Something For a Rainy Day

A little wicked story. Sorry no sex and no editor. I hope you enjoy.

The economic storm that enveloped J.W. Parker & Associates that bright spring morning came without warning clouds or distant thunder. Ellen Walker came into work as usual and found the storm well advanced. The men in dark suits had descended into every corner of the office; they were well in control went she entered. The sale of Parker & Associates, founded 1887, to a financial conglomerate was an accomplished fact before any employees reported for work. At 9:15 a.m. in the main conference room Edwin Parker gave a long-winded speech to the assembled staff. Thanking everyone for years of loyal service, but as was his practice saying nothing of substance. No explanation was given for the sudden sale by anyone to anyone. At the end of his speech, Edwin promptly departed. He would have a golden umbrella to protect him from the elements. The other employees were clearly to be left without shelter.

Everyone spoke in whispers as they left the room. It was all the same whispered question.

"What now? "

Before that morning, Ellen had dreams of promotion. She had planned to buy a small house. She thought suddenly of how much money she had in the bank. She decided just as quickly it was too little for this eventuality.

"Damn it I need this job."

Ellen wandered into Morgan Goodfellow's office. She was still in a kind of daze. Morgan gave her a hug, and a mug of the strong dark coffee he brewed there each morning.

"I should really live in Brazil," he said "with all the coffee I drink. Perhaps I should retire there."

"Is that what you will do—retire?" she said.

Morgan smiled, "Well I have put by a little something for a rainy day."

Morgan had been Ellen's mentor since the day she had started as a customer representative at J.W. Parker six years before. She was straight from business school. Not sure of herself or precisely what she had been hired to do. Morgan helped her. He took her through each step in the process. Showing her how to service the small institutional clients that were the principal business of J.W. Parker.

"In truth," he said to her that first day "you are a kind of salesman."

"We make our money on the sale of bonds. If the customer buys or sells it makes no difference, but to keep the customer you must put them into the right investment. We don't do fancy sales pitches here most of our clients are banks or trust customers. They like the long view. It's a numbers game for them."

It was a numbers game that he introduced her to the first week she was on the job. After months of preparation, J.W. Parker sold large blocks of long-term bonds just before the rise in the prime interest rate. Millions were saved for the clients many of whom called Edwin Parker to give their personal thanks. But it was Morgan who had saved the money by swift action and careful preparation.

"Nothing fancy just good timing," he said to her. But she knew it also took work as well. From 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Morgan was in the office. The first to come and the last to leave. The center of all knowledge—the man with the answers. He proved himself prepared for any eventuality. He was just the man for this kind of storm.

"What will happen?" she asked.

He did not immediately respond. He thought a minute as he did with a complex trade.

"Well, first they lock everyone out of the computers. Just a precaution so no one can get any ideas for feathering their nest or just screwing up the works. Then they call in the people they will get rid of for a little meeting where you get the bad news. They take your keys and offer a severance package, if you sign off on being fired like a good little troll. Then it's out the door—it really all depends on who they call first I suppose." He had lapsed into one of those reflective trances that showed he was thinking.

"Yes it all depends on who goes and who stays. A clean sweep of the upper management would be best" He said with one of his wicked smiles.

"What chance do we have?"

"Oh, I should think you have a very good chance. You don't earn much, and they will need to keep some people."

"And you?"

"Me—well I should go I would guess. Too highly paid. Too old —definitely not with the new program." He smiled as if he actually welcomed the prospect of leaving a place he had worked in for thirty-five years. He had been here since he graduated from High School. He had no college education he knew only the business they were in. What could he do?

"What will you do?"

"As I said, I have put a little something aside for just such a day as this."

She left Morgan's office feeling guilty that she was so concerned about herself when her dear friend faced the loss of everything.

They began with the meetings about 10 o'clock. A thirtyish fellow with a slick insincere smile by the name of Carter presided over the process. He was an outplacement specialist he told people.

"He is a professional axe man," Ellen thought.

Carter and the new management sat you down in the conference room, and as Morgan predicted took your keys and showed you the door after making you sign some document that said you would not sue. They started at the top and began working down the chain of command.

Men in smart looking suits and trendy ties moved about the office examining into everything; carefully taking control of anything not seized in their first assault. They spent a lot of time going into Morgan's office. Not an unexpected development since he was the most experienced, and knew quite a bit about the complex computer system they used. He had more or less grown up with the computers in the old Parker and Associates as a boy of 17 in the auditing department he had seen the first of the mechanical brains introduced.

"That was in the sixties of course we made originals of everything by hand. Really the machines were just a check." Morgan was speaking to a young fellow's back.

Ellen saw how cavalierly they treated him. But he helped out just as he always did with no hint of resentment.

"Now of course we have come to depend on them for everything and the people are the check."

But no one was listening to the old fellow. They went about removing the names of the fired from the machines. Later they would replace new account codes and authority for old.

"It's like a tornado," Ellen said, "you don't see it coming you hear it turn around only in time to be swept away." She was speaking to one of the secretaries.

"What will he do?" the woman said looking over to where Morgan's door stood open with Morgan leaning against the door frame waiting the call to the executive office that could mean his termination.

"This place is his life." the secretary said, who had been around far longer than Ellen.

"Well, I hope he has some savings put aside like he says," Ellen replied.

"I don't see how that can be. His wife left him years back, and he has put all his kids through school alone. I mean they all went to Ivy League Colleges that's expensive."

She was right of course Morgan had never been more than an account manager. He worked hard, but the Parkers took all the profit. Morgan could have saved little hardly enough to see him to a new job. Where do you find work in your fifties in a new firm? What do you say I gave fourteen hours a day every day, but the new owners didn't care.

Morgan had given his life to others; the firm, his wife, and children. Yet there was no one to care for Morgan in his time of need.

_______________________________

Morgan's wife had been sitting at the kitchen table in the little house in Syosset. A modest abode what they could afford on his salary. Dana was a pretty woman not a great beauty, but cute in the way small women can be. Her brown hair had luster and her brown eyes were appealing. She had been working out the last year once the kids were all at least in middle school. After fourteen years of marriage they were comfortable. She worked in a lawyer's office. A good size firm that did real estate.

Lately she had been evasive regarding her work. Morgan worked long hours the ride home on the train had him coming in late. He had no real ideas what hours she kept. The kids had said things that implied she was out after normal business hours. But thing were alright?

"Please sit down I have something to tell you," she said.

Afterwards Morgan knew that he had felt it coming. Had known it in his heart but not his mind.

"I have fallen in love with someone else," she said.

Not actually the truth. The partner in the law firm that she had taken up with was fifteen years her and Morgan's senior. He was no heart throb, but he had money. Divorced once with two boys who were grown he was looking for a second chance. Dana was looking for an easier life. He had money a big house on Long Island Sound. Dana was trading up a concept that Morgan understood. Still this had its dangers. He tried to warn her, but she was already gone.

The children took the divorce hard, but recovered. She visited often. Introduced them to her new man. They were invited to the wedding. The kids all went Morgan gave it a pass. Two years later the couple had a daughter and then a son. She had moved on, but time can catch up to you. The lawyer died. There was not as much money as people thought. Dana was forced out of the big house and the easy life.

The colleges for his kids were expensive. What little he saved was soon gone and he was faced with a mountain of parent education loans. He sold the little house and moved to a small apartment. He took ten years getting out of debt. He hadn't heard from any of his kids in over five years.

_______________________________

Morgan just waited at his office door all day when not answering questions for the new people. Becoming it would seem more nervous as the day wore on. As Ellen past him about four o'clock he said, "I thought it would be over by now. Well, we are almost there just a few more to go for a clean sweep."

She gave his shoulder a squeeze and reminded him how he had predicted this would be a good sign to get called in late, but he merely looked more nervously over at the young men working on the computer system. They were entering the new codes now they would have all the machines up soon ready for the new owners, and their employees whoever they might be.

In the end, Ellen and Morgan were the last two called in. Ellen was, in fact, the last. She saw Morgan come out a smile on his face then she was called in, and told that they had decided to keep her. Morgan was the last employee let go. It had been a near thing because he was known to be such a hard worker and experienced.

Morgan was gone before 5 pm. the first time he had left that early in her memory.

In actual fact, it took the auditors several weeks to find the discrepancy. Over twenty million dollars gone in an instant.

It was built into the programming, the computer personnel explained. Latent code that transferred funds.

"BUT HOW" they were heard to roar in the executive suites.

"Well, he just took out the checks in the system. Must have done it years ago. Just needed a complete change of staff to make it work. All the people who would have seen something wrong were let go. When the machines were restarted, they executed their prior instructions."

They looked for Morgan but not very hard more effort was placed into concealing what he did. You don't want to tell the world you are not a safe and secure financial firm. When Ellen heard from Morgan again, it was just an unsigned postcard of a beach showing the sunny weather, the long white sand, and blue sea. He had written:

"It is raining here now, but I am sure the sun will come out soon." the postmark read Rio.