Chapter Eighteen
/* I rarely watch TV news so I can assure you that the portrayal of Fox 5 news is wholly fictional and is not a portrayal of any person associated with the actual station WTTG in Washington, D.C. Also, Hood College is in Frederick, Md and there is a Hood College Crosscountry Invitational and neither has any connection in reality to the events and individuals in this story. */
Despite her declaration Megan didn't push the other woman away when she felt her sliding into bed. As she relaxed into Charlotte's body comforted by the skin on skin contact, she dropped into a sound sleep.
It was still dark when Megan awoke, confused by the arm draped across her and the soft hand cupping her breast. She stared at her bedside clock trying to orient herself. Sex with Brendan was some weeks back and Lin should be in Frederick with Maria. The body pressed against her back stiffened and she heard Charlotte say, "I hope I didn't wake you."
"No, it's time for me to be getting up, I need to meet Maria's train to return her to the bank."
Charlotte pressed a kiss against Megan's bare shoulder and rolled away removing her arm and hand from Megan's body. "What's for breakfast?"
Charlotte mused, "I'll leave my car here and then get an Uber from the bank to pick it up on my way home. It probably makes sense to go in for an hour or two and let rush hour subside."
Megan looked up from her phone, "Lin Chang texted me to say that Maria didn't come home last night and Maria texted that she and Mr Fforde will be on the usual train."
"So, your little girl stayed out all night with a boy?"
"She's nearly ten years older than I am. I'm not responsible for her morals, just for providing transport to and from the train station. And the boy is a few years older than she is. It's just curious since the motive for shuttling her off to Hood was in reaction to her not wishing to be under the thumb of that particular boy. They have a long history and he'll have the spring semester to court her properly."
"So I'll get to meet the them both."
Megan was thinking that her Civic was going to be uncomfortably full, but only Maria walked away from the train towards the parking lot. Instead of her normal jeans, shirt, and flats she was wearing an attractive yellow dress that fluttered down to mid-calf and a pair of heels. It wasn't a color that would work for a blond like Megan; however, it suited the tall brunette nicely though it would work better as Maria gained more of a tan.
"Where's Mr Fforde? You texted that both of you were taking the train."
Maria gestured to the train that was already pulling away from the station. "Colin's taking it to a stop with a Metro station so that he can go home and pick up his car. He said this was the first time he's ever ridden the train."
"If his car is at home and he didn't take the train to Frederick, how did he get there?"
Maria smiled, "He drove my Miata. He had it transported from Texas and brought it up to me. We left it at Professor Chang's place so that I'll have it available at school. I certainly can't use it at work."
"Oh." Megan gestured to the woman standing beside her. "Maria, this is Charlotte Johnston. She's a Special Assistant at the bank. You may remember her from our last two weekend runs.
"Charlotte -- Maria Hyland, Mailgirl Fourteen."
"Pleased to meet you, Ms Johnston. Are you new?"
"My husband and I just moved into the area and I mostly work from home. I was at San Francisco until I got married and my husband was transferred to England. We spent two years there and now northern Virginia; he's in the Air Force and they move around a lot. So I work directly corporate headquarters on whatever projects they assign me. They've insisted that I spend some time in the office while we live nearby."
The three women piled into Megan's car, Maria into the back seat. She kicked off her shoes, "I don't know how I wore heels all the time. After nearly two years in bare feet, flats and sneakers are tough enough. These show off my legs which Colin appreciated, but...."
Megan interjected, "I met your brother yesterday. He demanded to see you, saying that he would go to the authorities if we didn't produce you. We told him that you were off-site and recommended that he ask your mother how to get in touch with you. You've been a mailgirl for two years; why is he showing up just now?"
"Mom told me that the boys are negotiating to sell the company. It's been an acquisition target for years, but she and Dad were determined to keep it in the family. It would take a two thirds vote of the ownership to make the deal and the boys each have thirty percent. Mom also has thirty and she's always voted my ten percent. Maybe he thinks that if he rescues me I'll vote with them? Which brother was it?"
"Paul Hyland, the CEO."
"And James is the CFO. They have ambitions beyond the company, but while they make a good living out of it they have both proposed outsourcing, mergers, expansion by acquisition. Dad and Mom always saw Precision Tools as a family business where family encompassed the employees and the neighborhood they live and work in. Mom has hopes for the next generation. Paul's eldest is at Cal Tech, James' daughter is at Standard. Mom's sister's youngest is in business school at Dartmouth. Maybe I'll take an active role in the company when I finish my degree."
"We informed him that you were not at work, directed him to speak to your mother if he wished to contact you. I did introduce him to Mailgirl Twenty and her freshly striped bottom. He all but drooled."
"If James and Paul vote to begin a mailgirl program they'll only get my 10% if I head up Human Capital. I wonder whether my mom would support the program?"
Charlotte choked off a laugh. "I don't think Precision Tools is large enough to employ more than a handful of mailgirls. Still it's the kind of forward thinking your brothers would invest in."
"What do you know about my dad's company?"
"When Dr Rodriguez was proposed as an outside director for SG&T Ben tasked me to do the background investigation. As your mother has been an integral part of the company for nearly four decades I now know quite a bit. I told Ben that she would fit right in with SG&T's ethos."
"Ben?"
"My cousin, my boss. Now, a question for you: why are you here? Why didn't you stay in Frederick and just go to class? You don't need the money and there is no SG&T job waiting for you at the end of your mailgirl contract."
"I dropped out of college fifteen years ago. My marriage broke up. I am determined to run the race, finish out my contract, and complete my degree. And when I've accomplished something I can get on with my life."
"And how many more days as a mailgirl?"
"Fifteen weeks, sixty working days. I have a calendar in my room at Professor Chang's apartment and every Monday evening I put big red X's across the Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday just endured."
Twenty minutes later Megan drove up to the SG&T loading dock. A naked Mailgirl Fourteen exited the car and walked up to ring the bell and begin the first of those sixty remaining days.
After making her way to her desk Megan spent a productive morning doing her actual job. She did note that none of the running team members were on the lunch-time punishment roster which augured well for the Sunday training session. Charlotte sent her a note -- conveyed by Mailgirl Seven -- to say she was leaving and thanking her for her hospitality just before eleven. Shortly after she finished her lunch at her desk the Mailgirl App alerted her that Mailgirl Fifteen was back on duty. Megan would have to inquire how the seminar in Boston went, but no rush, she would see Fifteen at that Sunday workout.
Jeremy Digness, whose note to her back in July had been her introduction to the concept of the Mailgirl Running Team, called her just as she was shutting down for the day. "Megan, we just got notified by WTTG, that is Fox 5, letting us know that their special report on the Corporate Challenge will be aired next Friday and they will be airing promos for that report starting tonight on the Ten O'clock News. They are not allowing us to preview the report or any of the promos. Besides the film crew at the time trial last month they have also done an interview with Mr Holt and our CEO in Chicago was asked about the race by the Fox affiliate there."
"Thank you for letting me know. So I watch the Ten O'clock News tonight."
Megan texted Sarah, Lin, and Charlotte letting them know about the upcoming Fox 5 special report before making dinner. She checked the channel guide and was dismayed to find that the Ten O'clock News was a full hour long. At least tomorrow's race was at eleven rather than a mailgirl training session at 7:30. Still, she was meeting the other team members at nine so she couldn't sleep in.
She set the program to record, but decided she needed to watch it live so that she would have the maximum time to process whatever was shown. This also meant she couldn't fast forward through commercials. There were co-anchors for the Ten O'clock News -- an attractive man, probably in his mid-thirties, wearing a very nice suit and a younger blonde female who looked like she was dressed to go clubbing after the broadcast. Megan rarely watch tv news and even a year post-mailgirl hadn't really gotten familiar with the local area so most of the local names and places mentioned were of little interest to her. She realized that she should get out more.
It was nearing eleven o'clock when the male anchor turned and said, "And here's Fox 5 investigative reporter Tiffany Ambergris to tell us about next Friday's Fox 5 Special Report."
