Chapter 10

Fifteen minutes later the doorbell rang. I assumed it was Carol and Madison. I went to the door and threw it open to discover an attractive, well-dressed woman in her early forties staring at my nude body and smiling in amusement.

I screamed and closed the door all but a few inches. Speaking through the crack I exclaimed, “I’m sorry! I was expecting someone else. Please forgive me.”

She laughed and said, “Darling, you’re beautiful! There’s nothing to forgive! I’m Karen Valentino, your nearest neighbor. I just wanted to introduce myself.”

She pushed the door open and held out her hand. As I shook her hand she said, “Stop being so embarrassed. I wish I had the nerve to go around the house naked. I have to admit, though, it looks a whole hell of a lot better on you than it would on me!”

I smiled and told her my name. Then I invited her in for a cup of coffee. She didn’t hesitate. My nudity obviously didn’t bother her a bit. I’m starting to like her already. Before I led her to the kitchen, though, I told her my husband is wearing a variation of the same fancy outfit I am.

She grinned and said, “Great! Let’s go give him a heart attack.”

“I like the way you think. Right this way, Karen.”

We walked into the kitchen just as Brad was getting up to refill the creamer. Karen cocked her eyebrow and said, “Not bad! He has a cute little ass, doesn’t he?”

Brad looked around and as he stood there like a deer caught in the headlights I introduced him to our neighbor. He blushed like a virgin. But he finally grinned and said, “Hello, Karen. Are you the Neighborhood Watch?”

She laughed and said, “I am now!”

I heard the front door open and close and a few minutes later Madison and Carol came in, both nude of course. I introduced them to Karen.

Karen grinned and said, “I’m really starting to feel overdressed now. Should I get undressed and join you or am I interrupting something?”

Madison said, “I can’t promise nothing will happen around here. But this is pretty much how we dress when we visit Jan. After the party last night I think we all need a rest, though.”

Then she turned to Brad and said, “Unless we can talk you into something, Brad.”

Brad sipped his coffee calmly and said, “I’m not in the habit of saying no to beautiful women, Madison. But after last night I have decided to live a life of celibacy.”

Madison turned to me and said sarcastically, “Yeah, until after lunch!”

Karen decided to join the party and she undressed quickly. It was a new experience for her and she was a little uncomfortable at first, but only slightly embarrassed.

I took her clothes into the other room. When I returned to the kitchen the girls were telling her about the party. She was really surprised. She knew we had a party last night. She saw all the traffic. But she hadn’t heard a thing. She said she had no idea it had been a drunken orgy.

I laughed and said, “That isn’t true! No one got really drunk.”

Karen and her husband just moved here from Ohio. Her husband is a lawyer who retired early to work on his writing. As it turns out, he’s the author of a book Brad just finished reading about his father’s experiences in World War II. Most of the source material was a journal his father kept, along with his letters home to his family. He’s fortunate because his father is still alive. The old guy has a remarkable memory and was a great source of information.

Brad told her he’s anxious to meet her husband and discuss the book.

We took our coffee out to the patio and sat around talking most of the morning. I realized as we talked that I finally have a friend next door who I can share a cup of coffee and some gossip with.

We spent a pleasant morning relaxing and gossiping. Brad and I took a much needed nap after everyone finally left. We were still a little tired from last night.

When we got back up in the afternoon we started discussing household chores. We decided that since our only expenses are utilities and the mortgage on our old house there’s no reason why we shouldn’t hire people to do the yard work and take care of the pool.

Brad and I went around and around for a while about hiring someone to help with the housework. I insisted that the housework is my only job. He argued that my time could be better spent supervising the housekeeping, taking care of myself and keeping up with EPOD.

He also pointed out that it would free up my time for my dance classes, which I’ve been neglecting, and the volunteer work I’m interested in doing. So I finally agreed to at least interview some people for the job of housekeeper.

The following morning, Monday, I called Heather and asked what the chances were of getting to see Mr. Morris this morning. She seemed excited to hear from me and told me to come in anytime and she would squeeze me in.

I dressed and drove the short drive to the plant. It’s less than ten minutes from our new house. I waved and greeted the girls at the desk as I went through the reception area. When I got to Heather’s office she jumped up, ran around her desk and hugged me.

I had no idea what the hell I did to deserve the bubbly greeting she gave me! She eventually released her grip and saw the look of confusion on my face. She laughed and said, “Mr. Morris told me what you said! I’m now his Executive Assistant! I’ll have my own secretary as soon as I can hire someone for the position!

“Jesus, Jan! He more than doubled my salary! All because of you! He told me what you said. Honey, if you ever need anything just let me know. I owe you big time.”

“No, you don’t. He already knew how much you meant to him, how important you are around here. I didn’t even have to convince him. It just never occurred to him to make what you do official.”

Heather laughed excitedly. She was having a lot of trouble containing her excitement. She said, “You know what? It never occurred to me either! When he told me about it this morning I almost fainted. He told me that if it hadn’t been for you it never would have occurred to him. It isn’t that he doesn’t appreciate what I do. It was just that my job has evolved so slowly over the years that even I didn’t realize how much more I do now than when I first started working for him. I just want you to know I love you and I appreciate that you noticed and had the balls to say something.”

I shook my head and said, “It didn’t take balls. Remember what you said when I first came into this office? You were right. Mr. Morris is a sweetheart. Recognizing your contribution to the company was just something that slipped through the cracks. As soon as I said it he had one of those ‘I could’ve had a V-8!’ moments like in the commercials.”

Mr. Morris stepped out of his office just then and showed a visitor to the door. He turned to me and smiled. He came over and kissed me on the forehead and asked if I had come to see him.

I told him I have a quick suggestion I’d like to make if he has two minutes.

He said, “I always have time for you, Jan. I always will. And I want to hear all of your suggestions.”

We went into his office and got comfortable. Now that I was here I was nervous about what I wanted to say. When he realized it he smiled and asked, “What is it, Jan? You don’t have to be nervous with me! What’s the matter?”

I returned his warm smile and said, “I just don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes here. Madison and Carol and I were talking about the vacancy in the junior VP’s office and EPOD now that Tim is going to be promoted to senior vice president. Please, don’t take this the wrong way. What we’re suggesting is not that we decide who gets selected, or even that the selection be made on the basis of which of the candidates wives will best fit into EPOD. We understand the primary consideration is who best would serve the company as a junior VP.

“The thing is, we’d like to avoid having another couple like Tim and Grace Davis or the Gordons selected and find out too late they just don’t fit in and are miserable in the position. What we want to suggest is that you narrow down your selection list and let us feel the remaining couples out and make sure they’ll fit in before anyone asks them if they’d be interested.”

Mr. Morris thought about it for a minute and said, “You know, that makes perfect sense. You may yet end up running this company, young lady.”

He touched a button on his intercom and said, “Heather, will you please give Jan a copy of the final selection list for the junior VP position on her way out?”

Then he turned back to me and asked, “Anything else?”

I smiled and said, “Not unless there’s anything interesting I can do for you?”

He chuckled and replied, “I’m still in shock over what you accomplished this weekend.”

Then he paused and said, “Maybe there is something else you can do for me. This company has become one of the most productive in the world in our field. In the past year the profits have been obscene. Since we’re a privately owned company there are no stockholders to split that money with. Most of it will be put back into the company.

“There’s no question that the morale in the executive suite is extremely high, thanks in large part to you. I’d like to put some of the profits into improving working conditions in the plant. The problem I have is that the only thing we ever find in the suggestion box is trash.

“My supervisors are great at achieving high productivity. I think they lack people skills, though. What would you say if I asked you to look around the plant and talk to some of the people? See if there’s something we can do to make this a better place to work.”

I hadn’t expected that. It almost sounds like a real job! I thought about it for a moment and said, “I don’t know that I’m the right person to do what you’re asking. Lately, though, everyone has been telling me I’m a pretty good people person. I’ll give it a shot and see what happens. This is a non-paying volunteer position, though. Right? I’m not going to be an actual employee?”

Mo chuckled and said, “I don’t know why it’s so damned hard to give you things. Okay, if you want to work for free, that’s your choice. Tell Heather you need a plant ID. Is that all?”

I stood up and said, “Yes, sir.”

“Sir?”

I grinned and said, “You’re my boss now.”

He rolled his eyes and said, “Get your beautiful ass out of here.”

I stopped at Heather’s desk and picked up the list of final candidates for junior VP. She got a girl to come in and watch her phones while she escorted me to the security office to get a badge. She waited with me and we talked while they made a badge for me. When it was ready I walked with her back to the VP suite. We said goodbye and I went down the hall to visit Jennifer.

She was so excited when she saw me that I thought she was going to jump over her desk. She ran around and hugged me and thanked me over and over for everything Brad and I have done for her.

I finally calmed her down and asked if everything had gone alright with the move and if she needed anything.

She told me she kept all of our old furniture and gave all of hers away. Most of the move consisted of moving clothing from one closet to another. It had gone without a hitch.

I gave her a spare key I found and the garage door opener that had been in my car. Then I asked if I could ask her about something that’s been bothering me. We sat down in a couple of comfortable chairs. She smiled and said, “Anything!”

I’ve been really curious about something. But now that it came to asking I wasn’t quite sure how to say it. She saw me blushing and she said, “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.”

I said, “I guess that partially answers my question. I wondered if you all knew. About us I mean, the junior VP wives.”

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 guys 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 her response for a very long minute. She reached over and took one of my hands in hers. She smiled reassuringly and said, “I guess we were 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 like we’re ‘just secretaries.’ She never talks down to us. Mrs. Newman and Mrs. Grant too, they’re always nice to us. They treat us like people, like friends.

“I guess how we feel about them, and how we feel about what we came to understand they were doing, has always been based more on our relationship with them than on their participation in EPOD. Some of us even think it must be pretty exciting.

“You have to know, though, everyone here loves you. They all know what you did for me 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.”

She grinned and said, “Jan, we know about EPOD. Nobody cares. We know 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 very fond of the wives of our bosses, and we are fond of our bosses. They are all good men and you are all good women. We’re proud to work here and if anyone ever says anything bad about you I’ll kick their ass!”

I guess that was the answer I was hoping for. Well, except for the kick ass part. I thanked her for her candor and said goodbye. I left the plant and drove home.

As soon as the front door closed I undressed. I called the rest of my gang of four. We agreed to meet at my house after lunch to discuss how to approach our screening process for the new junior VP and his wife.

After eating a light lunch I called an employment agency. It made me uncomfortable to be in this position. I’ve never had to hire anyone. I told them I was interested in hiring a fulltime housekeeper.

The woman I talked to asked me what qualities I was looking for. I had already given that a lot of thought. I told her the two most important things I was interested in were that she should have a good sense of humor and she should be impossible to shock.

The lady I was talking to said that those were not the most requested attributes when she talked to prospective employers. But she would look through her applications and see what she could cull out.

Madison, Carol and Midge arrived over the next few minutes. We sat out by the pool and sipped on some iced tea. Before we got to the business at hand I was able to get the names of a good landscape gardener and a pool man from Midge.

After a few minutes of gossip it was time to get down to business. I brought out the list of candidates for the junior VP position we have to fill and we went over it. There were only five couples on the list. We have probably met all of them at various company functions, though none of us knew them well or even remembered all of them. We discussed tactics and decided we should start with the wives. We have to assume the husbands are all acceptable candidates or they wouldn’t be on the list. The wives are the unknown factor in the equation.

We thought it would be best to meet them for lunch somewhere neutral. We need to get to know them a little better and see how our first meeting goes before we start fishing for the perfect couple. We don’t know any of them well enough to know if they are especially uptight and we don’t have any favorites from the names on the list. So we started calling with the first name on the list.

The first prospect we were able to reach was the second name on the list. Madison did the talking. We didn’t want the luncheon invitation to come from Midge, the wife of a senior vice president, or from me since I seem to be getting some kind of weird reputation.

Claire answered and we made a date for lunch with her for tomorrow at a nice downtown restaurant with sidewalk seating. We, us girls, have started going there often. The food is good and we enjoy the casual atmosphere.

Madison called the remaining names on the list and we set up luncheons for the other three wives through the rest of the week. She said she would try again later to get in touch with the first name on the list, the woman who hadn’t been home.

We all had things to do the rest of the day. So unfortunately we didn’t have any time to play.

I saw my friends out. I was just about to call the pool man when the employment agency called back and asked if they could send someone over.

I thought that was an awfully quick result and it probably didn’t bode well. I had the impression that if she came up with a name that quickly then not a lot of thought had gone into it. Like maybe she just picked someone at random.

But the agent, the woman I spoke with earlier said she has a woman in mind who might be just what I’m looking for. I couldn’t very well tell her she didn’t take enough time looking.

I told her to send the woman over and then I sat and tried to figure out what I’m going to say to her when she gets here. I’m not looking forward to this!

While I was waiting I called Midge’s pool guy. He promised to come by and talk to me and tell me what he’ll do and how much it will cost me.

I called the landscaper and left a message. Unfortunately, after that there was nothing to distract me. I sat in the kitchen and tried to figure out how to find out if some woman I hardly know or don’t know at all will be happy in EPOD, and along the same vein, how do you find out if a prospective housekeeper has a problem with the occasional orgy.

There haven’t been any drop-in visits from the VPs since we moved into our new home. But that’s only because I’ve been off limits until last Friday due to my bruises. And as far as I can tell, the VPs were all very well taken care of at the party on Saturday. But they’ll start visiting again soon and I’ll have to explain that to a prospective housekeeper.

This is all Brad’s fault! I should make him hire her!

Mrs. Rivers arrived while I was still trying to decide what to say when I interview her. Luckily, I remembered I was naked just before she got here. I ran upstairs and got dressed just before she rang my bell. It’s funny how quickly being naked can feel so comfortable and so natural.

I opened the door and tried not to sound too nervous when I greeted her. She appeared to be nearly as nervous as I am. That helped to calm me down a little.

She stepped inside and looked around. From the look on her face I gathered she’s just as much in awe of our new home as everyone else, myself included.

Mrs. Rivers turned out to be an attractive woman in her mid to late thirties. I had this picture in my mind of a typical housekeeper being a heavyset Irish woman with a thick accent. She would be in her fifties and gruff as a drill instructor. That obviously didn’t describe Mrs. Rivers. So all of a sudden I was at even more of a disadvantage.

We went into the kitchen and I poured us both a glass of iced tea. There was a long, nervous silence and then I asked her to tell me about herself. She had handed me her resume when she came in. But I preferred hearing it from her.

She told me her name is Helen Rivers. She’s a widow. Her husband, an Army Sergeant, was killed in Iraq. Her only child, a daughter, is in her freshman year at an out of state university.

She recently sold their house and is about to move into a small apartment. She never worked outside of the house a day in her life until her husband went to Iraq. She never finished high school so her employment opportunities are limited. She is, however, a perfectionist when it comes to housecleaning. It’s what she can do and she does it very well.

She has worked for a cleaning service for a couple of years and the money isn’t bad. But the job isn’t satisfying and she doesn’t like the fact that she can’t count on her paycheck being the same from week to week. She’s looking for a position which will provide steady work and a little more job satisfaction.

I looked at the folder she brought me. The letters from her previous employers raved about her. She sounds perfect. Now for the hard part.

I tried, as delicately as possible, to tell her about the job. I told her that if I hire her I don’t expect her to do all the work. I expect her to hire someone to help her. It’s a very big house.

She insisted that won’t be necessary.

I told her we could argue about that later. She has yet to tour the house and see just how large it is.

There was an uncomfortable silence then while I tried to figure out how to get to the real heart of the matter. She asked nervously, “Is something wrong? Is there a problem with my resume? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

I guess it was her directness that finally gave me the nerve to ask what needed to be asked. I said, “No. I’m very impressed. I think you could be just the person I’m looking for. But there is still one possible problem. If you offend easily, if you’re a nice, church going lady, you won’t like working for me. It’s best if we find that out now.”

She was quiet again for a minute and then she said, “I’m not sure what it is you’re afraid to ask me. If you’re this embarrassed then I assume it must have something to do with sex. Maybe it would help if I opened up a little. You have to promise me you won’t repeat any of this.”

I smiled and said, “No matter what you tell me, Mrs. Rivers, I guarantee that when it’s my turn I’m going to knock your socks off.”