Exploring the question about confessing when you've cheated. Is it ever okay not to admit you cheated?
"You wanted to see me, Mr. Peterson?"
"Jenkins, yeah, come in. .... Listen, Toledo is blowing up on us and those fools have no idea how to fix it. I need you to drive up there and get our system back up and running."
"Uh, okay, but it's Friday, by the time I get there they will be closed for the weekend."
"I told the site manager to have someone meet you there and be available to assist you for as long as you need." Peterson picked up a notepad and tore off the top sheet. This guy will meet you at the back loading dock and let you in."
I took the note paper and stuck it in my pocket. "I'll head home now, pack a bag, then head out."
"Great! I knew I could count on you. When you get back, we need to discuss your future here. I have big plans for you after Morrison retires."
I smiled at Mr. Peterson, "Thank you, sir, I look forward to talking with you."
"Good! Now get out of here so you can get on the road."
I turned and walked quickly back to my desk. "Mark! ... He is sending me to Toledo, so you'll have to cover for me for the rest of the day and any emergencies over the weekend."
My co-worker nodded, "Sure, not much of anything going on today, so I can handle it. Sucks you have to give up your weekend. I'm sure Amy won't be thrilled."
As I hustled out to my car, I called my wife, Amy. "Hey Babe, Peterson is sending me on a rescue mission to Toledo. I'm on my way home to grab an overnight bag."
"Dan! We have the cookout at my parent's house tomorrow. We're supposed to spend the weekend there, remember? My brother and both of my sisters will be there with all their kids."
"Shit, I'm sorry, but it can't be helped, I have to go. Peterson, himself, asked me to do it. ... I'm really sorry."
"Yeah, I bet you are. Well, the kids and I are at the mall getting new swimsuits, so I guess I'll see you Sunday Night."
I started apologizing but soon realized she had already ended the call and I was just talking to myself. I sighed, great, things haven't been good between us lately and now she's really mad at me.
We just can't seem to catch a break. Between my job and the kid's activities, we hardly ever have any time to ourselves. We haven't had sex in over four weeks and, now that she's mad at me, that's not likely to change anytime soon. Maybe, if I get Morrison's job, I'll be able to cut out all of the overtime I've had to work lately.
I pulled into my driveway, parked, and hustled inside. I grabbed a small suitcase and loaded it with a couple of days of casual clothes. I snatched my toiletries and headed back out to my car.
It is usually about a two-hour drive to the plant, but I got there just in time to get caught in Friday night traffic. It was well past closing time when I pulled into the empty parking lot and around to the loading dock.
When I parked, I pulled out the paper Peterson had given me. I texted "Sam Mathews" to let him know I had arrived. I walked to the rear door and rang the loud bell. It took a couple of minutes, but the door finally creaked open.
"Hi I'm Sam, you must be Mr. Jenkins?"
I gaped at the speaker. "Sam" was about 5'6" with lots of dark red hair, green eyes, and an impressive rack nicely displayed in a scooped-neck long-sleeve tee shirt. She smiled brightly at my confused look.
"Let me guess, you thought "Sam" would be a guy? (I nodded) Yeah, happens all the time. I just never liked "Samantha" so I've always been called "Sam, " sorry for the confusion."
"No, no, my bad!" I stuck out my hand. "I'm Dan Jenkins, glad to meet you, Sam Mathews."
She led me back to the utility area at the far end of the warehouse floor. As I followed her, I couldn't stop staring at her shapely bubble butt as it twitched back and forth. Fortunately, I averted my eyes when we got close to the door and she quickly turned to speak to me.
"I'm sorry we had to call you, Mr. Jenkins, I've only been working here two months and Mr. Fuller is on vacation in Europe. I tried to get the system to restart, but I kept getting error notifications and then it would shut down again."
"Please, call me Dan, is it okay if I call you Sam?"
She nodded and her beautiful red locks bounced around her lovely freckled face. "Okay, Dan, do you have any ideas?"
"Sam, this system should have been replaced some time ago, but management doesn't like to spend money on new equipment. It can be pretty finicky and is sensitive to power fluctuations."
"Ah! We had a nasty storm roll through here two nights ago and that's when it started dropping out."
"Okay, Let's pull the covers and see what's going on."
The system was the controller for all of the automation units in the warehouse. When it dropped out, the conveyers stopped, the robot pickers died and all the inventory screens went blank. This was a cutting-edge system back in the day, but it was well past its prime. This was my third visit to Toledo in the last five years. If I get promoted, I will lobby for an equipment update.
We worked through various parts of the system trying to find the fault. It was not hard work, but it was time-consuming to have to test every section for failure. The newer systems had test ports and some were completely self-monitoring, but not this old system.
After a couple of hours, I heard Sam's belly growl. She chuckled, "I worked through lunch and now my belly is complaining. Do you want to order a pizza or something?"
"Sure, I can always go for pizza. I like pepperoni, but will eat anything except anchovies."