In a Moment's Notice (WIP)

Comedy

High speed rocks. A new computer rocks too. A new computer, with high speed was Leslie’s favorite fantasy. Well, okay, maybe not her favorite fantasy, that would have to be a light weight 17” monitor laptop, or notebook, (or what ever they were calling it nowadays) equipped with a battery sporting ETERNAL life! Basically, being able to perform as long as she was able to produce. Yep. That’s Leslie’s favorite computer fantasy. She was typing this, on her office computer, in her word application. About her unashamed desires for new hardware. Recently, her tech difficulties had been mounting. She couldn’t save her work. Onto floppys. The freezes ups were becoming an almost daily occurrence and she couldn’t download big files. These difficulties and others had finally prompted her to make some phone calls to not one, but two different IT guys. One guy, was an employee in the company’s technology department; and the other, a family friend. He owns a business where he travels to offices giving in-house tech classes among other stuff. He also fixes compies and Leslie’s boss said, he’d pay out of his own pocket to get her office computer up to speed. Walt, her boss, wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

First, she called her company guy, Richard. She preferred Richard over Frank since Richard was quick to respond to her pleas of desperation when her computer went on a leave of absence; which it was doing with more and more frequency these days. Leslie did not like Frank, one of Richard’s geeky buddies, who used to work on her computer. He once lost a large amount of files because he improperly backed them up. The entire third floor was keenly aware of Leslie’s dissatisfaction over Frank’s poor mistake. Anyway, Richard was true to his MO and called her back within an hour of her message, thus earning himself 500 CS points. Leslie and Vickie had this code; Customer Service Points, or CSP’s for short. CSP’s were their way of rating the attitudes of people they came in contact with. They gave and took away Customer Service Points’s all day long, to help break up the monotony of their work. Once Richard is on the phone, Leslie quickly explains my troubles and he diplomatically tells her to One: get rid of her dial-up, she’s not livin’ in the 90’s is she? And TWO; her machine sucks. (He calls the compie ‘machine’) Leslie had a hard time suppressing a giggle every time he used the expression. According to Richard, her machine has had, it he tells her, it’s worthless. She glanced over at her compie, and whispered…’he doesn’t really mean it.” Cupping her hand covering the receiver. She needs her computer to function today.

Walt tells her to call Stanley, the assistant department head. Being a good little employee, who always follows the boss’s orders, she does. The department head is like ‘three days’ from retiring. Not really, but Vickie says that all the time. He thinks it’s funny when anyone stresses out about small things, like paperwork, policy or politics. In short, he’s so short, he doesn’t really care. He enjoys chatting with Leslie over the phone. She makes him smile.

“Stanley,” Leslie asked in her sweetest voice. “Can I buy a computer?” A slight pause and then, “Edmond says he’ll get me a really good inexpensive one.”

No response. Leslie swears he’s silence is intentionally done

“Walt. Can’t I take it out of ‘Operating Supplies?” Her red painted fingernails drumming on her desktop.

“No.” Simply that. No. No further explanation.

“But Stanley…” now, Leslie’s added a begging tone to her sweet voice. Being a girl, she’s perfected this useful and sometimes lethal combination. She tries to explain my need for a new computer to a man who is leaving the company with in a year.

He just makes comments about how it’s a know fact Leslie is sleeping all day in the office; who needs a computer while they are taking a nap? He laughs. He’s such a comedian. Leslie laughs too; She really wants my new computer.

“But Walt, why…” She’s whining now. She finds this technique sometimes works with guys Stanley’s age, “…can’t I just take it out of my operating budget? I have plenty of money in there?”

“Because,” he stops talking to chew on ice chips. Stanley chews ice all day long, Leslie knows of his ice chewing fetish because during her many phone conversations with him she’s asked him what he was eating. “A computer is a machine.” He chews some more. “The money has to come out of your Machinery and Equipment account.” More ice chewing. “And, as I recall, you are forty-one dollars and thirty-four cents in the red. Meaning, you cannot afford a computer this budget year. You will have to wait till next year.”

The palm of Leslie’s hand slaps against her forehead. Grateful for the lesson in finance. She quickly wraps it up.

‘Machinery and Equipment no wonder why Edmond refers to it as a machine.’ She is muttering while hanging up the phone.

Two hundred Customer Service Points for Stanley, even if he didn’t authorize the purchase of a new compie. For now, she would have to justify, in writing, her desperate need for one said computer. Turn her request into Walt who would than give it to Stanley. The request would have to be analyzed during a meeting with other department head. After that, the computer request would have to be approved by the voices and pens of a very senior executive committee, and finally, it would find its way onto the president’s desk.

A deep sigh crossed her lips and she momentarily fantasized about a huge hard drive, with high speed internet, and lots of other wonderful characteristics. Not many other employees had all these luxuries, but that didn’t keep her from fantasizing about them.

Leslie, dug in her purse, in search for the number of her friend, the IT instructor.