Chapter 10

Over the next couple of weeks, there would be several developments for which some or all of the employees at J.A.M. Aluminum would soon become partially or fully aware.

Mr. Morris announced at one of the daily meetings that he and Gene Kennedy had decided to bring the nomination of Tim Davis to the panel for a vote to elevate him to the Senior VP vacancy left by Gavin Riggs’ ouster. The unanimous vote formally sealed that deal. They would begin consideration of replacement candidates to fill Tim’s vacated Junior VP position within the next couple of weeks.

Tim was notified and he gladly accepted the promotion, along with its considerable increase in pay and benefits – one of which was his privilege to call on the Junior VP wives for sexual pleasure under the EPOD rules. His wife, Grace, breathed a sigh of relief that she was now no longer at the beck and call of those whom she considered to be lecherous old men, and swore to herself that she would put out only for her husband from now on; and only on those days when she was assured that he had not been with any of those other ‘EPOD sluts’, as she now thought derisively of the other women in the program from which she herself had just graduated.

Folks began to notice that Janice Pittman had become very good friends with Madison Scott and Carol Mitchum, two of the other Junior VP wives. They were seen together more often around the plant and even around town. A couple of the more adventurous women plant workers or administrative staff even swore that they had seen the three young Executives’ wives, along with Midge Burton, shopping together for some of the sexier apparel available in some of the discreet stores and boutiques in and around Middlebury.

Jan Pittman’s positive reputation began to escalate among almost all the work force at J.A.M. to the point of verging on legend. There were several reasons for this.

First, many had noticed that Jan and Heather, Mr. Morris’ executive secretary, had gone out to lunch together on several occasions since the time of some mysterious incident after which Mr. Riggs had been fired. After a few of these lunches, rumor had it that Jan had personally approached Mr. Morris, the company President, and suggested that Heather should have her title changed to Administrative Assistant and begin receiving a salary that reflected what Heather actually did around the company.

The explosion of emotion and outpouring of joy from all of the administrative staff, especially Heather, throughout the executive wing and among the divisions spread out across the plant from the huge jump in pay and recognition for their efforts almost caused Jan to be nominated unanimously for sainthood by those women formerly referred to as ‘Secretaries.’

During their continuing lunch dates, Jennifer was very happy to inform Matt about her new status. Matt shared her joy as well as his lunch time with her, and congratulated her upon her attaining her new status. Both of them smiled and teased more easily as their friendship developed and deepened.

Heather greeted Jan with a huge hug and shout on the Monday after the big announcement from Mr. Morris. Several of the newly-minted ‘Administrative Assistants’, as the former Secretaries were now called, even heard Heather say that she loved Jan.

Second on the list of changes that occurred was the appearance of Janice Pittman around the industrial area of the plant wearing a special employee access badge; it was not so much an employee identification as it was a special unaccompanied visitor’s access pass. Using her new access, Jan went to the different break areas established within the plant compound; she was even issued her own hard hat. At these break areas, Jan would sit among the workers and record their observations about what might make working conditions better at J.A.M. and listen attentively to their recommendations for things that might improve productivity and work force participation.

The employees, while skeptical at first about any of their ideas reaching anyone who would actually listen and act on them, were very surprised and pleased to find that Jan actually pushed their ideas forward, and even personally advocated for the really good ones, and reported back to them on her progress.

The plant’s workers felt now that making suggestions within the company for better conditions and better processes was not a wasted effort. Many began to like and respect Jan for her efforts.

Of course, many of the male employees – and one or two of the female employees – lusted after the sexy young redhead, despite their knowing that she was married to one of the company’s Junior Executives.

The third big change was one that was restricted in the details available only to a select few – Mr. Morris and his other Senior Executives, as well as Midge Burton, Madison Scott, Carol Mitchum, and Jan Pittman. This change affected how the EPOD program would be modified to make it more palatable and more effective – especially with respect to how candidates were screened in the first place.

The most immediate change was that of allowing Midge Burton to rejoin the pool of available EPOD wives in an emeritus status. This meant that she was available for all of the sex in the same way as she had been when she’d been in EPOD in years past. This offer was made available to any of the other Senior Executive wives as well; but, initially, Midge was the only one to embrace it.

As for the rest of the change, in an experiment to bring in better-suited EPOD members, Mr. Morris and the Senior Executives would develop a list of final candidates to fill Tim Davis’ vacant Junior VP position, any of which had the qualifications to be a Junior VP; with the stipulation that each candidate be married, as well as being qualified for the position. After all, business came first; not sex.

Mr. Morris would deliver the short list of candidates to Jan – now the unofficial ‘den mother’ of the EPOD wives – who would organize, along with Midge, Madison, and Carol, a series of interviews with the candidates’ wives to feel them out about their attitudes toward sex in general, and about some of the various aspects of EPOD – without being too open – in particular. Jan would then give the results of the interviews of the wives to Mr. Morris via Heather – who was now brought more fully into the know about EPOD, highlighting which of the wives might be more accommodating to participation in The Program; and the husbands as well.

Other Program tweaks would come later, but this big change in selection was enough to ensure more likelihood of acceptance by willing and suitable candidates.

On the Monday morning following the successful initial pool party and orgy at Jan and Brad Pittman’s new house, Jan stopped at the plant to see Mr. Morris briefly. She wanted to share her most recent list of employee recommendations as part of her volunteer work at the plant; mingling with the workers and finding out their views and ideas about the work environment at J.A.M. Aluminum. Jan also needed to get the pared-down list of potential Junior VP candidates and their wives so that she, Carol, Madison, and Midge could start their first round of screening for EPOD.

In addition to the list that Jan asked for, Mr. Morris also asked her to give him her Cadillac keys. Frowning, Jan did so; and then she gasped when Mr. Morris handed her a new key fob with a Mercedes emblem on it. She tried to argue with him, but he just smiled and stood firm.

Receiving a kiss from Mr. Morris, who said he preferred that she call him ‘Mo,’ on the way out of his office, Jan stopped to see Heather in order to get the Junior VP candidate list and then proceeded toward her husband’s office.

Jennifer saw Jan coming down the hallway, jumped up from her desk, and ran around and hugged her so hard she almost knocked the young redhead down. Recovering their balance, the two laughed and moved back into Jennifer’s office.

“I found a spare key to the old house and the garage door opener that I had stashed in my new car ... well, my OLD new car now ... that I wanted to bring to you,” Jan said before Jennifer could say anything. But now Jennifer let loose with her own gratitude.

“Oh, Jan,” Jennifer said to her benefactor, “the changes you have made around here have the whole place buzzing. And after all that you have done for me personally, and for my children; the new car, the new house, and now the new job title with its greater prestige and the almost doubling again of my pay ... I ... I...” At this point, Jennifer began to break down with tears of joy.

“So,” Jan asked Jennifer, “is the house working out okay for you? I mean, was the furniture we left behind okay? I sort of felt guilty about leaving all that old stuff for you, not knowing what you might need or what was appropriate and all...” Jan let her voice taper off and Jennifer noticed that the young redhead appeared to be a bit nervous all of a sudden.

“Oh, Jan,” said Jennifer in an attempt to assure the young woman, “I kept all of the furniture that you left behind and gave almost all of my old stuff to the thrift store. In fact, most of the move for Connor, Haley, and me involved the transfer of clothes and shoes from our closets in the old place to the closets in the new house. And then, as far as pictures, games, a few CDs and DVDs, that kind of thing, it was simply toss them into the Rubbermaid bins from Walmart and haul them over and either unpack them or stack them. It actually all went without a hitch.”

Then, Jennifer changed tone and asked Jan, “How is life in that big new place of yours? Is it what you expected? Did you leave anything behind at the old place for which you might be having second thoughts about keeping? I can put it in the car and bring it over if you need.”

“NO! No,” Jan insisted, “all that stuff we gave you is yours for as long as you need and without any residual ownership claims, either by Brad or me.” Jan paused and looked away as her smile began to slip a bit. Jennifer noticed that Jan was beginning to fidget with her wedding ring and look a bit nervous, but she could not figure out why.

“Uh, Jennifer, uhm,” Jan started, “I would like to ask you something that has been bothering me.”

“Anything,” Jennifer said, motioning to two chairs across from her desk, where the two moved and sat. Jennifer waited for Jan to continue, but noticed a prolonged hesitation.

Then it hit her! ‘She wants to know if I know about EPOD!’ thought Jennifer to herself.

Jennifer took a deep cleansing breath and reached out to touch one of Jan’s shoulders and paused to be able to speak in a manner that would be assuring to the young Junior VP wife. When she saw Jan blushing, she became more confident about her assumption for the reason.

“I think I know what this is about. Please, Jan, don’t be embarrassed. Everyone here loves you. You have nothing to feel embarrassed about.”

Jan said, “I guess that partially answers my question. I wondered if you all knew. About us, I mean – you know; the Junior VP wives; and what we are required to do; actually, what we have volunteered to do.”

Jennifer looked embarrassed, too. She finally said, “I know it’s supposed to be a secret. We see things, though. And there have been times when some of the Senior Executives with the ... well; privileges, I guess you call them; were a little less than discreet; especially your buddy, Riggs. We talk among ourselves like good gossipers everywhere and I think we’ve pretty much pieced it together.”

“So, you know about EPOD?”

Jennifer nodded.

“How do you feel about it; about us; about me?”

Jennifer thought about that for a very long minute. She reached over and took one of Jan’s hands in hers. She smiled reassuringly and said, “I guess we were all scandalized at first. The thing is, though, except for a few people, like Mrs. Gordon and Mrs. Davis, we have a pretty high opinion of you women. Mrs. Kennedy has always been nice to us. And Mrs. Burton is like one of us. At one time or another, she has taken us all to lunch and she invites us to her home for lunches or a quiet dinner sometimes. She has never treated us as if we are ‘just secretaries’ or talked down to us. Mrs. Newman and Mrs. Grant too; they are always nice to us. They treat us like people; like friends.

“I guess how we felt about them, and what we came to understand that they were doing, has always been based more on our relationship with them as people and sometimes friends, rather than on the activities associated with their participation in EPOD. Some of us even think that it must be pretty exciting.

“You have to know, though, that EVERYONE here loves you, Jan. They all know what you did for me in my desperate situation at the time, and they see how nice you are. We certainly all appreciate you for getting rid of Mr. Riggs. We were all afraid of that ... of him.”

“I believe ‘bastard’ was the word you were looking for.”

Jennifer grinned and said, “Jan, we know about EPOD. Nobody really cares. We know that the men selected for those positions are selected because they are good at what they do. God knows, Mr. Gordon and Mr. Davis are proof of that!

“I suppose that, at first, we may have had some less-than-favorable opinions when we figured out what was going on. You’ve got to admit that the whole concept is pretty scandalous.

“Not now, though. All of us are as fond of the wives of our bosses as we are of our bosses themselves. They are all good men and you are all good women. We are proud to work here and, if anyone ever says anything bad about you, I’ll kick his ass!”

Jan smiled and wiped her eyes. “I guess that was the answer I was hoping for. Well, except for the kick-ass part. Thanks for your candor; I appreciate it. And now, I am afraid I must say goodbye.”

Jennifer got an impish look in her eye and said, “Which one do you have coming by today; Mr. Newman or Mr. Grant?” She had said it in a somewhat offhand and joking manner.

Jan put on a deadpan expression and said, “Why, both of them!”

When she saw the look of shock on Jennifer’s face, Jan could not help herself. She burst out in a laugh that was more like a loud giggle, causing Jennifer to blush and chuckle too as she waved the younger woman out of her office.

Matt noticed that Jennifer was staring off into the distance as he approached their usual picnic table at the normal time for their lunch together.

“Whatcha thinking, Pretty Lady?” Matt asked as he sat down and unwrapped his sub.

Jennifer refocused her thousand-meter-stare, but not on Matt’s face. Instead, she looked down at her lunch pouch, grabbed a couple of chips, and began chewing them. After she had swallowed them, she spoke softly.

“How long have you known about EPOD?” she asked right out of the starting blocks, catching Matt by surprise.

Matt was speechless for a moment. Sure, he had been caught flat-footed by the question. But he also felt the need to balance his need for discretion and the protection of the reputation of his principals against a response to what just might be wild conjecture and digging for gossip.

But, he had come to know Jennifer quite a bit better over the past couple of weeks; so, this could not be simply mining for data for use in idle conversation at the water-cooler. This was a serious question coming from someone with a good head on her shoulders who also knew how to be discreet in her position, even if it were a position of being just a secretary.

NO! He could not ever think of her ever again as ‘just a secretary’ anymore. She was now called an Administrative Assistant. But it was more than the title that defined her. She was privy to a lot of company proprietary information in her position, so discretion was a daily by-word with her and her boss, Brad Pittman. Matt made his decision, took a deep breath, and answered her.

“For just over five years,” Matt responded to Jennifer’s inquiry.

“Uhm-hmm,” Jennifer said, still without looking up. After a short pause, she continued. “And were you ever going to speak to me about any of this as we get to know each other better?”

Matt’s appetite had disappeared suddenly, as he realized that any potential relationship he might be developing with this wonderful and exciting woman might be crushed if he said the wrong thing. But then he thought, ‘Fuck it! I just need to tell her the truth. I figure women value the truth over anything else you can tell them.’

“Frankly, no,” Matt said matter-of-factly. As Jennifer looked at his face in mild surprise, he held up a hand to forestall anything she might want to say at that moment so that he could complete his thought on the matter.

“But the decision not to say anything was based on the general need to protect the interests of the company that pays my salary, and therefore demands my loyalty; as well as protecting the reputations of my principals, David and Midge Burton, the ones who demand my specific loyalty.”

“Tell me now,” Jennifer said when he had finished. “If you and I were to get beyond the merely ‘friends’ level of our current relationship, and get involved with each other on a more personal level, would there come point at which your loyalty to your relationship with me might allow for you to be honest enough with me to share these types of things with me? And could you be completely honest about your participation, if any, in these goings-on?”

Matt was getting quite a bit more uncomfortable now, as he realized that he was walking a tightrope.

Finally, he said, “Jennifer, Honey,” using that appellation for the first time in their relationship, “if you and I were to develop a closer personal relationship – which, by the way, I have been considering more and more lately – then I would never hold back anything important from you. The only exception might be something that, if you were to know about it, could possibly prove dangerous to you or to your kids.”

Jennifer was quiet for a moment as she digested this. What Matt had said satisfied the one major question that was on her mind; and his mention of his concern for the safety for her AND the kids was a plus; but she also needed to know something else.

“You know that we ‘Administrative Assistants’ have our own network throughout the company; right?” Jennifer asked him. At his nod, she continued. “So; we also know that the EPOD program has been modified recently to allow for any of the Senior Executives’ wives to participate, if they wish to do so.”

‘This may now be getting into the Trouble Zone,’ thought Matt.

“And,” Jennifer continued, “so far as we can tell, the only one of the Senior Executive wives to take Mr. Morris up on that offer is –” here she paused and looked directly at Matt, “– Mrs. Burton.”

After a pause with no comment from Matt, Jennifer went on. “Word around the Sec’s Lounge is that, when she was in the program before, she was very active and was sought after more often than the other wives by the Senior Executives at the time. And she evidently enjoyed herself quite a bit in the program, as she reputedly had – and reportedly still has – quite the active libido. Rumor also has it that, since her husband’s promotion and her subsequent graduation from EPOD, she has missed being in The Program. And, to make up for that, she seems to have expanded her reach to other men in order to scratch her frequent itches.”