The leather chair was plush, but I was far from comfortable. I kept feeling the urge to tug at my collar. Ever since I'd entered Ms. Levitt's office, it seemed to have shrunk around my neck.
I'd had very little contact with Ms. Levitt up to this point. She had to be what . . . three, four levels above me? I was just barely above a secretary in rank, but being fresh out of school meant the secretaries actually had more experience and real world knowledge than I did. I certainly wasn't in league with a junior vice president.
That isn't to say I didn't know who Anne Levitt was. She was young to have her position, but she already had a reputation for being a rising star. Mclaughlin Manufacturing was just a stepping stone for her. In another year or two, she'd probably get hired by a bigger company. She was a woman who was going places.
But even if she wasn't a big deal in the company, I'd have noticed. Anne Levitt was a stone cold fox. Those high cheekbones and piercing blue eyes just made you want to stop and stare. She wore her brown hair long in cascading waves that ran well down her back; it had just enough auburn in it that the afternoon sun from the west side windows made it seem to glow.
And oh my, what a body. She wore tailored business attire, so nothing was ever too snug or revealing, but you couldn't conceal curves like hers. I never really thought of myself as a breast man - my fiancée Lucy is only modestly endowed in that department - but Ms. Levitt's impressive bosom was making me reconsider. She wasn't HUGE, mind you, but in a tight sweater I bet she could stop traffic.
I'd have thought being close to such a beauty would be more enjoyable. Ms. Levitt was barely a few yards from me, seated behind her desk. She was leaning forward expectantly, her fingertips touching, her full bosom almost brushing the desk. Those big blue eyes had an eager vibrancy. She even had a trace of a smile. It seemed almost pleasant.
But it wasn't. Arrayed in front of me were a collection of EPA reports filed over the past six months. Ms. Levitt had just explained to me how each contained the same grievous error that significantly misrepresented the company's waste output of a federally regulated substance. Such a misrepresentation could conceivably be construed as a willful attempt to deceive a federal agency - a class 3 felony subject to fine and/or imprisonment.
She'd then flipped to the final page of the report. On the bottom line, in tight, angular script, was my name: Trevor Jones. I'd signed these reports. The grievous error was mine.
I'd been petrified. I'd screwed up, no doubt about it. The company would fire me for sure. Good luck getting hired after that. And what if I got prosecuted? Prison was too horrible to think about and I had no money to pay fines. Even if I got a slap on the wrist, I was still a British citizen here on visa - I could get deported. Lucy hated English weather; what if she called off the wedding? Disgraced, unemployed, dumped, living with my parents - it was a nightmare.
I swallowed uncomfortably as I willed myself to remain calm. "Ms. Levitt, you said at the start that there might be a way out of this for me. A way that no one has to know."
I swallowed again. I was young, but even I wasn't naive enough to think that such a lifeline was freely offered. I should already be packing up my cubicle while a security guard waited to escort me out of the building. The fact that I wasn't meant something else was at stake here. I just didn't know what.
"If I wanted to get out of this, what would I have to do?"
I'd had very little contact with Ms. Levitt up to this point. She had to be what . . . three, four levels above me? I was just barely above a secretary in rank, but being fresh out of school meant the secretaries actually had more experience and real world knowledge than I did. I certainly wasn't in league with a junior vice president.
That isn't to say I didn't know who Anne Levitt was. She was young to have her position, but she already had a reputation for being a rising star. Mclaughlin Manufacturing was just a stepping stone for her. In another year or two, she'd probably get hired by a bigger company. She was a woman who was going places.
But even if she wasn't a big deal in the company, I'd have noticed. Anne Levitt was a stone cold fox. Those high cheekbones and piercing blue eyes just made you want to stop and stare. She wore her brown hair long in cascading waves that ran well down her back; it had just enough auburn in it that the afternoon sun from the west side windows made it seem to glow.
And oh my, what a body. She wore tailored business attire, so nothing was ever too snug or revealing, but you couldn't conceal curves like hers. I never really thought of myself as a breast man - my fiancée Lucy is only modestly endowed in that department - but Ms. Levitt's impressive bosom was making me reconsider. She wasn't HUGE, mind you, but in a tight sweater I bet she could stop traffic.
I'd have thought being close to such a beauty would be more enjoyable. Ms. Levitt was barely a few yards from me, seated behind her desk. She was leaning forward expectantly, her fingertips touching, her full bosom almost brushing the desk. Those big blue eyes had an eager vibrancy. She even had a trace of a smile. It seemed almost pleasant.
But it wasn't. Arrayed in front of me were a collection of EPA reports filed over the past six months. Ms. Levitt had just explained to me how each contained the same grievous error that significantly misrepresented the company's waste output of a federally regulated substance. Such a misrepresentation could conceivably be construed as a willful attempt to deceive a federal agency - a class 3 felony subject to fine and/or imprisonment.
She'd then flipped to the final page of the report. On the bottom line, in tight, angular script, was my name: Trevor Jones. I'd signed these reports. The grievous error was mine.
I'd been petrified. I'd screwed up, no doubt about it. The company would fire me for sure. Good luck getting hired after that. And what if I got prosecuted? Prison was too horrible to think about and I had no money to pay fines. Even if I got a slap on the wrist, I was still a British citizen here on visa - I could get deported. Lucy hated English weather; what if she called off the wedding? Disgraced, unemployed, dumped, living with my parents - it was a nightmare.
I swallowed uncomfortably as I willed myself to remain calm. "Ms. Levitt, you said at the start that there might be a way out of this for me. A way that no one has to know."
I swallowed again. I was young, but even I wasn't naive enough to think that such a lifeline was freely offered. I should already be packing up my cubicle while a security guard waited to escort me out of the building. The fact that I wasn't meant something else was at stake here. I just didn't know what.
"If I wanted to get out of this, what would I have to do?"