Discretion's Reward

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July 1973

Wearing a light blue denim shirt and a darker pair of jeans, Jack Buchanan stood in front of the old prewar apartment building on the corner of East 80 Street and York Ave, trying to figure out which set of windows might belong to apartment 9C. It was a silly thing to do, the short haired nineteen year old realized, as he didn't even know if the apartment overlooked the main street. But if it did, he wondered if someone might be looking down in search of him, wondering if he was actually going to show up.

The doorman in front of the building had given him several inquisitive looks during the nearly half hour he'd been standing there, but so far the older man hadn't approached him to inquire if he had business here. Running his hand through his dark hair one last time before stepping toward the entrance, his thoughts flashed back to the two months before and the events that had led him here.

-=-=-=-

He'd just about reached the end of his first year of college, and to say that his initial foray into higher education had been less than stellar would've been a generous understatement. Oh, he'd managed to squeak by and not actually fail anything, but the effort to do so had been more exhausting than he'd expected. As a result, Jack had been looking forward to a few months of taking it easy and recharging his batteries.

Unfortunately, his father, who was the maître d at La Promenade Impériale, one of Manhattan's most exclusive eateries, had other plans for Jack's summer. Only reluctantly footing his school bill, the elder Buchanan felt that if his son wasn't spending his day attending classes, then he should be working. And in order to facilitate that, he'd arranged a summer job for him at the restaurant.

Months before, during the semester break, Jack had worked at the restaurant as a busboy in order to earn some extra cash. It had been, he felt, the hardest money he'd ever earned. So much so that just the thought of spending the next few months repeating the experience was enough to send him into a frightened panic.

He'd desperately appealed to his mother for help, but the best she could do was convince his father to let him first try and find alternate employment on his own. As Jack quickly discovered, this was easier said than done, given his late start. Every position he inquired about had already been long filled, and after two weeks of disappointments, it seemed as if he was doomed to a summer of drudgery.

Then, only a week before term's end, a ray of sunlight pierced the dark clouds. Ryan Taylor, a classmate he'd befriended, told him about a summer position that had just become available. Actually, it had been the one he'd originally secured for himself, but was now passing on in favor of an overseas trip with his grandfather. If Jack was interested, Ryan was sure he could get him an interview with the guy who ran the program.

"I gotta warn you, though, Jack, it's not much of a job," Ryan had said. "The pay isn't much more than minimum wage, and it's really not interesting work."

"I don't care if it's shoveling up shit after the elephants in the circus," Jack had replied. "It's gotta be better than cleaning tables, doing dishes, hauling out trash and whatever else my father can come up with for me to do."

So, two days later, Jack found himself in the office of Joshua Warren, deputy director of personnel at the Municipal Museum of Art. At first, the balding sixty-five year old didn't seem all that impressed with Jack, pointing out early in the interview that, by all rights, he'd really should've just called the next name on the waiting list and offered them the job. But, he then added, Ryan's grandfather was an old friend and the assistant director owed him enough favors that he'd agreed to at least meet Jack.

Jack hadn't realized that Ryan had gotten his grandfather, who he had been named after, to call about the job. Yet, in thinking about it, it only made sense. Who was going to listen to a nerdy twenty year old with grades almost as poor as Jacks?

"How do you know Ryan Taylor?" Joshua asked, glancing again at the slim resumé that Jack had submitted with his application.

"Well, I don't actually know Mr. Taylor, at least not the one that you're referring to," Jack replied. "I go to school with his grandson; he was the one that told me about the job."

"I see," Joshua said in a noncommittal tone.

The job, he went on to explain, really didn't have a set list of responsibilities. It was carried on the books as a clerk/messenger's position he said, but that was only because wage slave really wouldn't look good on an organizational chart.

Jack didn't laugh at the man's attempt at humor, but he did at least give him a smile.

Pleased with his wit, Joshua expanded on what Jack would be expected to do, that he would be a sort of floater, filling in for regular employees as they went on vacation. And since he was a new hire, while most of the summer staff were returning from previous years, he would most likely wind up with the crappiest assignments.

From the way he was presenting it, Jack felt that Joshua was trying to discourage him from taking the job by making it seem really terrible. That way, he could satisfy any obligation to his friend and still hire whoever was next on the list when Jack turned it down. Whoever that was, it was doubtless someone else that was owed a favor. That was just the way it worked, Jack realized.

Which was ironic, he thought, because the reason Ryan called Jack about the job in the first place was because the older student had owed him a favor. The awkward redhead was somewhat socially inept when it came to girls and was still a virgin. On learning this, Jack had set him up with Peggy McGuire, who he'd known in high school. Not exactly the kind of girl you brought home to meet the parents, she'd been known to her classmates as 'all the way Peg,' and the large breasted brunette had done wonders for Ryan's confidence. Of course, that wasn't something that Jack thought he should share with the man behind the desk.

'Most of our summer hires," Joshua continued when he saw that Jack hadn't lost interest, "are art majors, willing to put up with a lot of crap in the hope of making future connections that'll help them in the future. Since I don't see anything like that in your background, I have to wonder why you'd want a job like this?"

Jack thought about it for a few seconds, trying to decide what answer might impress the interviewer. But then, deciding that he probably wasn't going to hire him anyway, he went with the truth.

"Because the alternative to being a wage slave here would be to be one at La Promenade Impériale. My dad is the maître d and believe me, that would be much worse than anything here. If I really did hate it here, at least here I'd have the option of quitting."

The answer amused the director. Jack was, he now felt, a refreshing change from the steady stream of sycophants he usually had to deal with. Rising from his chair, Joshua leaned across his desk and, offering his hand, welcomed Jack to the Municipal Museum of Art.

It didn't take Jack long to learn that while Joshua had exaggerated a bit about how boring and tedious the job could be, he hadn't done so by much. Still, even at its worst, it was better than being at La Promenade Impériale with his dad watching his every move. Over the next few weeks, Jack completed his assignments diligently, if unenthusiastically, and no one really seemed to have a problem with him. At least not until last Friday, which was how he found himself back in the personnel office almost a week later.

'I'm going to get fired for sure,' Jack thought as he sat on one of the hard wooden chairs, watching a steady stream of people go in and out of the inner offices, awaiting his turn.

It didn't help matters that the secretary sitting across from him, Doris Meyers, had been wearing a look of smug satisfaction since he'd arrived. The stern looking sexagenarian liked to say she'd been at the museum since Roosevelt was president, and was known for not liking change. More than a few people wondered if she was referring to FDR or Teddy, but none had been brave enough to ask. In her opinion, which she gave freely and often, Jack shouldn't have been hired in the first place. She preferred the more artistic types who usually got the job.

The hands on the wall clock showed a quarter to twelve when the intercom on her desk buzzed and Jack heard a voice that definitely wasn't Mr. Warren's, saying that Doris could send him in now. The voice had been that of a woman, and a look of confusion filled the young man's face until Doris identified it as that of Abigail Porter, the head of personnel.

'God, I'm fucked!' Jack thought as he rose from the chair and headed for the office on the left that the secretary indicated.

-=-=-=-

"Have a seat, Mr. Buchanan," Abigail Porter said as the young man stepped into the office.

The room itself seemed a mirror image of the one to the right of the reception desk where he'd had his initial interview. Even the furniture was identical, with the exception of the chair behind the desk. High backed and well padded, it was probably a perk of the higher position Jack thought. In that chair sat a middle aged woman with short blonde hair.

As he sat down, Jack wondered why he was seeing the head of personnel rather than Joshua Warren, who was nominally in charge of the summer program. In fact, if they were simply going to fire him, there were at least half a dozen people further down the chain who could've done it with much less fanfare.

'Omigod,' Jack gasped as a terrifying thought suddenly filled his head. 'What if I'm financially responsible for the damage? If that's the case, I can kiss off going back to college.'

"Are you all right, Mr. Buchanan?" Abigail asked, noting the look of discomfort on his face.

"Yeah, I mean, yes, ma'am," Jack replied. "I guess I'm just a little nervous, that's all."

"Well, there's no need to be nervous, Jack," Abigail said as a small smile formed at the corner of her mouth. "You don't mind if I call you Jack, do you? I was told that you prefer that to John."

"Jack is fine," he replied.

"Good," Abigail said, her smile growing larger as she got up from behind the deck and walked around it, taking a seat on the edge, only a few feet away from Jack. "I wanted to have a talk with you about what happened on Friday."

'Oh well, the job was good while it lasted,' Jack thought.

There was an aura of authority around the woman in the dark blue business suit, despite the fact that, by his guess, she was only five four and a hundred and sixteen pounds. One which might also be described as intimidating. Yet, at the same time, she seemed to be going out of the way to put Jack at ease, speaking to him in a casual manner that seemed out of place given the situation.

"You've been here what, six weeks now?" Abigail inquired. "Do you like it?"

"It's okay," Jack replied, trying to keep his eyes focused on her face and not her breasts, which were pressed tight against the white blouse under her jacket. Breasts that, while not particularly large, fitted her form well.

"I understand that you were recommended for your position by Ryan Taylor," Abigail said as she reached back onto the desk and picked up a manila folder, from which she withdrew the single sheet that comprised Jack's personnel file.

"I'm afraid I've never even met Mr. Taylor," Jack corrected her. "I'm a friend of his grandson."

"Ah yes, now I remember," she said. "Joshua told me he was quite impressed by your honesty as to why you wanted this job. I worked for my uncle during my own college days, so I quite understand your reluctance to work for family."

Jack didn't comment about her understanding, but her mention of Ryan Taylor made him think he now understood why the director of personnel was involved in what should've been a simple matter. He wasn't sure why, but it was obvious that Mr. Taylor was someone of importance to the museum, and as such they were concerned that firing someone he'd recommended, however indirectly, might cause him offense.

"Look, Mrs. Porter, if you're worried that I'm going to complain to Mr. Taylor that you fired me I'm not...." Jack started to say, only to be interrupted in mid-sentence.

"You think I had called you in here to fire you?" Abigail said, amusement in her tone.

"Didn't you?" Jack inquired.

"Young man, if my intention was to fire you, it wouldn't have taken this long to do so," she stated, her tone abruptly becoming more authoritative, "and I certainly wouldn't have had to do it personally."

That certainly made sense, Jack realized. As she had said, the incident took place last Friday, and today was Wednesday. It had greatly surprised him that no one had said anything about it when he'd come in on Monday, or even yesterday.

"Then why am I here?" Jack asked.

"Simple curiosity, I guess," Abigail replied, her tone again becoming much softer. "I wanted to hear your version of the accident."

"Mr. Reese had me fill out an incident report," Jack stated.

"Yes, I read it," Abigail, "but I'd still like to hear it from you directly."

"There's not much to tell," Jack said. "I dropped the packaging crate and the vase inside it got broken. It's that simple."

"Why don't you start from the beginning and let me decide?" Abigail stated. "Take your time."

Jack took a breath and began his story with the fact that he'd been assigned to central receiving last Friday, and about eleven o'clock a small crate came in that was marked for the attention of the director of acquisitions. He'd checked with Mr. Reese, his supervisor for the day, and was told that he should call down to Mr. Donaldson's office, which was in the basement. Then he, or his assistant, Roy Collins, would come up and pick up the package. The problem was, that after almost fifteen minutes of trying, neither had answered the phone.

Mr. Reese said they'd probably gone out for an early lunch, which he himself was planning to do as well. Protocol called for any packages to be delivered before going out, so he told Jack to take a cart and take the crate down to the acquisitions lab himself.

Abigail listened intently, nodding her head as if to acknowledge that his story so far agreed with what she had been told by other parties.

"The crate wasn't that heavy, but not wanting to take any chances, I took one of the larger carts," Jack continued. "I had no problem with it on the elevator, but when I got to the lab the double doors were locked, and the cart was too wide to fit through the single one, which wasn't."

"So what did you do?" Abigail asked.

Jack hesitated. Up until that point, he had only done what he'd been told to do, so he couldn't really be blamed for anything. It was his decision at that point that shifted fault onto him.

"Well, like I said, the crate wasn't all that heavy," he finally said, "so I left the cart out in the hall and carried it in by hand."

"Using the single door, which was open," Abigail said, as if to confirm the obvious.

Now it was Jack who nodded.

"Did you ever consider using that door to go into the lab and unlock the double doors from the inside?" she unexpectedly asked.

"No, that didn't occur to me," Jack said, wishing like hell it had.

"It was just a thought," Abigail said, "but please go on."

Jack took another deep breath and did so.

"Like I said, that door wasn't locked, but the lights were off, so I had to balance the crate with one hand while I reached out to turn on the light switch with the other," Jack continued, his voice again becoming hesitant.

"And...?" Abigail asked.

"I... I dropped the box," Jack said.

"What made you drop the box?" Abigail asked.

"I guess I was startled by the lights when they came on and I lost my hold on it," Jack said, again with notable hesitation.

"You were startled by the lights?" Abigail repeated.

"Yes," Jack confirmed.

"But you were the one that turned on the lights. Why would they startle you?" Abigail further inquired.

"They just did," Jack insisted, a firmness in his tone suggesting that he didn't want to elaborate further.

"Okay, let's see if I've got this all straight," Abigail said. "You got to the lab and the delivery doors were locked, but the single door was open. The shipping crate wasn't as heavy as you thought, so you decided to just carry it in yourself. Then, when you turned on the lights, you got startled and that was when you dropped the box. Have I missed anything?"

"No, that's what happened," Jack insisted.

Abigail paused for a few long moments before saying anything else, time in which to give the young man in front of her a chance to amend or add to his story. When it was clear that he wasn't going to do so, she asked him what he did next.

"I ran back to tell Mr. Reese what happened," Jack replied. "He hadn't left yet. Then he and I went back downstairs so he could see the damage for himself."

"And that was when you finally found Mr. Donaldson and Mr. Collins," Abigail stated, "back from wherever they had been spending their lunch hour."

"Yes, Ma'am," he confirmed in a somewhat louder voice.

Although her face didn't reflect it, Abigail knew Jack was lying, or at least being selective with the truth. Normally, that was something that she found unacceptable, but given the complete circumstances, she actually felt a bit of admiration for the young man. He was willing to risk his job to do what he thought was the right thing.

"Are you sure that there's nothing else that you want to add?" she finally asked him directly.

"No, Ma'am," he replied.

"Not even if I told you that Brian Donaldson called me in a panic on Friday evening and gave a slightly different version of events?"

"I don't understand," Jack replied.

"A version that included a few pertinent details that you seemed to have elected to leave out," she added. "So are you absolutely certain that there's nothing else you wanted to add?"

Jack didn't say anything. Instead he just sat there wondering what Mr. Donaldson could have said.

'Well, if you won't say it, I guess I will," Abigail said as she lifted herself off the edge of the desk and moved closer to Jack's seat. "That when you flicked on the switch, it wasn't the sudden brightness that caused you to lose your hold on the package, it was what the light revealed."

As Abigail continued, the memory from that afternoon reemerged from the lockbox Jack had assigned it to. How he had walked in on the forty-six-year-old department head, pressed up against one of the work tables with his pants down around his ankles. Draped across the bench table was his similarly half-clothed twenty-two-year-old assistant, upon whom he was committing what was usually described as an act of sodomy.

"Why did you lie?" she asked Jack.

"I didn't really lie," Jack proposed. "I just left out some parts of it."

"Ah, so you were just prevaricating," Abigail noted.

The word was unfamiliar to Jack, so Abigail had to rephrase the statement. Jack then nodded.

"Why?" she again asked.

"I didn't want to get Mr. Donaldson in trouble," Jack replied. "He's been nice to me."

"Nice to you?" Abigail inquired, the inflection of her words carrying the real question behind them.

It took Jack a moment to pick up on that, but once he did, he quickly clarified what he'd meant.

"Not like that," he said firmly. "I just meant that he didn't treat me like most of the other employees did. He talked to me like I was a person, not just some nameless flunky."

"I see," Abigail said. "But still, you'd take the blame for the loss of a valuable artifact just because someone else can't keep his dick in his pants, or at least have the common sense to make sure the door was locked?"