Chapter 9

The last hour, or so, of the conference was, for the most part, very boring. Two of the four people up there on the stage had those monotone voices that could put you asleep.

Then the moment arrived when the speaker said what we all have been waiting for, “Thanks for attending and we were looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.” I, for one, was more than ready to get out of there after listening to them talk about ‘Environmental Issues and Trends.’

The three of us decided to wait until most of the others had left the room before we made our way out to the lobby area just outside the ballroom. I believe it was some five minutes or more we until all started making our way to the door when suddenly Wendell turned around in almost a panic. When she did that I quickly looked at Mary and we both, almost at the same time, asked her if she was alright, when we didn’t get an answer right away, Mary put her arm around her and pulled her closer to comfort her as we all took the nearest available seats.

Once she was starting to get her composure back, I reached for her hand as a sign of support. We all ended up sitting in silence for close to five minutes until she fully came back to herself and said, “Thanks, I don’t know what came over me, it’s just that I wasn’t ready to remain naked after the conference was over and when you two started getting up and we started making our way out, I got nervous and scared at the idea of being naked outside the hotel. I am truly sorry you both had to witness my little breakdown.”

I noticed that she looked more relaxed afterward, but I could tell that she was still a little nervous. So I looked at Mary and said, “Wendell, if you don’t mind me asking, how long you have been nude?”

I didn’t expect an answer right away, and, from the expression she was making, it looked like she was trying to find the right words to say as we remained sitting and the maintenance crew started cleaning. Then she looked up at me and Mary and said very softly, “Since this morning in my hotel room when I stripped off the clothes I was wearing because ... I am sorry.”

As she stopped, I quickly hugged her as a sign of support before she looked back up and then Mary did the same. “Sorry. At my agency, we only had room for one person to attend this conference and there were six of us that wanted to go. So, our boss made us a deal. He told the six of us that if one of us was willing to attend both days of the conference completely naked, we would be allowed to attend. And, if two or more of us still wanted to go, he asked us if we would be willing to give up all our clothes in the office after we got back.”

After she said the last part, the only thing I could do was just give her a blank stare and from the look at Mary, she was dumbfounded as well. I couldn’t believe someone would put that much pressure on someone else. Well, at least my boss is naked along with me right now and who knows what Wendell’s boss is wearing, but I am almost certain that he isn’t nude.

After a few minutes, just as I was about to say something, Mary spoke up, “What a creep. I take it that you were the only one that said yes to that offer?”

“Are you both from the same agency?” I didn’t even get a word out when Mary said, “Yes, Kim is one of my top employees and she has been doing everything at the agency from showing homes to closing wearing what little she has on right now. And for myself, I am the president of the agency and after a lot of thought and soul-searching, I decided last night, with my husband’s concurrence, to be with Kim in all my glory. I am troubled by the offer he gave you. I do not want to speak for Kim, but I would understand if you wanted to go back up to your room and get dressed and we all can go out for dinner. Oh, one more thing, I do not plan on getting dressed any time this trip.”

Listening to Mary talk and seeing how confident she looks compared to the way she was earlier is remarkable. You would be convinced by her confidence that she has been naked as long as I have. I was starting to notice that some of the maintenance crew were glancing over at us like they want us to leave. So I said, “I think they want us to get up and leave.” As we were all getting up, I noticed Wendell was showing a lot more confidence compared to the way she was thirty minutes ago.

Then, as we were in the hallway walking to the elevator, Wendell said, “About the offer my boss gave us. Three out of six quickly said no thank you; one of them was my friend Jeff. That left three of us that were still willing to do what I did today. Then, after a day, he called the three of us into his office and gave us another condition to attending, ‘the three of you are willing to agree to my previous offer?’ I said yes along with Arnold and Joanna. He then gave us another proposal: Whoever is willing to attend the conference completely naked and is also willing to work in the office naked, I expect to remain completely naked at all times while they are working regardless of where they are or what they are doing.” Mary and I stopped walking as soon as she told us about her boss’s last offer. I couldn’t believe how close it was to what I had Mary write up for me a few weeks ago.