Chapter 13

Day 120 Wednesday

After a leisurely breakfast that was not preceded by a demand for sex, Denise made her way to the office. She hoped to get an early start on the document and take a long lunch. Her clothes were getting a little loose and she had decided that a quick lunchtime shopping trip was in order.

She had just settled into her chair when her boss, Karen, stopped by her cubicle. Karen said, "I had a call last night from Business Software Components that we are to stop all work on the user manual."

Looking up at Karen in surprise, Denise asked, "Why?"

"They have some big problem over there and want us to stop working on the manual. I've got a meeting with the owner later this morning," Karen said.

"Oh. What am I supposed to work on instead?" Denise asked. She had known that Dale had some problem at the office, but she didn't think it had anything to do with her work.

"Take the morning off," Karen answered. She didn't want to assign Karen to anything else until she found out what the problem was.

"Well, I was planning on taking a long lunch to get some shopping done," Denise said with a frown.

"Good," Karen said with a smile.

"Is there anything else?" Denise asked.

Karen looked at Denise for a moment and then said, "I realize that I'm your boss and that your private life is your business, but I've been concerned about you."

"Why," Denise asked.

Karen bit her lower lip for a second before answering, "You've lost quite a bit of weight over the past few months. Now most women would really be excited about that, but you aren't. You've been very quiet about it. I just want to make sure that everything is all right. You aren't sick or anything, are you?"

"No," Denise answered.

"Have you been to a doctor for a checkup?" Karen asked.

"There's no need for me to visit a doctor," Denise answered. She wondered if a doctor would be able to tell just how sexually active she had been lately.

"Are you on any special diet?" Karen asked.

"Not really," Denise answered shaking her head. She didn't consider how she was eating to be any special kind of diet.

Karen frowned as she considered the possibilities. It seemed to her that it was possible Denise was purging after meals. She could also be using diet pills or, more accurately, misusing diet pills. She said, "I know that whatever is happening in your private life isn't affecting your work, but I'm concerned about you. Would you go to a doctor and get a thorough checkup, please?"

Denise shook her head and said, "Actually, I'm in better shape now than I've ever been. I've been exercising."

"Are you saying that you've lost all of that weight through exercise?" Karen asked.

"I guess," Denise answered looking away as the stray thought came to her that maybe semen was some sort of weight loss substance. She almost laughed at the idea.

"What's so funny?" Karen asked wondering at the first flash of mirth that she'd seen Denise exhibit in almost six months.

"Nothing," Denise answered. She looked at Karen and asked, "Is there anything else you want?"

Karen recognized a dismissal when she heard one. Denise wasn't going to tell her what was bothering her. She said, "No. I guess I better get ready for my meeting."

Glad that the questioning was over, Denise packed up her stuff and headed towards the exit. Karen's questions had upset her more than she had realized at the time. It was obvious that Karen recognized that something was going on in her life, but Denise knew that she had no real idea just how bad things were. How could she explain that she had become a whore? It wasn't possible.

Denise spent three hours shopping for new outfits. Susan had been correct when she had said that the choices among clothes became greater the more weight she lost. It was almost intoxicating to see the variety of clothes that now fit her. She left with only two outfits, but they were nicer than anything that she had worn in years.

Returning to the office was almost painful, but she went in anyway. She had barely entered the office when one of her co-workers said, "Karen wants you to join her in the large conference room. She's there with a customer."

"Who?" Denise asked.

"Dale Speers."

Denise groaned on hearing the name. She couldn't believe that he was there. With a heavy heart, she walked down the hallway to the large conference room. Outside she paused to collect herself. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and entered the room. Karen was seated to one side of the conference table. Across the table from her, Dale and a very attractive woman were seated side by side. Ignoring the woman, Denise said, "Hello, Dale."

Dale stared at Denise in shock. He had known that she worked there, but not that she was the writer assigned to his project. The attractive woman looked over at Dale with a puzzled expression. In a lifetime of knowing Dale, she'd never seen him thrown off balance like that. She leaned over and whispered, "Who is she?"

In a whisper, Dale answered, "She's in my program."

"How far along?" Claire asked looking over at Denise. She could see that Denise was still a fat woman and that didn't bode well for Dale.

"Four months," Dale answered.

The woman laughed and said, "Well, big brother. I've warned you that this could happen one day. What are you going to do now?"

"Who are you?" Denise asked looking at the woman.

"I'm Dale's little sister," the woman answered with a smile.

"You're Michelle?"

The woman laughed and answered, "No. Michelle is our big sister. I'm Claire."

"Oh," Denise said.

Surprised by the topic of the quick exchange between Denise and Claire, Karen asked, "Do you and Dale know each other?"

"Yes," Dale answered looking across the table at Denise, "We know each other."

"Perhaps I should handle this," Claire said putting a hand on Dale's arm.

Denise folder her arms and asked, "Is there a problem?"

Claire answered, "Yes, there is a problem. It appears that the version of the program that was sent over for you to document was the wrong one. The user manual you've been working on is trash. We need you to start over with the correct version."

"So what is the big deal?" Denise asked looked over at Karen.

Karen answered, "They can't change the deadline."

Denise snorted and said, "It is impossible."

Dale said, "We wanted to offer you a substantial bonus if you'd complete the work on time."

Denise laughed at the suggestion that Dale would try to give her money and said, "A bonus? You are going to offer me a bonus?"

Claire said, "Dale, let me handle this."

Grinning at Dale, Denise said, "Oh no. I'd just love to negotiate a bonus with Dale."

"What would you want?" Claire asked.

"I want to finish the program without having to pay the price," Denise said.

Dale shook his head and shouted, "No!"

Claire said, "I know my big brother and I know about the program. What you want isn't possible."

Wondering how she had been cut out of the conversation, Karen asked, "What program? What are you three talking about?"

Still irritated by the previous discussion with Karen, Denise said, "I'm negotiating my bonus. I have a few issues with Dale and I'm negotiating to resolve the one that bugs me the most."

She jotted a note on her pad to ask about the program. Karen could just imagine a major customer leaving because one of her employees had a problem with them. She said, "Denise, they were talking about offering you an all expense paid week vacation on a tropical island with a guest of your choice."

"That's exactly what I'm negotiating for. I want a vacation from Dale," Denise answered.

"Don't involve your personal life in business," Karen said sharply.

Ignoring Karen, Claire said, "Here's what we'll offer. He'll continue the program during the time you are working on the project without requiring you to pay for it."

"That's not good enough," Denise replied, "Add six months to that."

"No way," Dale said with a groan. There was no way that he was going to survive seven months without constant sex.

"That's not possible. How about two weeks?" Claire said.

Five weeks without sex was still too much. Dale said, "I'll go crazy by then."

"Shut up, Dale," Claire said with a smile.

"You know me," Dale said, "I'll never last that long."

"Yes you will, big brother," Claire said with a laugh. She had grown up with an oversexed brother and sister. In fact, everyone in the family was oversexed. She had listened to the pair masturbate almost constantly through their teenage years. Her parents had gone at it three and four times a day. It was so bad that they didn't even try to hide it. She understood; she had the same kind of sex drive.

"No I won't," Dale said.

Denise had weighed her options and decided that it was about the best deal she was going to get. She smiled at Dale and said, "I accept that offer."

"I can't accept that," Dale said looking over at his sister.

"Yes you can, big brother," Claire said. She smiled and said, "I'll find someone to help you out for that time."

"You better," Dale said with a frown.

Denise asked, "Is it a deal?"

"Yes," Claire said.

"Yes," Dale said glaring at his sister.

"Great," Denise said, "I'll get to work as soon as the new program is available."

"It was installed this morning," Dale said.

"Then I'll leave now and get to work. I'll look over the program and see what has to be done. I'll set up a schedule," Denise said thinking that she was going to be spending more than a few nights and weekends working on it.

"Not so fast," Claire said.

"What?" Denise asked surprised by the interruption.

"What?" Karen asked with a frown. She was still trying to piece together the discussion between Denise, Dale, and Claire. She had no clue what Denise had negotiated with Claire and that bothered her. As far as she could tell, it wasn't going to cost her anything.

"I'll be working with you," Claire said.

"I don't understand," Denise said looking at the woman.

Claire explained, "The new version of the program is very different from the version that you have been using. You'll need someone very familiar with it to explain it to you. I'll be working with you."

"Oh," Denise said. Usual practice had her learn the program from one of the engineers and then document it alone.