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The morning started with an all-hands meeting. it ended with a stern warning from Kate. "This investigation is Company Private. Any attempt to warn the target of this investigation is a fireable offense. All communications with the target are being monitored, please don't be stupid and try to get around it. That employee is no longer your or my concern." The clear statement that Mike was on his own had the desired effect. Everyone knew Kate was a devoted wife, an offense bad enough to change that was serious indeed.
The office was in an uproar, every action by Mike for the last 2 years was scrutinized, categorized, and judged by his peers. The junior managers were busy checking maintenance records for inconsistencies, and keeping the day-to-day of the Maintenance department running. For an unexpected audit, things went very smoothly. Mike had been an able manager, the only suspicious records were associated with his extramarital activities, none of those would have raised a question without a thorough investigation.
At the end of the day, Kate had a hardcopy folder, with the names of over a dozen women. Now she had to decide what to do about it.
****
Anna answered the door chime. She had just dropped her son off at school, and was about to log in and begin her boring day of menial operations planning.
"Yes, may I help you? I'm about to go on shift, ma'am."
The tall woman - obviously a manager - gazed at her for a long moment. "Mrs. Anna Woods?"
"Yes, Ma'am. Ms. Woods, now, ma'am, we divorced - "
"Of course. Ms. Woods. There is an ongoing investigation into improper use of company resources in the maintenance department. Our records indicate that you may have witnessed such activity, your co-operation in the investigation would be most helpful."
Anna's mouth opened in horror. Investigation? What was going to happen to her? Who would take care of her boy? A dozen horrible possibilities went though her mind in as many seconds.
"Ms. Woods? Please sit down." The manager stepped past her into the apartment like she owned the place. Anna realized that as far as she was concerned, she did. She followed her into the dining area to sit at the table, facing the manager with scared eyes. "I want to emphasize that you are a possible witness, not a suspect. If you give full and truthful answers to my questions, you have nothing to worry about. As of now, you are temporarily assigned to Maintenance Management for the duration of this portion of the investigation, at full pay."
At full pay? Anna blinked in surprise. She had been expecting a suspension at a minimum, this was almost a miracle. "Yes, Ma'am. Thank you Ma'am."
"So, I need to go over the circumstances surrounding the repairs to you unit on the date ..."
****
Mike surveyed the damage. The wall screen was shattered on the floor, one wall mount twisted, the other not, with the latching connector hanging free. He turned to face the teary-eyed woman sitting on the couch.
"Mrs. Woods, this is the third repair call of this nature in the last month. This is not something the company can just pay for repeatedly."
Why not? They paid for the station, didn't they? She kept the resentment out of her expression, and kept her eyes down. "He's just a boy, Sir. I try to keep an eye on him, but he's just so quick, and so clever, and..."
"Is Mr. Woods not able to instill discipline?"
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