The Morrisons Ch. 23

Mary said, "Yes, Ted left a copy of it in the office."

Joanna replied, "Ok, I'll go get dressed first and then stop by there and pick up the radio and write the address on a piece of paper."

Joanna scurried upstairs and selected her favorite pink shorts and her pink tank top. She slipped on her sneakers, grabbed her backpack off the floor and set it on the bed. She opened it and took a visual inventory of everything that was in there. She noted that she wanted to put one of the smaller towels in there before she left.

Joanna picked up her backpack and went downstairs to the office. Mary was in there with a copy of Simpson's new address. Joanna set her backpack down on the desk and walked out of the office and pulled two of the smaller towels out of the cupboard. When she got back to the office she moved her pistol belt to one side and slid the two towels down the other side.

Mary gave Joanna a big hug and said, "Today's going to be hell for you with all those people coming in and out. If you need any help, call here and I'll come over and help you."

Joanna looked into Mary's eyes and said, "Thank you for everything, I really do appreciate it."

Joanna picked the radio out of the charger and slipped it in the outside pocket of her backpack. Lastly, she picked up the keys for the car and both of them left the office. Mary followed Joanna to the front door and locked it once she was outside. Joanna opened the car door, reached in and put the key in the ignition. She turned on the car and put the windows down so it would cool off.

Joanna sat down in the car for a moment before she put it in gear and drove down the driveway. Her trip to the Simpson's house was uneventful. A couple of blocks away from the Simpson's house Joanna picked up her radio and pushed the talk button, "Spotlight, in approximately two minutes I'll be arriving at your location."

A few seconds later her radio came to life saying, "10-4, we are processing some arrivals now."

Joanna arrived and parked her car in front of the house across the street. She saw a van with the moving company's name on it and four people standing on the sidewalk. Joanna gathered her back pack and radio before she got out of her car. As an afterthought Joanna locked her car. She walked across the street and she heard one of the guys say, "Who the fuck do they think they are? We're here to do a job and they're fucking around."

Joanna walked up the sidewalk towards the house when the guy called out, "Hey you can't go in there, the fucking cops are flexing their muscles."

Joanna turned around and walked back to the man before she pulled her badge out of her back pack and said, "I am one of those cops. We have to work together all day so there's no reason to start off on the wrong foot. Besides, you don't really want me to flex my muscles. If I did, I'll certainly embarrass you in front of your two female co-workers. Now please quiet down and wait for the officers to finish their job."

The man stared at Joanna before he said, "Look I'm sorry. It's just that we came here to do a job and they said they have to run us before we can go into the house. What's the big deal?"

"I'm not at liberty to tell you why we're here but the fact that we are, should be enough to know you are going to be part of an important move and not just someone who hires your company to move them." Joanna said.

The guy scratched his head, "I never thought about it that way. I guess you're right. Thanks for explaining it in a different way."

Joanna turned and walked up to the front steps and knocked on the door. Tina came to the door wearing a white negligee that didn't hide anything. Joanna laughed saying, "Old habits are hard to break aren't they?" She stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"I really wanted to stay nude but when I saw the two guys, I decided to put this on and save a change of clothes for later." Tina replied.

"In case you haven't looked in a mirror since you put that on, I'll tell you, it doesn't hide any of your body parts." Joanna said with a giggle.

Tina retorted, "That's why I'm wearing this instead of that cotton one I used to wear before we started living as nudists."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Joanna turned around and opened the door. On the porch were the four people she'd passed on the sidewalk. Suddenly Joanna's radio broadcast, "All four of them check out."

Joanna stepped back and invited the four people into the house. When they stepped inside Joanna said, "Please give me your attention for a few moments. We are going to move this family today but you have to abide by a few rules you normally don't have."

"The first rule is you can't leave the door open when you come and go. There is a reason for this security level. Again, I'm not at liberty to explain it to you."

"Please let me know what you have to do so I won't have to interrupt you while you work." Joanna finished saying.

The guy who Joanna spoke to earlier said, "We brought boxes and packing material. What we do is go from room to room and pack everything in that room and label the boxes for that room. Normally we take a tour of the house first and get an idea of what we have before we start. If someone will give us a tour, we can get started. The movers will be here in a few hours."

Joanna turned and introduced Tina, "This is Tina, and she'll give you a tour."

The four packers introduced themselves and the two guys took their time to check out Tina's body. Tina led the packers through the house and when they finished they stood in the hallway and made a plan. The two guys went out to the van and brought in two dollies stacked with folded boxes. The packers were very professional and careful to use the upmost care. The morning progressed smoothly as the four packers did their job under more scrutiny than they've ever experienced before.

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When Beth and I came out of our meeting Kelly met us and directed us to go to our new offices. We walked into my new office, formally Tom Banks's office, I asked both Beth and Kelly to have a seat while I walked around behind my desk and sat down.

"Beth I need you to do some research on luxury resorts in Hawaii. What I want is a beach cottage type setting preferably a private type beach so we won't have other people hanging around. I'm not sure how many people just yet but see what you can find, with our arrival this Friday and our departure on Monday. I know it's short notice but see what you can find."

"Kelly, do you have the employee files on Taffy and Connie?" I asked.

"Yes sir, I have them on my desk, would you like me to go get them now?" Kelly inquired.

"Yes please, Kelly. Beth please call Jeff Simpson and have him come up to my office."

Both Kelly and Beth got up and walked out of my office. When they were gone I dialed the number that Tom Banks gave me. When he answered his phone I said, "Hi Tom, Dan here. Did you tell your wife we will be traveling this coming weekend?"

"Yes I did. She asked me where we were going, I told her I didn't know. Have you made reservations for us yet?" Tom asked.

"That's why I'm calling you Tom. You were always a private kind of guy and I never learned much about your family. I'd like to get some information from you now, if you don't mind. How many children do you have Tom?"

"I have a daughter and a son. My son is married and my daughter still lives at home." Tom responded.

"Ok, I have another question for you, a more personal question but please don't think I'm probing into your private business. Would it bother you to have Brenda and your family together? What I'm really asking is, is your wife and Brenda friends?"

Tom laughed and said, "Well, for the first time, Dan Morrison has been caught beating around the bush. What you really want to know is if Janet knows Brenda and I are or have been lovers isn't that right Dan?"

"Yes sir, that's exactly what I was alluding to." I answered.

"I'm not sure where this conversation is going Dan but I trust my instincts with you and will tell you the three of us have been romantically involved for a long time, just as I suspect you, Kim and Beth have been." Tom answered reservedly.

"Tom, I want you to invite your wife, son and his wife, daughter and Brenda for a weekend away to an undisclosed destination. All I know at this point is, we'll be leaving very early Friday morning and we'll be returning some time on Monday. Please call me back and let me know if all six of you will be able to go."

Tom said, "Still the mystery man, aren't you Dan. I'll call my son and check with him but I can tell you right now the rest of us will be available to travel."

"I'll be waiting to hear from you Tom. This is after all, a business trip so not only will we be meeting, our secretaries will also meet to share company business." I said with a firm voice.

Tom bid me goodbye and I told him goodbye.

I called Kim and told her about the trip and asked her to take Friday and Monday off. She informed me there wasn't a problem and she could make the trip. She went on to tell me since she got back from Germany she started giving more responsibilities to those who worked for her instead of doing it all herself. I asked her if she could call Jenna and ask her to take the time off also. We said our goodbyes and I told her I'd see her this afternoon when we picked her up.

I no sooner hung up the phone when I heard a knock on my door. I said, "Come in." and Kelly opened my door, walked over to my desk with two folders in her hand. She handed them to me and I asked, "Please have both girls come up and sit in your office. I want to get this settled quickly."

As Kelly was closing my door I opened the first folder which was Connie's file. After I had time to review both files I paged Kelly and asked her to bring both girls to my office. I paged Beth and asked her to come to my office. All four of them arrived at the same time so I stood up and walked around the desk to meet them.

"Before we sit down to talk, I want to try a little experiment. Beth, please lead the way to your office."

Once we were in Beth's office I said, "I want to view your closet."

Beth opened her closet and I walked in by myself leaving the women behind. I looked at the way the suits were hung. I was interested to see if all of them were organized and hung facing the same way. Then I opened Beth's drawers and looked at her folded clothes. I asked, "Who hung the suits and put the clothes in the drawers?"

Both Taffy and Connie responded, "We did it together."

"Is there something wrong with the clothes?" Taffy inquired.

I closed the drawers and exited Beth's closet. I motioned for everyone to follow me. I walked back to my office and over to my closet. Once again I went inside leaving the four women outside. I looked at all my suits before I opened each drawer and looked at the folded clothes. I exited the closet and asked all four ladies to please have a seat.

I sat for a few seconds without saying a word. Beth sat ready to take notes. "Do either of you have any idea what I did in each closet?"

"You checked to see if anything was missing?" Taffy guessed with a slight look of concern on her face.

Connie sat quietly and didn't respond, I looked at both of them before I said, "I looked to see what kind of job you did."

"Anyone can fold clothes but while I was in each closet I looked at the way the suits were hung. They are all uniformly hung facing the same direction. When I opened the drawers I noticed the clothes were folded neatly and put in the drawer in a uniform fashion. My boxers were all folded to the same size but that could have been because they have never been worn. However, Ms. Thompson's panties and bras were folded equally which unlike men's underwear, is much harder to do, as I'm sure both of you are aware."

"I need a couple of young people who pay attention to detail, who excelled in school, who would be willing to take night classes at our local community college. Those same young people would be reassigned to receptionist's duties with an opportunity for advancement. The candidates would have to wear business suits similar to those worn by Ms. Jones and Ms. Thompson. Before I go any further, I'd like to hear from both of you."

Connie sat wide eyed with her mouth slightly open. Finally she found her voice, "Mr. Morrison, Taffy and I were the ones who moved your clothes over to your and Ms. Thompson's closets. Both of us folded the clothes and put them away. We never thought someone would look at what we did."

"Yeah, we were only doing the job we were given." added Taffy.

"I would love to be a receptionist if I knew what all the duties entailed." Connie replied.

Beth said, "Let me help you get off the hook. Mr. Morrison is offering both of you an opportunity to move up from the job you currently have. Listen to him carefully and make a decision based on the information he's given you."

"I can't afford to go to college. I told you that this morning Mr. Morrison." Taffy offered.

"I can't afford to go either." Connie said in a quiet voice.

"I am going to start a program in this company where current employees will be given an opportunity to attend our local community college to better themselves. The program I'm going to introduce to the Board of Directors at our next meeting will cover the costs of both the courses and books for those who qualify. However there will be some very strict rules attached to the offer."

"The first and most important is you must complete a degree program that will benefit our company. There are several of them but accounting and business management are just a couple of quick examples."

"Secondly, we'll want the student to maintain passing grades."

"Thirdly, we will want each person who accepts our offer to sign a contract with our company for a period of four years. That's two years while you are taking courses and two years after you've graduated. That way both parties to this agreement will benefit."

"If a person drops out for any reason other than an emergency, then we'll expect to be reimbursed the full amount we've paid out." I leaned back in my chair and looked across my desk at both young ladies.

Taffy started by saying, "I want to make sure I heard you right Mr. Morrison. Are you saying we can learn to be receptionists for this company and go to college?"

"That's right." I agreed.

"And when we graduate we have to work for the company two additional years?" Connie queried.

"Oh, what happens if we can't afford to purchase business suits like Ms. Thompson and Ms. Jones are wearing?" Taffy asked

"Keep in mind, a receptionist makes more money than your currently salary. There's a shop, not far from here, where Ms. Thompson and I buy our suits. They have quality suits, at very reasonable prices. If we were to take you there, I'm sure I could talk the owner into making an account for each of you. That way you can pay on your purchases, weekly or monthly, at the store so there wouldn't be any interest, unless of course, you fell behind in your payments. They have a tailor in the store who will tailor your suit to fit you. You would most likely need at least two suits, some blouses and shoes."

"Ms. Thompson is he really serious or is he playing with us like they do downstairs?" Taffy asked.

"I can answer that for you Taffy. When you get to know me and I assure you, both of you will get to know me very well, I never make an offer I'm not serious or committed to follow through. The most important thing you need to know about me is I never make an offer a second time, so consider what I've said carefully."

"May we talk to Ms. Thompson for a few minutes before we give you an answer?" Taffy asked.

"Yes you may. Ms. Thompson, please take both young ladies to your office and answer any questions they may have."

"By the way, did Jeff Simpson come upstairs yet?"

Beth replied, "When I called him he said he was right in the middle of a project and would be up in about ten minutes. He might be out in Kelly's office now."

I looked at Kelly "Kelly, will you please see if Jeff is in your office? If he is, please send him in."

A few seconds after Kelly left my office my phone rang. When I picked it up, I heard Kelly say, "Jeff Simpson is coming in to see you sir."

The door opened slowly and I got up to meet Jeff. He shook my hand and congratulated me again on my promotion. I asked him how he made out with the phone company.

"Dan, they can turn my phone off in the old house today but that would leave Tina without a phone in case something happens so I figured I'd wait and talk to you." Jeff reported.

"Don't worry about Tina and the kids. I have Joanna on duty over there today. She's going to stay all day until the movers leave your new house. She's got her radio so if there's any problem she'll be able to radio for help."

"Dial the number for the phone company and let me talk to them."

Jeff dialed the number, identified himself and when they pulled up his account he said, "I have someone who wants to make changes to my account and I authorize him to do it."

I took the phone and identified myself. I immediately asked for the person's supervisor. When the supervisor got on the phone, I identified myself again before I told her what I needed to have done. She had to talk to Jeff so I put him on the phone so he could verify his identity. Jeff handed the phone back to me and I listened to the supervisor ramble on. Finally I interrupted her and said, "I know some things about phones and how they work. I know it's a simple matter to get Jeff Simpson's phone switched to the new address. I'd appreciate it if you and I can make it happen and then I won't have to have the district attorney get involved."

At my mention of the district attorney the supervisor's attitude changed. She wanted to know why he would be involved. I told her it was a matter of security and that's all I was at liberty to tell her. She attempted to ask a few more questions but I told her all she needed to know is the switch from one house to the other was necessary for security purposes.

Within a few minutes the supervisor and I worked out the details where a crew would be dispatched within a half hour to turn off the phone in the old house and turn it on in the new house. I thanked her for her cooperation. We said our goodbyes and I hung up.

I looked at Jeff who was sitting in front of me staring, I asked, "What's the matter Jeff?"

"Nothing, nothing at all. I'm still amazed how you get business done when others struggle without success." Jeff countered.

"Jeff, you have to say the right words at the right time. It's like a game of Chess. Do you play Chess Jeff?"

"No sir I don't." Jeff replied.

"It's a game of concentration, anticipation and making the right move at the right time." I said with a huge smile on my face.

I pulled out my wallet, took thirty dollars out and handed the money across the desk to Jeff. He questioned me what it was for and I told him since his house would be in an uproar when he got home, he should stop and pick up something for dinner so they didn't have to cook. He thanked me several times. I told him I had to get back to work so Jeff stood up and shook my hand before he left my office.

I was alone for all of five minutes when I heard Beth ask if it was ok to come back in. I motioned for them to come in and have a seat. When they were seated I waited for someone to say something.

The silence was broken by Taffy, "Mr. Morrison, when we met this morning, I never would have thought I'd be considering a different position before the day was over. I want to thank you for this opportunity you've offered."

"Furthermore, I'd like to accept your offer to move to a receptionist position. I'm also interested in taking advantage of that program when you get it started. I'd love the opportunity to take night classes and work during the day."