Mailgirls on the Run

Chapter Eleven

// While trying to sort out where this installment is going, I went back to the beginning and compiled a Dramatis Personae and spent some time cleaning up contradictions. It'll all be straightened out in the book. Sigh. //

Post-shower Megan lay face down on her bed while Lin took photos and then soothed ointment onto the thin red lines. "Did you talk to - Heather, was it?"

"Very briefly. I told her to give community college a chance. I also gave her my email address if she wanted any more advice or information about being a mailgirl. And I pointed out that if part of her motivation was to be with Twenty-three that there was no guarantee that she would end up working at SG&T. Some of our newer mailgirls applied for a mailgirl position through Human Capital here, others came to us from the DDE training program. It's only the co-opted mailgirls, like you and I were, that are bound to a single firm and even that may be changing."

"So, what are you up to the rest of the day?"

"I've also got a dinner date. Bob Starnes wants to meet about which mailgirls we want for the racing team. But this is a working dinner, not a date; I'm probably closer in age to Bob's son than to Bob and what with Ms Aldridge being Bob's ex, that's just too weird. I figure bringing along a cushion to sit on should help send the right signals."

"Well, I'll leave you to your plotting and healing. I had planned to head back to college by now since I've got an eight a.m. class tomorrow to prepare for, but fortunately I tossed my material into the trunk just in case, so it's off to your dining room table until Susan gets off."

* * * *

Megan met Mr Starnes outside an upscale diner on Rockville Pike. He looked questioningly at the cushion that she had tucked under her arm.

"Fallout from this morning's activities. I'll explain when we get seated."

Mr Starnes asked to be seated in a booth, expecting that would give them a little more privacy. "There's always a line out the door during the breakfast hour, but seating is generally available at lunch and dinner. I often sit at the bar where you can watch the staff assemble the plates before handing them off to the waiters; one friend refers to it as the floor show."

"What do you recommend?"

"It's all good, but I tend towards the all-day breakfast choices. So, the cushion?"

"Post-race Mistress V told me I needed to go to the Mailgirls Dormitory and when I walked through the door with Fourteen, Mistress V and your ex were standing on either side of my sister who was stretched out on the spanking bench. Ms Aldridge said that I could accept six strokes of the cane or all twenty-four mailgirls, beginning with my sister, would get twenty-four. My backside is decidedly tender."

"But they'll just be beaten for some other reason Why sacrifice your backside to put off the inevitable?"

"I spent two years in their position and maybe I should have gotten used to the cane and paddle, but I felt and recall every stroke over those two years and there was always some reason. I couldn't be that reason even though I know it was Ms Aldridge, not me, that would be responsible."

"She really has it in for you. Are you sure nothing went on in Chicago?"

Megan decided not to lay out her plans to Bob Starnes - he had history with Ms Aldridge after all and certainly had more concern about SG&T's welfare than hers. "I don't ever recall meeting her husband, much less carrying on with him. I haven't decided what I'm going to do, but I need her to stop this vendetta."

"Proceed cautiously, Megan. She's a very powerful and vengeful woman."

"Oh, I will. Now about the team?"

"I believe we can pitch a half-dozen candidates to Ms Barnes and we can go over her head if our discussion with her is unsatisfactory."

"Our top six finishers were Four, Fourteen, Twenty-two, Twelve, Fifteen, and Two. Three was a dnf with a stone bruise today, but she looked very good at six and eight k. Fifteen's contract is up in September so she may not be around for the race. I would say certainly Three, Four, Twelve, Fourteen, and my sister and there's that All-American that Ms Barnes says is coming our way.

"I also think if the fifth floor has been persuaded to authorize bras, no matter how fetish-like, that we can also push for shoes to provide some protection from random rocks on the course."

Mr Starnes responded, "I think we can swing those five past the fifth floor. I would also suggest Vibram toe shoes or some other minimalist shoe brand since the women are used to running barefoot. What kind of training schedule would you suggest?"

"Twice weekly interval training in the parking lot and once a week runs on the course the six weeks before the race. More importantly, we need to give them some incentive to run well on the day."

"Having watch mailgirls eat dog food..."

"Mailgirl chow" Megan interjected.

"...out of bowls, I would think a training table with utensils and real food on the days they train and the promise of a feast if they race well might be a suitable carrot. For that I'm sure we'll have to go to the fifth floor to push through. Would it cause resentment among the other mailgirls?"

"We'd have to include them in the feast, but that could go over well indeed."

With agreement on where to go next with the mailgirls running team, Megan settled down to enjoy her huevos rancheros. Mr Starnes had gone for the lamb burger which looked to be very tasty indeed. If this was a date she could suggest sharing plates, but no.

Upon returning (alone) to her condo, Megan called Sarah and brought her up to date. Though her experience was in corporate law, Megan recalled that Sarah had spent much time her first year as a mailgirl researching all the case laws and precedents dealing with mailgirls. Her second year after their holiday experience Sarah's attention had been diverted to Sam, but Megan had faith that Sarah could understand all sides of her position and would give useful advise.

"Well, you could lodge a criminal complaint against her, but that relies on the District Attorney believing there was a case to be made and you know SG&T exerts significant influence - after all, mailgirls. You could bring a civil action against both Ms Aldridge and SG&T or you can begin with going to HR. Any of those choices could leave you badly burned - the question is which way will the fifth floor lean: swat you, ask what you want to make it go away, or take it seriously. The one thing that I am sure of is that they'd prefer to keep this an internal matter.

"Let me know if you secure the video. That would help and then I can contact the legal department at SG&T and talk about deposing mailgirls. I wonder where Fourteen's Mr Fforde would come down on this?"

* * * *

There was a divergence of opinion in the mailgirl ranks. A slim plurality held that Megan was an idiot, with the view that she was a heroine also having substantial support. Ten and Twenty-two opined that she was just trying to take care of her sister, either because of guilt feelings (Ten) or that's the way she was raised (Twenty-two). The consensus was that the incident would lead to fallout affecting the mailgirls and anything affecting the mailgirls was bound to be bad.

Eight spoke for nearly everyone when she opined "This whole running idea has just been a pain. First they force us to wake early on our one day off, go outside and run under the broiling sun (she hailed from upstate New York, Thirteen who planned to return to Miami thought it not so bad), beat us when we don't run fast enough to please them, and then beat us when we're swarmed by leering jerks who have nothing better to do on a weekend morning. I'm not blaming your sister Twenty-two, but if she hadn't run that race last year the fifth floor would have never done this to us."

Three interjected, "I was a cheerleader in high school and college and between the cheer coaches and watching the various teams that we cheered for I saw a lot of different coaching philosophies. The coaches who led through fear and intimidation didn't do well in the long run. Megan was a competitive athlete and wants to do well and now that she's been thrust into this running scam, she's going to want us to do well. She's going to push back on Ms Barnes and the fifth floor and try to make them see they've got to give us some reason to do well. Hopefully, she'll be able to talk some sense into them."

Ten added "I don't think that's why she did it, but taking six of the best from Mistress V gives her a lever to use on the fifth floor. She can make a stink that the fifth floor will have to notice. She has eighteen witnesses to the incident and some of you will be free in two months to testify without Mistress V standing over you. And the IT department has video."

"I was the one person out there today who did have an incentive," Fourteen said. I've been told that if I make the team, Human Capital will offer me a part-time contract so that I can attend classes three days a week this coming semester. When Megan sent me to the Med Center with Three I met up with the former Seven who is now a college professor. I've been admitted for this semester and they've already worked out a class schedule."

"Will they be sending you to College Park in a pet crate?" grinned Twenty.

"No, the plan is that I work Friday through Monday and then catch the train to Frederick and stay with Seven. Megan, or someone, will meet me at the loading dock with something to wear Monday evening and drop me off at the loading dock Friday morning. The only downside is that my new contract will run through the end of the year, so no escape for me in September."

Eighteen ended the discussion with, "I still say they've going to find someway to screw us to the wall - they always do."

* * * *

Megan arrived at her desk Monday morning to find that Bob Starnes had been busy. She had a meeting on her calendar at 1 p.m. with Bob and Ms Barnes and a second meeting at 3 with Jeremy, Mr Dawlish, and Mr Holt. She surmised that Mr Holt was the tennis playing VP and in looking him up found he was the Vice President that Community Relations fell under. He was in all the pictures of signing ceremonies with the Governor and the Comptroller and the Attorney General and the County Executive, not to mention just about every local politician that Megan had ever heard of.

Checking out the mailgirl app it looked like Human Capital was spreading out the paddlings for running slow throughout the week. Seven, Eight, and Twenty, all of whom had run on Sunday, were scheduled for discipline in the courtyard at 10:30. Megan decided that would be a good time to look for Damon and the video from Sunday morning. Meanwhile, there was actual work to be done.

Megan was in the stairwell heading down to the IT Department when she saw Mailgirl Nine climbing toward her carrying a box of printer paper. "Ten says you should talk to her before you go to HR about Sunday." Megan stopped, but Nine just continued up intent on making her delivery in time.

The Vice President for Computer Services had a corner office on the fifth floor - Mailgirl Five had been there many times making deliveries and he leered at mailgirls with the best of them. The actual IT techies shared space in the basement with a huge server farm; there were persistent rumors that they were supposed to be on the third floor, but refused to move. Mailgirl Five had made far fewer visits to their basement lair, but their response to mailgirls was always appreciative and generally non-threatening. Since Ms Brooks had returned to work in the Investment Group her interactions with the IT techies had always been positive - more than she could say about her interactions with the IT systems - and they had always been perfectly respectful in their dealings with her, unlike many of her colleagues. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

Lighting in the IT department was muted and there was a continuous, not-so-low hum of cooling fans. Many of the heads bent over computer screens were wearing headphones which made sense considering the background drone. She stopped at the first occupied desk and after getting his attention asked, "Where do I find Damon?"

The thin, t-shirt-wearing man beamed at her and said "His desk is in that room over there, would you like me to to get him for you?"

Megan gave him her best appreciative smile and replied, "No, thank you. I'll just knock on his door."

"He won't hear you. Just go in, he won't mind."

Megan crossed the room and entered into a small room which contained three desks, all festooned with multiple computer screens which were dwarfed by the big screen that covered most of one wall. It displayed a number of graphs with columns and lines rising and falling and a table of scrolling lines of data which Megan surmised showed the status of SG&T's computer systems.

Another thin, t-shirt-wearing man, this one sporting a scraggly goatee, stood up and said, "Welcome, Ms Brooks. Harry messaged me to expect you. You're even more attractive with clothes on.."

Megan blushed and said "Are you Damon?"

"In the flesh and clothes as well." He reached down to his desk and hit a few keys. "I understand that you're interested in this" and the scrolling data and graphs were replaced with videos of the Mailroom Dormitory taken from several angles showing Megan in running clothes, Samantha laid out on the spanking bench between Mistress V and Ms Aldridge, and a line of mailgirls kneeling against the wall. Megan watched Ms Aldridge gesture, followed by Megan stripping down, and ...

"I was there. I don't need to see this."

"I didn't think you were still subject to mailgirl discipline, now that you're back up with the rest of the suits."

"I'm not. Ms Aldridge - the woman standing next to the bench - told me that I could accept six strokes or each of the mailgirls beginning with my sister laid out there would get twenty-four. I'm no longer a mailgirl, but I still feel for those that are. Ms Aldridge was my boss in Chicago and she's the one that maneuvered me into becoming a mailgirl in the first place. She thinks that I had something going on with her husband."

"Well, how do you want those videos? DVDs, flash drive, file delivered to your account?"

"DVDs, I think. They seem to be a more permanent storage."

"Okay, we'll burn you a couple of copies and have them delivered to your desk by mailgirl. Come back and visit us anytime."

"Could you send it via Mailgirl Ten; I need to talk to her anyway."

"Now, Ms Brooks, you know I'm not a senior executive, I'm not authorized to summon specific mailgirls."

"Megan smiled, "Damon, I do know the difference between what you're authorized to do and what you can do. This doesn't involve any financial or propriety information so I have every confidence in your ability to make this happen."

"Well, since you put it that way, Ms Brooks..."

"Thank you very much Damon and if there's anything I can do for you."

"Don't worry about it Ms Brooks; I figure you gave us two years worth of pleasure; it's the least we can do to show our appreciation."

* * * *

Megan arrived at Human Capital to find Mr Starnes chatting with Miss Bradley. He nodded, then walked over to open the door to Ms Barnes office for her and bowed her through. Ms Barnes was seated at her desk with Mistress V standing to the side; there were no mailgirls in attendance.

Ms Barnes spoke, "Ms Brooks, I have received a full report of the incident on Sunday morning. That was a clear breach of SG&T policy. Ms Aldridge is not within my purview, but I will be forwarding this report to our senior management. Mistress V will be punished this evening in the Mailgirl Dormitory; you are welcome to attend her discipline. The security people that were on duty Sunday morning said they saw nothing, being busy with monitoring the situation in the parking lot during and after the time trial. My assumption is that you do not want information about the incident to be widely disseminated given that there is already too much emphasis placed by many on your time as a mailgirl."

Megan stopped, not even forward enough to allow Mr Starnes space to enter the room. He touched her shoulder and said, "Perhaps it would be better if you sit and allow me to close the door before we discuss this." He looked at Ms Barnes and said "Megan told me about the blackmail and beating yesterday evening."

Megan sat and responded, "Ms Barnes, I haven't decided how I want to proceed about this. Yes, you are correct, I do not want this spreading to the entire work force. As you suggest, I have enough problem living down my life as a mailgirl and taken seriously as a financial analyst, which is a major reason why I was opposed to getting involved in the mailgirls running idea. I don't need to remind my colleagues of my recent past and would much prefer they forget Mailgirl Five. And no, I have no wish to see Mistress V disciplined - those sights bring up too many painful memories, all of them well documented in the mailgirl app.

"Now, if we can move on to where we go with mailgirls and the Corporate Challenge."

Ms Barnes nodded, "Yes, let's proceed."

Mr Starnes spoke up. "Four, Fourteen, Twelve, and Twenty-two were the first four finishers Sunday, all with quicker times than anyone on Saturday. Two and Fifteen were the next to finish. Three did not finish after stepping on a stone, but ran very well in the two previous trials. Fourteen and Fifteen's contracts expire before the race, but we understand that Fourteen may convert to part-time employment through the end of the year which would make her available. I don't know Fifteen's plans. We propose that Three, Four, Twelve, Fourteen, and Twenty-two comprise the team, plus either Two or the new mailgirl that is being acquired. Six mailgirls plus Megan should allow us to field a very competitive women's team.

"We have another proposal which is highlighted by Three's injury on Sunday and that is to provide the mailgirls with what are called Barefoot Running Shoes. They were a major fad in running circles a decade ago under the theory that shoes should not alter the natural style and that mimicking running barefoot would reduce injuries and lead to faster times. As our mailgirls run actually barefoot all the time they wouldn't have to adjust to the shoes and they would provide protection from stones and other debris on the course."

Ms Barnes responded, "I will have to raise the question of running shoes with upper management. Mr Dawlish was instrumental in getting approval for the running bras which will be ordered as soon as the team is finalized. Similarly, we'll need a sponsor in the executive ranks to authorize shoes.

"Fourteen will be offered a part-time contract later this week. If she accepts she can take her mandated week's vacation for class registration and student orientation and then return to a Friday through Monday schedule through the end of the year. Fifteen is set to be transferred to an investment position in Chicago should she not renew her mailgirl contract. It has been suggested that she could remain here for training through the end of October and run the race as a normal employee. We believe that we can persuade her that will be in her best interest.

"The new Twenty-three is scheduled to arrive a week from Wednesday. I will expect you to assess her fitness level and let us know whether she will be a valuable addition to the team. Upper management will make the final decision as to the number of mailgirls that will run."

Megan interjected, "But, Twenty-three has nearly a year remaining on her contract."

"The current Twenty-three is going to a law firm in New Orleans that is initiating a mailgirl program and was looking for experienced mailgirls to provide guidance to their new hires."