"I've heard she is a total bitch."
It was only Tom's third day as an intern at Galaxy Rediffusion and already he was tiring of his 'buddy' Marcus. The two second year university students had been paired together as part of their induction into the summer scheme that would hopefully lead them to secure a place on the corporation's prestigious graduation scheme but they had nothing in common. Tom came from a working class background and had worked hard to get where he was, studying diligently and taking several part time jobs. Marcus clearly came from money and had the indolent attitude to go with it. Private school and tuition had paved his way into university without the need to expend too much mental energy.
They were also physically mismatched. Tom would have accepted, not all together happily, that he fitted the definition of a geek. At just 5' 6", he found himself literally looked down on by lots of his peers. He didn't have much time for sports or socialising and his thick glasses were testament to a life spent staring at either a book or a computer screen. Marcus, on the other hand, was big and blond and as overbearing physically as he was conversationally. His degree was probably in rowing.
"She is the youngest vice president in the company's history," offered Tom. "We could learn a lot from her."
"Like how to suck your way to the top? Yeah, perhaps you could learn a lot from her."
Tom was about to respond indignantly but was interrupted by the sight of two incredibly attractive woman walking through the lobby. He blushed as the woman on the left gave him a little wave and a smile. It was a smile that was both sweet and sharp. She turned to the stunning blonde next to her and said something which caused the pair of them to laugh.
Tom had been introduced to Svetlana, one of the company's relief agents, on Monday and he didn't mind admitting that it had been the most enjoyable part of the induction so far.
If you took a step back, the whole idea seemed a bit weird but the "Great 48" laws had been introduced over a decade ago now and were so clearly effective that everyone took them for granted. What started in one city in America had soon spread across the country as the benefits became clear. The idea was simple: since men spend so much time and energy trying to achieve sexual gratification, if the the state provided them with orgasms every 48 hours then this energy could be re-directed into more productive endeavours.
Like many workplace innovations, it had then migrated over to the UK. With the passing of the Growth & Economic Efficiency Act 2036, it became a legal requirement for all men to be masturbated by a third party at least every other day, either through a public relief station or privately. Along with the subsidised canteen and on-site gym, private relief was one of the perks available to all Galaxy Rediffusion staff, even interns.
Since his eighteenth birthday last year, Tom had received relief hundreds of times. As an undergraduate, he was registered with the University of London's relief station which was widely held to be one of the best non-private facilities. Because of its location and its client group of young men, the station had no problem attracting above average relief agents. In addition, and to the delight of male students, it was quite common for female students to earn a bit of extra money by volunteering for a few shifts. Tom thought fondly of the time he had turned up for relief to discover that his agent was Siân, the cute girl with the short black hair and the big black glasses who sat at the back of his physics class. She hadn't mentioned their connection, then or since, and neither had he but he often thought about their unexpected encounter.
So it was something he was used to. Yet despite being spoiled to an extent by the uni station, the company relief agents were on another level entirely. Galaxy Rediffusion must have been paying Svetlana and her colleagues a fortune to attract them.
As the pair left the lobby, presumably on their way out for lunch, Tom was surprised to see Marcus was blushing too. Perhaps they weren't so different after all.
"Hot little whores," Marcus muttered under his breath.
Okay, perhaps not.
"They aren't whores," said Tom spiritedly, "They are valuable and productive members of society who are doing their bit for the economy."
"Yeah, they are productive, all right. And what they produce is spunk."
Before the argument could progress any further, their attention was captured by an extremely attractive, extremely pissed off woman making a beeline for them.
* * * * *
Charlotte Granger was in a foul mood as she swept into the lobby of Galaxy Rediffusion. Her meeting this morning had been a total bust. She had been patronised and had her time wasted and now she had to babysit two wet behind the ears little work experience idiots. Shouldn't HR be handling this?
She quickly identified her two interns. The Harry Potter-looking kid had future accountant written all over him whereas the big blond slab of beef screamed lacklustre middle management potential. Christ.
"Come with me," she called over her shoulder as she strode past without stopping.
The two interns followed in her wake, arriving just as she slapped the lift call button. A lift sign illuminated to show it would be the next one available and they walked over to it. However, they then watched as the digital display flicked from the 9th floor to the 7th to the 8th.
"Bloody stupid thing," Charlotte muttered in frustration. "They've just updated the software, supposedly to make the lifts smarter. Ha! All they've managed to do is completely buggered them up."
A lift sign on the opposite side of the block suddenly illuminated. Shaking her head, Charlotte gestured at the pair with a blunt arm movement. "Right, inside."
As the lift began its journey up to the 15th floor, Charlotte felt slightly calmer. She took the opportunity to have a proper look at her two charges.
"Which one are you?" she asked the small one.
"Thomas Malone," he replied. The one with the impressive CV.
"So you are...?"
"Marcus Baron." The one who was related to one of the board members. Of course.
"I'm Charlotte Granger, vice president for special projects. I'm 38 and was promoted to this role two years ago, making me the youngest VP in the company's history. That means I'm bloody good and I've worked bloody hard. It also means I don't suffer fools gladly so try not to say anything idiotic.
"Let's start with the basics though: why do you want to work for Galaxy Rediffusion? Thomas?"
"Well, I suppose you should call me Tom," he said before launching into a long, sincere answer which Charlotte tuned out of halfway through.
Once he'd finished, Marcus opened his mouth to deliver what would inevitably be a box-ticking stock sentiment she'd heard hundreds of times. Before he could say anything, however, the lift juddered to a halt.
"Just fucking perfect," Charlotte said to herself as the lights flickered off.
Luckily they flickered back on again but the lift should no signs of resuming its upward journey. Charlotte jammed her hand against the alarm button. When there was no response, she started banging it. When this ceased to prove cathartic, she held up her wristphone.
"No signal. What about you two?"
Tom shook his head whilst Marcus said, "Nah."
"So we wait," she said, fuming.
After ten minutes of waiting, it was clear that the lift wasn't going to be moving on its accord.
"I'm sure they will have spotted that it is out of service by now," said Tom. "An engineer is probably on their way."
"They better be," Charlotte said through gritted teeth. She let out a sigh. "I suppose we might as well take our jackets off if we are in for the long haul."
Tom took off his first, looked around futilely for somewhere to hang it and instead held it awkwardly over his arm. Marcus's jacket looked like it had cost ten times that of Tom's. He dropped it on the floor.
Charlotte removed her jacket, feeling her fitted blouse pull tight against her breasts. She sighed. She had been so proud when her plump C-cups came in overnight as a teenage girl but they had become the bane of her professional life and were a nightmare for tailoring. Inevitably the eyes of both boys were drawn to them, although they'd obviously managed to learn some discretion in their young lives. Some more than others, she thought, as Marcus's hungry eyes lingered a fraction longer than his partner's.
"Okay, we are trapped here so I might as well make some use of the time," she said, "Let's get started with your induction."
Tom took out a notebook and pen while Marcus just loosened his tie and leaned against the wall as Charlotte started to run through her presentation. Despite hoping that the lift would move at any moment, it stayed resolutely still. Her presentation ran for well over an hour and that was before the interventions from Tom. She found she rather enjoyed his puppyish enthusiasm and obvious deference to her. Charlotte loved to be the alpha female. Perhaps there might be a space for him in her division if he made it onto the graduate scheme...
Marcus, on the other hand, had strong enough self-preservation instincts to ensure he seemed respectfully engaged but nothing more. And even that veneer started to slip as the wait continued. He was just like the men at the meeting earlier; no respect for her abilities, unable to see past her body.
Charlotte found that she was flagging as well. She'd been talking for a long time with no water and their trapped body heat had made the lift uncomfortable hot. She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse and was not surprised to see Marcus's eyes flick to her breasts. Great, trapped in a metal box being gawped at by a teenager. Could this day get any worse?
Beep.
Beep.
"What the fuck was that?" But Charlotte had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly what that was.
Tom looked at his smartwatch. "I'm due relief. Well, overdue. That's why it is beeping."
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
"Both of you?" she asked, appalled.
"Our induction timetable is synched, including relief," said Tom apologetically. "Company policy. We were meant to go to the station after this meeting."
"Okay, well, just shut it off and make a note of the circumstances on the log or whatever. That beeping is going to drive me mad if it keeps up."
"Er, there isn't anyway of shutting it, apart from confirming relief has occurred."
"So do that."
"Well, it hasn't, has it?" put in Marcus helpfully.
"I'm afraid Marcus is right, it has to have actually happened. It is a criminal offense to falsely verify relief."
"Fine," said Charlotte in disgust. "I'm going to turn around and put my hands over my ears. You guys do what you have to do."
"That's, um, that's not exactly how it works."
Before Tom could continue, Marcus barged in, "Come on, I don't know why you are playing dumb, Ms Granger. You are a woman of the world, right?"
Charlotte looked at the pair stony-faced.
"I think what Marcus is saying is that the legislation explicitly says it has to be a third party," said Tom trying to calm things down.
