A Special Place
Part 1
Mr. Francis Brady was sole owner of a large corporation employing many people. He had spent a good deal of his life building his company and amassing a fortune relying mostly on the labors of others. There were more than a few opportunities for Mr. Brady to save a few bucks by firing employees who were either close to a long vacation or even retirement. Doing this allowed him to sever relations and not be responsible for any financial promises. The new week started off as many had with an employee not knowing this was going to be their last day on the job. Today, Mrs. Prescott had her turn.
“Mrs. Prescott,” began Mr. Brady as his faithful secretary of thirty-six years entered his cavernous office. “Come in, come in.”
Judy Prescott smiled as she sat, steno pad in hand, pen at the ready.
“Yes sir?” she said ready to take her usual morning dictation from the old-fashioned Mr. Brady.
“I am afraid I won’t be dictating a letter today,” he said stopping her from writing.
“Sir?”
“I said I am afraid I won’t be dictating a letter today,” he said stopping her from writing.
“The what can I do for you Mr. Brady?” asked Mrs. Prescott in a very businesslike manner. “Some coffee, perhaps? A pastry”?
“No, no,” he replied, “Uh, no, uh....”
“Sir?”
Brady took a deep breath.
“You’re fired.”
“I’m sorry, sir........,” Judy stammered. “Did you say.....fired???”
“Have to make some cutbacks, Mrs. Prescott,” he continued. “Business is down and I need to trim some of the fat from the budget.”
“Fat, sir?” she continued in a confused state. “Fat, sir?”
“Yes, Mrs. Prescott, fat!” he bellowed as he lit a fat cigar and began to fill the room with the usual stench of a lousy and cheap purchase. “Fat! Waste! Excess baggage and the like. Your salary is one of the highest in the firm. Highest. Six weeks vacation, insurance, health benefits - waste, waste, waste. Now this is nothing personal, it’s just business. I am afraid your termination is immediate. Will you need help clearing out your desk?”
“Fired, sir?” she continued softly as the reality of his words hit home and the tears began to flow. “Fired?”
“Oh, stop crying ya’ big baby,” he bellowed again, “you’ll be showing everyone what a sissy potty pants you are. It’s just a job!”
And so he went on and on. Judy was merely another employee company owner Bob Brady left on the heap of countless employees he heartlessly fired just to amuse himself. It seemed as if he took particular pleasure just before the holidays to make one or more of his employees suffer the pains of unemployment, many of them were those close to retirement.
“But Mr. Brady,” Judy cried, “I have worked for you for almost thirty-seven years. Two more months and I would have retired. How could you do this to me?”
“Nothing personal,” he coldly relied, “it’s just business. That pension would have cost me an arm and a leg - can’t afford it in these economic times. Too expensive, too expensive.”
“Just business?” Judy sobbed. “Just business? What’s going to happen to me? Where will I go?”
“I said stop crying ya’ big baby,” he said shuffling papers on his desk, “you’ll land on your feet somewhere.”
“Who’s going to hire an almost sixty-year-old secretary? And with you firing me, I lose my pension, my insurance, everything. What about that?”
“What about what?”
“Don’t you feel you owe me anything for my years of loyal service? Anything?”
“No,” he replied in a manner so cold frost seemed to fill the air. “I owe you nothing. It’s not my fault the economy is on a downswing. You should have planned for this eventuality. Now, you have taken up enough of my time and quite enough of my patience. Will you remove yourself from the property or do I need to call security.”
Judy stiffened as if she were going to explode in a rage, but controlled herself in time. She took out a tissue from her purse, calmly wiped her face, stood up and turned to go. But before she left the office, she turned back and addressed her former boss one final time.
“You’re a cruel person, Mr. Brady, very cruel,” she began, “and I am sure you have sewn the seeds of your eternity. I have seen you do the same to countless souls before. I never thought I would be one of those poor unfortunates. Never in a million years. But you’re a cruel man, Mr. Brady. And justice will prevail, I hope.”
“You finished?” he responded rather sarcastically. “Happy to get that off your chest? A temper tantrum, Mrs. Prescott? Why don’t you just stomp your feet, hold your breath until you turn blue, or why not suc-k your thumb?”
“Just one final thought, sir, and you can take this to your grave. There’s a special place in hell for you, Mr. Brady, for all of the Mr. Bradys of the world who take pleasure in the suffering of others. May you find such a place, Mr. Brady. May justice be granted and may you find yourself in that special hell created just for you.”
“Security?” he asked as he picked up his phone, “could you escort Mrs. Judy Prescott from the building?”
“No need,” she sniffed, “I won’t stay another minute in this, this hellhole!”
With that, she slammed the door behind herself as Brady laughed a somewhat cruel laugh. He continued to laugh as he strutted around his office almost proud of himself. He thought once again what a good business person he had been and how he had saved himself thousands in retirement benefits he did not have to pay out.
He continued to strut as he puffed on the cigar and all of a sudden he began to cough. He coughed and coughed as he struggled to breath. Realizing his plight, he grabbed his chest as the cough began to worsen. He pressed the button for his intercom.
“Mrs. Prescott,” he struggled to call out, “I need you..............cough..........I.....cough.......”
There was a thud as Brady fell to the floor and breathed his last.
The next sensation Brady felt was as he awakened on what he thought was some sort of a mattress. He opened his eyes and struggled to focus. As his eyes became accustomed to the surroundings, Brady found himself in some sort of a cage.
Before he knew what was happening and without any warning, he found himself releasing his bladder. It was as if he could not control any part of what was happening. Then, he realized a warm sensation spreading throughout his groin and rear. The wet sensation did not stop as Brady realized that for some reason, he was diapered!