Chapter 4: Kelley, Megan, Wanda, and Ms. Shelton

It was Thursday afternoon and I was trying to work on a Managerial Accounting assignment that was due the following Tuesday. I was finding it difficult to concentrate. I needed to finish it today because it was highly unlikely that I'd have any time on Friday afternoon, and it would be impossible to study after coming home from St. Louis on Sunday. I rationalized that I could put it off until Monday afternoon and let my mind wander, considering my plight.

Kelley's weekend at Pontiac had been cancelled. Something had come up. She'd received a call from the ladies we'd met with at the St. Louis mall. They wanted to meet her again and had asked if I would be with her. Kelley had told them that I would be there without first consulting me. She'd promised me that we would have a good time. How could I turn her down?

Telling her that I had a conflicting appointment never occurred to me. How could I justify missing a meeting with Gordon, Casey and Ms. Shelton? How they would retaliate was inconsequential. Professor Matthew Ballard was another story. How would I square my actions with him? How would he react if I showed him a photo of Kelley? I believed I knew; I'd heard his sinister laugh.

Sharon sent my travel schedule and wished me a smooth trip.

Wanda called. "I hear you're going to St. Louis this weekend," she began.

"Yes, I'm going on Saturday morning and coming back Sunday afternoon," I answered, wondering if she was going to lecture me for letting Kelley lead me around by the nose. She wasn't.

"Do you have plans for next weekend? Are you going to be there?"

"I'll be here as far as I know. Why, have you heard something to the contrary?"

Wanda didn't respond to my question for a few seconds. "I'm coming to see you," she said, simply and with no inflection in her voice.

"Ah, you've heard about my Friday night parties and want to get in on the fun," I said jokingly, wanting to give her confidence to continue. What the hell did she want from me? I was distracted by an incoming fax. The dossiers of the ladies representing the tenant were coming through.

"I don't care about your party. I need to talk to you, Sammy."

I was so touched by her plea that I couldn't respond for a few seconds. "You won't want to miss my party, Wanda. Make plans to come on Friday afternoon and stay until Sunday."

"Are you going to tell Kelley about me coming to see you?"

"I have to, Wanda. I tell her everything," I said, thinking how easy it was becoming to withhold information from Kelley.

"Let me tell her," she said.

"Okay," I said and we said goodbye.

The moment I pulled the first dossier off the fax machine, I could tell it was the work of Kelley. The heading was a copy of Linda Gander's business card. Linda was the Real Estate Acquisition Manager and according to Kelley, her age was about thirty-three, probably divorced and had been promoted to her present position about three years before, probably about the time the president's wife discovered that Linda was screwing her husband.

At the bottom of the page was a disclaimer: All estimates, assumptions and allegations are unfounded hearsay and highly classified. After reading, destroy, preferably by burning.

I laughed at Kelley's handiwork and read the second dossier. Betty Argil's business card stated that she was an Assistant to the Real Estate Acquisition Manager. According to Kelley, Betty was about age twenty-seven, probably never married and had been in her present position about three years.

Other than knowing their names and titles, there was nothing else that I could believe to be accurate information. I memorized the names and destroyed both dossiers.

Just for the heck of it, I looked at the diskettes Shirley had left behind, and discovered that two of them were entitled, 'Business Management Case Studies'. I wondered it she'd left them on purpose, knowing I'd be taking the same courses.

I inserted one of the diskettes and discovered that there were over twenty-five case study papers on this diskette. They were in chronological order and the first one was the case study that we'd just finished. I quickly read Shirley's paper and found that the professor had a good memory. Shirley used the costs associated with complying with the ADA requirements to tip the scales in favor of relocating to the new building. However, she had failed to attach significance to losing the final inspector and his manager if the company moved.

The second case study was the one that was assigned to the entire class, and due to be turned in on the following Tuesday. I read with interest how Shirley had defined the problem, enumerated a variety of solutions, and explained her conclusion in detail.

I recognized Shirley's vocabulary, her writing style and the unique logic she'd employed to make her argument. I breathed a sigh of relief when I discovered that she'd viewed the problem from a different perspective than me. Although I saw her point, it wouldn't make me change my way of attacking and solving the problem.

Unlike the first case, which only offered two avenues of conclusion, the problem stated in the new case was multi-faceted. In addition to the solutions Shirley and I had chosen, there were two other possibilities that I would have felt comfortable defending.

While I was happy to have inherited the diskettes, it made me a little nervous to have them. The professor knew about my relationship with Shirley. I would have to be extremely careful to avoid using her approach in solving problems. Shirley had been a business major with two minors, sociology and economics. I knew how she thought; she considered the sociological and economic consequences to the problem before reflecting on the business aspects.

Having the diskettes in my possession could become perilous. If I read her papers I'd stand the chance of being influenced to side with her way of thinking. If I didn't read her papers it could result in my being accused of copying her work. I was tempted to read the next assignment. I was also tempted to discard the diskettes. As a compromise, I decided to hold on to them, and only refer to her papers after I'd decided my conclusion, but before I'd written my paper.

How was I going to explain my sudden change in plans to my teammates? I'd agreed to meet with them on Saturday. That was before I found out that Kelley had told the ladies representing the prospective tenant that I would join them in St. Louis. Should I try to get in touch with Kalian and tell her the meeting would have to be postponed? No, she would say that she couldn't speak for Gordon and Casey.

It was not until later that night when I formed my plan. Well, I had help. Megan called at ten P.M. and meekly asked if I wanted to run with her.

"I was going to call you," I said, trying to hide the excitement in my voice.

"Charlie's car isn't available, so..."

"I'll pick you up," I offered.

"No, that's not necessary. Let's meet half way."

Not wanting to argue about it, I agreed to meet her half way.

It was a cool September night, but we were both dressed as if it were August. "Which way?" she asked when we met.

"Let's go back toward the town," I suggested and we took off without further discussion.

"I'll let you come and get me next time," Megan said as we passed a darkened street.

"I'm not going to be here on Saturday," I said, thinking that would be our next running date. Anyway, had our plans not changed, Kelley would be here, and running would be the last thing I'd want to do, even if I were running with Megan.

"I'll go out before it gets dark," she said.

We continued to run through the business district and almost to the street leading to the college before turning around and heading back. When we got back to the dress shop, I estimated that we'd run four miles and it was another mile and a half to their house.

"I'll drive you home," I offered.

"That's not necessary. I'll go the rest of the way alone."

I wasn't going to let her run alone. When we got to the movie theatre, she stopped. "This is ridiculous. We've got to rethink our plans," she laughed, and then, "I want to see that."

I looked at the billboard and saw that 'Scent of a Woman' was advertised to be shown at a future date. I didn't tell her that I'd seen it with Kelley.

"I'll take you home," I said for the second time. She smiled and we jogged back to the dress shop and around to the back. I went upstairs to get my car keys and two towels. When I came back down, Megan was stretching. We dried our arms and heads and placed the towels on the car seat.

"I think the way those people treated you sucks," she said as we drove along Main Street.

This was the first time either of us had mentioned the class we were in together, but I knew somehow that she was talking about my fellow teammates.

"You don't know the half of it," I laughed. "You saw Kalian pick up my notes last Friday night. We were to meet on Monday night, but they held a meeting on Saturday and didn't show up on Monday. I don't believe they even discussed the case. They took turns reading my notes and took credit for them. I tried to get Professor Ballard to assign me to a different group, but he said I'll have to make the best of things the way they are."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know. We're supposed to meet on Saturday, but I agreed to meet Kelley in St. Louis that day so I'm going to be the one to miss the meeting this time."

"I thought Kelley was coming here this weekend," Megan said.

"Something came up at her job, and she wants me to help her out if I can."

"I wish there was something I could do to help you, Sammy."

We were in front of their house. She didn't make a move to get out of the car. I turned the key in the ignition and we talked for fifteen minutes, about the case, about the class, and about school in general. Megan expressed anger at Gordon, Casey and Kalian Shelton and I got her to laugh at the absurdity of my predicament.

"How's your group to work with?" I asked and watched her scowl.

"They're typical guys, horny and on the make. But I got their attention by telling them Mel is six two and weighs two hundred and twenty pounds."

"Does he?" I asked.

"No," she smiled, displaying her perfect teeth. I smiled back, and although it was dark in the car, our eyes remained fixed for several seconds. "Goodnight, Sammy, see you tomorrow?" she asked, getting out of the car.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said as I started the car. I waited until she was opening the front door before I put the transmission in gear. She waved and I waved back.

Although we hadn't discussed what action I would take to get my teammates in line, Megan had given me an idea. "You have to get their attention," she had said.

I went home, dated and signed my name to my notes and made four copies. The next morning, I delivered my paper to Professor Ballard's office, along with a copy of my notes in a sealed envelope. He wasn't there, but I left the envelope with his secretary.

That afternoon, I waited until three P.M. before my new furniture arrived. Then, I took my dirty laundry to the Laundromat and while the washing machines (yes, machines-plural) were running, I shopped for table cloths to cover the two folding tables.

How I hated doing laundry. Why hadn't I retained Gladys? She was good natured, was not high maintenance and always willing to please.

I went back to the apartment, folded my laundry and packed for my trip. As I got the suit, shoes, and shirt ready for the next day, I happened to notice how much of my closet Kelley had taken over. Did she actually wear any of that stuff?

Next, I went to the liquor store. How much beer and soda should I buy? Wendy would drink soda, Zelda would try to sneak a beer, but settle for soda, Kent, Skip, Charlie and I would drink three beers each, Debra, Amy and Megan would have one each, and then switch to soda. Victor would want to drink beer and I'd let him have two. I bought a case of beer and a case of Coke.

I was preparing munchies, cheese and crackers, when the phone rang.

"Hi, sweetheart, I'm glad I caught you," Kelley said.

I laughed. "You haven't caught me yet."

"I've changed my mind about the suit. I want you to wear the blue with a white shirt."

"Kelley, I've already got the brown one out."

"I know, honey, but wait until you see the tie I found for you to wear with the blue. You do have a white shirt, don't you?"

"I think so, but aren't you forgetting something?"

"What else do you need to know? Wear the blue suit and white shirt. How much simpler can I make it?"

"Okay, but won't the brown shoes look strange with the blue suit?"

"Honestly, Sammy, sometimes I think you try to provoke me on purpose. Wear black shoes and blue socks. I know I don't have to remind you to pack condoms."

I laughed. "No, I packed them first."

"Please check to make sure you have a shirt while I'm on the phone."

I went to the bedroom and while I was getting the shirt and suit out of my closet, Kelley asked me about Wanda. "What does she want to talk to you about?"

"I don't know, but I suspect it's about some guy that wants to get into her panties, and she wants my opinion."

"Really, Sammy, I don't like other girls talking to you about their love life. I put up with Marcie talking to you every week because she's Marcie, but Wanda is old enough to make her own decisions."

"No, she's not. Wanda's twenty-five, going on sixteen. I told her she could come to me for advice a long time ago, and I intend to keep my promise to help her if I can."

"Where will she sleep?"

"Kelley, do you want to be here next weekend to chaperone us? I'll probably put her air mattress in my study room to keep her away from Victor."

"Put the air mattress in your room if you want. I trust you," she said, sounding apologetic.

"I know you do. I've got the blue suit, white shirt, black shoes and blue socks. Are you sure you want me to put the brown suit back in the closet?"

"Yes, dear. Thank you for being patient with me."

"Wait until tomorrow night. I'm going to show you how patient I can be," I said, going to the kitchen and pulling carrots, celery and cucumbers out of the refrigerator.

"Really? What do you have in mind?"

"You'll see tomorrow night. I call it the patient position."

I was washing the celery when the doorbell rang. Kelley must have heard it, but she didn't comment. I opened the door and welcomed Debra, Megan and Charlie. "It's Kelley," I mouthed and went back to the sink.

"Tell me now or I won't be able to sleep. You want me fresh tomorrow, don't you?" Kelley asked.

"Okay, I sit with my legs spread and you sit facing me. You edge forward until your pussy makes contact with my cock," I said, and turned to see Debra and Megan watching me. I got a platter out of the cabinet and began cutting the celery into pieces.

"Sammy?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I'm just assuming that we're naked?"

"Yes, we're naked. Now listen, this is important. You edge forward an inch at a time until my cock pushes into you. We sit that way, talking casually."

Debra came over to the sink and shoved me out of the way. She took over cutting the celery and Megan began scraping the carrots. I walked over to the table and sat down next to Charlie.

"How long do we sit that way? I don't think I like this position."

"We sit that way a few minutes, being patient."

"What will we talk about?"

"Anything you want to talk about, except how horny you are."

"Don't think for a minute that I'm playing your stupid game before we fuck or anything. It's been too long for me to wait. I'm fucking you the minute we close the door."