Corporate Punishment

New opportunity

Monday, Sam walked in to work with one of his new outfits. He wasn't really sure about the outfit, but the look on Tiffany's face let him know he did well and he noticed that several of the co-workers gave him an extra look over. With a little extra confidence, he pushed back slightly on the changes to his ideas.

By the end of the week, Tiffany stopped him on his way into the office. "Sam, I wanted to show you something." She poked one shoe out from behind the desk. "I thought you may want to see the shoes you bought me in the wild." Sam swallowed hard as he saw her stocking covered leg tipped with the pearl heel from the weekend.

"They look good on you. Are you enjoying them?"

"They feel great, and I'm liking some of the attention that I'm getting." She winks at him knowingly.

Slightly flustered, Sam wished her a good day and an enjoyable weekend.

Midafternoon, Ms. Wallace called him to her office. "Sam, I have received some reports about your behavior. It seems that some new clothes have made you think that opinion matters."

Sam blathers out an explanation, but is cut short with a pristinely manicured hand. "Sam I, didn't call you in here to scold you. I know you are deeply involved in the Markenson campaign. Sally had a personal issue come up and can't give the presentation on Monday. Would you be comfortable doing the presentation?"

"I should be able to do it, but why me? There are much more senior people on the team."

"Let's call this trial by fire. I want to see how well you do, then we can see about you getting more responsibility."

"If I don't do well?"

"Let's not discuss that at this point. I would just hope we don't have to have that discussion."

"Yes ma'am."

"Take some time this weekend to go over the presentation. I will expect you to give it at 2:00 on Monday."

"Of course. Thank you for this opportunity."

Sam spent hours over the weekend practicing the presentation. He memorized every aspect of the campaign. Late Sunday afternoon, Sam went for a walk to get out of the house and to clear his mind. He wandered aimlessly for a while, his mind still going over the presentation.

As his mind clears, he looks around to get his bearings. He is about a block from his favorite pizza parlor. After dinner and a few beers, he headed back home. He paused as he passed a Wal-mart; Tiffany's voice is in his head, mentioning underwear choices. He went in and searched through the men's section, but found nothing that came close to what Tiffany suggested.