3.b.v.
Tanya sat at
the table in the corner of the room designated: The Breakroom. It had been decades since she’d been inside
the secret hideout of Corporate Man. She’d stayed many nights at The Office during
the sixties and seventies and not in the guest room exclusively.
She reminisced
on all the wild Christmas parties they’d held in this place and she smiled as
she looked across the room to the staircase that climbed to the lookout
tower. John Q Public and some unexpected
photocopies crept into her mind.
“Penny for
your thoughts,” Corporate Man said as he walked into the room.
He was in
uniform now; collared shirt, black suit jacket, slacks, and expensive, polished
shoes. Around his neck hung his special
necktie/cape and concealing his face was a pair of black, thick rimmed glasses. He also carried a briefcase, essential to any
man of business.
“Can’t buy
anything with a penny anymore, Jonesy,” she said.
“Ah ah,” he
said, “You promised to call me Corporate Man once I was properly attired.”
Tanya looked
him up and down and smiled. He was Corporate Man now, there was no
doubt, and she found that the sight of him filled her full of hope and
eagerness for enterprise.
“You’re
right. Corporate Man. So what’s our next move?”
“Well, I
though we’d put out a call to all of our old Union allies and then make every
attempt to reclaim market share for the good guys.”
Tanya retained
her smile though a bleak sadness tugged away inside her. Not many of their former teammates were in a
position to answer the call. Most were
immobilized. More than a few were dead.
Corporate Man,
as if reading this in her face, said, “I know that in my absence there are some
positions that have become… vacant. So I
think I’ll endeavor to make a few promotions if I’m able. In the meantime, you have full reign of The
Office. If you need me, I’ll be in the
tower.”
He nodded and
then turned to the staircase and went up.
Tanya bit her
lip and tapped her foot, the movements rapid and impatient. She stood and then sat back down with a
muttering sigh. A moment later her
fingers were drumming on the table, her head shaking back and forth, trying to
rid herself of the idea. Finally, she
let her shoulders slump and stood again.
She walked out into the hallway, turned toward the master bedroom, and
walked to the second door on the right.
The Union
store room.
She looked
herself over, ran her hands over her bust and hips, and took a deep breath
before she walked inside.