24. Vanholt Corporation - Next Day
Judy's hands trembled. She crossed her arms over her stomach as she dragged her feet towards the entrance to the Vanholt Corporation's District Office entrance. Her harrowing affair with Susan had continued to occupy her thoughts ever since. Despite a long bath, repeated showers, and endless amounts of cleaning and tooth brushing, my fiancΓ©e had not yet regained a feeling of cleanliness.
As soon as Judy entered the building, she immediately started walking towards HR while avoiding making eye contact with anyone else at the office. When she opened the door to the HR department, Judy raised her eyebrows when she saw Amber, once again dressed in a lowcut blouse that revealed a fair amount of the young woman's cleavage, manning the reception desk. "I thought you were gone," Judy said as she sat down in one of the waiting chairs.
"I was but today's my first day back," Amber explained. Upon noticing Judy's significantly larger engagement ring, Amber's eyes tightened, and bottom lip protruded. "Oh, what a pretty ring," Amber faked a smile on her face before she glowered at my wife's engagement ring.
"Oh, uh, thank you," Judy raised her hand up and admired her ring, flipping back her hair as she did so. "I'm Judy. I have an appointment at twelve with Susan."
"Oh, so you're the one I've heard so much about," Amber replied as she crossed her arms over her chest and smirked at Judy.
Judy plastered a smile on her face as she stroked at her hair "What have you heard about me?" Judy asked. Her hand trembled slightly as it manipulated the hair on her head.
Amber wet her lips before responding, "Judy. I work here in HR. I hear all about the gossip and the rumors that go around the office. Anything that happens. Sooner or later, I find out about it. You can't expect to keep everything that happens a secret can you?"
"I, uh, don't know, don't know what you're talking about," Judy stammered as she crossed her legs before swallowing.
Amber winked at Judy as she picked up the phone off her desk and dialed Susan's extension. "Hello ma'am, you're twelve o'clock is here. Mmhm. Yes, the one we talked about earlier." Amber paused for a while as she listened to the phone's receiver before letting out a laugh. "Yes ma'am. No, I agree with what you're saying. You should really be the one to break it to her." Amber paused and began nodding her head quickly. "Oh my gawd! Really?" Amber asked into the phone before wetting her lips. "Okay."
Amber set the phone down and turned her attention back towards Judy. "Susan's ready for you now," Amber said as she tipped her head back. "Good luck with your little... predicament."
"Excuse me?" Judy let out a small unconscious laugh as she fidgeted in her chair.
"Whatever predicament you're here to see Susan about, silly," Amber giggled before her face settled into a smirk. "Tootle-oo," Amber said as she waived Judy in the direction of Susan's office.
Judy shivered as she approached Susan's office as she tried to get any thoughts of their ritualistic sexual encounter out of her mind. The office and hallway remained cold as they had been yesterday but were significantly brighter and therefore felt slightly more inviting. As Judy walked into the office and took view of Susan, her stomach began to quiver.
"Please sit down dear," Susan said with a smile as she gestured to one of the chairs in front of her desk. "Thanks to your sacrifice, I'm overflowing with feminine vitality today. I can't believe how much work I've been able to catch up on. It's so great to have Amber back as well." Susan turned her attention back towards her computer monitor.
Judy felt fatigue in her body set in as she sat down in Susan's uncomfortable chair. Judy twisted her hands against each other in her lap as she averted her gaze from Susan. "You were going to help me..." Judy said in a cracked voice.
"Uh-huh, yes," Susan responded as she focused on typing on her keyboard. "Just one moment."
Judy stared vacantly at her hands as she continued twisting them against each other in her lap. Her body felt achy.
"Almost done," Susan said as she typed some more on the keyboard. Finally, Susan finished what she was doing and turned back towards Judy. Before saying anything, Susan relaxed back into the contours of her office chair. Once she was nice and comfortable, Susan said, "We need to talk about your little situation. I reviewed all the paperwork Palmer submitted and I opened an HR investigation into your allegations. Now before we talk about your options, I need to ask you a few questions."
Judy's mouth felt dry. Gently she rubbed the back of her neck and responded, "If it'll help, sure."
Susan narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips flat before asking, "Judy, is it true that you have often dressed or acted sexually inappropriate while working at the office?"
Judy cleared her throat before quickly shaking her head in the negative. "Never, I never did that," Judy denied.
Susan crossed her arms over her chest before continuing, "Is it true that last year you tried to seduce Ron Palmer with the prospect of sexual favors in exchange for him not cutting your hours?" Susan lowered her head and stared at Judy.
Judy vigorously shook her head as her eyes widened. "No!" Judy exclaimed. "I never did any of those things."
Susan pulled her arms more tightly against her body. "Ok," Susan began before continuing, "while working here have you ever used office equipment for purposes of sexual activity, downloading pornography, or the buying and selling of sexual services?"