of getting a printer and some paper.  30 minutes later a very helpful
salesperson was helping me load the printer and the rest of the equipment
into the car, my credit card still smoking in my hand.  At least it felt
that way.  I was back in the conference room less than an hour after I had
left it.

Louise was briefing Craig and Maureen while Christine and Patricia were
taking notes.  Janice and I started setting up the network.  In less than
15 minutes we had an operational war room and Janice started laying out
machines while I unpacked and set up the printer.

"Gary, what's your take on this?" Craig asked while I was pulling tape off
of the printer.

"You don't want to know," I replied, truthfully.

"Maureen already gave me the digested version," he said.  "I cannot say I
disagree with you either.  What, if anything, can we salvage?"

"From the site?  I honestly don't know.  Until we can get in and look at
the equipment it could be a complete loss, although I am not expecting it
to be that bad."

"Estimates?"

"Craig, sitting here, I don't honestly know."

The room went silent for a moment as everyone looked at each other.

"So why are we sitting here?" Craig said, standing up.

We headed out to the cars and were on the road.  It took about 45 minutes
to get to the new office site.  The rain had finally stopped and the sun
was starting to peek out.  The parking lot was not that full, which
surprised me a little, even though it was coming up on the lunch hour.
Craig led the parade into the building that was thankfully open this time.
 I brought up the rear.  Louise was behind Craig.  I was feeling sorry for
the receptionist.

"Can I help you sir?" She was a little bit of a thing, made smaller by the
hulking desk she sat behind.  Probably hired for her looks than for what
was between her ears.  She struck me as a real Georgia peach in all the
negative senses of the term.  Louise was looking less and less amused and I
had spent all day yesterday with her and I did not think she could get any
less amused.  Craig actually smiled, so I followed suit.

"I am here to see John Weems.  I do not have an appointment," he said.

"Mr. Weems no longer works here," she said, her southern accent cutting
through the tension.

Craig turned to look at Louise, who looked as confused as Craig was.  We
all sort of did a quick look at each other as well as around the room.  The
logo behind her was ours.  The letterhead was ours.  We were in the right
place.

"How about Allan Jack," I said.  Allan was supposed to be the network
administrator, but it was a long shot that he would be here.

"Let me see if I can find him," she said.  "Your name please?"

"Gary Preston," I said, moving up to the counter.

She nodded and a punched a number into the console.  We could hear her
talking to someone for a moment and then hung up.

"If you will have a seat, he will be right with you," she said and then
promptly ignored us.  I tried not to laugh and herded the owner and head of
the company away from the desk.  He was looking slightly bemused.  Louise
was trying not to laugh and Maureen and Christine were smiling.  Patricia
had a funny look on her face and I could not quite figure out what she was
thinking.

A few minutes later, Allan walked into the lobby.  I had met him a couple
of times before but I do not know if he remembered me.  He was a little
stunned to see the crowd around me.

"Allan," I said, walking up and shaking his hand.  "We need to talk."

"Gary, good to see you again."  He seemed shocked.  Well, I could
understand that.  I expected there would be a lot of people looking that
way by the time we were finished.

"Allan, I don't know if you have met Craig Kelly," I said, indicating
Craig.  "And this is Louise Hampton," I continued, point out Louise.  "I
think you need to escort us to your conference room," I suggested.

"I think you might be right," he said.  "This way please, sir," he said to
Craig.

We walked through the doors and down a hall to a small conference room.  We
took up most of the room.  I closed the door behind us and indicated that
Allan should take a seat.

"So," I began, trying to sound casual, "want to tell me what hell is going
on?"  So much for the laid back approach.

"Gary, I wish I knew," he began, holding up his hand to forestall any
response.  "Three weeks ago everyone was told that the office would be shut
down for three weeks while it was renovated.  OK, that did not really
surprise anyone because people had all been complaining about the working
conditions.  The place was a dump."

"We know, we saw it," I said.

"I came in on Monday, thinking everything was going to be normal.  Instead
I found a moving crew hauling out everything that was not nailed down.  I
got scooped up and brought over here to make sure we could get things moved
in correctly.  Gary, it was a mess.  Gear was piled in the corner and I was
here until late Monday.  No data lines, no order.  Half the PCs seem to be
damaged in someway.  I was almost sick when I finally found the router.  I
still have not found the CSU/DSU."  He was pale.  There is no question
things were not good.  And they were just about to get worse.


In the end, it took three weeks to sort the mess out.  The systems were
pretty much a write-off, the organizational structure in shambles and Craig
was seriously thinking about closing the office all together, but the
amount of work we had would have meant we needed an office somewhere, so,
with Louise at the helm and Janice, Allan and myself pitching in where we
could, we managed to get a functioning office back up and running to the
point that I could head home.


The cab dropped me at home a little after five on Friday afternoon.  The
house was sort of empty if you consider the two members of the Firm camped
in my living room and no sign of Fay or Ellen empty.

"You must be Gary," the female member of the pair said as I came through
the door.  "I am Ann Dawson and this is Bill Thomas," she said indicating
her partner.

"Hi.  Where's Fay?"  I was not really up to dealing with them and put my
case down at the foot of the stairs and walked into the kitchen in search
of a drink.

"I believe she said she was going to pick up Ellen," Ann said from the
living room.

There was no beer in the refrigerator but there was an open bottle of
merlot so I killed the bottle pouring myself a glass.  I did not even think
to offer the lawyers a drink.  If they were here and Fay was out, they knew
were the refrigerator was as well as I did.

"If you have a moment, I have some questions for you," Ann said.

I walked back into the living room and flopped down into the couch near
her.  She looked more than a little put out.  In fact, she looked like a
soccer mom in the most republican sense of the word.  Her suit was severe,
her hair was pulled back into a tight bun and she had on sensible shoes.
She was maybe forty years old and I did not find her the least bit
attractive.

"Ask away," I said, taking a sip of my wine.  "But make it quick.  I have
had a very long couple of weeks and I am not putting up with any stupid
lawyer games."  Yes, I was tired and cranky.

"Oh, no games sir.  We just have a couple of simple questions.  What sort
of compensation did you want?"

"Compensation?  For what?"  I was confused.

"From the suit, sir."

"From the suit?  Ann, I did mention that I was tired and that I have had a
very long couple of weeks?  Can you be more precise?  I haven't been
keeping up I am afraid."

"The harassment suit, sir," she said like I was a child.  "What sort of
compensation do you wish to receive?"

Fay and Ellen came through the door at that moment.

"Hi daddy, you're home!"

"Hi yourself.  Do I get a hug?" And with that, she threw herself at me,
arms around my neck as Fay stepped up and rescued the wine glass from my
hand as I hugged my daughter back and kissed her cheek.

"OK, go and clean up that mess of a room," Fay said after a couple of
minutes before kissing me quickly as Ellen scrambled out of my lap.

I took my glass back saying, "Ms. Dawson, before we discuss compensation,
shouldn't we win the case first?"

We did win dear, about three hours ago," Fay said, filling in the blanks.
"Well, actually they withdrew the suit.  Now we are going after them."

"What's the plan?" I asked her, ignoring the other two for the moment.

"Why don't we get some dinner and I will bring you up to speed," she said.
 To the others, she said, "I will see you on Monday."

They got the message and began the process of cleaning up and getting out
of my house.

I took my bag upstairs and began the process of unpacking it before coming
downstairs to help Ellen with her homework while Fay had gone to get pizza
for dinner.

"So, what is up?" I asked several hours later, after we had put Ellen to
bed and were snuggled on the couch in the family room.

"Gonzalez overplayed his hand, not that it was a very strong one to begin
with, but he found out that Rhonda had violated several corporate policies
where you are concerned and, in fact, was discriminating against you."

"Maureen?"

"Yup, she helped, but there were others that we contacted and there were
some notes in the files.  It was actually well documented and straight
forward once we connected the dots."

"So you are counter suing?"

"That was the thought, unless you want us to go after the company."

"Actually, I am concerned that a countersuit might rebound and hit the
company sideways and that is not something I would like.  As far as I am
concerned, the issue is closed or at least it should be. But you are the
lawyer in the family."

She smiled at that and snuggled down closer against me.  "Alright, I can
see your concern and we will research the issues before we start anything
that might bounce back.  And there is nothing wrong with your legal skills
my dear.  In fact they are sometimes superior to my own."

"Yes, but I don't practice them anymore while you do every day." I
emphasized my point by leaning down to kiss her slowly and lovingly.

"Mmm....Tell you what.  I will give you that point councilor if you will
let me thoroughly examine your briefs."

I smiled at her and we headed upstairs to bed.  I should mention that the
examination was quite extensive, even though I was not wearing any briefs.

I woke up slowly, feeling lips on the skin of my neck and shoulder.  They
were little fleeting kisses making their way over my chest while a hand
slowly stroked the inside of my thigh from knee to groin and back again.
The hand started to gently play with my balls while the tongue was flicking
at my rapidly hardening nipple, causing my cock to swell from its current
flaccid state.  A moan escaped my lips as the hand that was playing with my
balls moved along the length of my cock, almost willing it harder by
encouraging more blood to fill it.

Fay began to gently stroke my cock and sucked hard on my nipple, drawing
another moan from deep inside me.  She must have had me hard enough because
without further ado, she threw back the sheets and impaled herself on my
organ, taking it inside her in one smooth wet motion, causing us both to
moan and sigh with desire.  The feeling was wonderful and she lay down on
top of me, kissed me, and started slowly moving her hips, grinding her clit
against my pubic bone in long slow strokes that were a tease for both of us
but no less exciting.  Slowly she began to increase the speed of her
stroke, wrapping her legs around mine and pounding her hips harder against
mine.  I could feel her clenching my cock with her soft pussy which sent
waves of pleasure through me as her breathing became rapid just before her
climax took her.  Mine followed a second later, filling her with my own
offering, spurred on by the rhythmic clenching of her muscles.  She
collapsed on top of me, her head to one side as she tried to catch her
breath, my hand gently caressing her back and sides as I felt myself shrink
and fall out of her with a little plop.

"Good morning darling," I said to her.

"Mmm, good morning yourself.  I really missed you!" she replied as she
moved up and around to kiss me, which I was more than happy to let her do.

We kissed for several minutes, enjoying each other's company before she
pushed herself off of me, saying, "come on, and get dressed.  I promised we
would take Ellen shopping for some new CDs and she needs some new pants and
shirts as well."

"Is she growing again?" I asked with a smile.  Kids tend to grow like weeds
and without any warning either.

"Yes, again," she said with a laugh, rolling off of me and heading for the
bathroom.  I had to laugh and lay in bed stretching while Fay showered.

The rest of the weekend passed quietly.  We found Ellen some pants and some
new tops and Fay and I also picked up a few things that we needed.  It was
a nice, quiet, normal weekend and I needed it to recover from the previous
weeks.  I had no doubt that Jason would now be able to get the remaining
issues in Atlanta squared away and start putting his own stamp on the
department, which would allow me to start building my own organization.
That was going to be a real challenge and I was looking forward to it, even
though I still had a few things to do for the department.  I spent part of
Sunday reading through configurations and working out how a new email
server would fit into the overall scheme of things.  I also wanted to run a
couple of changes past Pete and Steve that might give us a little more
breathing room if something like this happened again, although with Louise
running the show now and some better monitoring we should be able to
prevent it from ever happening again.

Sometime during the afternoon, the phone rang and Fay had a quick
conversation with someone before hanging up again.  She went back to doing
laundry and I continued working on my configurations.

Shortly before dinner, the doorbell rang and I found Luci and her boys
standing on the porch.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," I said as the boys ran past me looking
for Ellen.  Luci just smiled, stepped inside and while I closed the door,
she put her bag down at the foot of the stairs and then flowed into my arms
as I turned around to face her, our mouths seeking each other like lost
lovers, or in this case, lovers who have been apart for a while.  Sure it
had only been a couple of weeks but it had been a very long couple of weeks
and it seemed like we were trying to make up for all that last time in one
kiss.  Our tongues rolled around each other at first, our hands gently
touching each other.  Then with more energy and passion, our kiss pulled us
closer together, our hands holding onto each other, little moans and sighs
escaping our mouths.

"Hello, Luci," I said as we broke our kiss.  Our breathing was ragged and
our excitement was evident.

"Hello Gary!  Welcome home."

"Are you two coming in or are you going to stand in the hall all evening,"
Fay said.  Luci giggled and moved to take her bag upstairs.

"Oh, I don't know Fay, it is a nice hall when you consider it," I replied.
 Both ladies started laughing at this and Luci went upstairs while I went
back into the kitchen and opened some wine.

Luci and Fay converged on the kitchen at the same time.  I had just started
pouring and Fay had come up from the basement with some sort of boxed side
dish to go with the roast beef that was cooking in the oven.  We each took
up our glasses, toasted good health and then I was shooed from the room to
go and make sure the kids were not hanging each other or something similar
while the ladies finished getting dinner ready.

I checked on the kids.  They were busy practicing ritual sacrifices so I
left them to their own devices with an admonishment to use sharp knives and
not to get blood on the carpet and went back to the family room to watch
television.

The rest of Sunday night passed quietly.  We ate and talked, played a board
game and got everyone into bed at a decent hour.  With Fay on my left side
and Luci on my right, I finally felt like I was home again.

Monday morning found me standing in the doorway of my office in a state of
shock.  There were several bundles of moving boxes sitting against my desk,
with a couple of rolls of packing tape balanced on top of them.  In the
corner, were my workbench used to be was another stack of boxes, containing
PCs, servers and monitors, if the labeling on them was to be believed.
There was also a smaller pile of moving boxes, already loaded and sealed
against the window ledge.

"Luci and Nikki moved the lab to your new office two weeks ago.  They
wouldn't let anyone help," Tyrone said, coming up beside me.

"New office?  What new office?"  I was pretty sure that the events in
Atlanta had tapped whatever cash reserves the company had and there would
not be any renovations taking place anytime soon.

"Up on 15.  I believe you got Louise's old office."

"I hope someone told her that," I mused.  I could just imagine her reaction
on returning from Atlanta to find she had been kicked out of her office.  I
hoped Tyrone was mistaken.

"Good morning, Gary," Nikki said as she walked up behind us.  "We started
moving you in our spare time, but that has been slim over the last couple
of weeks.  Next time you get promoted, could you make sure it happens when
there is less going on in the company?"

She was wearing her leather pants and an emerald green blouse that looked
like silk.  There was no question that she had Tyrone's attention and she
probably would have had all of mine as well if it was any other day.

"I will be sure to make a note of it Nikki," I said, not really paying
attention and not really feeling all that cheerful.  I know she noticed
because she became all business.

"Those are the new servers you ordered plus the PCs for the upgrades.  If
you get a moment to dump what is in your head onto some paper I will get
them distributed to the appropriate locations.  Jerry would like you out of
here by the end of the week so Jason can move in and set up shop and get
some normalcy back into this place.  Also, Luci is out today helping the
'Firm' but said that as soon as you get your feet under you, she wants to
get the mail servers build and deployed.  The mess in Atlanta really did a
number on us up here and she wants to go over with you and Jason some
thoughts she has on making it better."

"She doesn't need me," I said, somewhat diffidently.  "She is a big girl
and Jason is a competent engineer.  I am sure between the pair of them they
will be able to come up with a workable plan.  Of course, I don't ever want
to have to go through an Atlanta-style incident again."  I had been making
my way towards my desk as I was saying this, Nikki close behind me.  Tyrone
had wandered off to do his thing when Nikki started briefing me.  She
caught me from behind, her hands resting against my stomach as she pulled
us closer.

"Do not for a moment think that Luci or I will not consult you," she
whispered into my ear before giving it a quick kiss and letting me go.

I turned around and put my hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes.
"Nikki, both you and Luci and the rest of this department will have to get
used to not getting my input," I said, somewhat sternly.  "For now, this is
Jason's chair and they are his and Jerry's decisions to make.  I will not
meddle in them or second guess them unless my opinion is asked for.  Now,
what is in those boxes?" I asked pointing at the stack of boxes that were
already packed.

"The contents of the filing cabinet and your desk drawers, at least the
unlocked ones.  You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes, Nikki, I am.  Moreover, I have to be.  I never said any of this would
be easy."  I slumped into what used to be my chair, a headache already
pounding between my eyes and it was not even ten o'clock yet.  It was going
to be a long day, punctuated by ringing phones.

"This is Gary," I said into the receiver, picking it up on the second ring.

"Good morning, Gary.  I don't expect you have even looked at your morning
mail, but Craig would like to see you, Maureen needs 10 minutes and there
is a conference call with Atlanta scheduled at 10 in the boardroom that you
need to be at," Patricia said cheerfully.

"Good morning to you too Patricia.  Is this a subtle way of telling me I
need an assistant?" I asked shaking my head.

"Gary, would I do that?"

"Yes, you would.  Where are the resumes, I will look at them and talk to
the candidates."  I know when I am beat.

"I have several here and I will give them to you when you come up," she
said, a small hint of triumph in her voice.

"Be right up," I said, hanging up the phone.  "Want to help me interview
candidates to be my assistant?"

"Hmm, now that has some interesting possibilities," Nikki said, a devilish
gleam in her eye.  "Maybe we can get you a hunky guy so that when you are
too busy for us, he can pinch hit."

"Wench.  Get back to work," I said as I pulled myself up and gave her a
quick kiss.  "We might have to get a moving company in to do this. I don't
see any spare time on the horizon," I said, indicating the room at large.
"But I will deal with that once I find out what the rest of this week looks
like.  Have a good morning Nikki.  Call my cell if you need me."

At the door we went our separate ways, she towards her office and me
towards Jerry's.

"I'm on my way upstairs but I am around," I said, sticking my head into
Jerry's office.

"Good to have you back.  Sorry about the mess in your office," he said.

"Well, I understand it isn't my office anymore, but I thank you for the
sentiment," I replied smiling.  "As soon as I find out what the week looks
like, I will schedule some time to get the boxes packed and moved so Jason
can move in.  Also, I told Nikki that I was going to do my level best not
to stick my nose in where it didn't belong unless someone asked for my
input.  That way, Jason can take the reins without anyone thinking he is
just a figurehead."

"Good, I was going to ask you how we should handle that.  That was my
thinking as well.  But don't expect me to take away your system rights," he
said smiling.  I knew what he meant because I was going to ask him to do
just that.  "In fact, Jason suggested that while it might look good to pull
your rights, it would be, now how did he put it, like slapping a governor
on a Ferrari.  Pointless.  Besides, until we get back up to strength, we
still might need your services if something comes up."

"I am hoping for several weeks of quiet insanity," I said, shaking my head.
 "It has been far too dull around here of late and we need some normal
chaos if we are ever going to get back into a rhythm instead of just
reacting."

"I don't know if you are kidding or serious sometimes.  If you have some
time this afternoon, stop by and we can hash out all the projects and such
and see if we can come up with a plan of attack between the three of us for
finishing up the projects that were on your plate and moving forward with
some grand visions."

"How is 2:00 PM," I asked, thinking that should give me some time.

"That sounds good.  I will set it up and we will meet in the Library?"

"2 PM, in the Library, with a file server," I singsonged.  "See you then."

I made my way to the elevators without being stopped and stepped out onto
the 15th floor a few minutes later.  I don't know that I would ever get
used to being up here but I decided I would try my hardest.  I walked
around to Craig's office, waving at Sophie as I went by and stopped at
Patricia's desk.  She was not there and Craig's door was closed, so I sat
down in one of the chairs outside his office and waited, tipping my head
back against the wall and closing my eyes, willing the pounding to the back
of my consciousness.

"Did you not sleep well?" I heard Patricia say from somewhere near by and I
pulled myself up.

"I don't know if I didn't sleep well or if I am just burned out a little
from the past month's excitement," I answered honestly.  "Or the shock of
seeing my office in move mode."

"Probably all of the above.  Go on in, he is waiting for you," she said,
walking over to her desk as I stood up and walked into Craig's office.

"Good morning, Gary, welcome back," Craig said as I came in.

"Good morning, sir, good to be back," I replied as cheerfully as I could.

"Well, we will see how you feel about that later.  What is the situation in
Atlanta when you left?"

I brought him up to speed on the limited order we had managed to pull out
of the chaos.  I suspected it would be six months before everything was
sorted out again and maybe another year before all the lawsuits had made
their way to closure.  To call the situation stable was a gross
simplification, but it was stable and with Louise on the ground, stable it
would remain.  Of course, it would probably take me a week just to process
all the paperwork for my piece of the trip.  Accounting would have their
hands full for sometime to come.

"What about the suit?" he asked.

"Fay says it has pretty much gone way," I replied.  "Seems that once word
got out, most of the lawyers in the area wouldn't touch it and Mr. Gomez is
under investigation on several fronts.  The funny thing is that all the
staff that came together for this seem to think they make a pretty good
team and Fay and a couple of others are looking at setting up a permanent
partnership which would be nice because I really would like to have my
living room back again."

"Excellent, that is good news then," he replied.  "Have you had anymore
thoughts about Miska's company?"

"A couple.  I have a lead for the fuel cell that could bring us some ready
cash if it turns out to be real.  Almost pay for the deal I think.  But I
also had another thought that might make more sense in the long run.
Create a sub company to deal with the cell and if it makes money so be it,
otherwise, write it down.  The accountants can waterfall the pros and cons
from the money side.  I would like to see the thing used myself, but then I
always liked cool toys.  As for the software, you are going to have to
either open a branch office in Russia or get the code here and shut down
the Russian office.  Frankly, the latter is more palatable from a number of
levels, but that would mean cutting visas and providing housing and such.
Again, I would have to get a couple of accountants to crank the numbers,
but there are dangers to having it sitting in Russia without someone from
our team sitting on them and verifying that work is being done."

"You have someone in mind?"

"I do know a couple of natives, yes."

"Get with Bob and see what you can come up with, on both issues and bring
me the conclusions on Friday."

"No pressure," I said laughing slightly.  "Speaking of pressure, I have a
conference call with Atlanta in two minutes in the Board Room.  Anything
else?"

"No, I think that should do it," Craig said standing up as I did.  "Thanks,
and welcome back."

I made my way to the Board Room.  Patricia handed me a stack of resumes as
I went by and settled into a chair, the call already under way.  Louise was
giving orders to her people and getting input from HR and Maureen on other
topics.  I had sat in on one or two of these calls on the other end and
most of the time tuned out what was being said.  Today was no different and
I was looking over resumes when I heard my name.

"Sorry Janice, I was wool gathering," I said, having really only heard her
voice and not the question.

"Sure you were," she said, getting a laugh from Louise and Maureen at
least.  "I said things are stable here to the point that I am getting in
the way.  Systems are all functional and Pete and Steve have blessed the
re-entry into the system.  Anything else you want me to do while I am
here?"

"No, if Allan can carry the load and the IT people are satisfied, I need
you here to help me figure out how to get out of my office before weeks
end, so come on home.  Also, Louise, before you go, I need to talk to you
about Miska."

"I will be on the afternoon flight then and in the office tomorrow," Janice
said, sounding happy about being able to get out of there.

"Can we talk about Miska tomorrow?" Louise asked.

"We can, but I need to get something to Craig by Friday, so don't stand me
up," I said.  Maureen was having a serious case of the giggles.

"Call me this evening then," Louise said and the call began to wrap up as
everyone had said their piece.  As we rang off, Maureen pinned me with her
eyes and I got the message I was not to move from my current seat.  I had
almost forgotten how beautiful she was.  There was lust, desire, and power
in her eyes this morning and they were trained on me like two rifle
barrels.  The rest of the crowd filtered out leaving us alone on opposite
sides of the table.

"Wool gathering were you?" she asked, her voice sultry.

"Actually, I was trying to find a suitable assistant out of this mess," I
said, indicating the pile of paper in my lap.  "Want to help?  Nikki says
it should be some hunky guy so that he can pick up the slack when I am
busy."

"Mmm, I like her thinking," Maureen said.  "But I would much rather get on
your calendar.  And the floor, and the couch and the desk."

"You are a very naughty lady," I said, smiling, and standing up.  "Patricia
said you wanted to see me?"

"I think I told Patricia I wanted to see you naked, but yes, if you have a
few minutes?"

"Well, either I spend a few minutes with you or I go downstairs and start
packing to move into some mythical office," I said, somewhat bitterly.

"It isn't mythical.  But then, you have been away.  Come with me darling
and let me show you," she said coming up and taking my arm and steering me
out of the room.

We walked around to where she had her office, past Louise's closed door to
the office next to Louise.  Here was a fairly empty room, a window looking
out over what would be some pretty trees in the summer.  In one corner was
my workbench, sitting on a better quality desk than even I had downstairs.
 Against the back wall was a credenza with a lamp and phone and a couple of
books that I know had been sitting on my desk at home.  The painting on the
wall was one that should have been hanging in my office at home and not
here, although I have to admit it did go nicely with the suite.  There was
a solid executive desk in front of the credenza and a new chair that was
designed for comfort not executives.  A couple of guest chairs, small
conference table, and the couch that Patricia had picked out all those
weeks ago finished up the room.

"Now all I have to do is move the credenza out and put in the book cases
and it will be a real office," I said looking around as I walked in.

"Nope," Maureen said behind me, closing the door.  "No book cases in here.
 In fact, the workbench is being moved next week.  This is your formal
office, although none of us expect you will spend any time in here unless
you have to."

I must have looked confused because Maureen laughed again.  "Your
department will be on the tenth floor with Security," she said.  "They are
almost finished, although I would like you and Janice to do a walk through
before we sign-off on the space." She was beautiful, even when she was
being dictatorial.  She was wearing grey flannels and a simple white shirt
with a gold chain.

"Sorry, I am very slow today.  What department?"

"Gary, while you were busy containing the raw matter of the cosmos, Janice
and I put our heads together every time she had a few moments and
formulated the blueprints for your department in between bouts of insanity.
 Then, I just executed them, talking with her as needed.  You hire good
people by the way," she said, taking me into her arms and kissing me.  It
seemed like forever since I had last kissed her and I luxuriated in the
feeling of her lips against mine and the curve of her body.  I let my hands
caress her back and hips before we separated, looking into each others
eyes.

"So what else have I missed?" I asked quietly, not really wanting to let go
of her.

"All kinds of things," she said with a smile and took my hand.  "Come, let
me show you the small things and tomorrow tonight I will show you some of
the others."

We walked around the executive suite, now more than half empty.
Christine's office was next to Maureen's and another, Pedro Gomez, was next
to Christine's. The three of them had two assistants who seemed to be quite
nice when I was introduced to them.  We went down to the tenth floor and it
was a construction zone in process. There was drywall mud and dust and
spare parts and all the other things that go into making a build out.  We
toured the spaces that were going to belong to my group and I was
impressed.  It was what Janice and I had talked about and I deemed it
better than good enough for our needs.  I was hoping that when Janice got
back tomorrow, we could sit down for a few hours and cover the rest of the
outstanding issues.  I also needed to talk to Luci and Jerry and figure out
where the rest of the staff was going to hang their hats until the space
was done.

"Maureen, you are a wonderful person.  I don't know what Craig is paying
you, but if you ever get bored with being a lawyer, give me a call, I
suspect you would fit in nicely with us."

She smiled at me.  "Gary, you are a terrible flirt."  She pulled me to her
and we shared another kiss among all that dust and dirt, workers making
their way around us.

"I would love to find us a nice quiet space to catch up darling, but we
both have things to do today.  What are you doing tonight?"

"I have been spending most of the evenings at your house, Gary," she said
with a smile.  "Between working with the Firm and playing with Fay, I don't
think I have missed a night since I got back from Atlanta other than this
weekend."

"I see.  Well, Fay never even mentioned it," I said grinning.

"Nope, I know she didn't.  Most of the time I was with her when you called,
but then, both of you have been very busy.  I was actually going to sleep
in my own bed tonight too and let the two of you continue getting caught
up."

"Did you check with Fay?" I asked, still holding her about the waist.

"No, why?"

"You do not make decisions like that on your own without running them by
her first, trust me on this," I said smiling.  "Call her at lunch and
check.  In the meantime, let's get out of here so you can get back to work
and I can start building up servers."

Maureen smiled at me, kissed me quickly and stepped onto the elevator going
up.  I went through the door and took the stairs headed down.

--- FIN ---

-- 
Victor Echo
Author
PGP: 958F 0E92 87B2 3AD6 0C07  3D5A 9480 1307 E89D FC70
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