The Houseboy of the Corporation Secretary
Part 2
Warning: If you are underage, or if local laws prohibit you from reading this, then please click away. If you are offended by sex between consenting males, then I would also recommend that you leave.
This is a serial story. It will be posted in parts, as they are written. As the author is able, he will try and pre-write chapters in advance and have them posted on a somewhat regular basis. This story will be a story with some sex, not sex with some story. If you are looking for a get off quick story, consider looking elsewhere. The author believes in allowing the characters to speak and advance the plot themselves. The characters write the stories, the author is only the tool for which the characters work through to get their story told.
The author welcomes all constructive criticism at ChrisLuvsU2@gmail.com.
The Author does not claim to be knowledgable on corporate laws, nor does he imply knowledge in the workings of DA offices, the court systems, or of corporations. There use in this story is purely for the development of the plot, and should not be taken to show any legal knowledge. If you have any questions concerning corporate law please consult an attorney of law. Furthermore, the author bears no responsibilities on your use of this story.
This story is a fictional story. All characters are fictional, any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
The dinner meeting was with a business associate that had come in to town. We were discussing the acquisition of another company that was getting into some financial difficulties. We went to an up-scale restaurant called Al Biernat's. My business associate was picking up the tab on his business account. This acquisition would be a great boost to Mr. Seth Falcon's corporation, a daughter corporation to the one I work for as Secretary of the Corporation, also known as the Chief Information Officer (CIO). He wanted a sounding board, and I was his man. For the last several years, whenever he had gotten into a situation or wanted advice on which direction he should go, I would be his sounding board. After we had finished our meals, we discussed the purchasing of this corporation and the timetable for purchasing. The talks between Seth's corporation and the struggling corporation have been taking place for several months, and now it was getting down to discussing the cost of purchasing and announcing the deal. I was able to discreetly convince Seth to wait for a couple of weeks before entering into those discussions. He agreed without asking any questions.
When we finally went our separate ways, I knew that Seth and his corporation were going to be successful in obtaining this struggling corporation. I could see the excitement in his eyes; this was going to be a big boost for him in the eyes of his peers. He knew it and I knew it, and I was excited for him. I believed it was about time that he got treated as an equal by everyone in the business world, not as someone who was to be ignored.
When I got home, Michael was already there. I walked into my house and he was sitting in the living room reading through a packet of information that he was given at the office today. He is supposed to look through the packet and fill out the corresponding forms to return the next day when he came in to the office. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed a Dr. Pepper and glanced around. I noticed that he had stopped at Subway on his way home, and gotten himself supper. I was impressed with how clean everything was in the kitchen. Furthermore, I was surprised when I noticed that not only had the dishwasher been run, but that he had unloaded the dishwasher and had put everything back in its place. Jill had not told me this when I talked to her earlier when she got back from her lunch break.
I went for a casual walk through the house while slowly sipping on my Dr. Pepper, and noticed that he had spent some time dusting and vacuuming while I was gone. Everything had that nice clean smell to it. I walked into my bedroom and noticed that he had made my bed, vacuumed, and dusted. He did, however, leave my desk alone. Smart boy. I was pleased with his work and I felt it was time to confront him about his dream to serve as a houseboy. I walked into the living room where he was still reading his information from the company. He glanced up as I walked in and sat down on the chair. The living room is artistically decorated with a Southwestern flair to it. The walls have paintings of the West and the frontier as their themes. I find it a nice comfortable room to be in when I have the time for rest and relaxation. I spared no expense to make sure the living room was a comfortable room for reading or working in. It has lived up to its design and purpose. I have received many compliments from friends and colleagues that have been in my living room.
I was the first to speak once Michael placed his papers down to give me his direct and full attention.
"Michael, first off let me say I am impressed with your resume and your work experience. You handled yourself well during the interview. I am also impressed with what you did while I was away. You were a guest in my home, and despite being a guest you took the time to straighten up and clean my house."
"David, I wanted to express to you that, provided you are willing, I want to serve you as your houseboy."
"That is what I want to discuss with you. How are you so sure that I am interested in or looking for a houseboy? I have never talked about it. I haven't even mentioned the desire or the idea of having a houseboy. Every time it has been mentioned, you have been the one to bring it up."
"I know, but call it a feeling I have. You have gone out of your way to get part of my dream fulfilled. And it was. Today I got hired by your corporation to work as a part-time secretary. That was your doing. I was told after you left; that you have final say in all hiring for the corporation, but that you are particularly insistent on enforcing that when the vacancy or the need is in your area. This is what leads me to believe that you are at least interested in having a houseboy. You knew what my dream is, and instead of throwing me out of your house and life, you invited me to stay the night at your house, as your guest, then you invited me to come and apply for the part-time secretary position that was needed in your area. You then, after looking over my resume and listening in on the interview, authorized my hiring. I don't believe you would have done all this if you weren't truly interested in helping me to achieve my entire dream, even if my parents are disgusted by who I am and what I want to be."
"Well, Michael, you are right. I am interested in having a houseboy. However, what makes you so sure that you are the right one for me?"
"You were impressed with my quality of work; I can see it in your eyes. You also said yourself that you were impressed with what all I did considering I am a `guest' in your home. Plus, the mere fact that you are interested and that you looked at me and talked to me in the park yesterday proves to me, at least, that you are interested in me or you would not have talked to me or gone out of your way to do what you have done for me already."
"Michael, I do believe you are the right houseboy for me. I wanted to hear how you responded to some of my questions. You have been completely truthful and honest with me, and yourself. There are a few things that we have to discuss, before we can finalize this arrangement."
"I know, David."
With that Michael and I spent three hours talking about my needs, wants, and desires and his. I also made sure that we talked to make sure that he would get what he wanted out of this kind of relationship. While, I am not a hardball, I expect to be obeyed both in the office and out. We discussed at great lengths what he would be expected to do as my houseboy. He was going to be given great responsibilities but be limited as well. I stressed that if he completes them well and obeys me, he would be rewarded, but that if he makes a mistake there would be punishment.
During our talks, the topic came up about what to do if he ran into me, or saw me while in the office. This lead into discussing what his proper course of action would be in a public setting like the office. In the office, I was to be called Mr. Secretary, while at home, in private, or in the public I was to be called sir until I felt he had earned the right to call me something else.
When we first began our talks, I had secured Michael's permission to record our entire conversation. He hesitantly agreed, before I explained that my personal lawyer would be drawing up a contract that we will have to sign and my lawyer needed to know everything that we would be talking about this evening, and the best way is if the conversation was recorded. I also explained that before I would allow Michael to sign the contract, I was going to send him to the head lawyer for our corporation, to get pointed to a lawyer that would look out for Michael's best interest. Not that I had any desire to exploit him, or use him against his will. He tried arguing that he trusts my lawyer and me. I told him that while I appreciated that, I was going to still insist that he have his own lawyer look over it just for his protection. I didn't want him to come back months or years later, and sue me for exploiting or using him against his will. He grudgingly agreed. I told him that when it came time to sign, after he and his lawyer had looked over it and proposed any changes that a meeting would be set up between Michael and his lawyer, me and my lawyer, and a public notary. We each were to provide a witness for the signing.
What Michael didn't know is that I was also going to have my lawyer draw up power of attorney for each other. I didn't want to have to try and find his family to get permission for treatment and I didn't want a situation to come up, where there was no one to look out for my interests if I wasn't conscious to make my desires known. This is what I meant when I told him that he was going to have some great responsibilities but that he would be limited. The limit was that he also had to have the approval of Jill, my personal secretary, to authorize any medical operation. Jill had my primary power of attorney and Michael was going to have secondary power. This may sound strange, but I have epilepsy and while I am on the prescription drug Depakote, I am always afraid that something would happen to me.
I truly believed that Michael and I would have a great working relationship. I only hoped that it would grow into something emotional and long-term. I know that was my desire and prayer. I believe that I could truly love Michael; I only hoped that the feelings were mutual or that they would become mutual as our working relationship grew stronger.
Michael and I talked about vacations and days off. I wanted him to choose one day a week, and that would be his day off as houseboy, he could go and do things that he needed to do. I also explained that as a part time secretary he was given a total of two weeks paid vacation, plus company and federal holidays. I told him that that the week between Christmas and New Years, the entire corporation was shut down, and that equated to a third week of paid vacation time. I told him, I expected him to take his two weeks of paid vacation each year. I also told him that he also was off on the holidays unless I asked him to work, and then I would personally pay him.
Michael tried to argue, that he didn't need a day off, that if I wanted him to serve as my houseboy, than it was going to be a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week job with no off days. He also said, that he had nobody to go see, and no place that he wanted to visit. So there was no reason to take vacation time either. He further argued since he was serving me 24/7 there was no reason for me to ask him to work on a holiday, since he would already be doing it, so there was no reason for me to pay him.
"Michael, I understand what you are trying to say, but maybe you misunderstood me. I did not ask if you wanted to have a day off, if you wanted to have two weeks vacation, and have the holidays off. I told you that you are going to have a day off once a week, that you will take a total of two weeks paid vacation each year, and that you will have holidays off."
"Sir, I understood what you are saying, but I don't think that is what I want. I want to serve as your houseboy 24/7 and if I am doing that, I can't be going off on vacation, so there is no reason to take the 2 weeks of paid vacation."
"Michael, we are going to have to get this settled. Have we not already discussed that my wants and desires are paramount to yours, since you are going to be serving as my houseboy?"
"Yes, sir we did. But..."
"No buts about it Michael. We have already discussed this. If I have to I will order you to pick a day of the week for your off day, I will order you to take the two weeks of vacation, and take the holidays off if I have to, but I would much rather you voluntarily choose to do those three things. Your choice, do I have to order you or will you do it voluntarily?"
"If you put it that way, I choose Thursday's to be my day off and I will take my two weeks of vacation to correspond with yours. I will also take the holidays off unless you ask me to work. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes, Michael, it is acceptable. You will be free on Thursday's for your personal time. That means I order you to not be home at all from the time you wakeup, take a shower, and eat until it is time to go to bed that night. As for vacation, I take a two week trip to Europe or Asia each year, so you are free to accompany me for that, or your can go somewhere else that you want, at my expense."
"Thank you sir, I think I would prefer to travel with you and see the world."
"That is what I was hoping you would say. Michael, is there any questions that you have, or any concerns?"
"David, what are you planning to do with my paycheck? I have a feeling that you don't want it nor that you need it. But my dream was that the person that hired me as a houseboy would take it and use it for his will."
"Michael, you are right I don't need your paycheck nor do I want it. However if you want me to have your paycheck, I will take it. But I want you to know, that I will only use it to set up investments in your name to grow your money. I will also set some of it aside in a bank account in your name, where I will also deposit a couple of grand a month for your salary as my houseboy. This will be your spending money. I expect you to use that money for yourself. I don't want you buying your clothes with it; I will be buying your clothes and paying for anything you need. That money is for things that you want."
"I guess that is acceptable to me. Now David, I am curious about something. Am I expected to perform sexual acts for you?"
"What are you comfortable with?"
"David, I feel like I could fall in love with you, and serve you for life and fall into a long term relationship with you. I am interested in having sex with you, but only if that is your desire or wish. It will be completely up to you. You are my master, and I am your houseboy."
"Michael, that's right you are a houseboy, but this is not a BDSM relationship. While, you are mine, I have no desire to do things that you don't want to do. Now, that does not mean I am going to consult with you on a regular basis. I believe I will be able to tell what your wants and desires are, and that I won't need to consult with you. I would very much be pleased to be your mentor, and teach you everything I can, to show you the far reaches of a gay couples sexual and love relationships. However, the ultimate choice is yours in whether that is what you want."
"David, I would love nothing more than to have you mentor me and show me everything there is to know about a gay couple's relationship."
Michael and I continued talking about different things, all of which were related to what he would be expected to do, and what my expectations would be. I noticed that it was 10:45 and I had a couple hours worth of work that I needed to do, and I knew he still had some more reading to do and then he had to start filling out all those forms. I ended our conversation by telling Michael that I would be giving my attorney this recording and have him start drawing up the contract.
Michael was curious if I would like for him to sleep with me tonight. I explained that as much as I would like to do that, I was going to wait until we had officially signed the contract and everything was official before we started anything. I didn't want anything to go wrong, and there be regrets on either side. He frowned a little, and said that he understood. I got up and walked to my office and started working. I was hard at work on my presentation for the board meeting and I was almost finished, when I heard Michael walk in. He was carrying a bottle of chilled wine and a couple of wine glasses. I glanced up and smiled. Here he was, already getting into the swing of things by bringing me wine. He poured the wine into the two glasses and passed me my glass, which he had poured first. I took note that he not only served me first, but that he gave me a little more than he gave himself. I thanked him, and he smiled. I knew he was up to something; I just couldn't lay my hand on it. He started to undress, and I knew what he was trying to do.
"Michael, I would feel more comfortable if we waited until the contract was signed before we slept together in the same bed, even if nothing happens."
"But sir, what if this is what I want. I don't care about the contract. I don't believe you are trying to exploit me or use me. You are not holding me against my will. I want this."
"Michael, please. As much as I would love to have you sleeping with me tonight, I want us to wait until we have signed the contract. Please. Let's just finish our glass of wine and then I need to get some sleep. I have to visit three of my offices tomorrow and I have meetings at each stop. I am almost finished with my presentation for this board meeting in several days."
"Ok, sir. I'll sleep in the guest room again. Just know that I don't like it and would rather be sleeping in here with you."
"Duly noted, Michael, but I think this is for the best."
With that we each finished our glass of wine, and Michael got up and left. I couldn't help but think about how Michael is one hot stud. I know it may seem like I am being cruel about us waiting until the contract is signed, but I am one that tried to protect everyone I can, and the only way to protect both my interests and Michaels, is if we wait until after the contract is signed before we start anything. This is definitely going to be difficult. I heard the kitchen lights being turned off, and the house be locked up, and Michael going to bed. He is going to make a great houseboy. I heard the guest bedroom door shut. With that, I sat back down at my desk, finished my presentation, and then went to bed. I went to the master bedroom after checking to make sure everything was off and that the doors were locked. I got to my room and shut the door. I stripped down and got into bed. This night I was feeling exhausted and my mind kept going to that memo that John received today. That was very disturbing to me. I finally fell asleep.
Apparently, sometime during the night, Michael decided that he just had to sleep in the bed with me, even thought I had told him no. I woke up with my alarm clock, and noticed that someone was in bed with me, I then realized that it was Michael. I was a little angry that he proceeded to disobey me, even though I did enjoy having him here lying next to me. I got up, proceeded to have my quiet times and prayer and then got dressed for my morning run. All through today's run I was distracted between the fact that Michael disobeyed me last night, when I told him to wait and with all that was happening in the office, particularly the disturbing memo and what was going to happen at the board meeting. I know that when Mr. Bonow brings up the motion to adopt the article of separation, that there is going to be an all out heated war. I know almost a half of the board wants to separate from our mother corporation while another quarter want to stay joined together. I don't know where the other quarter fall. All I know is that we need to have 2/3's vote to approve the article of separation. I hope we can get it.
When I got back from my run, I noticed that Michael was awake and was cooking breakfast. I went in to the kitchen. I noticed that he did not have the tea kettle going. I asked why my teapot was not going. He said that he does not know how to use it or how to make tea. All he knows how to do is make coffee, but he quickly explains that he doesn't drink coffee nor does he like the smell. I showed him what he was to do to prepare the tea kettle to make tea. I told him, that if he is going to make breakfast for me, the very first thing he must do is make sure that I can have my tea. He asked me how many varieties of tea I have. I pointed him to a cupboard, where I keep all my tea. He opened the cupboard and about fell on his butt when he saw how many varieties I have.
"Holy cow that is a lot of tea varieties. What do you do, collect tea."
"No, smart-alec, I drink it. I love hot tea. While you have the cupboard open, go ahead and pull out a Princess Noori tea packet and place it in the mug that is sitting on the counter."
"Yes, sir."
With that the water was ready, and Michael proceeded to pour the hot water into the mug and passed me the mug. I steeped the tea until it reached the desired strength and then I got up got the sugar and milk. I added a little milk, and enough sugar to make it how I liked. Michael stood there and watched what all I did, while he finished fixing breakfast. When breakfast was ready, he served me and then he served himself. We ate in silence. Once I finished, I got up put my dishes in the sink, and went to take a shower, get cleaned up, and dressed to go into work. As I was coming out of my room, I saw Michael standing there dressed and waiting for me.
"Sir, are you angry with me. You didn't say one word to me during breakfast, not even a thank-you for cooking."
"No, Michael, I am not angry with you, just upset and disappointed. I told you that I wanted to wait until we had signed the contract before I would allow you to sleep in the bed with me. I expected you to obey my wishes. However, when I woke up this morning you were asleep in my bed with me."
"I'm sorry sir, but I just couldn't wait until we signed the contract, I needed to be next to you."
"Michael, if you can't obey me now, before the contract is signed, how can I expect you to do it once you have signed the contract?"
"I'm sorry. I won't do it again."
"That's right Michael, you won't. As soon as you get home, I want you to write a three hundred word essay, by hand on what it means to be obedient, and why you are to obey the commands that are given. Leave in on my desk when you are finished."
"Yes, sir."
"I have to get in to the office. I know today you are going to be shown around the office area and will be instructed on everything you will be expected to do. I will be at the main office this morning, but my afternoon will be split between two other offices. I will not be home for supper. Tonight, I was going to treat you out to a new Mexican restaurant I wanted to try, but now I am going to go out to eat with a couple of friends and try it out, and you will be on your own for supper and you are to prepare and eat it here at home. Maybe after all this, you will learn that I am to be obeyed when I say that I don't want you to do something. You want to be under the contract even before it is signed then you have to obey all my desires."
"Yes, sir. Goodbye, sir."
"Goodbye, Michael. Have a good day at work."
"You too, sir."
I got into work, and there was a confidential memo sitting on my desk. It was sent from John, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), to each of the chief executives of our corporation. Because I am the CIO, I am a part of the chief executives. This memo, detailed out, what I had read in the memo John had received the previous day, as well as some course of actions that he was taking to help clarify the problem. In the meantime, we were to clear our calendars for a 10:00 meeting of the chief executives to discuss what our options were, and what our course of action was going to be.
There were several other memos sitting on my desk, one of them concerning my signature to approve hiring changes that yesterday's report was dealing with. I called an aide in and told her to fax a request for the necessary forms that were requiring my signature to be sent by courier to my office for a 9:45 delivery, and I would have them returned by same.
I was beginning to wonder where the aide was that was to bring me up to speed on what was happening in the world, and where Jill was with my morning cup of tea. I was beginning to get irritated. John walked in with his cup of coffee and noticed the lack of tea sitting on my desk, and he started to back out of my office before I stopped him.
"John, I know you are trying to get away from me because I don't have my tea. I am starting to get irritated if it doesn't arrive. If you would be so kind as to sit down and wait while I find out where Jill and my personal aide are as well as my tea, I will be more than glad to talk with you."
"David, I don't know if I want to be within a hundred feet of you when the personal aide arrives or your personal secretary with your cup of tea. I have seen you before when you have been held up from getting your tea."
"John, I promise to not lose it if the excuse is legitimate."
"Okay then, I will stay."
I proceeded to get on my intercom and started calling the extensions of each of my aides until I finally reached one. I told her that I wanted to see her in my office immediately. A few minutes later the aide arrived and I started to grill her. She said that the aide that normally brings me my morning report on the happening in the world and on items concerning the business called in sick, and that no one had been given directions on how to cover for her because my office manager was caught in traffic. When I asked where Jill was, the aide replied that no one had seen her or heard from her. I started to panic. I knew that she had received a couple of threatening messages at work from her ex-husband. I commanded my aide, that she needed to have someone go to the desk of the aide that normally briefs me, and sitting on the desk would be the report of all the news that I was to be briefed on. That aide that was sent to get the report had 10 minutes to look through the report and be in my office ready to brief me on everything in that report. As for my morning tea, I told the aide she had 3 minutes to get me a cup of Lady Grey tea with a dash of milk and four and 1/2 heaping teaspoons of sugar if she desired to keep her job. As for my personal secretary, I told her that I would take care of that. After the aide left, John started to applaud. I turned towards him starring at him with daggers in my eyes while I spoke.
"What are you clapping for?"
"You succeeded in keeping your cool, and you snapped out the orders of what you needed and wanted done, and stated or implied what would happen if they weren't followed."
"Thank you, John," I managed to say trying to hide my sarcasm. "Now, as to my personal secretary I need to make some phone calls, this is not like her to not call me if something came up. What where you wanting to talk about?"
"Just wanted to make sure that you had received and read the memo, and to see if you had gotten that report finished for me concerning your meeting from yesterday."
"John, before you come here checking for reports, it might be prudent of you to check with your aide that is responsible to receive your reports and to organize them in order of importance. You have had the report since 5:00 yesterday afternoon."
"I did. He claimed he didn't have it."
"I handed it to Jill and told her to hand deliver it to the appropriate aide for you. She got up immediately and went to deliver it. If I can talk to Jill, I would know if it made it to the aide or not. I left the building after I delivered the report to Jill."
"I hope nothing happened to Jill or to that report. I know that report has confidential information in it."
"Yes, it does. However, it does not contain your name, my name, or the name of any of the chief executives or board of directors. It was written as if it was a report about what is happening in another corporation not ours. Anyone who knew what is happening would know it is our corporation but there are only three people that know, you, me, and the person codenamed Horsefly."
"Well that is comforting. But what is not comforting is the fact that Jill isn't here and my aide doesn't have or is lying about having the report."
"I know. I am going to place some calls, hopefully I can find her. But here is a copy of that report so you can have it."
"Ok, thanks. I hope you can find her too. I'll go ahead and head back to my office. I'll see you at 10:00 for the chief executives meeting and then again at 12:30 for our lunch meeting."
"Okay, see you then."
Before I was able to place any calls, the aide walked back in with my cup of tea and right behind her was the aide to brief me on the world and national news, as well as on new reports and other articles pertaining to our corporation or important to our corporation. After she was finished and I had her continue on with what she is supposed to do, I started to make my phone calls. First, I called Jill's home and received no answer, than I called her cell number it was off. I called her pager and told her to call me when she got it. While waiting to see if she would call back, I called her close friends, none of whom had seen or talked to her the night before. I called her lawyer and he hadn't heard from her in several days. I was starting to get worried. I started calling the hospitals to see if a woman by the name of Jill Wilton had been admitted or someone fitting her description. I struck out every time. I was beginning to get worried. She hadn't called back and she wasn't at any of the hospitals. I called the police and filed a missing persons report.
They asked me on the phone if there was someplace they could meet with me to talk. I told them that we could meet at my office, but that I have a key to Jill's home and I want to go there and check to make sure everything was okay, and that a police officer could meet me there. Surprisingly they agreed and allowed me to meet them at Jill's house. By the time I got there, there were already two police cars at Jill's house and they had already staked out the perimeter of the house. I noticed that her car was there. That caused me to get even more worried. That meant that she had passed the report off and had left and gone home. I talked with the police for a couple of minutes and they told me to unlock the door and follow them in so they could shield me if there was someone inside that shouldn't be. We got in and immediately I saw something that was very familiar. The scene was eerily familiar from the last time when her ex-husband tore through the place when he was angry at Jill for divorcing him. I relayed that to the police, and that was when I spotted her, lying on the coach. I heard a slight moan which told me she was alive. I ran to her, and she looked at me and mouthed the name of her ex-husband, Billy. I yelled at the police to call the paramedics that she was alive, I also explained that they needed to start looking for her ex-husband Billy Wilton. They asked me how I was so sure that they needed to question him. When I told them that he had been harassing her at the office for the last several days, and that he has done this before in the last house she lived, they started hopping to start to find him.
The paramedics arrived and started looking Jill over, and getting her prepped and ready to go to the hospital. I told them to take her to St. Mary's Hospital, and have her admitted and notify the hospital that she is to be treated as if she were the child or relative of mine. She was to get the best treatments available and I wanted only the best in the hospital to work on her. They started to argue, but I held up my hand and said there will be no argument, this woman is like a child to me, I have tried to protect her from the man that did this to her, and I told them who I am, and that they will carry out my wishes. I told them if they tried to argue any more, I was going to call their superiors. That got them hopping, particularly when they heard my name. I told them, that I would get to the hospital as soon as I could.
The ambulance left, carrying Jill onboard. I stayed behind because the police needed to get my complete report and they needed to finish their report so they could end the missing person's search. I thanked them for there help and wished them Godspeed in finding and apprehending Billy Wilton. With that, I left and went back to the office, so I could attend the meeting with the rest of the chief executives, and to clear my calendar for the rest of the day, so I could go and sit with Jill. I was going to keep my dinner appointment and then go home after dinner. I know the hospital hates having people under foot, so I stay away from the hospital during the evening and night hours. I would leave them my home, work, cell, and pager numbers and that I am to be called if anything major happens or if they need me to answer any questions concerning Jill.
I got back to the office, and talked to my aides and had a temporary secretary assigned to answer the phone and do what I needed to have done. The temp that was assigned was named Jack, and I told him I needed him to clear my calendar for the entire afternoon starting with the lunch with the CEO. I told him I would notify the CEO. Furthermore, I told him to leave my dinner appointment for the evening. I told him to bring me a cup of tea with just a dash of milk and 4 and 1/2 heaping teaspoons of sugar. I went into my office to get prepared for the 10:00 meeting with the chief executives. A few minutes after I started working, my temporary secretary came in with my tea. I thanked him, and he left. I got up, took my tea with me, and walked through the hidden passage way into the CEO's office. I could tell as I was standing there out of sight that he had no one in his office, so I proceeded to walk in and make my presence known. As soon as John saw me, he began to ask questions. I held up my hand to stop him:
"John, I found Jill. She is currently at St. Mary's hospital where I have given the directive that she be given the best care available and that only the best in the hospital are to work on her. She was badly beaten when I arrived with the police. It appears that her ex got to her."
"At least she is alive. What are you going to do now? I know that she is like a daughter to you."
"Hopefully, this time I can convince her to press charges against her ex, and get this case to court and have him locked up for attempted murder. Also, if you don't mind I would like to postpone our lunch appointment so I can be at the hospital with her. I have already given the directive to my temporary secretary I had brought in to clear my entire afternoon schedule."
"That's fine David. I understand. I am glad that you are going to be here for this chief executives meeting. I read through your report. You do a fantastic job at covering people's backs to make sure that even if the report falls into the wrong hands that no one can be implicated from the report."
"Thank you."
"I am pleased with what is happening. Tell me, if the vote was held right now, how do you see the board falling on the issue?"
"Right now, I can almost guarantee you that slightly over a half of the board will vote in favor of the articles of separation. One quarter of the board will vote against. It is that final quarter that I am worried about. For the motion to pass, we have to have a 2/3's vote in favor of the motion to adopt the articles of separation. To get the necessary votes, we need an additional 1/8 of the board to vote in favor of the articles. Can we get it? I am sure, but it might take some work. Unfortunately, you know I can't speak up. This is a matter for the board to discuss, but because I am a chief executive, I can't be involved in any split. So, while I have to keep the notes, and document everything. I cannot officially take part in the discussion or voice my opinion. In any voice vote I have to vote against separation, because I cannot be a part of a separation. I would much rather, have all votes be by ballot, because then I can vote my true, feelings and have to hope and pray that there is always someone that votes no, on an issue."
"Knowing some of those who are on the board, I don't think you have to worry about the possibility of no one voting no. I can't recall a single unanimous decision coming out of the Board of Directors."
"This is true. We generally can't fully come to a unanimous consensus. We have come close. Well, it looks like we need to head to the executives conference room because it is nearing 10:00."
"You're right, David. Let's head that way. I see you have your cup of tea."
"I do, John. I can't wait till Jill gets back, because even though I tell people exactly how to prepare it, they don't quite get it right. I do and Jill does, but the aide that made mine this morning added a little too much milk and this temp added too much sugar. But oh well, it is tea nevertheless. Let's go have this meeting."
With that John and I walked into the executives conference room, which is at the one end of the private hallway that connects the offices of the chief executives. Already present were Mary, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO); Donald, the Chief Technological Officer (CTO); and Catherine, the Executive Vice President. The only chief executive missing is Lance, the Chief Operating Officer (COO). The bylaws of our corporation name 6 executive offices: the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Information Officer, the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Technological Officer, the Chief Operating Officer, and the Executive Vice President. There are other vice presidents in the corporation, but they are not an executive VP and they do not sit on the chief executives board. There are two other positions that sound like they would be chief executives, but our bylaws prevent us from having more than 6, and the bylaws of our mother organization prevent any daughter organizations from having 6. So, our corporation has a Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) and a Chief Communications Officer (CCO) but they are not chief executives. I think, the board's first coarse of action once we are separate from our mother corporation, is to name the CPO and the CCO to be chief executives, and to sit on the chief executives board.
I have been in a great many debates over why the Executive Vice President sits on the chief executives board, when her title doesn't have the word chief in it, only the word executive and we have two other people that have titles and those two do have chief in their title. The board's justification for having the Executive Vice President sitting on the chief executives board is that Catherine, who currently fills that position, would be the one to temporarily fill the position of CEO if a vacancy occurs in the CEO. The board felt that if that need ever arose, the Executive Vice President needed to know everything he or she could, to help make a peaceful and smooth transition from the former CEO.
I have alluded many times to the private hallway that connects the offices of the 6 executive officers, the CEO, CIO, CFO, CTO, COO, and the Executive Vice President. Technically, the offices of the CPO and the CCO also would connect into that hallway, if the private entrances were to be opened up. It would take only a couple of hours for those private entrances to be opened up allowing the CPO and CCO access to that private hallway. However, until the board is in a position and able to allow those two positions to be chief executives, the CPO and the CCO can't have access to the chief executives hallway.
A couple of minutes after John and I arrived, Lance, the COO arrived, and John was able to call the meeting to order. All 6 chief executives were present. We normally try and have a chief executives board meeting twice a month. This meeting is a special one that John called because of the circumstances. John began the meeting in his normal way, by greeting each person and listening to each person's praises and complaints on things that have been happening in their area of responsibility.
John then got to the main point on why the meeting was called. He began by reading the memo, that he received the day before, than opened the floor to comments, questions, and concerns from those present. Right off the bat Catherine, the Executive VP, spoke up.
"It sounds to me like the CEO of our mother corporation is slowly trying force a corporate take over of her corporation's daughter corporations. My question is, when will she stop? Something tells me she won't stop at the first level of the daughter corporations. Each of the three corporations that are daughter corporations to her's each has their own daughter corporations. I know we do. There are several tiers below our corporation. Does she eventually want to take over as the CEO of all corporations that fall in the hierarchy of her corporation? I can't believe our board is going to allow this to happen."
I piped up and said, "Now wait a minute Catherine. That accusation is uncalled for. The Board of Directors has not had a meeting since this memo came out. Our last meeting was last month. This memo came out yesterday. Our next board meeting is Friday, in three days. I have it on good faith that a member of the board is going to bring a motion to adopt the articles of separation, which would separate our corporation and all of our daughter corporations from her corporation. Everyone here knows that I sit on the Board of Directors, but I as well as each of you, have agreed, and signed a contract saying you agree, to obey all the guidelines and policies of our mother corporation. You and I all know that we cannot be involved or sanction a split from the mother corporation. Now, the bylaws do not state we have to notify the CEO of the mother corporation if we get a report of a potential corporation split, only that we as chief executives can't be involved. I know, and so does John, that everyone in here time and time again, have wanted to get our corporation separated from our mother corporation, but the board has narrowly rejected the motion to adopt the articles of separation. I believe this time the board will be successful, and that come Friday afternoon, this corporation, and all our daughter corporations will cease to fall under the mother corporation, of whom we currently fall under."
When I said that a chorus of cheers from the remaining 5 people remaining in the room went up. I knew that is what everyone has wanted to hear for many months.
"John, the board meeting begins at 8:30 AM Friday morning in the Board of Directors conference room on the 14th floor. We have a lunch break as a board at 11:00 at the restaurant Monica's Aca y Alla. After the lunch we have two items on the agenda plus any new business that a board member wants to bring up. It would be then that a motion to adopt the articles of separation would be brought up and voted on. The official end to the board meeting is set for 4:30 pm, except for the Board of Directors dinner at the restaurant The French Room for 7:00. If the chief executives would like to meet at 5:30 for cocktails I can report on the results of the Board of Directors meeting. This way you will be first to know, except for the board. We have a couple of announcements that will be coming out of this board meeting so the executive board of the Board of Directors will be having a brief press conference in our press room at 6:15 pm. If the articles of separation are approved, then all the chief executives would need to be present. Also, if the separation issue passes, I want to bring up an amendment to the bylaws to make the CPO and the CCO chief executives, and then a motion naming Chris and Janice to hold those two position respectively. That would mean that we would need to somehow get the CPO and the CCO at the 5:30 cocktails so they can hear the announcement, and be present at the press conference. Now all this only matters if the articles of separation are adopted."
John piped up and said, "I'm free and available if everyone else is interested."
All of the chief executives were in favor of having a cocktails meeting at 5:30 Friday to hear a report on what happened in the board meeting. I know I am taking a risk by talking this much about it but I knew what John was about to say.
"Okay, everyone calm down. I know everyone is excited, but this isn't a firm deal yet. I hate to do this, and I know no one would do this, but I have to for the protection of everyone in this room, have to issue an executive gag order on everyone present to not talk about or discuss with anyone what was mentioned in this room to anyone that was not present in this room."
Everyone groaned, but agreed to not talk or discuss it with anyone. After a few more minutes of discussion on what our coarse of action is and what are response is to anyone that ask, John dismissed the meeting. John and I walked back to his office to talk about a couple of other issues that were at hand, before I left to go to the hospital and check up on Jill, and sit with her.
I got to the hospital, and rushed into the emergency room area to get a status report on Jill. I walked up to the window and asked if a Jill Wilton had been admitted. I was told that she had, but that the details could only be released to her family or to the individual that was covering all her medical expenses. I stood there for a couple of seconds, when it became apparent to me that the nurse had no clue who I was.
"Ahm, ma'am."
"Sir. I thought I told you that we can only release the information to her family or to the individual that is covering her medical expenses."
"Ms..." glances at the nurse's name tag "Jones. It might be prudent of you to periodically look at the name that adorns the name of this emergency room. It might also be of use to you to keep up with those that are supporters of the hospital and sit on the hospital board."
"You can't be him, you are too young from what I expected. Do I need to call security."
"Ma'am do I need to call your supervisor and the hospital administrator?"
"You do that sir."
With that I pulled out my cell phone and with the push of about four buttons I had the emergency room supervisor on the phone. She said she would be right out to see me. As soon as I hung up, I was placing the call to the hospital administrator, and he assured me that everything would be done to help Jill and that he personally was coming down to oversee the whole affair. Within minutes of getting off the phone, the emergency room supervisor and the hospital administrator came walking in together, the nurse paled in fear when she saw them walking in together. Right behind them were the security guards that she had called for while I was on the phone. The supervisor and the hospital administrator arrived first, and they started to talk to me and the nurse when the security arrived and stepped up behind me and put their hands on me. Before I was able to say a word, the hospital administrator spoke up.
"And just what do you two think you are doing?"
"Sir, we got a phone call from this nurse stating that a young man was here claiming to be the man that is the financer of the emergency room and was making threats to call the nurse's supervisor and the hospital administrator."
"And who do you think you are talking to, the man on the moon. I am the hospital administrator and this lady with me is the supervisor to this nurse that called you. This young man that you have your hands on is none other than the individual whose name this emergency room is named after. This nurse has made a grave error in judgment, and unless her supervisor wishes to go with her, this nurse is relieved of duty. As for you two, I expect to have an official letter of apology written and delivered to this man by the end of your shift. I will be talking with your supervisor, and I expect to never see you working at this hospital again."
"Yes, sir."
With that the security officers let me go. I noticed through this whole altercation that the nurse looked like she was going to be sick. Mrs. Powers, the supervisor of the emergency room spoke up, and started barking out orders. When Mrs. Powers started speaking, everyone snapped to attention and started working effectively. A nurse was told to bring the file on Jill Wilton. Mrs. Powers briefly glanced through the file, barked off several more orders, and then walked back over to where Mr. Smith and I were standing. She briefed us on the injuries that Jill had sustained and what steps had already been taken. I asked if she was talking yet, and was told that she was still unconscious. I asked Mrs. Powers to have my home number, my work number, my cell number, and my pager number put in the file and that if I wasn't at the hospital and some major break through or anything remotely major occurred, someone was to be on the phone and calling me at each of those numbers until I am reached. She and Mr. Smith both signed the order which gave instant credibility to the order, and I knew that it would be carried out. I have known these two individuals for many years, and they are very effective with their jobs, and they are respected among their peers. I asked Mrs. Powers if I was able to see Jill at this time. Mrs. Powers looked at the file and told me that Jill was currently undergoing an MRI to see what damage was done internally. I was invited to go and wait in her private room until she was done. I accepted the offer and was sitting in Jill's room when she got rolled back in from the MRI. I was told that she was lucky and that she had not suffered any major internal damage. She was still unconscious, but the doctor was not that concerned. I noticed that a police officer had been posted right outside the door; I stepped out to see if I could find a nurse and see if someone could get me some hot tea, with just a dash of milk and four and 1/2 heaping teaspoons of sugar. While the nurse was off trying to get me my tea, I stood and talked with the police officer. The police were concerned that Jill's ex-husband had intended to kill her from some evidence they had discovered. This was of concern to the police department, so they were going to have someone posted with Jill 24/7 until her ex was arrested, arraigned, and in jail. If he was able to get and post bail, she would be protected until the time that he was found guilty and the sentence handed down.
It was comforting in a way to know that is was her ex husband and not some stranger that had done this. It was also comforting that the police were taking this matter very seriously. The nurse arrived with my tea, I thanked her and the police officer and re-entered Jill's room.
Upon entering, I noticed that Jill was awake. She lit up when she saw me. She tried to talk, but I shushed her, while I pressed the call button to summon a nurse. A nurse arrived in seconds, and I explained that Jill was awake and responsive. The nurse quickly made the notation and then left to call the doctor. I then noticed that there was a second police officer waiting outside, I stepped to the door and told them, that one of them would be allowed to come into the room and listen to everything. I knew they were going to need it for their report. The police officer I was talking to earlier stepped into the room, and the doctor was not far behind him. The doctor started to ask Jill questions about what hurt and what happened. He wanted to get a clear picture so he could prescribe the right course of action. The police officer, was making notes, and waiting for the doctor to finish before asking any questions. The doctor turned to me and the police officer and told us that he was satisfied that there was not going to be any permanent injury but that she was going to have to stay in the hospital for about a week to ten days. I accepted the news. The doctor told the police officer that he had a few minutes to question Jill and that I was to be given a few minutes alone with Jill, and then he would be back to give Jill some pain medicine that was going to cause her to go to sleep. The police officer started asking questions about the attack, what lead up to the attack, who was the attacker, and what happened after the attack.
Jill confirmed my thoughts that it was her ex-husband. Apparently her ex got angry because he had lost his latest court case against Jill just a couple weeks earlier. Her ex was suing Jill for alimony. Jill gets a pretty good pay check for being my personal secretary at the corporation. Her ex had never worked. He didn't have a job when they were dating, he didn't work after they were married, and he hasn't held a job since the divorce. When the divorce occurred he got nothing. Jill's lawyer argued that he had brought nothing into the marriage, how could he expect to take anything out of the marriage. The judgment was in Jill's favor. That made her ex mad. He has filed lawsuit after lawsuit trying to get something out of Jill. The most recent lawsuit was a result of when Jill got promoted to being the personal secretary of the CIO. In our corporation, the personal secretaries of the chief executives are paid about $130,000 for their job. That was a big pay increase for Jill. While her job description didn't change, her title and pay did. You see, before she became named as the personal secretary of the CIO, that position didn't exist. It was a new position that the Board of Directors created. They created the new position for each of the chief executives. Each chief executive was able to recommend whom they wanted to have in that position, but the CIO, CEO, and the Human Resource (HR) Manager had to agree to the hiring or promotion of an individual to serve as the personal secretary. The HR Manager answers to the CIO, so the lady that serves as our HR Manager rarely questions my decisions on hiring someone in my area of responsibility. Having the CEO as a part of the process was more for looks and to satisfy a couple of people on the board. The CEO really didn't want to have anything to do with hiring or promotions, he would give his recommendations when needed, but in terms of the actual hiring or promotions that was left to me as CIO and the HR Manager.
Well, for Jill this pay increase was about $50,000 more than what she was making. When her ex-husband found out he went ballistic. He talked to his lawyer, and his lawyer told him they could try and get the courts to make Jill pay alimony. So, Jill and her ex went to court to settle the issue of alimony. Like all the other times that Jill had to go to court, I made sure that she had the best lawyer there was. I wanted her to be protected from her ex husband. It was apparent from the start of the trial that Jill was going to win, and that her ex wasn't going to receive a single dime in alimony. When he realized what was happening, he started to harass her into not pursuing the case, and settling for $55,000 alimony a year. She refused, and got another restraining order against her ex. That just caused her ex to fly off the handle. When the judge heard the whole case, what lead up to the divorce and all the stunts that her ex had tried to pull since, the judge ruled in favor of Jill. Her ex once again lost his court case, and was not given alimony. Apparently that pissed him off.
Apparently he was watching her, and keeping track of her every move and was still sending harassing emails and placing harassing phone calls to her work. Everything culminated into the events of yesterday evening. She was walking out of my office area and heading over to the CEO's office area to deliver the report, when her ex stepped beside her. He ordered her to walk with him to the elevator but to not raise any alarms or try and scream for help. He had a gun aimed at her hidden by his coat. I was infuriated that he had gained access to our corporation building all our public entrances are monitored by metal detectors. They left the building got into her car, and she had to drive home. She was scared the entire time. While she was driving he was reading through the report that she was suppose to drop off for the CEO. He was disgusted that there was nothing he could use to blackmail our company or another company to get money out of them. When she got to her home, he ordered her inside where he raped her repeatedly and then proceeded to beat her for winning every court case he filed. He kept saying he was going to get his money that was rightfully his out of her one way or another. She passed out right after he said that. She passed in and out of consciousness several times but was too weak to get to a phone and make a phone call.
After she told us everything that had happened, the police officer thanked her and left. I stayed and talked a few minutes until the doctor arrived and gave her some pain medicine that would cause her to sleep for several hours. After she fell asleep, I got on my cell phone and started placing calls starting with the CEO. I wanted to tell him what happened and to get his authority to start an internal investigation to begin to find out how Jill's ex-husband was able to gain admittance. He granted it and he told me to tell Jill that he wishes her a speedy recovery. I told him I would let her know when she woke up.
After John and I were finished talking, I called up Chris, the corporation CPO. In our corporation the security department falls under the CPO. Now since the CPO is not a chief executive, he is technically on the same playing field as any of the VP's. Both the CPO and the CCO answer to the CIO. I told him an abridged version of what happened and that I wanted him to began an internal investigation on how Jill's ex-husband managed to get a gun and himself into the corporation and then back out with Jill with out raising any alarms or questions. Needless to say, Chris was embarrassed that this was allowed to happen with him as CPO. I told him, that no one was blaming him, only that he had to find out how this was able to happen, and to take the necessary steps to make sure that something like this never happens again. I told him that for now his job is safe.
Chris assured me that he would have a preliminary report on my desk first thing in the morning, and that I would be getting an updated report every morning until he has all the answers, and he will supply one final report to all the chief executives, and give a brief presentation to the chief executives board and the Board of Directors. I thanked him, and then we hung up. I then called my temporary secretary and told him that he was going to be serving as my temporary for the next week to ten days while my personal secretary is in the hospital recovering. Once I finished making all my phone calls, I settled down to rest while sitting with Jill.
©2005. By JD Trotter. All Rights Reserved