It was another day at Rothstein and Son with the sounds of office workers shuffling to and fro filling the floor along with the constant clacking of a hundred different keyboards. David Martin, one of the younger members of the consulting firm, sat in his tiny cubicle studying his computer screen. He was possessed of some enviably handsome features that had drawn comparisons to a young Harrison Ford right down to a similar small scar on his chin incurred during a violent collision with the handlebars of his bicycle when he was twelve.
David was a popular member of the Rothstein team, and not just with the ladies. His self-deprecating sense of humor and outgoing nature drew people to him. Since his arrival, he had become something of a default leader to many of the younger employees who looked up to him, and often came to him for advice even though he wasn't much older. This was how he found Sandy Breuner, a round-faced, earnest fellow from his department suddenly dropping into his guest chair.
"Hi, David! Um...Do you have a second?"
"For you, Sandy, I have two," replied David with a smile.
David swung around and leaned back in his chair stretching out his toned, athletic legs that had been stuck for far too long under his small desk.
"What's on your mind?"
"See, the thing is...You know that Valentine's Day is coming up this weekend, right?
"I think I remember seeing that on my calendar."
"Yeah...Well, my wife and I, this is our first one together since we got married, and we were planning on a little getaway. You know, something kind of romantic, like up in the mountains."
"Sounds like a dream date. I bet the two of you will have a great time," remarked David.
He hadn't made any plans as of yet. There was no shortage of ladies he could call on certainly, but he didn't have anyone particularly special in his life. This reminded him that he needed to call his mom who had left a message for him earlier that morning. The thought made him wince a bit. He loved his parents, but his mother often took every conversation as an opportunity to point out that she was still without grand-children, and since he was her only child, like Obi-Wan Kenobi, David was her only hope.
"It would be a dream except for one little thing...The Dragon Lady..." said Sandy ending his statement by whispering the last three words.
David frowned, "What's Laura Spencer have to do with your Valentine's date?"
At the mention of that name, Sandy seemed to shrink smaller in the chair as if David had invoked the calling of some ancient evil.
"I got a call from her this morning," whispered Sandy glancing around nervously, "she wants me to accompany her to Richfield."
"What's in Richfield?"
"A potential new client for the firm. Gordon's Textiles is headquartered there, and they just fired their current I.T. consultant. I think she sees this as an opportunity to swoop in and nab them before one of the other firms gets wind of the change."
"I see. Well, there are plenty of folks in the office who could take your place. Why don't you just explain the situation and see if she wouldn't mind switching you out for someone else?"
"Are you serious? Do you honestly think Laura Spencer would understand putting my marriage before business?"
Sandy had a point.
Laura Spencer had arrived six-months earlier taking over their department from the recently retired, and highly respected previous manager, Max Farmer. She had transferred from the finance department, and her appointment to the position had come as something of a surprise given her lack of experience in the technical area. From day one, Laura had set a very serious tone. She had ordered desks be cleared of personal items that she felt detracted from an image of focus and efficiency then followed that up by putting a moratorium on office celebrations considering them a waste of time.
"You want to have birthday cake do it on your on time. I'm not paying you to eat dessert!" she had said when asked about the new policy.
This had been just the tip of the iceberg, and over the ensuing months, she had cut a swath through the team transferring or firing people who didn't measure up to her exacting standards. If the group had been a source of problems for the firm, this might have made sense, but in actuality, the Tech Department had been one of the more highly rated ones in Rothstein and Son making her attitude all the more puzzling. David secretly thought she was acting out of fear worried that people weren't going to take her seriously due to her lack of technical expertise. This coupled with the fact that she was just a few years older than most of her employees made things even more awkward.
As time had passed, Laura had earned a number of unflattering nicknames including, The Dragon Lady, Demon-Spawn, and everyone's favorite, The Wicked Bitch of the West. David had coined the last one and been rather proud of it.
"I hear you," said David.
"I don't know what to do. My wife will be so disappointed if we don't go not to mention I already booked a non-refundable hotel room for that weekend."
"You're telling me all this...Why exactly?"
"I was kind of hoping that you might talk to her for me..." said Sandy his voice trailing off.
David shook his head. This wasn't the first time someone in the department had come to him to intercede on their behalf with Laura. He appreciated that everyone respected him, but that didn't make it any easier to get thrown into the lion's den time and again. He started to tell Sandy where he could take his request, but the sad expression on his face made David change his mind. Sandy was such a big kid it was like kicking a puppy to deny him anything.
"Look, Sandy, I can't make you any promises, but I will at least try to get her to change her mind."
"Thanks! David, you're the best!" said Sandy grinning as he reached out to grab David's arm.
"Yeah, I'm a fucking saint..." said David quietly under his breath as Sandy left his cubicle.
David decided to wait until the afternoon staff meeting to broach the subject hoping that after Laura had her lunch, one he presumed included the eating of small children, she would be sated and easier to approach.
The small conference room was packed with his fellow consultants when David arrived, but they had made sure to leave him a chair at the opposite end of the table from where Laura traditionally sat. This had been a habit that they had started months ago when it became clear that David was the only one with the courage to face Laura directly. He wished they hadn't chosen to honor him in this way since it made it appear like it was him against her and this was the last impression he wanted to make.
The chair had scarcely stopped squealing on its poorly oiled wheels when Laura strode into the room like the Queen of England come to take her throne.
Laura Spencer was an imposing woman both in attitude and in stature. She stood nearly six-foot tall with thick, wavy brunette hair surrounding a long, fair-skinned face. In many ways, she looked like nothing less than an Amazonian warrior sprouted to life from the pages of history. Her face bore an expression somewhere between haughty contempt, and bored indifference clouding what would otherwise have been quite attractive features. The large stack of folders she was carrying made a dull thud as she dropped them onto the table while her eyes roved around the room finally settling on David.
David squirmed in his chair. Laura was looking at him the same way he imagined the lions must have sized up the Christians back in the old Roman Coliseum days. The funny thing was if he squinted and pictured her with a smile instead of the ever-present frown she always seemed to wear he could almost see a cold sort of beauty there. She did possess nearly flawless skin except for a small beauty mark to the left of her jaw. Her lips were full and soft looking the kind that seemed almost made for kissing on a cold night. The eyes that bore into him were predatory, but also a deep shade of green like a forest, and not at all unattractive.
"We have a lot to cover today so let's get started," she said pulling on a pair of black-framed glasses.
Laura stepped to the wipe board picking up a marker in one long-fingered hand. Her broad shoulders hid most of the space on the board as she wrote out some notes copied from the single sheet of paper she held in her opposite hand. When she turned back to face the room David couldn't help but take notice of how large her chest was the massive looking mounds stretching the top of her conservative blouse.
"Can anyone tell me what these figures say about our client projections for the next quarter?"
The room was silent while multiple sets of eyes tried to look in any direction that wasn't at Laura.
"I see. Well, I will tell you what they mean. They mean we are in big trouble people! Our billable hours are dropping very quickly, and the satisfaction rate on our client surveys show a marked decline."
