Imbalance Pt. 03

"Well Jason. I'm glad to have you. I'm going to be terribly busy, and I won't be able to guide you around."

He looked perplexed. "Um, that's going to be a problem. I'm actually going to need a point of contact. I'll be needing passwords, security logs, and a lot of other things. Once I get going, I'll be fine. My team will come in here and do the upgrades, and we'll practically be invisible. But for the first couple of days I'll need someone who can point me in the right direction.

"The first couple of days? How long is this upgrade supposed to take?"

"About a week."

I saw one of The Heads trying to get my attention. He had a serious expression on his face. Whatever they wanted me for, it wasn't good.

"Look, Mr. Morrison, I'm sure that my assistant Sarah here can get you anything you need. I have an urgent meeting to go, as well as a mountain of work to do. If she needs anything, she can give me a call. Is that okay with you Sarah?"

"Um, sure. I'll stick around to help him out." By the looks of things, she didn't seem to be inconvenienced one bit.

"Good. I'll be seeing you both later." With that I made my exit. I almost laughed to myself. It kind of reminded me of when I first met Claire.

Love. In the beginning it starts off as mere infatuation. Fluttering of the eyes, sped up beating of the heart. So wonderful in the beginning. Until it all turns to shit.

***

I was ushered into the boardroom and seated before The Heads. This meeting was definitely not for a progress report. Along with the normal players, I saw Terry and a couple of other lawyer types.

Sitting before all of the major people in your company is intimidating enough. When they bring in a lawyer, then the anxiety gets amped up a notch.

"Good morning Mr. Underwood. As you know, my name is Terrence Ross. The reason we are here is because we have a couple of questions about an old associate of yours. A Mr. Douglas Stamper. The two of you worked together for years before he left. You even became really good friends. Do you remember him?"

Terry knew damn well I remembered him. I'd spilled my entire story out to him. But I knew that he was only doing his job. Spelling things out was not only for me, but for all present. Including the stenographer who was furiously typing away.

"Yes. I remember him. We did work together, and he was my friend. But I haven't spoken to him in several months now. Can I ask what this is about?"

I half expected Terry to bring up Doug's involvement in my divorce, but he didn't. He treated whatever this was and my case as if they were two separate entities.

"Do you recognize this?" he asked as he slid a piece of paper over to me. I grabbed it and looked at for a brief second.

"It's a schematic." I said, as if everyone should have already known what it was. No one seemed blown away by my revelation.

"Thank you for that Mr. Underwood. But I need you to take a second look at it. What is it a schematic of?"

I looked closer, and my heart almost dropped. Panic started to set in. I recognized this schematic. It was the one that Doug and I stole from that other intern when we were fighting for jobs here. The one for the new propulsion system. This was Donald's schematic.

Fuck. What is this doing here?

"Um, I've probably seen this somewhere before, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Why are you asking me this?" I asked nervously. This was not good at all. Past sins coming back to haunt me.

"Well, we believe that Mr. Stamper developed this system while he was employed here, using our equipment to do so. He patented the design, but it doesn't stop the fact that he came up with it using our resources. His company just released the plan to launch this new system later on this year, and Doug is the one who designed it. If this is true, then we can make a case about this system belonging to us."

"Wait a minute. Are you telling me that Doug developed this?"

"Yes. And he got it patented not too long ago. This surprises you?"

I sat there flabbergasted for a moment. This wasn't about MY sins. This was all about Doug. They wanted to know if Doug came up with this design while he worked here.

But Doug didn't come up with the design at all. Donald did. We stole his design in an effort to keep him from having a leg up on us, but we never planned on using it. At least I didn't. The motive behind stealing it wasn't to use it for ourselves, but to keep him from being able to wow the company with it and clinch his spot. I assumed that after Doug and I were hired, that he would take his design to another company.

But Doug was supposed to email it to him after things blew over. He did email it back, didn't he? I racked my brain, but I didn't actually witness Doug doing that. I just presumed he did because that was part of the plan. We just wanted to make it difficult for him to get to his work FOR THE MOMENT. Not steal it all together.

But apparently, Doug had other ideas. He actually passed it off as his own. Now, the company wanted to know if I had any knowledge that Doug had designed it here.

This left me with a huge moral dilemma. Do I screw over the man who screwed me over? Hmmm? Tough choice.

I was about to open my mouth, but then stopped. Tougher choice. Do I screw him over, or royally screw him over? I could say that Doug came up with those designs while he worked here, or I could say that he stole them from Donald. One would get him sued, the other would probably get him blackballed from ever working again as an engineer. And then sued.

Did I want that on my conscience? Doug, being forced to give up his career and face punishment for a crime that we BOTH committed? I thought back to that morning when I was eating Claire out. She was writhing on the bed in front of me, her juices coating my lips. Then she called out his name.

I also thought back to that day in Doug's office. When he self-righteously justified his betrayal, putting it off on me. "I didn't deserve Claire" he said sanctimoniously when he professed his love for her. Apparently, I didn't deserve a best friend either.

My conscience will be fine.

"I do recognize this schematic Mr. Ross. But Doug didn't come up with this drawing when he was employed here. Another intern did. Doug stole this from him."

I swear the entire room gasped collectively. No one, including Terry, expected that bit of information.

"So, you're telling us that Mr. Stamper stole this design from another employee that used to work here, went to another place of employment, and passed this off as his own?" One of The Heads asked. Terry eyed me with a bit of suspicion, but he didn't say anything.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm saying."

The stenographer was typing at warp speed. The clicking of her fingers as they punched our every word was constant.

"Who is this intern?" another one of The Heads asked.

"His name was Donald. I don't remember his last name. Come to think of it, I never knew his last name."

"Did you witness Mr. Stamper stealing this schematic?" Terry chimed in. He looked at me warily as he said this. It could see him trying to pass me an unspoken message, warning me to tread lightly.

"Yes. I saw him do it."

I could see Terry wince involuntarily. The rest of the room muttered for a few seconds, and then fell silent.

"Just to be certain that we are understanding you correctly, let me repeat it back to you. You are saying that you are an eyewitness to the crime of Mr. Stamper stealing this schematic from an intern named Donald." Terry was choosing his words very carefully, emphasizing the ones that he wanted me to pay close attention to. "Eye witness" and "crime", were the ones that his pitch and tone changed with when he said them.

"Yes. That is what I'm saying."

Even through his professional demeanor, Terry fell slightly at that admission. I could tell he disapproved with my course of action. But he had a job to do, and I was on my own now.

"Tell us about the time you witnessed Mr. Stamper stealing this design." Terry said, returning to the lawyer that he was. His trained interrogation voice was unwavering and even.

I decided to go with the truth. The only part of the story that I changed was that instead of BOTH of us stealing the design, I just had Doug doing it. The entire time I was talking, Terry was taking notes.

"So, to reiterate..." Terry said, reading from his notebook. "...you, Mr. Stamper, and Donald the intern decided to go out for drinks. The three of you became inebriated and drove to Donald the intern's place of residence. Then, Mr. Stamper steals this schematic that we have shown you by emailing it to himself, and attempts to destroy the personal laptop of Donald the intern so that there is no evidence of its creation. Is this correct Mr. Underwood?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Did you have knowledge beforehand that Mr. Stamper planned on stealing this design?"

This was a sticky one. So far, everything else has been the truth, with one detail changed. It flowed out so effortlessly because all I had to do was recount the events of that night. Doug did steal the design, so it was easy to simply tell the truth. However, this question posed a problem. If I said yes, then I make myself an accomplice. If I said no, then that could come back to haunt me. Undoubtedly, Doug would be questioned. When he was, all he would have to do is throw me under the bus with him. If I was found out to be telling a blatant lie, it could discredit me.

I decided to go with the truth. Sort of.

"Yes. I knew he planned on stealing it. We were in competition for the remaining two jobs here. It was down to the three of us. When we learned that Donald was going to present this design as his ticket to one of those jobs, we knew that would clinch him a spot. Doug felt that between the two of us, he was the weakest candidate. So when we decided to go out for drinks, he told me that he planned to make it so that Donald didn't have the schematic to show you. I warned him not to do it; told him that we would find some other way to beat Donald. But he knew that once you guys saw that schematic, he was done for. So when we brought Donald back to his apartment, Doug started going through his laptop. I don't even know how he got past the passcode. I also didn't know that he planned to destroy the laptop, or that he was planning to pass off the design as his own."

The nods all around showed that they believed me. Even Terry looked convinced. It was easy enough to pass off, because about 95 percent of it was true. Separating Donald from his designs isn't a crime. Having knowledge of that would get me a slap on the wrist. Destroying the laptop is a little more serious. I had to distance myself from that. Doug stealing the design and passing it off as his own, that was all his dumb ass mistake.

"Well, Mr. Underwood. Thank you for your honesty. We will make contact with this Donald guy to corroborate your story, and we will make our decision. I know that it must be hard to testify against one that you call a friend..." Even Terry almost cracked a smile on that one. "...but we thank you."

He shot me a brief smirk, as if to say "You lucky son-of-a-bitch." I returned his look with an innocent one that said, "Who, me?"

"If we can use this to challenge the patent and get it revoked, we may be able to get that design for ourselves. We need to find this Donald guy immediately. If he has anything that could bring it into question, we can use that." One of The Heads said. I could practically hear the wheels turning.

"Well, he emailed the design to himself. He may have used his company email address. I'm not sure. But if he did, that's a start, isn't it?" I offered, trying to give whatever help I could. They nodded and mumbled some more.

Hey. I just wanted justice for my company. That's all. My willingness to help out had NOTHING to do with sticking it to that snaky, back stabbing son of a bitch. Scout's honor.

Who cares if I wasn't a boy scout?

"Tell me Frank, could this be used to solve the current problems we are having with our engine?" another one asked me. I took a look at it and saw the possibilities.

"Maybe. I'm not sure. But if we got Donald on our team, I'm sure he'd be a big help. Anyone who could come up with this is sure to bring something else to the table."

I saw smiles all around me. When it comes to making money, they will be nothing but smiles. Hell, they were practically jerking themselves off under the table. Stopping the development of one of our competitors was sure to equal big time dollar signs for them. Taking a design that would have brought them to the next level and making it our own...Ca ching!

And I was the guy who placed the mouse in the tank with the python.

***

About a week went by until I heard anything else about it. By this time, I had settled on making a bid for the town house that was close to my girls. I was afraid that if I moved to the condo that was closer to my job, then my predisposition to overwork would cause me to lose sight of what was really important. Out of sight, out of mind. But if I lived closer to my girls, then my feet would stay grounded. I would have to pass by my old house every morning on the way to work, and coming back from work. That would be my daily reminder to make time for the two most precious things I own. Sometimes true strength is being honest about your weaknesses, and heading them off.

I was actually out with my girls at an amusement park when I got the phone call. Imagine my surprise when I saw my screen light up with Doug's name. My girls were inhaling sugar by the grams eating crazy bread and drinking a large soda, so I was able to slip away from the table. I knew this conversation had a high likelihood of not being kid friendly. I went to a spot that was close enough for me to still watch them, but out of earshot so that I would be free to converse with the back stabbing asshole without having to censor myself.

"What do you want Doug?" I asked curtly when I answered the call.

"YOU MOTHER FUCKER! I KNOW IT WAS YOU THAT SNITCHED ABOUT THAT SCHEMATIC!"

Well, well, well. I guess the board reached out to him. I couldn't help it. I had to rub his face in it.

"Doug, you seem angry. Is there a problem?"

"YOU'RE A BACKSTABBING ASSHOLE! YOU KNOW THAT? NO WONDER YOUR WIFE LEFT YOU!"

Under normal circumstances, that would have made me angry. But now, knowing what was ahead for Doug, I felt calm. I saw it for what it was; a desperate attempt to bait me from a fallen man. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

"Hello Pot." I said with an even tone.

"Huh? What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Come on Doug. Do I really have to explain the whole 'pot calling the kettle black' thing? Do you really want to compare notes on backstabbing? Besides, you were the one stupid enough to try to pass off someone else's work as your own. I just told them what I knew."

"We BOTH did that asshole. You know it! You made it out to seem like I did it on my own."

I didn't want to admit anything that could be used against me. With technology being what it was, he could have easily been recording. Still, I wanted to torture him.

"Doug, Doug, Doug." I laughed. "Please don't bring me into your quicksand of stupidity. I didn't try to use stolen schematics to boost my career. I'm smart enough to do it with my own work. While you were busy seducing my wife, I was working. The two of you made that abundantly clear. If you had spent less time getting into Claire's pants and more time at your job, maybe you wouldn't have needed to sink so low."

"That design was the only reason that job hired me! You already had your promotion! I was just trying to get mine!" His voice sounded anxious. I would have felt bad for him if I wasn't enjoying his misery so much.

"Well, you got it. Congratulations. Look at the bright side of all this, Doug. Now, you'll have a lot more time to tell Claire how wonderful she is. You don't have to worry about becoming a workaholic like me. Isn't that great?"

"Fr..." He started to say something, but then he stopped himself. I think he decided to switch tactics, because when he spoke again, his voice was softer. He was practically pleading.

"Frank. Please. This is my livelihood. I know you don't like me. But we used to be friends. You don't understand that this could follow me for life. I may not be able to get another job with this on my record. We can settle what I did to you another way. You're not this guy. You're not like me. Don't let my actions change who you are. You're better than me."

Oh god. Did he really sink to groveling? He must be desperate. I'm better than him? This was almost too good to be true.

What I did next was cruel. I admit it. But in my defense, it felt fucking great!

"Okay, you're right. I'll go talk to the board in the morning. I'll tell them that I made a mistake. We can settle things between us another way. The only thing I ask is that you stop seeing Claire."

He was stunned for a moment. He was quiet so long I almost thought we got disconnected.

"Um, what?"

"I'll tell the board that I made a mistake. I'll lie for you. But only if you stop seeing Claire." I could feel his heart drop on the other end of the phone.

"But, you two are divorced."

"And you're the reason for it. You once told me that I didn't deserve Claire because I chose work over her. Now you get to make the same choice. You get to prove your claim that you are the better man for her than me. If you forfeit her, I'll save your job. Or you can keep seeing her. The choice is yours."

Was I actually planning on speaking to the board? Fuck no. Even if I wanted to, it was out of my hands now. The Heads had that juicy steak in their mouths, and there was no way they were letting go. But I was curious. He pronounced his love for her. I wanted to see how deep that love actually ran.

"Are you actually using this break us up? Really? That's low Frank. You're not that low."

I was tired of him trying to appeal to my benevolent nature to manipulate me to make things better for HIM. The first time it was funny. Now it was irritating. I wanted to burst his bubble.

"Doug, you fucked my wife. You took my family from me. So please, stop saying how much better than you I am. I already know that. I don't steal things that don't belong to me and try to make it my own. I do my own work. I got my own wife. You? You're a pathetic bottom feeder who can't get anything by himself. When we were interns, both of us knew that YOU were the one in danger of not landing the job. Don't pretend like it's not true. So now, I'm giving you the chance to make a choice. To man up and actually sacrifice for what you really believe in. So, dump Claire; keep your job. Or not. The choice is yours."

"Frank..."

"Tick Tock Doug. Tick Tock."

Things fell quiet once again. I could practically hear him deliberating on the other end. As the seconds passed, I actually thought he would choose Claire. Then finally, he softly said, "Okay. You win."

"What was that? I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over the hypocrisy. You'll have to speak up."

"You win asshole! Okay? I'll give up Claire. Are you happy?"

A sinister smile spread across my face. "You see there? That wasn't so hard. Apparently, you don't deserve Claire either."

"You're a fucking asshole Frank."

"I know. So are you. I want you to think about that when you're jobless."

"What?"

"Please! You didn't actually think I would help you, did you? God, you really are stupid. Have a nice life Doug. Don't call me again."

"YOU MOTHER..."

I ended the call with the biggest smile on my face. Then I strolled over to my daughters.