Kate Pt. 01

"Is that right?" I chuckled, "You've got yourself a bet, young lady."

"Young lady, my ass," she heartily laughed, "You're only two and a half years older than me, young man," and of course we both fell into a fit of laughter. However, our laughter stopped when Sarah's intercom buzzer sounded.

"Mark Powers, Office," she answered, "How may I direct your call?"

"Hi, Sarah," Mike's voice replied over the speaker phone, "Can you send Mark back into the conference room, please?"

"I'm on my way, Mike," I answered for her," I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Good enough, kid," Mike laughed, "We'll see you then."

~~~~~~

When I arrived back into the conference room, I saw Mister Hanson, Mister Anderson, as well as David and Mike, all standing around the table wearing happy grins on their faces.

"Come on in, Mark," Mike chuckled, "We've reached an agreement with Gaylord Entertainment; and you're going to be the head of this project."

"Oh, wow," I smiled, "I don't know what to say."

"That's easy," Hanson smiled, shaking my hand, "Just say you'll do it."

"Of course," I replied, "But I didn't think you liked me very much, Mister Hanson."

"That was just a smoke screen, Mark," Mister Anderson grinned, "From now on I want you to call me, Jake, and call old Hanson, there, by his first name, too."

"My name is Bobby," Hanson laughed, shaking my hand again, "And it's a pleasure to meet you, Mark. I'm really looking forward to working with you."

"Me, too," I smiled, "And I promise to do my very best, sir."

"I know you will, kid," Bobby smiled, "I know you will..."

~~~~~~

After Jake and Bobby had gone, Mike, David and me, all sat down to discuss the issue at hand. However, before we began the discussion, Mike looked at me smiling and told me, "I wanted to say thank you for convincing Diane Miles to stay on with the company, Mark. I really thought for a minute there, that we were going to lose her so; I owe you one, kid."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," I told them, "Because I want to make her second in command on not only this project, but in my department, too. She's a very nice person and I think she has alot to add. Besides; I could really use her help, guys."

"You're right, Mark," David said, "Diane is a great asset to this company, and she always has been."

"I'm glad you think so," I happily replied, "Can we bring her in here now to tell her?"

"Of course," Mark smiled, picking up the telephone, "I'll call her myself."

~~~~~~

"You're going to do what?" Diane excitedly grinned, once she'd been informed of her role in the upcoming project that was on the table, "Oh, my gosh; I don't know what to say, you guys."

"That's easy," I chuckled, mocking Bobby Hanson, "Just say you'll do it."

"You know I will," Diane sweetly grinned, her eyes filling with happy tears, "Thank you, guys, for this opportunity."

"You don't need to thank us for anything, Diane," David kindly told her, "You've more than earned this."

"I'm going to thank you anyway," she sniffled, getting up from her chair to individually hug each of us.

~~~~~~

Chapter Three

I walked back to my office that afternoon with a smile on my face, and as I reached Sarah's desk, I pulled my wallet out to retrieve five twenty-dollar-bills, and then placed them on her desk, telling her, "You won the bet, girlie. I want you and your boyfriend to go out tonight and have a drink on me."

"Oh, thank you, Mark," Sarah smiled, taking the money I gave her and placing it in her purse, "But I don't have a boyfriend."

"I don't understand that" I said, "You're pretty as you can be, and I would think that you'd have guys standing in line to go out with you."

Let me take a minute to describe one of the sweetest people that I've ever known. Sarah Dawson was twenty two when I first met her. She's a very pretty lady who, when we first met, reminded me of a young Kate Beckinsale, so much that I even expected her to talk with a British accent. However, she is one of the sweetest girls that I'm blessed to be able to call my friend, and I'm very thankful to know her. Now, on with the story...

"Do you have a minute to talk?" she asked, her eyes beginning to cloud, "There's something that I need to tell you."

"Of course," I gently replied, handing her my handkerchief and closing my office door, "What is it, sweetie? I want you to know that you can tell me anything, okay?"

"Okay," she sniffled, "Here goes; when I was in my last year at college, I was invited to go to a party at one of the biggest frat houses on campus," and when she began to tell me, my heart sank, because I knew all too well what was coming next, "I was pretty shy back then and I didn't want to go at first until my room mate talked me into it. The party was held at the Alpha Delta Tau house, which was the fraternity that all of the football players belonged to."

"Wait a minute, Sarah," I politely interrupted her, "I can tell that this is going to be painful for you to talk about and I don't know if..."

"Please, Mark," she said, "I've never told this to anyone, and I really need to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay, go right ahead, sweetie," I softly replied, "But I want you to know right now that I'll never tell a single soul what you tell me, alright?"

"I know you won't, and that's way I'm telling you this," she sweetly smiled, and then continued, "When I got to the party, it was already in full swing. There were people drinking and having a good time, the music was loud and there were all these really good looking guys who were paying a lot of attention to me, you know, asking me to dance, that kind of thing. It made me feel good about myself so; I started trying to fit in with them," all of a sudden a dark look overcame her and I could tell that she was getting ready to reveal something very traumatic that happened to her; but per her request, I sat back and said nothing, simply letting her continue.

"Someone handed me something to drink," she said, "And like a dumb ass, I drank it right down. It wasn't too long before I began to feel light headed and sleepy. When I told the guy that I was dancing with that I needed to lie down, he took me to his room. The moment my head the pillow, I was out cold. I still don't remember everything that happened until whatever drug I'd been given began to wear off. I was naked, and some guy that I didn't know was on top of me, raping me..."

"...It really hurt, and when I told him to get off of me, he didn't so; I began to scream at the top of my lungs just so that somebody, anybody would hear me. Well, nobody came, because he placed his hand over my mouth so that I couldn't scream anymore. I knew that I was being raped, and there was nothing I could do about it. I let him finish, and the moment he got off of me, I grabbed him by the nuts with both hands and twisted as hard as I could."

By this time, I saw painful tears raining down her face by the bucketfuls, and not knowing what else to do, I stood up and gently pulled her into my arms, letting her get it out of her system until she was able to talk again.

"Shh, it's alright now, Sarah," I softly told her, "You're safe now, and nobody will ever hurt you again, I promise."

"Thank you, Mark," came her muffled reply, "You're a nice guy; and I knew I could trust you enough to tell you about this without it going anywhere else."

When she gently, but finally leaned back in my arms then slowly pulled away from me, she took the handkerchief I'd given her and wiped her face with it, and then reached for her purse behind her desk.

"I'll be back in a minute," she told me, "I need to go to the restroom and wash my face."

"Use the one in my office," I gently told her, "I don't want anyone asking you any questions, just in case you run into anyone going down the hall, okay sweetie?"

"Thank you again, Mark," she sadly smiled, "You the best boss a girl could ever have."

"You're welcome," I told her, "But I've got a couple of questions for you when you come back...and I want some straight answers, alright?"

"Okay," she smiled, "I'll be back in a second."

~~~~~~

When Sarah came back from the restroom, she looked much better as she returned to her place behind her desk and asked, "What do you want to know, Mark?"

"Did you report being raped to the police?" I asked, "And if so, what did they do about it?"

"I went to campus security," she said, "They took my statement, and then sent me to the hospital where they did an examination with a rape kit, but nothing ever came of it."

"Where did you go to college?" I asked her, "And what year did you graduate?"

"I went to Vanderbuilt University," she told me, "And I graduated a year and a half ago."

"Okay, thanks," I smiled, "I've don't have anything for you to do for the rest of the day so; if you want to leave early, you can."

"No, I can't," she said, "I need the hours."

"I've got that covered," I knowingly smiled, "Now get your pretty self out of here for the rest of the day before I throw you out."

Then she smiled and told me, "I'm not trying to make any kind of sexual advance on you, Mark, but I owe you this," and with that said, she stood up and then walked around to where I stood at the front of her desk. Then throwing her arms around my neck, Sarah stood on her toes and gave me an ever so gentle, soft kiss, right on the lips.

"Thank you, Mark," she whispered, wiping her lipstick off of my lips with the handkerchief I'd given her, "You're good man, and I want you to know that you'll always be my friend."

"You're welcome, Sarah," I gently replied, returning her kiss with a firm hug, "I'm a very lucky guy to have a friend like you."

"You bet your ass, you are," she giggled, grabbing her purse, then after playfully swatting my arm, she smiled and told, "I'll see ya tomorrow, boss."

~~~~~~

That afternoon after work I was called into Mike's office right before I left the building. His secretary, Eva, was an older lady somewhere in her late forties, early fifties. She stood about five feet, seven inches tall, had blonde hair with a few touches of gray. With blue eyes similar to mine, and measurements which fit her proportions, she stuck her head into my office, and with a smile on her face, said, "Excuse me, Mister Powers, but Mister Dodge would like to see you before you leave."

"Thank you," I politely replied, "Tell him I'll be right there."

~~~~~~

"Hey, Mike," I grinned, as I stood in his doorway, "You wanted to see me?"

"Mark," he grinned, standing up to greet me, "Please, come on in, and take a seat."

"Hey, Boss," I knowingly grinned, shaking his hand as I sat down in the chair in front of his desk, "What can I do for you?"

"I wanted to tell you what a great job you did earlier with those two guys from Gaylord Entertainment," he happily chuckled, "We've been after them for months now, and you more or less sealed the deal in an afternoon. You're good, kid; damn good."

"Nah, not really," I smiled, "Those two men really needed us; and I just made them see it, that's all."

"You can call it what you want it," he agreed smiling, "But I just wanted to tell you not only how grateful, but also how proud David and I are of the job you did; thanks, Mark."

"You're very welcome," I broadly smiled, "I want you guys to not only be proud of me, but I also want you to be able to feel like you can both trust me, too."

"That's something you'll never have to worry about again," Mike chuckled, "You've more than earned our trust, Mark, both of us."

"Thanks, Mike," I sincerely replied, "I can't begin to tell you what it means to me to hear you say that."

"I'm glad to hear that," he knowingly grinned, "I've got something I need you to do for me tomorrow around ten in the morning."

"You've got it," I smiled, "You can consider it done, whatever it is."

"Good," he smiled, "I need you to go to the Federal Building tomorrow to see a lady named, Carolyn Meyers. She's our attorney and she needs to get some paperwork filled out on you in order for you to get a license to work as an Engineer here in the state of Tennessee; and then when you're finished, I want you to take the rest of the day off, okay?"

"Are you sure?" I cautiously asked, "I mean, it's only my second day here and I'm already taking time off."

"Don't worry about it," he grinned again, "It won't count against you. Besides, with the up and coming project, you're going to need all the rest you can get, kid."

"Okay, then," I chuckled, "I guess I'll see you on Wednesday. What about my secretary? She really needs the hours, Mike."

"You mean Sarah?" he asked, as I nodded my head, "Okay, kid, "I'll make sure that she has plenty of work to last her all day tomorrow."

"Thanks, Mike," I appreciatively replied, "She's a good kid who's been through a lot in her little life, and I'm just trying to look out for her."

"I know you are, Mark," he quietly assured me, "You're a good guy, and don't think that we don't appreciate that either, we do."

"Thanks again," I smiled, shaking his hand right before I stood up, "I guess I'll see you on Wednesday then."

"Okay, kid," he chuckled, "We'll see you then."

~~~~~~

That night I went home and made myself something to eat, and then after I watched the television for a little while, I went to sleep, setting my alarm so as to be up in plenty of time to make my appointment with Ms. Carolyn Meyers.

~~~~~~

That next morning, I woke up and then showered, shaved, and got dressed. Because I wasn't going into the office, I put on a pair of blue jeans and boots, accompanied by a nice shirt. I also made sure that my hair was nicely fixed so that I would make a good impression on Ms. Meyers.

When it was nearing time for me to be at my appointment, I raised my garage door, and then started my car, before locking up my house so that it would have plenty of time to warm up. Afterward, I went through my usual routine of backing my car our, and then closing the garage door behind me before leaving the house for the morning.

~~~~~~

When I got to the Federal Building, I parked in the multi-level parking lot, and then made my way into the building.

~~~~~~

I'd just gotten into the building and was looking at the registry on the wall so that I would be able to find Ms. Meyers' office, when after finding where I needed to go, I turned around and accidentally ran into a young woman that I'd not seen coming up behind me.

"Dammit," the young woman hatefully spat, "Why don't you watch where the hell you're going?"

"Oh, my gosh, I'm terribly sorry," I apologetically replied, trying to help her recover the armful of papers that she'd been carrying before I accidentally ran into her, "It was an accident, I swear."

"Why don't you try getting a fucking haircut?" she venomously hissed, pushing me away from her, refusing my help in recovering her paperwork, "Maybe then you can see what's in front of you."

"Look, I said I was sorry," I suddenly, yet defensively growled, "Why don't you try being a little nicer, you might even get a date? God knows you sure as hell need one."

"Kiss my ass," she quietly hissed, "You long haired sonofabitch."

"Then why don't you mark off a chunk?" I sharply replied, "Because from what I can see, you're all ass."

As opposed to saying anything further, she very hatefully glared at me, and after gathering her papers from the floor, she stood up, and then turned and stomped away. I watched as she walked away from me. Granted, she was very beautiful and very nicely built, no doubt about it; but her actions made her as ugly as they come, at least in my eyes.

"Jeez," I said, to no one, "What a bitch."

After gathering my own paper work, as well as retrieving my briefcase, I stood up and made my way toward the elevator so as not to be late for my appointment.

~~~~~~

"Hello" I said, walking into Ms. Meyers' office to find her secretary's office empty, "Is anyone here?"

"You must be, Mark Powers," smiled a lady who appeared in the open doorway behind the empty desk, "Please, come in. I'm Carolyn Meyers, and I've been expecting you."

"Thank you," I smiled, "Michael Dodge sent me here to get my license in order."

"Of course," she politely told me, "When my secretary returns, I'll have her take you down to the license bureau to get your picture taken for your card. In the mean time, come on into my office so that I can get your paperwork filled out first."

"Thank you," I replied. However, before I could say anything further, the woman whom I'd accidentally run into downstairs walked through the door, and then looking aghast at Ms. Meyers, very hatefully asked, "What the hell is he doing here, Mom?"

"On, no," I groaned, shaking my head as I looked down at the floor.

All of a sudden, Carolyn began to laugh, and then after crossing her arms, further giggled and asked, "Does someone want to tell me what's going on here? This promises to be really good."

Before anyone had the chance to speak, I wanted to make sure that Carolyn heard the truth so; as quickly as I could, I looked at her and said, "I accidentally ran in this young lady downstairs and knocked her papers out of her arms and onto the ground. When I went to apologize, she cussed me like a sailor even though it was an accident."

"That's not what happened, Mom," she said, "He told me..."

"That is what happened," I rudely interrupted her, "And I didn't talk ugly to you not even once, although I did tell you that you need a date so; don't even think about trying to lie," then I turned to Carolyn and apologetically told her, "I'm sorry Ms. Meyers, I hope we can do this later when this young lady isn't here, bye," and then I turned and left her office before anyone else could reply.

The young lady that I'd run into apparently was Ms. Meyers' daughter, because as I made my way to the elevator, I could clearly hear Carolyn's voice verbally tearing this girl a new ass, even though her office door was closed.

~~~~~~

After I got back home, I called into work to tell Mike what had happened, and when he answered his phone to find me on the other end, he simply laughed and said, "Don't worry about it, kid. Carolyn's coming to your office tomorrow to take care of this for us, and that way you won't have to deal with her daughter."

"Thanks, Mike," I told him, "I swear that none of this was my fault, honest."

"I know it wasn't," he continued to laugh; "We'll see you tomorrow, at nine o'clock."

"Okay," I smiled, "Thanks again, boss."

"Don't sweat it, kid," he chuckled, "Have a good afternoon," and then he hung the phone up.

~~~~~~

I decided to spend the day doing what little bit of laundry I had left, and then afterwards I was going to put a nice roast in the oven to have for dinner that evening.

~~~~~~

I'd just finished folding the last of my laundry and put it in my dresser. Then I prepared the roast and had just placed it in the oven, when I heard my doorbell ring.

"I wonder who that could be," I said, to no one, as I headed for the front door.

Imagine my surprise when I opened my front door to find the daughter of Carolyn Meyers, standing on my front porch.

"Before you say anything, will you please listen to what I have to say, Mister Powers?" she politely inquired.

The moment I got a good look at her I knew in my heart that there was no way on earth that I could ever stay mad at her. She stood at a height of around five feet, eight inches tall, and I'd have to say that she weighed somewhere in the neighborhood of maybe a hundred and twenty, to a hundred and twenty five pounds at the very most. She had long hair, the same color and length as mine, but what got my attention the most were her dark brown, almost black, doe eyes. She had a light olive complexion and an almost elfin face, but when she smiled at me, I felt my knees weaken slightly.