by Mike Hartman
Gabe was a bit more industrious. He had a great head on his shoulders with a huge aptitude for anything mechanical. He had known since he was a small boy that he wanted to be a mechanical engineer when he grew up. He had the brains for it, just not the money. During his senior year of high school he researched different ways he might be able to pursue his dream. He was a firm believer that where there was a will, there was a way. He didn’t let the impossible ruin his day. Instead, he tended to find a way to make things happen.
The impossible feat of coming up with the money for college was solved when he came across information about the Navy ROTC Scholarship. He had applied and been accepted. The navy would pay for 4 years of college. In return, upon his graduation he would serve 6 years as a naval officer in the nuclear power program. It wasn’t enough money to live on campus, but fortunately Stanford University was less than 2 miles from their house in Palo Alto, CA.
It had sounded like a pretty good idea at the time, but now it was almost time to pay the piper. He was finishing up his senior year and would enter the navy within the next few months. He would attend Nuclear Power School in Goose Creek, SC, attend nuclear prototype in Ballston Spa, NY, and then head to the fleet for his dark gray home away from home. He had spent 2 weeks onboard a ship last year during a midshipman cruise. He hated every minute of it! This just wasn’t what he was cut out to do. He was meant to be a mechanical engineer. He was a damned good student! He’d even won 5th place in a national contest for designing a better widget. Fifth place out of 2,700 applicants was nothing to sneeze at. Yes, he was damned good!
The looming prospect of actually joining the navy had lain heavy on his heart for the past few weeks. With each passing week it seemed like he fell deeper into despair. Depression had set in. The darkness had taken a death grip on his soul and he found himself thinking of ways to end his life.
A semi truck was coming from the opposite direction in the distance. Gabe allowed his car to drift over the center lane into the oncoming traffic. Just a little at first, then a bit more. The truck saw him, but on the bridge there was nowhere for the truck driver to swerve to avoid the collision. The driver lay heavily on his horn and on his brakes. To Gabe, the world became a slow motion drama. He saw the truck approaching, he heard the horn blaring, but it didn’t seem real. It was like he was watching a movie. Time slowed down and the seconds played out as minutes in his mind. He thought of his mother, he thought of Tracy, he thought of the time when he still had hopes and dreams. At the last second Gabe swerved back into his lane. His heart was racing, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his breathing was laborious. On the far side of the bridge he pulled over to the side of the road and cried.
Chapter 7
February, year 1.
Dr. Edward McCoskey pulled into the hotel parking lot. One might think there would be a little pang of guilt for what he was about to do, but there was none. He had done this many times and he deserved it.
Why shouldn’t he spend time with bimbos? After all, he was a powerful man. He had money, he had stature… he basically had the world by the balls. Hell yeah, he deserved all of life’s finer pleasures. Never mind that he had a trophy wife at home and two beautiful children who loved him. What did that have to do with anything? Tomorrow he would turn 42 years old. It was time for an early celebration!
This particular slut was his prize bimbo. He had been meeting with Tracy for secret rendezvous’ like this for the past several months. She was hot! Just like her mother. Oh yes, he knew her mother, although he had not seen her in nearly 24 years. She was hot back then and Tracy looked just like her. He was sure she was probably still hot now in her early 40’s.
Ed had been the captain of the football team. He was the stud of Palo Alto High. He slept with all the cheerleaders, even popped the cherry on three of them. Well, he slept with all the cheerleaders but one. Tracy’s mom had been too good for him. That little bitch! What did she see in that nerd anyway? He was used to getting his way with women. Hell, he was used to getting his way with everything.
His job as Senior Research Scientist for BioTech afforded him all the power he needed. He controlled each of 27 subsidiary companies even though no one really knew they were related. He controlled them like a puppet master pulling Pinocchio’s strings.
“Hello gorgeous!” He kissed her on the cheek as he entered the hotel room. She looked happy to see him, but something just wasn’t right.
“Hi Eddie,” Tracy responded, though without her usual enthusiasm. “I thought you would never make it. I’ve been waiting for over an hour.”
He answered nonchalantly, “I’m here now baby,” and began kissing her neck. The truth was that he had been tied up at a very important meeting with Bambi on the couch in a dark corner of the Lipstixx Gentlemen’s Club. Bambi gave one hell of a lap dance!
“When are you going to leave your wife?” she asked as she gently pushed him off her neck. “I thought you were going to tell her last weekend.”
“It wasn’t a good time babe. The kids were sick last weekend and her parents are coming to visit next week. It will only be a few more weeks. I promise.” With that he moved back in and started kissing her neck again.
This time she relented and allowed him to take her. It was just a few minutes before there was a pile of clothes on the floor and the bed was banging wildly against the wall.
After he finished, he rolled over on his back panting heavily. She laid her head in the crook of his arm with a distant look on her face. He could tell this was something more than her wanting him to leave his wife. They had that discussion many times in the past and she never acted like this. It’s not that he cared what was wrong with her. Why should he care?
“Eddie, how much do you love me?” she finally asked.
“More than the moon and the stars.” he said easily. “You know you are my world babe. I can’t wait until we can be together every day for the rest of our lives.”
“Do you love me enough that I could ask you to do anything…anything at all?”
Oh boy, here it comes, he thought. How do I dodge this bullet? “You know I do.”
She had been thinking about this for a few weeks; ever since Gabe had become depressed. As the weeks went by and he slipped deeper and deeper into gloom, she had thought about it more and more. Even though she was only a year older than him, she was the mother figure in his life. She needed to take away his pain.
She knew Eddie was a powerful man, though she really didn’t know just how powerful. He had boasted that he controlled 27 different companies. ‘Had them in his hip pocket,’ those were his words. She decided if anyone could help her brother, Eddie could. Since he loved her, this should be easy.
“It’s about my brother,” she began. She proceeded to tell him all about Gabe and his impending stint with the navy. “If only he didn’t have to serve his time in the navy,” she said. “If only he could get started with his life as a mechanical engineer. That is his true passion. He has wanted to be a mechanical engineer since he was a little boy.”
Blah, blah, blah. He pretended to be interested, but was actually thinking, hurry up and get it out. I’ve got places to go and people to see.
“Isn’t there anything you can do to help him Eddie?” her voice came back into focus. “I mean, you must have contacts or connections. Isn’t there something you can do?”
Eddie had always known he was a genius. It was times like this that he proved himself right. The sinister thought just appeared in his head like a gift from heaven. He put a smile on his face and said, “Actually there might be something I can do. I know just the person to fix this problem. I could give him a call and the problem would just go away.”
Tracy immediately perked up. “Really?” She had hoped he could help, but she never imagined the problem could go away so easily. “You would do that fo
r me?”
“Well,” he started and a sly smile crossed his face. “If I did that for you, what would you be willing to do for me?”
She knew that look. That was the ‘I want to get into your pants’ look that all men had. This threw her for a loop because he was already getting into her pants. What could he possibly be asking for? “What do you mean?”
“Here’s the deal,” he began slowly. “I fix your brother’s problem and you and your mother come as a package deal.”
“What?” she was totally taken aback. “What do you mean?”
He rubbed the back of his finger across her cheek tenderly. “You know what I mean. I help your brother and you get your mom to come join us. The three of us will have a party.”
It suddenly sunk in what he was saying. Tracy was dumbfounded. She certainly hadn’t seen this coming. She suddenly saw things for what they were. Eddie wasn’t going to leave his wife. He didn’t love her. She was just his tramp.
Her reaction was sudden and outlandish. She began screaming and flailing. Her arms flew everywhere. He fought to control her arms and keep her from going toward her clothes on the other side of the room. If he could just get her to calm down; if she was calm, he could talk his way out of this and salvage the situation.
Tracy didn’t calm down though. She pulled up her pants and ran out of the room with her shirt still unbuttoned carrying her shoes and her bra in her hand.
“Ah, what the hell?’ he thought. She had been a good lay. He would hate to see her go, but sluts like her were a dime a dozen.
Chapter 8
April, year 1.
Monica entered the first floor of Caldwell Hall after class and quickly approached her mailbox which was just inside the front door next to the main TV lounge area. This had become her routine in the past few weeks as she anxiously looked forward to responses from the 20 resumes she had mailed out.
She had already been on 3 interviews, but nothing promising had turned up so far. The first one was in Washington D.C. but paid so little she didn’t know how she could possibly live in that high cost environment. Certainly a roommate would have been a necessity and she didn’t cherish that idea. The second was a company called ICR, Inc., a computer programming firm in Buffalo. She really had not hit it off too well with the man who interviewed her and she didn’t know if a job offer would develop or not. Even though she was used to winters in upstate New York, she really didn’t like the idea of dealing with the lake-effect snow of Buffalo. If she got a job offer from this company, she was hoping she could use it as a last resort. Her third interview had been a software company called Crala, Inc. in Albany, NY. She had a great interview and was hoping to hear back from them with a job offer. This company seemed to fit her and she was excited about the possibilities. The fact that it was only an hour’s drive from her parent’s house in Saratoga Springs was enticing as well.
She was particularly anxious about the resume she had sent to Brainstorm. Each day she excitedly checked her mailbox. Ever since her dinner with Dan Isaacs at her parent’s house, she had not been able to get his company out of her mind. Brainstorm sounded absolutely intriguing!
Even before she slipped the key into her mailbox, she could see through the small glass window in the door that there was a letter inside. She pulled it out and was excited to see its return address was Brainstorm, Inc., 1088 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino, CA. She opened the letter while she was still standing there in front of her open mailbox. It read: “Ms. Dellinger, Thank you for your interest in employment with Brainstorm, Inc. Your qualifications appear quite impressive and we are pleased to extend you the offer of an interview on March 27 at 10:00am. Please contact our office to confirm your appointment. We will make arrangements with you at that time to provide you with round trip airline tickets and hotel accommodations.”
Monica had a knot in her stomach the size of a grapefruit. On the one hand, she was excited about the prospect of working on a project like Mr. Isaacs had described to her. On the other hand, California was a long way from home! She walked slowly up to her room on the third floor pondering the situation. Even as she dealt with her doubts, she knew what she would do. After entering her room and throwing her book bag on the bed, she took out her cell phone and began slowing dialing the number.
**********
The flight to California was an adventure of its own. Monica had never been on an airplane before and was a bit nervous. That only served to compound the nervousness she felt due to her job interview scheduled for the next morning. As she flew high above the Rocky Mountains her thoughts turned toward trying to anticipate what kinds of interview questions she might be asked. Based on what Dan Isaacs had told her about the company, she had no idea where to even begin. How could she possibly fit into a company of this caliber? Interpreting and decoding brainwaves was a far cry different from any programs she had written in school. College had pretty well stayed with the standard business models. The code she had written for school projects entailed fairly standard problem solving issues. Even though it was challenging and she had excelled, this was very different from cutting edge technology development. As the wheels touched down at San Jose International Airport, she decided she would just have to be herself and see where the interview led. She retrieved her bags and enjoyed the sights during the 15-minute taxi ride to her hotel in Cupertino.
**********
Morning came early. Too nervous to eat, she sat in the hotel breakfast area and poked at the container of yogurt in front of her. She had been dressed and ready for her interview an hour and a half early. That hour and a half had just about drove her nuts. Now as she entered the front door of Brainstorm she was surprised how small the building was. The secretary announced her arrival and asked her to take a seat. She had only been seated a minute when Mr. Isaacs came out to meet her. He greeted her with a warm smile as he approached and shook her hand. “Hello Monica. It’s good to see you again. I hope you had a nice flight.”
Monica responded, “Yes, it was very nice. My first time in an airplane and the experience was amazing!”
He showed her into his office, pointed her to a comfortable looking upholstered chair, and then sat down in an identical chair facing her on the opposite side of a decorative coffee table. “How do you like sunny California?”
Monica assessed Mr. Isaacs while they continued with the customary small talk. He was a medium build and medium height. She guessed him to be about 5’10’’ at 180 pounds. Very well dressed in a business suit and cuff links. His brown hair was meticulously cut in a stylish fashion. She hadn’t noticed the mole on his right cheek when she met him at her parent’s house. Other than that, he looked like a dressed up version of the man she remembered.
He carried himself in a way that commanded respect, but he pulled it off without exhibiting arrogance. She immediately liked him and he did a good job making her feel comfortable.
“So, tell me what you know about our company,” he said at a pertinent point in the conversation.
She had googled Brainstorm without much success. She knew it was wise to learn as much as you possibly could about a company prior to an interview. It was important to sell yourself by explaining what you could do for them and how they could benefit by hiring you. This was a relatively easy process on her last three interviews. A few Google searches on both the company and the top people at the company were a good start. Reading the company annual reports had proven valuable as well. Unfortunately she had found almost no information available for Brainstorm. “I hate to start off my interview on a bad foot, but to be honest; I had trouble finding any information about your company. I was able to find the movie you told me about and watched it before I came.”
He was pleased with this answer. “There is very little public information available about our company. I’m actually glad to hear you didn’t find much floating around on the
internet. We are a small research and development company. We don’t sell a product and we don’t generate any revenue, so there is no need to file annual reports for people to scrutinize. We are funded by a company called BioTech. We do the research and carry out crazy projects while attempting to achieve the impossible. To BioTech we are a tax write-off and a one in a million chance of hitting the jackpot.”
“Sounds interesting,” he had Monica’s full attention. “How long has Brainstorm been in business?”
“We are just finishing up our first year. We currently have three computer programmers and two neurologists. Not a big operation, as you can see. Our facility is not large or impressive, but we perform cutting edge work and we have lofty goals.”
They continued to talk casually. Monica was surprised at how casual the conversation remained. He didn’t ask her a lot of questions about her experience or what she could do for him. It was more like he was filling her in on what his company was all about.
As the interview neared the end, Dan Isaacs heard a voice in his head, “Hire her.” As he always did, he obeyed the voice.
Monica was surprised to receive a job offer right there on the spot. It almost seemed too good to be true. They discussed salary, benefits, working conditions; the whole nine yards. Everything seemed perfect. How could she say no?
Chapter 9
April, year 1.
“He’s perfect. Bring him onboard.” The voice in his head again. Always that voice in his head. Dan already knew he was perfect without that voice telling him.
Jamie emerged from Dan Singleton’s office 30 minutes later with a new job and the prospect of an exciting new life. “Thank you Mr. Singleton. I’m looking forward to working for you.”
“Don’t think of it as working for me Jamie. I expect much more than that from you. Think of it as working with me. Together, we are going to do great things!” Dan had a way of putting him at ease.
