Chapter One -- Betty's Voyeur
Mr. Graham stepped off the elevator and walked through his outer office. "Good morning, Betty." He said as he walked by his beautiful executive assistant's desk.
"Good morning, Mr. Graham." Betty said in a very respectful tone of voice.
Betty swiveled her chair towards him as he walked by and they both smiled at each other. Just as he reached his door, he glanced back for another look.
Betty had a very distinct sexual appeal about her. She was graceful, well mannered and had the most extraordinary wardrobe that exhibited both her sophisticated style and feminine sexuality. Not a day went by that she didn't stand out as the prettiest woman in the building and today was no exception.
As Mr. Graham closed his door, Betty casually turned back around to her desk and resumed her work.
There were always rumors swirling about that Betty was having an affair with Mr. Graham, but those rumors were totally unfounded. He had never made any advances towards her and she made it known to everyone she was happily married. Her relationship with Mr. Graham was completely professional.
Mr. Graham hired Betty six years ago. He always sought out the best and brightest candidates for his company by canvassing the top Ivy League schools. Betty had earned her MBA from Yale University's School of Business and was at the top of her class. Within two years, she was earning the highest salary of anyone in the company below the executive level. She was brilliant, exceptionally efficient and always knew what was on Mr. Graham's mind.
Or so she thought....
Mr. Graham stepped out of his office and Betty swung her chair around again to face him, "Betty, please hold my calls and see that I'm not disturbed for the next hour and a half."
"Sure thing, Mr. Graham. And I'll handle your 9:00 am meeting with Marketing. I've already completed your PowerPoint presentation on the project budget and am well versed in the new security software they'll be presenting."
"Thank you, Betty. They'd rather meet with you, anyway."
Mr. Graham returned to his office and Betty spent the next forty-five minutes preparing for the meeting.
At 8:55, Betty grabbed the stack of files off her desk top and left for the conference room at the end of the hall.
It was mostly men in the meeting and all of their eyes were focused on her. There were three ladies in attendance and each of them were envious of Betty's position. They knew she was justly rewarded for her extraordinary work, but in their minds, they still believed she somehow leveraged her sexuality to move her way up in the company.
Before joining the company as the director of finance in 2004, Mr. Graham was in the Army serving as a tank commander on an M1 Abrams tank during Desert Storm. On February 3, 1991, his tank was hit by heavy artillery fire and the gunner and driver were immediately killed. Graham's femoral artery was severed from the attack and though he was able to climb out of the burning tank, he lay in the desert sand bleeding to death with only a few precious minutes to live. The loader sustained only minor injuries and when he found Graham, he quickly packed the wound with gauze and applied a life saving tourniquet until the medevac arrived. Graham would forever be grateful to PFC Joseph McHenry and Graham promised he'd look after him for the rest of his life.
After the Army, Joseph McHenry spent fourteen years in security and surveillance with a large military contractor. His expertise was in the use of micro video cameras used to surveil foreign diplomats when visiting the United States. Eleven months ago, "Joe" was laid off due to military budget cuts and Graham's company happened to have an opening in building security. Graham made one call to HR and his lifeling friend was immediately hired.
The two buddies often went to lunch together even though their positions were far apart. Their bond was strong and Joe could be seen with Mr. Graham at anytime of the day.
Six months ago, Joe had lunch with Mr. Graham and he mentioned that he was smitten with Graham's assistant, Betty. He especially loved looking at her legs and he asked Graham how he had never made a pass at her.