In A Song: Point of No Return
folder
CSI › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
7
Views:
3,388
Reviews:
1
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
CSI › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
7
Views:
3,388
Reviews:
1
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own CSI, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Point of No Return pt 3
Note: Character thought are enclosed in *
Grissom walked into the lab with a bit of apprehension. It was Michelle’s first official day as the lab’s AD and the first thing she did was call a mandatory meeting with the entire nightshift staff. Everyone was on edge for this meeting with the new AD and Ecklie’s smug looks from the corner did not bode well for the harmony of the lab. Grissom took his usual seat at the end of the table with Catherine and Nick on either side. Sara was between Catherine and Warrick and Greg flanked Nick. The rest of the lab staff filled in the rest of the seats in the conference room and lined the wall. Michelle walked into the room and Grissom watched as Ecklie’s smug look became even more pronounced. Sara noticed the tension in the room spike as the brunette started her talk.
“I want to thank you all for taking the time out of your busy day to be here. I’ll take up as little time as possible and let you all get back to doing what you do best. As you know I’m Michelle Ecklie, the new Assistant Director of the lab. I was Assistant Director in New York before I came here, and I was a CSI 3 for 2 years before that. So don’t think I can’t understand where you’re coming from and what you’re doing, because I do. I’m not here to rock the boat and step on any toes. I’m actually here to make your lives a little easier. The first thing I’ll be doing is simplifying the paperwork for you. Back in New York they implemented one of the new systems and it was pretty popular. It was easier on the CSI’s, and attorneys and juries love it because it’s easier to follow. It’s really straightforward too so I don’t see anyone having a problem with learning it. There will be training days set aside to walk you guys through it once it gets here. But that should cut your paperwork by at least a third.”
Michelle glanced around the room at her staff and noticed the majority of them had relaxed once she started pointing out the positives in the changes she was making. As she continued she noticed that only the CSI’s were tense and became more so when she mentioned the policy change.
“OK just to wrap this up there is one other major change coming down that you all need to be aware of. The majority of department policies here is cut and dry, and I’m sure you all know them by heart. But there is one that is really vague, and that’s the one on interoffice relationships.”
Michelle saw her uncle grin and he began watching everyone in the room as if he was expecting an upheaval. She smiled as she continued. “Well that’s going to change. I’ve already spoken to the sheriff about this and I have his full support in this. Effective immediately there is a new policy concerning interoffice relationships. In the past it was at the discretion of the sheriff, lab director and AD to allow it or not, and that’s coming to a halt. The new policy is very clear and like the rest of the policies very cut and dry. I wont bore you to death with the exact wording, but I’ll give it to you straight. What you people do outside of this building, barring illegal activity, is no one’s business. Who you choose to date is also no one’s business. So unless your social life becomes an issue interfering with your work, it’s none of our business.”
Michelle’s smile grew as she watched the smug expression on her uncle’s face disappear. “What that means is very simple. I don’t care if one of the lab techs is screwing the sheriff, or a couple of techs are going out, hell I don’t even care if you’re dating your supervisor. Unless I find you going at it in the lab, it’s none of my business. And even then as long as you aren’t in an area where you could contaminate evidence I’ll probably just tell you to leave that for after work.”
Everyone chuckled and relaxed, except Ecklie. Michelle smiled and continued. “The point is we’re not stupid. Countless relationships get started because people met at work and working in a lab doesn’t make it any different. As long as you can get your job done the way you always have it doesn’t matter. Just remember to keep the PDA’s to a minimum and G rated, ok people? That’s all I have for you guys. Grissom I do need to talk to you for a minute, but everyone else can head out.”
Everyone filed out of the conference room leaving Grissom and Michelle to talk, and none of the CSI’s missed Ecklie’s glare at his niece or the fact he stood just outside the door waiting for her. Michelle noticed where he uncle was standing and knew he’d be able to overhear the entire conversation. “So I’ll make sure he can’t.” Grissom relaxed slightly after Michelle’s explanation of the new dating policy, but the way she came so close to him once everyone was gone made him uneasy.
“So Grissom I was looking over your file and see that you’ve been a supervisor on grave for nine years, and that taking over as the head of the unit was supposed to be temporary.”
Grissom looked up at her and wondered where she was going with this, until she smiled. “Grissom do you like your job? I mean you obviously like your work to stick with it for as long as you have, but do you like your job? The way it is now anyway with all the administrative stuff.”
Grissom sighed and looked at the table. “Honestly? No. I can’t stand the paperwork. It keeps me out of the field where I can actually be of some use.”
Michelle nodded. “That’s what I thought. I’ll leave it up to you but if you’re interested in giving up the administrative end of the job, I’ll start interviewing people to bring someone else in.”
Grissom looked at her and nodded. “I’ll think about it and let you know.”
“Good.” Michelle leaned across the table toward him and put her hand over his. “You know regardless of what my uncle has said, I don’t want rid of you. On the contrary, I think this will work out quite well with you under me. I just want to make things around here as pleasant as possible.”
Grissom looked at her and swallowed nervously. There was no mistaking the thinly masked meaning behind her words. She pulled back and walked out of the room when Warrick stepped into the doorway looking for Grissom. Ecklie stormed down the hallway following his niece and Warrick shook his head at Grissom. “Man I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Grissom looked at the younger man stunned. “I didn’t do anything.”
“I know. But will your Buggy Gal see it that way?”
Ecklie paced inside Michelle’s office waiting for her when she arrived. “What was that all about? You made it ok for people to date someone they work with!”
Michelle smiled at her uncle and folded her arms across her chest. “So? It’s a fact people date people from the workplace. Making people try and hide it causes them stress and could distract them from their jobs. Letting them be open about it puts a stop to that.”
“And what are you going to do if this causes problems?”
Michelle walked over and sat behind her desk. “If a relationship causes problems on the job, then it will be dealt with accordingly. It didn’t happen often in New York, but when it did, one of them was fired.”
An evil grin spread across Ecklie’s face. “Fired? Oh that is brilliant, Michelle. You’re giving them just enough rope to hang themselves with. I suppose that flirty performance is part of your plan?”
Michelle looked up at her uncle and grinned. “Of course. Grissom is an attractive man and I will need an escort to certain department functions, after all. Why shouldn’t it be an intelligent, attractive man?”
Ecklie was taken aback. “You can’t be serious? Grissom?”
Michelle sighed, “Look I don’t expect you to understand what I’m doing but let’s just say that when I’m finished, you wont have to worry about Dr. Grissom anymore.”
Ecklie’s smug grin returned as he started to leave. “That’s all I can ask for.”
Michelle watched him walk away and waited until he was well down the hall before hitting speed dial on her phone. “Dr. Grissom it’s Michelle Ecklie. When you get this message call my office. There is something very important we need to discuss that I wasn’t able to bring up at the meeting.” She hung up and hit another number. “Yeah it’s me. It went well actually. No I don’t think he suspects anything. Will you relax? I can handle him. He’s never going to know what hit him.”
Grissom walked into the lab with a bit of apprehension. It was Michelle’s first official day as the lab’s AD and the first thing she did was call a mandatory meeting with the entire nightshift staff. Everyone was on edge for this meeting with the new AD and Ecklie’s smug looks from the corner did not bode well for the harmony of the lab. Grissom took his usual seat at the end of the table with Catherine and Nick on either side. Sara was between Catherine and Warrick and Greg flanked Nick. The rest of the lab staff filled in the rest of the seats in the conference room and lined the wall. Michelle walked into the room and Grissom watched as Ecklie’s smug look became even more pronounced. Sara noticed the tension in the room spike as the brunette started her talk.
“I want to thank you all for taking the time out of your busy day to be here. I’ll take up as little time as possible and let you all get back to doing what you do best. As you know I’m Michelle Ecklie, the new Assistant Director of the lab. I was Assistant Director in New York before I came here, and I was a CSI 3 for 2 years before that. So don’t think I can’t understand where you’re coming from and what you’re doing, because I do. I’m not here to rock the boat and step on any toes. I’m actually here to make your lives a little easier. The first thing I’ll be doing is simplifying the paperwork for you. Back in New York they implemented one of the new systems and it was pretty popular. It was easier on the CSI’s, and attorneys and juries love it because it’s easier to follow. It’s really straightforward too so I don’t see anyone having a problem with learning it. There will be training days set aside to walk you guys through it once it gets here. But that should cut your paperwork by at least a third.”
Michelle glanced around the room at her staff and noticed the majority of them had relaxed once she started pointing out the positives in the changes she was making. As she continued she noticed that only the CSI’s were tense and became more so when she mentioned the policy change.
“OK just to wrap this up there is one other major change coming down that you all need to be aware of. The majority of department policies here is cut and dry, and I’m sure you all know them by heart. But there is one that is really vague, and that’s the one on interoffice relationships.”
Michelle saw her uncle grin and he began watching everyone in the room as if he was expecting an upheaval. She smiled as she continued. “Well that’s going to change. I’ve already spoken to the sheriff about this and I have his full support in this. Effective immediately there is a new policy concerning interoffice relationships. In the past it was at the discretion of the sheriff, lab director and AD to allow it or not, and that’s coming to a halt. The new policy is very clear and like the rest of the policies very cut and dry. I wont bore you to death with the exact wording, but I’ll give it to you straight. What you people do outside of this building, barring illegal activity, is no one’s business. Who you choose to date is also no one’s business. So unless your social life becomes an issue interfering with your work, it’s none of our business.”
Michelle’s smile grew as she watched the smug expression on her uncle’s face disappear. “What that means is very simple. I don’t care if one of the lab techs is screwing the sheriff, or a couple of techs are going out, hell I don’t even care if you’re dating your supervisor. Unless I find you going at it in the lab, it’s none of my business. And even then as long as you aren’t in an area where you could contaminate evidence I’ll probably just tell you to leave that for after work.”
Everyone chuckled and relaxed, except Ecklie. Michelle smiled and continued. “The point is we’re not stupid. Countless relationships get started because people met at work and working in a lab doesn’t make it any different. As long as you can get your job done the way you always have it doesn’t matter. Just remember to keep the PDA’s to a minimum and G rated, ok people? That’s all I have for you guys. Grissom I do need to talk to you for a minute, but everyone else can head out.”
Everyone filed out of the conference room leaving Grissom and Michelle to talk, and none of the CSI’s missed Ecklie’s glare at his niece or the fact he stood just outside the door waiting for her. Michelle noticed where he uncle was standing and knew he’d be able to overhear the entire conversation. “So I’ll make sure he can’t.” Grissom relaxed slightly after Michelle’s explanation of the new dating policy, but the way she came so close to him once everyone was gone made him uneasy.
“So Grissom I was looking over your file and see that you’ve been a supervisor on grave for nine years, and that taking over as the head of the unit was supposed to be temporary.”
Grissom looked up at her and wondered where she was going with this, until she smiled. “Grissom do you like your job? I mean you obviously like your work to stick with it for as long as you have, but do you like your job? The way it is now anyway with all the administrative stuff.”
Grissom sighed and looked at the table. “Honestly? No. I can’t stand the paperwork. It keeps me out of the field where I can actually be of some use.”
Michelle nodded. “That’s what I thought. I’ll leave it up to you but if you’re interested in giving up the administrative end of the job, I’ll start interviewing people to bring someone else in.”
Grissom looked at her and nodded. “I’ll think about it and let you know.”
“Good.” Michelle leaned across the table toward him and put her hand over his. “You know regardless of what my uncle has said, I don’t want rid of you. On the contrary, I think this will work out quite well with you under me. I just want to make things around here as pleasant as possible.”
Grissom looked at her and swallowed nervously. There was no mistaking the thinly masked meaning behind her words. She pulled back and walked out of the room when Warrick stepped into the doorway looking for Grissom. Ecklie stormed down the hallway following his niece and Warrick shook his head at Grissom. “Man I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Grissom looked at the younger man stunned. “I didn’t do anything.”
“I know. But will your Buggy Gal see it that way?”
Ecklie paced inside Michelle’s office waiting for her when she arrived. “What was that all about? You made it ok for people to date someone they work with!”
Michelle smiled at her uncle and folded her arms across her chest. “So? It’s a fact people date people from the workplace. Making people try and hide it causes them stress and could distract them from their jobs. Letting them be open about it puts a stop to that.”
“And what are you going to do if this causes problems?”
Michelle walked over and sat behind her desk. “If a relationship causes problems on the job, then it will be dealt with accordingly. It didn’t happen often in New York, but when it did, one of them was fired.”
An evil grin spread across Ecklie’s face. “Fired? Oh that is brilliant, Michelle. You’re giving them just enough rope to hang themselves with. I suppose that flirty performance is part of your plan?”
Michelle looked up at her uncle and grinned. “Of course. Grissom is an attractive man and I will need an escort to certain department functions, after all. Why shouldn’t it be an intelligent, attractive man?”
Ecklie was taken aback. “You can’t be serious? Grissom?”
Michelle sighed, “Look I don’t expect you to understand what I’m doing but let’s just say that when I’m finished, you wont have to worry about Dr. Grissom anymore.”
Ecklie’s smug grin returned as he started to leave. “That’s all I can ask for.”
Michelle watched him walk away and waited until he was well down the hall before hitting speed dial on her phone. “Dr. Grissom it’s Michelle Ecklie. When you get this message call my office. There is something very important we need to discuss that I wasn’t able to bring up at the meeting.” She hung up and hit another number. “Yeah it’s me. It went well actually. No I don’t think he suspects anything. Will you relax? I can handle him. He’s never going to know what hit him.”