Haunting Astrid

by Dara Ames

  I didn’t see Joseph until late afternoon. He’d been in court all day. He walked right over to my desk and said, “Hi, honey. How’s your day going?”

  “Other than the fact I can barely sit down,” I said grumpily, hoping he would feel guilty. He didn’t.

  “Good! Did you put your essay on my desk?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “Did you learn anything?”

  “Yes. Trust has to be earned.”

  “I haven’t earned your trust?” he asked, his voice a mixture of shock, hurt, and disbelief.

  “Yes, of course. But, our work situation adds an element to the mixture than cannot be ignored. If you glance up really quick, you will spot Astrid glaring at us, and if you come around the opposite direction after you walk away, you will see her standing here berating me. Do you want to test me to see if I am right?”

  “Sure.” He was smiling and looked up to see Astrid glaring in arch disapproval. He gave her a cool look and then looked at me once more. “Astrid was staring”

  “And she will be in my face the minute you walk away, demanding to know what you wanted, and threatening to fire me for thinking you would ever be interested in someone like me.”

  “I think you are upset with Astrid over something that cannot be proved, honey, I am going to go and read your essay and we will finish discussing the matter this evening after we go out for the dinner we missed last night.”

  He walked away before I could ask him what he meant by his comment ‘finish discussing’… I was afraid I knew, but surely he wouldn’t! I turned to my computer to get back to work and felt eyes on me. I looked up, and yes, it was Astrid, and she was not one bit happy. “What do you need, Astrid?” I tried to be civil.

  “What was Three talking to you about?” she demanded.

  “Nothing that concerns you,” I said with a smile.

  “If you are speaking to him on the firm’s time, then it is my business.”

  “No, Astrid, it isn’t any of your business, or Joseph would have asked you to join us.” Now, I am not an angel, but I don’t go around throwing gasoline on the fire, either. I didn’t use Joseph’s Christian name on purpose to get a rise out of Astrid, even though I might have if I’d thought of it. No, Joseph’s name came out as naturally as breathing.

  “That is Mr. Chantry to you, Jodi Vanscoy!” Astrid actually hissed at me. She was so furious I thought her eyes would pop out of her head.

  “I think what I call Joseph is up to him, don’t you?” I asked her in a sweet tone, and yes, I was aggravating her now, and enjoying every second of watching her sputter.

  “I ought to fire you!” she threatened

  “You can’t fire anyone without the partners’ permission.” Astrid’s face turned purple with rage.

  “You are disrespectful, Jodi Vanscoy, and I am going to see you fired without good references. Either you tell me exactly what Three said to you, or you are through here. I should have fired you ages ago!”

  “Tell me, Astrid, did you manage to steal my application from those under consideration for the job you have now?”

  “You aren’t suitable for this job. Look at the way you dress! You don’t know the right people, either. I had to beg the partners to keep you on,” she lied, her eyes glittering with rage,

  “In my office now, Astrid!” Joseph’s voice boomed behind Astrid. “Will you join us, Jodi?” he asked politely.

  “Yes, Joseph,” I answered, smiling at him. I thought he was the most wonderful boyfriend in the world for taking me up on my suggestion to circle around and he would see Astrid giving me all sorts of heck because he spoke to me.

  Once we were all seated in Joseph’s office, he looked directly at Astrid and said, “When Jodi told me you would come up to her and demand to know what I said to her, I didn’t believe it. But, something in me told me to see for myself. I was shocked to see that Jodi was right all along, Astrid. Tell me, is Jodi the only one you threaten with losing her job, or is this your way of managing this office?”

  “I didn’t mean it, sir. I’m so sorry.”

  Sorry you got caught! I wanted to say, but this was one time I felt it prudent to remain quiet. I was pleased to realize that I trusted Joseph to handle Astrid.

  “I have one question for you, Astrid, and telling the truth is in your best interests, believe me. Jodi informed me that she turned in an application for Office Manager when the position opened up when Michele decided to quit before her baby was born. That application didn’t make it to the consideration pile. Did you have anything to do with that?” Astrid’s guilty expression was all the answer that Joseph needed. Astrid burst into tears and said she only did it for the good of the office. That angered Joseph. “I should fire you on the spot, Astrid, but I am too emotionally involved to be fair. If you want to keep your job, then you march yourself straight to Granddad’s office and tell him what you did.”

  “But, he’ll fire me!”

  “You might be surprised, Astrid. He might decide to deal with you in the way you need to be dealt with.”

  When she left Joseph’s office, still boohooing louder than I did when Joseph spanked me the night before, he turned to me with a stricken expression in his dark eyes. “I’m so sorry, Jodi Lynn. I feel like I’ve failed to protect you. She put you through hell by threatening to fire you all the time, didn’t she?”

  "It's the way she manages this office, Joseph," I said quietly, but matter-of-factly. "It's not just me, it's all the secretaries. And yes, someone probably should have complained months ago, but…” I sighed. “It’s over now, Joseph, and… if I’d trusted you the way I should have, I would have told you much sooner, and in a more dignified manner than by throwing a tantrum in a restaurant. I’m sorry I embarrassed you last night.”

  “You said sorry last night,” he reminded me.

  “I mean it now,” I confessed. I stepped a bit closer and then stood on tiptoe to kiss him. I then pulled a sealed manila envelope out from under the calendar on his desk and handed it to him. “I didn’t want Astrid to find this,” I admitted.

  The intercom on Joseph’s desk rang. It was his Granddad. “Is Jodi in there?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Please bring her to my office right now, Joseph.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  We walked down the hallway to the largest office, which belonged to Joseph’s grandfather, naturally, since he was the one who started the firm. Joseph tapped on the door and then gently pushed me through the door, following right behind me. “Astrid has just told me that she ran our Jodi’s application for Office Manager through the paper shredder!” the older man said without preamble and I could see he was not one bit happy. I’ll admit that I was thrilled to hear the ‘our’ before my name. Astrid was finally realizing that she was in serious trouble. She shot me an accusing look.

  “No, Astrid. Do not look at Jodi as if this is her fault.” He looked at Joseph. “Tell me what has been going on and how this came to your knowledge.” Joseph explained, and even told his Granddad how badly I behaved the night before at the restaurant.

  “I hope you dealt firmly with that, Joey…?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I’m sorry I lost my temper,” I said. “But most of all, I’m sorry I didn’t trust Joseph to deal with the situation fairly.”

  “There are extenuating circumstances, Granddad,” Joseph defended me, much to my surprise. He then told his grandfather of Astrid’s threats to fire me.

  “Why would you threaten Jodi with that when you cannot fire anyone unless one of us agrees with you that it is necessary?”

  “I’m sorry, sir. I knew that Jodi was a threat to me, but I didn’t know that she was dating Mr. Chantry until a few minutes ago. I feel so embarrassed.”

  “Your behavior was wrong on many levels, and not just because Joseph is going to marry Jodi someday.”

  Astrid’s eyes flew open at that, and again she flashed me a look of hatred. She probably saw herself pac
king her personal items and being escorted from the law offices. “I assume that I am fired, so I will just pack my belongings and go!” She was openly crying, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. I didn’t know if she could afford to finish the renovations on her house without her hefty paycheck.

  “I did not say one word about firing you, Astrid. I think that would teach you nothing, and what you need more than anything is discipline; the kind of discipline that you obviously did not receive from your parents.”

  “What do you mean?” Astrid asked, but I already knew that her butt was in big trouble.

  “I mean that you have one of two choices; bend over and take a paddling in order to continue working here, or pack your belongings and get out. It’s that simple.”

  “Do I get to keep the same salary?” she asked hopefully.

  “Yes.”

  “And my position as Office Manager?”

  “I’m going to have to think about that, young lady. I’ll give you exactly one minute to decide.”

  Astrid looked panicked. I could tell that she wanted to be defiant and leave, but she needed her paycheck just as much as I needed mine. Good. If anyone ever needed a good paddling it was Astrid.

  “Well, Astrid, your minute is up. Bend over my desk or pack up and get out of my law firm.” Joseph’s Granddad was firm as could be and I had goosebumps all up and down my arms!

  Astrid slowly walked to the front of Mr. Chantry Senior’s desk and bent over, her pencil skirt riding up the backs of her thighs. The look on her face was one of dread, and she was already crying. Joseph’s grandfather took a paddle from the bottom drawer of his desk - a paddle in his desk! I swallowed hard when I saw that - then got to his feet and moved until he was standing behind and to the left side of Astrid. I looked pleadingly at Joseph. I didn’t like Astrid, and I didn’t feel one bit sorry she was going to get a sound paddling, but I didn’t want to watch it happen!

  “Granddad, may we be excused?” Joseph asked politely.

  “No. I do not want this one lying later and claiming I touched her inappropriately. She's consented to this. I want you both to watch so that you know the truth of the matter.”

  “Yes, sir.” And that was that. The paddle was made of wood, and it was approximately three inches wide and six inches long on the business end, with a nice handle. Mr. Chantry Senior landed the first spank on Astrid’s left cheek and she howled bloody murder. In fact, she acted like a big baby through the entire punishment even though it was administered over her skirt and what she wore underneath. It didn’t look like Granddad was smacking Astrid as hard as Joseph spanked me with his hand, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud. There are times when it is necessary to keep quiet. I didn’t want the opportunity to compare the paddle to Joseph’s hand!

  “Please, sir! I’m sorry! Stop now, please!” Astrid begged.

  “I’ve barely begun. You were given a position of trust in this office, Astrid. If I were to walk out of here and go and talk to the other women who work here, what would they tell me? Have you been as mean to them as you have to Jodi?”

  I waited to see if she would tell the truth, and she did. “Yes, sir.”

  “Why, Astrid? You had the job… Why did you feel it necessary to be mean to all of your coworkers?”

  “I think the promotion went to my head.” Astrid was lying. She’d always been the type to lord it over everyone.

  “That kind of behavior will not be tolerated in the future, and I will be checking to make sure it is not happening. If I get even one complaint, you will get another paddling, and I will not be content to administer it over your clothing. Now stay in place while we finish this.” I thought that Mr. Chantry would give Astrid another ten whacks, perhaps, but he paddled the heck out of Astrid. She was very sorry by the time it was all over, and I knew she wouldn’t be sitting anytime soon. Chantry One sent her home with orders not to come back until Monday.

  Chapter Five

  Things around the office seemed to improve on the surface, but I could tell that Astrid still thought she was better than the rest of us. She was furious that I was the one dating Joseph when she thought it should be her! She made a great point of telling us everything she was doing for her party and at the same time making it clear that none of us were good enough to set foot in her house. So, instead of giving up on my plan to haunt her party, I spent some serious time making plans for that Saturday night. It just so happened that Joseph told me he had to be somewhere else that night, so I knew I was free to scare the crap out of Astrid and her pretentious guests. If word got out that her house was haunted, she wouldn’t be selling for much of a profit.

  I could hardly wait for the party, but the time at work in between gave me time to observe Astrid, and not only was she angry with me, she was positive that I gossiped about her paddling behind her back to others in the office, which I had not done. It made her touchy, especially when a couple of the secretaries laughed over a joke and she thought they were laughing at her. The one person she didn’t say anything to was me, and that was because she knew now that Joseph and I were a couple, and she was afraid of me. She settled for glaring at me and gossiping about me. Most of the women in the office didn’t believe a thing that she said, especially when I told them how long I’d been dating Joseph. I think they realized that if I was going to get anyone in trouble it would have happened by now. Astrid was no more popular on her ‘best’ behavior than she’d been on her worst.

  I made sure I had everything I would need Saturday night, the most important being my flashlight and extra batteries. I also had a voice distorter, and a costume and mask. I started early, before the guests all arrived and while Astrid was doing her last minute shopping. When she returned I decided to have some fun; I made eerie noises, whispered loudly, and laughed hysterically. Astrid wanted to run, but with all the guests due to arrive, she didn’t dare.

  “Please! Go away! You’re dead, and this is my house now!”

  I decided it would play better if I let Astrid think her ghost left, so I sat down and was quiet for the next couple of hours while she got ready for her party, mumbling to herself all the while. Even her decorations were designed to draw attention to the best features of the old house.

  The guests started arriving and I traveled the hidden passageways of the old mansion easily, and I was shocked to realize that Astrid had filled her house with people who were just like her! It was sad, really. They were all more concerned about appearances than anything substantial. The party conversation centered on ‘how to make money quickly’ and the latest and most expensive electronics they could buy. I thought they all needed a reality check. They were at an age when most people were looking for love, finding someone to share the joys of living with, and having babies to love and raise. Yes, it was necessary to earn money to provide for those children, but social climbing and stepping on people to move up the ladder didn’t bring true happiness. But then, perhaps it was best if these people didn’t have children if they would ignore them in favor of the next party and putting on a show for others.

  I started haunting slowly, but I could tell that Astrid heard me and knew her resident ghost was at work. The hallways behind the walls led to almost every room in the remodeled house, and I followed the group from room to room, making my ghostly presence more and more known. “Get out of my house!” I said in my spookiest haunting voice. “This is MY house. Go away!”

  The guests laughed, not the reaction I was expecting! “How are you doing this, Astrid?” one man asked

  I’ll give Astrid credit; she thinks fast on her feet. If her guests thought the haunting was part of her Halloween party, then she was going to go along with it! I think fast on my feet, too… A result of smiling instead of throwing coffee or food all over a few diners who thought they could touch me while my hands were full of dishes when I first started working to support Bri and myself. I learned to make wisecracks that were funny but still let the guys know I wasn’t for sale. It w
orked, and Brian and I survived while I put myself through school and found a great job at the law firm. It still struck me as funny that I had worked there a lot longer than Joseph, who was a partner. He was a couple of years older than me, but his schooling took a lot longer than mine.

  I got more creative in the things I said, startling Astrid, and her guests. “A party is a sneaky way to find another buyer for my house! MYYYYY house! You all need to leave!”

  “Astrid, this is getting a bit creepy. Could you please turn it off…?” One of her female guests asked.

  “I will not be silenced, woman. You are trespassing in my house!”

  “Seriously, Astrid, this has gone far enough.” This time it was a man who spoke up.

  “Where is your sense of fun?” Another of the guests laughed. “I think the special effects are really fantastic. I didn’t figure you for the techie sort, Astrid. How are you doing this?”

  Astrid mumbled something, and led her guests to look at the kitchen. I loved the kitchen and I wished it was mine. I have to admit that Astrid has good taste in finishings, but the kitchen was truly special. There was a lot of storage in the beautiful cabinets, including two pantries. The counters were made of granite, and the backsplash of tiled glass. There was a farmhouse sink, and a large island that contained a gas cooktop. A double oven, which I drooled over, and the flooring brought the whole of it together. There was a lot of oohing and aahing, including mine… I hoped to scare the daylights out of her pretentious guests, and the woman who’d asked Astrid to turn off the ghostly affects announced she was leaving.

  “Astrid, is this for real?” another woman asked fearfully.

  “I’m sorry! There have been thumps and bumps, but nothing like this! I think the ghost is upset because all of you are here!” she wailed. I wanted to laugh. I’d accomplished what I set out to do, and now all I had to do was wait for everyone to leave and Astrid to go to bed, and I could get all of the equipment in my car and leave. Astrid wouldn’t be selling this house to anyone in her crowd, for sure. I figured her loss would be compensation for the increase in salary her ill-gotten promotion netted her. Paybacks are hell, I thought to myself. Her guests were all anxious to leave, and once they did, I started packing up all of the equipment, but every so often I gave off an eerie laugh… or a warning to leave MY house.