A Mailgirl's Meeting

After showering, shaving, and preparing for our shift that morning, Kelly, Anna, and I were all summoned up to Barbara's office at precisely eight a.m. The sight of a nude mailgirl on the ninth floor heading toward Barbara's office barely raised an eyebrow anymore, but seeing the three of us together drew some attention.

For once Barbara wasn't on her cellphone when we arrived. She pointed at the carpet and the three of us kneeled. "It's time for a little Mailgirls meeting," she said. "First item on the agenda is finding out what the hell happened last night at your apartment with Anna's mother and why I had to hear about this on the news this morning on my drive to work."

"I'm sorry ma'am," I said. "It was late by the time it was over with and I was going to tell you this morning. I didn't realize it would be on the news so quickly." I didn't tell her that I was too distracted making love to Anna last night to even think about calling her.

"Alright," she replied sharply, "tell me about it now. And don't leave anything out."

I told her the whole story as Anna listened nervously. When I'd finished she asked Anna a few questions. After Barbara was satisfied she had the whole story she asked, "Are there any security cameras there that might have captured this?"

"I don't know," I told her.

"Alright, I'll check on it," she said. "In the meantime I want the two of you to move into my condo across the street."

"Your condo, ma'am?" I didn't like the sound of that. I knew Barbara had almost total control over me here at work, but was she really ordering me to move?

"Yes," she said. "I bought it to live in when I first joined DDE. I kept it as a rental property when I bought my house and it's unoccupied right now. It's got twenty-four hour security, lots of security cameras, and you and Anna can walk to and from work in five minutes. I'll have a DDE security guard escort the two of you each way."

In other words the two of us would be under Barbara's thumb twenty-four hours a day. "I don't want to do that, Barbara. We'll be careful. Her mom is in jail now anyway and has a restraining order against her."

"How did that restraining order work last night in keeping her away, Danica? And she'll probably be bailed out of jail by noon by some activist group. She's a useful fool for them to use in attacking us. Who knows what kind of story she'll be spinning about this to the media?"

"My apartment is the only place right now where I feel like my life is my own, Barbara. There's nothing in my contract that says that DDE has the right to tell me where to live."

"That's true," Barbara replied, "but I can't control the situation with Anna's mother where you're at. If you won't move then I'm going to have to let Anna go."

Anna looked at Barbara in shock. "P-please, no...."

"I'm sorry, Anna, but Danica is leaving me no choice. We've got less than a month before the board decides whether or not to make the Mailgirls program permanent and there are some members skittish about it because of this mess with your mother."

"Barbara, I told Anna that she can stay with me as long as she wants," I said. "Firing her won't remove her mom from the picture."

"Then I'll fire you too, and make sure you pay back every single penny owed in your contract."

"Fired? For what?"

"You've had an excessive number of demerits over the past couple of weeks. Your Mailgirls handbook states that you can be disciplined, up to and including termination, for excessive demerits."

"Bullshit!" I exploded. "You told me not to worry about demerits while I was training Anna!"

"Did I?" Barbara replied. "Do you have that in writing?"

Kelly had been silent up to now. "Barbara, you manipulative bitch! Danica isn't your personal slave!"

Barbara glared at Kelly then locked her eyes on mine. "No, she isn't." The word "yet" entered my mind but remained unspoken. She leaned back in her chair, took a deep breath and spoke in a calm, steady voice. "This meeting is going to end one of two ways. Either Danica and Anna are going to agree to move into my condo or I'll replace all three of you with new mailgirls who will do what I tell them. You decide."

"I-I'll quit," Anna said, and for the first time since meeting her I saw tears in her eyes. "I'll go back and live with my mom so she won't cause you any more problems."

"No!" I said. "We'll move, Barbara. Whatever you want." Kelly flashed an angry look at me but held her tongue.

"Good," Barbara said. "In fact I think the move will be permanent, at least as long as you remain a mailgirl, Danica. How much time do you have left on your lease?"

"About three months, I think."

"I'll pay it off then. The condo is furnished so you'll only need your personal items. You can sell your furniture or put it into storage, whatever. Go get dressed and go back to your apartment and start packing, Danica."

"Yes ma'am," I sighed, returning to a submissive demeanor. Barbara had won again like she always did.

"Anna, you're on your on your own now as a mailgirl. Can you handle it?"

"Yes ma'am," she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

Barbara then fixed her eyes on Kelly. "And you, Kelly, is there anything else you want to say to me about this?"

Kelly glared at her for a few seconds before lowering her eyes. "No ma'am."

"Good," she said. "I don't want any more drama out of any of you, is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," we all said in unison.

"Alright then. Get the hell out of my office, all of you."