Life as a New Hire Ch. 02

This story plays fast and loose with Ancient History and Linguistics; be warned.

People take for granted that they cannot see. If you don't think so, try not breathing.

*****

Having received Katrina's orders, off we went. Buffy looked worried and I thought she was going to tear me a new one. The reactions of the Executive Services group when we got there were totally unexpected.

"Send out the word," Buffy detailed to the first worker she came across, "Madi made a run at Katrina."

The woman blanched and headed off. Buffy took me to Katrina's office and pushed me onto the sofa. Paula and Fabiola appeared at the door looking worried.

"How badly have I fucked up?" I groaned.

"What?" Buffy blinked in surprise. "You did fine."

"I don't understand," I ran my hands through my hair.

"You're bleeding," Paula remarked.

"What happened?" Fabiola demanded. Oh, crap. Another layer of the onion. The female 'new hires' weren't only new hires, they were legacies.

Buffy, for all her expertise and seniority, wasn't part of the program. I didn't think she was ignorant of the basic agenda. She simply wasn't allowed to know the full scope of the goings on. That was the real reason she and I were at the meeting - because we weren't part of the true conspiracy, thus politically neutral.

"Cáel was attacked by Madi's assistant," Buffy said. I wanted to correct Buffy and say 'apprentice'. "He defeated her then defeated Madi when she attacked him, though it was a close thing." Oh yeah, Fabiola was part of the conspiracy. She gave this little smug smirk when Buffy got the relationship description wrong then was outraged that I would attack one of her elite.

Daphne sailed into the room, took one look at me then grabbed Paula.

"Let's get him cleaned up," Daphne suggested.

"He attacked Madi and her apprentice," Fabiola blustered - in Hittite. Daphne looked like she wanted to slap Fabiola. Then they all looked at me.

Had I turned away, I would have looked guilty. Instead I let my eyes flicker between the three.

"What is it?" Paula murmured to me.

"You are speaking the same language they were speaking upstairs," I enlightened them. "I find that a bit odd."

"Don't mention that to anyone," Daphne threatened me.

"No...you are not my boss," I glared. "Right now I'm working with Buffy and I am being mentored by Katrina. It is their right to know. Of course I can't talk to any outsiders about that because that violates corporate policy."

"How dare you," Fabiola came steaming my way.

"Make the first one count," I seethed as I stood up and got ready to kick her entitled, pompous ass. "I've already put down two conceited bitches and you aren't even in their league." Fabiola stopped and reassessed her situation.

"Cáel!" Buffy snapped. "Come to my right side." There I went. "Kneel." I knelt. The three newbies were stunned, mouths open and gaping.

"What...what was that?" Daphne mumbled, referring to my actions. Buffy looked very haughty and superior.

"Cáel works for me right now," Buffy told them. "That means, within the scope of his duties, he does what I say." The girls were taking in this bizarre scene. "Cáel, if I told you to go over to Fabiola and beat her black and blue, what would you do?"

"I'd ask you for a good explanation," I answered.

"She's hurting Katrina's position at Havenstone," Buffy responded. Up I stood. "Kneel," Buffy finished her demonstration as I knelt. She started running her hands through my hair. Not something you would do to a dog unless...well, you went that way. It wasn't like Katrina; this was highly sexually aroused hair-play. "I believe you said that Cáel needed to be cleaned up."

"Are you in pain?" Daphne inquired.

"A half bottle of Aleve wouldn't kill me," I groaned. I was in some serious pain, much of it centered on my cranium. Buffy moved me back to the sofa, which I liked. Her sensually stroking my palm was a bit scarier.

More women gathered around the door, whispering and looking my way. Finally Katrina came back to the office. The crowd parted for her. Daphne and Paula returned with some wet cloths and a first aid kit. Without consulting with me, they started peeling off my clothes.

"What are you doing?" Katrina stared at the two young ladies.

"Tending to his wounds," Daphne hastily replied. Katrina rubbed her forehead.

"For a moment try to imagine him doing that to you in a public place," she advised them. They caught on real quick and the strip-down stopped.

"Cáel, may we tend to your wounds?" Daphne politely requested.

"Fine by me, but let's keep the pants on. I'll deal with the rug burns at home," I grinned.

"I knew you boxed and practiced a form of jujitsu, Cáel," Katrina remarked. "I had no idea you were that good."

"I also practice ninjitsu," I tried to look innocent. "I tried to put that on my application, but auto-correct kept erasing it."

"Does he have a concussion?" one of the normal workers asked Desiree.

"No, unfortunately not," Desiree snorted. "He's always like that."

"Thank you for your martial valor in defending my prestige, Cáel," Katrina spoke loudly. "Your ability to navigate a very difficult situation bordered on the precognitive. It was of great service to the sisterhood of this office."

"Is there anything you need?" she tacked on.

"Gosh, it's almost four o'clock. Since I've been working since three this morning, can I go home early?" I pleaded.

"No, we are having dinner tonight," Katrina stated.

"I actually have to clean up the apartment tonight," I lied. "Can I have a rain check?"

"If you were under any delusion that I was making a request, let me dispel that right now. You are having dinner with me tonight," Katrina smirked.

"Doesn't that violate..." I mumbled.

"End of discussion," Katrina declared. "Buffy and Helena, take Cáel to the Men's room and get him cleaned up and presentable. I need the ****, ****, and **** to stay behind. We have much to discuss." What did I get out of that little exchange? Buffy and Helena weren't part of the real Havenstone, Desiree was and the fact that naming status positions 'charioteer', 'archer' and 'shield maiden' in Old Kingdom Hittite only confirmed my worst fears.

You see, Achilles, Odysseus and their crowd knew these people. They'd frolicked and played with those troublesome Greeks then been raped, slaughtered and enslaved by them. Apparently after 3000 years, these ladies were still pissed about that. We only knew about them today from Greek sources. It stood to reason though, that since they were allies of Troy, they lived in Asia Minor, not Greece.

Therefore, they didn't speak Greek of any flavor. That was the language of their destroyers. No, the Amazons would speak the language of their home region from 3000 years ago, the native tongue for their rituals and secret communications, which just so happened to be Old Kingdom Hittite.

"Tell me what happened," Helena requested while I was leaning against the Men's bathroom sink.

"Rhada became bored, I was asked to alleviate her boredom with a game of Scrabble, and she didn't like my use of the word 'butt-monkey'," I sighed. "She said it wasn't a word. I explained that she was, in fact, a butt-monkey and she took offense."

"Are you sure you don't have a concussion?" Buffy studied my eyes.

"Can I reliably determine my own mental malfunction? If so; I guess I'm good," I grinned.

"What really happened?" Helena repeated so I told them the whole story. This was the first time Buffy heard the whole thing in a language she could understand - English.

"Why didn't you simply let her hit you that second time?" Helena asked. Buffy nodded.

"Seriously, you two need to get some backbone," I glared at them. They looked peeved. "Listen, those other ladies don't have the right to treat us like crap. We are not doormats, we are facilitators and fuck them if they don't appreciate our worth."

"Yet you bowed down to Hayden, Katrina and me," Buffy countered.

"You are my bosses," I sounded exasperated. "I'm here to learn and that means listening to, and observing, those who have progressed farther than me. That means when you tell me to bow, I presume you have a good reason for it and do as I'm told."

"The other new hires don't kneel," Helena pointed out.

"It's not my fault they are not as smart as me," I snickered. We all knew that was a lie.

"I hope you make it," Buffy patted my knee. She didn't mean get fired. She meant she hoped I didn't get relocated. I didn't know what that meant yet, but I couldn't imagine it being a good thing.

I decided to press my luck.

"You mean you hope I don't get relocated," I smiled. The two women shot worried looks at one another. "Ladies, I'm twice as smart as I look...well, that still might not be much, but I'm working on it," I chuckled.

"What do you know about being relocated?" Buffy prodded.

"Nothing really. I do get this creepy feeling that if I get posted to a corporate holding in Paraguay, I probably won't end up in Paraguay," I shrugged.

"Are you going to quit?" Helena tag-teamed. She meant, 'are you going to make a run for it?'

"Havenstone has corporate resources on all seven continents. Where am I going to go where some insidious Human Resources agent from the company won't hunt me down and try to make me reenlist," I teased them. Translation: I'm not dumb enough to think I can get away. They politely chuckled which meant they knew what I knew about my projected promotion path.

"What are we going to do about your clothes?" Helena altered course. Ugh.

"I'll give Katrina official notification that we three are heading over to your place to let you change into something - better," Buffy decided. Better? This was my best suit, or had been.

Permission was granted and off we went. Surprise, surprise, security stopped me and got confirmation that I could actually leave the building. Next, we were mugged in the parking lot closest to my apartment building. Technically, it was a legal mugging because the criminal owned the lot from which he extorted the 'parking fee' from us.

I was curious to see if I could have the ladies wait in the hallway while I changed. Buffy noticed the fire escape and made sure she loudly pointed that out. In we went and sure enough, they followed me to the bedroom. I began going through my sparse business suit collection.

"Those look dreadful," Buffy commented. "Where do you shop? Walmart?"

"Sears," I corrected. Buffy looked cruelly amused.

"You work for a Fortune 500 company and you shop for your clothes at Sears?" she mocked me.

"I'm not very good with money," I laid out my second best/now best suit. "I blew all of last month's paycheck on the Ferrari, Catalina 470 and Gulfstream. Stupid, eh?" We both knew I hadn't been paid yet.

"What did you do with your signing bonus?" Helena plopped down on my bed. "Hey, this is lumpy."

"I killed a hobo for it," I teased. "I take no responsibility for whatever diseases you might pick up from sitting on that overly pretentious compost heap." It actually wasn't all that bad. "Besides, what signing bonus? Do you even know what college I attended?"

"Ah...Brookstone," Buffy guessed.

"I'll give you points for the 'B'," I sighed. "I got the callback for Havenstone and fell on my knees and thanked God that I didn't have to go back to working nights as a repo man, or end up in retail sales, food services, or custodial work. Done them all - not fun, believe me."

"You appear to be a pretty smart guy," Buffy gave me those 'come hither' eyes. "Why didn't you end up going to a better school?"

"I was pretty much a jerk until my senior year. I could have done better but I was ignorant, ugly and lazy. I was happy to get into Bolingbrook," I related.

"What is this?" Helena held up a braid of red, blue and green ribbons. The top quarter was intertwined with the rest of the ribbons hanging free.

"It's a heart cord," I replied. "Each knot is a sexual liaison." She counted out twenty-one.

"Not bad," she gave me those sexy eyes.

"The other three that I completed are in the closet," I winked back. She thought I was joking. I wasn't and soon enough she found that out.

"What the hell?" Helena regarded my handiwork dubiously.

"Oh yeah. I think I slept with half women in my college town between the ages of 18 to 70, students and faculty included," I enlightened them.

"That seems like a large group of women," Buffy examined the braids held aloft by Helena. "Are you some sort of Casanova?"

"It is more like I have an out of control libido," I admitted rather shame-faced.

"Tell me again why you didn't jump me yesterday?" Buffy looked miffed.

"You are my boss, it was an obvious trap, and you bow hunt predators and rip out their teeth. That last bit combined with that aforementioned problem with my libido...," I grinned sheepishly. "I wanted to keep my job...and my life."

"Do you think I'd shoot you for a sexual indiscretion?" Buffy postulated.

"Do you want my honest assessment?" I looked into her golden eyes.

"Yes," she smiled warmly.

"You, and by that I mean Havenstone, are a bunch of raving psychopaths masquerading as feminists who use economic exploitation to cover up your numerous crimes," I unloaded.

The two women looked at one another then started giggling.

"We like you," Helena walked up and patted my chest.

"I'm glad Katrina chose you," Buffy added. "Let's go buy you a suit, or three."

"I'm glad to see my ranting has had no effect on our relationship whatsoever," I observed.

They let me dress, under their watchful eyes, into jeans and a t-shirt. Arm in arm, they led me from my home across town to a clothier who regularly did business with Havenstone.

"Don't you think it is unfair to put a man in restrictive clothing before the hunt? Don't we at least get a sporting chance to run?" I joked.

"I can kill a bounding deer at 50 meters. Running won't help you," Buffy informed me.

"Well, I've hunted moose before," I countered.

"What did you use?" Helena asked.

"A hammer," I smirked. "I'm a real caveman."

"How did that work out for you?" Buffy played along.

"How do you think? I sobered up, realized I was hunting a 600 kg monster with a ballpeen hammer, ran my naked ass back to the car and drove home," I chuckled.

"You are smarter than you look," my female tailor muttered.

"Why were you naked?" Buffy looked at my reflection in the three-sided mirror.

"We won the lacrosse finals," I told them.

"Were you on the team?" Helena inquired.

"Bolingbrook only has a Women's Lacrosse team," I sighed happily.

"So why were you the one who ended out in the woods, alone, naked, hunting a moose?" Buffy mused.

"I repeat, we won the finals," I winked, "and I never said I was alone."

"Is this your fabled libido you've been talking about?" Buffy teased.

"Three or four beers and my inhibitions fly right out the window," I lamented.

"Right," Buffy shoved me - not fun when a woman is adjusting your inseam.

"When is your trash day?" Helena came out of nowhere.

"Why do you ask?" I gazed at her.

"I'm thinking about a place closer to work," she lied pathetically.

"Oh come...wait, you looked in my trash can," I gasped. Helena had the decency to blush. "Three days ago," I admitted.

"Oh my God..." she blurted out. "You've been murdering a box of condoms."

"How is this work related, or in any way not to be confused with sexual harassment?" I stated.

"I'm okay," Buffy smiled. "Helena, how many? Besides, do you feel sexually harassed?"

"Gross, Buffy; I didn't pick them out. I don't feel harassed either, not really. I feel that getting our new intern to open up and talk about his life experiences is a real team-building success," Helena beamed sexual menace my way.

"Hold on," I grumbled. "Buffy, yesterday you were setting me up for something and today, you set me up to fail at the board meeting. Helena, I didn't even know you two hours ago. So why are you both so comfortable busting my balls?"

"Cáel, yesterday and today until three o'clock this afternoon, you didn't belong," Buffy told me.

"I don't understand the whole picture yet, but you fought and bled for Katrina. You didn't even know that this male internship program was her and Tessa's idea," she enlightened me. "You provided evidence their proposal had merit without understanding what you were doing." I hesitated a while as I took Buffy's interpretation of events in.

"Hmmm...yay us?" I offered. "I'm not going to insult you by pretending that what happened this afternoon was anything but leagues beyond the ordinary. I also resent the hell out of Katrina ordering me to have dinner with her - it goes against policy and is plain wrong."

"She stood up for you today, Cáel," Buffy pointed out. "I don't think you truly appreciate the gesture."

"What I do appreciate is that as screwed as I am, I'm still better off than you two," my look hardened.

"How do you come to that conclusion?" Helena snickered.

"Really? Well, I hope you both like Fabiola because in a few years she is going to be ordering you both around," I reasoned.

"It doesn't matter that Buffy - I don't know you Helena - is more competent and capable. Fabiola is going to end up on top and you two will still be picking up the laundry. What makes me better than you two is that I know this to be true and you two still think you can be rock stars when all you'll ever be is roadies," I explained.

"That's absurd," Helena snorted.

"Please believe me, it isn't something you two have done. You haven't screwed up. Fabiola...she seems to be what's wrong with Havenstone. She's an arrogant know-it-all who doesn't listen to the Goddamn professionals she's been sent to learn from," I continued.

Whenever you separate people into groups, a rift develops. There is not necessarily friction - unless someone upsets things and that was what I was trying to do. I wasn't trying to topple Havenstone. That was a pipe dream. All I was looking for was some allies who had my back. If I asked for more than that, Buffy and Helena would turn on me.

They were both smart women. That was one of the reasons they had been recruited, along with their stunning good looks and willingness to treat men like pets.

"Fabiola's acting did suck," Buffy giggled. "Goddess, that was pathetic, wasn't it?"

"What happened?" Helena leaned forward. Fabiola was rubbing the staff the wrong way alright.

"She asked 'where is everybody'...after she stepped in the room," Buffy rolled her eyes.

"I pity you," Helena nodded. "Daphne's working out well for me. She's trying really hard." A barrier had been breached. They were talking shop - the real Havenstone - in front of me. I had graduated from 'test subject' to actual male intern; emphasis on the male.

They were no longer upset that a male had set foot into their world. I clearly 'knew my place' though they hadn't even known what that was on Monday morning. Despite my badly biased work reviews, I was able and willing to work. More importantly, I obeyed while doing the aforementioned things.

I was not a threat if all they had to do was tell me to 'stop', 'stand by my side', and 'kneel'. Better yet, from their own sexually driven side, I could remain a man while doing so. I was slavishly devoted to the hierarchy yet didn't take crap from others. I could fight and bleed for them while they remained in complete control. In their ferocious world, I was a 'safe' predator.

The fact that these ladies picked up bows and hunted down predators wasn't lost on me. I would never be truly safe among them, nor would I ever be accepted into their world. I was, at best, a bystander they reluctantly allowed to observe their wickedness.

"Done," the tailor announced. "Don't go sprinting across Central Park and you should do fine."