We shall begin by recapping part of Singapore III to introduce the Ongoing sage of Trixie Thomson:
Prelude in Singapore
Jeffrey Hodges Office, US Embassy, Singapore, Monday 2:45 PM
Robert Burnside knocked on Jeffrey’s door and the young attorney asked him to come in and sit. Burnside hemmed and hawed for a minute and then got to his point.
“See here, Hodges. You are a valuable member of the Embassy, and we have only respect for you. I hope you understand that?”
“Thank you, Sir. Yes, I do.”
“You and your lovely wife, Kathy, are just the kind of moral young family that can provide a model to others living in a foreign land and faced with new temptations.”
Yes Sir.” While Burnside seemed to be positive, Jeffrey wondered where it was going.
“So I want you to understand that none of this reflects badly on you. Your, ahem, personal interests, ahem, your off-duty actions, if discrete, ahem, ahem. Dammit. What I’m trying to say is that that girl, Trixie, is a bad influence on you and could lead to embarrassment to you and the Embassy.”
Shit, thought Jeffrey. I can’t let this get back to Kathy. Does he know about this weekend? Shit!.
“Sir, I think you misunderstood what you just saw. I was taking a shower, and Trixie was bringing my clothes. I did absolutely nothing -”
“Of course, I know you would do nothing improper, Hodges,” reassured his administrator. “Total confidence, don’t you know?” Jeffrey breathed a sigh of relief.
“But, I mean. Actually, it’s that, that – slut of a girl, Trixie. Sneaking in to see her boss naked! I saw her trying to touch you. You are too innocent to realize how tramps like her can try to seduce a fine husband like you!”
Shit, thought Jeffrey. This kind of talk has to stop.
“It’s unacceptable,” continued his boss. “We have done some research into ‘Miss’ Thomson's background, and there is no way she should be working for the United States State Department. Can you believe that her permanent address is listed as the ‘Bubba Jim Mobile Home Resort’ in Branchwater, Alabama? She got her GED from the South Alabama Technical Institute – whatever that thing is!”
“Well, yes, Sir, but it seems she had worked her way up…”
“Worked her way? That’s a laugh. One of the reps sent to interview at that ‘Institute’ claimed the lead interviewer only chose her for training because she gave him an in-depth look at her cleavage. I just got off the phone with a friend of mine at FASTC in Blackstone, Virginia, John Watson. He cannot allow his name to be used publicly, but he said she was about to be dismissed there until she gave one of her instructors - ” Burnside leaned forward and whispered, confidentially, “ - fellatio! She got down on her knees in his office and – and - well, you know!”
“I have found the girl’s work to be satisfac…”
“After four workdays? You haven’t been in the office enough to give her real work. No, she was still on a probationary period, thank God. We have already filed a USSDF-128, Unsatisfactory Report on her so that Beatrice Thomson will never work for the US government again. Good riddance to bad rubbish!”
“But…but Sir! This seems so sudden. Can’t we give her a few more weeks to prove herself? We could call her in here now, and both talk to her and put her on strict warning? I’m sure she will prove worthy of retention.”
“That’s your weakness, Hodges. You are too damn soft-hearted with a pretty girl. It was your indulging of that Jones girl that made this necessary. The Ambassador has demanded that we clean house.”
“But, Trixie…”
“Too late, Jeffrey. It's been taken care of. She’s already been terminated. Marine guards supervised taking her personal items (all makeup, I presume!) from her desk and escorted her out ten minutes ago. They will have her at the airport within the hour. Before the day is out, she will be on a plane back to Alabama. You should thank us, Hodges. I suspect we might have saved you much trouble. I wouldn’t assume that trash like that is above making up a harassment complaint to blackmail you.” Burnside stood and left the office. Jeffrey sat, open-mouthed in shock.