NOW YOU’VE DONE IT!
By: Yvonne Remington
Copyright 2013
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.
Elaine felt a sense of foreboding. Of course the coffee pot dying before she got her first cup, Miley the poodle getting sick on the carpet and Cherie, her twelve-year-old daughter telling her she wanted a tattoo for her birthday didn't help. It was the usual morning adventure in chaos. Sprinting out the front door, she heaved the books and briefcase into the rear seat of the ten-year-old Toyota Camry and headed for St. Mary's Academy, dropping Cherie off for class.
She made it to the entrance to the steel and concrete entrance of Lighthouse Fire and Marine Insurance Company at two minutes to eight AM. Her boss Wayne Conklin, Claims Manager was at a conference in Tampa. He would not know if she was late. However, The General Manager, Clyde Deverioux had an eye of an eagle and didn't miss a thing. In the three years, since he came to power at the largest insurance company in Poseidon, Florida, he ran the office like a military training camp.
Elaine excelled at her job and she knew it. She was more than a secretary; she was the manager without the title. Wayne was her advocate and friend at the institution. She has had several altercations with the establishment over the years but Wayne always pulled her through. Elaine's idea of honesty was to express her opinion, even if it wasn't wanted. Insurance companies were historically not the best paying jobs, though there was an element of security. As a divorced mother, she frequently found herself without enough money from paycheck to paycheck. Cherie's tuition, clothing and books at her private school broke any budget she ever set for herself. However, she was determined to provide her with the chances in life that she did not have.
The overflowing "IN" basket waited for her. She was not ready to tackle it. She turned on her computer and read her emails. It took a few minutes to get through the junk, separate what she needed to read and what required her immediate attention. She spotted the one titled "For Your Eyes Only". The sender indicated it to be Lois Winter. Lois was her counterpart at the Tampa office. Lois knew everybody and all their dirty little secrets. Elaine and Lois bonded early in her career with Lighthouse, for Elaine loved gossip.
She quickly picked up the receiver to the phone on her desk and dialed 346, the internal extension for Lonny Hunter her comrade and co-conspirator in all things devious at Lighthouse. Lonny answered in his usual jovial tone. His joviality matched his appearance. Lonny was about the same height and weight as Elaine and had checks that begged pinching like a cute baby.
"Lonny, you have to see this. I just got an email from Lois in Tampa. This is going to knock your socks off."
"Well girlfriend, what is it?" Lonny questioned.
"I'm not going to say on this line, but can you get over to the printer outside your department and wait for something to come through. I don't dare email it to you since you told me Clyde Deverioux put a filter on the emails so he could view and retrieve them whenever he is in the mood.
"Give me one minute and I'll go over and wait for it. Will I know what it is when it comes through?"
"Oh yeah. And don't let it fall in anyone else's hands. I'm not sure how Lois got this through, except she doesn't know about the filter or she wouldn't have sent it." She hung up and set up the printer for Lonny’s send location on her computer. Just as she was ready to click on "Send", Lizabeth Span from the file room headed Elaine's way.
"Elaine, I need your advice" Tears were drippy down her cheeks, as she took a tissue and blew her nose." Lisabeth clung to Elaine as if they were best friends, which they weren't. Lizabeth asked her opinion on everything from men to clothes. She rarely took Elaine's advice nor asked her about important matters. Elaine considered her tight spandex clothes and gothic appearance a joke and found it hard to think of her as anything other than an unwanted monthly period. She knew it wasn't right but she and Lonny made fun of Lizabeth behind her back.
"What is it Lizabeth?" She tried not to be annoyed, with some difficulty. She did feel a certain amount of empathy for her. She is a file clerk and would probably always be a file clerk.
"I've been seeing this guy Tommy now, let's see; this will be our third date. I like him, but not enough to commit to a steady relationship. Do you have any thoughts about how I can dump him?" Lizabeth was still sniveling.
"Why are you sniveling? Is he that bad?" Elaine was annoyed but also curious.
"No, my cat had to be put down yesterday, and I still miss him."
"Lizabeth, I can appreciate how you feel about your pet. I have one also."
"Oh, he was more of a stray than a pet, but he was so cute. He's been around for several months now, but he wouldn't let me pick him up. He got hit by a car."
"My best suggestion to you is honesty. It works. Maybe not always the way you want it to. But you don't have to remember any lies that way."
"Gee, thanks, Elaine. I'll try that." She walked away with a smile on her face.
Elaine's phone rang. Lonny was on the other end and wanted to let her know that the print job has not come through.
"What do you mean?" Elaine looked at her screen and the horror was real. She sent the job to the printer in the typing pool by mistake.
"Get over to the printer outside Angela's office and see if there is a photo there with a picture of Clyde Deverioux. Call me back and hurry." Elaine just sat in place, still as a marble statue. She couldn't breathe. Now you've done it, Elaine thought. Her clammy palms answered the phone when it rang moments later. Assuming Lonny had the print, she anxiously answered: "Did you get it?"
"Is that any way to answer the phone?" Wayne inquired. "Who are you expecting?"
"Obviously not you. I expected Lonny from IT. He's getting some information for me. Sorry about that."
"Okay, but keep in mind, this call could have come from a client. You were lucky. By the way, I called to tell you I will be in late this afternoon."
"I sure hope you are right."
"Excuse me."
"Never mind. I'll see you this afternoon."
She put the receiver back in place and took a deep breath. The phone rang again. This time Lonny spoke. "Dearest, I am so sorry, but I haven't found your mysterious printout yet. My boss summoned me back to the cave. I really have to run."
She hung up without saying a word. She had to think up a plan for damage control. Her job had been on the line in the past. If only she would think before she reacted. At 44 years of age, without a college degree or skills she wasn't going to make the money she needed to do better anywhere else. She was a good forty pounds overweight for her 5'4" frame with thick, wiry unruly dark brown hair. Her acne-pocked complexion required a good deal of preparation before she left for work. She refused to spend the money she didn't have on contact lenses, leaving her to require her thick glasses that she hated. She was not ready or willing to look for another job.
The main office on the second floor has an open and spacious appearance. There were no cubicles. The managers’ offices lined the outside walls. Elaine could see to the other end of the second floor. She saw no huddles of pe
ople or heads together in hushed conversation. Whatever happened to her juicy piece of gossip, it hadn't sparked awareness yet.
Her phone rang. She answered despondently.
"Hello". Lonny was on the other end.
"My boss is in conference. Now, would you please tell me what's going on? I'm climaxing with curiosity, friend."
"Now I've done it. I could lose my job over this if it gets out." She kept her eye on the office floor in front of her looking for any abnormalities. Seeing none, she continued. "I received this e-mail from Lois, as I explained. There was this picture of Clyde and Shirley entering a motel and another one showing them leaving. I don't know where she got them. However, she feels the same way we do about Clyde. She would have no problems with the pictures going public as long as it didn't come back to her."
"What are the chances of that?"
"Pretty good, and I will be the one to answer for it. I don't know who picked up the picture, or what their next move is, all I can do now is wait." Elaine looked up to see Shirley headed her way
"I have to go. Clyde's secretary is headed this way."
"Baby doll, copy your proof somehow and then get rid of the evidence. Keep me posted." Lonny suggested.
Shirley stood in front of Elaine's desk and waited for her to finish her conversation. "Mr. Deverioux would like to know