one." Elaine was on her feet and matching Clyde's angle of lean.
"Get out." He pointed to the door. "I’ll have your job for this. Just as soon as I can prove you were the sender of this photo."
Now she knew the man was delusional and she had him where she wanted him. "You know, I always thought you were an intelligent person, sadly, I was mistaken. Whoever took the picture must know you or Shirley and that's the person you should be concerned about. I could care less about your illicit affairs. I have enough turmoil in my own life. You do what you think you have to do, but you don't scare me. You want a fight. Game on." She turned and walked out the door. Every pair of eyes on the second floor stared at her. She had no idea there voices had escalated to that point. She walked past all of them to her desk and turned on her computer. She knew that she would not be able to get any more work done this day, but she would make it look like she was busy. Wayne was on the phone. She picked up the receiver and called Lonny. It took a minute for him to answer.
"I can't talk now' can you call me at home tonight?"
"Sure. About 9 o'clock?"
"Yeah." She hung up and by then Wayne was off the phone. He motioned for her to come in through his office window. Elaine sat down across from him. She told him everything except admitting to being the recipient of the original email. She figured he didn't have to know and it might protect him in the end. He reassured her that she had his support, no matter what. In fact, her work and dedication would be rewarded with a substantial raise soon.
He got a phone call he had to take so she smiled and left his office. The office was eerily quiet. People were ineffectively trying to ignore the uproar of her meeting. When 5 o'clock arrived, Elaine was ready to leave. No one spoke as they left the building or spoke directly to her as she got in her car and headed home.
That night, Elaine recounted the meeting in detail to Lonny on the phone and remained him that he is the only one who knew the truth about where the photo came from and she counted on him not to tell. He assured her he would not. She made herself a double Scotch on the rocks and spent some quality time with Cherie before bedtime.
* * *
The next morning Elaine intended to arrive at the office early to avoid the gauntlet of staring eyes, but it didn't happen. As usual, she arrived with two minutes to spare. She knew that Clyde would be laying for her and looking for any excuse to get rid of her. As she passed Shirley's desk she noticed that she hadn't arrived yet and Clyde's office was dark. She continued to her own desk.
The morning was strained with a heavy silence in the air. She tried to concentrate on her workload with little luck. Wayne arrived around 9:30 after a late night meeting with a client the night before.
"I have to go to the Tampa office. I just came in to pick up a couple things. I expect to be back in the office tomorrow."
"You're leaving me here by myself with the wolves?" Elaine inquired with sarcasm.
"From your own description, I would say you can take care of yourself quite well. You'll be fine."
She didn't like taking medicine, but considered taking another Valium. Her stomach was giving her fits and she found it hard to concentrate. Her mind wandered all over the place. Finally, she gave in, popped a Valium, and continued her work. It wasn't until late in the afternoon that she first got the news. Lonny called her to let her know that Shirley was in the hospital. Her husband beat her so badly that he was arrested and she had a broken arms, several cracked ribs and a concussion from a blow to the head. He didn't know any more than that. That information was public knowledge. He didn't have anything on Clyde yet.
* * *
Two days went by before more information came out about Clyde and Shirley. Clyde transferred to the Atlanta office. No one knew whether it was required or requested. Shirley's husband was still incarcerated and Shirley would be taking a leave of absence to recuperate. The new manager would be hiring a temporary worker when he arrives.
Elaine knew that she missed a bullet this time. She found it hard to believe that she could get herself into so much trouble without trying.
About the author:
Her thirty-five year residency of Florida is evident in her stories. Her stories are about ordinary people having extra ordinary occurrences in their lives. Hopefully, these stories will please the reader as much as they pleased her to write them.
She may is recently retired but still active artist. She dabbles in painting, photography and macramé for relaxation. She has been writing poetry and short stories since her late twenties. Most of her poetry survived, but her short stories kept evolving. Through study and reading, she now is able to spend the time to improve her craft and share it with an audience.
How A Prank Turned Into a Crime
Last House on Flamingo Road
Now You've Done it
Pirates Demise
Shame on You!
The Cat's Dowry
The Last Straw
The Statistics of Winning
The Sum of Who I am
Two for the Price of One
Where Rubber Meets The Road
You Can Run, But You Can't Hide
A Flash In the Pan
Connect with Yvonne online:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/yvonne.remington
Blog: https://yvonnemremington.blogspot.com
email:
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