Revenge - Chapter 38 – Part 2 of 2

Revenge

By Karen Singer

Chapter 38 – Part 2 of 2

Susan had Steve on her mind.  Particularly, she had punishing him again on her mind.  And of course, punishing him meant humiliating him in some fashion or another.  But how?  And should she?  She wasn’t the least bit worried about Steve losing his job.  Well, not that greatly anyway.  Karen had indicated that Steve seemed to be up for a promotion, so she wasn’t worried about Steve’s job at all.  But those witches…that was another matter.  Anything she did to Steve right now, he would most likely directly blame them. 

But was that a problem?  She had full control of Steve, whether he knew that or not.  He might blame the witches, but Karen would make sure he never actually did anything against them, no matter how hard he tried.  And that included him actually doing anything to get them fired.  So Steve blaming Monica and her friends wasn’t really a factor. 

Monica said they were staying away from Steve for a while.  But it was Thursday and the weekend would be coming soon.  Susan just didn’t see any real reason to let an entire weekend go to waste – as far as Steve was concerned.  So what could she do to him?  What could she put him through? 

Still unsure of exactly what she wanted to do to Steve, she opened her email program and began writing.

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It was shortly before lunch when Monica got the Sorceress’s email. 

Dear Monica,

I know you and your friends are not doing anything with Steve for a little while.  If you’re concerned about possible layoffs, then I think you’re doing the right thing.  It’s better to be cautious. 

But I’m not in the position you are.  I’m many miles away and don’t work for your company.  I agree that for now, as far as Steve is concerned, you should all stay away from him and let him remain at least somewhat normal – at work.  But since I don’t work for your company, I see no reason why I can’t continue having fun with him – outside of his job.  Because of that, I’m going to try to set something up for him this weekend. 

I only wanted to let you know because after you told Steve you would be laying off of him for a while, I’m sure he’s still going to continue to blame you for what happens. 

The Sorceress

Monica read the email, but she wasn’t sure what to make of it.  It sounded like the Sorceress didn’t care about their personal situation or fears.  Or did she?  The Sorceress had mentioned that she thought what they were doing was a good idea.  So now she had to worry about whatever Steve would say or do next week when she got back to work – if he mentioned anything about it at all. 

She saw Diane come back into the office.  “Got another one from the Sorceress,” she told her.

“You did?” Diane said as she headed over to stand behind Monica.  “Let me see.”

Monica let her read the short email.  “Hmm…” Diane muttered.  “I wonder what she’s going to do.”

“No telling,” Monica replied.  “She didn’t say anything about it.”

“No.  Usually she lets us know at least something.”

“Usually,” Monica agreed.

“I wonder…”

“What?”

“If she’ll let me tag along with whatever she does.”

Monica was surprised.  “You want to go with him…again?  The last time you spent the entire day wandering around at the mall.  And you want to spend more time with him?”

Diane of course didn’t tell Monica about all the time she had been spending at his apartment.  Monica didn’t need to know that.  She just shrugged.  “Why not?” she replied.  “Maybe I’ll email her and see what she says.

Monica shook her head.  “You’re crazy!”

“So?”

“So let’s get out of here and get some lunch!”

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Ruth waited until after lunch before she went to see her lawyer.  She was anxious, but she figured that even a lawyer deserved the opportunity to eat something once in a while.  When she walked in, she was shown directly to Mel’s office again.

“Hi Ruth,” Mel said as she got up from her desk.  “Why don’t we sit where it’s more comfortable?”  Mel grabbed a thick file folder from her desk before she joined Ruth in her seating area. 

“What we’re going to try to do,” Mel said, “is to force some policy changes and a minor restructuring of the company.”

“Okay,” Ruth replied.  “But I still want to sue them.  Ten million dollars!”

“We’ll get to that,” Mel told her.  She opened the thick folder.  “I won’t show you the actual contract I wrote, but everything we’re going to discuss today is in it, plus a few other things to make sure they stick to it.”

“Contract?  I thought this would just be a simple legal case.”

Mel shook her head.  “There’s nothing simple about it at all.”

“Do I still get my money?  And how about the other things I asked for, especially against that bastard Steve?”

Mel smiled as she removed the new list of demands that she had written from the folder.  It’s all in here, including that one…odd request.  I’ve made sure to account for it all.”  She passed the papers in her hand over to Ruth.  “I reworked your requests and this is the boiled down version that the contract is built around.”

Ruth started reading the document, but she didn’t get more than a few words in, when she stopped and blinked.  She stared down at the paper in front of her, then looked up at Mel.  “Fifty…million dollars?”

“We needed an amount that would make this more serious for the company.  Ten million would certainly catch their attention, but it could also be all too easily dismissed, paid, and everything else you asked for ignored. 

“In a normal court case like this, the most you would ever be awarded is probably a few thousand dollars, and very likely, far less, and I’m sure the company knows it.  Since we’re stressing sexual discrimination on your behalf, but also on behalf of all the female employees in your company, we want to be taken seriously.  Fifty million dollars will ensure that they pay a little more attention to what we’re going to ask for.  In fact, I seriously considered asking for a hundred million.  But I finally settled on fifty.

“You will note however that the final amount will be determined by several other factors.  The one big one is that we’re offering them a fifty-percent discount on the final amount if they go ahead and sign off on everything in the contract I’m proposing.”

“So if they sign that, then I only get twenty-five million?”

Mel smiled.  “You were originally asking for ten.  A court of law would most likely award you a few thousand.  Do you have a problem with it?”

“No!  Not at all,” Ruth replied quickly.  “I just didn’t imagine….”

“There are other factors as well that could affect the amount, but I’m trying to work things so that they won’t be a factor at all.”

“What kind of factors?”

“Well, for one, for every twenty-four hours that they delay and they don’t show up to discuss this, or that contract doesn’t get signed, the amount goes up by ten million dollars.  We’re trying to force them to the table and get this done as quickly as possible.”

Ruth nodded, still stunned by the larger amount of money.  “That should do it, I would think.”

“Do you want to look over the rest of what I’ve got in there?”

Ruth looked down at the papers in her hand and began reading again.  But again she didn’t get far.  “Where’s my second item?  The one pertaining to Steve?  I don’t see it.”

“It’s at the end now,” Mel told her.  “Since you’ve been placing such a big emphasis on it, I’m dealing with it in a more severe manner so it doesn’t get overlooked.”

Ruth went back to reading again, but now she was reading quickly.  A number of things caught her eye that she really wanted to ask about, but she was more interested in finding out what had been done to the things she had spelled out for Steve.  Consequently, it didn’t take her long to turn the page. 

The entire second page seemed to be devoted to what she wanted done to Steve.  Everything she had asked for was there, along with a few other things.  “Five years?” she asked.

“I put a time limit on it, because otherwise they could keep him there for a few weeks, and then dismiss him.  Too long wouldn’t have worked either.  I felt five years was sufficient.  At the end of which, the company can either keep him there, or dismiss him.  You’ll also note the additional incentive of one million dollars for each of those five years should they terminate his employment.”

Ruth nodded as she stared at the page. 

“I have to tell you though,” Mel continued, “that most likely your friend Steve will elect to quit and not accept this change at all.  Even if it means he might wind up in court for the things he did to your friend Monica.  With a good lawyer, he could wind up with nothing more than a big slap on the wrist for it.”

Ruth thought about that.  It was exactly the thing she didn’t want to happen.  “What if…” she started as she tried to consider something she had thought about a number of times now.

“Yes?” Mel asked.

“What if…I could…guarantee that he would sign it and go along with everything here.”

Mel’s eyebrows went up.  “Do you know something else damaging against him?  Some kind of blackmail?  This is already serious.  I need to know if you’re contemplating making it worse.”

Ruth shook her head.  “Nothing like that at all.  And nothing at all illegal.”

“So that would have to mean that he really is into humiliation.  Perhaps not like my husband, but certainly enough for him to go along with all of that.”

Again Ruth shook her head.  “Trust me, Steve is not like that at all.”

“Then how?”

Ruth took a big breath.  “I was trained as an engineer.  I believe in science.  I don’t believe in magic.  Or at least, I didn’t used to.  But lately…I’ve seen enough things I can’t understand to seriously make me start believing in magic.  And for the life of me, I can’t figure out any other explanation for it.  For any of it, because I’ve seen it time and time again now.”

“What’s that?”

“Magic!  At least as far as Steve is concerned.”

“He’s a magician?”

Ruth shook her head.  “Not him.  But magic against him…and I guess only him.  But there’s simply no other explanation!”

Mel didn’t believe what she was saying for a moment.

“I just don’t know if she’ll go along with it,” Ruth finally finished.

“Who…will go along with what?” Mel asked.

“All this!” Ruth told her, brandishing the papers in her hand.  “Everything pertaining to Steve.”

“And who are we talking about?”

Ruth looked Mel straight in the eyes.  Her voice was almost a whisper.  “The Sorceress!”

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

At the end of her business day, Susan checked her email again.  She hadn’t gotten anything back from Monica after the email she had sent out earlier, so she was guessing that Monica wasn’t going to protest or complain about her plans at all.  But when she got into her email, Susan was surprised to see yet another email from Diane.  She quickly opened it and read it.

Dear Sorceress,

I saw the email you sent to Monica.  What do you have planned?  And is there any way I can go along with him to watch?  Please?

Please let me know,

Diane

Susan shook her head.  She should have realized that Diane would want to be there.  Diane was way too hooked on Steve!  Susan’s only problem was, she wasn’t totally sure of what she wanted to do with Steve, but she was considering a few good ideas. 

She quickly typed back her reply telling Diane she wasn’t sure yet what she wanted to do with Steve.  She also promised to write Diane again tomorrow once she finalized her plans.

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

That night, when Karen went into the special email account that had been set up for her to contact Susan, she found an email waiting for her, asking her to call Susan as soon as she got the chance.  A few minutes later, Karen and Susan were discussing possibilities for Steve’s further “enjoyment.” 

Susan was mostly concerned about things between Monica as well as the possible layoffs that had been hinted at.  But in the end, Karen was just as anxious to continue having fun with Steve as Susan was. 

They discussed a few possibilities, none of which sounded like good ideas – under the circumstances, especially since Diane wanted to be part of it.  And Karen was really trying to think of Diane as a personal friend. 

In the end though, Karen herself came up with a suggestion.  Something that she had wanted to try for some time now.  Because of that, a decision was finally reached.  Karen was absolutely giddy she was so happy. 

--- §§§§§§§§§§ ---

It was fairly late at night when Ruth sat down in front of her computer.  Her kids were long in bed and her husband had just retired for the night.  She had discussed in detail with him everything she had learned from her lawyer that afternoon.  He wasn’t happy about some of it, but he could easily see where it would be necessary.  If all went well, their entire family would have to pack up soon and disappear – for their own safety.  And Ruth knew all too well how prudent it was going to be.  Convincing her husband had been somewhat of a chore, but the promise of twenty-five to fifty million dollars was more than enough to finally sway her husband to completely agree…despite the situation with his own job.

But that was simply one matter.  Now it was time for Ruth to address the matter of Steve. Very carefully, she typed out her email.  She read it through three times, making sure it was just what she wanted.  Finally, she hit the send button.  Her husband didn’t know anything about the Sorceress, and she meant to keep it that way.  Now, with her email sent, she would just have to see what the Sorceress would do about it all.