by Lexi Archer
"So if you'll agree to go along with a list of proposals I'll have my secretary email over to you tonight…"
I didn't think that was very likely. Cindy was probably off with Jared from the IT department somewhere that Arnold couldn't see them. Which was probably a good thing. I had a feeling that if Jared saw Arnold trying to slap his girlfriend's ass one more time there was definitely going to be a fist fight, and that was a headache I didn't need on a normal workday, let alone at a party where everybody was already feeling pretty darn good thanks to the booze flowing freely courtesy of the office coffers.
"No, you're not going to do anything of the sort," I said.
Maybe I was being a little short, maybe I was lacking some of the finesse that would be a good idea in a situation like this, but I was so tired of dealing with this crap. I just wanted to be done so I could go and find my wife and Michael. So I could figure out exactly what they were up to.
Hell, more than anything I just wanted to make sure I was going to be on hand to witness whatever it was they were up to. I loved watching her show off in front of other men and we'd never taking it farther than that, but there was something about the way the two of them had been looking at one another. I had a feeling, a hunch, and I'd learned to trust my hunches. That was one of the reasons why I was the head of the department and about to give a piece of my mind to a guy twice my age who'd been starting at this business back just before I'd been born.
Yeah, I was in a hurry. I needed to find my wife. Needed to find Michael. Needed to see what they were up to, and see if things were going to the insanely arousing place I thought they just might be. I didn't have a problem with that, not exactly, as long as I got to see! Which I wasn't going to get to if Arnold was going to monopolize my time all night long, damn it.
"Excuse me?" he said. He started spluttering. He actually started spluttering! If it wasn't so ridiculous I'd be laughing.
"Here's what's going to happen Arnold," I said.
I actually reached out and poked him in the chest. I almost winced, but I wanted to show I was in a position of power. Wincing would just make him think he was the one that was in charge. He wasn't, even if he could make trouble for me by complaining to my bosses. They'd back me up, but it would be a headache.
Still, what's done was done, and I had to keep going now. "You're going to enjoy this party, and the last thing you're going to do is bother poor Cindy and make her type up a bunch of suggestions that you know and I know I'm not going to read anyways, because you've already been told by the executive team that we're restructuring how everything works in this department, and that means not doing things the old way. The old way was your way, and it obviously doesn't work or I wouldn't be here."
His eyes grew wider and wider. I would've smiled if it wasn't so serious. If smiling wasn't the last thing that I should do given the circumstances. No, I needed to play this cool. I needed to play this professional. It was just really damn hard to do that when all I wanted to do was laugh at the way his eyes went wide as he stared at me as though he couldn't believe I was actually talking to him like this.
It was probably the buzz I was feeling from the drink I'd enjoyed, but I couldn't believe I was talking with him like this either. It was actually kind of refreshing, all the more so because he was actually sitting there and taking it. Damn. If this worked then I should've done it a long time ago!
"You can't…"
"Actually, I can," I said. "I was the one who was put in charge of this department. You're being kept on here as a courtesy and because you're close to retirement. Let's not pretend this is something that it isn't. Get out of the way and let me do my job."
I turned and took a couple of steps before deciding that I really needed to drop the mic. I spun back around.
"By the way," I said. "Cindy is totally dating Jared, and I would take a very dim view of it if you continue the sort of harassment that's been brushed under the table up until this point. I'm really looking for any excuse to get rid of you before you get that retirement, if you catch my meaning."
He looked angry before I brought that up, but if anything he looked more terrified than anything else after. He looked like a giant bullfrog whose mouth was working, but nothing was coming out. Finally he swallowed and he seemed to find his voice. There was no anger there anymore.
Good.
"Of course... Sir?"
"Sir is just fine Elwood," I said. "You don't mind if I call you Elwood, do you?"
The way his eyes narrowed said that he very much minded if I called him Elwood, but he wasn't going to do anything. It was a test anyways. I wanted to see how far I could push him. I wanted to see how thoroughly cowed he was. From the way he looked down and said "of course not sir," it looked like he was well and truly on his way to being under my thumb.
I grinned as I turned and walked away. I also let out a sigh of relief. I couldn't believe that had actually worked. Maybe I should've taken a more firm hand with him a lot earlier than this. At the very least, I had a feeling it was going to be a hell of a lot easier dealing with Arnold in the future than it had been.
Except I didn't care about any of that. Sure I'd just won a victory that was going to make life easier around the office, but right now I was far more interested in other things happening around the office.
Like figuring out exactly where Michael and my wife had disappeared to. As soon as I was free from Arnold I made a quick sweep of the main cubicle farm just to make sure they hadn't ducked into one of the cubes and were having a chat there.
I did come across at least one office couple making out in one of the cubicles that was in one of the darker more secluded parts of the main office area. I cleared my throat and both of them had the good grace to look embarrassed when they looked up at me. And why not? David was a family man, a picture of his family was right there on the desk next to where he was making out with one of the secretaries. I think her name was Laura, but I couldn't exactly remember.
Either way, I'm sure I knew that she was serious about a guy. She had an engagement ring on her finger. I'm sure David's spouse and Laura's husband-to-be wouldn't appreciate the two of them making out like this. Something about the look in their eyes when they realized they were caught told me that they didn't have any sort of unspoken arrangement like Megan and me.
"You guys might want to watch it, especially since your significant others are wandering around this party somewhere. Best not to create a scene here, right?"
David breathed a sigh of relief when he realized I didn't have any intention of turning them in. Laura had the good grace to look embarrassed, and they disengaged from one another. That was interesting. I hadn't even known the two of them were an office item. It seemed like tonight was a night for all sorts of crazy things to happen at the office party. And that just had certain parts of my anatomy throbbing even more as I thought about how some of that craziness could potentially be happening in my marriage tonight. It could potentially be happening right now, and I'd have absolutely no idea because I couldn't fucking find where the hell they were hiding! It certainly wasn't in one of the cubicles.
That was just my luck. I find a couple having a little bit of extramarital fun but it's not the couple that I wanted to find. Damn it.
Once I'd exhausted the main cubicle farm I went up to the front reception area, but all I saw there was Cindy and Jared getting up close and personal. Getting pretty hot and heavy up against the front entrance. It was a good thing we kept that door closed and locked at this time of day, otherwise they might be spilling out into the hallway beyond.
I didn't even bother to give them a heads up. No, hopefully after the little conversation I'd had with Arnold tonight, particularly after I'd made it absolutely clear that I knew what was going on with him and his unwanted advances on his secretary, they wouldn't have to worry about Arnold getting upset about their relationship if it was discovered. I could take them aside and have a quiet conversation about it some other time t
hough. Right now they were occupied. Occupied, once again, with a reminder of the sort of fun that I desperately wanted to see my wife having.
Damn it. I needed to find them. I needed to figure out where the hell they were hiding. I stood with my arms on my hips, looking at the reception area, and then I turned around. I'd been through the main cubicle farm where the party was happening and the booze was flowing. I'd been up to front reception. I looked down the darkened hallway leading to our offices, but there wasn't supposed to be anybody back there.
Then it hit me exactly what an idiot I was. Exactly how much of a dumbass I was. There wasn't supposed to be anybody back there, and so wouldn't that be the perfect location to go and have a little bit of fun if you didn't want to be caught? It had been so long since I'd had to sneak off like that that I just wasn't thinking like that anymore. Which was evidenced by the fact that it hadn't occurred to me that all those dark offices were the first place I should be looking!
I grinned as I made my way back through the darkened offices. At first I headed towards my office, but then I realized that would be ridiculous. All the offices were supposed to be locked up for the party, they didn't want anybody making their way back here and causing trouble after all. No, Arnold wasn't a fan of potentially letting the peons back to cause trouble in management areas.
That was another thing that I wanted to change. I wanted to get management on this floor out amongst the people they actually managed rather than having the ivory tower in this secluded area, but that was a fight I hadn't picked yet.
Maybe I could pick it now that I'd had my little come to Jesus talk with Arnold, but that was something to think about later. No, what I was thinking about right now was finding Michael. Finding Megan. Figuring out what they were up to. And so I went over to his office door. I reached out and turned the handle, but it didn't move. It just rattled.
Damn it. I'd been almost certain they'd be in there. I'd been certain I'd burst in and catch them in the middle of, well I'm not sure what it was I was hoping I'd catch them in the middle of. I had a pretty good idea of a couple of things I'd like to see, there were some very naughty things running through my mind, but there was no guarantee that any of that would actually happen.
And now it looked like it wasn't going to happen at all. Damn.
Only as I stood there staring at his door I noticed something odd. Rather, I suppose it would be more accurate to say that I smelled something odd. A something that I hadn't smelled in a good long while. At least since college.
Damn. That had to be my imagination. There wasn't a chance somebody would actually be lighting up like that in the offices! Nobody would be that…
Well, I could think of at least one person who might be that ballsy. Especially if he was trying to have a little bit of fun. Trying to show a lady a good time.
A lady like my wife.
I shook my head. I couldn't believe he would do that at this party. Then again, I wasn't sure that someone like Arnold would even know what he was smelling. Either way, I found myself smiling as I imagined Michael on the other side of the door shitting bricks when he heard somebody rattling the door. I decided to up the stakes just a little bit. I started pounding on the door. Pounding loudly, and wondering if it was just Michael in there, or if I was about to find my wife as well.
At the same time I prayed it was actually Michael and my wife in there. It would be pretty damn embarrassing for me if I ended up interrupting one of the other managers. Of course I didn't think that's what was going to happen. Michael was the only one with a key to his office as far as I knew unless someone called building maintenance, and that would leave a paper trail that would point straight to them if someone started wondering about that odd smell.
Finally the door flew open and Michael was standing there looking wide-eyed. I noticed there didn't seem to be too much smoke, though there was a haze.
"Brad!" he said.
"Michael," I said. "I seem to have misplaced my wife. You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you man?"
I didn't bother to wait for his answer. No, I went ahead and leaned in and looked around his office, making a big production of it. Of course the last place that I looked was the giant leather couch that I knew he'd strategically placed against a wall so people wouldn't be able to see what was going on unless you actually leaned into the room. I'd heard him talk about some of the fun he'd had with some of the girls from the sales department who occasionally came down for a lunch visit.
Sure enough, Megan was sitting right there on the couch, still looking absolutely stunning in her dress, though her eyes were slightly glazed over. And why not? After all, she had just been smoking a joint from the smell of things. Not that I was particularly pissed off about that. She usually got good and horny when she'd had a little smoke, and so I was usually just fine and dandy with the idea of her getting a little high.
I was even more fine and dandy with it personally even if I couldn't exactly condone that sort of behavior in a professional capacity. The idea of her getting high with Michael, of getting as horny as she usually got when she'd been smoking, only with him in this secluded office, had thoughts racing through my head. Thoughts that were naughty, that shouldn't be running through any married man's mind, but there they were.
Of course it didn't look like any of those thoughts had actually come true. Which was a shame. I really would've liked to step in here and find her at least in her underwear, or maybe with that dress riding up on her thigh showing off the thong I knew she was probably wearing underneath. She usually always wore a thong with a dress like that. She complained about panty lines if she didn't.
"Hey honey," I said. "Having fun in here?"
She leaned forward and smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
I glanced over to Michael and then I waved my hand in front of my face dramatically. I glanced behind him to the open window. I grinned. I'd never been one for opening my own window even though it was supposed to be one of the "perks" of being banished to one of the lower floors in the building. Still, it seemed Michael had found one hell of a use for his magical opening window. I looked to him and cocked an eyebrow.
"Smells like you're having a little bit of fun in here," I said.
Michael held up his hands. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
I was a little disappointed. No, scratch that, I was more than a little disappointed. I'd been hoping to come back here and maybe find them in the middle of something, as crazy as that sounded. With most men, finding their wife back here alone with another man would be enough to start a conversation that would be the end of their marriage. With me, though, it was just going to start a conversation that would hopefully lead to one hell of a lot of fun dirty talk.
Mostly, though, I was annoyed at Michael for deciding to risk smoking in the office. That meant I had to act like the annoyed boss, even though I wanted to act like a jealous husband who got off on his wife having fun with another man.
"You know that was irresponsible man," I said.
Michael stayed with his hands raised for another breath, and then he seemed to deflate. All the fight went out of him, as if there was much fight in there to begin with. He knew I was on his side one hundred percent, no matter what, and that included protecting him if I found him partaking in a little bit of illegal substance fun in the middle of the office.
"I know man," he said. "I just…"
"Thought you might take advantage of my trusting wife?"
His eyes went wide. I saw Megan lean forward and she had a look of worry on her face. I imagine that at this moment she was wondering if she'd been completely wrong about how I felt about her flirting with other men. There definitely seemed to be just a touch of panic on her face.
I grinned and shook my head. "I'm just fucking with you guys."
Both of them breathed sighs of relief and I chuckled again. Then I turned serious. "But seriously. I don't have a problem with this stuff, but you know it could get us
in trouble if the old assholes upstairs heard about it. If they even caught a whiff of it, and all it takes is walking down the hallway to catch a whiff of it."
"I hear you loud and clear man," Michael said.
I looked down at Megan and I sighed. I really had hoped this might be more fun, but they'd gone and ruined it by doing something that I absolutely couldn't ignore in my capacity as the boss of this particular part of the company. I held out a hand to Megan.
"Ready to go honey?"
Once more she looked surprised. She looked like she couldn't believe I was actually pulling her away. Hell, I couldn't believe I was pulling her away from this fantasy opportunity of a lifetime, but I couldn't be in this room smelling like this if somebody happened to come back here and start sniffing around.
Damn it.
"You want to go? You don't want to…"
I shook my head. "I'm afraid it would look a little too suspicious, especially considering…"
I looked around the office once more, but there was no evidence of the illegal substance that had to be burning in here somewhere. Or that had until recently been burning in here. I wondered if he'd tossed it out of the building. It's not like anyone would be able to trace exactly what window it came from or anything like that. That would be safe enough. It would probably be for the best if he had done something like that.
"We should probably go make another round and then make our exit," I said.
Megan had a pout on her face, but she did follow me. She locked her arm around mine and then we made our way to the door. And as I got a whiff of her I amended my decision to make one more round of the office. No, we definitely weren't going to be making another round with my wife smelling like that. Sure my cock was having a downright Pavlovian response to that smell since I associated it with my wife getting horny, but everyone else in the office probably had a different association. No, we were going to be making a beeline for the door in the front reception area where I hoped it was still mostly deserted and we were going to head down to the parking garage as quickly as we could. Before anybody could catch a whiff of my wife.
