I apologize - I submitted this story a day late. Busy busy Sundays!
Pentopaper
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~Part Twelve~
Shelby had left her pad of paper in Nancy's office so she grabbed a new one from the supply closet. But not before she heard a familiar voice coming from reception.
"Well, if you won't let me back there, I'd like all my things boxed up and delivered to my house. My assistants - former - assistants can do it."
Shelby peeked out of the closet to see a frowning Lillianna standing at the reception desk with the security guard standing next to her. She gingerly shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"We'll have your desk emptied and all your personal belongings sent to you, then," Joelle told her.
Just then Lillianna looked over and saw Shelby standing half in and half out of the closet. She sent Shelby a rather malicious smile. "Why, if it isn't Nancy's little assistant!" She took a step and winced. Shelby figured she was still smarting from the vicious caning Nancy had subjected her to the day before. "No hard feelings, huh, Shelby?" She asked.
But Shelby frowned. She could not forgive that woman for what she'd done to her. Shelby met Lillianna's cold eyes and then she left the closet and walked away from the reception desk, heading towards the back door where the deliveries were dropped off, her fox tail bobbing with every step.
"Well, fine then," she heard Lillianna say.
But Shelby was having no part of it. She would not make nice with the woman who had traumatized her so.
Joelle found Shelby a few minutes later cataloguing the toner cartridges. "Hey! Want to help me empty Lillianna's desk? She's got some real expensive pens I'm thinking of taking and making my own," she said.
Shelby shook her head. "I'm not going anywhere near her or her things. I don't care if she's got a thousand dollars hidden in her desk - I wouldn't take it. I don't want anything of hers."
Joelle shrugged. "Ok. Well, suit yourself."
A few minutes later Shelby had a list of toner cartridges and she was putting them in their correct places in the supply closet.
Shelby returned to Nancy's office. She had her master toner Excel spreadsheet on a laptop in there.
"Hey, sweet baby girl," Nancy said. "How's your tail?"
Shelby rolled her eyes and got on her computer.
That afternoon Nancy told Shelby there would be an informational meeting, including all the C-Suite-ers, and since Nancy was now the new CIO, she would be expected at the meeting.
"I want you to come along with me," Nancy said.
"Wait. This isn't a staff-"
"No," Nancy said emphatically. "It's not a staff meeting."
"No surprise sex on the table?" Shelby tentatively asked.
Nancy chuckled. "I don't think so."
Shelby shrugged. "Okay, then."
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The meeting started at 2:30pm. A few minutes before then Shelby found herself in the big first floor conference room with all the people at the highest level of the company, as well as with the directors of Human Resources and Marketing - Carter Mitchell and Ryan Stewart, respectively. She wasn't the only assistant there, either. Joelle was sitting next to Phillip Addington with a laptop taking the minutes. Clay was there next to Jim Bagely. They had some kind of silent argument going on because Jim kept trying to get Clay's attention, but Clay kept steadfastly ignoring him. Carter Mitchell, a gray haired man in his early forties had two female assistants and Ryan Stewart, a dark haired man around 32 had a female assistant who looked much older than he was.
Sharon Rogers, their CFO, was videoing in from somewhere in paradise, Shelby figured. The video feed coming in was of a patio with a slow-turning ceiling fan above. Blue-green ocean water and a pristine white vacant beach was in the background. Sharon was in her early fifties with dyed red hair and was wearing a flowery bathing suit and a matching bathing suit coverup. From offscreen came a well built man in his early thirties into view. He wore all white and he carried a tray with two peach margaritas on it. "Hi, everyone!" The man said. Everybody but Shelby said a brief hello to Sharon and to the man whose name evidently was Reed.
Nancy, of course, was there with Shelby, but only after she had exchanged Shelby's fox-tail plug for the plain black plug Shelby had had in earlier in the day. Shelby guessed Joelle had switched her plug out too, otherwise she wouldn't be sitting down.
"Okay, everyone, let's get started," Phillip said. "Let's formally welcome Sharon and Reed back after their company ring ceremony."
Clapping resounded in the room.
Sharon nodded. "Thank you! And thank you, Phillip, for letting us take this extended honeymoon - er - sabbatical - in Montserrat," she said. Reed came into camera again and kissed the woman on her cheek.
"Ring ceremony?" Shelby whispered to Nancy.
Nancy nodded, leaning in. "I'll tell you about it later," she whispered to Shelby, "but It's a special ceremony...like a wedding...sort of...that takes place here at the company. They chose to get married in Montserrat in addition, so it's legal."
Shelby rolled her eyes. A company ring ceremony? If it took place in the company she could only imagine what it entailed. Maybe group sex with unicorns on the roof? Who could really even guess.
"You're welcome! We're lucky you two made it official," Phillip said.
"Thank you! How are things going in the States?" Sharon asked. "Nancy, I hear you're our new CIO?" She asked.
Phillip laughed. "Who's leading this meeting?" He said to other chuckles. "Second on the agenda is to let everyone formally know that the company has officially parted ways with Lillianna Harris. Because of that, I'd like to introduce our new Chief Information Officer, Nancy Addington, my very capable sister-in-law!" There was more chuckling and clapping and general congratulating, and also some light enthusiastic whistling. "I've been leaning on her to take the job for years. She finally took me up on it," he added.
There was some general tittering in the room. Quick, furtive glances were made at Nancy and Shelby.
"What's going on?" Shelby whispered.
Nancy shook her head tersely but stood up. "I need to announce something," Nancy said.
"Yes?" Phillip said.
"I want to announce that Shelby and I will have the next ring ceremony," she said.