Stay with Me

by Sheryl Wright

  “My mother…”

  “Not your mother, Aydan, you! Do you find this photograph…to hell with that. Are you really offended to work for someone who would pose for her engagement photo with her dog at center stage?”

  Shamed, she was silent, desperate for a thread of response. She never got the chance to explain that her mother would kick her out, and had threatened to do much worse. The dean turned for the door, wishing her luck in her academic endeavors, walking out.

  Aydan had chased after her and down the hall. “I want the placement,” she begged, “Please Dean…Sandy.”

  Turning back, the Dean studied her hard before asking, “Why?”

  While a million warning bells went off in her head, she pushed away all the nonsense and biases she heard every day to utter the only thing that truly mattered, “I want to learn.”

  Clearly Dean Sandy Winowski was considering her words carefully. At last she nodded. “I’ll tell David to go ahead and set it up. I am quite sure your education and modesty will be as well respected by the lesbians at DME as they were during our unchaperoned meeting.” With that said, she turned and marched away down the hall.

  It was easy now to remember how shocked she was. Had Dean Winowski just come out to her? She had waited for David, her academic adviser to return. After everything that had just transpired it seemed almost stupid watching him go to the lengths he did to make sure she was comfortable in his presence. She had never noticed that before. How he never shut his office door or how he always made sure to schedule her appointments when his admin assistant was in. She had just spent ten minutes alone in an eight by eight cube of an office with a lesbian. How she wished she had the courage to throw that in her mother’s face.

  She had never imagined it would be her mother who would turn on her. The names she had called her, the threats she had made. One would imagine she had become a prostitute or slept with one hundred men all in one night. Marriage, her mother had advised, was much more important. Only women of low status would take a job and only those of the lowest character would work for such vile and sick women. She had ached from all the crying, and fighting, and all because she wanted to work as an engineer. Nothing she said made a difference. Her mother would not approve. In the end it had come down to taking the placement and lying to her or giving up.

  She knew she wouldn’t get away with lying to them for long but naïvely believed she could convince them of the merits if they could see she hadn’t been corrupted. Unfortunately, her story of spending her days at the university library flew for all of two weeks. During the third, just days before Ms. DiNamico and Ms. Marsh returned to work from the Miami Boat Show, her baby brother took it upon himself to follow her. That night when she returned home her mother was waiting with sewing shears in hand.

  “If you insist on shaming us then you give me no choice.” Her brothers held her in a headlock while her mother snipped savagely at the colorful scarf that covered her head, then her long dark hair.

  Aydan had spent the night alone in her room, curled in a ball and crying. All evening she kept imagining her mother coming to her. She would say she was sorry for overreacting, but she never came.

  It was after one a.m. when she finally ventured out. As she made her way downstairs, she couldn’t help but note all the lights were off. The kitchen too was spotless. There was no dinner plate in the microwave or fridge. Nothing had been left for her, as if she had already disappeared from their lives. That thought didn’t actually coalesce until she went into the family room. She remembered closing the door so as not to disturb anyone and sitting down at the corner desk to use the family computer. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for but she had to have some answers in place by morning or she would have to give up on the internship. There had to be a way.

  She opened up the browser only to have a password dialogue box pop open. That didn’t make sense. She closed Google, then reopened it to have the box pop up again. She tried bypassing it, even switching to another browser, but without luck. How long had she sat there staring at the stupid password prompt? She would be thirty-seven in a few months and her mother didn’t even trust her to surf the Internet without supervision? The tears had come with the comprehension of the betrayal. She had done everything they had asked. She was modest and humble. She had never spent a single night anywhere but under their roof. She had never been with a man yet she had been accused of that—and why? So she would marry some stranger. Someone she didn’t know, didn’t love, and might never love. And for what? To please her mother? Maintain their standing in the community? Appease God?

  It felt like sleepwalking, at least it did now, standing in the women’s locker room, staring at her reflected face, remembering. That night she quietly made her way back to her room and waited patiently to be sure no one would take it upon themselves to come check on her. When she was sure everyone was asleep, she silently packed, careful to take only her books and work clothes. All she wanted from this life that she was leaving. From deep in the closet, she retrieved a small box. It contained the only gift her grandmother had ever given her, a delicate gold ring, and her personal savings of eight hundred dollars. It wouldn’t go far but she owned her little car and could always sell it too. Whatever it takes, she had promised herself then.

  Now, heaving her knapsack up, she shouldered her way out of the locker room. “Whatever it takes,” she promised herself again. She wanted to learn and after three months at DynaTech Research she could honestly say Dean Winowski was right, this was the place where she would learn and where she was fast coming to understand she would be accepted and respected. She wasn’t becoming a whore like her mother warned and she wasn’t being treated like one either.

  Chapter Four

  It was just after ten when Tyler tapped at the lower level door to Marnie’s office. She had spent a significant amount of time here when it had been Georgie’s office. During the first months of the reorganization, they had continued to work with the team imbedded with the DME Engineers on the seventh floor, and with Georgie still in the big two-story executive office. Then the problematic Lou had fucked up, again, jacking up the rent for the long-term tenant occupying two, three, and four, plus half the lobby level. The tenant had gone to Marnie to intervene but she had hit that old familiar wall of Lou’s pride and ego. Instead of giving in, even just a bit, he had insisted on the full increase of rent and fees. The tenant had countered with notice and now they were gone. Marnie, mad as all get-out, couldn’t overrule him then. But what she could do was control which company resources were made available to the other divisions.

  The new R&D company, DynaTech Research, was immediately relocated to the second floor and they had successfully moved Georgie into a quiet corner there too. They had lots of room with the entire space available for their use. They had chosen that floor because the space needed the least amount of work and was basically all open concept. Something Georgie wanted. She wanted to create the same working atmosphere she’d had in a smaller scale in the machine shop and Tyler had agreed as long as they also had a quiet space for Georgie to fall back on. The two corner offices on the east side were perfect. Tyler had taken the smaller one and put a meeting table, couch, and Georgie’s private desk in the other. Her work desk Georgie insisted be out on the floor with her engineers. Everyone had worried about that decision but Tyler backed her up knowing she could make changes, if need be.

  At Marnie’s bellowed greeting, she strolled into the familiar showcase office. With Marnie now in residence the decor had changed significantly. Gone were the volumes and volumes of books, replaced with industry awards, Best-in-Show yachting trophies, plaques and other items that recognized the company’s years of corporate charity and community involvement. There was even a long shadow box that displayed over forty Pee Wee hockey jerseys in an overlapping arrangement and with a printed time line highlighting the forty years DME and the DiNamico family had been supporting Buffalo kids in sports.

  Tyler w
asn’t surprised by the changes, only by how long they had taken. “Have I walked in on a family meeting?” she asked, a bit confused to see Lori and Leslie both present.

  “Come on in.” Marnie waved without any further explanation.

  “Hey, Tiger!” Lori called jovially.

  She wasn’t sure which surprised her more, Lori attending a meeting in person, or that Leslie, her younger sister, was there. After all, Leslie Phipps not only avoided family politics, she was a chef and operated the upscale Fleet Street Grill on the street level, which was where she should be at this hour. Before she could comment, she heard someone following in behind her.

  “Sorry guys, just had to pump.”

  It was Kira, Tyler’s sister. She had been named counsel to the DME board back during the original shake-up. At the time she was also nine months pregnant. Once her maternity leave had ended, she had taken up her new post to find that Tyler and Marnie had created a day care program right in the building. It was perfect. With the now thirteen-month-old Ella just a floor away, Kira, and pretty much everyone else, would drop in during the day for playtime. It was an unheard of luxury and was especially welcome for the single and first-time mom.

  “Okay…now I’m worried,” Tyler said. “Marnie, what’s going on?”

  “Relax, kiddo,” she offered in her usual wholehearted way. “This is more of a family discussion,” she added, drawing a circle in the air to indicate the family she was encompassing included them all, DiNamico, Phipps, and now Marsh. She waited until everyone had settled into the meeting area. It was still set up much like it was when this was Georgie’s office, with a long couch across from the fireplace and the big-screen wall monitor.

  Tyler joined Lori on the adjacent love seat. The one opposite them had been replaced with an upholstered chair more to Marnie’s liking and let her sit closer to the fireplace. Tyler noted the heavy Pendleton blanket tossed over the back of Marnie’s chair, her proximity to the blazing gas hearth, and was struck by a frightening thought. Holy shit, Marnie’s going through menopause! Oh, no…she’s four years younger than Georgie.

  She turned her mind to a more pleasant topic. They had just started planning their wedding. It had never occurred to her that she should be thinking of kids so soon but she wanted kids and seeing how great Georgie was with little Ella and even her own teenage nephews, she was sure Georgie felt the same. Didn’t she?

  “Tyler, I don’t want to put you on the spot but what’s the plan for housing your division?” Before she could answer, Marnie added, “Here’s the thing. Leslie and I have been talking about business needs and we both agree that the current vacancies can be better put to use than for rental income. Leslie has come forth with a business proposal to expand her restaurant to one or two floors of banquet facilities. The return on investment surpasses our current rental income with just twenty percent occupancy, which I believe Leslie can meet. Your two votes,” she pointed her ballpoint pen at Lori and Tyler, “are all we need to proceed.”

  Lori nodded. “I’m in. Good work, sis. I know it’ll be great!”

  When the expectant faces turned to Tyler, she nodded. “Without actually reviewing the proposal…Wait, can I ask, are we intruding on Lou’s territory? I don’t mind, but I would like to be prepared.”

  Surprising her, it was Kira who answered. “Actually, Lou screwed the pooch when he tried to strong-arm the tenants into a huge rent increase. The terms of Uncle Henry’s assignment of responsibilities specifically forbade anyone from the type of thing he was trying to pull off. Henry was firm that each of the Phipps kids play fair or lose control of that aspect of their job. As expected, control of the DiNamico building has reverted to the board, so, basically, you three.”

  “Well, then.” Tyler acknowledged the point knowing they’d have to deal with Lou’s crap at some stage. “Normally, I would want to discuss a board vote with Georgie. Technically, I am representing her in these things but we both know she will see this as a win/win. Congratulations Leslie, and please tell me which floor will you start with and will it be ready in time for me?”

  Grinning, Leslie nodded at the possibility that she could be open in time to host Tyler and Georgie’s wedding reception.

  Marnie cleared her throat. “Here’s the thing, kiddo. I know you just got my sis settled on the second floor but we think it’s the best choice for Leslie.”

  “Really? I would have thought you’d want to take over the ballroom on eight. Engineering on seven has a nicer view too.”

  “True,” Leslie admitted. “But either choice would require a second kitchen and more staff. We’ll still have to get someone in to rip the walls open and access the old dumbwaiter, gas lines and water pipes anyway...”

  “And refurbishing a mini elevator and installing a few bar sinks is cheaper and easier than setting up what would basically be an entire second restaurant?” When Leslie nodded, she confirmed, “I get it and I’m not too worried about Georgie. She’s adapting really well. I think having a small team and a buffer are all making a difference.”

  “Come on, Tiger,” Lori injected, giving her a love tap on the arm. “Admit it. As long as you’re at her side, she does better. You’re doing great!”

  Tyler colored slightly at the compliment. “What I can’t tell you is how long it will be before I can move our division out to the boatyard.”

  “Yeah,” Lori said, tacitly admitting to stalling on her part. “I plan on dragging Georgie around the peninsula as soon as it warms up a bit, which brings me to the reason I’m actually sitting here today and not calling in as usual.”

  Marnie cut her off. “Tyler, I need you to move your team upstairs.”

  “Back to seven?” she asked, her brows arching. “I can’t put Georgie—”

  “No, eight. I know it’s not ideal but it’s more than enough space and has the advantage of being right across the hall from Georgie’s—”

  “The ballroom? Is that what you’re talking about?”

  “Well, we have been using it as a ballroom for the last ten or so years, but before that it was office space and we have money in the facilities budget to make capital improvements.”

  “What’s this all about?” Tyler wanted to know.

  “It’s simply long-term planning. If your division is still destined for Cattaraugus Creek, then putting you on eight gives us the freedom to update the vacant floors to the same standard as the rest of the building, plus take the time to control the expansion to Leslie’s business. Now all we need to know is when you can have your people ready to move again.”

  Tentatively Tyler nodded her agreement. “Understood. What I would like to do is take Georgie up there and propose it to her for suggestions. Once I know how she envisions the setup, then I can sit down and hammer out the dates. I take it the contractor is ready to go?”

  “They’re set to start Monday.”

  “Don’t let Georgie see them until I get her upstairs and she’s decided this was all her idea!”

  Marnie actually laughed at that. “Good God, you do know my sister. Can you make that happen soon?”

  Tyler nodded. “Today. As a matter of fact, I’ll drag her up there after her team meeting. I’ll bring her new intern as an excuse to look the space over.”

  “Okay,” Marnie said, now absently clicking on her pen. “That brings us to another situation, one your sister brought to our attention.” When Tyler looked to Kira, Marnie corrected her assumption. “Your other sister.”

  “Megan?”

  Kira nodded. “She’s proving to be quite a diligent peace officer. But I’m afraid we’re a little confused about what to do with her latest investigative findings. Maybe I should let Amazon Woman explain it to our ethics officer.”

  Lori grinned; she liked it when Kira called her that; as much as she liked playing the big sister to her and aunty to little Ella. “So here’s the thing. A young woman seems to be living in our parking lot, in her car. We both let it slide at first, not wanting to cause her
any problems. She’s gone all day, so we figured she probably had a job and would be okay, but then Megan came to me yesterday, really worried. Megan tells me she’s been through every inch of surveillance tape, and she was sure, and I agree, the girl looks like she’s scared to death. She parks under the most brightly lit spot closest to the stuffing shed between three surveillance cameras. And it’s still winter in western New York. Now I’m totally freaked—between who or whatever has that kid so scared and her possibly freezing to death, we have to do something but I didn’t know what to do.”

  “And you do now?” Tyler asked.

  Instead of answering, she tipped her head to Kira.

  “It seems our little sis is an insistent thing. This morning she followed the young woman from the boatyard to her place of work.”

  “Oh, God no! Please tell me she didn’t get in trouble?”

  “Oh, it’s worse than that,” Kira confirmed as she opened a file on her tablet. “She followed her to her place of employ, and by accessing the security records on site, identified the young woman as an employee of DynaTech Research.”

  With four expectant faces staring at her, Tyler considered it best to work out the implications aloud. “Before we even touch on the fact that a young woman in our employ needs help, do we need to discuss the privacy infringement and unauthorized access to personnel records?”

  “Tyler,” Marnie intervened, “Kira believes we’re covered. While Megan may not be justified in following someone from Irvine to here, she has a right to challenge the access credentials of all employees. Accounting for our employees on property, all properties, is also in her job description. What I think we need to resolve is how to help this unfortunate young woman and if we can address her safety concerns without prying into her situation, embarrassing her or making her any more vulnerable.”