Berglund's Pt. 01

I am from the 7th largest city in my state. Population of 350k. We are not a tourist trap, but we have lots of work. Shipyards, trainyards, shipping, aerospace, construction, housing. We are growing like crazy. My family has lived here for several generations. I have old school black and white pictures that show most of the city before it grew up.

My first job when I was 15 1/2 years old was working at Berglund's grocery. All the locals call it Berglund's even though it closed 20 years ago. It was the largest grocery store in the area, for its time it was huge, and it had everything. Now it would be somewhat typical in size for Walmart, Sears, Safeway, Costco.

But back then the place was a destination to go shop at.

I worked at Berglund's for one summer. I realized I made less than half as much money as my buddies who were doing construction, running equipment, or really anything else. The only benefit I saw was you got to work with beautiful women. There weren't many beautiful women digging in the mud, laying concrete pipe for sewer mains, running electrical lines in housing projects, or laying down roofs in 120-degree heat.

My whole reason for working was to make money to pay for college. My family wasn't wealthy, but we all did pretty well.

My name is Mike. I'm 24 years old now.

When I was in college in 2006-2008 the great financial housing market collapse occurred. I was all ready to get my degree in construction management, hit the ground running, and start working at 200k a year. Everyone I knew that graduated ahead of me was already out there, working in the field, making great money. And then everything changed.

If big companies weren't building plats of 50-500 houses with low interest rates on their materials and low interest rates on people buying new homes, then their businesses wouldn't be making money.

So, I had to adjust my plans. A job fair of all places helped me adjust my plans.

A very nice, well dressed, and tall man named Trevor had a booth. Grocery management. The pay was 130k a year, no overtime, low stress, and was much easier then construction management. I was 3 months from graduation and 1 week of break was coming up in between sessions. We chatted and he invited me to "shadow" a local manager for a week. They would pay all costs like gas, food, lodging, etc.

I took the offer and was off and running.

2 years later and I work in my hometown. Grocery management is not my dream job, it pays very well even for a first-time job right out of college, but I have the opportunity to move up to regional manager, and even higher if I wanted to.

I am now in the Berglund's store. The store is old, massive, the grounds are crazy. Crumbling sidewalks, concrete parking lot breaking down, planters overgrown, the store itself falling apart, and it was all my job "to get it done" as cheap as possible.

My office was upstairs overlooking the checkout area. Mirrored glass made it easy to look down and see any issues with checkout lines or what not. Again, in old school times before there were cameras. I had several line managers and assistant managers overlooking their respective areas, but I was in charge of the big picture. I wore a suit every day, but I had several changes of clothing in my office. Why? Well, I have lots of experience in construction. Electrical, plumbing, concrete, siding, roofing, carpentry, cabinets, pressure washing, dirt work, landscaping. What extra time I had I would use to help other employees with repairs and making the place look nice.

Every dollar I could not spend on someone else doing the work made my bottom line look better.

After being transferred here my grandfather died. I was the only grandchild that he liked so he left me his house, shop, and belongings. No real cash to speak of but he had some really nice old cars that needed a lot of work. A shop that was usable and not full of junk. The house itself was quite big, a nice big 4-acre lot, lots of green grass, and most of the neighborhood was old school like his. 25 or so neighbors with 4-acre parcels or bigger.

Everyone agreed to not chop up the neighborhood and build 5 houses to an acre.

The best part was it was only 10 blocks from Berglunds. I could walk to work in 20 minutes on a bad day with snow. On a good day with sun, I could be at work in 15 minutes.

I never did mention my favorite part about being in charge. Hiring employees. I needed a mix of hard workers, the kind that showed up religiously, and the kind that were not problematic.

Nah. I only hired hot women and skinny dorky guys that had no chance with their coworkers. Would you rather work somewhere with nasty old snaggle tooth fat women or hot women? If you are hiring only hot women, then the men will follow suit and either want to transfer or hire on. I only hired nerdy or dorky guys that had zero chance with the women. Master plan!

I have been working for the company for 2 years and 4 months. 4 months in at Berglund's and I was given notice of a mandatory transfer. My store was #1 and an assistant manager was being sent over to "learn from me."

The moment she walked in I knew her. Victoria. We went to the same schools since elementary. Her family was rich, powerful, well off, and she was popular in high school. She dated and likely married some pro-football player. But what was she doing here?

Even at 24 she looked great. Long blonde hair, nice tits, and athletic body. She was hotter than all the other women I had handpicked.

She was greeted by everyone at the morning meeting with friendly smiles, handshakes, and hugs.

I played it off like I did not know who she was. We were not close friends and had not run in the same circles. Pretty easy to not know someone when our city had 3 high schools and a graduating class of 1,000.

Victoria introduced herself at the meeting. She never mentioned her history, her family, or much really. Oddly enough she had always been very proud of her wealth, power, and status.

I shook her hand, introduced myself like we were strangers, and we continued with the day.

Cooperate had made new changes to the dress code. A roar of displeasure throughout the group. My trademark approach was to let them vent, say their piece, act like I am listening, act like I care, and then move on to the original plan.

We would now be like Star Trek. Your job title determines the color of your polo shirt. No more name tags that break and go missing. Your name is embroidered on your shirt with years of service stars over your name. 3 years equals 1 star.

For the first 6 months of the new uniforms 5 seamstress were hired, they would be set up using managements' breakroom and lounge as their office and work area. The office is right next to me. All uniforms are free, all embroidery done on site, all alterations also done on site while you wait.

5 very nice Vietnamese seamstress were introduced and were met with great approval.

I ended the meeting and we all got back to work. Victoria followed me to my office like a lonely puppy. My office is large, I have a large old oak desk, several bookshelves, 4 huge couches for meetings, and a separate large conference room with a large table for formal meetings that can easily fit 40 people. My own private bathroom and closet made my place almost an apartment. No open glass walls, no thin particle board walls. This place was made of oak paneling, sturdy, and soundproof. Old school construction that was built tough.

I even had an old school bar full of crystal decanters and glasses. All full of colored water to look like alcohol. I was still young in this business and times had changed. Drinking at work was not as tolerated as it was in the 40's and 50's.

Victoria followed me into my office and was talking about work. She stopped when she saw the full extent of my office and stated, "Nice office. It's huge!"

I walked her around and explained it was an old school office and had never been updated since it was Berglund's grocery. Victoria did several cartwheels, twirls, and pranced around like she used to during her cheerleading days.

My management style was to stay calm, not yell, and be firm with my posture and stare with my eye contact. So, I scowled at Victoria while trying to tell her it was not okay to be doing cartwheels in her manager's office.

Victoria caught on instantly, apologized, and sat in a chair in front of my desk.

We discussed work history, work goals, and where she wanted to be in 5 years. Without me prodding into her personal life she explained some issues. Her millionaire father was caught bribing government officials, he was caught embezzling, defrauding, and went to prison for 30 years. Her mother was broken, addicted to drugs, and went to Europe never to be seen or heard from again. Victoria bounced from boyfriend to boyfriend while living with them and working in dead end jobs trying to always make more money and move up.

Pretty difficult with her family history and lack of education. But from looking at her evaluations for the last 3 years she had been doing great.

At the end of our meeting Victoria shook my hand and walked out. A picture of the original "Berglunds Grocery" sign in a black and white picture hung on my wall. A handwritten date in blue ink on the corner indicated June of 1948. It was the opening day.

"Is that big old sign still in the parking lot? Is that why there is that old nasty fencing and 10-foot-tall hedges?" Victoria stated.

'I'm not sure. It's on my list of improvements.' I stated. The picture showed 5 tall flag poles behind the signage and large lights mounted around them to keep them illuminated at all times.

The spot is right in the front parking lot. 30 yards wide and 15 yards deep. 10-12-foot-tall hedges wrap around the whole thing blocking visibility. Makeshift aluminum security fencing was erected around the whole area. No tall flag poles standing today.

On the back side there is a gate with chain and a padlock.

The spot was my next item on my improvement list. I locked my door and changed my clothes. My go to guy for maintenance was Sam. Skinny, hardworking, and emo.

I called Sam on his work phone, and we headed out to the parking lot. They shabby segments of aluminum fencing were still in place. A padlock but no key. This was likely set up 10 years or more in the past. Sam pulled out two pliers and some weird thin pieces of aluminum cut from a soda can.

'What's this?' I asked.

"Uh. Well. It's hard to explain. You won't hold it against me, will you?" Sam stated.

'No. Of course not.' I told him honestly.

"Well, me and my best friends were hoodlums and criminals starting at the age of 12. We would pick locks, climb ductwork, or pipes and get into places under construction. At first it was just because we were interested and wanted to run around. I got good at picking locks, and I learned how to shim padlocks." Sam stated while she slid two pieces of thin aluminum down the locking arm of the padlock.

After 10 seconds and a little twisting the lock popped open.

"I went for fun, to trespass, and look around. My friends began breaking things, damaging electrical wiring, and stealing trucks and tools. I stopped hanging around with them and a couple of years later they got into serious trouble and were caught. They were charged with 10 or more counts of burglary. But I still was good at picking locks."

We opened the chain and the fence. It wasn't really held together by much. Mostly just tension.

A 12-inch-wide gap between the hedges set at an angle. Pushing through the branches and 3 feet later you were in the middle of the large hedge. No signage, no flagpoles, nothing. I expected a hidden homeless camp, mounds of garbage. Kind of a letdown really.

And Sam even said what was on my mind, "Really? Nothing? Kind of a waste of space. Isn't it?"

Nothing work related came to mind, but the area did need to be cleaned up and made to look presentable. My goal each week was to help the ground crew weed eat, pressure wash, paint, and do other things so we could look our best. This spot was going to be my personal project.

'Can you run back and buy me a new padlock? A combination one.' I asked Sam.

5 minutes later and I had the fencing secured. I tasked the ground crew with pressure washing the outside, the curb, and all the parking areas. The hedges would need to be trimmed and the fencing made secure.

A quick call to a buddy named John and he came out to take a look. "Simple enough fix. We drill holes in the curb, mount the fence you got, and fill it with epoxy. Then we weld these brackets together. It's a 3-day job. I'll charge you 5k. Friends and family discount."

'Done.' I told him. I even helped him write up the bid to make it look more professional. Anything under 10k did not need approval from anyone above me.

The month of April started a week later. The seamstresses had set up changing booths with Sam's assistance on one end of their office with curtains for privacy. Employees could try on their new clothes several times in privacy and have them adjusted as needed without having to leave.

I went to my office on the first day of the new uniforms.

What no one knew was my office and closet backed up to the seamstress's work area. They had arranged the fitting rooms to back up to a mirrored wall. No need to buy mirrors if you just need to set up 2 walls and a curtain. What they didn't know was the mirror was not just a mirror. I slid open a wood panel and I could see the break room. It was likely used to spy on assistant managers in the break room. To see who took to long.

Or what was now the changing room. Not my doing, not my orders, but I would take advantage of it. Like I said. I only hired the best-looking female employees.

And of course, Victoria was the first one to be measured and fitted.

She stood in the fitting room, her large cheap bra trying its best to hold back her large D-cup tits. She had a bit of a tummy, but she looked great. It was an odd sensation looking at her in the eyes while she did not see me and could not hear me. Victoria and the seamstress on the other side taking measurements, pulling on the fabric, and making adjustments.

I pulled out my cell phone, turned off the flash setting, and waited for a good picture. Victoria turned, gazed at herself, and posed. A PG-13 picture of Victoria in her bra was kind of hot. But still, it was an old cheap bra. Not see through and it likely covered more than a normal bikini top.

Victoria got dressed and the next employees were up. Round after round until I called the head seamstress to my office. I also called Victoria as my model. I asked how the new uniforms were coming, if the employees were acting appropriately, and I asked to see them. Victoria changed in my bathroom and came out. A dark navy blue polo shirt, her name on her upper left chest with 1 gold star above her name.

'Well dang. I don't like how it is so baggy.' I stated.

I got up. Pulled on the polo shirt around Victoria's waist and below her breasts.

'Do you mind? I should have asked for your blessing first.' I stated.

"No. Be my guest." Victoria stated with a smile.

I showed the seamstress how I wanted the women's tops to be pulled in here and there. Women should look like women and men like men. Too baggy and the fit would be all wrong. Victoria agreed with me of course.

I also asked about custom made coveralls for the ground crew, mechanics, maintenance employees, and custom scotch guarded white coveralls for the meat cutters. The seamstress pulled out her pad and wrote it all down.

"What about pants?" she asked in a very heavy accent.

'Do you mind modeling for us again Victoria?' I asked. Waiting for her response.

"Nope. I don't mind. Go right ahead." She stated plainly as she rolled her shirt up, folded it over and tucked it in the elastic bra strap. Her bare stomach and back were on full display. Along with her perky firm ass and athletic legs.

'I want the material to look nice for those who will not be doing the hard work. They can have straight leg business attire. See here. The legs, the waist.' I stated as I dug my fingers in her waist band, pulled, stretched, and patted her thigh. A peak of some lacy pink underwear caught my eye. Victoria was not looking at me but staring up at the ceiling panels.

As I walked around her, I let my fingertips glide along her waist, trace her skin gently, and then hold onto her firmly. After several more measurements the seamstress stated she understood. I asked that Victoria be outfitted with a set of outdoor coveralls as well. She would be helping me work with the ground crew from time to time.

Victoria nodded her approval, untucked her shirt, and then they walked out of my office. I locked the door and went to my closet. Victoria and the seamstress entered the fitting room. New measurements were taken but this time while she was in her bra and panties only. Bent over, ass at the mirror, not much for showing of skin but still being a voyeur was quite erotic.

I went to the garden center and purchased 100 cotoneaster starter plants and 100 barberry starter plants. Cotoneaster grows low to the ground, likes shaded areas, and does well in wet or dry areas. Barberry grows slowly, it has the most vicious thorns of any plant, over an inch long, and will repel men or beasts.

Two bags of grass seed, one bag of fertilizer, and one bag of weed killer. I purchased a spreader and I set it all aside for the ground crew. It was almost spring, and I had plans for the signage area.

The next morning, I set the ground crew to mow, weed eat, plant, and fertilize the signage area. Immediately there was a surprise. An electrical box hidden in the hedge, water lines, and drain lines. They were all working, the electricity was still "hot", and it must have been there for the large lights. The crew mowed and planted the little plants. The cotoneaster was planted under the hedge. It would thicken up the area and make it denser below knee level. The barberry was planted every 4 feet on the outside. It would grow and intermingle with the hedge. Its thorns would stick out and deter anyone from trying to climb the fencing. It would like to take 2-3 years before the barberry grew to any usable height, but I was planning ahead.

I also bought a 8x8x8 foot storage shed. It was installed inside next to the electrical, water, and drain lines. I told the ground crew it would be used to house our tools. But electricity was added to charge battery powered tools, lights, and such. My plan was to add a refrigerator in the shed for drinks.

That night I drove my old Ford Expedition to the parking lot. It was a big black truck. Not lifted on big rims or tires but it looked oversized. So, I parked it at the entrance gate. Blocking it from view of the cameras. I made sure to let everyone know that I would keep it there so it would appear we had full-time security staff on site.

One of my office personnel even printed up some large white "SECURITY" decals for the back windows to make it look official. I rarely drove the Ford. It only got 5 miles to the gallon. Besides, I almost always walked to work even in bad weather.

After everything had been set up and a small apartment type refrigerator smuggled into the signage area and set up in the shed my new space was ready. Now I had the craziest idea. I needed to keep it a secret and make it impossible to look in.

Two updates. Camouflage netting and a security camera. The netting was easily accessible and set up in an hour under the blanket of darkness. The camera was not so simple. It was out of range of everything. 70 yards from the nearest building and no tall posts or trees to mount an antenna.

This was the hardest task of the call. I had to find blueprints that showed which conduit ran electrical from the sub panel all the way out to the signage area. Once I found it, I ran 2 CATV cables for security cameras. The hardest part was doing all this, in the back maintenance and electrical rooms, at night, and away from prying eyes. It took me 2 weeks. But I got it all ran, set up, hidden, and safe. I now had two hidden security cameras recording my spot.