Doc's Place

Chapter 11 | Part 3

Thursday, October 4, 1984

When I arrive back at Doc's, I toss my stuff on the desk, ignore my messages and go see Dick in Purchasing. Sally scowls at me but I ignore her. Tell him about visits with the photographers and designers.

He looks at the lists and asks, "Receive any bids yet?"

"A Pair of Aces. Karen promised to deliver Ron's design bid before five. Do you want it now?"

"Tomorrow at five, seal all the bids in an envelope and hand it to Louise. I'll contact you by eleven or so on Monday." Dick mutters for a moment and then says, "I'll call the photographers and designers, Jill. We'll get your bids, don't worry."

"Thanks, Dick," I tell him, clasping his hand for a moment. "I'm visiting printers tomorrow."

"You won't have the same trouble with printers in this town, Jill," he says, "but don't go to lunch with them and if you do, don't let them pay. Did you have lunch with the Aces or Ron and Karen?"

"Yep, but we went Dutch," I tell him.

"Smart. Submit your expenses before five tomorrow. That way, everything's legit for the record, okay?"

"Roger that." I watch him closely now that we've finished discussing business. Glance at Sally, who has turned and is facing me, watching as she fondles a pencil. After a few seconds, Dick asks if I'm going to watch the Raiders and Seahawks with my . . . nephew? "Godson," I tell him. "Yes I am. As a matter of fact. . . ."

Suddenly, Sally stands and steps to the doorway so Dick can see her. "Excuse me, Dick," she says, "You asked me to remind you that we should check the latest invoices."

"Oh hell, Sally, we have time for that tomorrow," says Dick. When she takes a breath to say something else, he says, "Now leave Jill and me for a minute, would you, please? We don't get to talk much."

Sally mutters, "Every fucking day . . ." and returns to her chair.

Turning to me, Dick smiles and says, "The game will be in the Coliseum, so I'll bet that the Raiders will win by at least a touchdown."

"Dave Krieg and Dan Doornik are no match for Jim Plunkett and Marcus Allen, Dick, especially with Lyle Alzedo, Matt Millen and Howie Long on defense."

"Think the Raiders'll win by more than a touchdown?"

"Absolutely," I tell him, remembering this morning's spread. "Raiders by fourteen."

Suddenly, Dick stands and begins closing his office. "You're really busting your hump on this publication project, Jill. Later, you'll be glad you did it all at once."

"Thanks for all your help," I tell him as I head for the door. Look back and catch him checking out my ass so I pause and say, "Goodnight, Dick."

He waves a hand in embarrassment, I think, at getting caught. He's muttering when I wink at Sally who stares at me with obvious venom.

Back to my office, I find that Karen has dropped off Ron's bid. I have two phone messages from local printers. Leave it all and walk up to Glenn's office for my daily chat with the boys.

They are waiting for me, having heard about Dick's approval of my budget plans. It's a happy little meeting. Carlos stops by to congratulate me but he can't stay. "I knew we shouldn't have RIFd those warehouse guys so soon after the super got mugged," says Carlos. "Now the union in Las Vegas wants Reno PD to investigate."

"Are they accusing us of intimidating the warehouse supervisor?" says Glenn. "That shit went out with the mob in the fifties, for hell's sake."

"They're just calling it suspicious," says Carlos. As he leaves, he says, "Good luck with the vendors, Jill."

Glenn asks, "Why'd he say that?"

"Word on the street is that I won't last out this month, that Ferro corporate in Las Vegas will publish the magazine."

"You don't seem upset about it," continues Morty.

Glenn pipes in, "Fuck `em. Prove the rumors wrong and they look like fools."

Smile and say, "Meanwhile, Dick in purchasing signs with the vendors I want."

"You let us know if you need help out there, Jill," says Glenn.

Pause at the door. "Why do you think I stop by every day?"

"Not on Friday," says Morty. "Glenn and I take off early because we work all weekend."

At home, I strip, shower and focus on the thesis again, ignoring another message from Lucy. Wish Megan would call but she doesn't.

While I'm working, Don Locaccio calls and leaves a message but I ignore that too, for the moment. When I grow hungry later, I call Don as I bake a halibut steak and fresh vegetables.

"What are you doing, Price?" asks Don. "Come out and play with the boys."

"Take a rain check. I put in a couple of nights a week on my thesis. This is one."

"Oh yeah, self-improvement," says Don. "Hey, we spotted two guys in a silver van using a scope on your back gate from a half-mile away today."

"Good. Let them come in close," I tell him.

"Thought you'd say that. G'night, Price."

"You too, Don."

After eating, I work for a couple more hours, shoot a few racks of nine-ball and crawl into bed.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License

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Doc's Place Chat
© 2008, Michel Grover.
Chapter 11 | Part 3
Late Autumn 2008

Lucia :

Mic has posted in the left frame paragraphs from Doc's Place, one of his copyrighted stories. I'm moderating chat here in the right frame. I post every day, but I don't post everything. I have formed a secondary group from which I may also post comments.

Raj :

Why taking so long for master's thesis to finish, Jill? Mine was taking 2yrs, thank you.

Alan :

Yeah, I finished mine in 24mos too, Raj.

Minnie :

I did mine in 18 but it almost killed me.

Marcus :

How long did it take you for your master's, Jill?

Jill :

32 months from registration in '82 through graduation in May of '85. Average time to a master's in the Western US in the 80's was 30mos so I added 2mos just to be safe.

Maria :

Safe from what?

Benny :

Yeah, right.

Maria :

What did I say?

Cyril :

You have to think like a serial killer to understand Jill, Maria. Dr. Robert Hare has written extensively about psychopaths (not all are serial killers, by the way) who study human behavior obsessively so they can blend in with everyone. Anyway, before registering as a master's student, Jill found the average time it took to finish the degree, added a couple months and then followed her schedule to the letter. She had to find it because she had no idea how people behave in that situation, or any situation for that matter.

Maria :

Are you saying that if she hadn't cared about looking it up, she might have finished sooner?

Cyril :

Much sooner.

Maria :

Jill, is that true?

Jill :

Actually, I was seeing a psychiatrist at the time so I asked her. She's the one who told me it would take 30mos to complete the master's program. As I said, I added 2mos just to be sure.

Maria :

Why didn't you just finish it as quickly as possible?

Jill :

Attracts undue attention. Cyril's right, Maria. I try to blend in with my peers.

Benny :

Why were you seeing a psychiatrist?

Jill :

In April of '81 when I was 32, I suffered a mild heart attack. Since I had no ailments, the doc told me that it was probably stress related. I started seeing a shrink, quit my job, enrolled in graduate school and began preparing to climb Grand Teton. Took a couple years, but I did it.

Carlo :

You finished Teton a few weeks before this story begins.

Jill :

Yes, the shrink gave me a clean bill of health as well.

Maria :

A clean bill of health? You've just admitted to being a psychopath and a serial killer.

Jill :

Not in so many words, but I was not entirely forthcoming with the psychiatrist. I didn't want to concern her with details not related to my condition.

Maria :

Has it occurred to you that perhaps these details, as you call them, may have contributed to your stress and your heart condition?

Doug :

I'm no psychiatrist or M.D., but I doubt that, Maria. If anything, a good, clean murder every year or so probably helps Jill relax. Wouldn't you agree, Jill?

Jill :

Yep

Maria :

Well, thank God you have a hobby that relaxes you. We wouldn't want you stressed out again. You might have another heart attack.

Suze :

Hope you're all happy now.

Jules :

I am. God's in his heaven and all's right with the world.

Amalie :

Ah, Robert Browning. How fitting. I too am happy with things as they are. Thank you, Jules.

Jill :

I appreciate both your concern and your sense of irony, Maria. I have plenty of opportunities to practice my hobby, as you call it, and I try not to miss many. As Doug said, it helps me relax.

Jules :

At your service, m'lady, and thank you, Jill, for making the world a bit better for us normal folks.

Jill :

My pleasure

Suze :

At least you admit she's abnormal.

Alan :

Abby someone

Lizzie :

That's also fitting, Alan. I love that movie.

Maria :

Jill is really beginning to piss off Sally. Dick in purchasing has to tell her to back off when she tries to interrupt their conversation.

Even when I think about it, I really can't come up with a reason that Sally hates Jill so much. All Jill did that first day was ask her for office supplies. When Sally starts giving her excuses, Jill basically just says just do it and walks away.

Suze :

Jill's walking away seems to imply that she doesn't want to hear Sally's excuses. Jill just wants the woman to do her job.

Alice :

What's this you're saying, Suze? You're defending Jill's actions? Aren't you the one who criticizes Jill's behavior without a single reason for doing so? Beyond that, why don't you admit that you're still fascinated by our chats?

Suze :

Okay, I admit I'm still fascinated—at least enough to check in at least once a day. As for criticizing Jill, I have my reasons. It's just that my reasons are general, not specific. Generally, I do not approve of Jill's behavior in the way she treats others. Specifically, I have trouble putting my finger on exactly why her treatment of others does bother me in any particular situation.

Despite my disapproval of how Jill treats others however, I still admire her and love what she's accomplishing in the world, especially for women. As I've mentioned, I have benefited materially from Jill's generosity through Aliversal loans.

Maria :

Maybe Sally hates Jill for general reasons and not for any specific instance.

Suze :

Wouldn't you agree, Maria, that Jill goes out of her way to do things she knows will irritate Sally, because Sally is on her hit list?

Maria :

Certainly, I would agree. When Dick and Jill have finished discussing business, Jill glances at Sally, who sits facing them, waiting. Dick brings up football so Sally interrupts. Jill knows.

Ian :

Jill, just before Sally interrupts about the invoices, you say to Dick, "As a matter of fact. . . ." What were you going to tell him?

Jill :

KMark and I have tickets for Sunday's game at the Coliseum.

Doug :

How are you planning to travel from Reno to LA?

Jill :

We take his mama's private jet.

Doug :

Wow. That must be nice. I've heard him talk about his mama's jet in interviews. Says he got used to using it at an early age to go skiing, attend Raider games and so on. Why don't you own your own jet, Jill?

Lucia :

That is a stupid question, Doug.

Maria :

Lucia's right, Doug. Even I've figured out that Jill won't do anything that attracts attention so owning a jet is out. However, Pere probably has several private jets. Right, Jill?

Jill :

Pere and Midori have jets for executive use. Ume owns 2 of her own.

Suze :

Of course. Why didn't I think of that? Why own 1 when you can own 2?

Jill :

It's for security, so no one knows where Ume or her family is.

Benny :

Have you ever used either Ume's or the company's private jets for personal use, Jill?

Jill :

No Benny, I board one of those jets only when I happen to be going where it's going. Traveling with my godson KMark is one example.

Benny :

You refuse to own or use jets for the same reason you refuse to work within your own company.

Jules :

What reason is that, Benny? Is it because Jill tries to fit in?

Benny :

Fitting in is a small part of her reason but more than likely it's something else I can't quite describe yet.

Jules :

Uh-oh, Benny's onto something new. What is it, Benny, my man?

Benny :

Jill avoids any privilege of her wealth, which includes anything she considers expected, convenient or lazy.

Doug :

Why does she do that?

Benny :

I don't know yet.

Doug :

Hey Carlos, can you provide more detail about the mugging or what the Reno PD knows at this point?

Carlos :

They don't know anything. At this point in the story, a Las Vegas law firm associated with the warehouse supervisor's union is leaning on the AG's office to push for an investigation based on what the firm is calling "suspicious circumstances."

Carlo :

Jill tells Detective Don to let the guys in the silver van come in close. Benny's theory that Jill is trying to spring a trap on the old mob boss may be right.

Annie :

It does not prove or disprove Benny's theory. We need more data. I have another series of shots for that movie of yours, Carlo.

Carlo :

Jill is shooting pool, alone at night.

Annie :

Naked—Jill never gets dressed once she finishes her shower.

Carlo :

Omygod

Annie :

A series of tightly focused camera angles that slide smoothly along the contours of her body as she leans over the table before each shot. Slow jazz with a lot of sax out front and backed by deep, rhythmic bass.

Carlo :

As Raj would say, dying now.

Jules :

For a Mormon girl, you have a vivid imagination, Annie.

Annie :

I haven't imagined anything that isn't beautiful.