Betrayed Chapter 8

She and her Personal Assistant had been there to supervise the unloading. The guys already knew Angie. They had been suitably (no pun intended) impressed with Ms. Layton herself. Add the glowing welcoming memo circulated from the Offices of the Chairman and President, and everyone accepted the new 'suit' without a second thought – but not without a second look.

That was Wednesday morning. To preserve the fiction of the 'outside hire' and thus protect my identity, Angie and I had boxed up all my stuff from my office Tuesday night, then taken it down to the garage on those same carts. Employee Relations had fast-tracked the new hire's paperwork after receiving the memo from Rob. I don't know how the issue of the Social Security Number had been handled. Angie told me it was best if I didn't know for now; 'plausible deniability'. Maybe she bought one on the Internet.

She and I had gone shopping Tuesday afternoon for my new wardrobe. One of my 'executive perks' was a generous clothing allowance, which came in very handy. The outfits we purchased were tasteful. Okay, they were largely tasteful; after all, I was a Vice-President now. With Angie helping me pick out my apparel, you know there were going to be some delightfully feminine touches – like... no pantsuits or pantyhose. Somehow, a portion of my clothing allowance found its way into 'leisurewear'. I even got to expense my new corsetry – and a few other little 'ups and extras'. Sigh. The things we must do to get ahead in Business....

At home, Angie boxed up all of Lance's clothes, shoes, and underwear to make room for Lisa's. She was all set to take it down to Goodwill. I told her an Executive Assistant did not concern herself with grunt work; I would have someone pick it up and deliver it. I did - to a storage locker on North Clark Street, just in case the 'Lisa' thing didn't work out....

The whole girly-girl thing completely bewildered me. I had dismissed my childhood wonder long ago as exactly that.