The Promotion
(The Business of Love – Book 1)
by
Rebecca Milton
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Copyright © 2014 - Rebecca Milton. All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and locations portrayed in this book and the names herein are fictitious. Any similarity to or identification with the locations, names, characters or history of any person, product or entity is entirely coincidental and unintentional. - From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. No responsibility or liability is assumed by the Publisher for any injury, damage or financial loss sustained to persons or property from the use of this information, personal or otherwise, either directly or indirectly. While every effort has been made to ensure reliability and accuracy of the information within, all liability, negligence or otherwise, from any use, misuse or abuse of the operation of any methods, strategies, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein, is the sole responsibility of the reader. Any copyrights not held by publisher are owned by their respective authors. All information is generalized, presented for informational purposes only and presented "as is" without warranty or guarantee of any kind. All trademarks and brands referred to in this book are for illustrative purposes only, are the property of their respective owners and not affiliated with this publication in any way. Any trademarks are being used without permission, and the publication of the trademark is not authorized by, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owner.
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The Promotion
Jennifer stepped from the shower and wrapped a towel around herself. She dried her body and then, dropped the towel and stood naked in the middle of the bathroom. She wiped her hand across the steamed bathroom mirror and cleared a path to look at herself. She looked at her face, touched it with gentle fingers. She stood and waited for the steam to subside, for the mirror to clear completely so she could see her entire body, naked, slightly wet. She looked at herself with an objective eye.
Thirty-six, divorced, no kids, she ate right, worked out a few times a week. She walked. That was something, she thought. Isn’t that what all the health magazines say, walking is the best exercise? Didn’t Tammy, in the office, have some kind of thing strapped to her ankle that showed her how many steps she walked every day? Tammy looked... OK.
But Jennifer... She looked good. Her body was trim, her breasts were a nice size and still had their buoyancy. They hadn’t started to sag, they had bounce. They were more than a mouthful, as the crass saying her husband used to compliment them, went. She looked at herself and turned slowly, continuing her assessment. Her hips were smooth and had a sweet curve to them. Her behind, well, she had always thought her ass was one of her best feature. Next to her hands, she thought. She had good hands. Strong but graceful. Her hands were her favorite part of her body, but Aaron, her ex-husband, used to sing the praises of her ass. He was obsessed with it. Fully clothed, in a pair of simple panties or naked, Aaron could hardly keep his hands off her ass.
One year, early in the marriage, for his birthday, she had fulfilled a fantasy of his. He wanted to eat dinner off her bottom. So, she put on a pair of red, satin panties and allowed him his desire. She sprawled on the bed and allowed him to have his way. She had thought about it for a week before and finally came to think of the idea as sexy. She imagined he would feed her grapes and cheese, there would be wine and then, some good, hard…fun. So she called him at work on his birthday, told him she had bought a special pair of panties for him and couldn’t wait to get home and be his sexy table.
That night, she stepped out of the bathroom, wearing only the panties. Then she stretched out on her stomach on the bed, her fine, firm behind ensconced in red satin, and almost lost her mind when he put a greasy, fast-food burger and an order of fries on it, clicked on the TV and ate. She should have known right then it was over. Yet, he sure did love that part of her.
She looked over her shoulder at it, ran her hands over that firm, curved ass-et and smiled. Yes, she thought, I am still a good-looking woman. Despite the miles, the crap she had been through, Jennifer was still a desirable woman. She knew this and yet, she was still shocked by the offer.
***
A week earlier had been the yearly review at the office. All the employees were called into the main conference room, one at a time, told how the company was doing and if there was still a place in the company for them. It had been a good day. Jennifer had remembered some reviews in the past where almost everyone who emerged from the conference room was in tears or stuttering in disbelief. This year was very different, people were smiling, laughing when they came out of the conference room.
The company, she knew for a fact, was in good shape and so, unless someone was doing absolutely nothing in their job, there was no real reason for anyone to be fired. So, she was not surprised with the cheerful mood in the office. She was equally unsurprised when Margie Drillen slammed the conference door open, stormed into the main room, turned and screamed a stream of obscenities back toward the conference room. She then picked up a large potted plant and hurled it, with surprising strength for such a small woman, through a glass panel by the main entrance, stormed to her cubical, still spouting invectives in an impressive, nonstop flood.
Once in her cubical, she proceeded to rip her phone from the wall, toss it across the room, heave her computer monitor at a co-worker, throw all her files out a window and then, punch Wally Brigham, an accountant who harmed no one, before finally leaving the building. In the wake of her tirade, there was a long silence.
“Jennifer?” The silence was broken by Kyle, the office manager, he was standing by her cubical, holding his clipboard. “Your turn,” he said to her and motioned toward the conference room.
Jennifer hoped she wasn’t being let go because there was no way she could follow Margie’s act. Jennifer opened the conference room door and entered. Collin McCaughtry sat at the far end of a long table. A pitcher of water and two glasses were on the table to his right. A large box of tissues was on the table as well. He stood and motioned for her come sit by him. She walked the length of the room and took the chair next to him. She sat and then, he sat.
“Did you fire Margie,” she asked.
“What gave it away,” he said and she laughed. He smiled and then, she could tell, he felt bad. “That’s terrible. I’m sorry. Yes, I had to let Margie go, she just wasn’t... Well, she wasn’t doing anything so...”
He ended his sentence there and looked down at the file in front of him. She could see by the tab that it was a file on her. She was quiet, a little nervous, her hands folded on the table in front of her as Collin looked through the file. He said nothing for a few moments and then, he closed the file, slid it to his left, looked at Jennifer and smiled. She relaxed.
“Yes,” he said, “Margie was doing basically nothing while you, on the other hand, seem to be doing everything and doing it right.” She smiled. “How long have you been with us, Jennifer?”
She told him she had been with the company for twelve years. He nodded and told her that her record with them was impeccable. She was always on time, always
initiating good, new ideas. She was a team player, had good leadership skills and was one of the most valued employees they had. She thanked him for his kindness and his noticing of her work.
“Hard to miss, Jennifer,” he said, “I see you, your coworkers see it, the clients see it. You’d have to be blind to miss what you do for this company.”
Again, she said she was flattered, told him she loved her job, loved working for the company and was quite happy to continue doing what she did.
“Good,” he said, “glad to hear you’re happy. Thing is, we’re not.”
She felt her heart sink. She didn’t want to look for a new job. She hated the idea of printing resumes, starting again from the bottom.
“I don’t understand,” she said, her shock and sadness starting to take over, “I thought you were happy with what I was doing.”
“We are,” he said, “now, we want you to do more.” Her confusion must had been clear because Collin laughed. “Jennifer, I am offering you a promotion and substantial raise. We are in good shape, it has been discussed and now, we want to offer this to you.”
He explained the promotion. An office in the new building downtown, company car, expense account. It was an incredible offer and she was thrilled. She would have two weeks left in the current office before she made the move, enough time to train someone in her job and then, pick out office furniture and move up.
She was thrilled, accepted the offer and thanked him profusely. He told her they were the ones who were thankful. She stood, shook his hand and floated out of the conference room. She walked to her cubical in a daze, sat down and tried her best to remain calm. More people went into the conference room, a few people came out upset, a few came out truly happy. Gary Prevues stopped by her cubical and called her boss, said he looked forward to the training and then sped away. So, she thought, Gary replaces me and I move on...
“Jennifer,” Kyle was standing at the door to her cubical, stopping her from completing her thought. She turned to him. “Mr. McCaughtry would like to speak to you again, please.”
Again, her heart crashed. He had changed his mind, it was some cruel joke, that he had offered her a promotion meant for someone else. All of these things raced through her head as she approached the conference room door. She put her hand on the knob, took a deep breath and then opened it. She stepped inside and saw McCaughtry was standing, looking out the window, his hands in his pockets, his back to her. She closed the door and stood silently. After a moment, he turned from the window.
“Ah, Jennifer, thanks for coming back, come in.”
He returned to his seat and she walked to the one she had occupied roughly an hour before when she had received such wonderful news. News, she was now sure that was about to be erased. She sat, folded her hands and waited for the ax to fall.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hello,” she said, trying to keep her emotions in check.
“First off, let me assure you that the offer I just made, the offer you accepted, still stands.” She released a sigh and felt the tension that had built up from her cubical to this chair, fly away. “It was a solid offer and the works are already moving. That offer will never be withdrawn. That offer is based solely on the merits of your work here with the company. There are no hidden agendas. Do you understand me,” he said and she nodded. This was sounding very strange.
“Good,” he said, “rest assured that, no matter what your response to my next question is, you have your promotion and your raise, do you believe me?” Again she nodded, still very unsure of what was happening. “Good,” he said again. She waited, he fidgeted.
Finally, he said, “Jennifer, I am wondering if you would be willing to sleep with me for one thousand dollars.”
The words hung in the air and she just blinked. He waited for an answer, she said nothing. She was stunned. Was he serious? Had she heard him correctly?
“I’m sorry, what?” she said and he cleared his throat.
“I said,” he began slowly, carefully, “would you sleep with me for one thousand dollars?”
He said it again, she thought. He said it a second time. She heard him right. He had asked if she would sleep with him... for money.
“Mr. McCaughtry,” she said, “do... do you think I am some sort of prostitute?”
“No,” he said emphatically, “not at all.”
“Then I don’t understand,” she said and thought about storming out of the room. She controlled herself, “would you please explain yourself.”
“Jennifer,” he said, “the thing is, I am busy. Running this company takes up a great deal of my time and energy. I am all over the country, I am overseas, I am constantly working. I also have very limited time of my own. I have eyes on me all the time. I like you, Jennifer, I find you incredibly attractive. I also find you quite smart and savvy. I would date you, take you to dinner, buy you gifts but... I don’t have the time. Also, I think it would be awkward for you to get this promotion and then, date me. If people found out, they would think you got the promotion because you were my girlfriend.”
“Won’t they think I got the promotion because I slept with you,” she asked, still trying to keep her swirling emotions in check.
“No,” he said, “because no matter what, the promotion, the raise, is yours. It’s yours because you earned it with your work, you earned it being invaluable.” She said nothing and he watched her in her silence.
“I cannot believe I am going to say this,” she said after a few minutes of silence, “but, can I think about it?” He nodded.
She stood and walked toward the door. She stopped before she opened the door and turned back to him.
“Why me,” she asked. “There are younger, more attractive women here in the office who wouldn’t give it a thought, they would just say yes. They would say yes because they would figure that a... promotion or a raise or some other kind of preferential treatment would come with the offer. So, why me?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t just jump in. I knew you would want to think about it,” he said. She accepted this answer and opened the door.
“I leave town in a week,” he said, “I’ll be gone for two months.”
She nodded and left, closing the door softly.
***
She stepped from the bathroom and dressed carefully. The outfit she had chosen was one that she hoped would entice, excite and yet, give pause before it might be removed and tossed to the floor or a chair. She wanted to look sexy, smart and elegant all at once. The dress on, she looked in the mirror again. She was lovely. She felt it. Still, it didn’t make sense.
***
“So,” Andrea said to her in the office kitchen, “how did it go in there?” Jennifer froze, had a rumor spread and if so, how? How could anyone know what was discussed in the conference room between her and McCaughtry? She had been in there the second time roughly five minutes ago, how could it have gotten around so fast? She wasn’t sure what to do. Perhaps it got around because he had made the offer to several women. Perhaps Kyle had listened in and told someone. That was probably the case, Kyle was a little busybody, always seeking out bits of gossip and, if there were none, would fabricate something. He was just that type of guy. Jennifer had to proceed cautiously.
“It was good, actually,” she said, putting half and half into her coffee, “how did it go for you?”
“It was fine,” Andrea said with a curious smile on her face, “but, from what I hear, not as good as it went for you?” Jennifer felt sick.
“What... What do you mean,” she asked, trying to sound as casual as possible. “What did you... hear?” Andrea laughed and looked around to make sure they were alone, this made Jennifer even more worried. She leaned into Jennifer and whispered;
“Office in the new downtown building.” That was all she said and, by her look, Jennifer could tell that was all she had heard. She relaxed. Andrea smiled, encouraging Jennifer to give more details.
“Well, yes, that’s true,” And
rea squealed and jumped up and down. Jennifer laughed. “And... there was mention of a company car.” That was it, Andrea went over the edge giggling and cooing and hugging Jennifer.
“We are all so happy for you, Jenn,” Amber said, “you so deserve it, we all think so. You work so hard and you’re so sweet.”
“Thank you,” Jennifer said, she felt much better now, she was sure the rumor about McCaughtry’s offer hadn’t made the rounds. Not yet at least. They talked more about the meeting, agreed that McCaughtry was very handsome. Amber said a few of the girls in the office confessed that they wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers and the two of them giggled.
“Anyway,” Andrea said, “we all think you deserve this, no one is jealous or resenting you. This is nothing like the Margie incident.” Andrea said she had to get back to work, gave Jennifer another hug and left the kitchen, leaving Jennifer slightly confused.
What was the Margie incident? Had McCaughtry made the same offer to Margie as he had to her? Had McCaughtry promoted Margie, given her a raise in exchange for sex? She thought about it, she really knew nothing about Margie, where she had come from, how she had landed her position. She certainly wasn’t good at it. She certainly was lazy in it and she had a sense of entitlement that everyone saw and didn’t understand. Had she been sleeping with McCaughtry all this time? It would make sense given her raucous and hostile exit. Two other people had been let go and, although they were upset, neither of them displayed the kind of vitriol that Margie had. Something didn’t make sense. She needed to know more.
***
She took time applying her make up. She put on earrings and dabbed a rather expensive perfume on her neck and her wrists. She took one last look. Yes, she thought, this is good, this is sexy, this will do well.
***
“Margie,” Jennifer said, meeting the still seething woman outside of HR. Margie had returned for a required, do it or don’t receive your last pay check, exit interview, “Do you have a minute?” Margie gave her an angry sideways look but stopped to talk. “I was wondering...” Jennifer suddenly had no idea how to broach the subject. It was the end of the day so it was too late for lunch but, “Would you like to get a drink, my treat?”