The Boardroom Meeting
by M.C.
Tough, no nonsense corporate troubleshooter straightens things out.


The C.E.O. of the huge corporation - the 'BIG' boss - angrily picked up the
phone made a call. " A.S. did you read the memo I sent over to you ? "

"Yes," came the reply.

"Good. I want you to meet with the board of directors as soon as possible and
straighten this mess out. If word of this gets out, what will our
shareholders think ? The last thing I want is for my company to get a
reputation as another Enrom or Worldcom. Let me know as soon as the matter has
been taken care of."

" Will do," came the reply.

The Boardroom

The members of the board of directors looked nervously at one another. The
eight men sat around a large conference table that must have been twelve feet
in length. They knew something was wrong when they received an urgent message
from their parent company, informing them that they were sending their top
troubleshooter - the dreaded A.S. - over to check out certain irregularities
in their company's accounting procedures. A few days later, they received
another memo, virtually demanding that they all show up for a board meeting at
9:00 a.m. SHARP on Thursday morning. None of them had actually met - or even
seen - the mysterious A.S. before. They were, however, all aware of
his reputation as a tough, no nonsense  trouble shooter that always succeeded
in clearing up a company's problems; and punishing those responsible for
creating them. At precisely  9 a.m. the door of the conference room opened.
All the men stared in shock  as a beautiful woman confidently strode into the
room and made her way to the head of the table. She opened her up her
briefcase and said curtly, " Good morning gentlemen, my name is Amy Stanton.
Let's begin, shall we."

The board members couldn't believe their eyes. Surely this couldn't be
the notorious A.S., the corporation's most feared troubleshooter ?
She appeared to be about five feet six inches tall and weighed  perhaps 130
pounds. She wore a pair of dark rimmed glasses and had her hair tied up in a
bun. She couldn't have been more than twenty - five or twenty-six years old at
the most. Beautiful, she certainly was. But she definitely didn't look like
the one whose initials - A.S. - sent shivers down the spine of many a
corporate executive throughout corporation....until she began to speak, that
is.

" Gentlemen," Amy began in a strong, confident voice," we in the main office
of your parent company have been made aware of some rather 'strange' - and I
use the word loosely - accounting procedures going on around here and I 
intend to get to the bottom of this RIGHT NOW ! " She slammed her fist hard on
the wooden table to emphasize her point. " Nobody is leaving here until I get
this sordid situation straightened out ! " The men all began to fiddle with
their hands and nervously look around; all except Mr. Rodgers that is -  the
head accountant.  " And just what makes you think that young lady? ," he asked
in his usual condescending manner. Mr. Rodgers took over the accounting
department three years earlier - coincidently, about the time that the
accounting problems began. He was a large, well built man who had played
football in college. He was something of a bully and, because of his arrogant,
intimidating style of dealing with his fellow employees, wasn't very well
liked. " According to my figures, everything is in perfect order. I believe
you, up there in your ivory tower, are misinformed."

Amy, stared at him over the rim of her glasses for a moment and then took out
a page from her briefcase. " Very well then, Mr. Rodgers, let's have look at
these figures, shall we?  Ever since you took over the accounting at this
firm, you've been showing profits where there simply weren't any." Amy showed
them all the official corporate documents -  which contradicted those of Mr.
Rodgers' -  to support her claim. " In fact, this company, which was doing
rather well until then, has actually lost money over the last two years. And
yet, last year you gave yourself a Christmas bonus of $100,000. That's quite a
reward for losing money, wouldn't you say,  Mr. Rodgers ? "  Amy noticed that
he began to look a little less smug than he did before. " And although you've
stated that the firm has contributed some $250,000 to charities, I've
contacted those charities and it seems that they only received $50,000. What
happened to the other $200,000, Mr. Rodgers ? " Amy glared at him now as he
shifted restlessly in his chair. The other board members couldn't hide their
satisfaction at seeing Mr. Rodgers squirm. But they also knew he had a vicious
temper and wondered what would happen if Amy pushed him too far. Either
unaware of this, or simply unconcerned, Amy continued her assault.

" Mr. Rodgers, although your salary is $150,000 a year, last year you bought a
new home which cost nearly one million dollars; and this year, you bought
yourself a Mercedes 450SL  and a  Lincoln SUV for your wife. Can you please
explain these purchases  to me ? "  When he heard this, Mr. Rodgers  exploded.

" What  business is it of yours what I buy in my private life, Miss nosey body?" 
he bellowed. "  My personal affairs are none of your God damn business ! "

" When you skim money off the company payroll to pay off your gambling debts,
give yourself tremendous bonuses for doing virtually nothing, and stealing
money meant for charities, it becomes my business, Mr. Rodgers," Amy snapped
back.

" Why you pompous little bitch. How dare you come in here and make these
accusations !  If you weren't a woman I'd..."

"You'd what ? Mr. Rodgers," Amy asked him with a calmness that surprised
everyone in the board room.

"Never mind, you slut. Just be thankful you're a woman, that's all."

" And just why is that Mr. Rodgers ?," Amy persisted.

" Because if you were a man, I'd kick your ass in right now !!! "

Amy stood up and comely removed her glasses. " Mr. Rodgers, our corporation is
an equal opportunity employer." She untied her bun and let her long beautiful
blond hair fall down her shoulders. " Which means that we don't discriminate
against anyone because of their race, religion, or gender." Amy now began to
slowly unbutton her sweater. "So, I expect you to treat me just the same as
you would anybody else, man or woman." She removed her sweater - revealing her
surprisingly muscular arms - and folded it over the back of her chair. " So,
Mr. Rodgers, there's no reason why you shouldn't try to kick my ass in just
because I'm a woman." She kicked off her high heeled shoes. " Unless, of
course, you're afraid of fighting a woman, in which case I'd understand."

" All right, bitch, if that's the way you want it. Then let's settle this here
and now. I'm going to kick your ass in but good !!! ," he roared.

Mr. Rodgers removed his coat and stormed over to her. The other board members
quickly got up and moved aside. For some strange reason, Amy comely stood
there as the six foot - two inch, 210 pound man approached. She actually
appeared to be smiling. When he came within reach, Mr. Rodgers let fly with a
wild right hook. Amy easily ducked under it and punched him squarely in the
pit of his stomach. " OOOF ", he grunted. " Belly's a little soft I see. Not
working out as much as when you played football are you Mr. Rodgers? " He
swung at her again but, like before, she easily avoided his blow. Amy then
countered with several rapid jabs to his face which the larger - but slower -
man was unable to block. She followed this up with a couple more hard shots
into his mid-section and then an solid uppercut to his jaw which sent the
arrogant accountant flying backward where he fell over one of the chairs.

As the stunned man struggled to get up, Amy comely went over to the large
mirror on the wall of the board room. She straightened up her hair a bit and
reapplied some lipstick. Amy always believed that - as a representative of the
parent company - she should always try to look her best...even when beating up
a wayward executive. " Ready for some more, Mr. Rodgers?," she asked with a
smile on her pretty face. She approached him with her arms at her sides. He
took a swing but Amy just moved aside. Another punch, another miss. " Your
punches are as accurate as your accounting I see," she laughed. After several
more unsuccessful attempts to hit the elusive woman, Mr. Rodgers decided to
change his tactics. He charged her, attempting to tackle the much smaller
woman football style. Once on the floor, he was sure he could pummel her at
will.

Amy saw this coming however and met his attack with a solid round house kick
to the side of his face. She quickly followed this up with another and then a
third. Twelve years of karate training - Amy holds a fourth degree black
belt in tae kwon do - enabled her to deliver devastating, brick shattering,
blows which few men could withstand. For the second time in two minutes, Mr.
Rodgers was sent reeling across the board room and found himself on the carpet
again.

Bleeding from his mouth and nose, hurting all over his body, Mr. Rodgers
appeared to have had enough; but Amy wasn't through with him yet. She grabbed
him firmly by the hair and yanked him to his feet. " Mr. Rodgers, you've
stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from your fellow employees, from our
stockholders and - worst of all - from the charities that needed it the most.
I'm going to see to it that you pay back every cent of what you owe, but
first  - because of your selfish greed - I'm going to give you the beating of
your life." For the next ten minutes, the beautiful woman battered the tough,
pompous man around the board room with her fists; she actually seemed to be
enjoying herself. As she beat him up, Amy also lectured the hapless man about
how her corporation depended on the trust of the public. That when people like
him ruin a company's reputation, it can be the death knell for the company
itself; and cost thousands of honest, hardworking, loyal employees their
jobs. The other board members watched in awe as she reduced the once proud man
into a crying, pathetic heap. Never again would he bully other employees
around. Finally, she decided he had had enough. Holding the battered, helpless
man up by the collar of his shirt, Amy leaned him against the edge of the long
table. She cocked her fist back and said, " Mr. Rodgers,it gives me great
pleasure to inform you that your services will no longer be needed in this
company...consider yourself terminated." Amy then let loose with
a powerful uppercut to his jaw that literally lifted him up onto the table and
sent him sliding clear across to the other side. He stopped, unconscious, only
a few inches from the edge.

Amy comely pressed the intercom button. " Janet, will you please come in here
for a minute." The board room door opened and in walked Amy's personal
secretary. When the six foot, 210 pound muscular woman saw the scene, she
began to laughed. " Amy, you must be slipping, you left this one on the
table." Amy sighed," yes, I guess it's time to start hitting the weights
again. Janet, Mr. Rodgers will not be employed here anymore. Please see to it
that all the necessary papers are in order and kindly 'do something' with
him." Janet winked at Amy, then leaned over and easily picked up the battered
man. She raised him up over her shoulder and carried him out of the
room; closing the door behind her.

Amy then looked at the seven remaining board members." Sit down," she
ordered," this meeting isn't over yet." Meekly, they did as they were told.
For the next hour, Amy lectured them as to what she expected of her
executives from now on; about how she was going to turn the company around and
make it profitable again, and  how she would not tolerate anymore dishonest
or incompetent employees. Anyone caught breaking her rules would meet the same
fate as Mr. Rodgers. " Whoever feels that they can't meet my standards, please
leave now," she said. After a few nervous moments, one man got up and left the
room. " Good, we don't need anymore deadweight around here."  Turning to
the six remaining board members -  most of whom were now shaking
uncontrollably -  she smiled and, in a surprisingly soft and gentle tone of
voice said," you boys won't regret your decision to remain here. I promise you
that within a few short months - with your help - I'll have this company back
in good shape. I don't normally beat up my employees but, in cases like Mr.
Rodgers, I believe he deserved what he got. Now gentlemen, I believe we all
have work to do." As they left the board room, Amy personally thanked each
one and shook their hand.

Five hours later

Amy slouched down in the comfy office chair, her tired legs dangling
across her desk. On the other side sat Janet, softly messaging the soles of
Amy's feet. Amy smiled at her long time college friend and said," I'm really
looking forward to this weekend, I need a break. Well, I guess it's time I
called the 'BIG' boss." She picked up the phone and called the C.E.O. of her
parent company.

" Hello...A.S. here....yes, I took care of it...no, there weren't
any unexpected problems, I didn't need Janet's help...yes, I handled it in my
usual way, ( Amy and Janet shared a giggle ), he'll be in the hospital for
awhile....no, nothing serious, just a shattered ego... no, they didn't give me
any trouble after I dealt with Mr. Rodgers, they were all like meek little
puppies...they always are...I'll pay him a visit when he gets out of the
hospital, I think we should be able to recover most of what he stole.... yes,
I'll have this company back to making a profit within two to three
months....have I ever failed you before ?....WHAT???...this
Saturday?...why?...can't it wait until next weekend ? I've already made plans
for this one... (Amy sighs) ...very well mother, you win, you always do don't
you ? ... all right, I'll meet you at the golf course at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday
morning, but I warn you mother...this time I'm gonna kick your ass ( Amy
laughs), give daddy a special hug from his 'little girl' O.K...kisses...bye."

Amy hung up the phone and frowned. " Well Janet, looks like our white-water
rafting weekend will have to be postponed; it seems that my mother has made
other plans."

" Yes, I heard Amy," Janet responded." It's all right, there will be other
weekends. I guess this is one of the drawbacks you have to deal with when you
work for a  * parent * company."

The two women shared another giggle.