The Boys' Club

Chapter 3

        It was almost six o'clock when Carmen pushed the buzzer on the door marked Mars Research Unit. Authorised Staff Only. A minute later Tracy opened the door. "Come on in," she said as she led Carmen down a short passage. "Would you mind waiting here for a couple of minutes?" she said pointing to a chair outside an office door. "I just have to make an important call. I won't be long." She walked into the office and closed the door.

Carmen sat down and waited. The sign on the door read Dr Tracy Hammond. Head of Unit. Although Tracy had pushed her office door shut, it hadn't latched and had sprung slightly open. Carmen was able to hear Tracy's phone call.

"Dad, I met Carmen Taylor today," she said.
The phone must have been on speaker because she could faintly hear Tracy's father.
"What do you think of her?" he asked.
"I like her," Tracy replied, "But I'm worried about her. Dad, you're throwing her to the wolves."
This confirmed to Carmen that Tracy was indeed Dr Phillip Hammond's daughter.
"Come on, you're being a bit dramatic."
"No I'm not. You know as well as I that all those men out on the island are going to hate having a woman working with them."
"What do you think they'll do?"
"Most of them will be okay with her, but a few of them will make it as hard and unpleasant for her as possible so she'll resign or ask for a transfer."
"I agree, but no matter how hard they make it for her she'll stick it out. She will beat them. Eventually they will all respect her, all of them."
"Ha ha! Dad, what planet are you living on? I know these guys. All of them? No way. What makes you so sure?"
There was silence for several seconds, then Tracy spoke again in a different tone. "Oh.....that's how you know. Okay, but she is waiting outside to see me now. Is it all right if I give her a heads up on what to expect?"
"Of course, go ahead. She's lucky to have you on her side."
"Thanks, Dad. Talk later, bye."

A moment later Tracy opened the door. "Oh, the door was slightly open," she said. "Did you hear any of that phone call?"
Carmen nodded apologetically. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to listen."
"It doesn't matter. Come in."

Once inside the office Carmen sat down and listened as Tracy told her about the flight engineers she would be working with.
"First of all there's Adam Bailey," Tracy said. She turned her computer screen around so Carmen could see a photo of a man in his forties with dark hair and a determined look on his face. "He is going to be your biggest problem. Never been married, thinks women belong in the kitchen, and unfortunately he is being promoted to chief pilot so he will be your immediate boss. Then there's Grant Morrison," she changed the picture, "also never been married and is a real chauvinist. Then Michael Sinclair, he's a nice guy, divorced. Then Josh Williams and Derek Bennett. They're not married, but I don't know if they have girlfriends back on the mainland or not. Finally James Driscoll who you met. Base Director. He's as bad as Adam Bailey. Thinks the island is no place for women. But Dad has no doubt given him instructions to give you help if you have problems with the guys. I know Driscoll well enough to know that he won't help you. So Bailey and Morrison are going to be your biggest problems, and unfortunately complaining to Driscoll about them will get you nowhere."

"So what do I do?" Carmen asked. "Who do I go to?"
"Me," Tracy said. "I'll give you my phone number and you can call me in the evenings and let me know how things are going."
"But if these men are as bad as you say, what can you do?"
"Ah," Tracy said with a conspiratorial smile, "You'd be surprised what I can do from back here. I have 'powers'". She made quote marks in the air with her fingers. "So are you staying in the residential wing here for this week?"
"Yep. Room 21."
"Cool. I have my own room just down the hall from you. Come to my place and we'll drink a toast to your future success over chauvinistic sexist men in this company. Do you like red wine?"

An hour later in Tracy's room both women were giggling after consuming several glasses of Merlot.
"So what's it like being in charge of the Mars Research Unit?" Carmen asked, "Does your father keep a close eye on you?"
"No," Tracy answered, "He leaves me alone, just as long as I send him an annoying report every month. I hate writing those things. Let me top your glass up."

As they sat on the lounge drinking wine Carmen took a close look at her new friend. Tracy had taken her ponytail out and let her long blonde hair hang loose, and had changed into shorts and a t-shirt. She was very attractive with high cheekbones, smooth skin, and a slim figure. She looked about twenty five, rather young to be the head of a research unit at Silver Star, but then again she was the daughter of the CEO. "I'm not gay," she thought, "but she is so damn attractive. I'm so plain compared to her." She thought about what she saw in the mirror every morning. A thirty year old woman, tall, short dark hair, well toned arms and legs from years in the air force. But was she pretty in the face? Carmen didn't think so. Tracy was a goddess compared to her, or maybe this was the wine talking.

Tracy caught Carmen staring at her and gave her a warm smile. "Sooooo, Carmen," she said with a slight slur, "You probably know my boyfriend situation. The asshole dumped me yesterday. We were together nearly two years. I still can't believe it. I really thought he was 'the one', you know what I mean? So what he did really hurt." She paused for a moment, then continued, " Anyway enough about me. Tell me about your love life. Are you married or do you have a boyfriend?"

Carmen laughed. "Never married. Too busy with my career. I did have a casual boyfriend back at Richmond, but I broke it off with him when I got the job here."
"Oh, that's so sad. But you'll be on an island with a hundred single horny guys. A smorgasbord of men to choose from," Tracy paused giving Carmen a mischievous look and added, "unless of course....you like girls."

Carmen looked at her friend in surprise. Was Tracy giving her a hint? She said she had had a boyfriend for two years. Maybe she was bi.
Tracy sat on the lounge and drew her bare knees up to her chin looking expectantly at Carmen with an innocent expression.

"I...um...no, I only like guys," Carmen managed to stammer going red in the face.
"Oh, that's too bad," Tracy said slowly in a seductive voice, "I was thinking of the fun you and I could have had together...if you know what I mean."
Carmen didn't know what to say, but then Tracy burst into laughter. "I'm just messing with you. You should have seen your face! I'm sorry. I really shouldn't drink so much wine. It brings out my cheeky side." She took another long sip from her glass.

Carmen noted that Tracy hadn't actually said whether or not she was bisexual, leaving it up in the air. Had she been half serious and maybe 'testing the water'? But Carmen saw this as a chance to ask Tracy something that had been bothering her. "Tracy, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, anything," Tracy giggled.

"This afternoon when you were on the phone to your father, you asked him how he was so sure that I would stick it out at the island and eventually get the respect of the men. I didn't hear your father's answer. Do you mind if I ask what he said that so quickly convinced you?"

Tracy's face turned serious for a moment, then she giggled again. "Elementary, my dear Carmen. He looked into the future."
Carmen didn't know how to interpret that, so she laughed along with Tracy. Her new friend was obviously a little drunk.

The next day the three of them had lunch together again.
"Tracy, are you all right?" Angie asked, looking closely at her friend.
"Too much wine last night," Tracy mumbled, then she pointed at Carmen with a cheeky smile and added, "It's all her fault. She kept topping up my glass."
Carmen laughed. "Um, I think it was the other way around."
They all laughed.

"Speaking of drinking," Angie said, "I have an idea. On Saturday night why don't the three of us go to the nightclub. It will be a 'welcome to the company' for Carmen, and a sorrow-drowning session for Tracy to get over Laurence. What do you think? We might even get lucky and meet three cute guys." 

Thanks for reading so far. Things warm up in the next chapter.
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