Chapter 28

“That wasn’t such a bad drive,” said Sarah as they pulled into the parking lot of C. Woods Real Estate.

“Not bad at all,” replied Sally. “We probably should try a few different ways so we have some choices when one gets clogged up.”

“Agree. So shall we go inside?”

“Might as well.”

“Good morning, Margaret,” said Sarah and Sally.

“You’re early. Cynthia left me a note that she would be in about 9:30.”

“Good, that will give me time to get acquainted with my office. Is Sally going to share it with me?”

“She can do that. Or there is an open office two doors from yours on the same side of the hall. It’ll be obvious once you see it.”

“With that statement, I can just imagine,” replied Sarah chuckling. “Need a refill on your coffee?”

“Yes. Thanks.”

After stopping by her office, Sarah and Sally went to get coffee for themselves and Margret. When she took the coffee to Margret Sarah said, “Do you know my userid for the network and temporary password?”

“They are in this envelope.”

“This is the same network I used at the old office right?”

“Yes. Your folders are still there.”

“Okay.”

“Sally, this is yours,” said Margaret as she handed her an envelope. “Sorry, I forgot to give them to you earlier.”

It was approaching 10 when Cynthia entered Sarah’s office. “Good morning, Sarah, Sally.”

“Good morning. Did you have a good weekend?”

“Yes. Better than most. And you?”

“Yes. Quite good in fact. Do you have some time to talk about what you want me to do?”

“Sure. Let me tell Margaret where I am.”

When Cynthia came back, they spent the rest of the morning going over the objectives Cynthia was looking to achieve. They then reviewed the resources, staffing and any entanglements to avoid. It was approaching lunch time when they finished.

They had just finished when Margaret tapped on the door and said, “Cynthia your appointment is here.”

“Thanks. Tell them I’ll be out in about 5 minutes.” Turning back to Sarah and Sally, “So are we set to move forward?”

“I think so,” said Sarah. “How often do you want to view our progress?”

“Once or twice a week is fine with me. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask. If I’m not here, Margaret can probably help find the answer.”

“Okay. Is this a secret project?”

“No. We are seeking to make our processes less cumbersome.”

“Fine. We’ll keep that in mind when we talk to the agents.”

After Cynthia left Sally said, “Okay. What am I missing?”

“Why?” responded Sarah.

“They already have a good system. Unless I missed something, we will have this done in a couple of weeks or less.”

“I agree. I think our advantage is that I used this process and know some of the weak links. Alexia and I knew where the weaknesses were, so we paid special attention to not get caught by them. Our most difficult task will be getting some agents to use a computer. As you know it is simply a tool like a car, silverware or any number of other items but we have to convince them of that.”

“So where do we want to eat?”

“I think I saw a Mexican restaurant not too far from here. Let’s ask Margaret what she thinks. But first I need to log off.”

“Tomorrow, I’m bringing some tools in to check the network. Tonight I may try to see how good the security is.”

“Good points. Let’s go. I’m hungry.”

That evening Rusty and Terry were waiting for them as they parked the car. “So how was it?” asked Rusty.

“It went pretty well,” replied Sarah after giving him a hug and kiss while Sally was giving Terry a hug.

“We missed you today,” said Terry as she gave Sarah a hug and kiss.

“I think they missed each other as well,” responded Sarah as they watched Sally and Rusty. After a few minutes she added, “I wonder if they will pause for dinner.”

Sally and Rusty broke their embrace and Sally said, “You had your chance.”

“I know. I was just teasing. Besides Rusty and I have shared a few times today.”

“Really,” responded Terry. “Hm, that must have been those times he had that dreamy faraway look.”

“So are Bob and Nancy back?”

“Yes, they returned about 2 this afternoon. Four of the women came with them. The other two are expected shortly.”

“How are they doing?” asked Sarah.

“Pretty well, considering,” replied Terry with Rusty nodding. “Although, we only met them briefly. They seem to be pretty up beat, but you don’t really know.”

“True. I’m going to freshen up,” said Sarah. “Are you all going to join me?”

“Oh, yes,” replied all three.

They were just finishing drying off when Joyce came in. “There are refreshments and snacks in the common area.”

“Okay. We’ll be there in a few,” replied Rusty.

When they entered the common room, Joyce said, “I thought you said in a few minutes.”

“Rusty, said in a few,” replied Sarah slightly blushing. “We haven’t been together all day so we had to catch up.”

“Catch up?”

“Yea. All the hugs and kisses we missed sharing. If you’d hung around, we might have let you in on them. That is if you’re not too young.”

“It looks like this will be a lively evening,” said Bob. “Let’s take care of some introductions. Our guests are June, Lana, Melody, Trina, Zoe and Belinda. They will be with us for an indefinite time. The four who just entered are Sarah, Rusty, Sally and Terry.” As he spoke each name they nodded.

Sarah stepped over to Zoe who was closest and said, “Zoe, it is good to have you with us.” Holding Zoe’s hand she gave her a kiss on each cheek. Sensing the woman’s anguish, Sarah put her arms around her and gave her a hug. After a slight pause Zoe put her arms around Sarah and returned the hug.

“Sarah,” said Zoe, “this is the warmest welcome I’ve had in sometime. Thank you.”

Releasing Zoe, Sarah reached out to greet June. When their hands touched and before Sarah could speak, June pulled her into a tight hug and gave her a kiss. As they separated June said, “Thank you. Now I know more than ever that coming here was the right choice.”

Sally, Rusty and Terry followed Sarah’s lead in greeting each of their guests. Bob said, “Sally, Sarah, Rusty, Terry, why don’t each of you tell them a little about how you fit in here.”

“Oh, that will be easy,” said Sally. “We do whatever Bob or Nancy wants us to do.” After the laughter died down. “More seriously, my specialties are primarily networks and martial arts instruction although I do some personal protection work at times. Currently I am working with Sarah on a project. On Tuesday evenings, we practice our martial arts skills but we may change the schedule a bit.”

“Which martial arts?” asked Melody.

“Mainly Aikido and related arts. Between Rusty and I we can assist you with others. Do you have one you are familiar with?”

“Not really. I went to a few self-defense classes that seemed to be martial art based.”

“Join us tomorrow night,” said Rusty. “Then we can see what you were taught and perhaps show you some additional techniques. Participating is entirely up to you. We do have fun. I guess I preempted you Sally, sorry. Did you have more?”

“Not really. Your response was the same as mine would have been. Rusty and I have worked together off and on for close to ten years.”

“My specialty is security, primarily network intrusion security but it can involve site security and personal security. Like Sally I am a martial arts instructor but more toward combat style martial arts. It is only within the last two weeks that I’ve begun working primarily with N&R Security. Prior to that it was on a project basis.”

“I’m currently working part-time for N&R Security,” said Sarah. “My training is in programming, financial and business management. Prior to moving here, I worked as a real estate agent although I’ve sought positions in my field. Except for one right out of college I haven’t been successful. I attribute some of my lack of success to preconceived notions regarding my appearance.”

“Are you the lady Nancy told us about?” asked Trina.

“Perhaps. I am a recent victim of mistaken identity. A woman tried to set me up to take the rap for her theft. It is a rather involved story, but as a result of that my appearance has changed. Basically I am now taller with broader shoulders, a larger bust and I need to wear heels all the time.”

“You look great. Can I ask a personal question?”

“Sure. We are pretty open in expressing our selves within this group.”

“How did you know you needed to wear heels?”

“Primarily because my feet and legs hurt if I didn’t. In the last nine months, my feet went from a size 10 to a size 17 1/2 medium. My height has gone from 5’ 8” to 6’ 7” or so. My bust went from 38 to 47 and from a C to a G cup.”

“That is amazing. How did you deal with it?”

“Accept it. It wasn’t something I would have initiated. It is done. I can’t change it. The people who arranged the treatments for me have been exposed and are now collecting their reward. Out of this, I’ve met my soul mates. So life is good but different.”

“I’m not sure I could be that way.”

“As my grandfather use to say, life is like a poker game in that you can only play the cards you hold. So you just do your best with what you have and look for better cards with the next hand. Unless you release or redirect the anger of what happened to you it will likely keep you from doing your best in the future. So my approach is to learn from the past and do my best with what I have.”

“I don’t want to dominate the conversation. Can we chat again about this?”

“Sure. The four of us share a suite down the hall from where we entered. The door is figuratively always open. If we are focused on each other your choices are to join in, come back later or wait.”

“Okay.”

“I guess I’m next,” said Terry. “I joined N&R Security within the last two weeks. My previous experience is as a private investigator and providing personal security. Exactly what I will be doing here is still being worked out.”

“Dinner is ready,” said Nancy as she stepped into the room wearing heels and sheer robe. “Stan and Julia are just returning.”

“Are all of you always this casual with your dress?” asked Lana.

“For the most part,” replied Nancy, “yes. The N&R Security business areas, such as the office and connected buildings, are the only places where clothes are required. When we have guests, then we wear a covering whenever we are out of our rooms.”

“More guests?”

“As a part of our personal protective services,” said Bob, “we sometimes provides customers with a secure place to stay. The house you are using is one of those. We have several other locations available to us.”

They were just gathering around the table when Julia and Stan entered. Nancy introduced them to the six women then said, “Let’s eat.”

As dinner was ending Belinda said, “I can understand why you exercise if dinners are always this scrumptious.”

“Yes!” replied Rusty, Sally, Sarah and Terry. Everyone chuckled at their quick response.

Sarah added, “I’ve made an effort to not go for seconds although I am not always successful. Maybe we should add an exercise session for Saturday mornings.”

“Probably a good idea,” responded Rusty. “We need to set some time aside to go to the range. It’s been a while since I’ve been.”

“Good point. I haven’t been in several years.”

“We have a small one,” said Bob. “It is primarily for handguns. It is a proficiency we need to keep sharp. On the plus side, we haven’t needed that in some time.”

“Can one of you teach me the basics?” asked Zoe.

“We could do that on Saturday afternoon,” said Sally.

After visiting for a while after dinner Sarah, Sally, Terry and Rusty went back to their suite. They had just sat down when Joyce came in saying, “Can I join you?”

“Sure,” said Sarah.

“How are your classes coming along?” asked Sally.

“Pretty good. I’ve strong A’s in all of them. In some of the classes, I am tutoring some of the students. I think I’m learning more doing that. It’s not as easy to teach as it appears.”

“I agree. So what’s on your mind?”

“Prom is coming up in some four weeks. How do I get someone to ask me?”

“A particular someone?” asked Sarah with a smile.

“Yes. He is a bit of a nerd but very nice. I think he would like to ask me but is afraid of being turned down.”

“So, create an opportunity to talk about the prom. You then have several choices. You could ask him. You could ask him when he is going to decide to ask you. But I would do it when no one is close by.”

“Kind of pushy isn’t it.”

“Yes. There is a risk of scaring him away.”

“I don’t think he scares very easily. Thanks. I’ll think about it.”

“I thought you were going to complain about getting hit on by the athletes,” said Rusty.

“No. I haven’t had that problem. Some of my friends did, but I showed them some techniques Sally taught me. One girl was a little energetic in her response and the clown gained a broken finger. She told me later that she didn’t think she hit his hand that hard.”

“Did she get in trouble?”

“Not really there were too many witnesses. The boy threatened her after his finger healed, but didn’t take her up on the offer to meet after school, off school property.”

“I don’t remember that kind of behavior when I was in high school,” said Sarah.

“I don’t either,” added Terry, “but it’s hard to identify any single difference.”

“In my opinion,” responded Sally, “there isn’t one. The structure of our communities and the attitudes of its members has changed significantly since we were in school. Anyway, Joyce I am pleased to hear you are doing well. Have you thought of college?”

“A little. I’ll probably have some questions for you guys. What did you think of the six women?”

“For it being a just a little over four weeks since their release,” said Sarah, “I think they are doing pretty good.”

“When I talked to them earlier,” said Joyce, “all them were pleased to be away from that town and very appreciative of us offering to help them. By inference they did not get much help locally. The house they were living in was provided by a charity but only for a limited time.”

“Well I’m glad they decided to come here,” said Sarah. “I hope it isn’t a burden on your parents.”

“Don’t think so. Oh, my,” said Joyce, “I need to go to bed. It’s later than I thought.”

“We need to do the same,” said Sarah. Each gave Joyce a hug before she left for her room which was just down the hall.

“You know what we forgot,” said Sally.

“Adam,” replied Sarah. “Although he may think we were kidding.”

“I’ll feel him out tomorrow evening.” Seeing the looks on her friend’s faces she added, “Not like that.”

“We didn’t say a word,” replied Rusty as they all laughed.

“With those looks, you didn’t need to.”

Sarah and Sally were walking up to Wood’s real estate office Friday morning, when Sally asked, “Think we are ready to show the proposal to Cynthia?”

“We could play with it some more but she really needs to see it before we go much further. We can ask Margaret what Cynthia’s schedule is then decide. It’s going to take a couple of hours to go over this.”

“I like the idea of looking at the changes from the agent’s perspective rather than just at the benefits to the customer and agency.”

“Our discussions with Stewart and James really helped to resolve some issues.”