Everybody knew she was also a lousy office manager, and Jake had to know it, too. Maybe he felt too sorry for her to let her go, and that made Lauren feel worse. She wanted his love, not pity.
She slapped one ledger shut and shuffled the stack of blank paychecks before her. Each one had to be rolled into the ancient typewriter on the corner table for "processing." Lauren couldn't remember the last time she had used an actual typewriter. Who was in the White House then? Could he balance his checkbook? "Lord, send me an angel," she muttered. "You rang?" Lauren's head shot up and her face contorted with puzzlement. That familiar feminine voice definitely didn't belong to the burly man in the brown uniform hefting a large package onto Jake's desk. She relaxed when she noticed Sue taking up the rear with a smaller box.
"You've given up photography for blue-collar work?" Lauren asked as she signed for both.
"Brown collar, actually," Sue quipped, nodded to the man's taut backside. "You know me, a sucker for a guy in uniform. I've been a good helper today, haven't I?"
The delivery man's crooked smile was agreement enough, and Lauren had to laugh as she bid him good day and watched Sue's gaze follow him out the door. "Lady, you're as subtle as Mack truck crashing into a brick wall," she told Sue. "Helping with his package, indeed."
Sue set the smaller box next to the larger one. "I need to do more online shopping. Wouldn't mind a special delivery like that once in a while." She licked her lips with an exaggerated smack, clearly for Lauren's benefit. "Would Cal mind?" "Of course not. We've learned to share." Lauren covered her ears. The last thing she wanted to envision was a sweating, naked Cal pumping his cock into a delivery man's tight ass, and vice versa. That sort of thing was not a turn-on for her.
"TMI, lady, too much information." Sue's laughter was muffled until Lauren released her hands to scrape at the thick packing tape holding the computer box together. "What did I just sign for, anyway? Jake never said anything about buying a computer." "Maybe it's a surprise," Sue suggested. "Something to make your job easier." "You know what would make my job easier? A matchbook and a lengthy lapse of conscience. Look at this." Lauren thumbed rapidly through one ledger. "Yeah, my eyes crossed like that the first time I saw it, too. I have to get paychecks out to these people today, I don't know what to do."
"Well." Sue proved to have less restraint than Lauren. She ripped open the smaller package with gusto and waded through a pool of Styrofoam peanuts to find a sealed package of blank checks, three to each perforated sheet. "Looks like your problem is solved," she said. "These checks are for the printer in this box. All you have to do is push a button." "Is it red with the word DESTRUCT marked on it? I'll push it." Sue laughed and slapped the checks back in the box. "It's not so bad. Look, there's software here, too. I'm sure it's just a template where you plug in the names and numbers and the computer does the rest."
"Even so, there's no way I'm going to get this thing hooked up and running before noon. I don't even know this is for me, this thing could be going to the Suffolk store," Lauren said, and as she said the words panic seized her. Surely Jake would have mentioned a computer delivery...perhaps he didn't bother telling her because he wasn't planning on keeping her much longer? Given the marginal job she had done, she wouldn't blame him. Jake needed competent help in the office, and Deep Blue couldn't help her become a better office manager. Maybe he planned to have Danny fire her in his stead?
"Will you relax, I'm sure you're doing fine." Sue waved away Lauren's voiced doubts. "It takes time to adapt to a new job, and besides, Jake would've said something earlier if you were in trouble, right?"
"I suppose," Lauren grumbled. Not that Jake had been around to say hello to her in the last week, much less fire her. "Anyway, I'll stick with the typewriter and the checks Danielle gave me for now until I hear otherwise about the computer." She looked at the stack of checks she had to use and scowled. "Assuming I don't throw the damn thing through the window."
Sue rolled her eyes and edged around the desk, jostling Lauren from the chair. "I think you'll find, lady, that you're better at this job than you realize. How did you get through the last two weeks if you can't use the typewriter? You know what, don't answer that. Watch and learn."
Lauren discovered herself ousted from her position as Sue wheeled the chair to the typewriter and barked for a few blanks checks. Lauren found the proper ledger and checked the numbers, relieved to know she hadn't screwed up the pay accounts. As she called out each employee's name and amount to be paid, Sue typed up a corresponding paycheck free of smudges. They worked in a rhythm that relaxed Lauren, and for the first time in two weeks she didn't mind so much being in the small office, nor did Jake cross her mind.
Halfway through the stack, Sue's fingers slowed on the typewriter. "I'm sorry about the pictures," she said quietly. "I know it's been rough on you."
"Thanks." Lauren turned a page in the pay ledger and marked her place with a ragged nail. "And thank you for not saying 'I told you so' right off the bat. You were right, this whole thing did come to bite me in the ass."
"I wouldn't say that. Jake hired you to work here, didn't he? You wanted to get close to him."
"That wasn't how I wanted it to happen, you know that. I don't want to be his employee, Sue." Lauren took a corner of the desk and arched her back, staring dreamily at the ceiling. "I'll admit, I thought it would be nice to work with him, not for him." The fantasy, of course, looked better. They would fall in love and marry, Lauren would teach a few more years to qualify for early retirement, then take her place at Jake's side helping him run the store. Her duties, of course, would mainly consist of agreeing with his every decision and finding a more competent office manager to wrestle with the typewriter...and making sure Jake didn't get to bed without experiencing at least three orgasms.
"Ah, fringe benefits." Sue finished the present check with a flourish and held out her hand for another one. "Well, office work will come quickly to you. Here, take this next check and I'll read the ledger."
Lauren complied, and was pleased to see how well she created the paycheck. Before she realized it, the stack was complete. Sue took the spare chair and the two women set to work stuffing envelopes.
"Have you considered," Sue began, "maybe putting some of your creativity to good use around here?" "Meaning?" Lauren asked. "I don't know, finding ways to increase business. Build up the cafe, bring in new
products..." "Organic sex toys?" Sue was licking an envelope and winced. "Thanks, I cut my tongue." Lauren giggled at her friend's exaggerated pain. "It's a good thought, but even if I were proactive around here I doubt Jake would notice. He's seems to be focused on other things, you know?"
"Well, try it anyway. Put the focus on you." Sue pushed her completed stack next to Lauren's, then drummed her nails on the desk. "You know, maybe if you got Jake out of the store you might have a chance getting some focus." "Accost him in the parking lot at closing?" "Ask him out." "I'm not ready to do that," Lauren said, unprepared for the slap to the shoulder that
nearly sent her to the floor. "You were ready to give him explicit photos of yourself a few weeks ago. You were ready to trash a toy collection that would have required you to buy stock in Duracell to maintain, and yet you're not ready to ask him out on a simple date?"
"A few weeks ago he wasn't my boss," Lauren said, righting herself. "It's different now."
"Well. Let's call this more of a community evening for support. That's really why I came here in the first place." Sue twisted in her chair for her purse and extracted some flyers. "I told you that Cal finished his album, right?"
"No!" This was great news. She had known Cal Briscoe had planned another solo effort, and that with Brady's help he was going to produce and market it through his own label, using what he had in his home studio. She hadn't realized how quickly one could cut an album these days. "This is so exciting, Sue! Congratulations."
"Thanks. Cal's doing a show in Virginia Beach with his new group to launch it." Colored paper spil
led over the desk; each flyer bore a flattering portrait of Cal towering over two other men and one woman. "We're trying to get as many locals over there as we can for moral support. Tell Jake and Danny and everybody here."
"Definitely." Lauren grabbed some flyers for the store's community bulletin board. "I'm due for a break anyway. Wanna grab some lunch?"
"Grab all you want, I'll buy. Consider it a congratulations on your new job lunch." Sue grinned and bounced out of the office. Her effervescent attitude was infectious, a perfect contrast to Lauren's earlier mood, and Lauren welcomed it.
Once outside the office, however, there returned a familiar sense of foreboding, a paranoia that seemed to claw at her back and taunt her. Lauren rubbed the sudden chill from her arms and turned toward the back of the store in time to see a flash of floral dress whip around a corner. Its owner definitely moved around too quickly to be grocery shopping. * * * "Danny, what's all this?" Jake stood before his desk, scowling as his assistant sauntered next to him and
flashed him a sloping grin. "What's all what?" Danielle asked. "Don't be cute." Jake gestured to the computer setup on his desk. The bland hum of the monitor's small motor filled the brief silence. "I don't recall ordering a computer, much less setting one up to use. I don't think I could if I tried. Whose doing is this?"
Danielle's smile twisted, and she produced a small white envelope from her apron pocket. "This was given to me while you were out," she said. "It should explain everything."
Jake read the loopy cursive on the card. Merry Christmas for the next five years, from your loving grandchildren, read the message. Jake sighed. He doubted Arlene and
Charlie were his benefactors. More than likely Red and J.J. were using the two young girls as pawns to get Jake to accept a gift he didn't want.
No , Jake thought. If either of his sons didn't want him working at all, why buy him a computer for work? Marlene? Would she know enough about computers to buy him one? Why buy him one in the first place? Surely she had to know he would never accept such an expensive gift.
Did Lauren buy it? No, money was tight for her, else she wouldn't be working the store.
Danielle, when Jake asked, remained tight-lipped. "Sorry, boss," she crooned, "I was sworn to secrecy. Just enjoy the computer. It's here to help."
Jake snorted. About the only help a computer could offer him would be to keep papers from blowing off his desk. He sent Danielle back to work and slumped into his chair. Why didn't anybody listen to him? Everything he didn't want, every technology and annoyance, was thrust upon him without a thought for his feelings. He didn't want electronic registers, yet he had them now, and had to listen to them beeping in the distance. He didn't want a computer…
He liked Marlene Robeson, but didn't want her around twenty-four seven to nag him, or seduce him. He hired Lauren McKenna to keep the older woman at bay, but if J.J. was correct in his assessment of the former teacher, Jake had merely crawled from one hole to fall into a deeper one. It was the thought of Lauren harboring feelings for him that had preyed upon Jake's thoughts when he entered the office. Surely his son had to be mistaken. What could a beautiful young woman like Lauren find to desire in a grizzled old grocer weathered by a year of mourning?
He could think of no answer to that question. Sitting at his desk, watching a waving computer platform logo float from one corner of the screen to the other, he doubted he would be able to concentrate on anything important.
How to make that image go away? Jake tapped at the keyboard but nothing happened. Spying the mouse to his right, he grabbed it and held it in his palm. The sudden movement caused the screen saver to immediately dissolve… …and reveal a large photograph of a nude woman tangled in an explicit pose. Jake didn't hear the clunk of the mouse as it hit the floor. Lauren. Naked. Lying in bed with her knees spread wide, showing everything that a
woman owned. Everything. The photograph was pure sex, and a glorious train wreck. Jake couldn't look away. He reached down to retrieve the mouse, his eyes still fixed on Lauren's full, bare breasts, tipped with stiffened nipples that looked aching to be sucked.
Oh, my . Jake shifted suddenly in place and looked down at his lap. He was moving, not of his own volition. Rather, his cock stirred, in the office, and the door was wide open! Anybody could walk in and see this.
Frantically, Jake searched the screen for a tiny exit icon to close the picture window, but the pull of sexual stimulation was too strong, ultimately his gaze returned to Lauren's bare, pink pussy lips, parted in invitation. Next to the anticipation of lying gently on top of Cynthia and easing his cock in and out of her pussy, no other image or sensation had encouraged Jake to an erection this quickly, and it bothered Jake. He wasn't attracted to Lauren, or any other woman, so why was so damn hard right now?
Erotic imagery didn't stimulate him. At least, he was under the impression it didn't. He had never thought to experiment to find out if it did. He had never bought a dirty magazine or watched an X-rated film. Provocative dress, favorite actresses in revealing costumes, might have stirred feelings of arousal once in a while, but never to this degree. Perhaps he had been wrong all these years? Was it the image of a naked woman in general, or naked Lauren? "What do you think?" Jake's gaze was finally torn away...by Lauren's voice. She leaned against the doorjamb, arms folded over her purse and smiling. Jake bit back the gasp of surprise that threatened to escape and crossed his legs. His erection ached all the more.
"Uh, beg pardon?" The mouse pointer zig-zagged all over the monitor in a futile attempt to close the window. Jake finally reached over and turned off the monitor, hopefully in a way that didn't look panicked or conspicuous.
"The biscotti. What do you think of them?" Lauren nodded to Jake's elbow, and he looked down at the elongated biscuits wrapped in yellow cellophane, resting on the edge of the desk. Where had they come from, he wondered. Of course, a bleeding, squawking pigeon could have been flapping on the desk and he wouldn't have seen it for the screenshot of Lauren.
"I brought them back from Sister Jo's Tea Room. Sue Briscoe and I had lunch there." Lauren stepped into the office and set her bag on a vacant chair. "Jo has a great selection of homemade biscotti and drink mixes for sale there, and I brought some of everything back for you."
"Really? Well, that was very thoughtful, Lauren." Jake forced a smile and studied the cookies, thankful for the distraction. "I was about to put on another pot of coffee, too, so I might have one." Lauren giggled. "You do realize I had an ulterior motive for bringing you biscuits." "Raises come at the end of the year, Lauren, but if you want to keep sending me bribes, go right ahead." Jake winked, surprised with himself. How could he be so casual, borderline flirting, after what he'd just seen? More than anything he wanted Lauren out of the office so he could lock the door behind her and find relief. As it was, there would be no coffee to enjoy until he could stand up without looking like a tree with a low hanging branch. Lauren's continued presence seemed only to intensify the ache, and the need.
"Cute." She wouldn't stop laughing. Her light, tinkerbell voice tickled his insides, and the sudden image of naked Lauren giggling to orgasm burned behind Jake's eyes. The vision didn't shake away so easily, either. He shouldn't be thinking like this, he knew. He only just lost Cindy... A year ago, taunted his conscience. It's time to move on. "No," he blurted, and slapped the desk a little too hard for his liking. He looked up
and his heart sank at the astonishment on Lauren's face. "Well, don't you want to hear my idea before you reject it?" she asked, sounding
hurt. "What? No, Lauren, I'm sorry. I was just thinking of...something I forgot." Like my
libido . "You were saying?" Lauren approached cautiously; the atmosphere seemed heavy now. "Jo was telling me how she can't keep these biscotti and drink mixes on her shelves, and she has such limited space at the cafe that I thought, why not shelve some here? You have the coffee bar." Lauren gestured toward the store, "and since Jo's open only for breakfast and lunch, people can come here afte
r work if they want. I don't know how you'd want to work it financially, putting her stuff on consignment or whatever..."
"No," Jake said quickly, "no. I would rather buy Jo's goods outright and sell them here. I just need to figure out how much to pay so I don't mark up too much here. That's a good idea, Lauren," he said, reaching for a notepad on the other side of the desk. Definitely, it was nice to have something to think about beside Lauren's private parts. "I'm sure Jo's biscotti won't cost as much as the ones we're ordering, and since Jo's local shoppers know her reputation. Her stuff might move faster than the other brands. I'll give her a call later."
"Great." Lauren sounded relieved, and Jake smiled. He wanted to apologize, but wasn't sure how. Somewhere along the line mention of his new computer wallpaper would be broached. It would have to, anyway, he realized. He had to know if this was Lauren's doing, or an attempt to humiliate her. Being tactful about it, though, there was the rub. Jake pinched his eyes shut and opened them quickly. The ache stung him. Speaking
of rubbing... "Lauren," Jake began, but Lauren's enthusiasm bubbled over and muted him. "Another idea I had," she said, "if you're interested in local products, or rather local
transplants . Did you know Cal Briscoe has a new album coming out?" "I didn't know Cal was persuing a solo career," Jake said. "How is this related to the grocery business?" He hoped the suggestion of carrying Cal's album wouldn't come. Jake didn't want to run a department store. Food was enough.
"It's not, really, but since the cafe is open late with the store, if you ever wanted to consider live music on weekends, Sue says he's willing to perform for free. It's not arena rock, like at the concert. His style is much different than Brady's. Very mellow."
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