VP Henry Tarbuck closed the file folder then shifted his bulk
to place it on a nearby table. His expensive chair started to
groan in protest then as if remembering how much it cost,
only murmured quietly. "We must be careful that this hearing gives
all the appearances of being completely fair, especially after
the disaster in Lyle's office."
Jonathan leaned forward and deposited his now empty cup on the
stand beside him. "Yes, I heard about Lyle bungling that one.
First he yelled at her so loudly that the secretaries in the outer
office left in embarrassment and then was stupid enough to tell her
in front of witnesses that the hearing panel was only a formality
and that she would be terminated anyway."
The VP shrugged, obviously irritated. "Admittedly, he pushed
too hard. It came as a shock to him that she would refuse his
demand that she resign. He lost his cool and tried to bully her
into it. He's new to this, taking over as he did such a relatively
short time ago from Jimbo."
"Well it does appear that he had problems with her. I do see
that she appears to have a propensity for causing discomfort,
but other women, and men too for that matter, have been troublesome.
Why the excessive anger toward her?"
"First off, Jonathan, the anger is not excessive, it is justified,"
Henry retorted testily. "Yes, we've had critics, annoying critics,
but when we offered them some redress, they were grateful. She,
on the other hand, considered every concession we made as
`a day late and a dollar short'--utterly maddening!
And what really frosts everyone's ass is that she is just
as recalcitrant when she argues on behalf of someone else.
Who the hell is she to care if someone feels unfairly treated by us?"
"Well, of course I'm still using the only frame of reference
that I have which is her personnel file and from what I can see she
was as much `sinned against as sinner'."
"That might have some validity up to the point where she openly
and publicly challenged the president of this university,"
retorted Henry waving the file he was holding in Jonathan's
face for emphasis, "but not anymore."
"You mean she picked on The Pope, Henry?"