“Coffee.” She said walking by dumping her purse and jacket on his desk.
Victor had that one word to go by as his ‘hello, good morning, or happy Thursday’. He stared at the items before him, and moved it all to his file cabinet behind him.
His boss’ actions had long ago cost him the respect of his colleagues. She was beautiful and he was her big black guard dog. Lunch invitations, after work drinks, cooperation, and eye contact were things his co-workers skillfully avoided with him. His location didn’t help. He was seated across the office from them by the windows with his back to Meredith’s door and glass wall. He sat there like a peon on the frontline guarding the general’s tent. A no man’s land of copiers, cabinets, and conference tables separated him from their warren of cubicles.
He walked to the office kitchen and poured her the French blend he had brewed when he came in nearly two hours ago. Conversations about the boss quieted when he came in the alcove. He couldn’t ignore what wasn’t happening so he concentrated on Meredith’s mood of the day. Seven years of practice had taught him the perfect brew for her four dispositions.
Sulking and snappy from during the divorce three years ago when she needed massive doses of caffeine to launch her shock and awe campaigns.
Fast and twitchy, like when they first worked together and they spent long 16 and 17-hour days working, traveling, and building the company together. Secretly, he had switched between decaf and regular to avoid burning her out.
Stone steady and aloof was his favorite and usually led to a slammed locked door for hours.
Today, he noted his boss’ curtness and fast motions, she would need only a spoonful or two of sugar to get her into lunch.
After pouring a cup, he steadied it and glided to Meredith’s office. She sat back on the phone and waved him in the open door as he prepared to knock. After placing it down, he stood a step back from the desk and kept his eyes off her as she consulted the engineers on her next sales call.
Deeply tanned, with brown-yellow-hazel eyes that were lighter than her skin it seemed. She was exotic and slightly spooky when they were heavily lidded with eyeshadow. Her face was narrow with a squared jaw and flat chin. Distinctively, her face had a mole above her lips on the right side and another to the side of her other cheek below the lips. Her hair was a mane of black curls and waves that went to her lower back. Meredith had the body of a porn star. Lisa Ann, Regina Rizzi, Mercedes Ashley, Ricki White, or Jewels Jade came up in conversation about her features. She was overweight by doctors’ standards but she had washboard abs. Her weight was carried in her over generous breasts, butt, thighs, and hair. In her jimmy whoever four-inch heels, she cracked over six feet and stared him in the eye.
“Excellent. Yes thank you, I thought the same thing” Meredith’s mask smiled but Victor knew she felt nothing. “Buh bye now.” She giggled hanging up the phone. The mask slipped off as the receiver clicked and her full bee-stung lips fell out of her insipid grin.
With him, the mask was always left off. Victor had to see the monster everyday. She was a fully functional sociopath, and it seemed only he knew it. Her bright brown and yellow eyes flicked up to regard him and make her instant inspection. Meredith had a perfect car, job, body, makeup, house, and she had him. He was by association to be her perfect assistant.
She was the only ‘vice VP’ of an electronics industry powerhouse. When their small device company was bought out several years ago, she was one of the only people allowed to keep their seat on the board but lost the title VP of sales. Her and Victor were sent from the headquarters, a few miles away, to the hinterlands of a direct marketing office and thrived. If the ‘green revolution’ took off, she would be a millionaire several times over from their work and contracts already made.
As things stood now, they both made the same amount in commissions since they worked tightly together as the company’s best sales engine. The company liked having a minority and a woman working together. The salary she made from the title got her in the next tax bracket despite their relatively close six figure incomes.
“Xerox these, and have Jan bring in her notary stamp.” She said sliding over a paper stack of their latest kills. Her off white silk blouse was properly buttoned and was tucked tightly into her pinstripe pencil skirt. He knew that her legs were clad in black stockings with ruler straight seams. The outfit was Nordstrom’s pg. 16. Meredith bought exactly what the catalogue models wore.
“Yes, Ma’am.” He replied quietly taking the papers. Chanel wafted up with them. It was obligatory for him to stand until dismissed when dealing with her. Usually, she dismissed him once she knew the coffee was satisfactory, but that only that happened after it cooled slightly.
“Meredith I…”
“Go.” She said stopping him and turning for the phone.
Dejected he started out but stopped at the door. Behind him, Meredith was silently flipping through her phone referencing a number. He knew it was theater since she would have had him done it if she actually wanted to call someone. They worked together too long for him to be fooled. But, it was odd to him that she acted this way now.
Victor spun and slowly closed the door. The click roused her and she spun her chair to face him. Her bright eyes inspected him head to toe again with blank interest.
“Meredith, I can’t see you anymore. I have a girlfriend, and she makes me happy. I can’t hurt her.” He breathed in a rush. It suddenly felt like the ceiling vent was blasting hot air.
For a moment, she was silent and stared through him before she blinked and regarded him. She didn’t seem to move though she seemed to hunch thoughtfully. Meredith wasn’t bad with anything, but she didn’t do random surprises well. Her face twitched in an unreadable micro expression the pursed her full lips before she finally spoke.
“No.” She said flatly. “In fact we will get married.”
Victor froze staring at her like a startled deer. In his head, he repeated a loop of her words certain she wasn’t speaking English.
Meredith was by nature of very few words, and he knew she meant exactly what she said. Her jaw was set and he remembered back in college that she had taught martial arts.
“Meredith,” He squeaked feeling sweat starting on his back and forehead. “I tried to help you after the divorce, but I don’t think you need me anymore. We got our own lives, and we’re all grown up. You know a person can’t have a real relationship with another woman on the…”
“Go away.” Meredith roared. Her mane flew as she snapped forward against the desk. He had just referenced her failed marriage and brutal divorce by inclusion of that last statement. Behind her desk, a shoulder and elbow twitched. She couldn’t stand that blip of ugliness in her history.
Victor backed to the door and slipped out while facing and watching her. All told, except for everything she said, it went better than he expected.
He went around and ran his errands. Collecting the account for the notarizing was a bittersweet task. Jan the accountant, was a tall wide shouldered blonde gal from Oklahoma who was a sorority sister of Meredith’s. She had covered natural breasts each the size of his head. He had never seen them outside of modestly buttoned up blouses, sweaters, and ankle length dresses. She had wanted to be an elementary teacher but couldn’t say no to more than twice money of working here. She was the nicest person in the office to him and had a trusting wholesome look and slow moving tranquility. Her looks of pity over his seemingly stunted office life stung harder then the others’ quiet jokes.
Slipping back to his desk after running his errands, Victor could feel Meredith’s eyes on him from the glass wall. The instant Jan the accountant stepped back out of the office a green light for interoffice calls flashed on his desk phone. He looked at it for a moment knowing she was watching him.
He cleared his throat picking up the phone. “Hello,”
“Hi, this is Meredith. I wasn’t able to have a proper dialogue and resolve things properly with you earlier.” Meredith said on the line using her soliciting voice as if on a sales call. “We’ll have lunch and discuss your issue.” She said and hung up.
Victor counted the seconds until one o’clock when Meredith always went out to feed herself.
Five years ago, he would have never guessed he stayed her assistant. The first time they got together since college was as her marriage was hitting the wall. The company was tiny back then and they worked in an old cluttered one-story office in a commercial park.
“He’s cheating on me.” Meredith said flatly.
He had picked up how different she was by then. He didn’t understand her at all, but he noticed over little more than two years she never laughed, smiled, made a joke, or cried. She seemed like a puppet or a machine. Her manner was always consistent without the frivolous actions he usually picked on women for. He had taught her a lot about acting to help her catch jokes and be warm and personable on sales calls.
“Wow, that’s crazy. I’m sorry.” Victor shuffled over on his knees and hugged her in the middle of the mess of product details they tried to cram. It was late, and it was just them in the office once the rep from legal had left. Outside, the sun had set and the streetlights had come on, and it was still going to be a while before they left.
She hugged him tightly and cried for real for the first and only time. As he held her, he was trying to keep his cock down and hands up. He lost, and the wood arose as he smelled her thick black hair, felt her muscular yet pleasantly padded body against him, and his chest burned between them. Before his heart almost melted and he did something stupid, he got over it and pulled her back. She cocked her head to him and pushed in for another hug. Her breast hit his cock and she pressed in tighter and felt for his straining cock with a creeping hand. Right then, with it against the back of her hand, she bit him hard latching on his chest . He was surprised the teeth broke the skin in places.
He had an idea in his mind what she was doing. His old dog did the same thing every once and a while for attention like some kind of challenge: it would bite you as it stared you in the eye to see if you’d fight it. Much, much later, he would realize she had marked him to assert dominance. He froze and only moved his head to look down at her in the eyes and she reached in to cup his cock holding his stare.
Right there in the office, with both of them kneeling on the floor among diagrams and printouts, she slid down his body looking at him and maneuvered around to suck him off. She showed tremendous skill and hunger deepthroating his thick eight-inch cock. It was an excellent blowjob, and truly world-class with enthusiasm he’d rarely seen. She relished and worshipped his cock like it was separate from him and seemed to drink off him when he came.
At first, Victor thought it was exciting to have an affair. A hand full of times he and Meredith messed around. After that, the divorce was settled and things got more confusing.
When she left for lunch, she stepped out and paused for a moment at the side of his desk. She rested a hand on the desk before bringing them together in front of herself.
“Coat.”
The jacket was half a step to her left and within her grasp. He could feel her eyes on him as he spun away in his chair and handed the jacket to her.
“We will take my car.” She said flatly staring at him again and cocking her head. She did that sometimes when she was considering something not in her plan. Victor didn’t want to know what she was thinking.
As they trouped out Victor could feel the stares of his peers.
“Uh oh, she is gonna go whip her boy.” Said Carmine, a Hispanic brunette who looked similar though less curvy then Meredith. Carmine was not a friend of Meredith’s she was more of a rival twin. She ran internet sales and had a faction of friends in other sections and a legion of IT techs tripping over themselves finding reasons to visit. She played the workplace like it was high school and everyone played along.
Only two other men worked in the section. Seven women made the balance of their section in their department. Most were from Meredith’s college sorority. None was as hot as Meredith was, though some did have slightly bigger breasts like Jan or nearly as pretty of a face like Carmine. Victor’s co-workers thought Meredith was an all business workaholic who practiced staying aloof of office politics to get ahead.
They rode the elevator with several others in the building down to the car garage. Meredith had barrowed Victor’s proclivity for fast four door cars and drove the biggest blackest late model sedan she could find when her leases were up. This year was a hybrid Lexus ls 600h L.
The interior was cavernous and darkened with the limo tint Meredith preferred. The smell of the vehicle’s new leather kept him calm. The radio came on as she started the vehicle with the subdued conversational voices of public radio. The car moved silently as she backed out then set her course to an expensive Mediterranean restaurant Victor had shown her. She wordlessly drove going exactly the speed limit out of the garage and into traffic. After pulling to a light, she turned off the radio and paused again before speaking.
“How long have you dated?” She asked looking ahead.
“She moved in to nearby apartment four years ago, but I’ve known her for a few months.”
“We’ve known each other since college Victorious.” She said using his frat name and accelerated smoothly with the light.
“Yes, we’ve talked about that. Look, I’ll still be here for you. I honestly thought it would be easier for you then this.” He turned in his seat toward her. “Meredith our thing had two obvious outcomes remember? We come out and date for real and H.R. would likely ask one of us to leave, or we eventually stop and date other people since neither of us is married.”
Her paled as her hands tightened to white knuckles on the wheel. “I ff..feel not good about this.” Emotion was never her strong suit, and neither was blind aggression he hoped. “You are my friend. You are my only real friend.”
Using his placating voice Victor tried to ease her into the idea. “You can find someone else, it’s the perfect time, and you are very desirable.” Another twitch flashed across her dark face still too fast to be read.
After a few miles she responded. “I bonded to you Victor. I think you’re an important person to me. Other men seem…dirty, and it would likely waste many hours to find a similarly ideal… substitution.”
Victor tried to end run the bizarre conversation. “Well I don’t feel we have anything we can’t walk away from. I started out helping you Meredith, so this is like the last step for you to be free.”
“No.” She said flatly. “I am too busy to allow you this change.”
She ignored him the rest of the trip and guided them off the highway. The exit to Cupertino Real brought them to the back of the restaurant. Meredith parked on the street and they found a table inside just off the sidewalk. The tables were packed in a tight phalanx. Meredith had trouble moving through without people pillowing themselves on her ass. Victor waded through and let people use their ears to check his pockets.
Victor ordered for them after they sat. Hoping for something light and quick he ordered grilled tilapia with a salad and a vodka neat to Meredith’s cranberry vodka.
Meredith took the initiative like this was working lunch on a sales call. “I want to give you what you want. H.R. won’t interfere. The company doesn’t alter successful sales teams.” She started.
“Why? Is it fair to drop Taris because you decided not to let go?” He tried to be quiet and not cause the lunchtime break up scene. With the tight tables, he hoped people wouldn’t turn this into a scene. Every male eating or on staff was already glued to the darkly exotic Meredith like schoolboys waiting to be called on.
“I had you first.” She said straightening her silverware.
Victor tried to be casual and popped a jolly rancher in his mouth as a belier of his rapt attention with what she was doing as he responded. “Don’t be like that.”
Her Chanel slid over to him as she leaned in. “Then what are your rules? Why do you want to move on?” She said disturbing the tables nearby.
Victor sighed. “We are just sex. Only for release. You show me to your parents around the holidays as if I’m your boyfriend. We work together already a lot and the extra stuff kills any other growth. I want to have kids and have a family. I was raised to get married first. If you don’t want too I have to go somewhere else.”
“I want what you want.” She repeated.
Victor looked up at the sky and tried to avoid the glares of the hostile elements in the crowd. “Well with three years between us if this doesn’t work out with Taris I’m sure we’ll get it back.”
“Too much uncertainty Victor.” She said dismissively. “I want you.”
They were served and Victor ordered a long island iced tea to make this parody tolerable.
He was glad that with Meredith it wasn’t a usual male-female reason v.s. emotion argument. Victor could never stand water works and to her credit, Meredith never spun off on an incomprehensible emotional trip. She had spoiled him that way, His seldom forays associating with other women ended when they tested his patience with their petty games.
He understood it was all an instinctive trait from before time and how they selected a superior mate before investing the energy in the potentially fatal pregnancy and it was all for the greater good. Nevertheless, they didn’t like it when he completely instinctively looked to assess the next vessel to plant his seed in either.
Honestly, he wasn’t sure about Taris he wasn’t doing more then going to a movie or meeting her at bars. The potential was certainly there, and that kept him up worrying what the right thing to do was. In college, old ‘Victorious’ would have ‘loved them and left them’, but needs change. Victor kept his physique thanks to Meredith but was shocked into middle age with grey hairs appearing in unusual places.
The last time ‘Victorious’ swung his bat at another guys ball was Meredith. After a vortex of a party involving several stops by the police he got off campus with Meredith, his friend, and a girl Victor snagged. They wound up at his friend’s apartment. Only he and Meredith ended up being awake at dawn. She wasn’t exclusive with his friend yet but they were seen together a lot. He got a joint and they went on the patio and smoked. She wore the tiny shorts and tight shirt most guys love but would ban their daughters from wearing. She made them look good and classy despite how half her cheeks were hanging out. Even then, her tanned bronze olive body was smooth and dark. Somehow, they started making out. He brought her in and got her on the couch. His board shorts were dropped and she just froze looking at him. At the time, she was a virgin despite a broken hymen. Her tight shirt came off and Victor found his first ever EE cups.
They kissed like sloppy idiots as he struggled to take off her shorts. He mounted her in a rush once they were half way down. He pulled both legs to the right shoulder and ‘advanced with caution’. Before too long they were off and behind the couch and she was clinging to him like a baby monkey. Her sorority sisters called her ‘Meredeath the ice block’ because of her position on the discipline committee. Victor discovered she had no problem displaying the raw emotion of sex. Victor always had stamina to fuck for hours with girls and half an hour was his shortest until Meredith. Her eyes, lips, breasts, arms, pussy, and legs made him feel like he was the amateur. He barely remembered about no condom in the churning pleasure furnace he was in. Pulling out, she actually fought against him for a moment trying to keep his cock. He shot a load that pooled in her belly button and splattered her everywhere from tits to bush.
She seemed mesmerized and played with his cock and the cum puddle on her. For a while, it was just them on that couch. She was happy and asked all kinds of questions about sex and him. Her husband once told him how she used to love his cock before she ignored him and threw herself into her work. She had seemed to blossom in college from a typical amateur to a knowledgeable demanding nympho overnight. He had chuckled in his drink listening to that. He remembered even now that beautiful white smile of a happy girl fingering his pool of sperm in the faint light of dawn.
After that night, his friend in college got weird and paranoid about them being around each other. They had studied for their Marketing degree together, but she was double major and was at the library odd hours. Oddly, as smart as she was, her sociology and psychology classes kicked her ass. They never hung out until she made an offer from the startup she worked at that got him out of selling cars and eating cereal the rest of his life. He was extremely grateful and over the years, they made a lot of money together.
After they finished eating, they both stared at each other. He felt confidently buzzed with his drinks. He thought she might have hurt him for some reason.
“Do you remember that party how we first met?” She asked finally
“Ya, you walked up out of nowhere with two beers and handed me one, and we talked until…” He trailed off.
“Your friend, that… man I married, walked up and stole me away.” She finished for him. “I always had feelings for you, but you were ‘Victorious’. I married him because I was scared of you, of my feelings. I wanted to stay in your orbit. I became a double major so I could share you.” She was surprising him. This was a pretty significant thing for her to be able to talk like this. “You are the longest real relationship I’ve ever had. I work hard for you Victor. I will give you what you want.” She stroked her hair as she did when the appropriate word track failed her.
“Why Meredith? What do you want? You can’t try to change things after this long. We’ve had our run together.” He resolved.
“I am… scared. I think I will suffer again with others who aren’t good for me. I have been fooled…before…I’m afraid… of the feelings… just knowing it could possibly happen again Victor. Never will I be sure I found another one like you. The feelings are already quite distracting. Certain failure will happen because of an expectation of failure, and failure of expectations. There is no other way. Victor, I must have you.” She reasoned.
“I appreciate your honesty. I don’t think you have ever told me so much before. That was pretty brave of you. Honestly, I see why this is so hard, we are very close aren’t we?”
“Yes, we are very close.” She nodded and smiled furtively.
He could see for some reason she was pleased with herself at that answer.
“How about we get out of here?” He asked finishing his drink looking at their plates
She leaned back regarding him. “Say something first.”
“Hmm?” Victor paused halfway out of his chair.
“Say yes, say you’ll marry me. I’ll let you have your woman.”
Victor quickly dropped down in his seat and leaned in over the table. “Oh?”
“Yes Victor, I’ll give you what you want. I want what you want.” She nodded.
He could see an audience to their drama sitting around them waiting for the next line from the stage.
“Look, let’s get back. We’ll finish the day, make some money, and talk about this later.” He said weakly and fumbled out two twenties.
“I can’t convince you now on the deal. But, what’s wrong? Let me work at it with you, I’m confident we’ll get the best solution.” She said flustered as she rose with him.
He almost chuckled at how she threw a modified soft close at him trying to feel him out. Her mis-cues were some of the cutest things about her.