by Robert Olsen
“Punished?”
“Yes, like turn you over my knee, pull your panties down, and spank you!”
“You would do that to me? Spank me?”
“Yes.”
“On my naked behind?”
“Yes!”
Why are you doing this to me now, Richard? You realize you are driving me wild with anticipation! Shit! I want to make love to you right now!
“So, you will be on time Saturday evening right?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Yes sir?”
‘Good girl. I just know everyone will miss you tonight, Kathryn. Now get to work. I can’t wait until Saturday!”
“Good night Richard.”
“Good night Kathryn!”
Holy shit! I’m not going to be able to concentrate in this meeting. Fuck Ted!
Chapter 18
Thursday started melodramatically! Before she even reached her office, her emotions were spilling over the top. Even when she arrived, she was still so fixated over Richard’s threat to spank her, she hardly heard what Ted Duncan had to say about her sales budget. She dwelt on Richards tease all evening, dreaming about him, and, upon waking she was still wondering if he was serious. Another reason she seemed obsessed with Richard, may have been because she missed the Wednesday night card game. Kathryn, was so looking forward to going, and her disappointment could not be put in words.
She was sipping her coffee looking out her window.
He wouldn’t dare, pull down my panties! Would he? He certainly sounded serious, but that’s not my Richard. He’s such a gentlemen? Sometimes, too much of a gentleman, actually. It would be awfully exciting if he put me over his knee? What would happen after he punished me? Maybe he’d kiss me. Hold me. Tear off the rest of my clothes, carry me into my bedroom and make love to me. Yes! That would be wonderful. Maybe, I should be late and test him?
“I’ve got your coffee, Kathryn!”
“Holy shit! You scared the hell out of me, Barbara.”
“I’m so sorry, Kathryn.”
“Oh no, don’t be, it’s my fault for being out there in la-la land and not paying attention.”
“Mr. Wonderful, I presume?”
“Normally, that would be a huge presumption, but I’m afraid you’re right.”
“Nothing wrong with that. If I was dating your dreamboat doctor, I would perpetually be in la-la land. On another note, I hope you got out of here last night at a reasonable hour. Did you make it to your card game?”
“Afraid not. Yours truly ruined my entire evening. I could just kill Ted!”
“Oh dear, what a shame.”
“Well, the good news is I’m going to see Richard, Saturday night.”
“That’s promising!”
“When is my next meeting Barbara? I’d like to lock myself in the office for a couple hours. I need to review my notes from last night. I owe Ted and Jim some information as soon as possible.”
“Your meeting with Wendy, from Human Resources, isn’t until 11:00 this morning. There were a few people you wanted to call this morning, too, but we could shift those to late afternoon, around 3:00.”
“Good idea on the calls, Barbara. That should give me plenty of time, but maybe you should call Wendy for me and see if we can move that meeting to tomorrow.”
Barbara acted immediately on Kathryn’s request, allowing Kathryn to immerse herself in Ted’s assignment.
It was probably close to noon when Kathryn felt happy with what she came up with for Ted and Jim. Of course, she personally thought it was a joke, unrealistic, but despite not believing in the numbers, she was pleased that she at least had a reasonable basis for what she managed to calculate. She didn’t just pull the numbers out of the sky. From a text book point of view, it worked, but practicality? That’s another story.
Barbara must have stepped away, because just as Kathryn looked up, there was Donald Gingrich walking into her office.
“Well, I finally have the proof, Kathryn. I was right! Call me a genius, because I can now show you that this wonderful AU003 Diage pump is a killer!
“What? That’s crazy Donald! Don’t joke around like that.”
“Kathryn, I’m not joking. The testing was flawed. They never revealed the truth to us. One out of a thousand pumps failed! They just shut down because of a faulty temperature gage. Damn it Kathryn, that’s unacceptable by any standard!
“Donald, that’s impossible. It would never have gotten past the FDA.”
“What if the FDA doesn’t know?”
“That’s impossible too! They have all the reports on the testing. How could they miss something that serious?”
“They lied!”
“Who lied? Donald, this is pissing me off. You constantly come charging in here with all these accusations about one thing or another, but I never hear this shit from anyone but you. What gives?”
“Kathryn, the temperature sensor is the same one from the Gemini One-Step pump. All the test scripts and the results documented are from the tests. It was never retested as part of the Diage system.”
“And how do you know all this stuff?”
“I’ve been reviewing every inch of the test scripts, the results, design, and every component. You name it. I’ve covered everything?
“Why Donald? None of this makes sense to me. You are just so pissed at Dr. Andreyushkin, you’re looking for a needle in a haystack! Face it Donald, you just have a bug up your ass over anything that man does. You’re out to get him no matter what! That’s bias Donald. That mindset doesn’t provide independent, objective review of anything, and you know it. Something’s wrong here. I honestly don’t know what to think.”
“Kathryn, I beg you to trust me. This is serious, but if you refuse to listen, and just want to brush it under the rug, there are plenty of other ways I can prove it to you. I’ll get your attention, then you’ll believe in me.”
“Why Donald? Prove it to me? Why, God damn it! Why me!” Kathryn screamed getting extremely frustrated, and somewhat frightened over Donald’s behavior. What can I possibly do?”
“This man needs to be stopped and I can’t do it alone, Kathryn!”
“Enough. I just can’t deal with anymore of this. I don’t know what I can do. Please leave Donald.”
“Don’t Kathryn, please don’t shut me out. You’re not like all the others.”
“Out Donald, please. Now!”
“Kathryn?”
Donald turned and feeling betrayed and dejected as all hell, gave up his fight and left Kathryn’s office. It was quiet once again.
Kathryn felt horrible, upset, and almost at the point of tears. She was sitting quietly in her chair not knowing what to think. Donald had always been weird, and would come up with the strangest ideas, at times. But, lately she knew he was acting very differently, especially today.
What is going on with that man? Could he possibly be right? Oh my God, I hope not. Mom? Holy shit, she has one of these things! How is it that he is the only one that supposedly knows this? Lots of people looked at the device. All sorts of tests were documented, it was reviewed by the FDA, and the device itself is loaded with alerts, alarms, and warnings! Donald can’t possibly be right! Ugh, I’m feeling sick!
Kathryn, glanced at her watch - 12:40. She picked up the phone.
“Suki, hi! It’s me. Are you free for lunch?”
“Oh Kate, I’m sorry. I’m actually with a client right now at the Bull & Bear. But, what about tomorrow? I’m free tomorrow. Can we do lunch then?”
“Certainly, that’ll be fine. I’ll call you. I’ve got to see you. This office is making me ill. See you tomorrow, thanks.”
That morning, as Donald barged into Kathryn’s office to enlighten her on his latest and most serious accusation to date, another employee was attempting
to persuade an executive into action for the very same issue that Donald was raising.
“Excuse me Dr. Andreyushkin, but I just found out that the test scripts for the AU003 pump are flawed. Are you aware of any such thing?” Eric Halsey said, as he walked into Anton’s office uninvited.
Eric looked rather annoyed over the possibility something could be radically wrong and acted like he wanted to confront Dr. Andreyushkin, almost as if he wanted to engage in some argument.
“If it’s true,” Eric continued, “we have a breach in the testing results, and this device could possibly be a killer! That would require notifying the FDA, which most likely would result in a recall pending further testing. I’d call that a disaster, sir!”
“You just hold on young fellow! That’s preposterous! Who, exactly told you that? My pump is not some killer!”
“No one. This came to my attention by performing the post implementation review of the product. If I’m correct sir, you would be the best one to determine the proper course of action.”
“You mean, you are just bringing something to my attention? And, who else might you have discussed this with? I mean perhaps your staff, who worked on the project are aware of - what would you call this fabrication - a theory?”
“I’ve discussed this with no one. Since most people would say you are responsible, I decided to ask you first to see if you had any idea that such a grave error existed.”
“Good, Eric. But you need to calm done. You are too passionate about this concern. It was a wise decision, to come to me, but I strongly suggest you keep such a serious accusation between you and me. I can help, we don’t need to panic anyone, nor allow such rumors to reach the public. Let’s think about this. Look at what time it is. Why don’t you take a break? Go outside, walk, have a good lunch, and when you return. You come back to see me. Once you are calm, we can discuss how to rectify this situation. Am I being clear? Stay calm Eric. I am sure it is just something perhaps overlooked. It will all work out. Let’s talk after lunch.”
Eric wasn’t exactly happy with the way the doctor handle the news, but reluctantly agreed, and left Dr. Andreyushkin’s office for lunch as the doctor suggested.
As soon as Eric left, Dr. Andreyushkin picked up the phone.
“Mikhail, I need your assistance, we have a problem!”
Kathryn, too, had decided to take a late lunch and leave the building. She was fed up with the way everything was going and needed to take a breather. But first, she tried to take care of some issues at her desk. She managed to complete the calls she had put off earlier in the day. When she finally finished it was about 1:30. She decided to pick up a bagel and coffee downstairs, and maybe walk over to the park and sit for a while. She did just that.
It was right before 3:00 when Kathryn returned to the office. As she was entering the building, she noticed a police car parked at the curb, lights flashing, and several cops removing what appeared to be that yellow tape the NYPD use to mark off, and control the area of a crime scene. When she stepped off the elevator on her floor she headed straight for her office. She also noticed an unusual number of people congregated around the reception desk talking to the girls. Once at her office, she immediately realized Barbara was missing.
That’s odd. Maybe Barbara is out in the popular and crowded lobby, too!
Not more than ten minutes went by, when Kathryn could hear Barbara talking as she apparently arrived back at her desk with someone.
“Kathryn, oh thank God your back,” Barb yelled into Kathryn’s office seeing she had returned. “You missed all the commotion.”
“What is it?”
“It was dreadful, and nobody knows who did it or why?”
“What Barbara? What happened?
“Oh dear lord, someone right outside our building pushed Eric Halsey in front of a bus!”
“Holy cow! Please don’t tell me Eric is dead.....he is alright?”
“Yes, Kathryn. He was taken to the hospital, alive, but I don’t know if he has serious injuries. Someone, said they heard him talking when they placed him on the stretcher. I sure hope he’s ok. I’d say he’s one hell of a lucky guy, just to be alive.”
“Who would have done such a thing and why?”
Kathryn’s eyes suddenly filled with tears once again. All of her fears and insecurity instantly returned!
Chapter 19
Saturday was like a day from hell as Kathryn desperately tried to make sense out of all that had happened yesterday, when the man in the trench coat entered the café and shot the boy. The images of the horrific murder and the poor woman who had the heart attack, and the waitress who died of an insulin overdose, kept appearing over and over in Kathryn’s mind. Throughout the entire day, fear ripped through her head like crashing waves upon a storm ridden shore. Never before in her life, had she experienced such horror. She kept thinking it all happened so fast. It was just a normal Friday afternoon, having lunch at The Cafe 63 with her best friend Suki, and the next thing she knew, three people were dead.
Richard, was working the Trauma Center Friday night at Lenox Hill Hospital and sadly could not be with Kathryn despite how much they needed each other. He insisted that neither Suki nor Kathryn should be alone and begged the two ladies to spend the entire night together. He dreaded either of them being home alone having suffered such trauma. He promised Kathryn, he would be with her Saturday, as soon as he could.
On Friday, it was early evening by the time Suki and Kathryn finished talking with the police. The two ladies held on to each other’s arms as they left the hospital.
“Richard is right Suki, please come home with me? I don’t think either of us should face this night alone. You can sleep on the couch, if you want, or I really don’t care Suki, if we sleep together in my bed. I need you or I should say, we need each other. I’ll even give you one of my night shirts to wear.”
“Of course, Kathryn, no problem. I’d rather not be alone either. Let’s just get out of here.”
They cut through the Park at 72nd and slowly walked to Kathryn’s apartment. As soon as they arrived, Kathryn pulled out the vodka and said, I need a drink. I have Absolute, Dewar’s, Jack Daniels, and wine in the refrigerator. What can I fix you?”
“I know what you’re having. I’ll have the same.”
Kathryn filled two Rocks glasses with ice then straight vodka.
“Olives?”
“Yes, please.”
They both took a sip, when Suki said, “I hope you don’t mind, but I have to get out of these clothes, honey.”
“Good idea, let’s go in my bedroom. We’ll find something to wear,” Kathryn said, as the two of them laid down their drinks and walked into the bedroom.
“I have these,” Kathryn said holding up a super soft pair of grey fleece pants and a fleece hoodie.
“Perfect, but are you ok if I take everything off?”
“I’m with you, girl!” Kathryn said pulling her dress over her head followed by removing her shoes, pantyhose, underwear, and pulling over her head a very loose fitting white tunic in prima cotton.
Suki followed by immediately tossing everything she was wearing into a pile on the floor as well. When that was over they paraded back into the living room to find their drinks, and plopped down onto the sofa.
Kathryn took a huge gulp of vodka, looked up staring directly into Suki’s eyes for a full minute, then burst into tears. Soon she was hysterically crying.
“Oh shit, Kate, come here,” Suki said reaching out for Kathryn, grabbing her head and easing it into Suki’s shoulder. Suki’s eyes too, immediately filled with tears.
“It’s ok. We’re going to be just fine honey. These are hard times, and we just need to stay close.”
“Suki, I’m so frightened!”
“Please don’t be. It’s over Kate. Some things happen and we don’t exactly understand why, bu
t that’s life. Sadly, people die. You’re going to be fine.”
“Think about what we were discussing, Suki, about the office. Everything is a mess and going wrong. I can’t stop thinking of that young boy and the waitress. Richard told me she died of a massive dose of insulin. How is that possible? No one touched her. Richard, also told me she was wearing our Diage pump. The one Donald has been bitching about. Just yesterday, he told me it’s a killer! If he is right, I don’t know what to do?”
“Why would Donald say something like that?”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore. Donald claims something was wrong with the testing. He said some sensor failed. I don’t understand it.”
“Kathryn, that’s probably a bunch of bunk! The FDA doesn’t take this stuff lightly, and it would not have gotten past them if something wasn’t tested. I think Donald is just trying to cause trouble for Andreyushkin. You know how much he hates the guy.”
“I do. And so does Eric Halsey, and what did I tell you today. Someone tried to push him in front of a bus! Jesus Christ, Suki, could that have been one of our employees?”
“You could always go to Ted.”
“I don’t think he can be trusted either. Something doesn’t add up with him. Remember the crap about the Five Year Plan? Something fishy is going on there, too. None of those increases are coming, or I should say, being mandated by Corporate.
The conversation went on into the night until neither one of them could take anymore. They drank some more, but didn’t feel like eating too much. Eventually, Kathryn went into the kitchen and made both of them a chicken salad sandwich.
Suki slept on the couch that night, which probably was a smart move since Kathryn had a great deal of trouble getting to sleep. Most the evening, she was tossing and turning, bothered by images of what occurred Friday afternoon. Kathryn, finally passed out at 4:33 AM by a deadly combination of Vodka and exhaustion.
When Kathryn’s eyes finally opened, she noticed the clock read 12:18. At first glance her brain thought it was midnight until she realized the sun was shining through the windows.