“CALL NOW! OPERATORS ARE STANDING BY!”

“Honestly, if you don’t make some changes, you won’t see fifty.”

“Don’t you love the taste of dark chocolate?”

“I love you, Daddy.”

As crazy as it sounds, all of those phrases are connected. Now understand they are connected by a time frame of a few years and a few thousand miles, but don’t get me wrong, they are indeed linked. How so? Well, we would need to go back a few years to start from the beginning. Or at least close enough to it.

My name is Glenn, and at the age of forty, I had a decent job as a facility manager for a call center that took calls for those late night infomercials and whacky products you see on television. (“But wait! There’s more!”) I didn’t date, since I was working the over-night shift, and I had never been married. This was, without doubt, due to the fact that I was an over-weight slob, a geeky fellow, and too involved with my job. Now don’t get me wrong, I liked the ladies. It was just that they didn’t seem to like me that much. But, there was one thing in my favor for the rare evening out, unlike too many other losers such as myself, I had my own apartment. None of that “living in mom’s basement” crap for me.

So there I was. Working a decent paying job with no lady in my life. And, fat as hell. One day, I had a sharp pain in my chest. No, not a heart attack, but it got me to thinking. I went to my doctor and told him that I was serious about trying to shed some tonnage and extend my life expectancy. He answered that it was a good idea, or, as noted above, 50 was not going to a number on a birthday cake for me.

We got me hooked up with a dietician and a gym where beached whales can go to drop some weight in a safe manner. To make things go a little quicker, I went and purchased a bike to ride to and from work. It was only three miles, so I figured it would be easy. Right. The sales guy at the bike shop could hardly keep a laugh from his face as I tried a few bikes (that would support “Jabba the Hut”) and then bought one. No doubt he was making bets in his head to see how quickly I would return it.

To play it safe, I went for a test ride to see how long it would take me to ride the three miles, one Saturday morning. My plan was to ride in with a change of clothes and shower in the building gym locker room. Work, and after my shift, ride home. Simple.

HOLY SHIT! How did the highway department manage to design road that had an uphill incline BOTH WAYS??? Nearly an hour later, sweating like I was in a sauna, I made it to work. After catching my breath (and whimpering to myself for a bit), I turned around to go home (another hour) and went to bed after a shower.

Fast forward a year (I will not bore you with the details of pain, suffering and drinking water instead of soft drinks, along with discovering that my dietician and physical trainer were in cahoots to make me miserable). I had dropped from 360 down to 250. Muscles that used to scream in agony were now toned and starting to firm up. The “gut” was gone and while there was no “6-pack”, at least there was no “pony-keg” bouncing over my belt, held in place by a stretched out shirt. People were starting to notice, and in a good way. I had to start buying new clothes almost monthly. Sure, I still had a way to go for more weight loss, but I was heading in the right direction!

Now as I mentioned, I manage a call center. Most of the staff worked hours that cover shifts from 5:00pm to 5:00am, seven days a week. Scheduling is part time, but you can always pick up hours if you want. However, we have a high turn-over rate. I guess the hours are not something too many folks want to deal with. After all, if you work all night, sleep all day and don’t have time for other stuff, it gets old quick.

The interview & hiring process involves a telephone interview, after that, a computer proficiency test, and a “face to face” interview. It was during one such “casting call” that I met Shontay. My H.R. Manager, Frances, and I were wrapping up interviews and she was last on the list for the day. She had done well on the phone interview and the link to our website to take the test stated that she had passed. (Hell, just getting to the website, loading and TAKING the test, was a “test” in itself!)

She was all of twenty, well dressed, and polite. However, she did have a touch of street roughness about her. The look in her eye said that she didn’t expect much, but would take her chances. Stockton, California, is a rough and tumble little city with a lot of vacant industrial areas due to companies moving out of the state to find a more favorable one that will not try to suck them dry with taxes. Decent paying jobs were not easy to find, and we paid well above minimum wage, with commissions. We did the interview, and asked Shontay to wait in the outer office.

“Okay, Fran, what do you think?”

My H.R. manager thought a moment. “Well, she has no experience in this sort of thing. Her only job history is working fast food. No high school diploma and she mentioned she is an unwed mother. Even if she does live with her mother who can watch her child at night, I’m not so sure.”

Valid points. But there was a spark to the girl. I figured that if nothing else, we could give her a try. We had several previous examples of employees who we figured wouldn’t work out that had surprised us. Also, the same in reverse. Perfect candidates who ended as disasters. In fact, years before, Frances was just one of those candidates. She had come to me from college with a business degree, a shaved head and a lot of metal, piercing numerous locations on her body. Now, she was a totally different person (at least on the outside). She and her wife had toned down the “in your face” stuff and had gotten married, as soon as the laws changed in California to allow same sex marriage. They were even thinking of adopting a baby to start a family! She was “top notch” in my book, and I made sure that she knew it.

I called Shontay back in.

“Okay Shontay, before we go further, I need to let you know something.” By the look in here eye, I could tell she was getting ready for rejection. “We require two things from all of our employees. One, a high school diploma. Two, they need to pass a pre-employment drug screening.” I pulled out a form with the address of the clinic that we sent people to for screenings. “If you promise me that you at least get a GED within six months of today, and your tests come back clean, you’re hired.”

Well, that was NOT what she had expected. She paused a moment then blurted out; “You shitin’ me?” Suddenly, she covered her mouth with both hands and stammered an apology. Frances and I just laughed and told her that we would see her on Monday at noon for training.

After she left, Frances turned to me and winked: “She has a cute ass.”

Shontay had more than a “cute ass”. She had a set of breasts that were full and firm. I figured a DD, based on the porn I had enjoyed on the internet. She was about 5’8” and when she worked, she made sure to wear proper business clothes that included skirts that swished suggestively as she walked the halls in her heels, wrapped around that “cute ass” which was shaped like a slightly inflated heart. I confess, some guys dig breasts, others, legs, but for me, a well shaped backside gets me drooling. She kept her hair straitened and nails always done. She took pride in her looks. Pretty “doe eyes” and pouty lips. She was NOT a “knockout”, but she was very pleasant on the eyes. She applied herself, got her GED, and was soon taking classes at the community college to work on her AA. I was proud of her and told her so.

“You and my mama are the only ones, then.” She went on to tell me that her main reason to work and improve herself was her daughter. She was born when Shontay was 18, and for reasons I could not understand, the father was in and out of their lives on a frequent basis. I met him once at a company picnic. He was the typical “gangsta-tough” with his hat sideways and his pants loose to the point that he had to grab them to keep them up. He was sneering at everyone with an “I fuck you up!” attitude that had most of us thinking “Who IS this asshole?” At times I thought that the only real reason he stuck around was because Shontay was making a decent paycheck that he could take from her to get beer and smokes. Several times I heard him arguing with her in the parking lot over just that.

Five years later, Shontay was one of our best employees. She had graduated with an economics degree, and was the pride of the company. I was also starting to feel like her skills were being wasted. She had consistently exceeded all sales quotas. You may not know it, but when you call for that thing that catches your attention at 3:30 in the morning, (“But wait! If you act now...”) and if you pay a processing fee, the order is doubled, the person you are talking to is also trying to “upsell” you to buy more crap. Seriously. It IS crap. Shontay always managed to blow her co-workers away with upsells. Wondering how she did it, I wandered by one night to eavesdrop...

“Girl, we been yakking for half an hour now. You gonna buy something, or what? I got a baby to feed!” I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around. In my office, I put on a headset to listen in (“For Quality Assurances and Training, This Call May Be Monitored!”). Well, Shontay and the caller were NOT having an adversarial call. In fact, it was one filled with jokes and talking about kids and dumb men. By the end of the call, what had started as a purchase that most folks would have only paid $29.99 for the item and upgrade, turned into a $400 call where the caller was ordering gifts for family. (Hey, August is not too early to start Christmas shopping!) That call convinced me that if I didn’t do something soon, I was going to risk losing Shontay as an employee. She did too well to keep her as a simple customer service rep.

Fast Forward a few months...

I was sitting in the office of MY boss one afternoon, going over an expansion for the company. The “powers that be” decided to open a call center on the east coast, so as to better handle the time zones across the country. After a great deal of research, a site was selected in Portsmouth, Virginia. Why there? Well, the city and state were willing to bend over backwards with incentives to get business’ out there that didn’t rely so heavily on the military. (You may not know it, but the “Tidewater” area; Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach host a number of military facilities for each branch of the armed forces.)

Guess who they wanted to run the place?

“Keith, you can’t be serious! Why me?” I sat there stunned at the news that they wanted me to not only pick up and move clear across the country, but the company was going to cover 100% of all my relocation costs, from flying out to sign the paperwork on the deal and get the new call center set up, but also pay for an apartment for the first 6 months!

“Several reasons,” he answered. “First, you are a single man, and by your own admission, without commitments that keep you here.” (He was right there. No family here, since they were all scattered across the Midwest.) “Second, you know this company as well as or better than some of us in the upper offices. Don’t forget that most of the ideas you came up with to improve things around here have been implemented with great success. We believe you can do the same exceptional job there.” (I admit I was flattered.) “And third, I know for a fact that we are not paying you nearly what you are worth. With this new position, your salary will pretty much double.” (HOLY SHIT!) “So, what do you say?”

He expected me to say “YES!” but I answered with; “What is the time line on this? Will I be allowed to do a little poaching from this office to get some folks out there with me that I won’t have to train from the ground floor up? If so, will you offer them a similar relocation deal? Will I be given ‘cart blanc’ on setting up the facility, or will it be like when we first opened and I had to bring in some of my own office supplies just to do anything? Will I be given the support from ‘Corporate’ that I need, or will I be tossed to the proverbial wolves to sink or swim?”

Keith assured me that the answer to those questions and others was “Yes,” and he added; “I want you to go out there for two weeks and get the ball rolling, and then come back to let us know how things are going, give us your feedback on how to adjust this plan so it doesn’t take longer than needed.”

I was sold.

Two days before I was slated to fly out to Virginia, was a Sunday. I couldn’t sleep, so rather than toss and turn, I took my bike out and went on “auto pilot”, ending up at the office. I decided to use the building gym again for some exercise, and then a quick shower after. Maybe that would tire me out enough to go home and sleep? I secured “old trusty” in a bike locker and went inside shortly after midnight. In the corner of the empty gym, I heard muffled sobs.

A barefoot Shontay was curled up with her arms wrapped around her knees, head down, wearing a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. I knelt beside her and hugged her, softly asking what was wrong.

Shontay looked up at me, tears leaking down her face. “You’re leaving here, and now this job is going to suck. They haven’t said who the new manager will be and I know that if it is one of those bitches that hate me because of my stats, she will find a way to get rid of me before you even land at the airport over there!”

I did what I could to reassure her that even if I was gone, her job was safe. (And I was tempted to even tell her that she was one of the top candidates for my soon to be open position, but didn’t, as it was not my place to do so.) She seemed to calm down a little and I hugged her and kissed the top of her head.

Suddenly, she stiffened up. Thinking I had “crossed a line” I backed off and started to apologize. Shontay shook her head. “You done nothing wrong. I just got a pain that I’m dealing with.”

A pain? What? I asked what she meant, but she shook her head. Looking at her face, I suddenly noticed a bruise that had been covered by makeup, but her tears had exposed.

“Shontay,” I asked gently, “what happened?” It took a bit, but she finally told me that her asshole on again-off again boyfriend had recently started smacking her around when she didn’t hand over whatever money he wanted from her paycheck for his own selfish wants. Priorities such as rent, utilities and other bills, along with food and taking care of the needs of a child in elementary school were not a priority for him. When I asked why she stayed with him, the answer stunned me.

“I’m just a fat, ugly cow, and no other man would have me because I got a baby. He says that I’m lucky he keeps me around. And he said that if I don’t do what he says, he will take Emily (her daughter) from me!”

I was livid. There are times that it’s a good thing that I don’t own a gun. This was one of those times. Given the chance, I would easily have “capped” that asshole and dumped him in a ditch. And knowing that I am prone to stupid rages like that, is exactly WHY I don’t own a gun. Once the “Red Haze of Rage” would clear, I would be in a world of trouble. Instead, I just hugged Shontay again, making sure not to cause her additional physical pain.

“That isn’t true,” I told her. “You are a beautiful, smart woman. You have strength of character that inspires. So many others would have allowed themselves to just stay in the system and get a check each month, and sink down. You chose to make yourself better, so you could provide for your daughter and take care of your mother as well.” Shontay looked up at me and blinked. “He isn’t good enough for YOU, there is no way in hell he could possibly prove to anyone with two brain cells in their head that your child would be better off with him than you. He is just telling you that so you are afraid to think anyone else would be interested in you so you don’t kick his ass to the curb. And damnit, if I wasn’t twenty one years older than you, I would risk company fraternization rules and ask you for a date.” I kissed the top of her head again, and held her to me, gently rocking her in my arms as she scooted onto my lap.

Shontay sighed softly. “You mean that? You think I’m all that? Smart? Pretty?”

“All that and more, honey,” I answered. We sat several more minutes in silence.

“He never did anything like this with me.” (Who?) “Emily’s father, D’Andre. He never holds me or her. All he does is yell at or ignore her, and me? You can guess.” She sighed and seemed to snuggle deeper into my arms. “I wish...” (Wish what, honey?) “I just wish I had met a nice guy like you. Someone who treats me good. Doesn’t make me feel like I’m only worth a paycheck and a fuck. Someone who thinks I’m attractive and sexy. But no...” The tears began again.

I continued to gently rock and hold her. And wouldn’t you know it, THAT was the time my dick decided to remind me that a delicious ass was pressed firmly in my lap and the scent of her freshly showered self was subconsciously turning me on in a MAJOR way. I prayed to God that she didn’t notice. No such luck.

Shontay turned her face up to me and gave me a soft smile and half a giggle. I was a goner. I bent down and kissed her.

Slowly, with great caution, she returned my attentions, and suddenly, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me tight against her. Shontay’s lips parted and the tip of her tongue soon was caressing mine. I lifted a hand to gently trace the tips of my fingers to wander across her shirt, I discovered that she wasn’t wearing a bra. As our kisses deepened, I could hear soft gasps coming from Shontay as her excitement grew. She moved to grind herself harder against my now very erect self. My hand slipped under her shirt, and I cupped the soft-firm treasure. My thumb rubbed a now erect nipple.

“Please ... Yes...” she whimpered. I interpreted this to mean it was okay to remove the shirt and started to do so. Suddenly, I paused.

“Come home with me,” I managed to gasp. “Clock out (she had come down on her lunch hour) and let me take you back to my apartment so I can do this properly.” Shontay blinked, confused. “If you want me to really show you how much I want you, and how beautiful I think you are, it CAN’T be on the locker room floor.”

“Okay,” she nodded. But instead of going up to the office, she rummaged through her purse and dug out her cell phone (and dialed the automated H.R. Line). “This is Shontay Bryant. I’m not feeling good so I’m leaving early. It’s 12:40 and I was supposed to finish my shift at five this morning. I should be in for my next shift tomorrow night.” She snapped the phone shut and looked at me, “Since you rode your bike here, we go in my car. Okay?” Like I was going to refuse?

We got back to my place and both of us were naked within moments. As she stood in front of me, all I could do was place my hands on her shoulders so I could study her in the light from my dresser lamp. Her breasts were lush and full, with the gentle sag that motherhood gives them, her nipples even darker than her latte colored skin. Looking down her tummy, I saw a few faint stretch marks, a reminder of her carrying Emily, several years ago. To some, they would be a blemish. To me, they were subtle additions to her sensuality that made my breath grow ragged. Dark, curly hair covered her even lower, and I thought I might be able to detect a slight scent of her from there.

“You sure you don’t want to change your mind on me being a cow?” Shontay asked the question, half teasing, half afraid of my answer.

“Oh God,” I groaned. “You are even more beautiful than I had ever imagined!” I led her to the bed and guided her as she lay down across it. Slipping alongside of her, I began to once again kiss her mouth as my hands attempted to touch every inch of her flesh. Eventually, my fingers traced down to the point that Shontay instinctively parted her legs for me. I traced my fingers around the firm, wet lips until I was able to coax her tiny clit from its hiding place.

As I did this, Shontay started moaning softly and was clutching at the sheets. I shifted to move my mouth to her breasts and nibbled and suckled at each one, taking turns while my fingers continued to work down below. As I slipped a finger up inside her, I gently bit her nipple and tugged it upwards slightly, between my teeth.

“Oh shit, Glenn, oh shit, that is so good, oh my God...” she groaned. I decided that I would indulge another activity I greatly enjoyed and slid down her torso. When she realized what I was doing, Shontay froze up. “What are you doing?”

“What am I doing?” I smirked. “I’m trying to make you feel good. What did you think I was doing, sexy woman?” I proceeded to slide around and lift her legs slightly to bend at the knee and open sideways. I was now seeing a perfect example of a beautiful pussy that was awaiting my attentions.

“Nobody ever done that to me before,” she reflected, half to herself. I paused for just a few seconds to part her hair slightly, giving me better access and redoubled my efforts with my mouth. I couldn’t believe that Shontay had never had anyone go down on her before, but then again, I knew that D’Andre was one of those idiots who believed that sex was all about his enjoyment and not taking care of his woman. As long as he got off, what did it matter how she felt? And as for oral? He struck me as one of those guys who would happily have his dick sucked all day, but put his mouth near a pussy? “Yo, man, that aint natural! Fuck no!” was the typical reply from guys like him.

I cupped a hand under each thigh and lifted. This raised Shontay up enough so that now I could not only work my tongue up, down, along and into her pussy, sucking and nibbling all those spots that had her breath getting ragged as nerve clusters were stimulated towards pleasure, but I could also let the tip of my tongue dance across and press gently at the tight little rosebud even lower. (Remember, I was a single geek, never married, and seldom had dated. But, like many guys, I took full advantage of numerous “adult” websites to get an idea of what made a woman feel good. I wasn’t a virgin, thanks to a fumbled date in high school after the prom, but if you were to count the number of lovers I had over the course of my life, they filled up one hand but left most of digits open on the other. So? I just decided to “wing it” and do what seemed to feel good to both of us.)

I adjusted my attentions so I could slip two fingers into her and then renewed my assault on her clit with my lips and tongue. I curled my fingers inside her and rubbed along the top of her pussy and suddenly, Shontay slammed her thighs closed on my head. Even with my ears covered by them, I could hear the soft wail of delight as she reached her first climax. I paused a moment to let her catch her breath and then as she relaxed, I started up again.

“Please, Glenn, please, wait...” She moaned. “Give me a moment to ... to ... a moment to ... OH FUCK!!!!” Surprise! Guess what happened again? But this time, Shontay arched her back off the bed as her fists pounded the mattress. I took mercy on her after a few moments and paused, kneeling and looking at her, all flushed and quivering.

“Please, in me,” she groaned. “I need you in me.”

I’m not a porn star. How many times have you read a story where the guy says he is “nine inches of rock hard flesh” or some bullshit like that? Not me. Nope. Slightly over six inches, fully erect. But I will say this, I’m thicker than what some say is typical. So while I might not “put it right up into her cervix” like you frequently read about, I was able to make sure that she was sufficiently full. And she knew it, from the suddenly opened eyes that looked at me with delight as I moved up to slide into her.