A sequel to Case Closed by Randalynn, which was in turn
a sequel to A Legal Requirement by Angharad
Paul stood outside the corporate headquarters of La Belle Dame and shivered, just a little. It was colder than he thought it would be, and part of him wondered if it had been a mistake to throw away his heavier coat with the rest of his stuff. It could have kept him warm until he found the place he needed to end things, and if that end involved jumping in the water, the sodden fabric would have dragged him down like a sea anchor. Something to think about. Should he go back?
He considered it carefully, and decided against it. After all, he was smart enough to choose a place to jump from that would be high enough to kill him instantly when he hit the water. The coat might have weighed his body down enough to keep it from being discovered for a while, but in the end, that wasn’t really an issue for him, was it? After all, once he was dead, his body was someone else’s problem.
After due deliberation, Paul decided to let himself off the hook on the question of the coat. He took a deep breath and smiled, thinking that he could afford to be magnanimous, considering how little time he had left.
He was still cold, though. He frowned. There always had to be a downside.
“Paul?”
He recognized the voice.
“With all due respect, Mrs. King,” he said, without turning around, “you really know how to kill a good exit line. I was rather proud of that one, you know. I sort of half-hoped that, once I was gone, you’d pass it around to the other women in the office so they could all have a laugh.”
“I’m sorry,” she replied, in a soft voice that held little of the commanding tone he’d only heard her use before. “But you asked me if I cared, and didn’t wait for an answer.”
“Now I’m the one who’s sorry.” He smiled, even though she couldn’t see. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to be rude. I just thought the answer was obvious, given what you did to me this morning — and how you planned to extend it into the foreseeable future with the new uniforms.”
“The answer is yes, I do care.” Paul turned around, surprised. Karen stood there, arms wrapped around her middle to ward off the night chill. She had left her suit jacket behind to catch up with him.
“I didn’t care this morning, because all I saw was the mask.” She looked into his eyes. “All anyone ever saw was the mask, Paul, and who would ever care about him?”
“A fair point. Even I didn’t like him, in the end. I only held onto to the mask so tight because I had nothing left to hold on to.” Paul raised his voice, just a little. “But no one ever questioned the mask, either, did they? You just thought I was nothing but the mask, because that’s what you expect from men, isn’t it?”
“Not all men, but some,” she admitted. “Maybe even most. But I am married, Paul. I know there are good men out there.”
“What a shame I’ll never be one of them.” He grinned, but it never reached his eyes.
“Why can’t you?”
“Because the outside is all anyone ever sees,” he replied. “Before I came to work for you, I never met anyone who saw me as anything but a nobody, weak and powerless. When I came to La Belle Dame, I had already decided to wear the mask, and everyone saw me as pompous and cruel. I’ve learned from experience —and from your brilliant demonstration this morning — that what I was under the mask was the truth. I really am nothing. The funny thing is, nothing turns out to be way better than the how the mask made me look.”
“So what you told Maisie about men and women ...?”
His eyes got wide, and he laughed.
“Look at me! Do I really look like someone who ‘goes out and gets things done?’ And look at you, with your own company and your millions. People fear and respect you. Me? I’m a joke, remember? After this morning I may look stupid, but I’m not. I went with that argument because I had nothing left to fall back on.”
He turned away and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I resented Katie because she is a better accountant than I am. It was my mistake in the spreadsheet program that caused it to crash. She had nothing to do with it. I tried to blame it on her because she’s good, and people like her. I wasn’t, and they don’t.” His voice softened, and he sighed. “Since I won’t be around to do it myself, please tell her I’m sorry for everything I ever said or did to upset her. Hell, tell ‘em all. It won’t change how they feel, but I’ll feel better if they know I understand what I did was wrong.”
“Why not tell them yourself?”
“Because if I do things right for once in my life, I’ll be dead before morning,” he replied. “And even if I knew all their numbers, I don’t think they’d appreciate me calling them all in the middle of the night to apologize. Especially me.”
“Apologies are always welcome, if you mean them.”
“No, they hate me. That much was obvious from this morning’s little adventure.”
Karen tossed her head, and her eyes flashed. “Oh come on, Paul. They don’t hate you. Hate takes energy. Hate takes effort. They don’t like you much, and you know why. But if you gave them the chance to see you and not that god-awful asshole you’ve been, maybe ...”
“What? Maybe what?” He turned back to face her, angry. “Maybe they’d just ignore me instead of hate me?”
“Maybe ... maybe they’d actually see you.” Karen caught his eyes and smiled. “You know, you’re really not this nobody you keep claiming to be. You’re smart, and you’ve got some real fire in you, even without the mask to hide behind.”
“If that’s true, why has everyone I’ve ever known put me down?”
She gave a little shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe a long time ago, you made the mistake of believing someone you thought you could trust. They told you that you were nothing, and once you believed it, everyone else you met believed it too.”
Paul stopped to think about that for a second. Could that be why? If you spend your whole time cringing, like a dog waiting to be kicked, eventually some jerk is going to kick you.
“I don’t know ...” The words came out slowly.
“Look, why don’t you hold off on ... your plans for the evening? Just for a while?” Karen’s voice was smooth. She knew how to sell something when she had to, and she wanted him to buy into the idea that it was worth something to stay alive.
“Why should I? I haven’t got a job, and my apartment doesn’t even have a bed in it anymore.”
“You still have a job.”
He shook his head firmly. “Not with that uniform requirement in place. I know the only reason it’s there is to hurt me, and I won’t play.
Karen hesitated only an instant. “Then it’s gone.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. It’s my company, after all.” She smiled. “Wearing the uniform will be encouraged, but not mandatory for office staff. And maybe we can amend the policy to come up with something for you to wear that would complement the rest of the office. A black suit maybe, with a white shirt and fuscia tie and handkerchief?”
“I can’t possibly afford ...”
“Everyone else gets their uniforms for free. You should, too. Something off the rack for now, but we’ll visit my husband’s tailor tomorrow afternoon. After you’ve apologized to everyone, of course. You truly have been a jerk in every sense of the word.” Her eyes narrowed. “Of course, you’re going to have to do better in the personal grooming department from now on as well. I won’t have you wandering into one of my offices looking like you just rolled out of bed anymore, understand?”
Paul felt his world turning over, and he had nothing to grab onto. Everything was suddenly happening way too fast. “Yes, of course, but ...”
She stepped forward and placed a finger on his chest.
“And no more being late every morning, or treating people like dirt. The mask is gone for good. Let’s see what we can do with the Paul it left behind.”
“But ... I’m not worth the effort. I’m nothing!”
“Don’t you dare tell me what I can’t do!” She almost growled at him, and he took a small step backward. “Even if that's true, I built this company up from nothing, I can do the same for you.” Then she grinned. “Besides, I think you’re much more than you think you are. I’m going to make you see that, because I always accomplish what I set out to do.”
Karen looked him over, made a decision, and stepped back. “How tall are you?”
“Five foot, five inches,” he stammered, confused. “Why?”
“Because my husband is a multimillionaire, a businessman, and an entrepreneur in his own right,” she replied, “He is loved, respected, and feared all over the world. And he’s one inch shorter than you are. Up until thirty seconds ago, he had two things you didn’t. Now, he only has one, and I’m going to make damned sure you catch up.”
“What’s the one thing he has that I’m missing?”
“Self-confidence. He believes in himself, and now it’s your turn. I’m going to make you believe in you, or die trying. Now come back inside before we both freeze out here. You’re staying at our place tonight, until we get you set up again.”
She turned, and Paul fell in beside her, still feeling like he’d been caught in the undertow and dragged out to sea. He reached out and touched her arm. She stopped and turned, a half frown on her face.
“Why are you doing this?” He spoke softly, as if he was afraid of the answer.
“Because this morning I set out to kick a pit bull down a peg and wound up almost killing a puppy.” Karen let her expression soften. “I made a mistake, too, just like you did when you put on that mask. I’m not a heartless bitch, Paul. As you said before, I rule here. This is my kingdom. That means I have an obligation to my subjects ... noblesse oblige, if you will. And you’re one of them.”
He gave her a sideways look.
“What’s the one thing we both share, me and your husband?” He asked tentatively. “The thing I didn’t have until a few minutes ago.”
“Me, Paul.” She grinned a wide grin, and he felt a touch of hope, just a little. “Now you both have me — and God help you if you let me down.”
He found himself smiling back, and ducked his head. “Yes, ma’am.”
They walked back into the building, together.
Comments
Let me see, what can I say
Let me see, what can I say to all that has just transpired between Karen and Paul? Hummmmmmm, I wonder????
Self-Confidence...
..."I'm not worth the effort." How many times have I said that to myself,like a TG Eeyore,"Don't bother...I'll just get out of your way...I don't deserve to be noticed." Twenty-one years of neglect and abuse can do that. I wonder if we looked into Paul's past, would we find an angry demanding father who abased and abused his son verbally and physically. Or a indifferent mother, worn out by her own insecurities and doubts who just didn't have the energy to care? Hell, I'm not the only one here. Let's have a show of hands, okay?
The really nice thing about this story is that it does demonstrate in specific something that we might generally acknowledge, in one form or another. That someone way above us rules not by benign neglect, as Sen. Moynihan said, but via benign intervention; a nice way of exercising noblesse oblige where the ruler is using folks like us to minister to folks like us...that, like Paul, everyone is in need of redemption and so all of us can receive it as well. Excellent followup! Thank You!
Dio vi benedica tutti
Con grande amore e di affetto
Andrea Lena
Love, Andrea Lena
Well he pretty much said it…
I believe in the previous story, he specifically mentioned his father being one of the abusers.
Heh. I wish there were more Karen Kings. ‘Tough but fair’ is a great philosophy, but ‘make right what you made wrong’ is even better.
Been there
I know Paul's insecurities all too well, Andrea.
Not so much from my parents, but from a rural school district in a town of 3,200 that protected and supported the bullies, because all of them were on either the football, basketball and/or baseball teams.
x
.
And remember...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifLqzLEB3E0
Who are you, Admiral Ackbar? *grin*
You REALLY don't think I'd something like that, do you? *smile* After I went to all this trouble to save him? Hush now, and don't scare the tourists. *hugs*
Randa
Duplicate post, please delete this one?
And Laika? Please put your comment back, i liked it! *hugs*
Randa
Much like Gimli of Tolkien's
The Lord Of The Rings where he met Galadriel, Lady of Lorien,
After Gandalf's Death, the Fellowship entered the Woods of Lorien, thus making Gimli the first dwarf to enter the Realm since the balrog was awakened in Moria. He was given a strand of Galadriel's hair, though when he asked for one, he was given three, which would lead to his name in later years of "Lockbearer", given to him by Galadriel.
May Your Light Forever Shine
Thank You
for picking up the pieces of this story from Ang and making a fine trilogy. This kind of point-counterpoint writing is very like a jam session in music. Kudos to you both for fine presentations.
repo time
Nice recovery there. Both of the story and their lives and values.
Whew! I'm so glad to see this continuation
Maybe you should combine the two? Put 'em in one file with a big black line between the two?
Case Closed by its self is a bit too. . . Harsh, hopeless and desperately needs the redemption shown in Won on Appeal.
Thank you for this
A reminder that it can take just one cutting remark to destroy someone, but a lifetime of love to build them up. And, sometimes, the destructive remark doesn't need to be uttered,, just implied.
Thank you for completing the trilogy and leaving a good feeling. Hopefully, many of the Karens and Pauls of this world learned a lesson from this.
S.
Well Done
I thought your original follow up to Ang's story was really good. I felt that Karen needed to chase Paul down to somehow save him which you accomplished very well in this part of the story. I much prefer a happy ending (or at least one that's filled with hope). Thank you.
Randa
ALISON
Just brilliant!!!!!!!!
ALISON
Her insistance on apology
is a bit much, though. It makes sense that Paul would take it as given that he needed to apologize, but really, there's a lot more apology that needs to be directed his way than he needs to make. As was pointed out (I think it was John-iW) in the last installment, if the genders were reversed, and it was an all-male office stripping and changing the clothes of a female, no matter how much of a bitch she'd been, there would be screams of it being no better than a gang-rape.
So, yeah.
It was no better than a gang rape to Paul.
Victims are not only blamed in a lot of the world still, but the victim of something like that tends to blame herself/himself as well, and in this case... it looks like Paul was gang raped, was going to kill himself, and Mrs. King couldn't handle that being on her conscience so went to talk him out of suicide so she wouldn't be responsible for the death, but is still going to make him apologize for being a victim.
Maybe so, edeyn ...
... but If Paul hadn't raised such negative emotions towards him with his actions hiding behind the mask, they never would have attacked him the way they did. Apologies are needed from everyone. He needs to apologize for everything he did to make the entire office angry, and they need to apologize for what was done to him in response. They need to know why he did what he did. They need to know about the mask he wore. Only then can anyone in that office heal and move forward.
At least, that's what I think ... and I'm on Paul's side in all this. *grin*
Randa
We can never be too humble...
And, believe it or not, an apology on his part will mend many bridges, and begin to build his own self esteem. The disgrace I suffered at the hands of my family and church sure tore me down. However, it revealed someone very different than they thought was there.
K
Alright this story is plausible, but we must remember that
any employer will go to lengths short of a lawsuit to keep his/her contracted employee. Remember the saying, "always read the fine print"? Well, that is what everyone has to do or the term caveat emptor will slowly creep into the equation. If the employer is not succeessful in keeping his/her contracted employee, then in real life the employer would file a lawsuit for breach of contract, and then take the offender to the cleaners for whatever the offender is worth. If the offender is worthless, then the employer has the satisfaction of placing the offender's name in the judgement book, and there it will stay until the offender pays the judgement. If the offender doesn't pay the judgement he or she will never get any credit because creditors check the judgement book automatically.
This story is at least plausible enough to be realistic. Thank you for sharing.
"With confidence and forbearance, we will have the strength to move forward."
Love & hugs,
Barbara
"If I have to be this girl in me, Then I have the right to be."
"With confidence and forbearance, we will have the strength to move forward."
Love & hugs,
Barbara
"If I have to be this girl in me, Then I have the right to be."
thank you for giving some hope.
On what was once a hopeless day, I needed it. And so did Paul. And, so did Karen, in a way.
"You can survive a couple of weeks without food. You can survive a couple of days without water. You can even survive a couple of minutes without air. But you cannot survive for even a minute without hope."
Dorothycolleen
All right!
This is a good ending, one I really appreciate. I agree with you, I don't believe in a no win situation. Or maybe I don't believe that there has to be a no win situation. She did the wrong thing for the wrong reasons, but she admitted it. She took the steps necessary to correct it, with humility and honor. Nobody is perfect, and everyone can learn from their mistakes, if they are truly willing. A good boss knows when to change their strategy rather than suffer a real loss. Good story!
Wren
Change of heart
I'm talkin' bout the times that you were cruel for cruelty's sake!
How you gonna pay for, how you gonna pay for, how you gonna pay for those sins?"
~~~Warren Zevon
.
I believe in the possibility redemption too, but Karen and her gang were so vicious in Angharad's original (Paul deserved to be sacked---"Take a hike, asshole!"---but their glee over his psychic devastation showed a much deeper commitment to cruelty...) that her sudden recognition of someone else's feelings almost seems like a deus ex machina here. I liked the end of CASE CLOSED because it laid bare the consequences of cruelty, showing that sometimes there's no fixing it or taking it back. Not that this one didn't move me deeply too (and in a much better way) but tragedy can make a powerful statement. Another possible tri-quel would have been a hospital visit to Paul the failed suicide ("I'm such a nothing I can't even do that right...") with pretty much this same dialogue, only it being something Karen learned in retrospect, and thanks her stars that they've both been given this second chance to be decent humans. And maybe Paul could reveal how he'd flashed on some of the ways he'd been wrong after he thought it was too late. But I'm not gonna write that story! I could barely read these ones (I'm kind of stressed out here at home with no privacy, walls being torn out by workmen and some familial conflict squeezing my emotions like a vise, so sorry for all the deleted comments of late...), though they were all 3 excellent. Think I'll go read that Heather Rose Brown squaredance story, that one probably won't bum me out...
~~~hugs, Veronica
And remember...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifLqzLEB3E0
In my "back to TG" sequel to the sequel ...
... to the sequel, Paul would decide (on his own but with Mrs. King's concurrance) that the best way to apologize for being a misogynist macho acting jerk would be to appear in the office the next day, following his free salon visit, dressed in the uniform and apologize. See Gwen Lavyril and my "Suffragette Redemption" My part is the redmptive part, and it's here, but the whole story is at Fictionmania
BE a lady!
and the co-workers?
what about htem for physically attacking him and publically humiliating him? THis has to be a two way street.
I Used To Work With A Lady
I used to work with a lady who was a Supervisor over one department. The women working under her would complain all the time about her attitude, which was short tempered at times. She and I would talk in her office and she would reveal what she was going through at home. At that time, she was juggling the responsibility of taking care of her husband who was terminally ill from Cancer and trying to work to pay the massive medical bills that weren't covered by insurance. She had her pride and didn't want pity from other people. One day, I was making my rounds on the floor and overheard several women talking about what a bitch Rachel had been that day. I finally told them that there were things going on in her life at home right now, that caused her to be stressed out and short tempered. I didn't get into specifics with them, but the next time Rachel came out on the floor, several women asked how they could help. The dam burst and she finally allowed them to understand what was going on. When I stopped by her office later that day, she thanked me for helping her realize that sharing her burdens wasn't a sign of weakness, but of strength. She had extra shoulders to lean on after that day and the burden was so much lighter.
A saying
I don't remember where i saw this or whether it's an original, but it's very apt: "A burden shared is a burden lessened."
Reclamation
That is a total turn-around, I was expecting Paul to say I want to be Pauline. With his size, easily done.
Now, my interest is peaked. I can't wait to see what comes next.
Cefin
Wow!
Oh my Lanta! “Because this morning I set out to kick a pit bull down a peg and wound up almost killing a puppy.” is like the key to the failure of forced fem (and ilk) stories. They are hunting elephants but an elephant sized dose of tranquilizers will kill the notasbigasanelephant thing that they ended up shooting because they don't follow the path of positive target acquisition. And the fact that she can and does admit her failure is remarkable. Props!