I spent a couple of hours reading reports from our overseas offices and reviewing personnel files. I like to keep a very close eye on my staff. My company employs nearly a thousand people worldwide and although I can not keep track of them all, I read their files and keep track of the more interesting ones.
The last file I was reviewing was that of my secretary Sally. Sally has been with me for fifteen years since I first founded the company. She started as a typist and for the last five years has worked as my personal secretary. She is 33, unmarried, an attractive curvy blonde with full hair and an easy smile. We have always had a good working relationship. Once or twice over the years we have flirted a little but it has never come to anything.
What aroused my interest was a yellow envelope attached to the file dated just yesterday entitled "security report".
Unknown to anyone else in the company except Lisa, the Head of HR, I employ an ex CIA operative to investigate my employees. He has two objectives. The first is to discover anything about employees that might damage the company and the second is to provide me any information that might provide me with leverage should I need it. Some might use the word blackmail but that's such a dirty word.
I always receive his reports direct and no one, not even Lisa, sees them unless I say so.I ripped open the envelope. The voyeur in me was hoping for a little smut on Sally. Often the envelopes have included lurid shots of employees either with prostitutes (admittedly mostly male employees) or illicit lovers. There was a typed report and a couple of photos but they were not what I had expected. The shots showed Sally sitting on a park bench with a slightly older smartly dressed woman. The other woman was handing Sally a package. The second shot showed Sally putting it into her handbag. The other woman was my wife.
I was surprised and felt anger starting to rise in me. I started reading the report. The first section was a transcript of a phone call to Sally's extension here at the office:
"Sally Rae, good morning."
"Sally, good morning. It's Mrs. Monroe here," that is my ex-wife, Caroline, "or should I say the ex Mrs. Monroe."
"Shall I put you through to Mr. Monroe?" asked Sally.
"No. It's you I want to talk to. You're aware we've just divorced," said the bitch.
"Yes."
"Well my settlement wasn't everything I hoped it might be," I could see where this was heading.
"I don't think..."said Sally but Caroline interrupted her.
"Listen Sally, I want to screw the bastard. My lawyer thinks I can take him for another five to ten million if I can get the right information but I need help. I'm willing to cut whoever helps me in on a percentage."
The transcript read "long pause".
"Meet me in Valentine park near the bandstand at one o'clock," Caroline said and Sally had agreed.
The rest of the report detailed their meeting and had a partial transcript. My agent had only got part of the conversation as he had had to use a directional mike but the content was clear. Sally had agreed to snoop on me for a twenty percent cut. Caroline had given her an envelope with the words"here's a little down payment as a sign of my gratitude".
I sat back to think. They had met only yesterday lunchtime. I had been in the office all afternoon and had left late so I know Sally had no chance to enter my office and go through my private files. I checked into the buildings security system through my office pc. Every employee entering or leaving outside normal hours has to use a card to access the building. There was no sign of Sally using hers last night or early this morning.
I buzzed Sally and asked her to order me a sandwich lunch and to get Miss Lang to buzz me. When Karen phoned I explained, "I'm sorry but something has come up so I can't make lunch."
"That's okay," she said.
"But I wondered," I went on, "would you like to join me for supper tonight?" She agreed and I arranged to pick her up from her house at seven thirty.
I buzzed Sally and asked her to come through. "I'm going to work through lunch on some reports and then I'm taking the afternoon off."
"Don’t forget your lunch appointment," she said.
"That's okay I've cancelled. Just finish these tapes for me," I gave her some dictation I had done.
When lunchtime came I tidied my desk and checked Sally had gone out. My office is quite large and luxurious but not designed with hiding in mind. To one side of my office is a coffee table surrounded by easy chairs and a sofa for informal meetings. In the end I decided to lay behind the sofa. I first turned off the lights and checked that I had left the room as I would if I had gone out.
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