The Rhythm Method

"Breaches in workplace health and safety, code of conduct, and workplace harassment are very serious matters. In addition to that, it would seem that Mrs. Price has not been satisfied with how some people have treated the opportunity for team building she has presented you with this week." There were nervous rustles and murmurs around the room.

"The good news is that there are several of you who will not have to stay for Suzette's teambuilding exercise this weekend." He waited, letting the murmur run though the group of assistant winemakers. The not so good news is that the evidence provided by these cameras and the results of the team building exercises during the week are irrefutable, and there will be no opportunity for appeal." Once again he paused to let the ripple run through the room.

"The following people did not get into the spirit of the week, and, given events here over the past month, will be released from the company today." Stuart rattled off the names of five men, one of whom was Jeff.

Charlotte gasped audibly, a look of stunned confusion on her face. She turned to look at Lincoln, who shrugged at her and leaned closer. "I don't think it's about this morning. You heard Stuart, there were breaches."

"This is bullshit!" Jeff yelled, exploding from his seat. "My father is friends with Frank. There is no way he would fire me."

Another of the senior winemakers, Philip Pearson, stood up and addressed the angry young man. "Frank didn't fire you, Jeff. I did. Perhaps we should go and talk about this in my office, and I can explain fully my reasons." Charlotte looked down at the hands in her lap, wondering who else knew what had happened earlier. She hunched her shoulders, trying to look as small as possible. Philip held up his hand as Jeff started to argue his fate once again. "If you'd prefer, we can discuss it here in front of everyone. Your choice, Jeff."

"Oh God," Charlotte muttered under her breath, "Don't do it. Don't do it," but peeking out from the veil of her hair she could see the towering arrogance of Jeff's privileged life making him believe he was invincible as he answered.

"I have nothing to hide. I will bring an unfair termination suit down on you so fast you'll be kissing your own ass goodbye, old man," Jeff sneered.

"Will that be before or after the employee you assaulted this morning in front of a witness presses charges," Philip replied, fixing Jeff with a steely look and showing that he would not be intimidated. There was an audible gasp in the room.

"She wouldn't dare," hissed Jeff, finally glancing at Charlotte, who was cringing and slumped down in her chair, once again trying to hide.

"What do you mean she? You assaulted a woman?" It was Jack Warner who had spoken up. The easy going family man was horrified. The meeting became unruly at that point, with Stuart Gresham having to thump a large book against the podium to gain everybody's attention.

"You will all have a brief meeting with your direct supervisors now," he bellowed over the still murmuring group. Jeff was denying it all to anyone who would listen, and Lincoln stood, helping Charlotte to her feet and hurried her from the room to the sanctuary of Gresham's office.

Stuart followed them into his office, then took a seat at his wide oak desk.

"Sit, please."

Charlotte and Lincoln sat nervously in front of Stuart, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"We have all been quite pleased with how well the both of you have done this week. You in particular, Charlotte."

She nodded and smiled, absentmindedly rubbing her sore arm.

Stuart took notice and frowned. "You really should press charges against that fool," he said with a serious look. "There's no room in the winery for a person like that."

"Obviously," replied Charlotte. "He was fired today."

"Yes he was. And daddy will have him working somewhere else tomorrow. So what does he learn by all this?"

"It isn't my job to teach him any longer. I'm finished with him."

"So I've heard. But still...if he ends up hurting another woman in the future, how will you end up living with the guilt of doing nothing?"

"Maybe we should just feed him to Ralph Watson," Lincoln suggested.

Charlotte nearly gasped, the realization dawning on her that Ralph would inevitably find out about Jeff's assault on her. As much as she would love to see it, she didn't want Ralph to end up in trouble for hurting Jeff.

"Maybe I should press charges."

Stuart smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that. The sheriff is on the way over to take a statement. I'd like to see if you can get it done this morning so you can participate in the luncheon session scheduled for today."

"Okay."

"As I was saying," Stuart continued, "you both did exemplary work this week. As you have probably figured out, Charlotte, you were intentionally paired with Ralph on several occasions. There was a lot of obvious animosity between the two of you. I felt that the example you'd set in overcoming that would have a ripple effect among others, and for the most part it did."

"How were you so sure that we'd work things out," she asked.

"Because I knew both of you, and I knew your stories. I trusted that the people I knew you to be would emerge."

"And if it didn't?"

"Well, I guess I would have called your name too, Charlotte, and it would have upset me. You're one of the best we have here. Oh, you run a close second, Lincoln."

"Thank you," said Lincoln, puffing his chest up with mock pride at being second in the man's thoughts and words.

They chatted a few minutes longer, and there was a knock at the door of Stuart's office.

"Come in," Stuart called out. The door opened, and the sheriff and a female deputy entered the room.

"I'll leave you with Ms. Simons," said Stuart. "Lincoln, come with me. I'd like to discuss the morning's test results."

"We'll need to obtain a statement from Mr. Hayes as well," the sheriff said, pointing to Lincoln. I understand he is the only live witness to the event."

"Yes, of course," replied Stuart. "We will also have copies of the security footage ready for you."

"Please don't copy them. We will have to make the digital copies ourselves in order to ensure a proper chain of evidence."

"Very well, then," said Stuart. We will be down the hall in Lincoln's office when you need us."

Stuart and Lincoln left the office, closing the door behind them.

Ralph sat at his assigned table for the luncheon, happy to see a placard with Charlotte's name on it awaiting her arrival. He began to get concerned when the room was full and the meeting began, but she still had not arrived. He had heard a rumor that there was some trouble at the winery that morning, and he had seen the sheriff arrive and head upstairs. He became more agitated the longer he sat there, still waiting for her arrival to fill the empty chair he could not help but stare at. Finally, Charlotte arrived, excusing herself for being late. She quickly made her way to the table and sat, glancing at Ralph and giving him a tight smile.

Ralph could see that her eyes were red and her face was blotchy, evidence that she had been crying. He wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her, but he was limited to a kind look and a nod. She had missed the appetizer, but the next course was being served as Suzette walked up to the lectern to speak.

"Now that everyone has arrived, we can begin," she said, nodding to Lincoln who had entered the room a few minutes after Charlotte. "I'm sure you have all heard some buzz about things that have gone on this morning. We have let several employees go, as those individuals were clearly not the team players we desired to have working here at Twisted Vines. In addition, we have decided that we are making some additional changes to the staff that will be announced by team leaders at your meetings this afternoon. One thing I will announce now is that Stuart Gresham will be taking over as Managing Director of the winery."

There was a round of applause, as Stuart was well liked and respected by everyone in the company. Stuart nodded in acknowledgment as he sat at the dais table with the other winemakers.

"We are going to do something fun tonight," continued Suzette. "We are going to have a dance contest. We have already put together the groups, a listing of which will be handed out by Emily," she said, nodding for her assistant to begin. "Since we have more men than women here, we will begin tonight with a group effort. For tomorrow we have enlisted the support of a local dance class to provide training and dance partners for the remainder of the weekend."

Ralph rubbed his eyes with a huge paw, trying to hide his displeasure. He did not dance and did not enjoy it in the least. Why the hell someone would think this was a good idea was beyond him. Emily handed the sheet to Charlotte, and she smiled as she passed it to Ralph, noting without surprise that the two of them had been placed in the same group for tonight's activities. Ralph glanced at the sheet and softened his grimace. Well, he thought, maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all.

They finished lunch, making general small talk with the others at their table. Ralph watched Charlotte closely as she favored one arm as if she were injured. He didn't dare to ask her about it or the reason she was late in front of the others at the table. When the meal was over, they all walked down the stairs to the foyer. They were to spend the next several hours working or attending meetings with their supervisors, then meet in one of the banquet rooms at six for the evening session.

Charlotte had been walking with Ralph back down to the foyer, but he peeled off to speak with Sam for a moment, believing that he, as usual, would have found out what was going on during the morning. As they stood there talking, Ralph heard a commotion. He looked up to see Jeff enter the foyer, screaming Charlotte's name and cursing her.

"Stupid fucking bitch, it's not enough you get me fired, but you tried to get me arrested too! No one treats me like that and gets away with it!" Gasps echoed through the large room as people could see that Jeff had a knife in his hand. "Did you think I would actually spend one second in custody? Did you forget who my father was? Who I am?" They all backed away as he looked around. His wild eyes settled on Charlotte, and with the screech of a madman he rushed at her with the knife held up, ready to stab her.

Ralph reflexively moved to cut Jeff off before he could reach Charlotte. Jeff may have been a star quarterback, but Ralph was an all-state middle linebacker, and he knew how to take the best angle of pursuit. The big man moved with a grace and quickness that shocked everyone. Jeff was so focused on Charlotte that he never even saw Ralph coming at him. In what seemed to be a second, Jeff went from moving across the room to lying in a crumpled heap on the stone floor. The knife flew out of his hand, bouncing across the floor until it came to a rest at the base of the wall.

Ralph had positioned himself between Jeff and Charlotte, ready to continue if need be. That wasn't necessary, as Jeff lay there monetarily unconscious. A few seconds later, the sheriff was at Ralph's side, motioning for him to back up.

"It's okay, son" the sheriff said to him. "I watched the entire thing from the landing at the top of the stairs. I'm glad you were down here. There was no way I could have gotten there in time before he hurt the woman. I guess we have a whole bunch of new charges for this fool now," he said, shaking his head.

For his part, Ralph was glad it was over. He didn't enjoy hurting people, and he never really had to do it. His size and appearance usually made that unnecessary. He turned to face Charlotte, walking over to where she had been standing. She was visibly shaken, and Ralph watched as Stuart Gresham put an arm around her and guided her from the foyer outside into the sunshine.

Ralph followed them out into the fresh air, concern showing on his features. Charlotte straightened as she saw him approach and brushed her tears away, giving him a false smile.

"Saving me is getting to be a habit for you, Ralph. You'd better be careful. People are going to start talking," she joked.

"Well, at least they'd be talking about me in a different way than they usually do, right?"

"True. Thank you, Ralph. Again." She paused before continuing. "I'm really shocked that he...he was going to try to kill me," Her voice broke as the enormity of what had just happened hit her again. "I knew he was an ass, but I would never have imagined he would try something like that. He looked insane!"

"People like that asshole have never been told no their entire lives. They just don't know how to deal with it when it happens. I don't think Daddy will be able to get him out of this mess," Ralph tried to reassure her.

"I guess."

"You don't have to stay this evening Charlotte. No one would blame you," Stuart Gresham said quietly as he stood next to Charlotte, his arm still around her shoulder protectively.

"Come on. I'm taking you home," Ralph said to her.

"We can't leave. We have this entire weekend here we need to do. You can't put your job at risk by leaving." She was horrified at the idea of Ralph being penalized by Suzette for helping her.

"Charlotte," Ralph growled. "I think you've had one hell of a day." Sam had only just begun filling him on the story of what had happened earlier that morning, but he had the gist of it now.

"Yes I have," she admitted, sniffing loudly, "but I'm okay. Honestly. I guess at some point it will all fully hit me, but right now, the last thing I need is to hide alone in my apartment."

Ralph frowned at her, realizing that she was stronger willed than he'd realized.

"Besides," Charlotte said. "I'm not going to miss my chance to see you dance, Ralph Watson. We have a contest to win." Her smile when she turned it toward him was genuine this time.

"Then we're in trouble, Charlotte. I have two left feet. Two very large left feet at that."

"We'll see about that, Ralph. Come on. Let's, get back to work, okay?" she said with a smile. "Stuart and Lincoln won't leave me alone and I don't want to get you in trouble for missing your supervisor's meeting." She moved toward him and reached up to cup his cheek with a small hand, bringing him down to her height so she could kiss it. "Thank you Ralph, you're my hero." She blushed as she looked into his dark eyes.

Ralph shrugged blushing a little himself.

"Let me add my thanks to Charlotte's, but you'll have to settle for a handshake from me," Stuart chuckled, lightening the mood slightly as Ralph took his extended hand in his own meaty fist and shook it. "Shall we go back in? I'm sure the Sheriff will need a statement from each of you."

Putting a hand at the base of her back, Ralph guided Charlotte back into the castle.

Once inside, Ralph spent a few minutes with the sheriff before heading down to the cellars for the afternoon meeting. He was thinking about the feel of Charlotte's soft lips on his cheek. The kiss felt as if it had meaning well beyond the fiery kisses he shared with Tammy when they fucked. It had been a long time since a woman kissed him with her heart behind it, Ralph thought.

He shook his head, admonishing himself for such stupid thoughts. He'd saved the woman's life. What the hell did he expect? Although he and Charlotte had come a long way in understanding each other, he was quite sure that she had no romantic inclinations toward a big oaf like him. For his own part, he still wasn't exactly sure of his own feelings either.

He arrived in the cellars just before the meeting started, and he shifted his conscious mind away from Charlotte. As he listened to the cellar master, the thoughts continued to roll around in the back of his head, trying to gain purchase.

"I want to say that I am very pleased with the way each of you has performed over the past week," the cellar master announced. "We seem to be the most derided members of the staff, but each of you has shown the spirit of cooperation this week. I'm proud of you all."

"We heard during the luncheon that there will be some movement among the staff members. This movement will provide opportunities for some of you. After the weekend, Suzette, Stuart, and the winemakers will meet to discuss who will be moved where. Of course, they will confer with myself and the other cellar masters, as well as the assistant winemakers.

There was a buzz around the room as they all grasped the meaning of the announcement. Although they were provided with nominal raises in salary on an annual basis, any meaningful increase was reserved for those that moved up into new positions. They were all quite anxious to prove their worth to those above them in the organization.

"If there are no questions, please continue with your afternoon duties. Plan on being finished by four, please. You will all be assigned rooms in the castle, and will have a couple hours to get cleaned up and settled before we convene in the meeting room at six this evening."

There was a rush of hushed voices as the rats and masters disbanded and went about their duties. Ralph and Sam were working together, moving and cleaning empties for the remainder of the afternoon.

"How's it feel to be a superhero, Ralph?" Sam joked.

Ralph rolled his eyes at his friend. "I just did what needed to be done, Sam."

"That was the best fucking hit I've seen all football season, Ralph. That prick went down like a sack of potatoes," Sam laughed. "Bam! I wish the hell I had been the one to hit him. I hate that fucking prick."

"I'd be a liar if I said I didn't enjoy it," said Ralph. "I do wish he'd gotten up, though. I really wanted to punch him in that smug face of his."

"Now, now Ralph. That is NOT the spirit of cooperation Suzette wants around here."

"Yeah. Somehow, I think she'd be on board with that one," replied Ralph with a smirk.

"I think you're right about that," said a chuckling Sam.

The men continued working and chatting as the day went on. When it approached four in the afternoon, the cellar master asked them to finish the last of the barrels they were working on and head over to the section of the castle that housed the sleeping accommodations. They would be assigned their rooms by the desk clerk on duty.

Charlotte had finished her work a little early, and was in her own room by three forty five. It was a spacious room, but it still felt cozy despite its size and the stone walls. There was a high four posted king sized bed in the middle of the room. Noticing that her bag had already been delivered, Charlotte rummaged through it and pulled out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She changed into them, then climbed up onto the huge bed to relax.

She smiled as she lay there, imagining herself a princess in a castle long ago. She understood why overnight stays here were so popular. There was a romance to the castle and the room, and she suddenly felt very alone in the big bed. She reached for an extra pillow, pulling it next to her in a hug as she rolled over onto her side. As she started to doze, she wondered what it would feel like to curl up onto the massive chest of Ralph Watson.

Charlotte woke up with a scream, her breath ragged as she sat bolt upright. A moment later her door flung open and Jack warner rushed in, looking around in a state of agitation. He was immediately followed in by Ralph. Charlotte, still caught in the fragments of the nightmare she was woken from, screamed again while clutching the pillow to her as the men rushed toward her.

"It's okay. It's just me," Jack said, holding up his hands as if surrendering. "We heard you scream and tried knocking. When you didn't answer we came straight in. It's just me Charlotte," he repeated, his calm voice soothing her. While he spoke, Ralph had gone through the entire room, checking any potential hiding place to ensure Jeff had not returned with revenge on his mind for a second time.