Chapter 8

"Gah!"

Trent startled awake, momentarily disoriented in the dim light of his home office. What time was it? He rubbed his eyes and swiped a finger across the touchpad of his laptop. 4:00 am. He sighed, pushing a couple empty beer bottles out of his way to reach for his coffee mug. Once again he'd fallen asleep at his computer.

He stood and stretched a bit, then scratched his belly. He wasn't looking forward to going into work in a few hours, but maybe if he went to bed now he'd be able to get a little sleep before his alarm went off.

He sat back down at his desk and looked over what he'd been working on - his unfinished novel. By day he was a mid-level manager in the IT department of Metro Marketing, Inc., a mid-sized, up and coming marketing firm in Capital City, but he still held onto his dream of one day becoming a published novelist. He sighed again, re-reading the last few paragraphs he'd written. Not his best stuff.

Still, he told himself, the important thing was that he was writing. Even if most of it wasn't usable, he tried to write regularly, if only to keep the habit alive. Writers write.

He minimized his text editor and remembered that he'd also been looking through his pictures, mostly at images of Monica, his on-again/off-again girlfriend. In particular he'd been looking at pictures of her in a bikini, from that day they'd spent at the lake a few weeks ago. He shook his head, closing the pictures. Monica was a work of art, but she sure could be a bitch.

As he clicked shut the various windows, he remembered that he'd also been going through some pictures from the company picnic last week. He'd taken a few pictures with his phone that day, mostly boring shots of co-workers eating barbecue and standing around chatting, but one had caught his attention last night. It was a shot of a couple women from his team, employees he supervised in his department. Valerie and Kelly.

Kelly was an attractive woman in her own right, but Valerie was a total knockout. Trent had felt a little self-conscious when he'd hired her six months ago, ready to take grief from other managers who would assume she had been hired solely on her looks, but she'd turned out to be a strong project manager and any scuttlebut about her abilities quickly disapated. She'd proven herself to be fairly technically proficient, too, which helped. Kelly was especially sharp when it came to database management, so Valerie had some competition when it came to tech cred, but she'd demonstrated skills of her own.

The thing was, in all outward aspects she came off as a simple-minded blonde bombshell. She spoke in a little-girl voice with just a hint of a lisp, and while she didn't dress provocatively, there was no denying that she was in fine shape. Trent had been comparing the image of Valerie to pictures of Monica in her bikini, and he was convinced that Valerie would be just as sexy were he ever fortunate enough to see her similarly clothed. His penis swelled slightly at the thought of seeing more of her delicious body, and he chuckled to himself.

He knew he'd developed a little crush on his employee. It wasn't anything that would affect their work, he made sure of that. He could remain professional and not let on that he found her attractive, and he enjoyed having the eye candy at work. But it would help if he were getting laid.

He arranged two images side by side on his laptop, one of Monica bending over to show off her ass in her skimpy bikini, the other of Valerie at the company picnic. Valerie was wearing a thin sweater which hugged her generous rack nicely, and he'd taken the shot just as she was pushing a stray lock of blonde hair out of her face; her arm was raised, which enhanced the presentation of her round breasts. Her blue cargo pants, while not inappropriate in any way, flattered her figure a great deal. She and Kelly were smiling at the camera, aware that he was taking the shot, and she'd tilted her head slightly as if to pose for him.

Settling into back into his desk chair, his fished his heavy penis out of his boxers and began to slowly stroke his thickening shaft, imagining just what she might do if he ever put his hands on those hips of hers, pushing her sweater up the sides of her torso to cup those gorgeous tits...

Later that morning he ran into Valerie as they both entered their building downtown. She was bubbly and friendly, as always, and was quite chatty as they rode the elevator together to their floor. He always had the impression she was just a little nervous around him, perhaps because he was her supervisor, though he tried to be as down-to-earth as possible with all of his staff. Under normal situations she could be a little long-winded, he knew, and this morning was no different. She was going on about how her roommate was looking to buy a laptop, and how they'd been debating what to look for and how much she should be spending, and as he often did, Trent found himself tuning out what she was actually saying and focusing instead on the shape of her lips, the flow of her hair over her shoulders, the gentle slope of her breasts under her sweater (today's was a red one she wore often, one of his favorites).

Valerie was the itch Trent couldn't scratch.

"So after all that," Valerie continued when they reached their floor, "Amber ended up deciding to wait on getting anything. Oh!"

Valerie stopped short to keep from walking into Trent's friend, Karl. Karl Davis was another mid-level manager at Metro, though he was in the much more prestigious area of creative accounts, and his team was considered among the best and brightest in the company.

"Hello! Excuse me, Valerie," Karl said calmly, turning to address Trent. "Sorry to catch you on your way in, but can we touch base this morning? I want to iron out some details of the Delta account."

"No problem," Trent said, waving to Valerie as she continued on her way toward her desk. His eyes followed the lovely sway of her ass for a few steps before turning to look at Karl, who frowned slightly. "Give me ten minutes. Should I stop by your office, or do you want to come to mine?"

"I'm already here, I'll just wait in your office."

"No prob, pal," Trent said with a smirk. He took another look over at Valerie who was now curling one leg up under her as she sat down at her desk. He didn't want to gawk, though, so he turned back to Karl. "Right this way."

Trent opened the door to his office and held it open for Karl. His office was relatively small compared to other managers, but he didn't mind. There was room for his desk, a small table for staff meetings, and a leather couch, as well as a wall of windows granting him a nice view of Capitol City. His walls were glass, and while he could close the blinds if he wanted, he usually kept them open, which gave him a clear view of his employees' desks. HR and Accounting were nearby, as was the company's main server room. Karl entered Trent's office and grabbed a seat while Trent logged in at his desk.

"What's up?" Trent asked as he logged into his email.

"You tell me," Karl said with a quizzical glance in the direction of Valerie's desk. "Did you two come in together?"

"Who? Oh, Val? No, of course not, we just rode up together. Come on, buddy, give me some credit. I know better than that."

"Hmm," said Karl, apparently not entirely convinced. "If you say so. You just be careful, unless you want HR all over you for harassment prevention."

"Yeah, yeah," Trent said, shaking his head. "What about the Delta account?"

Karl got what he needed from Trent, then got up to go. "Are we grabbing a beer tonight after work, or does Monica have you all tied up?"

"Monica has once again cut me loose," Trent said, his attention split between Karl and the network monitoring app he'd pulled up. "This time might actually be for real. I'll tell you all about it."

Karl couldn't help but take a look at Valerie on his way out. He was married, and though his eye wandered, he wasn't interested in Val. But he could certainly appreciate why Trent might harbor an attraction - she was a nice bit of eye-candy. Deep in concentration on whatever was on her computer screen, Valerie didn't notice his attention.

Hours later, after the workday was over, Karl and Trent sat down together for a beer at the Cozy, the local pub they frequented after hours.

"So, seeing Monica later?" Karl asked Trent.

Trent shook his head "no" and swallowed his beer. "She's upset with me."

"Hmm, I wonder if I can guess why."

"Look," Trent said, "I'm not a saint, she knows that. Neither is she. So I look around from time to time. Ah, it's for the best anyway. Monica is a lot of fun, but she can get old, too."

"I can imagine," said Karl. "On both points." He took another swig of his beer, then noticed something across the room which made him grin. "Speak of the devil."

Trent followed his friend's gaze across the crowded pub. He and Karl sat at a small table near the back, and Karl was looking toward the main bar itself.

"Oh great," Trent murmured, just before Monica turned around and saw them looking at her.

Monica had been scanning the room, wondering if Trent would be out tonight. She'd made a point of dressing to the nines in case he was, just to remind him of what he'd be missing. She gave him a little wave, then turned back to face the bar, leaning forward a little to make sure he had a good view of her denim-clad ass. Trent recognized that stance, and knew exactly what she was doing. Some things never changed.

"Looks like someone's putting on a little show," Karl said with a chuckle, finishing his beer. "I'll leave you two to it." He waved away Trent's protest. "No, I gotta go anyway, I have daughters waiting for me at home. Have fun."

Trent sighed, considering his options. He could just leave, he figured. He could make it to the gym before heading home, although he didn't think that would sit well with the beer in his stomach. Or he could drop back into the office to finish up the work he'd left there. It wouldn't be the first time he'd returned to the office after dinner to wrap up some loose ends.

Ultimately, though, he decided he should just go up to Monica and talk to her. He wasn't particularly looking forward to that, since she was clearly miffed with him and eager to punish him for his dalliances. Still, he also knew from experience that it wouldn't take too much genuflection on his part to get into Monica's pants tonight. And she was looking hot, he had to admit.

"Hey Monica." He tried to sound nonchalant, even as he felt a twinge of anxiety leaning against the bar beside her. She was facing the other way, twirling a strand of her thick brunette hair so that its blue highlights shimmered in the neon light from the bar. She knew he was there, but still went through the motions of pretending to notice him for the first time.

"Hmm? Oh, hi there Trent." Monica shot him a cold look before making a show of looking around the room.

"You're looking nice tonight, Mon," Trent said, and he meant it. Monica might be a bitch, but she sure knew how to package herself. Even though she was dressed rather simply by her standards in just a pair of jeans and a lacy blue t-shirt blouse, she was catching all sorts of looks from the men in the bar, and she knew it.

"Thank you, dear," she said tersely. "I'm glad you finally noticed."

"Come on, Monica, you know I alway notice."

"Do you? Hmm, if you say so." Monica tossed her hair over her shoulder and turned around to face him, leaning back on the bar as she sipped her vodka tonic. "All I know is you seem to have eyes for everyone but me. Whatever. I don't care anymore." She scanned the room, making sure to give him a chance to check her out, which he did.

Trent sighed again (something he felt like he did a lot when he was with Monica). He was about to say something else when Monica suddenly perked up and waved to someone across the bar. Trent turned, expecting to see some meathead replacement date she'd arranged to make him jealous, but was instead treated to the sight of another nice piece of eye-candy waving back to Monica. She was dressed similarly to Monica, wearing tight jeans and a lacy blouse, the difference being that this young woman's blouse was red to match the highlights in her brunette hair. In many other aspects, though, she and Monica could pass for sisters - similarly voluptuous builds and cute faces, that was for sure. She seemed vaguely familiar to Trent, though he couldn't quite place where or how they might have met.

"Amber!" Monica hastily put her drink on the bar and greeted her friend with a warm hug. Monica's friend, Amber, gave Trent a knowing grin over Monica's shoulder as they hugged, then turned back to her friend as their embrace ended.

"Hey Monica," said Amber. "I'm glad you called. I'm ready to go dancing!" She looked at Trent again, then back at Monica.

Monica looked over at Trent and gave him a dismissive wave of the back of her hand.

"Don't mind him, he was just leaving. Here, let me buy you a drink."

Trent stepped back to give Amber his space at the bar. He stood there a moment longer, but then decided he felt foolish and walked back over to his table. He was about to leave some money for his tab and take off when his waitress, Tiffany, appeared.

"Get you one more?" she asked, picking up his empties. Something about her smile helped counteract the depression he felt growing inside, so he accepted her offer and sat back down, this time with his back to the bar so he wouldn't have to see Monica and her buddy flirting with guys. He pulled out his phone and checked his email, trying to shake the lonely feeling in his gut.

He'd only gotten half-way through his beer when he decided he should go home and watch TV. He'd pocketed his phone and was about to get up when Amber stepped up to his table.

"You don't remember me," she said without preamble.

"Um, no, I do," he fumbled. "Amber, right?" She was suddenly standing close to him as he sat, and he had to make a point to keep eye contact with her rather than looking at her breasts.

"It's okay if you don't remember, it was a year ago and it was only one night. I don't think Monica wanted us to get to know each other. We're kinda competitive, her and I." She spoke matter-of-factly, but with a playful grin.

"You're her old college roommate, right?"

Amber's grin widened. "Wow, you do remember me. I'm impressed."

"I am too," Trent countered, feeling more comfortable. "I was impressed back then, and even moreso now." He looked over her shoulder. "Where's Monica?"

"Bathroom. I'm probably not supposed to be talking to you right now." Amber looked over her shoulder towards the restrooms, then pulled the nearest chair closer and sat down so that their faces were inches apart. "You're on her shitlist right now. But of course, you know that."

Trent nodded. "Yep."

Trent recalled their previous encounter vividly now that he'd had a moment to reflect. They'd all been fairly drunk, celebrating some promotion of Monica's at work, and they'd ended up driving to Southville so Monica could dance at her favorite club from her college days. Amber had sent all sorts of signals Trent's way to let him know that she was interested, and Monica wasn't so drunk that she didn't see it. It caused a bit of a scene later that night, with Monica threatening to leave him and culminating in what was one of their first jealousy-fuelled angry-fuck sessions. Good stuff. Monica had remained on good terms with Amber, and went out with her on girls' nights out, but there'd never been a repeat of that drunken night of clubbing with Trent.

"And why are you telling me this, Amber? Why are you over here talking to me at all? Aren't I the enemy tonight?" He put a hand on his beer bottle, about to take a swig.

"Easy, Trent," Amber said, reaching out put her hand over his. She slowly stroked the back of his hand with hers for a moment, then took the bottle and brought it to her full lips, taking a gulp. Trent watched her swallow and lick her lips. "I said you're on her shitlist, not mine. You and I are just getting to know each other."

Trent watched her for a moment. She was certainly foxy, and she was clearly interested in him. Suddenly it felt like he hadn't been laid in years, and Amber was all but inviting him home. Monica would shit bricks if he hooked up with her friend, he knew. In Monica's telling of it, Amber was the slutty one in college, but Trent always figured both girls had probably liked to party. It was true that Monica had made a point of not letting Amber around Trent any more than she had to, and now he was beginning to suspect why.

"'Kinda competitive, ' eh?" Trent grinned.

"Hey, maybe you and Monica were made for each other," Amber set the bottle down on the table and let her hand fall to his thigh, "just tell me so." She leaned in closer. "But if you're free, you should call me later. Or maybe I can call you?"

"I thought you were going dancing tonight."

"That was for your benefit. We're actually going to grab a drink at another place, then call it a night. And even if we were, I'd make time for you. I remember you well, Trent, and Monica has told me quite a bit about you. I'd like to find out for myself what all the fuss is about."

She slid her hand toward his crotch, then abruptly stood up. Trent stood with her, and she leaned into him to give him a quick kiss on the on cheek. She also whispered her number in his ear, then gave his earlobe a gentle nibble. Trent was stiff in an instant despite himself.

Amber grinned, then quickly returned to the bar, and Trent sat back down to punch the numbers into his phone before he forgot. A moment later Monica came back out. She and Amber stayed a few moments longer, then Monica made a show of getting up to leave, making sure Trent saw her. Amber gave him a wink as they stepped out of the bar.

"Shit," Trent whispered to no one in particular.

He sighed, wondering if he should order another beer or head on home. He checked his phone aimlessly, checking to see if he'd missed a text/email/post/whatever. He didn't really want another beer, but the thought of going home to his empty apartment depressed him. He got up, waved goodbye to his waitress and stepped outside.

Dusk was upon Metro City, and the city's tallest buildings were starting to light up as the sun settled below the horizon. On a whim, Trent decided to head back across the street to his office. Most of Metro's employees would be gone by now, but enough of the crew worked late and/or overnight that it wouldn't be odd for him to back in the building at this hour. He didn't know exactly what he had in mind, only that he wasn't ready to go home yet.

Once in his office, he sat down at his desk and leaned back in his chair. He liked the view of Capital City at this time of evening, with the buildings beginning to light up. He sat at his computer, unsure of what he wanted to do. There was always plenty of work to catch up on - he pulled up his quarterly expense spreadsheet and entered a few recent expenditures. But his heart wasn't in it.

"Well, you're here late."

Trent had been zoning out a bit and hadn't noticed Valerie standing in the door to his office.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, can't keep away." He stretched and tried to stifle a yawn. The beer he'd drank on an empty stomach had made him more drowsy than he'd realized. "I could say the same about you. What's keeping you here at this hour?"

"Oh, just wrapping up some coding on the Peterson website. I didn't get a chance to upload the final changes to their database, and then I needed to normalize a few..." Trent stopped paying close attention as Valerie rambled on. She was quite a talker, and he'd found over time that he didn't need to follow everything she said closely. She was a sharp thinker and quite thorough, so he didn't feel the need to micromanage her work.

Instead he took the opportunity to drink in the sight of her pleasant features.

He'd harbored an attraction to her for a long time. He'd strived to keep things professional at work, not letting himself fall into his natural flirtation mode with her, but he hadn't stopped noticing just how sexy she was. In truth she'd been a strong candidate for her position as database administrator, and since taking her position she'd proven that while she had a lot to learn, she was very well qualified for her job indeed.

Still, she was quite a knockout. Her voice had the same little-girl air to it, but was also pleasantly throaty, in a way that Trent found irresistibly sexy. Her long, platinum blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail tonight, which suited Trent fine. She was quite easy on the eyes, and he allowed himself a moment to appreciate the slender curve of her figure as she talked, oblivious to his attention. Yes, he decided, Val was one of the things Trent liked most about his job.

The problem for Trent was that she was a total sweetheart, but he couldn't help seeing her as foxy sexpot. He silently appraised her charms as she went on about her recent project.

She had a great figure, for one thing. And her voluminous blond mane only enhanced her sex appeal. She had big, round, pale blue eyes and a milky fair complexion dotted with faint freckles. In Trent's eyes she was the tantalizing combination of sexy and innocent, and he often imagined what she might be like in bed.

She was a hard worker, so it didn't surprise him that she'd still be at the office this late. The beer in his system was trying to convince him that he should be chatting her up, but the manager in him was painfully aware that they were alone in the office after hours, and he didn't want to create a situation.

He sighed. For all his outward bluster with his friends, Trent wasn't looking to be on the prowl forever, and he was genuinely attracted to Valerie. Not just because he found her so sexually appealing, but also because she was such a friendly, trusting soul. He imagined laying with her in a hammock, or on a beach somewhere, cuddling up and laughing about inconsequential things...

" ... and then I still need to recompile the templates, and double-check the language files, but I think I can get that done tomorrow morning." Val stopped and looked expectantly at Trent.

"That sounds great, Val," he said without missing a beat, smiling in what he hoped was a non-lecherous manner. "I really appreciate all the extra time and attention you've put into this project. It means a lot to the company, and to me personally."

She actually blushed a little at that, grinning, then awkwardly stepped backward, bumping into the doorframe before managing to give him a slight nod.

"Oh thanks," she said with a little giggle. "I'm just going to wrap this up now. I'll be at my desk."

Trent watched her through the glass wall of his office as she made her way back to her desk, observing the way her round ass swayed back and forth, how she sat upright in her expensive mesh office chair and flipped her ponytail back before she resumed poking away at her keyboard. After a moment he realized he was sporting a chubby.

Jeeze, he thought to himself, I need to get out of here. Still, he couldn't help but notice that the cargo pants she wore this eventing had slid down ever so slightly when she shifted in her seat, while her light sweater had crept up slightly, revealing the small of her back and the gentle slope of her hips. Her desk was situated such that she was in his line of sight while he sat as his computer, and he found himself unable to focus on his desktop. It didn't help that he didn't really have anything to work on, or that he was feeling a little buzz from the beer. Between seeing Monica and Amber earlier and being alone in the office with Valerie now, Trent was feeling a strong urge for some female interaction, and he didn't want to do anything foolish.