Martha Henderson, known to her friends as Marti, was sitting at her desk blankly staring at the stack of papers sitting in front of her. Without looking at a single one, she immediately knew what they were. They were the reason that she would sit at home alone over another weekend. They were the reason she got her relatively decent paycheck every month. They were the reason that she remained employed by the State even though the elected leaders resented a woman as department head. In fact, they resented women in government except as eye candy at reception desks and in other minor clerical roles. The good old boy network was still strictly reserved for the boys.
Marti had gone to work at the State as an intern while in college. When she graduated, they moved her into the Compliance and Records Department as the head of the Compliance Section. Being the head of the section earned her a little more money but also meant that she spent her days poring over a myriad of documents filed by various city and county entities as required by several antiquated laws. She would dutifully review and approve them before passing them on to her data clerk, who would enter the pertinent data in the computer before the original form would be filed with other similar reports in an ever-growing number of filing cabinets, where they slowly deteriorated in the humid, basement storage room.
To stifle her boredom, she enrolled in Law School intending to complete her degree in two years and then find a job outside of government. That plan was delayed two years previously when there was a minor scandal in her otherwise sedate department when the head of the department suddenly left town with the head of the Records Section. That the two had been having an affair was common knowledge in the building but their sudden departure left a wife and child hanging as well as a humble husband. Being an election year, a scandal of this magnitude was politically unacceptable and certain payments were paid to the injured spouses for their silence.
However, this required that a new department head be named quickly to fill out the organization chart. With no suitable candidates waiting in the wings, an advisor to the incumbent governor suggested that Marti be promoted to fill the vacancy. The argument was that have a female department head would look good to voters and since she had no record of rocking the boat, she could certainly fulfill the needs of the tedious job that no one else wanted. The fact that she was also suitable eye candy was not lost on the decision makers. In a matter of two days, Marti was promoted, confirmed, and given another small increase in salary. Her formal instructions were simple; do more with less and don't show up in the newspapers or on the nightly news. That meant that she did most of her previous work without a replacement and added the oversight over the other department that kept paper copies of every single receipt for any routine commodity purchased by the State.
The additional work and responsibilities required her to cut back on the number of classes should could take but now, she only had one class left. That thought was the only thing that kept her going. In three months, she would be finished could seek a more fulfilling job and move on with her life. But today promised another weekend of going through the stack of papers in front of her, trying to make time to read another chapter in a boring book on the legal requirements for towns and cities, and wishing that she had a date. It had been six months since her last social outing and it had been very much less than memorable. The class she was taking was equally boring because it covered the very things that she had to deal with on a daily basis.
As the magic quitting hour approached, she put the papers in a box to take home and double checked her e-mail. Oddly there was one from her boss asking her to stop by to see him before she left. He seldom even spoke to her much less asked for a meeting. In fact, she wasn't even sure if he knew what her department did. The political people seldom knew what their area of responsibility was supposed to do but took every opportunity to find their way in front of a camera to sound like they knew what they were talking about.
Rather than wait, she took the elevator to the third floor to get this meeting over with so she could get on with her weekend. The mere idea of dressing comfortably, even if she had to work, had become the high-water mark for her weekends. Her boss' secretary had already left since they seldom worked past three on Fridays. She knocked on her boss's door and was told to enter.
Once inside, she noticed that two men were seated in the only two chairs in front of the massive desk. She knew her boss but had no idea who the other man was.
"Ah yes; thank you for joining us, Martha. This is Bill Blaylock." He didn't say what Blaylock did but Marti knew who he was by name. He was one of the political advisors to the governor and was reputed to be the front man for a lot of wealthy and powerful people.
Blaylock looked at her in a condescending way and bluntly asked, "Do you understand the basic laws and rules that apply to townships in this state?"
Marti felt six years of bile rise within her but she held it in check as she replied, "I suspect that I am the only person in this building who understands that subject and I would like to think that this was the reason they promoted me to this job. So, yes."
Her boss looked her with daggers in his eyes but before he could say anything, Blaylock replied, "Good. There is a property up north that has some confusion about their status. Go up there and straighten it out. One of the governor's supporters has big plans for that area and there appears to be a stumbling block. Fix it. Here is a map of the area and the name of owner of the property." He handed her a piece of paper. "This area used to be a township but it died. Now someone is doing something there. The developer wants to make it productive again. Rumor has it that it may be another "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" thing going on. A lot of truckers top there and a bunch of women seem to run the place. Find out who and what they are doing." He then abruptly left without saying anything more.
Marti turned to leave when her boss warned her in a menacing tone, "Don't fuck this up! You don't know who you are dealing with. I want a report at our Tuesday morning meeting."
Marti paused at the door and was tempted to tell him to fix it himself but thought better of it. She walked out but left the door open behind her. The few people who knew her well would know that she was upset; most others would only see a woman totally focused on the task in front of her. She took one look at the box of papers sitting on her desk and smiled. "You can wait until next week; I'm going on a road trip." She grabbed her purse, locked her door, and left for the weekend. An hour later, she put a small suitcase in her car and drove north.
Two and a half hours later, she pulled into a parking lot that held about two dozen cars and trucks. She could see the few buildings of the township lining the street next to the parking lot but this building seemed to be the center of activity based on the signs of life there. She entered and was assaulted by the smell of meat being grilled and vegetables being steamed. She also detected the smell of fresh bread being baked. The smells reminded her that she hadn't eaten since breakfast.
As she looked around, she found eight tables that would each seat eight people but there was no sign of a waitress or hostess at the door. She stood looking around in confusion until a woman rose from a nearby table and approached her.
"May I help you? You look a little confused."
"Thanks. I...I just drove here and didn't know what to expect. Is someone named Jeff Bannister here?"
"Yes and no. Jeff is usually here but he and the other men are out this weekend picking up some equipment that we need. Come on over and have dinner with us and we can try to help you out."
"Uh...do you have a menu or something?"
"No, we don't. It is a buffet style. Just go get what you want and join us over here. Most of us just started eating and we would enjoy some new company."
Marti carefully walked to the serving table, still unsure of how things worked. She was surprised that the serving table was full of salads, vegetables, and breads with a smiling person waiting at the end to serve the meat of your choice. Tonight, the choices were roast beef or grilled ham or chicken. Marti chose the chicken and realized that her platter was very full. Then she went to the table where her hostess was sitting and took a seat across from her.
"I forgot to introduce myself. I am Amanda and this is Gwen, Tommie, and Sarah. I didn't ask your name."
"Sorry; I am Martha but go by Marti to most people."
Gwen asked, "Mandy said that you were looking for Jeff. Is there a problem?"
