She Started Something

I noticed her as she walked toward me, her tall slender body moved with effortless grace, her head held high on her long neck and the sunlight turned her hair into strands of gleaming bronze. Then I noticed the men that she passed, they stopped and turned to stare open-mouthed at the vision walking away from them, walking toward me. I turned my attention back to her, it wasn't hard, and the straight backed way that she carried herself caused her breasts to thrust against the fabric of her crisp white blouse and accentuate her flat stomach and slender legs. This was one drop dead gorgeous woman and even before I met her I was in love, but then so were a thousand other men through whose lives she had walked.

As she approached me she noticed that I was staring at her and her eyes turned to me as she neared and there was the hint of a smile just before she was passed me. I stopped, turned and stared just like those before me and the vision got even better. Her black skirt was tight over her hips and this revealed that she was either wearing a thong or no underwear at all, there were no lines to break the smooth curves of her arse. She wore heels high enough to tighten her calf muscles and these were further enhanced by her black stockings. She walked with an easy stride, sort of a cross between the exaggerated cross over style of a catwalk model and the open stride of the majority of women, it was almost as if she was perpetually performing a roadside sobriety test.

As she turned the corner and out of my life I found that my imagination had gone into over-drive. Who was she and what did she do? She could be a model or even a film star but in my imagination she was much too intelligent for either of these vocations. She didn't look frazzled enough to be a teacher or a lawyer, a doctor was a slight possibility, a 4 to 1 shot at best, a nurse would get better odds, but my imagination dismissed all of these in favour of an Executive Personal Assistant. She had the qualities for this profession, looks in abundance, style without doubt and her immaculate appearance spelled out organisational ability and attention to detail, in short everything the busy CEO would desire in an EPA. She also exuded enough self-confidence to be able to put him politely in his place should he step over the line she placed between them.

Her name was Heidi Freidricks and she was the Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer of a multi-national corporation and had been sent to collect important documents from one of their clients, hence the document case she carried. She strolled through the reception area of the office building, pausing just long enough to smile at the receptionist and slide the marker to indicate that she was once more in her office. The light at the bank of lifts indicated that it had gone straight to the top floor, the executive level.

Heidi walked through her office to that of Spencer Fawcett, the CEO of TransGlobal, a holding company with interests in mining and oil and gas exploration. She took the documents from the case and placed them on his desk. He looked up from the papers that he was reading. "No dramas?"

"No, they have resigned themselves to their fate just as you predicted. They had no room to manoeuvre and they knew it, to have held out would have been to delay the inevitable and cost them a fortune."

"Good, have you completed the media release yet?"

"It's in your in tray, have a read and if there are any changes to be made I'll get to them straight away."

"I'm sure there won't be any changes, have young Peter run off enough copies for the media conference and see that they are available as soon as I get there, but don't distribute them until after the conference, we don't want to give them any hand grenades that they can throw at us, do we?" His mood changed. "Heidi I've come to rely on you for so much and I don't know what I would do without you. This calls for a celebration, there's some bubbles in the fridge, what say we crack open a bottle?"

"I think that we should wait until after the media conference, it wouldn't do to front the press looking smug and pissed, would it?"

"As usual you are right. Is everything set up for the conference?"

"Yes, you're on in fifteen." Heidi turned and walked back to her desk. This was a great job for her with one minor problem apart from Spencer wanting to get into her pants, and that was that some of the acquisitions seemed to have cared little for the companies being taken over, the term that the media was fond of using was 'corporate raider'. While the directors of the company that she had just visited seemed on the surface of it okay with what had happened to them, she felt that there was an undercurrent of hostility and this worried her. What would they do? What could they do? She had gone over the take-over documents with a fine tooth comb before it went off to legal and neither of them could fault the legality of the process, but legality was only one aspect, morality was the part that she had problems with. Spencer had maintained that if you were bogged down by morality you would finish among the also rans and he always wanted to be a winner.

She picked up the papers that she needed and headed for the auditorium where the conference would be held. Stepping up to the rostrum she smiled at the usual crowd of business journos and received return smiles from at least the males in the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen, before Mr Fawcett gets here I think that we should run over a few ground rules. He will be announcing a major acquisition this morning, he will outline the benefits of this acquisition and our plans for the future growth of the company in terms of cost benefits and jobs growth. Following the announcement there will be a Q&A. You will restrict your questions to matters pertaining to this morning's announcement, no questions on any other matters please." She looked to the door at the side of the auditorium and saw Spencer waiting to be introduced. "Ladies and gentlemen, our CEO Mr Spencer Fawcett."

Spencer walked to the rostrum and smiled at the media, his smile was not returned. "Thank your Heidi, good morning ladies and gentlemen, this morning TransGlobal has signed an agreement with Fremont Exploration to acquire their existing leases and their future, as yet undeveloped leases. This agreement guarantees the future employment of Fremont staff. . ."

"We've heard this before."

Spencer tried to identify the source of the interjection but was a fraction of a second too slow. "As I said we have guaranteed the future employment of Fremont employees and those that chose not to work for the merged company will be let go with all of their entitlements intact, we are not about depriving workers of their rights."

"That'd be a first!" The interjector was seated in the centre of the room and Spencer quickly identified him as Zander (his compression of Alexander) Franklin, a new player in the business media field, and one who was not afraid to attack heads of companies and print what he believed the public should know.

"Please sir, would you save your interjections until after this announcement. We have an information pack for you that will give you the finer details of this acquisition. I will be only too willing to speak to you individually to allay your concerns." A silence descended over the room. "Fremont was not in a position to continue with their exploration due to the contraction in the global financial situation, we on the other hand have investors who are only too willing to partner with us in building on the exploration work started by Fremont. This situation is in no way due to any lack of integrity on the part of Fremont management, we have nothing but admiration for Milton Fremont and his fellow directors and have offered board positions to them. Milton expressed his wish that his health could have allowed him to accept the offer, but felt that it was time that he stepped back from what is a very stressful position and enjoy, with his lovely wife, what little time he has left in his life."

"Are you telling us that Milton Fremont has a terminal illness, and what is the nature of that illness because it doesn't seem to have affected his golf game?"

"I'm not in a position, and it is not my place to comment on his health, that's a matter that you should take up with him."

"I will."

Heidi and Peter began moving around the room handing the information packs to the person at the end of each row who passed them to the others. Silence again descended over the room as the media skimmed through the document looking to see if anything jumped out at them that they could use to question Spencer. Heidi had done her job well.

"Are there any questions?" A hand was raised; it belonged to the man who interjected during the presentation. "Yes Mr Franklin?" The exasperated tone of his voice suggested that he was getting a little tired of Zander.

"Pardon me for being a tad cynical but isn't this exactly the same document that you handed out after the Kingsbridge Petroleum acquisition with just the names changed?"

"If you'll allow me to answer this," Heidi moved to stand by Spencer. "This is not a re-jigging of any previous document, if you would take the time to read it in detail you will see that it is a substantially new document, I don't do rehashing Mr Franklin, Mr Fawcett gives me the data and I collate it into the finished document that you have in your hand. It may bear superficial similarities to other documents that we have put out in the past because this is what we do, we acquire businesses that are struggling and that we believe have potential to expand and to make a profit for our shareholders and other stakeholders. That is the very nature of our business and we are very successful at it. "

"Don't lose her Mr Fawcett, she's good." He bestowed on Heidi his best smile and for a nanosecond their eyes met revealing just a hint of a connection between the two. This passed un-noticed by the gathered throng.

"Is it time for the bubbles now?" Spencer asked as he and Heidi arrived back in his office. He took the bottle of Dom from his refrigerator and expertly eased the cork from it, not a drop was spilled. He passed Heidi her glass and the touched glasses in celebration. "I think that went well and you handled that odious Franklin chap as well as I could have, probably better, I was getting a little sick of him."

"He's just out to make a name for himself and advance up the media ladder, give him time and he'll either reach exalted heights or shoot himself in the foot and end up another drunken has-been. I favour the latter."

"Heidi, are you happy in your work?" The question took her by surprise.

"Yes I am, why do you ask that?"

"Have you ever given thought to a more senior position in this company?"

"Such as?"

"Oh I thought something in administration like the Admin Manager position."

"Do you honestly think that I would be suitable for that position?"

"I wouldn't have offered it to you if I didn't. Minter will be retiring in a couple of months and I thought that you would make a very good replacement."

"I'm flattered of course but I would like a little time to think this over. Don't get me wrong I would like the opportunity but then again I need to be sure that I can not only do the job but would fit in with the admin team."

"They won't be problem, most of them know the situation and are happy to comply."

"I still need to feel that I can fit in, the last thing that I want to do is to upset the team by coming in over people who have been there for ages. I need time to consider your offer, while the increased salary will be nice that's not the motivating factor in any decision, my salary in this position is more than adequate."

Spencer topped up her glass. "What are you doing this evening?"

"Not a lot, why?"

"I thought a celebratory dinner is called for, what do you say?"

"Mrs Fawcett won't be home this evening then?"

"No. She's got some do with the Opera, a charity concert or some such thing, so I'm free as a bird and I feel like dinner at a fancy restaurant, but not alone."

"Do you think it wise to be seen dining with a woman other than your wife, what if there are reporters there?"

"How many restaurants are there in the CBD and how many reporters are there? The chances of one being I the same restaurant at the same time as we are would be very remote to say the least. On top of that, not many journos could afford to eat at the place I had in mind, they're more used to pub meals."

"I suppose that there will be no harm in it, very well but no funny business like plying me with too much booze in the hopes of getting in my pants, okay?"

"I agree, can you make the booking?" He handed her a business card for an extremely up-market eatery with matching prices.

Heidi and Spencer had just settled in and were picking their way through the entrée when a camera flash went off. "What the . . .?" Spencer caught himself before he uttered the 'f' word.

"Now isn't this cosy? And where is the lovely Mrs Fawcett this evening?" Zander stood there with a smug expression on his face.

"Have you been stalking us? I should call the police but I won't if you promise not to publish that photo or write anything about this celebratory dinner that we're having so that I can show my appreciation to a staff member for her hard work."

"I'm sure that it's all very innocent but you know what they say, 'never let the truth get in the way of a good story' and believe me, Mr holier than thou loving husband Fawcett, few of my readers will believe that there is nothing going on between the pair of you, especially after one of my colleagues has just broken the good news to Mrs Fawcett that you are having a romantic dinner for two in this expensive restaurant. Tell me, were you planning to go straight home after this, or were you going to see Ms Freidricks home and try to get into her pants?"

"I will trouble you to keep your filthy innuendos to yourself. There is nothing going on between the two of us and I ask you, politely, to go and leave us alone, and if I find that you are following us I will not hesitate to call the police."

"The only reason that there's nothing going on between the two of you is because the lovely Heidi here can't stand you, she thinks that you are a loathsome piece of shit and she only works for you because of the money that you're paying above the going rate. You think the extra salary will encourage her to give into your sexual advances. I think that she's got better taste than that."

"You've got a filthy mind, if you could just get it out of the gutter for a few moments you'd see that your flights of fancy are so far from the truth to be laughable. Just go away and leave us alone."

"I'll leave but I'll be watching you and your company and one false move will have me drooling in joy just watching you crash and burn. Enjoy the rest of your evening, and Heidi, we'll be watching him deliver you safely to your apartment, just to be sure that nothing untoward happens to you. Good-night to the both of you."

"What an odious little man, I'll have him fired, that's what I'll do. Now can we get back to our celebration?"

"Somehow I no longer feel hungry, will you take me home, please?"

An unhappy Spencer Fawcett ushered Heidi into his car and drove to her apartment. As they left the restaurant they passed a non-descript sedan parked opposite. The occupant dialled his mobile phone and left a brief message; "They're on their way."

Zander had left the restaurant and immediately driven to where he now was sitting in his car opposite Heidi's apartment building, in his hand was an expensive and impressive digital camera with an equally impressive long range zoom lens. What was even more impressive was the fact that it could take clear pictures in low light conditions, an essential for the paparazzi. Spencer's car pulled up and he got out and opened Heidi's door. "Are you sure you don't want to walk me to your door?" He stood facing her, his hands on her hips, his face no more than 15 centimetres (6") from hers.

"I'm sure, now you'd better leave before the paparazzi arrive, you never know want that Franklin guy is up to, he could be watching us right now."

"Alright I'll go, see you in the morning." He gave her a light kiss on the lips before walking around to his door and driving off.

Spencer Fawcett saw Heidi in the morning even before she got to work, they were plastered over the front page of both daily papers. Heidi was aware of this, as were the rest of the staff, and she suffered the stare as she walked through the foyer to the lifts. There were knowing nods between staff members and the 'I told you they were having it off' looks passed between them, what was now confirmed as common knowledge was so far from the truth. The receptionist had been fielding media requests for interviews and staff leaving the building for any reason, were accosted by microphone wielding media. That there were many ways of saying 'no comment' that would confirm the veracity of the suggestion became apparent as the day wore on, failure to deny was seen by all as confirming the truth of the rumour.

Heidi's mother called and Heidi told her that there was definitely no truth to the rumours and that she was in no way romantically involved with her boss. Her mother said that she believed her.

Spencer's wife called and spoke to him, he denied the rumours emphatically but, given past experience she did not believe him, a cold reception waited for him when he got home. The alleged affair made the TV news magazine programs and rumours of Spencer's previous dalliances reared their ugly head, as a result several calls were received from business partners withdrawing their financial support. The rot had set in.

In a bizarre twist the former directors of Fremont Exploration, with help from others, launched a daring raid on TransGlobal whose shares had plummeted in a matter of weeks and were hovering below parity. Despite his best efforts Spencer Fawcett was faced with the proposition of having to sit in a meeting where he was faced with the only option that he had presented to companies himself, sell or die. His anger was causing his staff to run scared, afraid to do or say anything that would incur his wrath. TransGlobal was no longer a happy place to work. The only person who seemed impervious to the destruction was Heidi, she floated around the building with nary a care to weigh her down.

"How can you remain so calm when everything is crashing down around us?" Spencer asked her.

"What's the point of getting angry, nothing's achieved is it? If you remain calm you are more likely to find a solution than if you lurch from one crises to another. Why don't we sit down and take stock of the situation and see if we can't come up with an answer."

"What do you suggest is the starting point?"

"Okay, what precipitated this whole episode?"

"I don't know!"

"Think about it, a certain journalist just happened to find us in a restaurant having dinner, and just happened to be outside my place when you kissed me. The question that you have to ask is; how did he know we'd be there at that restaurant at that time, someone must have told him, someone who had an axe to grind, and someone who knows you and where you go. Start thinking, your business associates, who among them would have that knowledge?"

"Where do I start, there are any number who aren't entirely happy with me for one reason or other." He was starting to think that maybe his method of acquiring wealth may not have been morally acceptable to many of his associates.

"What about Margaret, have you done anything that would cause her to react in this way?" Margaret was Spencer's long suffering wife.