*** All people featured in this story are over the age of 18***
***
It was a scene that was all too common in business settings. The company rented out a building with a bar for the yearly company party. An event designed to celebrate the creation of a new drug for their government employer. As the night draws on a curious employee finds the booze behind the bar. Everyone has some drinks. Some people begin to perform least than desirable acts. Men filled with liquid courage say things they should not to their coworkers or even their boss.
Derek stumbled over to Karen. Karen was a high-level manager at the company. She stood in her own personal pocket within the crowd. No one dared to go near her. Everyone knew what Karen was capable of. There were several unemployed men and women that could attest to that. Karen was ruthless.
Karen knew Derek was about to make a fool of himself. She needed to put him in his place quickly. No need to give anyone else any ideas. Derek was drunk enough to look Karen in her eyes. Derek would never dare to that while sober. Derek slurred, "Heyyyy boss." He swayed on his feet.
Karen sighed, "Hey Derek, enjoying the party?" She sipped from the glass of water in her hand. He was going to cross a line and she was ready to strike him down.
"You-you got a stick in your ass. Need some good dick to loosen up." Derek grabbed his crotch.
Karen was not amused. She spoke with just enough force to be heard over the crowd of party goers. "You're afraid of me when sober for good reasons. I am going to embarrass you here."
Derek stood there taking every in every word.
"YOU," she screamed. The room went silent. All eyes focused on Derek and Karen. Derek felt his arm hair stand up. He froze like a deer in headlights. Karen continued her tirade, "I write your checks. Don't cross me. I have no problem ruining your life." She threw her water onto him. "I am your boss. Get me a new drink. Can you do that right loser?"
Derek walked off cursing under his breath. He was going to be the laughing stock of his job. Drunk Derek wanted revenge, at least he still had a job. Derek wished he could take her down a peg. As he walked he began to notice a rather odd sensation. There was a small cylinder in his pocket. He slid his hand into his pocket.
It was a vial. At that moment it hit Derek. Inside his pocket, was a vial of Batch 234. Derek in his drunken state did not bother questioning how it got there. It should not have been there. It should be impossible for any samples of the mind-altering drug to leave the lab. Derek instead focused on what he needed to do.
Derek needed to get Karen a drink.
Derek walked over the bar on shaky legs. As he grabbed a wine glass, he knocked over several other glasses. Derek somehow managed to mix a drink with Batch 234.
Derek stumbled back over to Karen. Her gaze shot through him. Karen may have been shorter, but she looked down at Derek with disgust. Derek bowed his head as he presented Karen with her new drink. Karen raised her eyebrow. "I am surprised you managed to walk this far without spilling the drink." Karen took one sip of the drink. Derek watched her closely. She took a larger sip. Her lips turned into a scowl. Karen said, "You can't even get this right."
The drink came flying towards Derek's face. Derek hit the ground in order to avoid it. Karen took a step forward. The heel of her shoe dug into Derek's rib cage. Karen leaned down to talk to Derek. She spoke just loud enough for him to hear, "If you talk to me again, I will have you fired for sexual assault. Remember, I am the boss." Derek felt something pop. Pain shot through his right side. Karen walked off paying no attention to Derek. She was the boss after all. Employees were replaceable trash.
Derek got to his knees. He felt nauseous.
Everyone has a bad day.
Tomorrow would be better.
Derek dragged himself back to the bar. He had a few more drinks. That was the last thing Derek remembered.
***
Derek had a splitting headache. He slowly opened his eyes. The light burned Derek's eyes. He closed his eyes and took a deep breathe. He was laying down on the floor. Derek slowly sat up. He opened his eye to the painful light. He was behind the bar. Derek used the edge of the bar to pull himself up to his feet. He was face to face with a young woman. She wore thick rubber gloves. The young woman was the cleaning lady. She dropped the bag of trash in her hand. She asked Derek, "Are you okay sir?"
"Yea, just give me second," Derek croaked. He climbed over the bar and sat in a chair. "I just need some time to gather myself."
"You should leave as soon as you can. Management wants everyone out," the cleaning woman said. She picked up her bag of trash and went back to cleaning. Derek watched her while he waited for the pain in his head to subside a little. She had been at work for a while now the room looked almost pristine. There was little evidence of the insane party that had happened just the night before. The cleaning lady got down on her hands and knees. She wiped up a liquid with her cleaning cloth. Unfortunately, she did not know a rather large amount of that mysterious liquid soaked into her gloves. The liquid was around the area where Karen threw her drink on Derek twice. Derek wondered if it was the same drink.
Derek took the time to admire the cleaning ladies body. She was not anything extraordinary. She appeared to be in her twenties, younger than Derek. A little athletic. The woman shot a glance over at Derek. He saw something in her eyes, heat. He leaned back in his stool and closed his eyes. He hated being caught ogling a woman. Too risky. No need to get embarrassed. Getting shot down by a woman was an embarrassment his pride could not handle.
Derek looked back at what he did last night. To his horror, Derek remembered what he said to Karen. He remembered the humiliation put him through. Derek's memories had holes in it, but he remembered enough. Derek needed to apologize to Karen.
Derek's thoughts were interrupted by a touch. He felt a warm hand on his chest. Derek's eyes snapped open.
The young cleaning lady stood in front of Derek. She wore a big grin. Derek's questioning eyes looked at her. The cleaning lady answered, "I was just worried about you sir." She sat in his lap. "What did you do last night?" She put her hand on Derek's forehead.
Derek feigned ignorance. "I don't really remember, but I think I am fine now."
"I do not think so sir." She began to lightly grind against me. Derek instinctively stood up. The cleaning lady stood up with him. She wrapped her hands around Derek's waist. "What can I do to help you?"
