Mailgirls on the Run Pt. 12

Chapter Eighteen

/* I rarely watch TV news so I can assure you that the portrayal of Fox 5 news is wholly fictional and is not a portrayal of any person associated with the actual station WTTG in Washington, D.C. Also, Hood College is in Frederick, Md and there is a Hood College Crosscountry Invitational and neither has any connection in reality to the events and individuals in this story. */

Despite her declaration Megan didn't push the other woman away when she felt her sliding into bed. As she relaxed into Charlotte's body comforted by the skin on skin contact, she dropped into a sound sleep.

It was still dark when Megan awoke, confused by the arm draped across her and the soft hand cupping her breast. She stared at her bedside clock trying to orient herself. Sex with Brendan was some weeks back and Lin should be in Frederick with Maria. The body pressed against her back stiffened and she heard Charlotte say, "I hope I didn't wake you."

"No, it's time for me to be getting up, I need to meet Maria's train to return her to the bank."

Charlotte pressed a kiss against Megan's bare shoulder and rolled away removing her arm and hand from Megan's body. "What's for breakfast?"

Charlotte mused, "I'll leave my car here and then get an Uber from the bank to pick it up on my way home. It probably makes sense to go in for an hour or two and let rush hour subside."

Megan looked up from her phone, "Lin Chang texted me to say that Maria didn't come home last night and Maria texted that she and Mr Fforde will be on the usual train."

"So, your little girl stayed out all night with a boy?"

"She's nearly ten years older than I am. I'm not responsible for her morals, just for providing transport to and from the train station. And the boy is a few years older than she is. It's just curious since the motive for shuttling her off to Hood was in reaction to her not wishing to be under the thumb of that particular boy. They have a long history and he'll have the spring semester to court her properly."

"So I'll get to meet the them both."

Megan was thinking that her Civic was going to be uncomfortably full, but only Maria walked away from the train towards the parking lot. Instead of her normal jeans, shirt, and flats she was wearing an attractive yellow dress that fluttered down to mid-calf and a pair of heels. It wasn't a color that would work for a blond like Megan; however, it suited the tall brunette nicely though it would work better as Maria gained more of a tan.

"Where's Mr Fforde? You texted that both of you were taking the train."

Maria gestured to the train that was already pulling away from the station. "Colin's taking it to a stop with a Metro station so that he can go home and pick up his car. He said this was the first time he's ever ridden the train."

"If his car is at home and he didn't take the train to Frederick, how did he get there?"

Maria smiled, "He drove my Miata. He had it transported from Texas and brought it up to me. We left it at Professor Chang's place so that I'll have it available at school. I certainly can't use it at work."

"Oh." Megan gestured to the woman standing beside her. "Maria, this is Charlotte Johnston. She's a Special Assistant at the bank. You may remember her from our last two weekend runs.

"Charlotte -- Maria Hyland, Mailgirl Fourteen."

"Pleased to meet you, Ms Johnston. Are you new?"

"My husband and I just moved into the area and I mostly work from home. I was at San Francisco until I got married and my husband was transferred to England. We spent two years there and now northern Virginia; he's in the Air Force and they move around a lot. So I work directly corporate headquarters on whatever projects they assign me. They've insisted that I spend some time in the office while we live nearby."

The three women piled into Megan's car, Maria into the back seat. She kicked off her shoes, "I don't know how I wore heels all the time. After nearly two years in bare feet, flats and sneakers are tough enough. These show off my legs which Colin appreciated, but...."

Megan interjected, "I met your brother yesterday. He demanded to see you, saying that he would go to the authorities if we didn't produce you. We told him that you were off-site and recommended that he ask your mother how to get in touch with you. You've been a mailgirl for two years; why is he showing up just now?"

"Mom told me that the boys are negotiating to sell the company. It's been an acquisition target for years, but she and Dad were determined to keep it in the family. It would take a two thirds vote of the ownership to make the deal and the boys each have thirty percent. Mom also has thirty and she's always voted my ten percent. Maybe he thinks that if he rescues me I'll vote with them? Which brother was it?"

"Paul Hyland, the CEO."

"And James is the CFO. They have ambitions beyond the company, but while they make a good living out of it they have both proposed outsourcing, mergers, expansion by acquisition. Dad and Mom always saw Precision Tools as a family business where family encompassed the employees and the neighborhood they live and work in. Mom has hopes for the next generation. Paul's eldest is at Cal Tech, James' daughter is at Standard. Mom's sister's youngest is in business school at Dartmouth. Maybe I'll take an active role in the company when I finish my degree."

"We informed him that you were not at work, directed him to speak to your mother if he wished to contact you. I did introduce him to Mailgirl Twenty and her freshly striped bottom. He all but drooled."

"If James and Paul vote to begin a mailgirl program they'll only get my 10% if I head up Human Capital. I wonder whether my mom would support the program?"

Charlotte choked off a laugh. "I don't think Precision Tools is large enough to employ more than a handful of mailgirls. Still it's the kind of forward thinking your brothers would invest in."

"What do you know about my dad's company?"

"When Dr Rodriguez was proposed as an outside director for SG&T Ben tasked me to do the background investigation. As your mother has been an integral part of the company for nearly four decades I now know quite a bit. I told Ben that she would fit right in with SG&T's ethos."

"Ben?"

"My cousin, my boss. Now, a question for you: why are you here? Why didn't you stay in Frederick and just go to class? You don't need the money and there is no SG&T job waiting for you at the end of your mailgirl contract."

"I dropped out of college fifteen years ago. My marriage broke up. I am determined to run the race, finish out my contract, and complete my degree. And when I've accomplished something I can get on with my life."

"And how many more days as a mailgirl?"

"Fifteen weeks, sixty working days. I have a calendar in my room at Professor Chang's apartment and every Monday evening I put big red X's across the Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday just endured."

Twenty minutes later Megan drove up to the SG&T loading dock. A naked Mailgirl Fourteen exited the car and walked up to ring the bell and begin the first of those sixty remaining days.

After making her way to her desk Megan spent a productive morning doing her actual job. She did note that none of the running team members were on the lunch-time punishment roster which augured well for the Sunday training session. Charlotte sent her a note -- conveyed by Mailgirl Seven -- to say she was leaving and thanking her for her hospitality just before eleven. Shortly after she finished her lunch at her desk the Mailgirl App alerted her that Mailgirl Fifteen was back on duty. Megan would have to inquire how the seminar in Boston went, but no rush, she would see Fifteen at that Sunday workout.

Jeremy Digness, whose note to her back in July had been her introduction to the concept of the Mailgirl Running Team, called her just as she was shutting down for the day. "Megan, we just got notified by WTTG, that is Fox 5, letting us know that their special report on the Corporate Challenge will be aired next Friday and they will be airing promos for that report starting tonight on the Ten O'clock News. They are not allowing us to preview the report or any of the promos. Besides the film crew at the time trial last month they have also done an interview with Mr Holt and our CEO in Chicago was asked about the race by the Fox affiliate there."

"Thank you for letting me know. So I watch the Ten O'clock News tonight."

Megan texted Sarah, Lin, and Charlotte letting them know about the upcoming Fox 5 special report before making dinner. She checked the channel guide and was dismayed to find that the Ten O'clock News was a full hour long. At least tomorrow's race was at eleven rather than a mailgirl training session at 7:30. Still, she was meeting the other team members at nine so she couldn't sleep in.

She set the program to record, but decided she needed to watch it live so that she would have the maximum time to process whatever was shown. This also meant she couldn't fast forward through commercials. There were co-anchors for the Ten O'clock News -- an attractive man, probably in his mid-thirties, wearing a very nice suit and a younger blonde female who looked like she was dressed to go clubbing after the broadcast. Megan rarely watch tv news and even a year post-mailgirl hadn't really gotten familiar with the local area so most of the local names and places mentioned were of little interest to her. She realized that she should get out more.

It was nearing eleven o'clock when the male anchor turned and said, "And here's Fox 5 investigative reporter Tiffany Ambergris to tell us about next Friday's Fox 5 Special Report."

The scene shifted to a view of Tiffany seated at the news desk -- Megan suspected that it was pre-recorded -- and the very blonde Ms Ambergris responded, "Thank you, David. The Corporate Challenge is an event so low key that it has never previously been mentioned on Fox 5. It's a ten kilometer race with teams from businesses and government agencies in Central Maryland. It has virtually no budget and traditionally attracts few spectators and many employees of those companies don't even know that it occurs. This year however it is sure to attract wide-spread notice because this year's host, Sloan Guarantee and Trust, will be fielding a women's team composed primarily of mailgirls. We asked their coach, Megan Brooks, about her athletes."

Now the scene shifted to video of Tiffany standing in the SG&T parking lot.

"Megan, can you tell us what is happening?"

Megan watched herself, "Tiffany, SG&T is hosting the Maryland Corporate Challenge 10k race in October as part of our outreach to the local community. SG&T is determined to be not only a gracious host, but also a competitive force in the event. Last fall our women's team finished well back. Local management realized that we have a pool of extremely fit, active women that we could draw from in fielding a team. None of our current twenty-four mailgirls have a track background, so this is the third in a series of weekend trials to select a group for further training in preparation for the race."

"Will they be wearing running attire for the race.?"

"No, nudity is a condition of their employment and at SG&T being a mailgirl is a 24/7 commitment for the length of their two year contract. They will just be wearing the collar with their ID tag, an ankle bracelet for the timing chip, and we're still sorting out a proposal for a sports bra, though that may be just for training. I imagine their race numbers will be stenciled on their chests and backs."

The scene shifted back to the present. "There was a large and enthusiastic crowd cheering on the eight naked mailgirls at 7:30 a.m. one Saturday morning last month. I'll be bringing you the whole story next Friday on Fox 5."

Megan moaned as the camera went back to the live broadcast, "Thank you Tiffany, we'll be sure to tune into your Fox 5 Special Report next Friday and I hope we'll have some video of the athletes in action."

Megan had sent another text to Lin letting her know that she was running a race at Hood so wasn't surprised to get a response while she was eating her pre-race pancakes. Lin texted that she and Susan Allen would be there to cheer her on. It seemed that Lin now had a roommate pretty much full-time -- Maria during the week and Susan on weekends, though Megan suspected that Susan wasn't sleeping in the second bedroom. Good for Lin.

Megan drove to the nearby Park & Ride to meet up with some team members to carpool to Frederick. A half dozen runners piled into Dave's minivan for the drive. His response to Shayla's teasing about the mom-mobile was: "Hey, I've got three kids, this just makes sense and when we travel to Michigan to visit her family it's a lot more affordable than five plane tickets. Be quiet or I'll put on "SpongeBob Squarepants" for those of you in the back."

Megan had grabbed one of the captain's chairs in the middle and Shayla claimed shotgun declaring that otherwise she would get carsick. One of the men seated in the back bench seat said, "We remember, that's why I'm back here out of range."

As they merged onto 270, a woman seated in the back piped up, "Megan, we haven't met before. I'm Sharon and didn't I see you on Fox 5 news last night?"

Everyone except Dave swiveled to look at Megan. Shayla was the first to speak up, "Megan, why were you on tv?"

"I'm coaching the women's team at SG&T for the Corporate Challenge 10k and our management decided that the team would be more competitive if they induced our mailgirls to participate. The bank employs twenty-four women that spend their day delivering packages, mail, messages to offices spread through a large five story building. The women are incentivised to make those deliveries in a timely manner which keeps them speed-walking or jogging between offices for eight plus hours per day. They are in terrific shape after a few months on the job."

"Hold on. I've read about mailgirls -- don't they work in the nude."

"Yes, and an incentive to deliver those messages on time is to avoid corporal punishment. Mailgirls missing their delivery windows are assessed demerits and when they accrue enough demerits they are paddled before an audience of the lunchtime crowd. Very few SG&T workers go out to lunch or even eat at their desk."

"That's barbaric and I can see why Fox 5 is interested. Are the mailgirls going to run the Corporate Challenge naked?"

"Yes. SG&T's mailgirls are naked 24/7 for the length of their contract. Management has graciously allowed the mailgirls to wear minimalist running shoes and modified sports bras for race training. One of our fastest women failed to finish the last time trial to select the team because of a stone bruise -- they were running without shoes or bras until the team was selected."

"Mailgirls live and commute naked? Isn't that illegal?"

"SG&T mailgirls live in a dorm in the basement of the building and essentially never leave campus."

Sharon asked, "So how fast are your mailgirls?"

"The winning time in the last trial was 40:07 with the other team qualifiers inside 41 minutes. That was without any training and none of the women had run previously. The women now run on a treadmill one day a week and train on the course either Saturday or Sunday morning in addition to their normal duties. SG&T hosts the Corporate Challenge this year and laid out a course on campus and through the adjoining park."

"Running naked through a public park has got to be illegal."

"SG&T exacted significant concessions from both Montgomery County and Maryland in the negotiations to locate their East Coast headquarters here -- not all of those concessions were financial."

"So, what do you do besides coach a naked running team."

"I'm a senior financial analyst with a master's degree in finance from Iowa. I've been working for SG&T for nearly six years, mostly dealing with numbers, not nudes."

Sharon continued, "The reporter said there was a large crowd there to watch the race she interviewed you at."

"Yes, the trials and the weekend training runs have been very popular. SG&T employees invite friends to watch and the news spread. The pouring rain last Saturday did thin out the crowd considerably. We also startle drivers and cyclists while on the road in the park. Now can we concentrate on our race today?"

Megan had always enjoyed crosscountry though it wasn't her strongest season. She was a rhythm runner and was quicker over the consistent surfaces of road and track than the uneven footing of turf and trail. There were about two dozen teams entered in the 5km women's race, mostly Division III college teams plus club teams from Montgomery County, Frederick, and Westminster. She jogged part of the course with Shayla and Sharon to warm up and shortly thereafter found herself on the starting line wearing her new MCRRC top.

The course was a simple, well marked 3km circuit around the park that skirted around parking lots so the runners didn't cross paths with automobiles. There was only one modest hill which was a relief to Megan whose crosscountry experience had been honed on the flat, fast courses of the Midwest. She ran a relaxed first loop, not trying to go with the leaders. She heard Dave and Ken cheering her on as they awaited their race and the higher pitched exhortations of Susan and Lin who she hadn't seen before the start. On the second shorter lap, comfortable now on the course, she accelerated and moved steadily forwards through the stream of runners, surprisingly passing Shayla in the final straightaway and finished feeling good about her run.

Shayla caught up with her just past the finish line and gasped, "Damn, that hurt. I'm training for a marathon and these sprints are hard. Good run, girl."

Lin and Susan came strolling up and pulled her into a hug. "Ugh, I'm sweaty and gross."

"I've held you when you were a lot hotter and wetter Ms Brooks."

Shayla looked at the three women.

"We all used to work together," Lin explained "and Susan is still at SG&T though in a different department now than Megan. There was a lot of womanly bonding. You looked good on tv, very calm and professional."

"I didn't feel calm and was relieved when Jeremy -- he's works in Community Relations -- stepped in and I could escape to run."

"So, we'll be watching Fox 5 on Friday."

"Meanwhile, it's time for the men to run." Megan watched in company with Lin and Susan, cheering on her teammates, pointing out Ken to the former mailgirls. A runner from the Frederick club won the race and college teams finished one, two, but the Montgomery men finished third, matching the women which meant they stayed around for the awards. Megan was called forward to collect her seventh place medal, then again with the team to accept a plaque from the Athletic Director.

On the drive home Sharon inquired, "Is SG&T's entire female team at the Corporate Challenge going to be naked?"

"We'll field five or six mailgirls, plus three regular employees who I expect to be competitive. We did have enough finishers to score last year and I'm the only one of the projected top eight that was part of that group. We may have additional entries that I don't know about. Charlotte, who's newly assigned here, and Amanda, who had other commitments last year, have been showing up at the weekend training runs along with several of the men. We three will be conventionally attired. Mailgirls Three, Four, Twelve, Fourteen, and Twenty-two will just be wearing shoes and bras."

"Mailgirls don't reveal their names?"

"Mailgirls face disciplinary action if they respond to any salutation except their assigned numbers and any employee who addresses a mailgirl by name is reprimanded at a minimum."