Chapter 20: Work and Fun in the Office

The next morning, I woke up alone as Eileen had already started to prepare breakfast. The smell of coffee was drifting in through the open door, and I could occasionally hear the clatter of crockery and cutlery. Then Eileen came back and smiled. “James, breakfast is ready. Get up, sleepyhead.”

She was again dressed in her wispy grey gown that promised everything. I shook my head and told her that I would not get out of bed before she had paid her dues. She sighed and came closer, and bending over, she offered her breasts. I was disappointed since they were still covered, and I shook my head again. She complained to the world, “Here I am, having prepared breakfast for my man, coming to get him, giving him my puppies to caress, and he wants more?”

I waited, however, until she lowered the top part of the gown, and this time presented her uncovered breasts for me to kiss, which I did with great dedication. She slowly moved downwards and pushed her breasts into my mouth, moaning and whispering that I was evil. I touched and kissed and stroked and sucked, and at the end, bit gently. This was enough to send her into a small orgasm; she was really very sensitive on her breasts, and I enjoyed this greatly. Then she shook herself, coming out of her trance, and gave me a kiss.

“Now, Mr. Winter, you have what you wanted. Get up and have your breakfast! We have to discuss what we’re going to do today!”

I got up, did my things in the bathroom and joined her at the breakfast table. She was still wearing her wispy gown, and whenever she moved, her body was presented in all its glory. As always, the table was set perfectly. After a glass of champagne we sat down and discussed the day. There were several options - stay home and fool around (which meant that we would not leave the bed), go for a walk, have brunch and fool around, or all of the above - have brunch, walk, and go back to bed and fool around.

The third option won and after reading the newspaper and listening to some classical music, we dressed and left for the Hilton, as the brunch there was well known. Eileen was dressed modestly - her white blouse and dark grey trousers was completely different from what she wore when we were alone (where often she wasn’t wearing anything.) Her hair was made up into curls and she wore only a bit of makeup around her grey-green eyes. Around her neck she proudly showed the opal pendant I had given her.

The brunch was excellent, as always, and we drove back slowly, enjoying the brisk but still agreeable temperature. At home I offered her a glass of white wine and poured a bourbon into my tumbler.

“You’ll have to go back tomorrow morning after your meeting. Is there anything I can help you with for this meeting?”

“Yes, you can go through my presentation with me. As you know, we’re planning to set up a Sydney office, and I want to speak to two people about office space and staffing, but first, let me change into something more comfortable, and don’t get any ideas, Mr. Winter!”

She changed and came back in a top and tennis shorts, lovely to look at as always and with a serious expression on her face. She started to smile, but told me to analyze her presentation, not her. She wanted my professional opinion, after all. We went through her charts and talking points, but there was not a lot I could suggest changing.

I told her, however, that she had forgotten one major point - who would be responsible for the office? When she said that she planned to handle it from Brisbane, I told her succinctly that this would not work. She had her days already loaded with the reorganization of NT and the aggressive expansion plan, and that trying to run a small, but important, office on top of that would be too much. One of her priorities would suffer and it would cause problems in the medium term.

“Yes, my love,” she said, and she smiled happily. “I know, but who can I trust to get it going in the right direction?”

I looked at her and said that there were two people she could always trust - Maureen and me. Maureen was much more intelligent than she let people know, and she would finish her studies officially next week. Why not use this opportunity to train her for the future, which was hopefully a very long time away, when she would have to take over from her mother? Eileen could direct her from Brisbane, and with weekly visits to Brisbane or her visiting Sydney, it would come out well. I would help too, as far as I could do physically and ethically, and I was certain that Maureen would be successful.

Then I reminded Eileen that a visit to Sydney could offer very enjoyable fringe benefits! She blushed all over and her eyes told me that this point would have a heavy weight on her decision.

“Darling, first you’ll have to ask Maureen whether she wants to do this. I’ll support you all the way. I’ve decided to stay in Australia for the next few years in my company and then I might be looking for a more senior executive position in a different company. And who knows, such a position might become available in a big company in Brisbane. I might ask to be a candidate for it.”

Eileen threw herself into my arms and kissed me deeply.

“James, you will always have whatever position you want in my company - you can have the company whenever you want it. I understand that it’ll take time, and your idea of training Maureen for the Office Manager position in Sydney is brilliant. She’ll be here in any case, since you’ll take her away from me once you marry. This way I’ll still have both of you close to me - professionally and privately. James, have I ever told you that you are quite clever, and that I love you?”

I assured her that I had heard that message from her before, but it was nice to have it confirmed from time to time. My male ego needed it!

We went through the most important points once more and she made some minor changes. Then she closed her laptop and looked at her watch. It was already past seven and she offered to go to the kitchen and prepare a light supper. She suggested that I get a bottle of good red wine and we could have a few moments to ourselves. I looked at my wines and selected an Oakridge Single Block Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley. It was a multi-layered wine that was not light but showed some fruitiness and would serve well with a light dinner.

Eileen didn’t know the wine and, after tasting it, asked me where I bought my wines and how I selected them. I told her that Peter had recommended a small bottle shop close to the flat and the owner knew his wines. I had once served this wine to Maureen and she’d liked it very much; it matched the cold cuts and cheeses that Eileen had put on the table. Our conversation turned to the wedding.

My first idea had been a small family affair, but between Maureen and her mother, it was turning into a major social affair. In the end, I told her I had no interest in being actively involved in the planning or making decisions - to just inform me where I should be at what time, what to say and how to dress. Eileen looked at me with compassion and said that weddings weren’t about the bridegroom, they were for the bride and her mother. Eileen said she had to settle some accounts with the noble society of Brisbane that had looked down on her and her daughter after her husband died and Maureen had gotten into troubles. This would be the wedding of the year! I shuddered and asked her if we could not just elope and avoid all this nonsense.

Eileen sat up straight in her chair and said slowly and very succinctly, “If you run away and take this away from me, Mr. Winter, even knowing that I love you very much, I will make certain that both of you regret it! This is Maureen’s and my business, and you can just go out and sell some more machines, but you will be in the church as directed! Understood?”

I got up and clicked my heels. “Ma’am, yes, Ma’am, understood - be in the church as told! Yes, Ma’am!”

She was still upset, but then started to relax and a small smile crossed her face.

“Well, since we understand each other and there are no doubts in your mind what you have to do, you can come here and kiss me.”

She hugged me and asked me to understand her position. She’d had a terrible time during those years, and this was her moment to show the world that she and her daughter had conquered the world.

“You are the only important man in our world, but please give us these moments, my love.”

What could I do? I nodded and then we cleaned up the kitchen. I asked her whether she wanted to move to the sitting room and listen to more music or retire to bed. Her face was incredulous.

“You ask me to choose between listening to music in the sitting room or to be in bed in your arms, with my head on your chest, listening to your heart beating? If you continue to ask these silly questions, one day I might take you up on them, and then what will you do? Perhaps in a few years, when we’ve been together longer and you’re tired of this old lady, I might consider your suggestion. But today? Follow me!”

And she walked slowly to the bedroom - poetry in motion as her hips moved sensually. When she looked back at me, her eyes sparkled and she licked her lips. I grasped her and carried her into the room before throwing her on the bed. Her smile got bigger and she placed her arms over her head; this made it easy for me to take off her top. Then she lifted her hips and looked at me. I opened the zipper and pulled the shorts off. There were no panties, and she said, “Remember your order? No underwear when we’re alone. I hear and obey, my lord and master!”

I took off my clothes too, and lay down beside her. She looked at me and whispered, “No wild sex, please. Just make love to me, James.”

And I did, and we did. It was gentle, tender and very satisfying. Afterwards, Eileen put her head on my chest.

“I can hear your heart beating, my love,” she said. “You know that being this close to you, hearing your heart and having your arms around me makes me feel safe and protected. I shall sleep well, my love.”

She leaned over and gave me a kiss. She said, “Sleep well - I’ll always love you and be there for you.” Then she closed her eyes, placed my hand on her breast and fell asleep.

It took me some time to follow her because the events of the past few days played through my head. At the end, I decided that all had gone well, and our future was safe. I kissed her softly on her lips and the two pointy tips of her lovely breasts (rules are rules), and I fell asleep too.

I woke up during the night and when I moved, she immediately grasped my hand and, with a satisfied little moan, put it back on her breast. It was a nice handful and thinking about my luck having these two wonderful women with me, I promised myself that I would never disappoint them. Then I fell asleep again.

We woke up late and had to rush. Eileen remembered her obligations however, and before jumping out of bed gave me her breasts to kiss, rubbing them a bit into my mouth to tease me. I reminded her about her lack of attention to the rules last night and asked what she would do about this? She smiled, offered her breasts once more and gave the tip of my penis a little peck.

“Sorry, George, but your master drained me completely. I promise, however, that I’ll remember in future!” and then off she went to the bathroom. I used the other one and we were ready at the same time. I had turned on the coffee maker and when she came into the kitchen, all was ready for her.

She was the business executive again - white blouse, dark narrow skirt, high heels, but also a bit of makeup and my opal pendant around her neck. She smiled and said that at this time only pecks on the cheek were permitted as she didn’t have the time to redo her makeup.

“I’m sorry, my love, but I do have to run. You’ll be in Brisbane in two weeks’ time for the weekend and then you can take it off, put it on, kiss all the parts of my body you adore, have me wherever you want and I promise that you’ll go back to Sydney exhausted. Have patience - it will be rewarded!”

I got her into the car I had arranged for her, and when she drove off she blew me a kiss.

It was a warm and pleasant day, so I walked over to the office. When I entered my office I saw Mary Ann with a teary face sitting at her desk, staring at the wall. She wiped her tears when she heard me and tried a weak smile that did not work. I called her in and asked what had happened and whether I could help her. She sat on the couch and really started to bawl. I went over, closed the door and sat beside her.

“What happened, Mary Ann?”

After several tries, she managed to sob that her fiancé was an absolute idiot, that she didn’t know what she’d ever seen in him and it was all over. Forever! Then, suddenly, she turned to me and buried her head into my shoulder. I didn’t know what to do - first, because I really did not know what to do in this situation, and second, I feared that somebody might walk in at this moment and would obviously misunderstand everything; rumours would fly and the gossip mill would be busy. But I felt that she needed my support, so I put my arm around her shoulder and said nothing. Gradually, she stopped crying and disengaged from me. She was blushing all over and apologised profusely. I had a little fridge in my office, so I took out a bottle of water and gave her my handkerchief.

“First you have to clean yourself up, Mary Ann, and then we’ll see what can be done.”

She did that and then got up. “Stay here for a moment, if you want to, and tell me what happened, but first open that door - I don’t want people to get the wrong idea.”

She blushed all over again and started to apologise, but I told her to stop, open the door, sit down and, if she wanted to, tell me what had happened. I went behind my desk to be safe, and she sat down in front of me.

It was a long and sordid story. She had met this guy some time ago and he had insisted on dating her. He was polite and took her to the right places. She accepted some kisses, but not more, and he seemed to get impatient. She accepted a bit more and when he asked her to marry him she accepted. He wanted more, however, than she was willing to give and was getting impatient and occasionally even rude.

On Saturday night they went out and met up with his friends (who she did not like at all) and the guys started drinking. Jokes became personal and she wanted to leave, but he didn’t let her. Then he tried to take off her top in front of all his friends, to show them what she had to offer. She fought him and he got angry and ripped her top off and exposed her to his friends. When he was looking away, she hit him with everything she had and he fell, giving her a chance to escape. Luckily, a taxi was passing by and took her home. She stayed in her bathtub for hours, trying to get the memory of his dirty hands off her body. Eventually, she managed to get out of the tub and fall into her bed. At the end, she fell asleep.

The next morning there was a message on her telephone from the guy, yelling at her, saying that she had embarrassed him in front of his friends and that she would suffer for this. Later came another message apologizing, saying that he was drunk and had not intended to say what he did. Then he changed his tone again and went from apologizing to threatening. Finally, he hung up and didn’t call again. She was furious and ashamed at the same time, but recovered slowly.

“Why did I pick this guy? I’d never done this before, but I was lonely and sad. Why can’t I find the right guy, one who believes that I can be pretty? I’ve always been alone - my parents died a long time ago and I don’t have any relatives alive. I was happy here and you helped me a lot, but now I’ll have to start all over again!” And she started to cry again.

I responded, “Mary Ann, stop this. You had a bad experience, but that could happen to any of us. Get yourself together, take a deep breath, count to ten and become the Mary Ann I’ve become accustomed to and who I appreciate. I like you not only as my capable assistant, but also for the person you are, a person I trust and who has gradually become a friend. Do you want to take the day off?”

She shook her head and seemed to count to ten, then she looked at me and said, “Thank you, Mr. Winter. Thank you very much for your understanding.”

“One more thing, Mary Ann. I believe that if you wanted to, you could be a very pretty woman. You have to stop wearing these awful dresses, cut your hair differently and become more self-confident. If you could do this, you’d be surprised at the reaction that people would have when they see you. If you are willing to try this, I’ll ask Maureen to call you and you would do well to listen to her. She’s coming to Sydney on Thursday and I’ll talk to her.”

I thought it was time to return to business.

“Now, may I please ask my secretary to come back to life and bring me my mail? And a strong coffee? Please? And remember - when we are alone you can call me James.”

She started to smile weakly, took a deep breath and said, “Yes, Mr. Winter. The mail will be on your desk in ten minutes. And thank you once more, James.”

The rest of the day went smoothly, with calls to customers and one interesting prospect. Mary Ann had recovered after a visit to the restroom, and nobody could see the anguish she had gone through over the weekend. When I spoke to Maureen that night, I asked her for a possible call to Mary Ann, and why I had offered it. [He told Mary Ann that he’d have Maureen call her. I agree that Maureen should be the one to initiate.] She agreed and reminded me that she had spoken with her in the past and that she seemed to be a nice person, but then she touched another matter.

“James, what have you done to Mom? She seems to be a different person - friendlier, more self-confident, secure. When she arrived home she hugged and kissed me as if I were you. It was strange, but I liked it. Here she is.”

Eileen sounded very pleased with herself. She had found the right place for the new office; the price was low, and it was already available. She would also talk to Maureen about my suggestion, but she was certain that her daughter would accept the challenge.

“James, I’d also like to thank you once more for the weekend. I shall sit down with Maureen now over a bottle of good wine and tell her everything that happened, in every wonderful detail. Cover your ears for the next hours as you will be discussed from head to toe, and I assume that Maureen will be in Sydney on Thursday, ready to try what we did.”

Suddenly, her voice changed and became more serious. “I know that Maureen is your one and only, but you’ve given me a part of you and I’ll cherish this forever. Maureen and I will come to an understanding, and you’ll be happy to have two women at your beck and call. You better eat more oysters! Goodnight, my love!” and she gave the phone back to Maureen.

Maureen was surprised. “How are you suddenly Mom’s ‘my love’? I thought I was your love! I better talk to Mom about this, and you better not get the two of us or even the three of us into a sticky situation. I love you very much and you promised never to disappoint me! We’ll talk tomorrow!” and she hung up on me. She was upset, and I knew things had changed, but my hope was that they had changed for the better. I would hear the verdict tomorrow.

The following day went well since the prospect had called back and invited me to a visit at his HQ in Perth. Mary Ann was back to her normal self. However, she looked at me differently, as if she was trying to decide whether I was a mentor or an elder brother. She had changed into another dress, but it didn’t fit her well. When she looked at me as I arrived, I told her that Maureen would call her on Thursday evening, and she smiled. Looking around, she said, “Thank you, James.”

I had a staff meeting and set goals for everyone, including for myself; they were challenging and there were some sarcastic comments about new brooms, but even Peter agreed that life had become interesting.

That night, Maureen called and said that I was out of the doghouse - Mom had told her everything and I had done the right thing. I heard a smile in her voice when she told me to buy lots of oysters! Her Mom was now the best ever! Something had changed and I would find out soon.

The flight to Perth the next day took hours, but the company looked interesting and was growing fast. It was a big manufacturing company that had problems with distributing its products efficiently and on time, and even its suppliers were failing occasionally. They had heard about the work we had done on NT during an industrial fair and wanted to know whether we could do something similar for them. We agreed that they would come to Sydney the following week with supporting data and we would sign the appropriate confidentiality agreements. We could not use exactly what we had done in NT, but we had learned a lot about large data processing and decision making and this could be big!

It was very late when I came back, and I decided not to call Maureen as she must be busy with her visit to Sydney, and I was tired. The next morning, I went to Sir Allen to talk about the prospect and my plans. He knew the people - he seemed to know everyone important in Australia - and agreed to join us at the start.

Mary Ann had left almost half a bag of mail and a pad of messages on my desk and when I glared at her, she just shrugged her shoulders.

“That’s life, Mr. Winter. Whining won’t help. You wanted the position and now you’re paying for it. Remember the phrase that one should be careful about what one wishes for? That one would eventually pay for it? I have tried to help. The pile on the right is the important stuff that you should handle first, preferably this morning; the pile on the left you can just glance through to stay informed. Am I not the world’s best assistant?”

Seeing that the first part was small, I agreed with her that she was a good assistant. Perhaps the next time she could be even better and already suggest an answer so that I would only have to sign the document? Or even better, get me a signature stamp?

“Mr. Winter, you surprise me. You were such a workaholic in your early days and now you want to delegate? Shame on you!”

We both started to laugh out loud, and people looked at us. I pointed to Mary Ann and said that this was an evil lady, and everyone should be very careful around her if they didn’t want to be overloaded with work. She handed me the smallest part and told me to sit down and start working; but she said it with a nice, warm smile.

The day went fast, and Mary Ann had arranged my agenda so that I could leave early, knowing about Maureen’s arrival in the afternoon. She had told me that the boyfriend had vanished and that she had found that she had friends she didn’t know about, so her life had become much better.

I thanked her when I left. “Anything for my boss. I’ve got your back!”

I smiled and her answering smile was completely different from Monday’s disaster. “Enjoy yourself tonight, James.”

When I entered the elevator to my flat I could feel that Maureen was already home. The ability to feel her presence had not vanished; it seemed that it had even increased. When I opened the door, she was standing there, since, to some degree, she could feel me too. She was dressed in a long, slinky red dress, with a very significant décolleté, that showed her body in every detail. Her hair curled down over her shoulders, my pendant hung between her lovely breasts and her smile illuminated the room.

“James, my love, I missed you so much!” and she flung herself into my arms and kissed me all over. I embraced her tightly and responded with enthusiasm to her caresses. It took some time to let her go. She looked at me and said, “You look tired.” I responded, “I may be tired, but never when you are around. You give me life and energy and you give me love.”