Chapter 9: Policy Problems

August 7, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"This is a short staff meeting to let you know about a proposed addition to the employee handbook," Julia said. "It's a potentially touchy subject, and we wanted to hear your feedback on it before we put it in place. The short version is that on the advice of Jamie Ferguson, NIKA's outside counsel, we want to add a provision about dating, or other relationships, between managers and staff. An important caveat is that the Board has already acknowledged the relationship between Steve and Elyse. Please read it over and ask any questions that you want."

"This kind of thing is pretty standard stuff," Tom said over the phone. "It simply acknowledges what everyone ought to know from common sense. But sadly, 'common sense' isn't all that common."

That drew some polite laughter. I looked around and saw some confused faces, but nobody spoke up. Julia waited a few minutes, then started the business development meeting. When it finished, we all went back to work.

"Did I do something wrong?" Penny asked quietly when we were in our office.

"No way, Pretty Penny! You know I already had that rule in place personally. We're just making it policy. It shouldn't affect you because you're dating Ned!"

"Can I keep kissing your cheek?" she asked softly.

"Absolutely! I wouldn't have it any other way. That doesn't violate my rule, so it can't violate our policy."

"But fucking would?" she giggled.

"Violate my rule? Yes! You know that!" I laughed.

"I'd do it with you in a heartbeat!"

"I know, Penny. And the desire is mutual. But the rule is important. You know that."

She sighed, "I know," then she giggled, "You could make me a manager and then I could be like Elyse!"

"Don't you have work?!" I asked with a grin.

"You are just NO fun!" she said.

I wasn't, and it wasn't just Penny that was telling me that.

Late in the afternoon, Jessica called from the hospital and asked if Kara and I would come for an early dinner at 5:15pm. I let her know that we would and called home to let Kara know. Kara came by the office at 5:00pm and we walked to the hospital. I wasn't thrilled with the cafeteria food, but seeing Jessica was more important than my palate.

"How was your day?" Jessica asked as we sat down with our food.

"Good and bad, I guess. Dante Puccini, the new customer, is going to be difficult, but the money and the challenge make it worth doing. A lawyer for Kaitlin called Jamie, and the FBI called Jack Switzer."

"Kaitlin? Is she going to sue?"

"Maybe," I said. "Julia's gathering all of our documentation for Jamie. All we can do is wait and see what she does."

"And the FBI?"

"Jack basically told them to pound sand. We'll see if they're interested in continuing their little harassment game or not. But forget all that, how was the ER?"

"There was a bad accident on the Dan Ryan. We had four kids from a station wagon. They weren't wearing seat belts. We lost one. The other three are in critical condition."

"That sucks," I said.

"How about being their mom who was driving and was barely hurt? If the kids had been strapped in, they probably would have just had minor injuries."

"Whoa! I am so glad that I'm a stickler for seat belts. It sure saved us from even more serious injuries from the wreck in Georgia. Are you OK?"

"Yes. I worked on one of the kids who made it. I did my first unassisted chest tube today!"

"Do you record all of these things somewhere?"

She pulled a small notebook from the pocket of her white coat.

"Every procedure I do goes in here. It's reviewed every week by the Chief Resident and every two weeks by a senior Attending."

"How are you holding up?"

"Fine, right now. And if I can catch some sleep tonight, then it'll be OK. If not, then tomorrow night I'm going to be completely beat. And it's only going to get worse until I'm through next week. I'm glad you came for dinner! What are you doing tonight?"

"No specific plans," I said. "I think we'll just hang out at home. Do you want us to come for breakfast?"

"You can try around 6:30am. If I'm busy, you could either wait or go home."

We finished our meal and walked Jessica back to the ER, and then Kara and I walked home. When we went inside, we found Tasha talking with Elyse in the great room.

"Hey, Tasha," I said.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked as Elyse stepped aside.

"Sure. What's up?"

"Privately?"

I nodded, and we went into the Indian room and I shut the door. I pointed to one of the basket chairs and she plopped down. I took the one next to her.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I think I need to quit," she said.

"What? Why? You're doing great!"

"If you don't want me around, you could just say so!" she said, tears running down her cheeks.

"Tasha, what the heck are you talking about?" I asked.

"If you don't want me, just say so!"

"Tasha, I am totally lost here!"

"The new policy! You did that because you think I want to go to bed with you! You could have just said 'no'!"

"What?! Tasha, the new policy has nothing at all to do with you! Nothing!"

No, it had to do with Kaitlin, but I couldn't tell Tasha that, not now, especially after Jamie's call.

"Are you sure?" she replied, unconvinced. "It just seems like you did this after we talked and kind of agreed it wouldn't cause problems at work."

"It was already being discussed a week before I was stupid about you being in the sauna."

"For real?" she asked, sniffling.

"Yes, for real. It is NOT about you. I promise! I don't want you to quit!"

We talked for a few more minutes, during which time I reassured her several times that it had nothing to do with her. What I couldn't say to her is that I DID want her, because that could create an entirely new set of problems. Eventually, she accepted my assurances that it wasn't about her, and said that Elyse had told her the same thing when she'd asked. Then she asked the question that I knew was eventually coming.

"It was Kaitlin, wasn't it? It's why she was fired?"

"I can't talk about why the policy is being implemented, or about anything to do with Kaitlin. And next time, please come talk to me, or Dave, or Julia, before you freak out."

She smiled, "I will."

"Good. Shall we go back to see Elyse and Kara?"

"Sure," she said. "And thanks."

We went back to hang out with Elyse, Kara, and Matthew until it was time for bed. Kara and I walked Tasha to her car for her drive home and then went back into the house.

"Elyse asked if she could borrow you for the night, given that Jessica is at the hospital. She knows we need to be up early for breakfast."

"You're sure it's OK?" I asked.

"Yes, of course," Kara said. "Is Tasha OK?"

"She's fine. It was just a minor misunderstanding about something at work."

"OK. See you in the morning for breakfast with Jessica!"

I kissed Kara good night and then went to Elyse's room. The door was shut, so I knocked, and entered when she bade me to.

"Hey," I said. "Kara said you wanted to borrow me!"

"She even said I could keep you all night! Come on, get in bed with me! The baby's sleeping!"

I stripped off my clothes and climbed into bed with an equally naked Elyse. I pulled her into my arms and she snuggled close, resting her head on my chest. I enjoyed the soft feel of her body, and the press of her firm breasts into me.

"You know, you could ask me to cuddle any time," I said.

"I know, but it's different with you and me in bed together, with Matthew sleeping right over there. It just feels like family."

After everything else that had happened in the past ten days, an emotional Elyse was just one more thing to deal with.

"We are a family," I said. "We spend quite a bit of time together."

"I know," she sighed. "I just wish there was a way to spend more nights with you here, like we used to."

I wondered about my comment about spending time with her. What I thought was enough time might not be for her. Trying to balance all of my responsibilities was a tough task, and there were times when I wondered if I could do it. And that concern probably was what was leading me down the path of, as the girls put it, not having enough fun.

"Am I paying enough attention to you and Matthew?" I asked.

"I think so," she said. "He's only a couple of months old, so it's not like you can play with him or talk to him the way you do Jesse, but you hold him, walk with him, read to him, and even occasionally change a diaper!"

"That last one I could do without, but it comes with the territory!"

"And you make time for me, not just when I ask. So I'd say 'yes' to both questions."

"Then what's bugging you?"

"I have no idea, really. Maybe it's just being a mom. That's something I've never done before!"

"True," I chuckled. "What can I do to help?"

"Right now? Make love to me? Just be gentle; it's the first time since the little tyke was born!"

"Do I need a rubber?" I asked.

"No," she said.

I gently rolled Elyse onto her back, and kissed her softly a few times, then kissed her neck and across her shoulders. I kissed along the top of her breasts, then planted a quick kiss on each nipple.

"Careful," she whispered. "They're full!"

I contemplated what to do about that and decided that I'd much rather taste something other than breast milk. I slid down and began slowly licking along her plump labia. Elyse moaned softly as I pressed my tongue between them, deep into her tunnel. Elyse gently rolled her hips as I licked and probed, then gasped as I latched onto her sensitive clit. Seconds later, she groaned deeply and shuddered.

"Get in me now," she growled.

I moved on top of her and positioned myself, then slid into her in one slow, smooth stroke. Elyse wrapped her arms and legs tight around me and I began gently thrusting in and out of her warm, wet, silky pussy.

"Yes," she hissed as I ground against her following each stroke. "Just go slow, as long as you can!"

We continued our slow-motion lovemaking and Elyse had a series of small orgasms, building to a final, crushing one that came just as I exploded inside of her. We kissed, and she didn't release her grip on me until I'd deflated and slipped from her sodden pussy.

"That was perfect," she sighed as we cuddled together. "I love you, Steve."

"I love you, too. And I agree that it was perfect," I said.

"Next time, you can fuck me senseless. Now, I just want to cuddle and fall asleep in your arms."

I gently kissed her forehead and said, "That sounds good to me, too."

August 8, 1987, Chicago, Illinois

"Shower with me before you go for breakfast?" Elyse requested when we woke up on Saturday morning.

We disentangled and got out of bed. She'd only had to feed Matthew once during the night, and had brought him to bed with us while she did that. I'd held her as he nursed, enjoying the closeness. He was still sound asleep, so we went to the shower.

"How did your talk with Tasha go last night?" she asked as I lathered shampoo in her hair.

"Fine," I said. "She said that she'd talked to you and you reassured her that it wasn't about her."

"I did. She was afraid that the whole incident in the sauna and your talk when that happened was the cause of the policy. She has another concern, too."

"What's that?" I asked.

"That the policy means you won't make love to her when she's ready."

"Did she say that or are you inferring?" I asked.

"She didn't come right out and say it bluntly, but in her cute, innocent way, she made it clear that she does want to sleep with you. Think about it. Why would she have been concerned that the policy was about her if it was just the sauna issue? I thought you guys talked about it."

"No. Well, not directly, anyway. Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention. You know me — I'm very direct. If she was trying to give me hints, I might not have picked them up because of the situation. The thing is, it would violate my rule, and create all kinds of possible problems if Kaitlin does sue us or file a complaint of some kind with the government. It's already going to be trouble because of you, Julia, Charlie, and especially Penny, because she was underage."

"You know what I think about strict adherence to your rule, so we won't rehash that conversation. As for the other girls, does Kaitlin know about anyone but me?"

"I don't think so," I said. "But if anyone deposes me or any of you, it's going to get out. We can't lie about it because all those relationships were very public, except the one with Penny, and even that one was widely known amongst my close friends. If she claims that I demanded that she sleep with me to get the job, and she knows that the other girls were with me, she can make all kinds of trouble with a jury."

I helped Elyse rinse the foam from her hair and then lathered her body with her floral soap.

"Do you really think she's going to do that?"

"I have no clue. The only saving grace we have is that Illinois is an 'at will' state and we didn't have to give her any reason for termination. Jamie has no idea how this will play out. But it means I can't be with Tasha, no matter how much she or I might want it. And once the policy is in place, then I simply can't do it."

Elyse rinsed off and picked up a bar of Dial, and started soaping me.

"Tell Jamie to ask Kaitlin's lawyer what it is she wants, and pay her off," Elyse said. "She wasn't making much. Even six months' pay isn't a big deal and might be less than Jamie's fees if we have to fight it."

I rinsed off, and we each got a towel to dry ourselves with.

"I object to that on principle. She doesn't have a valid case. Why reward her?"

"Would you bankrupt NIKA to defend a philosophical principle?"

"I suppose it depends on the principle. I wouldn't ever cheat a customer or lie."

"My advice is that you do this as a purely financial decision. That is what you pay me for."

"It is. OK. Let me talk to Jamie. And of course the Board would have to approve something like that."

"They will. If you can make this go away for a few thousand dollars, they'll jump on it."

I kissed her and wrapped my towel around me to walk across the hall to my bedroom.

"Morning, Honey," I said, seeing Kara getting dressed.

She finished pulling on her blue jeans and came over to kiss me. She tugged at my towel and I allowed it to fall away as she dropped to her knees, gently taking hold of my rapidly swelling shaft. I groaned as she engulfed me, giving me a very quick but very delightful blowjob that brought me to the brink faster than usual.

"Kara!" I groaned as I spurted into her mouth.

She pulled her head back and stood up, kissing me lightly. "Just a taste of what I wanted to do last night!"

We hugged each other and quickly dressed. When we were both ready, we headed for the hospital, hoping to have breakfast with Jessica. We found her standing at the admitting desk in the ER, and she said that she had thirty minutes, so we went to a coffee shop just down the street to have a non-cafeteria breakfast.

"How was the night?" I asked.

"Just a couple of drunks who decided to bash each other over the head with beer bottles. They only needed sutures. I managed to get five hours of sleep, which is pretty good. I'm not too tired."

We finished our breakfast and walked back to the hospital. There were no trauma cases, so we sat with Jessica for a few minutes in the doctors' day lounge and had a cup of tea. Unsurprisingly, she was called about ten minutes later because an ambulance was arriving. She kissed me and ran to meet the paramedics. Kara and I watched as she and another doctor were assisted by two nurses in bringing the patient into a treatment room to deal with what the paramedics thought had been a heart attack.

"That's the first time I've seen her working like that," Kara said.

"Same here, believe it or not," I said.

"What are we doing today?" she asked.

"After karate, we're going to the airport to get Leila and Alejandra. Their flights both arrive around 2:00pm. Then tonight we have our guys' and girls' nights. I forgot to ask Jess, is she going?"

"No. She just wants to stay in. But she told me to tell you to stay with the guys. She's just going to sleep."

"We'll have dinner together, just the three of us," I said.

"Good. Your Russian friends arrive on Sunday, right?" she asked.

"Yes. Lyusya and her parents get in around 1:00pm. They leave on Tuesday, with Lyusya going to California and her parents going back to New York."

"And Aimee and her dad will be here on Thursday?"

"Yes. They're coming for dinner, and they'll fly out the next day after lunch. Stephanie offered the spare bed in her room to Aimee, and Aimee's dad will sleep in the other guest room. Speaking of guest rooms, I haven't seen much of Jorge since he got back and handed me the rent check."

"He's been interviewing and looking for a place to move once he does get a job. Stephanie said he had a very promising interview on Thursday."

"I hope he finds something soon. I also wish he'd start to feel like one of the gang. I could understand his reluctance in the beginning, but now? He should be comfortable with us. Hopefully he'll be at Guys' Night tonight."