Chapter Four

Mark Hansen was about to step onto the elevator as Ms. Haverty stepped out. She unceremoniously dumped the computer in his arms. “Come with me.”

Following her to her cube without question, he stood and waited. She threw her shoe across the cube where it bounced into a corner, and then sat down hard in her chair. “Don’t just stand there, Mark. Sit down.” It was easy to see she was angry, so he sat quietly until she had calmed herself. “Mark, I need you to handle McIntyre,” she said while dumping a pill from a pill bottle into her hand, popping it into her mouth and taking a sip of water.

“Me? Why me?” he asked, testily. He’d never met anyone she couldn’t handle, so the thought of dealing with McIntyre was a bit intimidating.

“Because you know the system inside and out, you’re a man, and you’re good with people. Which makes me wonder why you chose programming in the first place. Most programmers are rather odd and prefer to work alone. Anyway, it’s clear he’s not going to accept training from me. Maybe he’ll listen to a man.”

Looking down at the computer in his lap, Mark said, “Well, it’s obvious it didn’t go well, but it’s not like you to let anyone gain the upper hand.”

“I know when to cut my losses. Our schedule is more important than trying to deal with a man who’s full of himself. And I’m not letting him get the upper hand. We’re waiting for a helpless phone call, I’ll gloat a little while, and then I’ll go up and set the trap. After that, he’s all yours.”

“You know, Leah, if you’d treat all the king’s men up in the ivory tower like you treat us down here, you wouldn’t have a problem.”

“Yeah, and I wouldn’t be able to make anything happen. I prefer them to be afraid of me. That way, they do what I ask just to get rid of me, and we make our schedules. But McIntyre. He thinks he is the king.”

“Have you ever thought about making friends with any one besides us?”

Turning around to face her computer, she typed a password in and answered. “Why bother? I don’t usually stay in one place long enough to nurture friendships.” She turned in her chair to look at him. “Except maybe for you because you keep following me around.” She turned back to her computer. “Besides, when you don’t have friends or family, you don’t get hurt. Anyway, I don’t expect this to take longer than a day or two.” She spun back around and leaned into her desk, pointing a pencil at him. “Don’t let him off the hook, and don’t let him snow you. He didn’t get where he is by being stupid, so I’m sure he’ll pick it up quickly enough.”

“If that’s true, why is he giving you trouble now?”

“Because he’s old, and he’s set in his ways. Old people don’t like change. Now, get out of my cube. I have more specs to write,” she ordered with a wink. “Oh, and Mark…” Mark turned back around on his way out. “You’ll have to find some new cables for that CPU. I’m sure I broke the ends off when I pulled them out,” she said, smiling apologetically.

***

Two days later, when Leah answered her phone, she smiled, leaned back in her chair and listened. “Good afternoon, Ms Haverty, this is Ernestine Shoop. Dr. McIntyre asked me to call. It seems he’s unable to complete the release of a patient from the hospital without inputting an authorization code in the computer system. No one else seems to be able to do it for him, and without it the orders to release her can’t be sent.”

“Nurse Shoop, Dr. McIntyre was given all his codes in his training…oh, yes. He refused to take his training. I suppose he’d like me to come and input his authorization code for him.” All she heard was Ernie clearing her throat. “Tell him I’ll meet him in his office in twenty minutes.” Hanging up the phone, Leah yelled over the cube wall, “Mark, it’s time.”

Twenty minutes later, Mark Hansen stepped out of the elevator in his black suit, white shirt and black tie. Gloria whispered to Ernie, “Incoming ‘shroom.”

Turning and looking down the hall, Ernie asked, “How do you know he’s from the basement?”

“They all dress the same…black suits, white shirt, and highly polished shoes. Besides, look what he’s carrying.”

“Good morning, ladies,” said Mark with a brilliant smile.

Gloria glanced at Ernie with a quickly raised eyebrow. “Good morning. How can I help you?”

“Can you point me in the direction of Dr. McIntyre’s office? He’s learning to use his computer today.”

“Just follow this hall to the end, and then go into the offices on the right. His name will be on his door,” answered Ernie.

Winking, he said his thanks, and walked down the hall away from them with both ladies straining to lean far enough over the counter to watch him go. “Nice…suit,” said Gloria with a twinkle in her eye.

Standing in the open door, he watched as Trapper sat on the sofa, reading a journal and sipping coffee. “Dr. McIntyre, I hate to interrupt your reading. I’m Mark Hansen from the Systems Group.”

Trapper set the journal down on a table and stood, offering Mark his hand. “Mark, it’s nice to meet you, but I thought Ms. Haverty would be meeting me.”

“Leah’s on her way. I just need to reinstall your computer.”

“Leah?”

“Yes, Leah Haverty.”

Looking away for a moment with a furrowed brow, Trapper thought about that name. It certainly sounded sweeter than its owner appeared to be. “Please, go right ahead,” said Trapper, motioning to the other side of the desk. He turned at the sound of a familiar voice.

“I see Mark is installing your computer,” said Ms. Haverty, standing confidently in the doorway.

Trapper smiled and looked down at her feet. “Nice shoes.”

Leah snorted. “Dr. McIntyre, I have no more time to waste on you. Mark will be training you, and at the end of your training, I’ll give him your authorization codes so you can release your patient.”

“She was scheduled to be released this morning,” he said, turning his head slightly and frowning.

Turning to leave, she replied, “Take it or leave it…the training, that is.”

***

Walking down the hall with Mark toward the cafeteria, Trapper continued their conversation from the office. “Mark, I still don’t think this is going to replace everything my secretary does for me. Do you have any idea how long it will take me to type some of the letters I dictate?”

“That was a consideration, Trapper, but we’ve found that over a fairly short period of time and with regular use, you’ll get pretty fast, even if you just use two fingers,” Mark answered, holding up his index fingers. “And you can still submit letters to the data entry group. There will be a couple of typing clerks there. We’ve looked at the letters that typically go out, and we’ve created some templates you may be able to use as well. You just change whatever you need to change and send it. The letter will print in the print room and will be delivered for you to sign.”

Each man took a tray when they entered the cafeteria. “I’ve never eaten here. What’s good?” asked Mark.

“Stay away from anything fried.” Trapper leaned over as if to say his next words quietly. “And it has nothing to do with it being bad for you.”

Mark grimaced. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“If you’re into health food, you can’t beat their salads,” offered Trapper, taking down a salad for himself. Mark followed suit. Finding a table near a window, Trapper waited for Mark to be seated then lowered himself into a chair. “Tell me something, Mark. You’re a fellow who’s easy going…easy to work with. Why is Ms. Haverty so…rigid?” he asked, pointing over to a corner table where Leah sat with her back to the occupants of the cafeteria. “I mean look at her…the epitome of unapproachable.”

“Leah doesn’t normally do any of the training, other than for her staff. She gives all the presentations to the decision makers of a company. But she comes out bearing claws when we run into hesitant people like you…people who could cause some significant delays in the project. She’s never delivered anything late in her life, including her children.”

Trapper stopped eating and looked up, surprised. “Children? She’s married?”

Mark met Trapper’s stunned look, and then glanced over at Leah. “She was.”

Trapper soon realized there was a sudden silence at his table, so he steered away from personal questions. “Is she that way with her staff?”

“Not at all. When you get to know her…if she lets you get to know her, she’s actually very nice, very supportive.”

“How long have you worked for her?”

“We graduated from Perdue a couple of years apart…she was a student instructor. Since then, I’ve always followed her on her assignments. If you want to learn this business, she’s the one to learn it from. Where a lot of us struggle with the concepts, she seems like she was born to it. She’s very musical, too.”

“What’s that got to do with it?”

“Musical theory is almost pure logic. So is what we do. It stands to reason that computer programmers are generally good musicians.”

Trapper pushed his bottom lip up and gave a quick nod. “Nice to know.”

“Don’t be too judgmental of her, John. She’s one of the few successful women in our industry. It’s an industry dominated by men, and the only way she’s survived is by standing toe-to-toe with them when it came time to fight.”

Studying Mark as he ate, Trapper creased his brow, and then moved his eyes over to Leah. Based on the small amount of information Mark gave him, Leah Haverty seemed to be quite a dichotomy. “I’ll keep that in mind for the next time I question her authority.”

That evening, as Trapper was leaving the hospital at 9:15 p.m., he ran into Leah Haverty, leaving at the same time. Opening the door for her, he said, “Good night, Leah,” as she passed.

She stumbled to a stop and slowly turned around with a completely unexpressive look. “Ms. Haverty.”

Smiling and bowing slightly, he replied simply, “Good night.”