This got reposted so fast with a correction because I realized I sent the non-edited version. My bad. There are probably typos that I missed, but they'll just have to sit.
Another story set at the office of Hubbard & Associates. These are fun to write, but a lot of work keeping the background straight.
Thank you for reading (and putting up with the reposting).
I have received almost as many comments about Wingman> as I did about Devlin's Story, which is gratifying. It was a very emotional story to write.
Everyone should visit our National Cemetaries and reflect on the sacrifices and beliefs of those who gave their all for our freedoms.
I hesitated on submitting this one for reasons that will be obvious when you read it. There is an extensive body of works that cover the events in Judaea that particular year, each one with their own particular bias. Some deny that anything happened. Others... There is also quite a few fiction stories that cover the events. This should be considered one more, Kalliste's version of those events.
It's been a long road to get here, and now it's time to do something else. I started writing Devlin's Story to hone my storytelling skills, and I think there is a marked improvement from the first chapters.
Thank you for staying with the story.
A couple of people wrote and asked what happened to Jeff. When his life didn't intersect with Devlin's, he dropped from the story. But did I figure out what happened to him? Yes, in the character sketch I prepared about each major character.
Jeff marries the girl his church picked out for him (Angelina, a natural blonde 17 years-old), but after two kids he starts looking around at the other women in the world. They stay married for the kids’ sake. Then he takes a job that takes them well away from their church (to Barbados). Angelina finds herself cut off from her church support group and (reluctantly) begins making friends within the expatriate community of Barbados. She finds people who don’t have that much interest in religion, which is a tremendous psychological shock to her. She goes through a period of social drinking but ends up quitting when Jeff catches her drunk a few times. When their two oldest kids are 7 and 5 they have two more kids, and their break with the Church is complete. They’re still not ‘in love’, but Jeff stops fooling around on the side. Angelina still doesn’t care that much for sex, but gradually gets to like it a bit more, especially when she goes on birth control, and Jeff starts applying some of the things he learned from Devlin.
Thank you for reading, and maybe this gets the Curse of Russian Literature out of me for once and for all (I'll explain later).
Prince von Vlox
I've received a number of emails asking about various aspects of The Office universe. Here are a few answers.
The "effect" in the office of Hubbard & Associates is caused by a concoction engineered by a Dr. Fulmer, a biochemist Ms. Hubbard supports. He's produced a chemical cocktail that suppresses inhibition, and puts everyone in a perpetual state of arousal. This was introduced to the a/c system, and is confined to the offices of Hubbard & Associates. It also permeates the cabins the company uses for their corporate retreat. It has a slow decay rate, so the people who occupy those cabins after Hubbard & Associates leave should have some interesting times. This means it also effects the personal lives of the employees.
Pregnancies - a significant number of the women at Hubbard & Associates gets pregnant. It's left as an exercise to the employees to determine the paternity of their child. Nobody (so far) seems to care.
New Employees - what of new hires? Hmm, there's an idea for a story.
What about the 60/40 ratio of women to men. That's what a code of FF is for. If it isn't in there, it should be. I thought I'd checked that during the submission process.
Does the cleaning staff get to enjoy what the employees do? Yes. I don't cover that, though.
What about sexual harassment complaints? All right, who let the realist in here? The HR Rep and the employees are too involved with their lusts and passions to worry about such things.
Isn't this taking time from your other stories? Yes. But it's fun to write, especially if you've ever worked in an office environment. This is supposed to be entertainment.
Are there more stories in this universe? Yes, but I'm reworking an SF novel for an agent right now, and I write stories for The Office Universe as a break.
I'm sure there are more questions, but that'll do for right now.