Ingrams & Assoc 5: Personality Flaws Ch. 01

"Oh, you know. Family connections. My mother is a friend of the family. I've just got through a messy divorce and really needed a complete change. She needed a new PA. It's what I used to do back in Florida, so, we all thought, why not? It's not forever - I'm only around while her regular PA is on a sabbatical for a couple of months. It gives me a chance to get away and take stock of life, you know?"

It was her carefully worked out cover - it was all true about the PA. She'd been with the company for eight years, and she'd been given a surprise two-month sabbatical, to give April a way to slide into the role. The 'divorcee on her own' was her own touch.

Bernie nodded, and then saw another person at the bar, who he hurried off to serve. He returned two minutes later and picked up the conversation.

"Makes sense. I've been through it me-self. Wasn't fun. You have my sympathy. So, what can I tell you about Miss Rachael? Yeah, we all call her that. I've no real idea why. Well, she's gentle, got quite the accent. Tough as nails underneath though. The general contractor who did the interior of her place comes in here, regular, like. And he told me stories where she just wouldn't let up on him. Made he redo the kitchen twice, because it 'wasn't up to her ladyship's standards'." Bernie made air quotes as he said the last.

"Her fella - Major of some kind. Some Guards or other I think. I never really did know what he was in, when he was in the army. A man's man, that one. Strong guy, too. We did the tug of war every year at the fete, and he was always on the winning side. Never afraid to get his hands dirty. I can still see him standing outside puffing on that pipe of his." Bernie smiled.

"The one affectation he had. That pipe. I mean, who smokes a pipe in this day and age? But he'd do it every time he came in. 'Only time I'm allowed, old chap', he say, and then stand outside with a pint. It didn't matter if it was pissing down, he's be out there with his pint and the pipe and an umbrella."

"She disapproved, of course, but she loved him, so she let it slide. You could see it. They held hands when they went on walks. They made a big thing about snogging under the mistletoe, you know what I mean? She was one loved up lady, no question. You know, now I think about it, it's all damn queer, as the major would say. They were very in love. Quietly, like. Not loud or showy, apart from the odd snog, as I say. Just there for each other. They'd come in on New Year's Day, and sit there, her with her white wine and him with a pint of bitter, and just...be - Together."

Bernie was leaning on the bar, with both elbows, staring off into the distance.

"Now that I think about it, him running off like that. I mean, it's just weird. We never did get the whole story - just that he'd met someone else and legged it. She hasn't come in since, poor moo."

April knew a lot more than Bernie did - she'd read the dossier. But it was still interesting to get the outside perspective.

The basic story was that Rachael Hicks, and her husband Lee, had been happily married for almost thirty years. They'd met when her husband to be, Lee, had been a Lieutenant - or Leftenant, as they pronounced it here - in the Grenadier Guards. She'd been an administrative chemist working for Pfizer at the time, and they'd met at a coming out ball for one of Rachael's distant cousins. April had been amused to read that debutante balls actually still happened in the UK, where the upper class held coming out parties for their maturing girls - usually right after they'd returned from finishing schools in Switzerland or wherever - to 'be presented to society'. In actual fact, it was for the parents to advertise their offspring as marriable age, and to expose them to all the eligible bachelors, who would dance with them, and decide who to call on later to get a date. This still went on with the more well-to-do, old money and blue blood families in the UK, as it still does in the deep south of the US.

Rachael hadn't been sufficiently high born to have her own presentation, and she didn't care anyway. But her cousin was a distant relative of someone at some point who had some blue blood in them, so she was presented, and that's where Lee Hicks and Rachael Hooper had met.

It had been kismet. They dated for almost eighteen months before he popped the question. Lee Hicks had been career army, and was in for the long haul.

And all had been golden. There had been no children; Rachael had an equestrian accident when she was nineteen that resulted in an emergency hysterectomy. They exercised their interest in children by supporting and volunteering for multiple child related charities. Lee had even managed to persuade the army to allow children to come in for the Make a Wish Foundation, and had shown up at some events with a tank, for kids to ride around in.

Rachael went on to form her own pharmaceutical research company - Coladia -, and then, when she actually got a couple of drugs past testing with the MHRA - the British version of the US Food and Drug Administration - she moved into manufacturing. She'd built a state of the art facility in Sandwich, in Kent, very close to a Pfizer factory, in order to poach employees from them, she'd cheerfully explain to anyone who asked - and to several who didn't ask.

Then, a year ago, cracks started to appear. Suddenly Lee - now retired from the Army, with the rank of Major - had meeting after meeting. He got home late a lot. He wasn't around some weekends. It had snuck up on Rachael - she'd been working hard on a new wonder drug that was designed to bring coma patients out from their slumbers, and it was showing real promise - and he'd been a little vague about what he was doing. Lee was retired and was on the board of two different security companies in London; they held an apartment in Chelsea, so it wasn't that unusual for one or both to spend days and nights in the city.

He'd grown increasingly distant, and Rachael had belatedly noticed, mentioned that she thought they should take a holiday when she was done with testing, perhaps skiing? Lee had replied that would be nice, and then nothing more was said.

Rachael was getting more and more concerned, and one Friday she returned to their house to find Lee had moved out. Not just moved out, but cleaned out.

He'd left a letter saying he was filing for divorce, his lawyer's name - not someone Rachael had ever heard of before - and asking her to 'respect his decision'.

Needless to say, she hadn't. Rachael just wasn't built that way, to allow thing to run away with them selves as they had. She was a woman who required resolution. She was a scientist at heart, and she had to know why things were the way they were. Her first move was to try and contact Lee directly, and, when he ignored her phone messages, texts and emails, she tried his lawyer. After some back and forth, with her lawyers demanding something from Lee personally - anything - that indicated he was part of the proceedings, it had become apparent that his lawyers didn't know where Lee Hicks was currently located either. They reluctantly informed Rachael that while he had left strict instructions on his requirements, they'd not heard from him in some time. Even though they'd been paid.

Once she understood that, she immediately got a PI group on the case.

The report she'd gotten back was disturbing, to say the least.

Major Lee Hicks was now 'the property' of a couple who were both semi- professional dominants, living in Surrey, who ran a domination-based business out of their home. There were pictures of him wearing a spiked collar, waiting on both of them. There were pictures of him being sexually dominated and tortured, and then being chained up at night. He was humiliated, and made to wear maids' outfits, among other thing.

Rachael was horrified and appalled. She had never seen a hint of any submissive tendencies before. No fantasies, no bedroom games. He was the archetypal man's man, till then. She'd gone to see a psychologist, to see if it could be explained, and it had been, in terms of "this is a man who's had to be in charge and the boss for so long, and just needs to be ordered around now." It was a well-known diagnosis - April recognized it for what it was instantly, and agreed that latent submission often came from being held to a position of responsibility too long.

Rachael didn't like it, but she understood enough to let him go. She finally had the evidence that he wasn't the man she had believed him to be for so many years, and so she, with extreme reluctance, let it all go. She let the divorce go through and started to try and make a life without Lee.

But then a real kicker had come, professionally.

There was a hostile buyout of Coladia. Rachael owned twenty-two percent of the stock of her company, which was the largest single block of stock but it was still not a controlling interest. Her company was public, which meant the other seventy-eight percent was owned by lots of various interests - hedge funds, private individuals, the whole gamut of stock investors. Lee Hicks owned eight percent himself, which he'd left the marriage with.

The shock had come when two investment companies had mounted a control effort, gathering up almost thirty percent of the available stock, driving the price up. And Lee joined with them! Their twenty-eight percent, added to the eight percent Lee owned, meant they owned thirty six percent of all available stock. It was more than enough for the board to be turned over, and several board members - not to mention the chairman of the board - replaced.

Effectively, her control over her own company ended overnight. While a CEO is the CEO of a company, his or her decisions have to be ratified by the board, and the board has the ability to fire her. The new board wasted no time in convening an emergency meeting, and instructing her to abandon development of the new coma drug, since 'there was no market' and, instead, concentrate research in the area of cold remedies. She protested that the cold remedy research area was a dead end - no one had made progress in that area in years, and the response was "all the more reason - we'll have a clear shot at the market". With bad feelings, Rachael had complied, but she worried for the future of her company.

This new event, coupled with the events of her husband suddenly leaving, not to mention his complicity in the change of corporate control, was enough for her to ask for help. She was alone, worried, her ego was at an all-time low after her husband left her for a sexual fantasy she had no clue he harbored, and she knew she needed help. She considered carefully how to go about it - and contacted Ingrams.

And here April was.

"You ever see anything...not right?" she asked Bernie, trying to make the question innocuous, and failing. She saw the question on his face and added, quickly, "I only ask cos she's my new boss. Want to be sure I don't put my foot in it, you know."

It wasn't really a reason, but it was enough that Bernie's face softened, and as he levered himself up, he said, "Not really, no. I mean we all have foibles, right? I'm sure they fought like the rest of us do with our spouses. We never saw it though. He was a perfect gentleman, even when he went through nicotine withdrawal. You know what that can do to a man. But no, never a raised word, from either of them. Not done at their station in life, is it?"

At that moment, the food arrived, and April took the opportunity to smile a 'thank you' at the server, wave at Bernie, who had moved on to serve other customers, and turn her attention to the food.

Bernie was right. The fish and chips were good.

The next day found April up and ready at eight thirty. The pub didn't offer breakfast, and she was somewhat hoping that they'd have time to stop off and grab something on the way. She called in to the Ingrams' Camden office, and then was ready to be picked up, sitting out front of the pub, drinking coffee she'd made in her room.

At eight thirty sharp, the black four-wheel drive Ranger Rover pulled up to the pub, and April walked outside. The driver leapt out of the car, and ran around the back to open the door, and April hopped up - the car was a surprising distance from the ground - and slid into the back seat.

Seated next to her was Rachael Hicks.

"Good morning," smiled Rachael.

"Yes. Good morning to you," replied April, brightly. It was imperative to give a good first impression if she was to enter Rachael's confidences. All the documentation and analysis confirmed that Rachael liked bright people, with go get 'em attitudes. The more dower you were, no matter how brilliant, the less she wanted you to be in charge. She was firmly of the opinion that subordinates take their tone from their leaders, and she was all about leading.

"It's nice to meet you," said April, offering her hand. Rachael smiled back and shook her hand, a firm grip, three shakes and done. You can learn a lot about someone from their handshake, and not just by whether it's firm or not. The length, if they disengage first, if they instigate it or not, their surprise if you offer it first - all of these things tell you something about the person you are meeting.

Rachael had just confirmed everything April had read in her dossier - a self-made woman, no time for frivolity, very much in charge of her life, but ready to make time for new people - everyone started with a blank slate with her, regardless of what others may have said about them first. You had the opportunity with her, it was up to you to take it.

Rachael's eyes flicked towards the driver, when she said, "Tim, let's stop and get some breakfast? The Benedictine?"

She turned back to April and said, "I know the pub doesn't do breakfast and you must be starved. Are you settled in alright? Over the jetlag? This weather must be quite different from Arizona? Oh, but you live in Washington now, isn't that right?'

April gazed back at Rachael. She was being told that Rachael did her homework too, in no uncertain terms.

"Yes, the weather here is a bit Seattle-y, no question. But then Seattle is all lush and green, like it is here, so it's definitely a tradeoff. I'm fine on the jetlag - I got in a week ago and am over it. And breakfast sounds like a great plan. I could eat a horse!" April tried to sound off the cuff - accepting what Rachael had said without confrontation or acknowledgement.

Rachael looked April over critically and then said, "I'm sure that won't be necessary my dear. You look like you probably eat Yogurt for every meal. Oh wait, no, it's Yo-gurt with you colonials, isn't it?"

She stressed the 'Yo-gurt' pronunciation, since the British pronounce it "yog-urt".

April smiled back. She was being needled, but in a very nice way.

"Indeed. I do try and to make sure that I demonstrate my accent at every available opportunity though. I mean, it's definitely 'A-LU-minum' don't you think?" April exaggerated her accent. "And people really enjoy my southern belle," she added, in a pronounced southern accent.

Rachael laughed, clearly and with delight, showing perfect white teeth. No visible fillings, noted April.

"Oh my dear, I like you. I think we are going to get on famously," she chuckled back at April. "And you aren't alone, with the accents, darlin'. I've read books, you know, like," she said, with an over the top Liverpool accent, where 'books' was pronounced 'Boohks'.

April laughed back.

"I used to date a guy from the Whirral - just south of Liverpool," Rachael explained. "When we were young. He was a never ending source of taking the mickey."

April was pleased. The first ice-breaking hurdle was over.

They stopped for breakfast, and Rachael was soon chattering away with April, like old friends. She was easy to like, noted April. She did wonder if this was the way she presented herself to everyone though. April was somewhat of a special case - it was almost as if Rachael was doing her best to actively like April, given what April really was, and what she was there for.

They discussed work - how that was going to work. As April was going to be Rachael's new PA, she was going to be expected to actually 'get the job done', as Rachael put it. April took that in her stride, explaining that actually, she was looking forward to it. It was something she enjoyed a lot - trying on someone else's life when she went under cover. She had to learn how to be something entirely other than herself, she explained. It was like being an actor, but more so. She was more than up to the job, she assured Rachael, and it would be very beneficial for her to observe Rachael in her natural work habitat.

April could tell that Rachael was curious about her - about her work and life - but was restraining herself from asking too much. April respected that. She, in turn, found Rachael to be bright, outgoing, a very gentle sense of humor, and very smart and insightful, particularly about the people who worked for her. She had this way of being able to reveal to you what she thought about people, without outright stating it - it was a gift. She couldn't help but think that had life turned out differently for Rachael, she would have made an extremely good Ingrams field agent. She had that mental toughness and self-reliance, plus the confidence to actually make decisions on the fly that all good agents needed.

They danced a little around the issue at stake, as to why April was there. Rachael did ask, "So, how does this work? Do I need to get a chaise lounge in my office? I've always wanted one, you know. Always had my eye out for one, but it never really seemed to happen. This would give me an excuse."

April gave a lop sided smile, and then said, more seriously, "If you want. It really doesn't matter. Whatever makes you comfortable. All we really need is some prolonged time to talk privately, over the next days and weeks. I need to get inside your head, and figure out what you need help with, if anything. I mean, you seem pretty together to me this morning. You need to decide what you want to tell me, and what I can help with. For me, this is unusual, to be able to talk about the issues head on. I'm used to having tease them out and use investigative methods to figure it out, then decide what the best thing to do is. So I'm learning a bit here, too."

Rachael looked at April earnestly, considering. She took a mouthful of toast and chewed, reflecting on what to say.

"Well, the façade is just that, really. I mean, you have to get on with life, don't you? My mother taught me that. She went through the blitz as a young girl, in west London, out by Staines. That whole 'keep calm and whatever' meme that went around a couple of years ago? That's what 'being British' is all about, at root. When life throws things at you, you have to pick yourself up and keep going. My hurting is done behind closed doors. I may be a figurehead at my own company now, but my people still need to know their boss has it together. I can't afford to publicly fall apart. I'm sure you get that."

April nodded in agreement. "Of course. And doubly important, bearing in mind our gender. I'm very cognizant that women in business have to work that much harder than our male counterparts. We can't afford to be human, sometimes."

"Ain't that the truth, sister," replied Rachael, raising her water glass for a chinking-of-glasses.

"But," added April, choosing her words carefully, "what happened, Lee leaving as he did, that coming as a surprise to you, well, that has to impact your life? You may not be able to cry in public, but you do need an outlet for that. You need to grieve for your marriage. You can't move on properly until those feelings are dealt with."