Infinite Exposure

by Roland Hughes

  “Do you really think we can do a shred with just this?” Jeremy asked.

  “How little you watch the news Jeremy. In 2002 a former UBS Systems Admin planted malicious code that took down about 2,000 servers in their network. His arrest and trial have been appearing in the news over the past couple of weeks, but most articles are focusing on weeding out bad employees. Imagine a story surfacing about a global bank who didn't bother to screen that type of employee at all? Once the federal agencies get wind of it there will be congressional hearings. We will not only shred the bank, but we will shred Big Four Consulting as well. Whether they know it or not, they've been a willing accomplice in a crime.”

  A Little Nudge

  Stacie was looking forward to tonight. She hadn't hooked up with Jeremy in a couple of years. Oh, she knew nothing would come of it, but she remembered he was pretty good in bed. Since he had a hotel room, she wouldn't have to deal with her two roommates tonight either. She loved her roommates. They had great fun hanging out together. Having roommates meant they could have a really awesome apartment and spend a ton of money on clothes. When you are 20-something, dressing to the nines and partying all weekend is a priority in life.

  Big Four Consulting didn't pay her much. Then again, she had a degree in mass communications, not IT. That, coupled with her looks and minor in English got her the job with Big Four. They always wanted the young people working for them to dress for success. Thankfully, two of their clients were major retailers which extended a “partner” discount to the employees of Big Four Consulting. Every Saturday Stacie got up at the crack of noon and took shopping whichever roommate was home. All three of the girls had run out of closet space and were buying wardrobes to store additional clothes in.

  Still, the roommate thing had a major drawback. When you decided to score, you had to inconvenience others. Stacie wasn't dating. Older people described it as “playing the field.” She found it when she needed it, and sometimes she would find it in the same place more than once, but her career came first. Big Four promised her she would travel and told her to get a passport. She had already flown to several states in the U.S. and recently returned from Bangalore, India.

  Unlike most of the girls Stacie worked with, she wasn't a complete fool. She knew full well which guys had left the compound to visit the Red Light District just a few streets over. There was no way she was going to hook up with any of them. Jeremy had always been a safe hook up. He didn't want anything long term and had only asked her to attend one wedding with him. They had both known the groom getting married so it wasn't a big deal, just lots of drinking, dancing, and fun. Stacie let Jeremy know when she accepted that he now owed her a wedding and he was cool with that. When you are 20-something, you really hate going stag to a wedding. When you're in your 40s you can play the divorcee field at a wedding, but 20-somethings always seemed to be paired off.

  All of the girls had heard about the four-star restaurant that had opened up a couple months ago. It was the new “hot” place to be seen. Stacie was going to be the first of her roomies to eat there. They would have to wait until she got home tomorrow to find out what it was like.

  The nice part about having a friend with benefits is you don't have to come home in the same clothes you left in. Nothing tells the world you were picked up like leaving a hotel in the morning wearing an evening dress. A “date” would require she meet them at the restaurant or have him pick her up here. She wouldn't be able to pack an overnight bag and bring it along. You meet a friend at their hotel room and leave your bag there. So much more convenient.

  Stacie left her apartment promptly at 6 PM. She had the doorman turn on the cab light and was quickly picked up. Fifteen minutes later she arrived at Jeremy's hotel. He had called earlier in the afternoon to let her know he had checked in and gave her his room number. She told him he had better be wearing a damned nice suit when she arrived because there was a strict dress code at the restaurant.

  As far as anyone at work knew, Stacie was simply hooking up with a flame from college this weekend. She didn't tell them where Jeremy worked, mainly because she could never remember the name of the company. She simply told them he worked for some small accounting firm. Saying he worked at an investment firm would have gotten her a meeting with HR and a chat about disclosing insider information. She knew damned good and well Jeremy was coming here to thank her for that. He was going to owe her a weekend at Salish Lodge when she fed him the other little bit of information she had.

  Today had been a hectic day. Stacie had to participate in the presentation to First Global Bank's board of directors selling Pytho's new banking software to them. It started off as a tough sell. Pytho hadn't thought to bring anything in the way of eye candy to the meeting, so the Big Four Consulting girls were laying it all out to the board. Stacie hadn't participated in the sales pitch that sold the off-shoring contract, but some of the girls in the room had. Only the women they had shown the most interest in were asked to display themselves again. Stacie was asked since she had been to India and had established the best relationship with the on-shore team. The rest appeared to be models who didn't have a runway gig this week. They knew nothing about the software being pitched or the client. They did know how to dress though.

  In contrast, Kathryn had made Stacie take home the entire CD kit from Pytho. She had to work with a team of girls creating a PowerPoint presentation, then show it to Kathryn. Once Stacie had finished giving her five-minute summary of how the data center consolidation was going, Kathryn had her segue into the presentation and even remain walking around answering questions during it. When the questions came up about how far along the globalization project had gotten, the Pytho reps had to take over. Kathryn made sure she dropped the names of the audit firms handling certification of each country's banking laws. The board was quite shocked to learn their own auditing firm was certifying the system met French banking regulations.

  When the meeting concluded there wasn't a dirty old man in the room who hadn't seen every breast and leg on display at least twice. All of the girls had worn tight skirts, but not so tight they looked like they were trying to stop a gun shot wound from bleeding. All of them had some part in the presentation where they were supposed to walk around keeping the board's attention. Stacie thought it was a lot like stripping, but you didn't have to break a sweat or get dressed when you were done.

  The board ended the meeting taking copies of the plan and cost spreadsheet. They said they were going to have a meeting with their auditors to see how close the French regulations really were to being implemented. The Pytho sales reps were all smiles and handshakes until the board left, then they showed outright rejection on their faces.

  “They didn't buy it,” one of them said.

  “They never buy on the first pitch,” responded Kathryn. “Unless you've taken steps to ensure their auditors give them a glowing report about the progress made on French banking regulations, this sale is dead.”

  “Our 'World View of the Bank' pitch really hit home though,” Stacie remarked.

  “Yes it did,” Kathryn said. “It was the only reason we were allowed to make this presentation. They just had everyone jumping through hoops to prepare quarterly financial reports and the cost of doing that is fresh in their minds. We even scored big with the cost savings from staff reductions, but any package is going to do both of those things for them. This sale hinges on the French regulations.”

  “How so,” Stacie asked.

  “Our biggest IT headcount and operating cost is in France,” responded Kent. “Even if you never got the other countries operational, the entire project could be paid for by eliminating those people along with our U.S. and Canadian IT staff.” Kent had stayed in the post pitch debriefing because this project was his baby. He was the corporate sponsor and project champion. It was his job to sell it to the board because his name was on it.

  Stacie knew that if this deal went through, she was going to be spending some grueling overtime t
raining at Pytho software. She was also going to have to spend some time brushing up on her French. She had only taken one semester in college and couldn't speak or read it very well now.

  That was four hours ago. The thoughts of her awaiting treadmill left her mind as she stepped into the elevator with her overnight bag and went to Jeremy's room. Tonight was an elegant meal with fine wine and some long overdue physical pleasure.

  When Jeremy opened the door she was floored. That man can wear a suit! she thought. She made him spin around to check him out and even commented that he bothered to shine his shoes. Stacie wasn't an expert in men's clothing, but that suit would retail for around $1,200 in this neck of the woods. Jeremy made some very appreciative comments about the way she looked, kissed her passionately, then took her bag to the bedroom.

  “Must not have been a killer kiss,” Jeremy said with a smile when he returned.

  “You did good!”

  “Not good enough for you to follow me to the bedroom,” he grinned.

  “If I did that I wouldn't get dinner!” she exclaimed. “Let's catch a cab before we don't make it out of here!”

  With that they proceeded to the restaurant and ordered dinner. It was everything Stacie had heard it was. The food was fabulous and the menu didn't have any prices. Stacie had no idea what the champagne and wine cost, but it had to be a down payment on a car. Finally, the opener came:

  “So, how are things going at work?”

  Stacie flashed a mischievous smile. “Well, I'm going to be putting in some grueling hours soon becoming a trainer on a new software product Pytho has coming out.”

  “What product is that?” Jeremy asked.

  “Before I answer that question, you have to promise me a weekend at Salish Lodge any weekend I ask,” responded Stacie.

  Jeremy had heard about the place and knew it had an amazing reputation. He also knew if Stacie was putting it on the table, there was something big coming out of her mouth next. He was pretty certain Lenny would allow him to expense the weekend, and even if Lenny didn't, he was certain to have a fantastic time with Stacie. He looked her in the eyes and said “Done.”

  Stacie positively beamed! She had wanted a weekend there ever since one of her girlfriends had told her about it. Her roomies would be so jealous when she told them.

  Conversation had to pause while the server came by to inquire how things were going. Stacie wondered how the server's feet felt walking around in heels all night, then she thought that skirt and stockings demanded heels. Anything less would ruin the atmosphere of the place. It struck her as kind of odd how women who weren't bisexual could easily appreciate the phenomenal body of another woman. She guessed you simply didn't get jealous when you looked hot yourself. Briefly she thought it would be a pity when she had kids one day and it all went to hell, then she snapped her attention back to the table.

  Jeremy had that stupid grin on his face again. It was the kind of grin he got when he had some smart ass comment to make which would be the perfect zinger for the moment and would ensure he didn't get sex that night. What Stacie appreciated about Jeremy is that he had the good sense to save them until after they had sex so they could both laugh about them when they were more relaxed.

  She smiled back at him, then took his hand and said, “I need a necklace and matching earrings to wear when we go to Salish. Diamonds would be nice, but as long as they are real stones and set off my eyes, I'm fine with it.”

  “I didn't even make the comment,” Jeremy sputtered.

  “But you were thinking it,” she chimed back evilly. “Besides, after I tell you what I have for you, I think you'll agree you should be able to afford them.”

  That widened Jeremy's eyes and made him sit up.

  “It was a long day parading my body around the board room,” she said, toying with his hand. “Once the auditors for First Global Bank give a glowing report on how Pytho software's new banking product meets all of the U.S., Canadian, and French banking regulations, they are probably going to buy it. Every location they have will be migrated onto the new software. Every country will move as Pytho completes certification for said country. In much less than a year, they will be rid of all their IT staff, save a token few, and have all of their business run by software in an off-shore data center.”

  “I had to wear a sheer blouse and my finest stockings. The skirt and heels really showed off my form. If it wasn't for their own auditors being involved, we would have closed the sale today. The board really admired my legs. Just imagine how many of those rich old men want to be where you will be tonight.”

  “True,” Jeremy responded. “Not to break the mood, but you wouldn't happen to have some marketing literature on this product would you?”

  “Greedy bastard!” she teased. “Here I am talking about sex, letting you know I'm ready to go and you are still talking about making money.”

  “Well,” Jeremy sputtered.

  Stacie laughed, “Remind me to take it out of my overnight bag when we get back to the hotel.”

  When they stood up to leave, Stacie nuzzled his ear as he put his arm around her. “So, am I getting diamonds?”

  Laughing, Jeremy said, “Yes, the best I can find at my local Helzberg.”

  Now it was Stacie's turn to have her eyes go wide and head snap up.

  ***

  Margret was somewhat surprised to come out of the demonstration and find there was a meeting request from Carol waiting for her. They rarely had any meetings unless some big contract was going down. If the girl was going to become clingy in the office, Margret would have to nip it in the bud. Still, she accepted the meeting and half an hour later Carol arrived in her office closing the door behind her.

  Before Margret could get control of the situation Carol said, “I did some more research and we need to get some letters on file with notary stamps and dates on them. The letter or letters need to inform Kent of the pending regulation change requiring all data center employees to be U.S. citizens for U.S. banks and have passed all of the new background checks prior to being hired.”

  Margret was not expecting this. She thought they were going to keep it a secret. Carol read the confusion in her eyes.

  “The regulation change has just been opened for public comment and will be put to a vote some time next quarter. There is no keeping it quiet now. Given how far along the off-shoring of the data centers has gotten, there is most likely no way to pull it back without incurring massive financial loss.”

  Margret nodded.

  “Then, I need to forward you the email announcing the public comment period. You need to forward it to Kent, then schedule a meeting for the three of us and Judy, the girl who does notary for us. Just a 15-minute meeting to tell him this is open for comment and may be something he bumps into. Bring a print out of the email to the meeting. When the meeting is over, we will have Judy put a notary stamp on it and hand write the meeting time, date, etc, on it, then sign it. Copies will be put in your hands, my hands, and the legal department's document archival service. When this landslide tumbles down the mountain it will be Kent who hangs.”

  One thing about Carol, Margret thought, that lawyer side of her is vicious! “OK. I'll schedule the meeting later today as soon as I get your email,” responded Margret.

  Carol noticed the look on Margret's face. She looked at her and asked “What?”

  “When you put in such a generic meeting subject I figured this was you getting clingy and I was wondering how I could shut it down before anything got out. I wasn't expecting this.”

  “No worries on that front. My hubby would divorce me in a second. I have to keep this more hidden than you. That doesn't mean I'm not going to help you cover your ass though. If this becomes a regulation, the bank is going to have to re-hire some of the operators they are about to fire and get them to live in India. There will be a limited window for compliance and then the hammer will fall.”

  “We'll have to pay a fine,” Margret said.

  “Yo
u need to read the email I will forward you. Loss of insurance is the first penalty, fines second and third is a recommendation of criminal prosecution under the Patriot Act. They are playing hardball with this one. Only the content of the regulation is up for comment, not the penalties.”

  Margret's eyes widened at that. “Send me the email now.”

  In less than three minutes Margret had received the email, forwarded it to Kent and scheduled a meeting with him. He really shouldn't have left a 15-minute opening just prior to 4 PM. All of the ladies met in Kent's office and told him he could bump into this regulation with his current project once the regulation is voted in. When Kent asked how likely it was, Carol responded nobody knew which way the vote would go since none of the voting members communicated openly about their intent. The bank was supposed to have someone communicating with the FDIC on this, but Carol had no idea who. Carol said her only duty in the matter was to inform both Kent in Margret via both email and in a meeting on the matter. What Kent did with the information was up to him.

  Just like that, the meeting ended. The three women went back to Margret's office, they wrote down the meeting time, attendees, etc., signed the document and then Judy put the notary seal on it. They thanked Judy for her time and she left.

  “Do you think the bastard has any idea he is about to walk over an open manhole?” asked Marget.

  “Probably not,” Carol responded. “I simply wanted to get this done within 48 hours of receiving the information so my ass would be in the clear.”

  Carol leaned closer to Marget and whispered, “Then I had to protect your sweet ass.” With a smirk she walked away to find a functioning copy machine. A few minutes later she returned with a few copies for Margret and herself.

  “Another day almost over,” Margret piped up when she returned.

  “I can't believe it,” responded Carol. “I thought I was going to have to work late tonight because of the presentation going on earlier today.”