Chapter 12
Wherein problems in Paradise lead to a surprise sister visit and more
Author's note
: this is part 12 of a 12-part story arc which I've put under Group Sex (see Chapter 1). Like all my stories, it begins with character development and in this case, over several chapters. The chapters can have the elements of a number of different categories and I will try to give advance warning. This one is primarily Group, Bi/Lesbian, some Paranormal and nonsexual story. And a gentle reminder: this is all Fiction -- Willing Suspension of Disbelief recommended...
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
We had a great "wrap party" and although the construction guys wouldn't drink alcohol because they were on the job, as soon as they realized Jerry was still paying for their time, they shared some pop and munchies with us while we sat around and shot the shit, then they went and struck the set while the rest of us ordered in dinner. Jerry insisted Molly take a break. Most everybody was going back to their lives that night, so we stretched it out as long as we reasonably could.
Ginger even got Tony's phone number and Sandy was livid-jealous until she heard Tony tell Ginger she could share it as she saw fit.
Come Monday morning, there were Jerry and Molly, of course, and Dave since he was still on leave, and Sandy and I because we were still on vacation. Jackson was gone during the days but would come back in the evenings, fairly beat up from the two-a-day practices. I think he'd made at least one of the practice squads and had a shot at a permanent place on the team.
Oddly enough, with the population suddenly deflated, we all went to sleeping separately. Sandy and I still had a huge sightseeing list and Dave offered to tag along with us if we wanted. As if we'd let him stay home! In the end, we decided to blow all day Monday at Universal Studios Hollywood and it was mind numbing... and body fatiguing... but incredibly worth it. Monday night was spent recovering from Monday day, pampered by Molly at Jerry's virtual paradise and seduced -- again -- looking down on the lights of L.A. I was starting to feel a little depressed that I was leaving Wednesday.
Tuesday, our plans for the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Science Center got blown out of the water... with very surprising fallout.
"Beth, we've got a problem and I wouldn't be bugging you if I had a solution," Dr. Pam was telling me early Tuesday morning. She'd called my cell while I was in the shower and I'd called her back.
"So what's going on?" I asked, mentally scratching anything I intended to do that day.
"Apparently part of the fix they put in to get us up and running changed the interface for ordering medications and although it isn't widespread, it does affect Oncology, Nephrology and Pediatrics. What it's doing doesn't match the manual. What I need you to do is take a look at what we've got and come up with a short course for competent individuals that we can teach how to use the revised system. Then they can teach the others."
"Is there any chance you can come in this morning and look at it? I would really,
really
hate to have to go to a manual ordering system while it gets straightened out."
I took a deep breath, then let it out. "Yeah, I'll be there in an hour. I don't see any reason to drag Sandy into it. You'll owe me one, though."
"Oh, I'll pay whatever the service charges there are, no problem," she hurried to assure me.
"You're not hearing me, Pam," I smiled. "You will owe me one. Think about it. Anyway, I better get going. Have the coffee hot!"
"Yes, ma'am!" I could hear the smile. "Roger on the coffee and all that. See you. And thanks!"
"You're welcome... and bye." I hung up, reassessed my wardrobe and went to find Sandy.
I found her just walking into the breakfast nook and sat her down over coffee to explain what happened. Molly was already there and Jerry walked into the middle of the explanation, so they got briefed as well. Jerry told me to take the Ferrari and Molly asked if I needed a lunch packed or a thermos of coffee and I opted for the latter.
Leaving Sandy and Dave to fend for themselves, I threw my laptop in the car and forty-five minutes later I was pulling into the parking lot at PAMC. Pam was waiting for me when I cleared Security.
She knew what the problem was and where the discrepancies were, and it took her about half an hour to demonstrate them to me while I took copious notes. I thanked her, poured another cup of coffee and got on the phone with my Tech Support back at the ranch. In general, they had learned not to screw with me in the past and I was able to get to one of the developers fairly quickly. One who had access to the code.
It took me about two hours to document the alternate procedures and about another hour to put together a presentation covering the differences. I let Pam know I was ready and we grabbed lunch in the cafeteria while the word went out to particular people that their afternoon schedule had just been rearranged.
"You know, Beth," Pam was telling me, "you really ought to be training the trainers, not out at client sites. Doesn't your company have a Guru position? And I'd think it would come with a healthy raise."
"We do," I told her. "But it's based out of the Santa Clara office and I'm near Chicago. I'd really rather not relocate."
"So you travel 75% of the time instead?" she asked and it became apparent that she was gently pointing out I was never home anyway. "Maybe the position of Guru would come with less travel?"
I was thinking about that when I nearly had a severe laundry problem. Mr. Pedersen was coming across the cafeteria, headed straight for us.
What the fuck is my Executive VP doing here?
I started to panic.
"Uh... boss alert," I told Pam. "Like, um...
major
boss alert!"
"I know," she smiled. "I invited him."
I sat on anything I was going to say as Pedersen joined us, wondering what the fuck was going on? I sure wasn't screwing anything up, so I had no idea why Dr. Pam would call in the big guns.
"Hi, Pam!" he greeted us as he pulled up a chair. "Ms. Stoner..."
"It's Beth, sir," I responded, starting to stand up when he waved me back down again.
"Then it's Jim," he smiled. Okay, so maybe I wasn't it trouble. "I understand you're saving our client's bacon again."
"I, uh..." I started, but Pam cut me off.
"What I said was, she's saving our asses," she told Pedersen. "I know it's unfair to Beth to have you pop in like this, but I thought a threesome... I mean, a three-way conversation... would cut through a lot of the crap."
"Beth, it's like this," she said, turning to me. "I wasn't just blowing smoke about the Guru position. Jim and I have had a couple of long discussions about how invaluable you've been and how he could best use you and your talents. I'm very happy with the relationship we've built and in this case, I wanted him to see how
responsive
you are to our needs."
She was laying on the double entendres and I was doing my best to impassively not react.
"But what it really comes down to is, I shouldn't have to depend on you to keep my organization running. I need a pool of people with your talents, or close, who can be nearby and not have to hop a plane in a jam. So I told Jim he should have you training the trainers... teaching others not only what you know but how you go about problem solving so that they could do what you're currently doing. He told me the same thing you did... that there is a position, it is a promotion, and it's out of the Santa Clara office. And yes, they normally require the hire to relocate."
"I told him he was being stupid. You're already on the road 3 out of 4 weeks. He could cut that down to 2 weeks, eat the airfare, and get a major boost to his team's abilities. Then I made him an offer it would be difficult to refuse. I told him I'd make conference room facilities available to him gratis, one week a month, if he held your sessions here, where I could have a select few of my people attend as well. And I'd even pay the usual course fees for those of my people that attended."
I suddenly realized
exactly
