Climbing the Ladder 5 - Reaching New Heights
Copyright© 2026 by Michael Loucks
Chapter 1: Role Reversal
Fiction Sex Story: Chapter 1: Role Reversal - Jonathan's business life is booming, but he's also suffering from yet another loss. While he's done his best to pick up the pieces of that sundered relationship, he can't help but feel responsible. However, where two close relationships have withered, another blooms. Violet has transitioned from a badly damaged girl to a vibrant woman. Will he continue to climb this ladder, or will there be another ladder to climb in his future? No matter what, the only direction he plans to go is up.
Caution: This Fiction Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Ma/Fa Workplace
While this story was inspired by actual people and events, certain characters, characterizations, incidents, locations, and dialog were fictionalized or invented for the purposes of dramatization.
NOTHING IN THIS STORY SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FINANCIAL ADVICE!
All investing has risk. If you wish to invest, please contact a licensed professional advisor in your country or region.
May 27, 1984, Chicago, Illinois
My mom's words staggered me, and I put my hand on the counter for support.
"I ... I ... uhm ... did she leave a note?"
"I don't know. Did you hear about the custody hearing on Friday afternoon?"
"No. I wouldn't have had any reason to because she terminated my guardianship. What happened?"
"Jim and Julie were granted full physical custody of Heather, and Bev was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation before she would be allowed to see Heather."
"Fuck," I said softly. "I don't know what to say."
"I think that word you just used is pretty clear, and I can't really argue with you using it."
"I should have done something."
"You did everything in your power, Jonathan. Nothing you might have done could have prevented this."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," I replied. "What arrangements did they make?"
"The wake will be on Wednesday evening at 7:00pm at Noakes Funeral Home in Milford, and the funeral service will be on Thursday morning at 9:00am at Saint Mark's Lutheran on Buckwheat Road in Milford. She'll be buried at Goshen Cemetery."
"Expect me on Wednesday," I said. "I don't know how I'll get there or exactly when, but I will."
"Are you OK, Jonathan?"
"No, but my housemates and Sofía are here, so I'll be fine. I'll see you on Wednesday."
"Take care of yourself, Jonathan."
"I will," I promised.
We said 'goodbye', and I hung up, then went to sit next to Bianca, who had Sofía in her arms.
"May I hold her, please?" I asked.
Bianca handed Sofía to me, and I held her close with her head resting on my chest.
"Did Bev run away again?" Bianca asked.
"No," I said, shaking my head. "She killed herself Friday night."
"What?!" Bianca gasped. "Oh, my God!"
"Yeah," I sighed. "She lost custody of Heather on Friday afternoon, and she was ordered to have a psychological evaluation before she could see Heather."
"Are you OK, Jonathan?" Violet asked.
"I don't know," I replied. "I just needed to hold Sofía."
"When is the funeral?" Bianca asked.
"Thursday morning at the Lutheran church, about ten minutes from my mom's house; Bev lived next door to us. The wake is on Wednesday evening. I'll give Tony a call in a bit and let him know I plan to go to Cincinnati. I'll see if I can set up a meeting with Gordon or Marvin at MTB Sports Management so I can expense the trip and not have to explain my request for time off."
"It's OK to expense the trip?"
"Expressly permitted at my level. I plan to visit every client at least twice a year, more if they're local. I think a 'high touch' approach is the best way to keep clients. And I have an ask for MTB, as well — finding someone in LA who represents people in the movie business so I can develop contacts to help CeCi. I had planned to do it by phone, but if I'm going to be in Ohio, I can do it face-to-face."
"Will you fly?"
"That's a good question. The challenge is nobody will rent a car to anyone under twenty-five. I asked Barney at Windy City, and he said the only way that can happen is for military service members with orders or US government employees on official business. I actually asked Personnel, and even Spurgeon can't get that rule waived. So that means either driving or using a car service in Ohio.
"As I think more about it, I'd rather have the flexibility of having my car, and when you work out the total travel time, it's about the same driving as flying, unless I could use the Spurgeon jet, but I don't want to ask this time. If I leave at 9:00am on Wednesday, I'll be there by 3:30pm. I could drive back on Thursday evening, and I'd only miss one full day at Spurgeon because I could write my portion of the analyst report on Wednesday before I left."
"I know you well enough that you're blaming yourself, at least partly," Violet observed. "You did everything humanly possible for her and went WAY beyond what most people would even consider doing, let alone do."
"I agree," Bianca said. "What more could you have possibly done?"
"Not have given Heather to her grandparents."
"I call BS!" Bianca declared. "That was the right thing to do, and you know it! You didn't agonize over it at all because it was so obviously right! The only person who disagreed with you was Bev. Well, her attorneys, but they were paid to agree with her."
"And Glen," I replied.
"I'm not sure I'd concern myself with the opinion of someone who is facing serious State and Federal criminal charges," Bianca said. "Not to mention he'd do anything that might help his case. On the other side, we have every single one of your close friends, your attorneys, your mom, Bev's parents, Ohio DCFS, or whatever they're called, and apparently the judge in Ohio, too."
"And Bev is dead because I did that."
"No, she's not," Violet said firmly. "She's dead because she took her own life. You tried to help her time and again, including insisting she see a counselor. She stopped seeing Nancy and stopped going to the support group. It's not like you could have dragged her to either of those because that's not how it works.
"Nancy wouldn't see someone who was adamant they didn't want to see her, and the same is true for the support groups. Short of having Bev committed, I can't see what more you could have done, and the doctors in Kansas didn't think Bev needed to be on a psych hold. At any point, she could have asked for help, but didn't, despite you offering and, in some cases, insisting. All she had to do was accept your repeated offers."
"What Violet said!" Bianca declared.
"And even acknowledging all of that as true," I said with a sigh, "I still feel I could have done something."
"I think it's normal to feel that way," Violet said. "It's the loved ones who feel the pain of suicide."
"Sofía's asleep," Bianca observed.
"I know," I replied. "But I want to hold her."
"Violet, how were you getting home?" Bianca asked.
"We hadn't talked about it."
"I planned to call a car for her," I said. "I'm not disconnecting; I'm just trying to make sense of the world, and right now, holding my daughter is keeping me grounded."
Violet moved to sit next to me and touched my arm.
"We're here for you," she said. "I know you and Bev had drifted apart, but she was still an important person in your life. You've lost two people very close to you, and you want to protect the most important girl in your life — your daughter. And before you protest, she should be the most important girl in your life. You have to put her ahead of everyone else, the same way you put Heather's best interest ahead of everything else. That's the kind of dad Rose and I needed."
I heard the door open, and Deanna called out, 'Hello'. Bianca got up and quickly walked over to her, and they had a quiet conversation. Deanna came over to the conversation pit.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Jonathan?" she asked.
"I'm OK," I replied. "Well, not OK, but OK, if that makes sense. Holding Sofía helps."
"I'm here for whatever you need," she said.
"Thanks. I should probably call Tony and let him know my plans," I said.
I carefully handed the sleeping Sofía to Bianca and went to the kitchen to make the call. Tony's wife answered and called him to the phone.
"Hi, Jonathan? What's up?"
"I'm going to Cincinnati on Wednesday and Thursday. I'll be in the office on Wednesday morning until about 9:00am, and I'll be back in the office first thing on Friday morning. I just wanted to give you a heads-up."
"Thanks. Did something come up?"
"I'm going to see MTB to see if we can bring in more athletes and also see if I can get a referral to an LA attorney who represents Hollywood interests — studios, producers, directors, actors, or actresses."
"That's a good play! There's a crazy amount of money in Hollywood."
"That's what I was thinking. I'll see you on Tuesday."
We said 'goodbye', and I hung up.
"Are you not going to say anything at work?" Violet asked.
"I don't know," I replied. "Right now, I'd prefer to keep it private. Nobody will say a word about me going to see a client, and that will prevent people asking questions and repeatedly asking me if I'm OK."
"Sorry," Deanna said.
"I wasn't talking about your single question before, but about what happened with Keiko. Every single day, almost every person I knew was asking me if I was OK. It became oppressive, and that's why I ended up spending so much time at Violet's house, mostly sitting alone and reading. I know all of you care, and I understand you want to know if I'm OK, but imagine dozens of people asking me that question every time I see them. I'll tell a few people, but I'd ask all of you to please keep this confidence for me."
The door opened, and CeCi came into the condo. As I had just predicted, as soon as I told her what had happened, her first question was, 'Are you OK?'. I answered, though I didn't repeat what I'd just said to Bianca, Violet, and Deanna.
"Is it OK to put Sofía in her crib?" Bianca asked.
"Yes," I replied.
Bianca got up and carried Sofía upstairs while I went to the kitchen to make a pot of green tea. Violet followed me to the kitchen area and stood close as I filled the kettle with water.
"I can stay if you want," she said quietly.
"Let's talk privately in the Japanese room once the tea is ready."
I put on the kettle, and we waited in silence for it to whistle. Once it had, I put loose green tea in the strainer, set it in the teapot, then poured hot water over it. I picked up the teapot and a pair of mugs, and Violet and I went to the Japanese room, where we sat in a pair of Papasan chairs.
"I think your decision in Minneapolis was a good one," I said. "You know I want to; I'm just not sure I can be the partner you need right now."
"And if you remember what I said about Minnesota, it was only to sleep with you, but I would have done more, if that's what you had needed. I want to stay to be here for you in whatever way you need. You've been there for me every step of the way, and when I needed you, you did what I needed you to do. It's my turn to do that for you.
"As for being the partner I need, your devotion to Sofía and your innate need to protect those you love mean you are exactly the partner I need. I know you're sleeping with other girls, and I'm not asking you to stop doing that or making any other demands. I want to be here for you and care for you, and if that means making love, then I will."
"And it's that innate need to protect you that gives me pause," I said gently. "I promised I would never do anything that would hurt you, and I'm concerned about your expressed need to have some kind of committed relationship before you were willing to make love with someone."
"If an agreement to have a baby together isn't a commitment to be together, I'm not sure what would be! It's more of a commitment for you than marriage or living together or whatever, because you could never stop being a parent. I've seen that with Sofía. No matter what might happen between you and Bianca, you'll always be there to care for Sofía and will work with Bianca to ensure all of Sofía's needs are met. I'll also point out that keeping your commitment to have a baby together requires making love! Well, unless you suddenly change your opinion about God, you change your name to Joseph, and I change my name to Mary!"
I couldn't help but laugh, "Highly unlikely!"
"The commitment is already there, Jonathan. It's just a matter of how that commitment shapes the future. May I make an observation?"
"Of course."
"You're questioning whether or not you're emotionally ready and are projecting that onto me based on my past. I love you, and I trust you, and I'm ready to give myself to you that way. I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't ready. I stopped you on my birthday because I felt like I was losing control, but I realize now it was desire, not fear. Well, OK, I was nervous, but I confused what I was feeling for an oncoming panic attack. It wasn't. It was a burning desire to be with you."
"I'm just concerned about how this will affect you and affect our relationship."
"No," Violet countered. "You're concerned about how it will affect you. You're not emotionally ready for the relationship you know you want. I understand that, and I'm not making any demands. I'm absolutely positive that when you're emotionally ready, we'll find the correct way forward. For now, though, nothing is preventing us from making love except you."
I took a deep breath and let it out.
"Will you allow me to think about it for a bit?"
"Yes, of course. And may I tell you something that will reinforce my point?"
"What's that?"
"After we were in Minneapolis and I thought about getting in bed with you, I told Lily about it. That's when she said I should suck it up, suck it, and have you fuck my brains out. After she said that, I asked her to go with me to the clinic to get birth control pills. I've been taking them for almost three months."
That was the first time I'd ever heard Violet use the word 'fuck', and it drove home the point that she was a very different person from even six months ago. I had to change the mental picture I had of Violet as a frightened, abused little girl and replace it with a picture of a confident young woman who was ready to explore her sexuality.
"But that's not what you want," I said with a smile. "You asked about making love."
Violet smiled, "Perhaps that's your problem, or maybe 'concern' is better. You can have sex with girls, but you're afraid of making love because of what you think it means. I use that because it doesn't sound as crass as 'screw' or 'fuck'. I mean, seriously, is there a difference?"
"Actually," I replied, "I think there is. I'd equate 'having sex' or 'going to bed together' in a neutral way, but the difference between making love and those other two words is the emotional component. In other words, 'screwing' or 'fucking' would be for fun and physical pleasure; making love would be fulfilling an emotional need."
"And that is, as I said, what scares you," Violet observed. "It's the opposite of what frightened me. For me, it was the physical part that was scary; for you, it's the emotional part. I'm just speculating, but you made love with Keiko, and probably with Bianca to make Sofía, but otherwise, it was 'just sex', even with Bev."
"I can't say you're wrong, though there have been a few other times I've made love."
Violet was quiet for a moment, "Either Deanna or CeCi after Keiko died, right?"
"Very perceptive."
"It makes sense. I know how you were feeling, and after Keiko, it makes sense you would have been with one of the other girls. If Bianca weren't pregnant and didn't prefer girls, it would have been her, I think."
I shook my head, "No, I actually think it had to be Deanna. She was the one who helped me get my head screwed on reasonably straight, and after several long conversations, we made love. That helped me move forward and break the blockade."
"The vicious cycle you told me about, right? The one from which you couldn't figure out how to escape?"
"Yes. Our roles seem to have reversed."
"Because you've undergone two traumatic events and quite a few dramatic ones, all of which have affected you emotionally — Keiko, of course; everything that happened with Bev up through Friday night; and Sofía's arrival. You aren't an emotional person, but that doesn't mean you aren't affected by emotions. Your need to hold Sofía was about as emotional as you get, though you did cry for Keiko."
"Didn't you just argue, in effect, I shouldn't make a decision because I'm ... well, suppressing, I guess, my emotions?"
"I suppose you could see it that way, but it's the opposite, really — you're reacting emotionally, and that's keeping you from doing what we both want to do and what we both know is the right thing to do."
"You're that sure?"
"If I weren't, would I have agreed to have a baby with you with no pre-conditions? Would I have started taking birth control pills? Would I be asking you to make love to me? Or, if you prefer, to suck you, swallow, then have you fuck my brains out?"
"In the past, I might have argued with you about all of that, but you've turned into the self-confident, adventurous, inquisitive young woman I was sure was trapped behind the traumatic experiences of her teenage years."
Violet smiled, "Remember what I said before — we don't have to make love. I want to, but if simply cuddling is what you need, that's fine."
"And you can resist the temptation?" I asked with a smirk.
Violet laughed, "I can if you can!"
"I usually sleep naked, but I do have pyjamas to help with the temptation. But what about you?"
"One of your T-shirts would be like a nightgown on me!" she said with a soft laugh. "You're six-two, and I'm five-one!"
"Good point!"
"It's up to you, Jonathan. I can go home or stay. If I stay, we can cuddle, make love, or do what Lily suggested."
"I'm curious just how much Lily told you."
"Enough that I believe I know what to expect and how to do the things she suggested. You can send her a thank-you note afterwards!"
I laughed, "You surprise me with your impishness at almost every turn."
"You helped me come out of my shell, and soon, I hope you'll help me out of my clothes!"
"Maybe impish was too soft; sassy?"
"Says the man who put my pre-chewed gum in his mouth!"
"Point taken," I replied. "And now we come to the first major challenge."
"What's that?"
"CeCi usually spends the night with me on Sunday nights."