Chapter 18: Jane

I lay there naked holding perhaps the most important person in the world to my future – Jane Ellis. She was my client, and oversaw the projects across the country that about 500 people from my company were working on.

Further, we’d just made love. I’d put my ‘special edition’ hat on, too, so she got unique treatment that made her happier.”

Jane asked again, “Come on, where’d you learn to fuck like that?”

I grinned, “A while back I took a Tantric sex class.”

“You’re not married are you?”

“No, I just have some serious girlfriends.”

“More than one? They must love you.”

“They do! We took the class together.”

After a silence, Jane said, “There’s more to that story, isn’t there; something about there being multiple girlfriends?”

“It’s a little bit personal.”

“Spill it.”

“We live together.”

“So what, lots of people do that today.”

“I live with my three girlfriends.”

“Three!” Jane gasped. “Now I realize what I was sensing. Wow!” She paused and asked, “Do you have an ... how can I say this, ‘an open agreement’?”

“Sort of. I called them on the way here. I didn’t want to violate any trust between us. I hope you understand. This was all on me and how I was feeling about...”

Jane interrupted, “You are a gem.” She kissed me. “We are going to have a lot of fun together, and someday I hope to meet your partners.”

I added in an undertone, “They’re sisters.”

“Sisters!” Jane loudly exclaimed in awe. “What’d you do to create that arrangement?”

I explained about independently dating Fran and Sheila, the shock at a dinner one day, and then our moving past that and getting together until Ally, the youngest sister, decided she wanted to be part of our relationship.

Jane laughed at the points in my story I’d now made humorous. She asked, “Are they ... bisexual ... or you know, do they play together?”

“Sometimes, we’re very open and very sexual with each other. We’re still in the honeymoon phase based on what we were talking about at dinner. I imagine some of that will wear off after a while, maybe because I’m going to be on the road so much.”

Jane chortled, “Maybe you should get your brother involved ... or another guy to keep them satisfied while you travel.”

Gong! I thought, what a great idea, and I knew exactly who to call the next day.

“Hello Aidan, this is Steve.” Little did he know the direction the call would take? After some opening pleasantries, I sprung the main reason for my call on him.

“Aidan, I have a favor to ask. I’m working in New Jersey the rest of the week, and I’ll be traveling down here and other places from now on due to a new job assignment. I don’t know how to say this, but ... well, the girls might get lonely and I was hoping that you could swing by now and then and be sure they’re happy and satisfied with life. You mentioned awhile back that you have rendered this service for the Reddicks and Dunns.”

The silence on the other end of the line told the story. I could imagine Aidan breaking into a smile a mile wide. He slowly asked, “Let me get this straight, you want me to go to your apartment – my condo – and without you being there, see whether your girls are okay?”

“Exactly.”

“What if one of them, errr ummm, wants to play around or get romantic a bit?”

“That’s why I called you. We all trust you and know you. You’d know exactly how to scratch any itch they have – any one of them or all of them.”

“Geeze, Steve. Let me be blunt, you’re okay with us having sex? I’ll want to, and, well knowing the girls, I’m betting they’ll want to, too.”

“I’m sort of counting on it.”

“Won’t you feel ... jealous or strange, knowing I’m planking one of them while you’re alone in some hotel room down south.”

I chuckled, “And what makes you think I’ll be alone?”

“Holy shit. You’ve got something going on already. I promise I won’t say anything.”

“The girls know.”

“What? They know? How?”

“I made sure that they were cool that I might hook-up with some women during my travel. To my surprise, the opportunity came up my first night away. Based on what was said last night, I’ll probably have a warm bed every night I’m in Jersey.”

“You devil.” Aidan paused and added, “I’ll text the girls that I want to take them to dinner tonight. I know you were doing date nights with them, so at least they’ll get out albeit all together. I may not get there every night you’re away, but I’ll try.”

“Aidan, stay overnight if that’s more convenient.”

“I’ll see what they’re comfortable with.”

“Good answer, and, I’d like a full report when I get back ... or text me or email. Photos and video are good, too. I’m a details kind of guy and a voyeur, plus I know I’ll find it arousing to hear about what you did with my girlfriends. I’m also looking forward to getting together with Reddicks and Dunns and you this weekend too.”

Aidan said, “Bring your friend from New Jersey.”

“Now, that’s an interesting idea.”

We ended our call shortly after that. I sent a text to each of the girls telling them that I was thinking of them, loved them, and missed them. I took a selfie of me holding my hand on my heart and looking puppy-dog sad; it looked sort of silly but might bring a smile to their faces.

The rest of Wednesday made me feel like I’d stepped into a blender by mistake. We reviewed two of the larger projects FDC had with TCI, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I met about twenty new people, plus involved some of the local project personnel in the reviews. By the end of the day, I had about twenty pages of notes and ideas for improving what we were doing, and I write small.

Jane sat in on part of the morning and afternoon meetings. I went out of my way to be sure our interactions looked like nothing more than a purely professional interaction. I found it hard to maintain that façade, especially during one break when Jane came around the table to draw a chart for me about some of the reporting structures in the TCI matrix. She leaned over me in a way that pushed her breasts into my shoulder and gave us some other significant body contact. No one seemed to notice; however, I continued to go out of my way to be sure everything looked platonic and businesslike. Jane also asked me to stop by her office at the end of the day as she left for another meeting.

Just after six o’clock I entered Jane’s large office complex. She was on the phone but waved me in and to a comfortable leather chair in front of her desk. No one was in her outer office. She finished the call and took a large breath of air and threw her arms out almost in a gesture of glee.

Jane said, “This job is exhilarating. I love it, and I’m doing it well, but come this time of day, I am so glad I get most evenings to myself to relax.”

I nodded my understanding. I volunteered, “You want any more business, for instance, what some of my thoughts are about our performance on your projects and how we’ll be doing a better job from here on?”

Jane chuckled, “No, actually. The workday is over. I know you’ll be around tomorrow so why don’t you plan on a three o’clock with me for half an hour to give me an idea of what you’ve learned. You may learn a few things earlier in the day, too.”

“Done.” I tilted my head sideway. “Miss Ellis, if you are free for dinner, I would be honored to escort you to whatever venue your heart desires.”

Jane grinned. “Miss Ellis would like Italian and she knows a good place to go. She also has some other desires that can only be addressed one-on-one a little later in the evening. In anticipation, she’s a little better prepared today than yesterday.”

“Huh?”

“Well, as you may have noticed last night, if you were an observant male, I didn’t have a change of clothes or cosmetics. That’s why I had to bug out of the hotel at six in the morning to get home, change, do makeup, and all that before going to work. Tongues would have wagged if I’d shown up wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday. Today, I brought a suitcase in my car.”

“A little presumptuous?”

“Do you care?” She laughed.

“Yes. I care that you think ahead to not embarrass yourself or me. I care that you like me enough to want to spend intimate time together. I care enough to want to spend special time with you because you are a strong, competent, assertive woman who knows how to make things happen at work and in her life.”

“Wow. You lay it on kind of thick.”

“I mean it though. Watch the kind of people that I resonate with. You’re one of them.”

Jane got kind of mellow suddenly, she leaned forward and put her hand over mine, “And just so you know, I care too – I care about you.” She looked at me and paused, “God, I can’t believe how much you’ve gotten inside my defenses in two days. How’d you do that? Is it intentional?”

I shook my head. That moment let me know that something special had started to develop between us other than a couple of one-night stands. I wouldn’t push the issue, but Jane appealed to me on so many levels. I felt the mind-body-spirit connections with her that I’d been told in the Tantric sex class to watch for because it carried a relationship to new levels and made loving extra special.

Jane started to pack her briefcase, and then paused. She looked at me, “Why am I doing this? I have no intention of reading any of this crap tonight. I’m going to be totally consumed by you and you are the only thing I want to pay any attention to tonight.” With that, she dropped the briefcase back in her chair, picked up her purse, and indicated that we were on our way out.

As we walked into the parking area, I said, “Two cars or one?”

She paused. “Leave yours here. No one will know whom it belongs to except to tell it’s an airport rental. Tomorrow morning we’ll have to get in here a little on the early side so we don’t start a scandal for either of us ... or else you hide under a blanket in the back until the coast is clear.” On that note, she burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of starting a work-based relationship. She got me chuckling too.