Chapter 4

I must've looked at Dickie as if he'd grown a second head. He lifted his hands and made small, placating motions toward me. "I know, Tony, I know... it sounds ludicrous on the surface. Whether you believe it this moment or not, you disregard what I say at your own peril. Perhaps, if someone had charged in here like you did and actually asked some questions before Tonya actually took control of them..." He sighed heavily. "Will you at least listen to the end of my story, now?"

I nodded, only half listening. The thought that six senior members of the branch office of a respected international company thought they were being controlled by a witch had me thinking that Alan Funt or Ashton Kutcher just had to be lurking around the corner with a hidden camera, laughing insanely.

"The balky client I mentioned before insisted we meet Friday afternoon, saying he had to put firm numbers in front of his bosses by Monday. Normally, I would have Tonya pull the paperwork and have it on my desk to put together a final presentation the day before such a meeting. However, there was no way I was going to alert Tonya that I was coming into the office to do the necessary groundwork... not with the strange behavior of my two colleagues, now topped with Peter's bizarre death."

"Then, it came to me... I didn't have to tell Tonya anything if I did all the work after she'd already left for the day! I'd wait until there was no one in the office for the day, then troop in and do the job and be away before she or anyone else was the wiser!"

"Why didn't you just confront the woman?" I interrupted, tired of playing the sympathetic ear. "You suspected her of doing nefarious things, and yet you went out of your way to avoid her for no apparent reason other than... well..."

"You can say it, Tony... it's not like I haven't said it about myself many times. The word you're reaching for is cowardice. Correct?" I nodded my assent. "It's a fair assessment, I guess. But confronting a woman about anything has always been difficult for me. There has never been a time in my life when a confrontation with a woman has ever turned out successfully. The fact that Tonya seemed to be the focal point of the problem was bad enough. When you added in the 'You'll be sorry!', and the resulting insidious happenings, and... well, yes, I was being a coward, I'm somewhat ashamed to admit. The only small saving grace is that I cannot convince myself that a confrontation would have produced any better results." He paused, furiously running a finger beneath his lip as if trying to start a fire from the friction. "May I continue?" I rolled my fingers in a "go on" motion.

"Whether you think me a coward or not, I wanted nothing to do with the woman. Peter and Michael acted too strangely after having some intimate moments with her, and that was before I even knew..." He waved off whatever it was he had begun to say. "The important thing is that I was working hard to avoid a confrontation, knowing that by Monday, she'd be gone and Michael and I would free of her manipulations." He shook his head, his face showing disgust. "How could I have ever have been that naïve?"

"I came back to the office around 8:30 that evening, sure that everyone except perhaps the janitors would be gone. I managed to make it to my office without seeing anyone, and I settled down to work, plugging numbers into various configurations and scenarios. I lost track of time, really enjoying the process of forming a presentation that could bring in over 250 thousand in business over five years if they went for the whole package."

"I never even saw her until she was in front of me at my desk."

"She told me later the client had called earlier in the afternoon to confirm his appointment with me. Tonya knew I'd sooner wear a pink pillbox hat to work than go into a client's office unprepared. She staked out the front doors from an empty office, and when she saw me walked back toward the junior ranks' bullpen, she set her plan to ensnare me in motion."

"She stood in front of my desk with a cup of coffee in one hand and a stack of manila folders in the other. She radiated concern and humility, as if she'd been taught some great life lesson and was tremendously grateful. Looking almost bashful, she put the coffee and the files down on the desk, saying she knew she was being replaced Monday, but knew the company had a lot riding on the Friday meeting. The folders were latest round of customer satisfaction surveys from around the country, showing that we had the best ratings of any other company in terms of customer satisfaction both in the sales process and support after the sale. It was valuable information, stuff that would show my Friday client that price he'd pay in dollars above the price of the bargain boys would be backed up with quality service and information for the entire length of the contract. I started working some the numbers into my presentation."

"I didn't really pay attention to Tonya. As soon as I started working with the information she brought me, I saw her turn and leave out of the corner of my eye. As I worked, I sipped the coffee she had brought me. I know now that I should have paid more attention to the coffee. Or rather, what was mixed with it in the cup."

"After a few minutes, I started feeling rather warm. I blamed it on the coffee, and tried to buckle down and get back to work. A few minutes later, I started feeling even warmer. Even worse, I couldn't concentrate on the papers in front of me. I felt restless, but I couldn't put my finger on why. I set aside the coffee for a sip of water, but it didn't make me feel any cooler. After a few more minutes of trying and failing to concentrate on the presentation, I got up and started to pace behind my desk."

"Apparently, that was Tonya's cue." Dickie got a faraway look in his eyes as he relived the moment.

"I turned my back for a minute to look out the window at the street below. You know sometimes you feel someone come into the room, even though you don't really see or hear anything? That feeling was what made me turn around. Sure enough, Tonya had reentered the office, and returned to standing in front of the desk. Only this time, she was completely naked!"

"I realized several things at that moment. Undoubtedly, Tonya had waited for this moment to spring her trap. I don't know if I felt secure because there was no one else in the office, or if I just felt that I was smarter than her and wasn't going to get ensnared by her whether she was in the office or not. If I had been smarter, I would have left the office the minute she showed her face. But I didn't, and I was tripped on my feeling of superiority."

"I should have reached for the phone, called my wife immediately, and told her that a subordinate was trying to put me in a compromising position. That would've defused any thoughts of possible blackmail. I should have run from the office, no matter what the circumstances that might have followed. Given the fact that she was about to lose her job, I'm sure I would have had a fighting chance had she accused me of anything."