Chapter 6

When I got home after my "date" with Allison I truly did not know what to think. This girl was not stupid, or a dummy of any kind, yet she was taken in by this woman who stalked her, brought her into her lair, and manipulated her. There almost HAD to be drugs involved for her to be taken in so deeply, so long. I also wondered if there were others before her and who she might have on the line now. If Allie finds that she might have been drugged all of that time should she press charges, thus exposing her "secrets". I was in a deep quandary and wondered what to do. I knew one thing; I wouldn't say a word to anyone about our date or anything else about Allie. I promised her confidence and I was going to keep it.

I just got into bed and my phone rang and I didn't know the Caller ID number and because of the hour, I answered.

"Hello."

"Jess, I hope I didn't wake you, it's Allie."

"No, I was just going to bed though."

"Just one thing so our story is straight, if anyone asks about our date?"

"OK."

"We went and saw Chloe and went for a pizza and you brought me home, that's all. OK?"

"Seeing as how that is what happened, I can go along with that. Everything else is personal."

"You are sweet, and a very good ear. Have a nice night and thanks for telling me to grow up and face the music. I think they call that tough love. You've chided me twice now and both times for good. Good night Jess. You are a sweet man." ... and she hung up.

She called me "sweet" two different times, and that's how Mary referred to me when I did something nice for her. A woman with no experience with men would hardly choose "sweet" to describe a man. But, the fact she called me that made me happy. I wanted to get really sweet on her.

My phone rang twice on Sunday and it was Mary both times. I wasn't sure why she was calling me, but I figured it was either for an Allie update or she wanted "company". I moved my car to another building and spent the day catching up on laundry, cleaning up, and balancing my bank statements. I would have felt like a hypocrite of I went over and banged Mary, if that's what she wanted. I wanted to hold off on that a bit until I heard some sort of news from Allie.

On Monday morning I was surprised not to see Allie on the corner, but it wasn't the first time we didn't hook up. I was about 5 minutes late and if the bus came, she may have taken it. I just got settled behind my desk with my coffee when Rachel buzzed my page, "Mary Belanger on her way in." A second later my door opened.

"What did you do to my girl the other night? She called in and said she had a Doctor's appointment and would be late. She's had appointments before, but always had then pre-scheduled. She's not going for the Morning After Pill is she?" She kidded.

"Mary, don't even joke about that. You know I'm not THAT kind of guy, and from what you've told me, she's not that kind of girl. We went to a movie, had a pizza and I brought her home." I told her convincingly.

"No lezzie talk?" Mary asked cruelly.

"Mary, do you suppose she would LIKE to hear that comment. If you value her as an employee as much as you say, I wouldn't bring that up. Let her live her life. We had a normal first date and I'm not sure if there will be a second one, I didn't ask."

"Where were you all day yesterday? I could have used you, umm ... putting up some curtains?"

I chuckled at her reference, saying, "Oh? Couldn't get the rod level?"

"Smart ass. You were probably over doing my Allison." She said viciously.

"There is NOTHING going on between us and for you to say something like that is just wrong. Allie is a sweet girl. We enjoyed a movie together and had a pizza. THAT'S IT!" I exploded.

"Ok, OK, OK! I was just kidding." She insisted.

"Do you want someone else to hear that?"

"No, you're right. I'm sorry." She apologized before leaving, saying she would talk to me later.

Later on when I went out for lunch I saw Allie coming to work. Just as the elevator door closed going up she caught my eye and I got a half wave before the door shut. I wondered how she made out, but knew it wasn't my business.

My salesman Tom Mills called me right after lunch to tell me he had a lead on another salesman, one who might be able to work Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and the area. That drive was killing Tom and he thought his contacts in the Northeast were suffering when he had to make that swing. He had a guy who previously had called on big box stores with garden furniture and Christmas items. The only problem was that he was on a contract as a temp to perm through a recruiter. If he left the contract early he would suffer penalties and still have to pay the weekly commission. Tom felt he was strong enough to wait for him.

"Tom, why don't you catch up on your regular accounts, especially the mid-west, keep them clean so you can hand them over seamlessly after a training period. Then come in with your friend and we can all talk. If we end up hiring him, I'm going to need a sales manager to handle the crew and that's going to be you. That'll cut your territory down and we can hire someone to cover the balance and then you can rotate out to see each salesperson once a month. It'll mean more traveling, but actually less days away from home. You can get every salesman on the same page as you with your systems. How does that sound?" I asked.

"THAT would be awesome and it couldn't have come at a better time. I have a job offer with a food broker that was tempting and I was contemplating it. Thanks Jess." He said, sounding relieved.

"Tom, don't ever think about leaving us until you come and talk to me. If there is a problem, I can fix it. Understand?"

"I understand. I'll keep you on top of things. Your changes will make me happy." He said.

I hoped he would follow up with this fellow and get a commitment plus be far enough ahead to bring his prospect to town for an interview. I asked him to get me his resume so I could screen him. IF I had 90 days to prepare to make all of this happen it would be great.

Solving my coverage problem would be a great help to my business and could certainly make some more money for, not only Tom, but the new sales person, if he worked out. I took Rachel's manifest of last week's sales and went through her figures and compared figures to the previous year and was happy to see we were still growing, and that was not by introducing new lines, it was finding a new customer in the big box stores. No matter what anyone tells you, price sells. When a man has to wear a dress shoe day after day he can spend upwards of $500 to get a shoe that will last and look good. But if you're new to the work force, or even school and you have to look presentable, we make a comfortable, affordable, shoe that looks like it costs a lot more. How you wear it is how long it will last. I loved the premise of our main product and planned to let Maribel work on some national advertising for me soon.

I stayed much later than normal, around 6:20, and that would work for me. I didn't want to run into Mary and have her ask me for a "drink". I really wanted to avoid being a hypocrite in the face of Allies problems. I was really afraid of Mary slipping and saying something in front of her, either intentional or not.

When the elevator opened I was surprised to see Allie sitting on a bench near the ramp and stairs out.

"Thank God, I was so afraid I missed you, but Rachel said you hadn't left when she went out at 5:30." I was just going to call a cab. I need to talk to you. You can give me a ride, right?" She said sounding ominous.