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Saving the Company Ch. 01

By: JoeDreamer



I grit my teeth and swallowed hard as I continued to force a smile on my face. I wasn't one to suffer fools particularly well, but I wasn't about to alienate my new boss already. It took me six months to find this job and I planned on holding it at least long enough to replenish my savings.

My boss, Bradley Philips Jr., inherited the company from his father, Bradley Phillips, Sr. five years earlier. It must have killed the old man to leave something he spent years building to such a putz. 

"So Joe, do you think you can handle it?" my new boss asked me. I sat across the conference table from him and tried to keep my tone even.

"Well Brad, it's hard to say without knowing the full scope of the project..." I began, but Karl interrupted.

"That sounds like a cop out," he snapped. 

Karl was Bradley's Chief Operating Officer. He was probably in his late thirties. He had pale skin and dark hair that was slowly disappearing. He was also short and extremely thin. His gaze never seemed to lock on any one thing for long and he always acted is if he were trying to catch you doing something wrong. It was an interesting personality trait for someone in his role.

I glanced over at Bethany. She was the administrative assistant young Bradley inherited from his father when Bradley senior retired. She sat silently taking notes and I thought I saw her shake her head ever so slightly, but that was the her only reaction. Bethany was an extremely professional woman. She was also the only other competent person in the meeting. It was too bad Bradley limited her role. The rumor was that his father used to rely on her heavily.

"Actually Karl, if you had let me finish, you would have heard me say that I'd be willing to take it on if we built a little more leeway into the contract. I think Herb will go for it, considering the number of unknown variables," I said, still forcing a smile. 

"Absolutely not!" Judy, the head of Sales and Marketing nearly yelled. She was a slightly overweight, attractive blond in her early thirties. "It took me three months to get Herb to agree to sign. We can't afford for this deal to go bad!"

"We can't afford to take on another deal that loses money," I replied bluntly. Judy flushed angrily and I sighed to myself again. I wasn't trying to accuse her of making bad deals in the past, but that didn't mean it wasn't true.

"Those deals lost money because of poor implementation! That's why you were hired," she snarled.

"Yes, and these contract modifications will help correct the implementation issues that have plagued this company," I replied, still forcing myself to at least sound calm as I silently cursed my old boss once again for embezzling money and forcing the company out of business.

"I disagree! Besides, Herb will never agree to the changes you want," Judy said confidently.

"Herb is a tough customer, but he can be reasonable if he's approached correctly. If you would just let me give him a call..." I said, but once again was cut off.

"Judy's put a lot of time on this deal. If she thinks Herb won't budge, then I'm inclined to go with her on this one," Brad said.

Herb was a potential client, but I knew him from my old company. Twenty years of doing business with him made me feel pretty confident that he'd accept the adjustments I was suggesting. Of course, it was probably a waste of time trying to convince Brad, Judy and Karl of this, but I had to try.

I argued my point briefly and then Judy spent fifteen minutes in a bit of a rant. After the first few minutes I found it hard to concentrate on what she was saying. Bradley and Karl gave her their full attention. Bethany continued to take notes.

I watched Bethany for a time, wondering what she thought about the issue. The few interactions I had with her gave me the feeling that she understood a hell of a lot about running a company of this type. She certainly knew more than Bradley junior.

As Judy continued to drone on, I caught myself wondering how Bethany would look if she wasn't wearing glasses that were out of style and clothes that were professional, but far too conservative for my liking. I was a bit surprised when I realized that she would probably be quite attractive if she made the effort. 

Still, she was a little old for my tastes. I guess she was probably around my age, maybe a little younger than my fifty-three years, but looks could be deceiving. 

She was average height with a slim figure. Her eyes were a soft brown and she wore her dirty blond hair up in a bun. I was just trying to picture what her hair would look like if she wore it down when she looked up and caught me watching. I nodded, smiled and turned back to Brad, Karl and Judy.

Judy was showing no signs of letting up so I sighed to myself and let my mind wander again. I found myself wondering if Judy was sleeping with Brad. I didn't normally focus on these types of things, but I couldn't come up with another reason why else would he hire her. Sales had dropped almost fifty percent since she joined the company. Of course, Karl wasn't much better. 

'I wondered if Brad sleeps with them both?' I thought and had to suppress a laugh. Brad, Karl and Judy didn't notice, but Bethany looked at me oddly. I just shrugged.

The conversation continued for another half an hour until Bradley ended the meeting with the issue still unresolved. He, Karl and Judy left in a rush. They didn't want to be late for a lunch reservation.

"Well, that's an hour of my life that I'll never get back," I said with a sigh. I was surprised when Bethany smiled. It was a very charming smile. I joined the company a few weeks earlier and up until now, she was always so reserved in my presence. 

"I don't think it was wasted," she said. "You were right. I'll talk to Mr. Phillips later and see what I can do."

"You think you can sway him?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Bethany was far blunter than I expected. I found myself liking her even more.

"Depends on his mood," she replied with a shrug. "He thinks of me as a relic from his father's time, but sometimes he remembers that his father's time was also the glory days of this company." 

"I'll buy you lunch if you can pull that off," I promised.

"At the Captain's Table?" she asked, her eyes twinkling. It was one of the more expensive restaurants in the area.

"We'll see," I replied with a smile.

Two days later Brad came in and agreed to at least let me talk to Herb. Judy wasn't happy about it and became down right nasty when I came back from Herb with a signed contract that contained most of the changes I requested.

"So, about that lunch," Bethany said after hearing the news.

"How does Tuesday at noon sound?" I laughed.

"Sounds good to me," she replied.

Tuesday came and I showed up at Bethany's desk promptly at noon. She was in with Bradley and after fifteen minutes I left her a note to call me when she was free. It was nearly one thirty when she came by.

"I'm sorry about that," she said with a frown. "I had to take notes while Mr. Phillips met with the COO and the Sales and Marketing VP. They scheduled a luncheon meeting and didn't bother to inform me earlier." 

Bethany was always professional, but I noticed that she didn't use Karl or Judy's names whenever she could avoid it. It was probably a subconscious reaction. I felt pretty confident assuming she liked them about as much as I did.

"That's okay," I said. Bethany smiled.

"Can we reschedule?" she asked.

"Hey, you had your chance," I teased. Her smile turned into a laugh. It was the first time I heard her laugh and I found that not only was it pleasant sounding, but it was contagious as well. It also caused me to reevaluate my estimate of her age down a few years. 

"How about tomorrow?" I asked, still fighting back my laughter.

"Sorry, I can't make it," she replied. I thought she was joking and laughed louder, but she shook her head and added, "No, I'm serious. I have tomorrow off."

"Big plans?" I asked.

"Visiting my granddaughter," she replied.

"You can't be a grandmother!" I said in surprise. She blushed and smiled.

"I married young. So did my daughter," she said. I found myself wondering once again what Bethany would look like with her hair down and glasses off. I shrugged the thought away.

"Any special reason for the visit?"

"Granddaughter's kindergarten graduation," she replied with a sigh.

"Aren't they fun?" I asked sarcastically, remembering my grandson's graduation. Bethany laughed again.

"It shouldn't be that bad. My daughter is taking us out afterward for lunch," she replied.

"The Captain's Table?" I joked. No one took a child to the Captain's Table.

"Pizza," she sighed. "The one with the noisy games and rat character." This time we both burst out laughing and didn't stop for a few moments. 

"Is your husband going with you?" I asked.

"No," she sighed. "We've been divorced for twenty years and no one has seen him since."

"I'm sorry," I said, a little embarrassed. 

"Don't be," she replied. "It was a long time ago." We fell silent as I thought frantically, trying to think of something else to say.

"It could be worse. My ex-wife always shows up to those types of functions with her husband," I said, and then trying to make her laugh again, added, "Of course, over the years that's been two or three different guys."

"You're joking," she said in disbelief.

"No, I'm serious," I replied, putting my hand over my heart. "You should see the poor grandchildren." She finally laughed again. 

"So, how about going to lunch on Thursday?" she asked, getting back to the beginning of the conversation.

"Why not dinner tonight?" I asked, surprising both of us. She looked flustered for a moment and took off her glasses. I noticed that she had beautiful eyes.

"It wouldn't be proper," she said after hesitating a moment. She put her glasses back on.

"Why?" I asked in confusion.

"It would look to much like a date," she replied. I knew she was correct, but I didn't care. That was odd in itself. I usually preferred dating woman far younger than Bethany, but there was something about her.

"And?" I asked. Bethany's surprise turned to shock.

"You're asking me out on a date?"

"Why not?" Bethany blushed a pale shade of pink as her hand went to her mouth. It only lasted a moment before she smiled and shrugged to herself. 

"Thank you," she finally said. "It's been quite some time since I was asked on a date by a handsome man."

"So I'll see you tonight," I said, appreciating the complement.

"That's not possible," she sighed. "It would be far too unprofessional for me to date one of Mr. Phillips employees."

"Do you think he'll really care?" I asked.

"No, but I will," she replied. I looked at her carefully before nodding.

"I understand," I said with a sigh, and then asked, "How about that lunch?"

"Maybe next week," she said. I nodded and she turned away. I watched her go and noticed that she had a very nice shape under those frumpy clothes.

"Oh well," I said to no one in particular, but for the next two weeks I found myself looking at Bethany whenever she was near. She had to notice my staring, but she never commented on it.

***

"Oh yes! Right there Joe!"

I focused on Beatrice's nipple as she rubbed my dick back and forth over her pussy lips. I knew just what to do to bring Beatrice pleasure. I'd been doing it for ten years.

Beatrice was only thirty-eight years old. We met at my sister's during a party. She was lonely that day and so was I. A few weeks later we went to Aruba for a long weekend.

We never really became serious, but Beatrice was a dynamo in bed and over the years we'd meet whenever both of us were unattached. I called her the night before because I needed a distraction to stop me from thinking about Bethany.

"Give it to me now!" Beatrice demanded. I shoved my hips forward until I was fully embedded in her wet pussy. I started moving back and forth while still nibbling on her nipple.

Beatrice had a little extra weight on her small frame that seemed to grow with each passing year, but she was still an attractive woman. Her hair was long, dark and frizzy. She didn't shave her pussy, but she did keep it trimmed close. I never understood some people's infatuation with a shaved pussy. 

"Oh Joe, I've missed you!" she cried as her head thrashed back and forth. It was six months since we'd been together because Beatrice had been seriously dating a guy. I was sorry when I heard they split, but that didn't stop me from enjoying myself as I thrust into her. 

Her chest was only an A cup, but her pointy nipples never failed to turn me on. I switched my focus to her other nipple. I waited for what I knew was the right time before pulling Beatrice into a deep kiss and using both hands to pinch her long nipples. Beatrice locked her ankles behind me and came. I could feel her nails scratching my back and she moaned deeply into my mouth.

"Did you cum?" she asked me when she finally came down from her high. I smiled in answer and thrust into her slowly.

"That's what I love the most about you!" she laughed. "You've got a hell of a lot of staying power." It was true, but at my age I was also usually done for the night once I let go. 

I grinned as I thought back to my youth. It was pretty much the opposite back in those days. A pussy like Beatrice's would have made me cum in a matter of minutes, but then again, I would have been ready for a second and possibly third go the same night.

Beatrice rolled over onto her stomach and I smiled. Sometimes she liked to climb on top of me. I found it enjoyable, but I really liked it when she let me take her from behind. I love a big ass and as I said earlier, Beatrice's grew a little more each year.

'Bethany's ass is a lot smaller than Beatrice's, but it looks nice and round.' I caught myself thinking. I smiled and shook my head. This was not the time to think about Bethany.

"Is anything wrong?" Beatrice asked. This brought my attention back to her meaty ass. I pushed into her pussy.

"What do you think?" I asked. Beatrice just groaned as I slowly picked up the pace. Soon she had her ass high up in the air and my balls were slapping her clit with each thrust. She came again, but I just kept fucking her from behind.

I grabbed her thick hips and started driving into her with as much force as I could muster as she neared her third orgasm. Her pussy throbbed and I let loose deep inside her.

"Yes!" she cried and joined me. We thrashed about until we were both done cumming.

"That was amazing," she sighed when we were done.

"As always," I added. She laughed and we lay catching our breath.

"So, what's her name?" Beatrice asked, surprising me.

"Whose name?" I asked.

"Joe, we've been friends for ten years," Beatrice said with a grin. "We've also been sexual partners for most of that time. Usually there is someone else on your mind when you give it to me as hard as you did tonight."

"Beatrice..." I began, but she cut me off.

"I'm not complaining!" she said as she brushed her hand through my hair. "Tell me her name and I'll thank her." 

"Bethany," I said with a laugh, and then told her the whole story. She listened silently.

"This sounds serious," Beatrice finally said. 

"We'll see," I said with a shrug. We talked for another hour before I got out of bed and left. I drove home without putting the radio on. I walked into my house and sighed. Beatrice was a great release, but I still couldn't get Bethany off of my mind.

***

"Mother, just go to lunch with the man!"

Bethany sighed. She should never have told Jennie about Joe, but she couldn't focus on the kindergarten graduation the day after and Jennie noticed. Her daughter quizzed Bethany all during lunch because she thought something was wrong. Bethany finally admitted the truth and Jennie hadn't let up in the two weeks since.

"I can't date someone who works for Mr. Phillips," Bethany said into the phone as she finished cleaning the dishes.

"Mother, it's just lunch," Jennie replied. Bethany could picture her daughter's frown. She grinned despite herself. Jennie meant well, but sometimes she sounded more like a mother than a daughter.

"We'll talk tomorrow," Bethany said, ending the call.

"Okay mother, but think about it. This Joe seems like a nice guy from your description," Jennie replied. Bethany hung up the phone and sighed. She was having problems doing anything else but think about it.

Bethany glanced at her reflection in one of the pots and sighed. She felt old and outdated. It hadn't always been that way. It all started when she became a grandmother and her boss decided to retire within six months of each other. 

She started her job with Bradley Sr. twenty years ago. He gave her the job out of the kindness of his heart when her ex-husband disappeared. She worked hard those first few years and learned whatever it took to become useful. Bethany liked to think she more than paid him back. He'd said as much before he retired. 

In those days Bethany's job challenged her. She didn't realize how much she would miss that challenge until it was gone. Bradley Jr. wasn't half the businessman his father was and worse, he tended to use her as nothing more than a glorified secretary. She never felt so bored in her life. 

It was six months after the change over that Bethany realized that she didn't have much of a life outside of work, but by then it was too late. She liked the money she was making and enjoyed the five weeks vacation she received each year. Bethany had no desire to change employers. 

She was sure that Bradley Jr. thought about ridding himself of her frequently, but Bradley Sr. still owned the majority of the stock and he was always very loyal to those who were loyal to him. She didn't have to worry about losing her job, but that didn't make it any more enjoyable. She was just marking time when Joe joined the company.

She knew more about him then he guessed. He worked for a competitor and Bradley Sr. had her keep tabs on competitors' employees worth keeping an eye on. He even tried to hire Joe once some years back. 

Joe had a great reputation and he would have had a job the day after his old company closed if he had been willing to relocate or Bradley Sr. was still in charge. Bethany was sure to bring his name to Bradley Jr.'s attention, but he didn't seem interested despite the problem they were having. She lost her patience as the months went by and finally did something that she seldom did. She sent an email to Bradley Sr. It wasn't about Joe, but she did mention the fact that his company was closed and some good people were available. Bradley Sr. took it from there. One month later, Joe was hired.

He started quietly enough, but two week in he fired half his staff and hired some of the other employees from his old company. There were cries of cronyism and worse, but Joe stuck to his decision and Bethany realized he was even better than she expected. Almost every single one of the people he fired was all but useless and those he hired seemed to already be getting more done.

Bethany thought he might actually find a way of saving the company from Bradley Jr.'s incompetence if he stuck around long enough. She liked his style, not to mention his looks. Bethany sighed. She was thinking about him again.

She went to her bedroom and stripped her clothes. She made her way toward the shower, but stopped in front of the mirror. She stood there looking at herself as she undid her bun.

"Not too bad for a fifty year old," she said aloud once her hair was down. She was actually only forty-eight, almost forty-nine, but it was close enough. This was the first time in a long time that she could remember really looking at herself naked.

Bethany still weighed within a few pounds of what she had when she was thirty and she still liked the way she looked. Okay, she could do without the small stretch marks childbirth gave her and her C cup breasts sagged more then she liked, but they were still nicely shaped. She lifted them with both hands and smiled.


Saving the Company Ch. 01



She caught herself wondering what Joe would think if he saw her right now. She shook her head because she knew that such thoughts weren't helping her keep her professional distance from him. She felt a slight tingle of excitement between her legs. Sighing again, she reached down and slipped two fingers through her soft hair below. She was wet.

"Oh, this will never do," she sighed and then went to the shower. 

Joe was the first man in quite some time that asked her out on a date. He was also the first man she felt attracted to in almost as long. Bethany was always careful about her relationships with men. It started when her daughter was still young. Bethany didn't want to confuse Jennie. It was bad enough that her father disappeared from her life. She didn't need to cope with her mother's boyfriends.

That didn't mean Bethany didn't have them, only that she never brought them home. She came close once, but it didn't work out in the end. Tom was a kind and gentle man and probably would have been a great father to Jennie, but Bethany didn't love him. She sighed to herself as she washed her body.

Thoughts of Joe drifted through her mind, and once again she found her hand between her legs. 'I really shouldn't', she thought, but her fingers continued their dance. She grinned. Bethany occasionally pleasured herself, but normally only in her bed. She laughed when she realized that thoughts about Joe had her too hot to wait.

She bit her bottom lip as she thrust first one, then two fingers deep. Her other hand made its way to her clit and started strumming it. She was leaning against the shower wall and the water was hitting her rather sensitive nipples. She daydreamed that it was Joe playing with her nipples.

"Oh, Joe!" she cried through her panting lips.

Bethany's orgasm came on so fast and strong that it surprised her. She slipped and fell. Thankfully, she was able to protect her head. After a moment, she laughed as she lay there with the water spraying her. 

"And that would be why I normally wait until I'm in bed," she giggled to herself. She'd have bruises tomorrow, but it was worth it. Bethany couldn't remember the last time she came so hard. 

'Maybe I will have lunch with Joe soon,' she thought as she dried herself off in her bedroom. 'Jennie's right. It wouldn't be like a real date.' She was once again looking in the mirror.

"You are so full of it," she said to the woman in the mirror, but all she got was a smile in return.



Saving the Company Ch. 02



"How is Joe?" 

"Jennie, we're not going there again," Bethany said and then moved the phone away from her lips briefly as she sighed. Her daughter still insisted on asking about Joe at least once a week. 

"Mother, it's been months since you first mentioned him. Don't you think you've made him wait long enough? You're not getting any younger you know." 

"I'm not making him wait," Bethany replied, ignoring her daughter's dig about her age. 

"You're just being a coward," Jennie snapped. 

"I am not," Bethany insisted. "In fact, I came close to initiating a lunch date with him a couple of weeks after our discussion, but something held me back and I'm glad." 

"Glad?" her daughter's voice raised. Bethany sighed as she admitted to herself that glad was too strong a word. She still found Joe attractive and there were days she wished that she had given in and dated him, but Bethany knew she made the "right" decision in the end. She couldn't date someone who worked for Bradley Junior. 

"So how is my granddaughter doing at school?" Bethany asked, obviously changing the subject. There was a pause on the other side of the line followed by a rather loud sigh. 

"Molly is doing fine," Jennie finally replied. Bethany smiled in relief as her daughter dropped the subject, at least for now. 

********** 

"We'll be done next week and Herb will start running in parallel," I said. 

"So, you missed the deadline," Karl said in his typical snide little voice. I sighed to myself. After months of working with the management team I'd come to the decision that I could cope with Bradley junior and Judy, the Sales and Marketing VP, but Karl on the other hand, was simply a nasty piece of work. 

"Not really," I replied. "There was scope creep as is typical with these types of projects. Herb signed off of the deadline extension and additional costs." 

"I'm sure that gave us another happy customer," Karl said, not quite dripping in sarcasm. 

"Actually, Herb is satisfied. We are actually ahead of schedule based on the latest project plan," I replied with a false smile. "He's already agreed to be a referral for our new prospects." This caused Judy to brighten. 

"That's great news!" she said. My smile became real as I nodded. 

"If I remember correctly, you were also able to turn a profit on this project," Bradley said, obviously looking for something on his desk. Bethany stopped taking notes long enough to hand him a document. Bradley looked at it and added, "Fifteen percent."  

"That not including the licensing fee," Bethany put in. She glanced my way and smiled. I shook my head because her looks still caused a stir in me. It didn't help that over the last few months she started updating her wardrobe and got rid of the granny glasses. 

"We can do better now that all of my new employees are up to speed on the product," I said, refusing to think about Bethany and her affect on me. 

"I can't wait to get stuck supporting what all these new people threw together," Karl said. "My area is going to be buried in bug fixes. We already have a laundry list of new problems that arose in the last few months." I didn't like what he was inferring and I had no intention of letting him get away with it. 

"Actually, most of that list is generic problems my people found while testing the base product. We've fixed them for Herb's implementation and sent along documentation on what the issues were and how we resolved them. We could just as simply have corrected them in the generic package, but I was afraid it was overstepping since your area is responsible for the generic product." 

Karl was the COO. In this company that made him responsible for support, product development and anything else not sales and marketing, implementations or finance. By all rights, I should probably be reporting to him, but thankfully that wasn't so. I could barely stand sitting through weekly meeting with the man. I could never work for him.

The company didn't have a CFO, which seemed odd to me until someone told me that Bradley junior used hold the position before his father retired. Finance was the only area that didn't suffer when Bradley senior retired. After working with young Bradley for a few months it was obvious that he liked working with numbers. 

"Speaking of which," Bradley junior interjected. "Karl, did you see the list of generic enhancements Joe's department forwarded?" 

"We're already buried in the product development area," Karl replied quickly. Surprisingly, Judy jumped in. 

"I've seen the list," she said. "There are a couple of suggestions there that have my sales reps drooling." 

I looked at Judy and wondered. She caught my eye and smiled slightly. Karl saw it and frowned. I glanced over to Bethany and she nodded ever so faintly, verifying my thoughts. Judy was finally accepting my role within the company. More important, she realized that the things I was pushing for would help not only the company, but her area as well. Halleluiah! 

"Bethany, please set up a separate meeting for next week to go over the suggestions," Bradley said, and then smiling added, "It's likely to take a couple of hours in itself." Bethany nodded. The meeting lasted another twenty minutes before finally breaking up.

Bradley left as soon as it was over. Karl followed him out. He was calling after Bradley. I'm sure that was going to be an interesting conversation. Karl was not happy. Judy let them go and turned to me and asked, "Would you mind having lunch with me tomorrow? I'd like to go over where our areas overlap and see what we can do get thing running more smoothly." 

"Of course," I said, trying hard to suppress my surprise. 

"Good," she said with a slight smile. "I'll have my secretary get us a reservation for noon." 

"See you then," I replied as she nodded and left. I turned toward Bethany who was just finishing up her notes and our eyes locked. Both of us were fighting back a smile as I said, "Miracles do happen." 

"I may have to up my estimate of Judy," Bethany said, using the Sales and Marketing VP's name for the first time that I could remember. 

Bethany stood and carried her notes toward the door. One of the folders she was holding dropped and we both bent down to pick it up. I got to it first and looked up to see her only inches away from me. Her soft brown eyes met mine and it felt almost like an electric bolt traveled up my spine, only this bolt carried pleasure, not pain. 

It didn't help that Bethany was wearing an enticing perfume. I was actually tempted to lean forward and kiss her slightly parted lips. Instead, I stood and fought to control my emotions. 

"You still owe me a lunch," Bethany said as she stood. She seemed almost as surprised as I was at her words. 

"I think the statute of limitation may have passed," I replied, stalling to get my bearings. I wasn't sure if going to lunch with her was such a smart thing after all. She had too great of an affect on me. 

"If you say so," she replied, sounding almost relieved. I suddenly realized that she wouldn't give me another chance if I let this one slip through my fingers. I might be wrong, but I wasn't willing to take that chance. 

"Hey! Wait a minute," I said quickly. 

"Yes?" she asked. 

"I was just kidding," I said. "Of course I want to take you out to lunch." She looked at me and didn't quite shrug. 

"Fine," she replied, but then paused before adding, "You do realize that this is just lunch? It's not a date or anything." 

"Of course," I replied nonchalantly. I didn't know what made her change her mind about lunch, but it was a start. Right or wrong, I liked Bethany. I could tell that she liked me as well. I decided right then that I would get a date with her eventually. I would just have to be patient. 

"When do you want to go?" she asked. 

"Now sounds good," I replied quickly. 

"Today?" she asked in surprise. "I thought later in the week."

"It lunch time now and we both have to eat," I shrugged. "Why not today?"

"What's the rush?"

"No rush," I replied, and then smiled and added, "But honestly I'm a little afraid that you'll change you mind if we don't go right now." 

"You're a smart man," she said with a shake of her hand. "I'm already starting to regret bringing up the subject." 

"Too late!" I said. "Get your coat and I'll meet you by the elevator." I turned and left quickly just in case she really did want to try and get out of it. She was already at the elevator when I arrived. 

"I thought you changed your mind," she said as I appeared. 

"Not likely," I smiled. "I just spent a few minutes to call the Captain's Table and make sure they had a table for us." She looked at me with a raised eyebrow but didn't say anything. 

We made small talk during the trip to the restaurant. Basically we shared some gossip that was going around the office. 

"I hear Clark is fitting in quite well with the new people you hired," she said. I nodded. 

"Yes, I'm glad he decided to stay." 

"It was closer than you think," Bethany added. "He's the very loyal sort and it damn neared killed him when you fired his friends." 

"I know," I sighed. "I hated doing it, but there was no way I was going to be able to do what needed to be done without getting rid of them." 

"Oh, he knows that," she replied. "I expect that subconsciously he's even relieved that you did what you did. He knew it was necessary, but he was too close to the people." 

"You seem to know Clark quite well," I teased with a raised eyebrow. 

"I've known Clark and his wife Debbie for almost ten years," she replied pointedly. "I know all of the old employees. I'm even starting to get to know the new ones you hired." 

"Oh yeah?" I joked. "What Helen's husband's name?" Bethany grinned. 

"I don't know," she replied. 

"Aha!" I cried, but she cut me off before I could add anything else. 

"I do know that they are recently divorced and she can't seem to talk about him without quite literally cursing," she said. 

"It's shocking isn't it?" I asked with a grin. "Someone so small and fragile looking shouldn't be able to curse so well." 

"I don't know," Bethany replied. "You should have heard me the first few months after my husband disappeared. My mother accused me of talking like a truck driver every time he came up." I couldn't help myself. I laughed as I tried to picture Bethany, the epitome of political correctness, cursing like little Helen. 

"I would have loved to see that!" I said. Bethany just shook her head. 

The restaurant was crowded as always, but we had a small table off to one side. We ordered and spoke a little more about work before I changed the subject. 

"So tell me about your granddaughter?" I asked. 

"Molly?" Bethany asked rhetorically. "I guess she's typical for a girl her age. That is, typical for a beautiful and smart girl her age." She stressed the words beautiful and smart. I grinned. 

Bethany talked for a while about Molly and I watched her in fascination. I was only half listening. The attraction between us seemed to be growing daily. I felt it and I believe she did as well. Bethany just insisted on denying it. It was frustrating at times.

I found her mesmerizing. She was beautiful, but I had my share of beautiful women in my life and that wasn't the main reason for the attraction I was feeling. The odd part was that I couldn't pinpoint the exact reason. It was just something in the way she carried herself. 

Lunch was good, but the company was even better. We sat for well over an hour before we both regrettably stood from our chairs. The trip back was pleasant. Bethany had me laughing most of the way telling me stories about her daughter and grandchild. We were on the way back up the elevator when I turned to her. 

"So, how would you like to go out Friday night?" I suddenly blurted out, surprising myself as much as Bethany. So much for being patient! 

"You're not serious?" she asked, but then shook her head when she met my eyes and saw the truth. "I don't think so." 

I frowned to myself. I could tell she wanted to see me, but she refused to allow herself. My frustration peaked and I reached over and hit the stop button on the elevator. 

"What are you doing?" Bethany asked in surprise and a buzzer went off. I ignored it and her question as I moved closer. She looked nervous, but she didn't retreat or turn away. 

"This," I said gently as I kissed her. Bethany hesitated a moment longer before returning the kiss. I'm not sure how much longer we might have stayed there if a voice didn't interrupt us. 

"Is there a problem?" I heard the maintenance man asked via a speaker near the controls to the elevator. Bethany and I broke apart quickly. She was blushing badly, but I just shrugged and hit the button that made the elevator move again. 

"No, sorry," I said loudly. "I accidentally hit the stop button." 

"Okay," the maintenance man replied, but I could hear the laughter in his voice. He probably guessed what had happened. 

The elevator opened and Bethany left without even looking at me. I only hoped that the kiss was half as good for her as it was for me. 

"Hey!" I called. "Did you by chance change your mind about my question?" Bethany turned back and walked to me quickly. She looked pissed. I sighed. 

"You are insane!" she snapped lowly, and then looking around added, "Please do not cause a scene." 

"Who is causing a scene?" I asked innocently. "I just want to know if you're willing to go out with me on Friday night." 

"Why? Because I was overpowered by your kiss?" she asked sarcastically. 

"It was nice, wasn't it?" I asked. Bethany just shook her head. 

"What I should do it report your actions to Bradley and get you fired!" she snapped. 

"You could do that," I sighed. "But a date would probably be nicer for everyone involved." 

"This isn't funny!" she snapped. She really looked upset so I decided to stop joking. 

"Okay, I'm sorry," I said defensively. "If you tell me you didn't feel anything from that kiss then I'll leave you alone. I promise." 

"You are impossible!" Bethany nearly growled before turning around and stalking away. I smiled. She hadn't said she didn't feel anything. I was tempted to whistle as I went back to my office. 

********** 

Bethany stormed back to her office. She passed a couple of people in the hallway, but they took one look at her and let her pass without a word. 

'The nerve of that man!' she thought angrily. 'The audacity!' 

She entered her office, sat at her desk and took slow deep breaths as she tried to calm down. She would never have guessed that Joe was the type of man to force himself on a woman! 

'Okay,' she admitted to herself with a sigh. 'He didn't exactly force himself on me.' Bethany knew that she could have turned away, but she'd hesitated and he took full advantage. The hesitation was bad enough, but the fact that the kiss itself was amazing was even worse! 

"What am I going to do?" she asked herself aloud. The door to Bradley's office snapped open a moment later. 

"Ah! There you are!" Bradley grumbled. "I've been looking for you for quite some time." 

"I was at lunch," Bethany replied, refusing to feel guilty. She might have taken a long lunch, but there were quite a few days she worked right through lunch. 

"Fine. Fine," Bradley said, obviously thinking about something else. "Come into my office. I want your opinion on something." 

Bethany frowned and grabbed her pad as she made her way to Bradley's office. He wasn't one to normally ask for her opinion. Something big had to be going on. She walked in and was surprised to see Judy already in the room. The phone was also on speaker. She looked as Bradley and pointed toward the phone. 

"My father is on the line," he said. Both of Bethany's eyebrows went up in surprise. 

"Hello, Bethany," Bradley senior's voice came from the speaker. There was warmth there that made her smile despite the situation. 

"Hello," she said, trying to get her balance. First Joe's kiss and now this! What a day! "What exactly is going on?" 

"Karl cornered me after the meeting," Bradley junior sighed. "He's pushing for a reorganization."

"You know that Joe currently has the title of Director of Implementation. Karl thinks he should be promoted to a full VP."

"Joe doesn't strike me as one all that impressed by titles," Bethany said, wondering where this was going. 

"That may be true, but it would make him an officer of the company," Brad said. "He'll receive some stock and have the ability to buy more." 

"And Karl suggested this?" Bethany said, trying hard to keep the disbelief from her voice. Bradley frowned while Judy smirked slightly. 

"You seem surprised," Bradley senior said. Bethany never could hide her opinion from him. 

"It just doesn't seem like something Karl would do," she said carefully. 

"He also thinks that Judy should be bumped to a senior VP," Bradley junior added. Bethany's frown deepened.

"There is more," Judy said, still smirking. "Karl wants the implementation area rolled into his own. He wants Joe to report to him." 

"Oh," Bethany said, trying to gather her thoughts. Judy continued to speak, given Bethany some time. 

"I'm all for the promotion," Judy said, and then grinning added, "Both, actually." This caused Bradley senior to laugh. 

"But she's not sure about moving Joe under Karl," Bradley junior continued. "She feels that there is a personality conflict there that would hurt the company."

"What do you think?" Bethany asked Bradley junior.

"I'm for it," he replied. "It is a more traditional structure for a company." 

"So, why exactly am I here?" Bethany asked. She was only an assistant after all. 

"I wanted your opinion," Bradley senior said over the phone. Bradley junior nodded, but didn't look happy. "Besides, this affects you since you are one of the stock owners." It wasn't a fact widely known, but Bethany did own a small percentage. It was a gift from Bradley senior when he retired. 

"In that case, I think moving Joe under Karl would be a mistake," she said carefully. She wasn't happy with Joe at the moment, but that wasn't going to make her say or do something that would hurt the company. The others waited for her to say more. She finally added, "I'd rather not go into any details on why I feel the way I do." 

"I still think we should try it," Bradley junior insisted. 

"If you try it and it doesn't work, what are you going to do?" Bethany asked. 

"Depends on why it doesn't work," he replied. 

"Bethany, you always had a good feel for the pulse of that place," Bradley senior said. "What do you think of the fall out of making the move?" 

"Long term or short?" she asked as she rubbed her temples. She spent too many years being honest to Bradley senior. She wasn't about to start lying now. 

"Both," he replied. "And be blunt." Bethany hesitated a moment longer, but she knew that Bradley senior really wanted her opinion. 

"Well," she sighed. "Short term, Joe will quit and morale will drop dramatically." 

"You really think he'll quit?" Judy asked in surprise. "I mean, I know they don't get along and I don't think the move is a good one, but you think Joe would actually quit rather than work for Karl?" 

"Absolutely," Bethany replied. 

"And that would affect moral that much?" Bradley junior asked in disbelief. 

"It would," Judy answered for Bethany. "He's a motivator and a good leader. He's done some amazing things with his area. Not only that, but it's starting to rub off on some of the other areas. My own people like him." 

"And long term repercussions?" Bradley senior asked. 

"The company will most likely be out of business in five years," Bethany said. 

"Oh come on!" Bradley junior snapped. "We're not doing that badly!" 




Saving the Company Ch. 02



"I'm sorry," Bethany said, "But I disagree." 

"I can prove it," Bradley junior argued. "Our numbers..." Bethany surprised herself by interrupted him. 

"It's not just what we're making that makes a company survive," she said. "It's the future potential." Bethany turned toward Judy. "Judy, what percentage of your current prospects are either directly or indirectly related to Joe?" 

"More than half," Judy said. This made her go up another notch in Bethany's eyes. It wasn't easy for someone in Judy's role to give credit to someone else for more than half of her prospects. 

"You can't be serious!" Bradley junior nearly cried. 

"Maybe more," Judy sighed. "First, he has really good relationships with most of his old company's clients. I started getting calls a month after he started. People aren't exactly flocking to us, but on the other hand my people are getting access to potential prospects that we would never have expected because they heard Joe was here." 

"Also, he's done such a good job cleaning up the implementation area that those clients he does interact with are starting to talk positive about us. That hasn't happened in years," she added dryly. 

"I like Joe, but I think you are both giving him more credit then he deserves," Bradley junior insisted. "It only makes sense that the clients of his old company start looking around." Silence fell briefly. "You're also missing one important point." 

"What?" Bethany asked. 

"What about the effects of losing Karl?" Bradley junior asked. "He may leave if I don't put Joe under him." Judy literally snorted. 

"He's not going anywhere," she said with conviction. 

"I'm not sure I'm willing to take that chance," Bradley junior finally sighed. "We can't afford to lose Karl." 

Bethany was sorely tempted to say exactly what she thought about Karl, but it would be a mistake. He and Bradley junior were friends for years. It could only hurt Joe's case. 

"It's your decision," she sighed, trying hard to keep her tone level. She felt like crying. 

"Let's think about it overnight and meet again in the morning," Bradley senior said. "Son, will you come to dinner tonight? We're having rib roast." 

"Sure, dad," Bradley junior said. 

Bethany went back to her desk in almost a haze. She knew exactly what young Bradley was going to do in the morning and it saddened her. He would reorganize and Joe would quit. The thought of his leaving depressed her. 

The rest of the day went slowly and Bethany had problems focusing. It was a little after five when she started packing up. She was thinking about her years of employment at the company. They were mostly good times. The last few years were the exception. It was almost physically painful to watch the company slowly degrade. 

Joe's arrival had seemed a minor miracle. He gave her hope for the first time in years, and Bethany knew she wasn't the only one. Claire from the implementation area was with the company even longer than Bethany and she was talking about retiring before Joe joined. She never brought the possibility up any more. 

Joe's departure would hit many people badly. Claire would certainly retire and other would follow. Bethany would stay and slowly watch as the stock Bradley senior gave her slowly became worthless. 

"That's silly," Bethany said to herself. 

"What?" Sarah, a woman who was sharing the elevator asked. Bethany hadn't realized she was talking aloud. 

"Sorry, nothing," Bethany said, but she wasn't really paying attention. She shook her head as she realized that staying was a mistake. 

She decided right then and there that if Joe left she would get one of the Bradleys to buy out her stock while it was still worth something and then quit. She was too young to retire, but her expenses were still relatively low. It would be worth leaving even if she had to change her life style a little. She couldn't live through watching as the company slowly disintegrated. 

"Bethany, are you okay?" Sarah asked in a worried tone. Bethany smiled and nodded. 

"I'm fine," she replied. "It's just been a long day. I'll see you tomorrow." Sarah nodded as the elevator stopped at the ground floor. She still looked worried as she left the elevator. 

Bethany knew that leaving the company would be sad and difficult, but doing so would free her in many ways. One of them stuck in her mind as she pressed the elevator button that would return her to the office. The fingers of her left hand gently caressed her lips as she remembered Joe's kiss. 

********** 

"Clark, do you have the final version of Parken's proposal?" I asked as I entered his office. 

"I will in about an hour," Clark replied. "Claire and John reevaluated some of the estimates and I have to tweak the final document in a few places. The estimates are still pretty rough, but we should be in the ballpark." I nodded, but then frowned as I remembered something Clark mentioned a few days before. 

"Doesn't your son have a playoff game tonight?" I asked. Clark's oldest played baseball for his high school. 

"Yes," Clark replied, looking surprised that I remembered. "I should be able to catch the end if I hurry." 

"I was planning on sending the proposal Monday," I said. "Why not call it a night and finish it up in the morning?" 

"No, that's okay," Clark replied. "My deadline is today and I hate missing deadlines." 

"You always were a stickler about dates," Bethany said to Clark as she walked up. I was surprised to see her. I thought she'd be mad at me for quite a while longer. Yet, there she was smiling at me. Not only that, but the smile was one of the sexiest I ever saw. 

"What brings you here?" I asked in honest curiosity. 

"I'm hungry and I don't feel like eating alone tonight," she replied. "Care to join me?" I could feel Clark's smile as my jaw pretty much hit the floor. 

I thought I'd be able to convince her to go to dinner with me eventually, but I hadn't expected her to ask me and certainly not this soon! The fact that she was asking in front of a fellow employee was even more of a surprise. 

"Are you serious?" 

"Of course," she replied. "Interested?" 

I looked at her and slowly shook my head. Her smile was still driving me to distraction as I stood there and tried to figure out what was going on. Finally, I just shrugged to myself. 

"Just let me get my brief case," I replied, and then turned back to Clark. "Look, I'm leaving for the night so even if you stay and finish the document, I won't be here to review it. Go see your son's game and finish it in the morning." Clark hesitated. 

"Oh, just go!" Bethany snapped, surprising Clark. "How often does your son have a championship game?" 

"Well, I guess I could come in early tomorrow and have it on your desk before you get in," he rationalized. 

"Sounds fine to me," I said. "See you in the morning." Clark left almost at a run. 

"I hope he doesn't break the sound barrier on his way home," Bethany grinned. 

"I remember those days," I smiled. "My daughter was a pretty good soccer player." 

"Mine was a cheerleader," Bethany said. "I can still remember when we went down to Florida for the championship." 

"So, where do you want to go for dinner?" I asked, changing the subject. Bethany shrugged. 

"I was thinking about making my famous fettuccini," she said. I frowned. Was she inviting me to her home? 

"Famous?" I teased. 

"Well, my daughter raves about it," she smiled in reply. 

"Sounds good to me," I replied. Bethany took a pad and pen from Clark's desk and wrote something down. 

"Here," she said handing me the paper. "It's my address. I'll go home and start cooking. You stop and get a bottle of white wine you like and meet me at my place." I nodded, but I couldn't help but look at her oddly. 

"Was the kiss that good?" I finally asked. 

"Frankly?" she asked, and when I nodded she smiled and added, "Yes, most definitely." 

"I thought you didn't want to date someone who works for your boss?" I asked, still trying to come to grips with the change in her attitude. 

"You don't have to come to dinner if you're not interested." 

"I'm interested," I said. "But you can't blame me for my curiosity." 

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth'?" she asked with a grin. 

"Point taken," I laughed. "I'll see you in a little while. I think I'll stop home first and get changed if you don't mind." 

"Take your time. How does seven thirty sound?" she asked. 

"Fine," I replied, but then frowned and added, "You don't by chance have a split personality?" 

Bethany walked up to me and kissed me soundly on the lips. It was a quick affair and she was grinning when she pulled away. 

"Maybe," she said as she turned and left Clark's office. 

"Well, just make sure this personality is in control when I arrive at your place!" I called after her. I heard her laughter drift down the hall. 

"We'll see," she called back. I didn't know what got into Bethany, but as she inferred, I would have to be pretty stupid to pass up this chance. 

Dinner turned out to be better than I expected and her place was nice and homey. We finished the bottle of wine I brought and one she had in her cabinet. Bethany was wearing a loose fitting outfit that looked not only comfortable, but tantalizing as well. Somewhere in the middle of the meal I realized that she knew exactly what she was doing to me. 

"Now what?" I asked once we finished the meal. 

"What would you like to do?" she asked with a slow smile. 

"You're kidding right?" I asked in disbelief. Bethany's smile widened and her eyes shown enticingly. 

"That sounds nice to me," she replied. 

"Okay," I sighed. "What's going on?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"Oh come on!" I snapped. "No one changes their mind so completely based on one kiss! In fact, you reacted rather angrily right afterward." 

"Well, it was rather presumptuous of you," Bethany said, changing the direction of the conversation. 

"Granted," I said, sighing again. "But you're the first woman close to my age that I've been interested in, in years." 

"Like them young, do you?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Normally," I said honestly. "But there is something about you that's got my blood boiling." 

"So then what the problem?" 

"Nothing, I guess," I replied. "I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop." 

"Maybe I just decided to enjoy myself this once without worry about the repercussions," she said with a sigh of her own. 

"Do you think that's wise?" I asked. 

"Of course not," she said with a shrug. "But we can forget about it if you're not comfortable with my behavior." I could tell that Bethany was still hiding something from me, but it was obvious that she wasn't going to tell me any time soon. 

I had a choice. I could enjoy the moment or dwell on what she was hiding. That wasn't much of a decision. I stood and took Bethany's hand, leading her toward the couch in the living room. Halfway there she took the lead and redirected us toward her bedroom. 

"Sit there," she directed me toward the edge of her bed. I sat and she stood in front of me. 

She removed the clip that held her hair up and I was surprised at its length as it fell. She moistened her lips and looked deeply into my eyes. I reached up and undid the ties that were holding her outfit together. It dropped to the floor revealing stylish black lingerie. 

"You like?" she asked with a warm smile. 

"Amazing," I said, my desire plain to hear in my voice. 

"Not bad for some so close to your age?" 

"You are absolutely beautiful for a woman of any age," I replied, surprising myself with the fact that I really meant it. 

"Very smooth," Bethany teased. 

"Come here," I demanded huskily as I reached out for her. She came to my arms and we lay together on her bed. Her kiss was like fire on my lips. My cock stiffened and pressed against her stomach. 

"Mmm...very nice," she murmured. 

I brushed her lips with my tongue and they parted. Our tongues touched gently for a moment before we both became more insistent with our kisses. I used one of my hands to caress her breasts through her bra. She moved one of her hands down between us. I felt it touch my cock through my pants. 

"Why don't you get comfortable?" she asked as she broke our kiss. It actually took me a moment to realize she meant for me to get undressed. I smiled, stood and took off my clothes as she watched. She was smiling and I made an effort not to rush. It was harder than you would think considering she was lying there with desire sparkling in her eyes. I got back into the bed and pulled her to me. 

I reached behind her and unsnapped her bra. She smiled as she removed it, and then she reached down and slipped off her panties. We were both now naked in her bed. 

"It's been a while since I felt the warmth of a man next to me in my bed," she said, as if just realizing it. I moved on top of her and let some of my weight press against her. 

"If I'm extremely lucky," I began, taking a moment to kiss her gently before continuing. "You'll never be able to say that again." She pulled my lips back to hers. We continued to kiss for a while. 

I could feel the warmth of her stomach as I pressed my cock against it. Unable to resist, I reached between us and gently rubbed the head of my cock through the tuft of hair between her legs. It was already moist and I had to fight to stop myself from taking it to the next step too soon. 

"Stop teasing me!" Bethany finally panted. "Take me!" I smiled and sunk deep into her. I moved slowly and watched her face as she accepted me. 

Her first orgasm came only moments after I was fully in her. Bethany's eyes snapped open and she looked startled as the orgasm hit. Her surprise lasted only a moment and then her face tensed in intense pleasure. It lasted some time and as she thrashed under me I felt my own orgasm threaten! 

"Damn!" I cried as I flooded her pussy with my cum. This sent Bethany over the edge again. She cried out and continued to shudder under me. We both came down slowly and I rolled off of her. 

"It's been years since I had an orgasm that quickly," I said. 

"Or that intense," Bethany added. I couldn't argue with her. She smiled and added, "I guess an old guy like you is probably done for the night?" 

"Usually," I replied, but I already felt a tingling in my cock that surprised me. "But I think today will be an exception." 

"Good," she said with conviction, and then smiling again added, "I'd hate to have to trade you in for a younger model." 

"Ouch!" I laughed. 

"Hey, you're the one who brought up age," she smirked. 

"A bit sensitive, aren't you," I joked. 

"Not really," she replied with a shrug. "I've earned the years I've lived and I can accept that. The question is can you?" 

"You are an odd woman," I said. "Especially if you really can accept getting older. Most people have issues with it." She shrugged. 

"You still haven't answered my question?" she prompted. I smiled and shook my head. 

"What question?" I asked in reply, stalling for time. 

"Don't be dense," she sighed. "Is my age going to be an issue for you?" 

I thought about what she was asking and wondered why I always dated younger woman. It wasn't something I usually dwelled on. It only took me a moment to come up with a shocking revelation. 

"Not your age," I replied honestly. She caught my meaning. 

"Men are such babies," she joked with a shake of her head. At least, I thought she was joking. "Getting older is just a part of life." 

"I know," I replied. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it." 

"What are you afraid of?" she asked. 

"How much time do you have?" I asked in reply. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. 

"This is a conversation for another day," she said. 

"Amen!" I replied, causing her to laugh. I think we were both trying to figure out how the conversation ended up here. 

We remained silent for a time as she cuddled closer. I could feel the warmth of her body against mine. I let my hand drift down to her ass and slowly start to massage it. She leaned forward and kissed me tentatively. I pulled her on top of me as we continued to kiss. I used both hands to caresses her bottom. It felt wonderful. She felt wonderful!

Still, I was surprised at how quickly I became hard again. Bethany noticed immediately and smiled. She reached between us and slipped the head of my cock into her once more. She rested her hands on my chest as she slowly took me in. She had her eyes closed and was biting her lower lip as she finished. I reached up and caressed her top lip with my fingers. She opened her eyes and smiled down at me. 

It was at that moment that I realized I was falling in love with her. I refused to dwell on it though. I was afraid of what my reaction would be once I had time to think about it. Instead, I took her hips and pulled her tight against me. This caused me to slip a little deeper into her. Bethany gasped and then started to slowly ride me. 

I reached up and gently rubbed her nipples. They were small compared to her breasted, but obviously very sensitive based on Bethany's reaction. I don't know how long we remained like that, but eventually Bethany came again. 

Her weight was pleasant against my chest as she shuddered. I continued to hold her. The smell of her was almost more then I could bear. I thought she had fallen asleep when she spoke. 

"It's your turn," she said as she moved off of me. I thought to argue, but she took my cock in her hand and slowly started stroking it. All thoughts of protest disappeared. Bethany smiled one more time before lowering her head and taking me into her mouth. I sighed. 

She caressed my balls with one hand as she licked up and down my length. I couldn't help myself. I groaned loudly. Bethany looked up at me and smiled briefly. She obviously loved the fact that she was getting to me. 

It wasn't long before I was close to cumming and she knew it. She started seriously working my dick. I fought for as long as I could. 

"I'm going to cum!" I cried. 

"Yes!" she cried in reply and took the head of my cock into her mouth. I came and she seemed to really enjoy taking it all in her mouth. I could see her throat move as she swallowed my cum. Her eyes were locked with mine the entire time. 

"I would never have guessed that you were such a sexual animal," I said once I was done. Bethany smiled seductively. 

"I can be for the right man," she replied. 

"Me?" I asked with a smile. 

"You," she said confidently. I pulled her up and kissed her. It was supposed to be a brief kiss, but it quickly became something far more. I was amazed when I felt another stirring. 

'Oh, come on!' I thought to myself. It had been years since I was able to cum twice in one night. Three times would be a miracle! Yet, I could feel myself stirring. There was obviously something about Bethany that caused me to react on a level I hadn't been to in years. I rolled her onto her stomach and lifted her hips. 

"Not again!" she laughed. 

"I can't help it," I replied. "Your drive me crazy!" My cock slipped into her pussy from behind and she gasped. 

"Oh yeah!" she cried and pushed back to meet my thrusts. It wasn't long before I was holding onto her hips and slamming into her with everything I had. 

"Cumming!" she cried. I could feel her pussy spasm around my cock. 

"Me too!" I growled as I filled it with my cum for the second time. I rolled off of her and lay there on my back panting. Bethany rested her head on my shoulder and draped her arm across my chest. We both fell asleep moments later. 

********* 

The alarm rang and both Joe and Bethany stirred. They were spooning and for a moment they both smiled remembering the night before. 

"Good morning," Joe said. 




Saving the Company Ch. 02



"Yes, isn't it," Bethany smiled as she sat up and stretched. Joe rolled over and watched her. She could feel his eyes on her. "We'd better get going if we don't want to be late." 

"Let's play hooky today?" Joe offered. Bethany looked at him as the pleasure from the night before slowly disappeared. 

"We can't," she said. "I need to go in and hand in my resignation," she replied, obviously shocking Joe. 

"Just because we slept together?" he asked in amazement. Bethany shook her head and laughed. 

"No!" she replied. "I made the decision to quit before I came looking for you yesterday." 

"Why?" Joe asked. Bethany shrugged. It wasn't her place to tell him what was going to happen today. She was tempted anyway, but it just went too much against her personality. 

"You'd better get going if you plan on taking a shower when you get home," she said, and then smiling she added, "And you do need a shower." 

"We could take one together?" Joe offered. Bethany smiled as she looked at his earnest expression. Memories of the night before came back. It was amazing! She'd never felt so good in her life. She'd been far more relaxed then she could ever remember being with another man. 

"Not today," she insisted. 

"Okay," Joe sighed, and then grew more serious and changed the subject back to her leaving. "The company really can't afford to lose you." 

"Of course it can," she snorted in disbelief as she looked away. Joe grabbed her chin and made her look into his eyes. 

"No it can't," he replied. "Bradley's better than I feared when I first started, but he listens too much to Karl's opinion. You're a good buffer for him whether he knows it or not." 

"I'm tired of playing Bradley's nursemaid," Bethany sighed, realizing she truly meant it. 

"You do a lot more than that," Joe insisted. 

"Name one thing?" Bethany asked. Joe smiled. 

"I can name a dozen," he replied. "You don't realize your affect on the office. The people like you. Do you think the old timers that stood for the last few years would have if you weren't there to listen to their issues? You're the closest thing to a HR director the place has!" 

Bethany thought about what Bradley junior was going to do today and sighed to herself. What did she do that truly mattered in the end if the CEO was so intend on destroying the company? 

"I don't want to talk about it," she insisted. 

"For all intents and purposes you're the office manager as well," Joe said, ignoring her. "That's two important jobs right there. Do you want me to continue?" 

"I said I don't want to talk about it." 

"Okay," Joe sighed. "It's your decision, but don't rush into it. Another few days won't make a difference one way or another." 

"I would think you'd be happy with my resigning," Bethany said, trying to lighten the mood. 

"Why?" 

"Well, dating you wasn't the reason why I decided to resign, but do you really think I would have if I planned on staying?" she asked with a smile. 

"Eventually," Joe insisted. 

"In your dreams!" Bethany laughed. Joe grinned briefly, but then grew serious again. 

"I still think you should hold off a week and thing about it," he said. 

"We'll see," Bethany replied, but she was just trying to placate him. "Now go! I don't like being late." Joe shook his head, but left after giving her a gentle kiss. She shut the door behind him and once again rubbed her lips with her fingers, remembering his kiss. 

"I wonder how you'll feel about me after Bradley junior forces you to resign by putting you under the COO?" she asked aloud. She stood there a couple more minutes before shaking herself and going to the shower. 

She got ready in record time and actually made it to the office early. She spent the first ten minutes typing her letter of resignation and placed it in an envelope. Bethany then started cleaning her area. She was trying to decide which of her tasks should fall to whom and how she planned on training them when Bradley senior and Bradley junior walked in the office. 

"Hello," she said to both of them, but she was looking at the father. She realized that she loved the old man like a second father. 

"Good morning Bethany!" he said with a smile. "The old place hasn't changed much." 

"Not on the outside," she said in agreement. Bradley junior frowned slightly, but Bethany was beyond caring. She'd done her best to give him the same loyalty she gave to his father all those years, but he'd done little to earn it. His decision today would destroy the last of it. 

"Please set up a meeting for ten with Judy, Karl and Joe in the conference room," Bradley junior said. He then frowned and added, "You need to be there as well to take notes." 

"Should I let them know what it's about?" Bethany asked. 

"A reorganization." 

"Okay," Bethany said with a raised eyebrow, and then thought to herself, 'I guess there isn't going to be a meeting first as discussed the day before.' 

She looked at Bradley senior. He smiled back but said nothing in explanation. Bradley junior was also smiling. He wasn't the type to smile if his father forced him to change his mind. Bethany last hope disappeared. 

She made the calls and set up the meeting. Ten o'clock came slowly, but eventually it did come. Karl arrived first. He was almost whistling as he walked into the conference room. What an ass! 

Judy came next. She didn't look happy, but on the other hand she didn't look unhappy either. Bethany realized Judy was a survivor. She'd accept whatever came down and do her best to make it work. 

Joe was only a moment behind Judy. He looked at Bethany with a raised eyebrow. She ignored it and grabbed her note pad. Her letter of resignation was paper clipped to the back. It would be harder to tender it with Bradley senior present, but so be it. No one ever promised that life would be easy. She'd learned that from her ex-husband. 

"I guess I'll take the lead," Bradley senior said once everyone sat down and he introduced himself to Joe. That surprised Bethany in and of itself. 

"Yesterday there were some discussions on possible reorganization plans for the company," he said succinctly. Bethany watched Joe as he glanced around the room and realized that he was the only one who was unaware of the fact. He eyes finally fell on Bethany. She refused to meet them. 

"Brad came to dinner last night and we discussed the possibilities in some detail," Bradley senior added. 

"We stayed up until two in the morning," Bradley junior said with a grin. He seemed far more relaxed then usual. 

"As you can imagine in a discussion that went on for that many hours," Bradley senior continued. "A lot of possibilities came up." Judy smiled, but Karl and Joe remained sober. 

"So, what was finally decided?" Karl asked. Bradley senior frowned. 

"I'm getting there," he said. Bethany smiled despite herself. Karl never worked for Bradley senior. Seeing them interact was amusing. If Karl thought he was going to be able to push the father like he did the son, then he was in for a rude awakening. 

"Sorry," Karl said, not really sounding all that sincere. Bradley senior ignored him and continued speaking. 

"Somewhere after we finished the second glass of brandy," he said, causing Karl to frown some more. "Young Bradley here mentioned the fact that he wasn't particularly happy being CEO." 

"I hate it," Bradley junior added with a grin. 

'Wow!' Bethany thought, not sure where this conversation was going. 

"He mistakenly thought I would be hurt if he decided to leave," Bradley senior sighed. "I admit it would have been nice if he liked running the company, but I didn't spend all those years becoming a millionaire to force my son into a career he didn't like." 

"I'm resigning and going for my masters in education!" Bradley junior said, unable to hold his excitement in anymore. He was a smiling broadly. "Hopefully I'll become an accounting teacher at some college." 

"Why would you want to do that?" Karl asked in surprise. 

"That's great news!" Judy said with a smile as she overrode Karl's question. 

"I'm happy for you," Joe said, sounding sincere. 

"So with Brad leaving, that leaves a whole that needs filling in the structure of the company," Bradley senior said, taking control of the conversation once again. 

Bethany held her breath. What was he going to do? Judy showed no real interest in becoming a CEO and Joe was too new to the company to be put in the role. That left only Karl and she refused to believe that Bradley senior would leave his company in Karl's hands no matter what Bradley junior said. 

"We discussed the possibility of selling," Bradley senior continued. "But, I'm not ready to do that yet. I spent too many years building this company. It like a second child to me." 

"So, with a promise to my wife Cherie that it would only be for six months or a year at most," he smiled. "I've decided to come out of retirement and take the role of CEO once again." 

"That's great news!" Bethany cried, and then blushed in embarrassment at her excitement. Bradley senior winked at her and continued. 

"In that time I'll be making some tough decisions," he said. "Someone has to fill the role once I leave. I haven't decided if it will be one of you or someone I hire from outside." 

"Hell, depending how it goes I may decide to just sell the whole thing after all," he laughed. "That's all for now. I'll have Bethany set up a full staff meeting for this afternoon to let the employees know what's going on." Judy looked happy and Joe interested. Karl was the only one who looked uncomfortable. 

'You should be worried!' Bethany thought as she looked at Karl. 'Bradley will see through you quickly enough and you'll be out of a job before you know it!' 

"I'd like to go to lunch with you and discuss some of my thoughts," Karl said to Bradley senior as the meeting started to break up. 

"I plan on meeting with all of you individually sometime today," Bradley replied. "But Cherie packed me some left over pot roast. Besides, I don't often go out to lunch. It takes too long." 

Bethany grinned to herself as she remembered what life was like when Bradley senior ran the company. He was over seventy now, but she doubted that his age was going to slow him down much. She was about to get a whole lot busier. They all were. It should have been a bit overwhelming, but Bethany just continued to smile. 

"Bethany," Bradley senior said, interrupting her thoughts. "Please stay for a moment." The conference room emptied quickly until only the two of them remained. 

"Yes?" she asked once they were alone. 

"Do you think you can stand working for me again?" he asked. 

"It will be a trial, but I'll cope," she grinned. 

"I've missed you," he laughed. "If it weren't for Cherie..." 

"Promises, promises!" she laughed. It was an old joke that they only shared in private. Brad was deeply in love with his wife. 

"I'll be working from here for the rest of this week," he said, getting serious. "It will give my boy some time to clear out his junk." 

"I'll help him," Bethany said. "I have your office back the way you like it by Monday morning." 

"Thank you," he said, and then sighed and added, "And you might as well set up individual meetings for me and Judy, Karl and Joe." 

"Okay," she replied, taking notes. "Do you want the staff meeting before or after?" 

"Before," he answered. "The rumors will start spreading and it's best to nip it in the bud before they get too outlandish." 

"Any specific order?" Bethany asked. 

"No," Brad said, but then quickly changed his mind. "Yes, start with Judy, then Joe and finish with Karl." 

"Any reason for that order?" she asked, but Bethany knew him well enough to know what he was thinking. 

"I guess Judy first because I know her. She wasn't the VP of Sales and Marketing when I left, but she did work as a salesman for me a couple of years," he explained. 

"And why Joe next?" Bethany asked. 

"Well, for a couple of reasons," he replied. "Not the least your and Judy's comments about him during the meeting yesterday." 

"Karl isn't going to be happy being last," Bethany said carefully. 

"You really don't like him!" Brad laughed. She smiled ruefully. 

"I never could keep my feeling hidden from you," she sighed. 

"Is he that bad?" Brad asked. Bethany pursed her lips. 

"To be fair, he's adequate at his job," she answered. 

"But no star?" 

"Absolutely not," Bethany replied. "Worse, he's so negative that it affects those around him." 

"Well, we'll just have to see how he adjusts to my arrival," Brad shrugged. 

"I can't wait!" Bethany grinned, causing the old man to shake his head. 

"We'd better get started," he said, changing the subject. "I also promised Cherie I'd be home for dinner every night if I was in town." 

"Six?" Bethany asked and Brad smiled sheepishly. 

"I got her to agree to push dinner back to seven, seven thirty the latest." 

"She'll plan it for eight," Bethany grinned, and then added, "I'd better get going." 

"One more thing," he said as she stood. 

"Yes?" 

"You are planning on ripping up that envelope paper clipped to the back of your pad? Aren't you?" he asked seriously. Bethany met his eyes and sank back into the chair. Neither of them was smiling anymore. 

"How did you know?" she asked. 

"I could hear it in your voice yesterday," he replied. She nodded once, but could think of nothing to say in explanation. 

"I'm going directly to the shredder from here," she said. 

"Good," he said succinctly, and then changing the subject again added, "I assume your relationship with Joe won't affect your ability to do your job?" Bethany groaned. She'd been so excited about Brad's return that she forgot about how it would affect her and Joe's budding relationship. 

"Was it that obvious?" she asked numbly. 

"Only for someone who's been your friend for over twenty years," he replied. 

"I wish you'd told me you planned on coming back yesterday," she sighed, and then shrugged and added, "I carefully avoided getting involved with Joe because I knew it wouldn't be professional, but after the meeting yesterday I was convinced Bradley was going to make him report to Karl." 

"Had a good night?" Brad smiled. 

"Amazing!" Bethany answered honestly, surprising herself and him. He ignored her blush. 

"As your boss I have to tell you I'm concerned," he said carefully, and then smiled and added, "But as your friend, I'd like you to know I'm happy for you. You deserve a good man in your life." Bethany nodded dumbly. 

"I'll break it off tonight," she said glumly. 

"Don't you think that's a little extreme?" Brad asked, not really surprised. 

"It's either that or I have to quit," she replied succinctly. 

"I certainly don't want that!" Brad said quickly. 

"Me neither," Bethany sighed. "Not when I have real hope that this company can be turned around again. I've put too many years of hard work to stand on the sidelines now." 

"You could try and work the job and your personal relationship with Joe out at the same time," Brad hinted, but Bethany shook her head. 

"It won't work," she insisted. "If I'm right and it's not my emotions interfering with my judgment, Joe's going to play a big part in turning around this company. Neither of us can afford to be distracted by personal issues." 

********** 

"You're serious?" Brad asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Certainly," I replied. "You've got a good company here. If you decide to sell it I'd like the chance of getting some backers and buying it from you." Brad nodded. 

"What about taking on the CEO role?" he asked. 

"Bluntly?" I asked. Brad struck me as someone who preferred someone who tells it like it is. 

"Of course," Brad said. 

"I want it," I said with a shrug. "I believe I can do it, but since I've never been a CEO I'll understand if you choose someone outside the company. I'll even do my best to help him or her." 

"But not someone internal?" Brad asked, pushing me to state clearly what I tried to infer by my statement. I found myself liking the old man. 

"I'm not sure Judy is interested," I said carefully. "Besides, she has less experience then I do." 

"And Karl?" Brad prompted. 

"I won't work for Karl," I said succinctly. 

"That's what Bethany said yesterday," Brad replied. I looked at him carefully. 

"She thought that's what was going to happen today at the reorganization?" I asked. It explained what happened and her surprise this morning. 

"She didn't tell you last night?" Brad asked, surprising me. That meant he knew we spent the night together. 

"Do you need to ask?" I sighed. 

"Not really," he laughed. "Bethany wouldn't be that unprofessional." I shook my head. 

"Does this mean she plans on breaking it off with me since I'm not quitting?" I asked. 

"Yes and no," Brad replied. "She's going to break it off, but because she's decided to stay, not because you're not leaving." 

"She said something about quitting this morning," I said with a shrug and then fell silent. 

"What are you thinking?" he asked as he watched me. 

"I'm trying to decide whether I should quit or not," I replied, shaking my head at the fact that I was seriously doing just that. 

"You'd quit just to date her again?" 

"I can't explain it," I sighed, rubbing my hand through my hair. 

"I can," he smiled. "It happened to me once many years ago." 

"What?" I asked. 

"Never mind," Brad replied cryptically. "But I think you'd better not quit." 

"Why?" 

"Well, Bethany has high expectations on what you can do for this company. In many ways it's as much her child as mine. She'll never forgive you if you resign," he said. 

"I was afraid of that," I frowned. "She's not a easy woman." 

"None of them are," Brad replied. "You should have seen how my Cherie drove me to distraction before finally agreeing to marry me." 

"I'm over fifty and already been burned once in marriage," I said quickly. "I have no intention of ever getting married again." Brad just nodded. 

"Why don't we see what happens over the next few months?" he suggested. I shrugged and nodded. 

"If we're through here, I have another meeting," I said as I looked at my watch. 

"We'll be talking again tomorrow," Brad replied. "I've very interested in your ideas of the future of our product." I nodded and left. 

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. I spent a lot of time placating the people I hired since I joined the company. They were nervous about the restructuring. The old timers helped me. They all had positive things to say about Brad. I guessed that most of them were true based on my two meetings with the gentleman. 

Bethany found me once the day ended and the building started to empty out. I sighed when she entered my office and shut the door. 

"We need to talk," she said without preamble. 

"About what?" I asked, already knowing the answer. 

"Last night," she replied. "It should never have happened. I'd like to pretend it didn't." 

"Absolutely not," I replied calmly. 

"What?" she asked in surprise. I smiled sadly. 

"I have no intention of forgetting what happened between us," I said. "Or even acting like it didn't happen." 

"But..." she began. 

"No buts," I interrupted as I came around my desk and took hold of her arms. "I can't force you to invite me over again, but I refuse to make believe it never happened. It was special to me and I plan on remembering it forever." 

"Oh come on! It was just one night of casual pleasure!" she insisted. I shook my head before leaning forward and kissing her again. I persisted until I felt her responding. 

"You can rationalize all you want," I said, looking deeply into her eyes as she fought to recover from the kiss. "But you'll never convince me that what we shared was casual." 




Saving the Company Ch. 02



"I've got to go," she nearly stuttered. 

"Fine," I sighed. "But I'll be here when you come back. I'm not going anyplace." She opened the door without looking at me and almost ran from the room. 

The next few months were going to be interesting. I had a new boss to impress and a woman to win. I expected that Bethany was going to be the more difficult of the two tasks. So be it. I was up for the challenge.



Saving the Company Ch. 03



"You're really quite bad," Brad said as we reached for the drinks the bartender dropped in front of us. 

"You say that every time," I sighed as I lifted my glass to my lips. 

"I know," he added with a shake of his head. "But you would think that you'd get better as time went by. You're actually getting worse! I think today might be a personal low for you." 

"That you've seen," I replied. We looked at each other for a moment before Brad slapped me on the back and burst into laughter. I grinned. 

"I've never been any good at golf," I shrugged. "I'm sorry if I'm embarrassing you in front of your club friends." 

"Don't worry," he replied with a grin. "Any embarrassment here falls directly on your shoulders." I took his teasing without getting offended. After all, he was right. 

"Maybe I should give up playing?" I offered. 

"Now there's no reason to overreact," Brad replied quickly. 

"I thought you'd say that," I said knowingly. "How come my playing doesn't seem to bother you any other time except right after we play? You never comment about it during the week." 

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Brad asked with an innocent look. 

"It's simply enough," I said with a shrug. "I think you're afraid I'll quit if you tease me all week. You enjoy trouncing me too much to let that happen." Brad fought off a smile. 

"Well, there are so few men left that a man my age can actually beat..." he began, trying to make his voice sound sad. 

"Bull!" I interjected. "You could probably still take half the pros at this course!" His eyes twinkled as he finally smiled. It was an exaggeration and we both knew it, but not by as much as you would think. 

"We'll continue to work on your game," he said after we both downed some more of our drinks. "You can't be a good CEO with such a poor game." I looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He nodded slightly, confirming his decision. 

"I thought you weren't going to choose a new CEO for at least another three months?" I asked carefully. 

It's not like I didn't want the job, but Brad was a dynamo and I was learning quite a lot from working with him. At my age it was a bit of a shock to find someone I considered a mentor. At least Brad had me by twenty years. It helped. 

"You think I should give it to Karl?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. I snorted. 

"Don't even joke about that!" 

"So then, what's the problem?" Brad asked. 

"Nothing really," I replied with a shrug. "It's only been a few months since you came out of retirement. Are you ready to go back again so soon?" 

"Not really," he grinned, taking another taste of his drink. "But Cherie isn't happy. For some strange reason she likes having me around. I keep putting her off, but she isn't the most patient woman." 

"Oh," I said glumly. I really liked Brad. I was going to miss him. 

"What the matter? Don't you want the job?" he asked with a frown. 

"Sure," I smiled. "But if you go back into retirement, who is going to help me improve at golf?" 

Brad looked at me carefully. I watched as the real reason for my hesitation dawned on him. It was amazing how close Brad and I were in such a short period of time. He smiled and patted me on the shoulder. 

"Oh don't worry, Cherie or no Cherie, I still plan on finishing out the year. I just don't see the point of playing games with the CEO position," he replied. "Besides, she'll calm down once she hears that I've named a successor." 

"So, I'll still get a chance to improve my game?" I asked with a smile. 

"A chance," he replied. "But I wouldn't hold my breath." We both laughed again. 

"When are you going to announce your decision?" I asked. 

"I'm tempted to walk in and do it on Monday just to see Karl's expression," he said. If anything, Brad disliked Karl more than I did. "But I think I'll wait until I decide on who to promote in his place." 

"You think Karl will quit when you name me CEO?" I asked. 

"That or you'll fire him when you take over," Brad replied with a shrug. 

"There is that," I said, nodding slowly in agreement. 

"You know, I think he'll actually be surprised when he hears. He really is in his own little world," Brad sighed. 

"Just out of curiosity," I began. "How come you don't fire him now?" Brad frowned. He was a direct man who seldom hesitated, but he did so now. 

"Well, partly because I honestly would be happier if I had his successor in place first," he said, but then he sighed and forced himself to add, "And partly because Brad junior and Karl really are good friends. I don't understand it, but at my age I'd rather not take a chance at causing a rift between Bradley and me." 

"So, I get the fun job of pissing off your son," I said bluntly. 

"Delegation is key if you want to be a good CEO," he replied. I just rolled my eyes, causing him to laugh yet again. 

"How are things going with Bethany?" he asked, changing the subject. 

"How should I know? She refuses to even talk to me anymore unless it's work related," I sighed. 

"You really need to get your personal life in order." 

"Tell me about it," I grumbled. "Bethany can be an extremely stubborn woman." 

"Yes, she can, can't she?" Brad asked rhetorically, his eyes once again twinkling. 

"You know, you could enjoy my misery a little less obviously." 

"True, but where's the fun in that?" he said, and then changing the subject again by adding, "By the way, did you get the email from Judy on the Pertol sale?" 

"Yes," I answered. "You know, my opinion of her has gone up traumatically in the last few months. Pertol was a tough sale." 

"She's coming along," Brad nodded. "Judy was always a survivor, but she really is blossoming in the team environment we're developing. I think she'll be happier than you seem to be when I announce your promotion." 

"I am happy," I insisted, but he just grinned. We ordered another drink and sat for a while longer. 

"I guess it's time for me to go," Brad eventually said with a sigh as he looked at his watch. He finished his drink and added, "I promised Cherie I'd be home in time for an early dinner." 

"I'll see you Monday morning," I replied. He nodded as he stood. 

"By the way," he said just before turning to leave. "You need help if you're going to break through the barriers Bethany has set up." 

"Are you offering?" I asked. 

"Heaven forbid!" 

"Well then, thanks for nothing!" I growled. He laughed and shook his head. 

"Try Jennie." 

"Bethany's daughter?" I asked in surprise. 

"I hear she and her daughter Molly are coming for lunch on Tuesday. It's for Molly's birthday." 

"Hmm, that's an interesting thought," I said aloud, more to myself then Brad. He just smiled and left. 

********** 

The phone rang and I picked it up. 

"They're here," a voice whispered secretly. I rolled my eyes. 

"Thanks Sally," I replied. Sally was the receptionist and a friend of Bethany's. She was also queen of the rumor mill and the company yenta. 

Sally visited me a week after Brad's return to ask me if there was anything she could do to help with Bethany. I wasn't sure how she heard about what was going on between us, but at least Sally thought it was a good match. 

I didn't initially take her up on her offer, but Brad was correct. I needed help. So I visited Sally earlier in the day and asked her to let me know when Jennie and Molly arrived. I'm not sure how smart that was based on her reaction, but so be it. I was beginning to get desperate. 

I stood to go intercept Jennie, but hesitated a moment longer. I still wasn't sure what I was going to say to Bethany's daughter. 

'Excuse me, you don't know me, but I like your mother and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me get a date with her?' just wouldn't cut it. On the other hand, I didn't have time to say much else. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my door. 

'Damn!' I thought, hoping that whoever it was wouldn't take up too much time. I only had a small window of opportunity. I sighed and said aloud, "Come in." 

The door opened and my eyebrows rose in surprise as a younger version of Bethany and a beautiful little girl entered. At first I thought Sally had done more than simply call me, but it didn't make sense considering the stage whisper she used over the phone. 

"Mother was right," Bethany's daughter Jennie said without preamble. "You are handsome." 

"Thank you," I said carefully. Her directness was a surprise. 

"So, what's going on between you and my mother?" she asked. 

"Pardon?" I almost stammered. 

"She refuses to talk about you anymore and has for months," Jennie replied. "But every time I mention your name I can see something in her eyes or hear it in her voice." I looked at Bethany daughter and frowned. I needed a moment to gather my thoughts so I turned to the little girl holding Jennie's hand. 

"You must be Molly," I said with a smile, ignoring Jennie for the moment. 

"Hello," Molly replied. She looked bored. 

"I hear it's your birthday?" I asked. This brightened Molly significantly as she nodded. I smiled and asked, "How old are you now? Thirteen? Fourteen?" 

"Six, silly!" she giggled. My smile turned into a grin. 

"Wow!" I said. "Happy Birthday!" 

"Do you have a present for me?" Molly asked, surprising even her seemingly unflappable mother. 

"Molly!" Jennie snapped, but I cut her off. 

"As a matter of fact, I do," I replied, causing Molly to cry out happily and clap her hands while her mother frowned. I handed Molly the bag on top of my desk. She pulled it open and found a wrapped present. 

"I hope you like it," I said. "I haven't shopped for a little girl in years. Not since my daughter was your age." Jennie was looking at me oddly as Molly tore through the gift-wrap. 

"She's beautiful!" Molly exclaimed once she saw the doll I bought for her. I sighed to myself in relief. It was nice to know that it was still a safe bet to buy a little girl a doll. 

"Isn't it a bit presumptuous to buy my daughter a present?" Jennie asked as we both watched Molly sit at my desk and immediately start playing with the doll. I couldn't tell if Bethany's daughter was really offended or not. 

"Possibly," I shrugged. "But your mother is being rather stubborn and I could use all the help I can get." Jennie looked at me carefully for a moment longer before smiling. 

"So, what do you plan on bribing me with?" she asked. 

"What will it take?" I asked in reply. Her smile turned into a grin. 

"Oh, this is going to be fun!" she laughed. 

********** 

Bethany tried not to grimace as she knocked on the door to her daughter's house. Her son Bob opened it and smiled when he saw her. 

"Are you ready to enter the fray?" he asked as he kissed her cheek and took the packages she was carrying. 

"Not really," Bethany sighed. "But let's get going. I'm sure Jennie could use all the help she can get with twenty little girls running around." Molly had insisted that every girl from both kindergarten classes be invited to her birthday party. At best it was going to be a zoo. 

"It's not that bad right now," Bob laughed. "But the clown is just about done with his show." 

"Oh, joy," Bethany said soberly. Bob shook his head. 

"We have your hair wrapping stuff set up next to the face painter," he said. 

"Face painter?" Bethany asked in surprise. She hadn't heard about Jennie hiring one of those. 

"Just a friend helping out," Bob replied. He avoided looking at his mother. He wasn't sure Jennie was doing the right thing by getting involved with Bethany's love life, but he knew better than to say so. 

"You know," Bethany sighed, thinking about the coming hours. "I never really liked wrapping hair. I learned it from one of Jennie's friends who worked at an amusement park years ago. Jennie was having a sleep over in high school and I helped wrap the other girls' hair. It became almost a monthly task after that for Jennie and her closest friends." 

"You're worried that Molly will like it and ask you to do her hair every time you come over?" Bob grinned. 

"I don't have a problem doing Molly's hair. She is my granddaughter after all," Bethany smiled. 

"Of course," he said, nodding sagely. 

"It's all the other little girls. It tires me out just thinking about the possibility of Molly inviting girls over so grandma can wrap their hair," Bethany sighed. 

"In that case, you should have said no when Jennie asked." 

"To your wife?" Bethany said incredulously. 

"You mean your daughter," Bob replied. They looked at each other and laughed. "I'll see you later. I'm supposed to be checking on the food." Bethany nodded and went to the back door. She looked out and stifled another sigh. 

It was Saturday and she should either be resting or catching up on some of the work that was piling up. Having Brad around again was great, but tiring. 

"Grandma! Grandma!" Molly cried as she saw Bethany standing by the door. "Do you like my face?" 

"It's as beautiful as always," Bethany replied with a grin as she forgot about work and resting. Today was her granddaughter's special day. It was only right that she be here to be part of it. 

"I mean the paint!" Molly frowned, causing Bethany to laugh. 

"Oh yes, it's quite becoming," she said, kissing her granddaughter on the top of her head. Whoever had painted the hearts and stars on Molly's face was actually pretty good. 

"Can you wrap my hair first?" Molly asked. Bethany did an admirable job of hiding her grimace. She was even was able to force a smile on her face. 

"Of course," she said. "You are the birthday girl after all!" Molly grabbed Bethany's hand and dragged her across the yard to where the hair wrap supplies were set up. 

"I already know what colors I want!" Molly exclaimed. Bethany was about to reply when she saw who was painting the children's faces right next to where she was set up. She froze. "What's wrong grandma? Come on!" 

"You run along Molly," Bethany said in a tone that brooked no argument. "I just need to have a word with your mother first." 

"Okay," Molly moaned. "But please hurry!" 

Bethany found her daughter clearing plates. Jennie looked up at Bethany and sighed when she saw her expression. 

"Don't start mother," Jennie said quickly. "He volunteered to help out when I visited you at the office on Tuesday and Molly was ecstatic about having someone to paint faces at her party. You have to admit. He does a very good job." 

"Jennie," Bethany said softly. "Did you ever tell Bob about that concert you and Sandy went to your freshman year of college?" Jennie looked at her mother in surprise. 

"Mother, you wouldn't!" Jennie cried. 

"What was that gentleman's name? Harry? Henry? Harper! That's it, Harper!" 

Jennie looked at her mother carefully and realized just how mad Bethany really was. She had to be to bring up the Harper fiasco. It was not one of Jennie's better moments. Bob knew about it, but Jennie's hadn't gone into much detail, at least certainly not the detail that her mother's look promised to share. 

"Mother, this is a rather ugly side of you," Jennie said. 

"Nonsense," Bethany replied calmly. "I just think that I could help your relationship with Bob if I described some of your more colorful outings." 

"You wouldn't!" Jennie said. Bethany smiled for the first time. It wasn't pleasant. It was the same one Jennie remembered from her youth when her mother was planning on making a point to her about something she did wrong. 

"I would," Bethany replied. "I think it's only fair that I get involved with your love life now that you think you can get involved with mine." They locked eyes until Jennie finally looked away. 

"Okay mother, you win," she sighed. "But he really seems like such a nice guy." Bob arrived with a tray of food, but both women momentarily ignored him. 

"He is," Bethany replied. "But that's not the point." 

"It's your life," Jennie grumbled. "But just keep in mind that not many men as busy as he is and at his age would be willing to come to a six year old's party and paint little girls' faces for a couple of hours." 

"Your point?" Bethany asked with a frown. 

"It's simply enough," Jennie replied. "Stop being so stubborn and don't blow it! He must like you a lot." 

"Jennie..." Bethany began, but Jennie cut her off. 

"I know, I know," she sighed. "Mind my business!" 

"Exactly," Bethany replied succinctly and then turned and walked away. Jennie watched her mother make her way toward Molly and the hair wrapping area. 

"That was unpleasant," Bob said tactfully. Jennie snorted. 

"Actually, it went better than I expected," Bethany's daughter replied. "Shemust really like him." 

"Didn't I just hear you promise to stay of out it?" Bob asked. There was something in Jennie's tone that made him nervous. 

"Yes," she agreed. She turned toward him and smiled. Bob sighed. He knew that smile. 

"Just leave me out of it," he said. "I don't want to get on your mother's bad side." 

"We'll see," she said, not committing to anything. Bob stifled a groan. 

********** 

"Hello," I said carefully as I continued to paint the little girl's face. I wasn't sure how Bethany would react to my presence, however I wasn't really surprised when she just nodded stiffly and refused to look at me. I sighed and thought to myself, 'Maybe coming here wasn't such a great idea.' 

"Grandma, I want purple, pink, yellow, orange and..." Molly, who had been waiting impatiently for her grandmother, said excitedly. 

"Molly," Bethany interjected. "Let's limit ourselves to two colors for today and see how it looks." I smiled as I watched the two negotiate. They eventually agreed on three colors. 

Bethany started slowly. She took a few strands of Molly's long straight hair and started wrapping it in one of the colors her granddaughter chose. After a few minutes she began moving faster. 

She quickly drew a crowd of little girls. They made appreciative noises as they discussed the colors they would choose when it was their turn. I saw Bob organize them into another line similar to the one of little girls waiting for me to paint their faces. I was curious on how Bethany learned to wrap hair, but figured asking her now would be a mistake. 

I finished painting the little girl's face and another girl sat in the chair. I rinsed the brush and shook my hands to relax them. They were getting stiff. I hadn't painted faces in years. The arthritis didn't help. It sucked getting old. Thankfully it wasn't really bad today and mostly affected the wrist of my opposite hand. 

"So, what does a beautiful little girl like you want me to paint on her face?" I asked. 

"I like bats and spiders!" the girl exclaimed. "Scary ones!" 

"Oh," I said, trying to hide my surprise. I could see Bethany smile slightly out of the corner of my eye. 

"Ill!" a couple of the nearby girls cried. I tried to dissuade the little girl, but she insisted. Bethany even jumped in and tried to help. 

"Bats and spiders are for Halloween. This is a birthday party! How about a unicorn or carrousel horse?" she put in. I looked at her and sighed. She wasn't picking easy stuff. The girl turned Bethany's ideas down flat, but some of the other girls seemed very interested. I sighed again. Bethany's smile grew wider. 

"I can't put a spider or bat on such a beautiful face," I said, and then asked, "How about I put a nice scary spider on your arm?" 

"Okay," the little girl said, holding out her right arm. I smiled and reached for my brush. A bat would have been easier, but I preferred spiders. In truth, neither was traumatically hard, just harder then the hearts, stars and moons I'd been getting away with so far. 

It didn't take particularly long to make a 'Scary' spider, even with a web as the background. Bethany was still working on her granddaughter's hair. She was moving fast, but at this rate she'd never finish all of the girls. 




Saving the Company Ch. 03



"Nice spider," she said almost grudgingly as she glanced at the little girl's arm once I was done. 

"I just hope no one else wants something like it," I replied as the girl walked away and another sat in the chair. This one already had a smiley face on one cheek. "I have mostly pastels. The black was supposed to be used for an occasional outline." 

"I want a unicorn!" the little girl interjected excitedly. I looked at Bethany with a raised eyebrow. She laughed. 

"I only do unicorn heads," I replied. The little girl nodded in acceptance so I rinsed my brushes and reached for the pastel colors. I started on the horn first. It came out pretty good. The head wasn't bad either. 

"Thank you!" the little girl cried as she looked in the mirror. 

"You're welcome," I smiled. 

"That's very nice." I turned toward the voice and saw Bethany's daughter standing there. I also noticed that Bethany's was just finishing up Molly's hair. "You both do a good job." 

"Thanks," I said. Bethany's just nodded at her daughter the same way she nodded to me when I said hello. I found myself hoping I didn't cause any real damage to the mother-daughter relationship. My concern must have been plain on my face. 

"Don't worry," Jennie said with a grin. "She can only stay mad at me for so long." 

"We'll see," Bethany snapped. 

"Oh come on mother!" Jennie grinned. "I've done much worse then this and you've forgiven me." I could see Bethany fighting off a smile. 

"I could leave if you like?" I offered to Bethany. 

"And disappoint all of the little girls who want their faces painted?" Jennie quickly put in, frowning at me. She obviously wasn't happy I offered to leave. I ignored her and looked at Bethany. 

"It wouldn't be fair to the girls," Bethany finally said. I smiled, and surprisingly she met my gaze and smiled back. The connection between us sparked. Her daughter saw it. 

"I knew you liked him!" Jennie crowed quietly. The look Bethany shot her daughter was frightening, but Jennie just laughed. 

"I'm thinking that I may be too busy at work to visit for a while," Bethany said pointedly. 

"You'll never last that long," Jennie grinned. "Maybe if it was just me, but are you really willing to pass up seeing Molly?" 

"Maybe," Bethany insisted, but I could see her weakening. 

"That's okay," Jennie said with a wink at me. "Bob's mother is due up from Florida in a couple of weeks anyway." 

"Ouch!" I said in surprise. "You don't fight fair!" 

"No I don't," Jennie agreed. "I'm a lot like my mother." The two women exchanged looks. It was a mother-daughter moment, although I not sure it was a particularly pleasant one. 

"We have customers waiting," I prompted Bethany. She looked at the little girl in her chair and smiled. I did the same to the one in my chair. 

"I actually came by to see if either one of you needed a drink," Jennie said as we both started working on the girl in front of us. "I have beer, wine and soda." 

"Soda for now," I said. Bethany nodded in agreement. 

"Something to eat?" Jennie added. Neither of us accepted. Jennie disappeared and returned moments later with our drinks. 

I finished the girl in front of me a while later and was surprised to see that Bethany was almost done with the girl she was working on as well. It only took a moment to see that she only wrapped a couple of inches at the bottom of this girl's hair. It actually looked pretty good and the girl seemed happy enough with it. 

"I was wondering how you were going to get through all of the girls today with the time you spent on Molly," I said with a smile. 

"Well, since it's Molly's party I figured I'd give her the full treatment," Bethany smiled in return. "The rest of the girls will have to settle." 

"It seems only fair," I said with a shrug. "I'm sure they'll be happy. You do a good job." 

"You're pretty good at face painting as well," she said. "Where did you learn to do it?" 

"I've been doing it for years," I smiled, remembering. 

"What? Is it a side job?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"No," I laughed. "I only do it once a year." 

"For what?" 

"The Special Olympics," I replied, still smiling. "I started out as a clown." 

"And they promoted you to face painter?" Bethany asked with a grin. 

"Only after years of hard work," I explained. We exchanged looks and laughed again. "So, where did you learn to wrap hair?" 

She told me and we started swapping stories of the trials and tribulations of raising a teenage daughter. It was particularly funny at times because we had to be careful how we said things. After all, we were still painting and wrapping the hair of impressionable little six-year-old girls. I lost track of the number of face paintings I did as we talked. 

"So, your daughter Carla moved in with you when she was fourteen?" Bethany asked with a shake of her head. "That's a hard period in a girl's life." 

"I know," I sighed. I was sharing far more then I expected to, but I realized that I didn't mind telling Bethany. "She was boy crazy at the time and was dating a real winner. I think it had to do with her mother's life style." 

"What did you do?" Bethany asked. 

"Well, first I spent two or three months fighting with her to clean up her act. It was pretty much a losing battle until I had some dumb luck. I walked in one day and found her watching a woman's soccer game. I suddenly remembered that she used to play when she was a kid." 

"You convinced her to start playing again?" Bethany asked. 

"Eventually," I smiled, and then explained, "I enlisted the help of a friend of mine. He came by with his daughter who played for the local high school. The three of us started kicking a ball around when I was expecting Carla home." 

"Did she take the bait?" Bethany asked. 

"Hook, line and sinker," I grinned. "It was a month before school started and Carla decided she wanted to try out for the girls soccer team. She had me out every day after work. I think I got in the best shape of my life!" 

"What happened with the boy she was dating?" Bethany asked. 

"He wasn't thrilled with Carla new focus on soccer," I replied, and then frowning added carefully, "I think it had more to do with her no longer partying the way she used to." Bethany met my gaze and thankfully nodded in understanding. I had no intention mentioning in front of little girls the fact that Carla came home drunk or worse often enough before joining the soccer team. 

"How did you get rid of him?" Bethany prompted. 

"I didn't," I replied innocently. She just looked at me until I laughed and added, "I did introduced her to Frank." 

"Frank?" Bethany said in surprise. "Isn't her husband's name Frank?" 

"Exactly!" I grinned. "He was a boy who went to her school. He was also a varsity lacrosse player and a heck of a kid. I met him when one of my neighbors recommended him to mow my lawn. He was a hard worker. I liked him. I still do." 

"Wow, that's quite a story," Bethany said. "You did a amazing job." 

"No," I sighed. "The only amazing things were the luck I had and Carla. It could have fallen apart at any time." I had friends who weren't as lucky as me. One particular came to mind and I sighed. I still remembered the funeral. 

We fell silent for a time. I hadn't planned on opening up so much, but there was just something about Bethany that made me feel comfortable. It didn't stop me from also feeling a little embarrassed about how much I said. Bethany seemed to realize this and left me alone for a while. I finished painting another girl's face and saw that the one with the spider on her arm returned. 

"You want the bat too?" I asked. The little girl nodded and I grinned. "Okay, give me your other arm." 

Instead of doing a quick and simply bat, I decided to do a cave with two or three bats in it. It probably took longer than it should have, but there was something about the little girl that suddenly reminded me of my daughter Carla. 

"Wow!" the little girl grinned once I was done. Bethany looked over and raised an eyebrow. 

"Remind me to invite you over to paint Molly's face for Halloween," she said appreciatively. 

"I'll come over any time you ask," I replied carefully. Bethany looked at me and shook her head slightly. She knew exactly what I meant. I almost sighed aloud in relief when she smiled as well. 

"Time for cake and candy!" Bob called and the little girls went scurrying. Jennie came by as we started packing up. 

"Don't worry about that now," she insisted. "Go wash up quickly. We're going to sing in a few minutes." Jennie was gone before either or us could say anything. 

"Follow me," Bethany said, leading me to the house. We used the kitchen sink to wash up. I actually needed it more than her. She finished first and waited for me. 

"Hurry!" she said. "We don't want to miss the cake." 

"You go ahead," I grinned. "I'll be there in a few minutes." 

"Worried about having to sing?" she teased. I nodded and grinned. She laughed and added, "I'll meet you outside." There was no way she was going to missing her granddaughter's cake. 

I watched her go. I loved the way she moved. She did things to me. 

"You'd better hurry," Bob said from beside me. I was staring at Bethany so intently that I didn't notice him entering the room. 

"Almost done," I replied as I washed my forearms. 

"Jennie's lighting the candles," he said as he went back toward the living room. He stopped just before entering and added, "They'll be plenty of time to look at Bethany later." I shook my head and he laughed as he reentered the living room. Busted! 

I finished washing and dried my hands quickly. I just barely beat Jennie and Bob out of the house. It actually took both of them to carry the big cake. Everyone started singing. 

"Get my camera!" Bob said to me and pointed with his chin. I looked where he pointed to and saw his camera. I quickly picked it up and started taking pictures. Thankfully, it wasn't one of those complex ones. 

It was digital so I didn't worry about snapping too many pictures. I just kept taking another shot every time the flash recharged. Bob must have put new batteries in recently because I was able to take quite a few pictures. I was carefully to make sure I got one of Molly blowing out the candles. 

"Thanks," Bob said taking the camera from me. 

"How many pictures did you take?" Bethany teased. "I think it will be hours before my eyes adjust after all those flashes." 

"Hey," I replied with a shrug. "They'll be lucky if even one of them turns out any good. I'm not much of a photographer." 

"Actually," Bob said as he looked at the pictures on the screen in the back of the camera. "You got a couple of nice ones." 

"Just lucky I guess," I shrugged. 

"You seem to be lucky in many things," Bethany said, remembering our earlier conversation about my daughter Carla. 

"All but one," I replied pointedly. Bob laughed. 

"He means all but love," Bob explained needlessly. 

"I know," Bethany said with a roll of her eyes. "I'd better go help Jennie dole out the cake." 

"It's hopeless," Bob said to me with a sigh as she left. 

"Not really," I replied. "It's just going to take a little time." 

"Haven't you already known her for almost half a year?" he asked. I laughed. 

"Bob, you're still a young man," I replied. "As you get older you'll find that some things take time." 

"Does age also make it easier to wait?" he asked. 

"Harder," I sighed. "Much harder." Bob burst out in laughter. 

"I hope it works out," he finally said once he regained control of himself. 

"Thanks." 

The party ended not long after that. I stayed and helped clean up. It took some time. We sat outside at a table once we were done. Jennie opened a bottle of wine. She poured four glasses. Molly was inside playing with her new presents and her best friend who was sleeping over. 

"Good party," I said to Bob and Jennie. 

"Every year you go a little crazier," Bethany sighed. "What on Earth are you going to do next year to top this?" 

"You'll just have to wait and see," Jennie replied. Bob groaned. 

"I shudder to think what Molly's sweat sixteen part will be," I teased. 

"Thank God we only have one child!" Bob cried. "We'd be broke otherwise!" 

"Um, Bob," Jennie began tentatively. My eyebrows rose considerable. I could tell where she was going by her tone. Well, that and the fact that I noticed she hadn't touched her wine. 

"What?" he asked nervously. He hadn't figured it out yet, but he could tell something was up. I looked over at Bethany. She wasn't really paying attention. I smiled. This was going to be fun. 

"Remember how you were disappointed when we found out Molly was girl?" Jennie asked. 

"I wasn't really disappointed," Bob insisted, but he was a terrible liar. My smile turned into a grin. 

"Well, you've got another chance at having that son you've always wanted." 

"What!" he nearly shouted, but then he laughed and pulled Jennie to him. This brought Bethany focus back to the conversation. 

"What did I just miss?" she asked in annoyance. 

"Nothing much," I teased. "Just that you're going to be a grandmother again." 

"What!" she cried. 

"That's what Bob said," I laughed. Jennie joined me. 

"I was going to wait another couple of weeks before telling you both," Jennie said. "But Bob left such a perfect opening I couldn't resist it." 

"Congratulations," I smiled. Jennie nodded, but Bob still looked stunned. I refilled his glass of wine. 

"Thanks," he said, snapping himself out of it. "But I think I need something stronger. Would you care to join me?" 

"No thanks," I smiled. "I have to drive." 

"I'll take something," Bethany put in and then turned to her daughter and added, "I thought you were only planning on having one child?" 

"I was," Jennie said. "Bob and I agreed." 

"And?" Bethany asked. 

"And, I changed my mind," Jennie shrugged. Bob returned with two shot glasses and a couple of different bottles. 

"What will you have?" he asked Bethany. 

"Whatever you're having," she replied. He poured two drinks. Father and mother then toasted Jennie's pregnancy. We chatted for another five minutes before they made another toast. On the third one Jennie stood. 

"You two are not going to do this to me again," she said, picking up the bottles. "I'm not going through what I went through the night I told you I was pregnant with Molly again. I'm too tired." 

"Sorry," Bob said sheepishly. Bethany frowned, but nodded. 

"Speaking of being tired," she said. "I should probably be going." 

"Me too," I added. 

"Mother, you just had a glass of wine and three shots," Jennie said. "You're not going anywhere." Bethany opened her mouth to argue, but then thought better of it. 

"You're probably right," she sighed. 

"I can give you a ride home if you'd like?" I offered. Bethany looked at me and frowned. 

"It's either that or sleep over. I'm sure Molly and her friend will fall asleep eventually," Jennie said pointedly. I looked at her and nodded thankfully. She winked. 

"Maybe I should stay to help with the girls," Bethany surprised us both by offering. "You really need your sleep." 

"So do you mother," Jennie insisted. "Bob will stay up until the girls fall asleep." Bethany looked at Bob. 

"It's not like I'm going to be able to sleep tonight anyway," he said with a half smile. 

"Okay," Bethany finally agreed. I smiled and refused to let out the whoop of triumph that threatened. 

We said our goodbyes and congratulated them one more time. I was driving for five minutes before she finally spoke. I don't think it was my presence that was keeping her silent. 

"I feel old," she said. 

"I'm not surprised," I shrugged. "Between being tired from wrapping hair all day and the news that you're going to be a grandmother again, it would be a surprise if you weren't feeling that way." We fell silent again until my stomach growled. Bethany turned toward me and grinned. 

"Hungry?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Yes," I acknowledged. 

"I'm a little hungry myself," Bethany admitted. 

"We could get something to eat?" I offered. She looked at me and smiled lopsidedly. 

"I'm not cooking for you again," she said. 

"Not tonight," I said in agreement. "But there will be other nights." 

"You hope," she teased. I could tell that the alcohol was affecting her. She wasn't drunk, but she also wasn't acting so tense around me either. 

We were stopped at a red light so I took a moment to look at her. I don't remember moving, but suddenly we were kissing once again. It was just as amazing as I remembered. 

Someone beeped from behind us and we reluctantly broke apart. At least I did it reluctantly. I think Bethany wanted to continue the kiss as well, but with her I never could tell for sure. 

"Wow," I said as I focused on driving. I could feel Bethany's eyes on me. 

"I don't feel so old anymore," she said, watching me carefully. 

"Or tired," I said in agreement, and then added, "Where would you like to eat?" 

"Your choice," she said in a way that made me look at her once again. 

"How about my place?" I asked, surprising myself. Bethany smiled. 

"Can you cook?" she asked. 

"Do you like Chicken Marseille?" I asked in reply. 

"You know how to make Chicken Marseille?" 

"I already have the ingredients at home," I smiled. I usually made myself something special on the weekend. 

"I don't think a man has ever cooked for me," she said, almost to herself. 

"There is a first time for everything," I said carefully. 

"And a second," she said cryptically. She was brushing her fingertips across her lips. I found myself wondering what she was thinking, but I knew better than to ask. That didn't stop me from hoping. 

We arrived at my house and I gave Bethany a brief tour that ended at the liquor cabinet. 

"Do you mind if I take a quick shower? I smell of sweat and paint," I asked. She shrugged and I added, "Make yourself comfortable." 

I jumped in the shower and washed quickly. I was out and dressed in less than fifteen minutes. I left my room and heard music. I smiled to myself as I realized that Bethany found my stereo and my collection of CDs. She chose one of the Sinatra disks. That was a good sign. 

"Here," she said when she saw me. She was holding out one of the two glasses she held. I tasted it and smiled. It was vodka with just enough cranberry to add a little color. 

"This new grandchild must be hitting you harder than I thought," I said. Bethany smiled and shrugged again. She also took a long pull on her drink. I frowned. I cared for Bethany. I didn't want to watch her get herself souses. 

"Why don't you take a quick shower before we eat?" I offered. "It will make you feel better." 

"I could certainly use one," she agreed, remembering her long day in the sun wrapping little girls' hair. "But what will I use for clothes?" 

I smiled as I thought of one possibility. She looked at me and knew exactly what I was thinking. Bethany didn't look really annoyed, but she did shake her head. 

"You can borrow some of Carla old stuff," I said quickly. "She won't mind." 

"Are you sure?" Bethany asked. 

"Of course," I replied, showing her Carla's room. I gave her a towel and pointed toward the bathroom just before making my way back to the kitchen. I heard the shower go on a few minutes later and smiled. 

I started dinner. Bethany took her time in the shower. I was just finishing the chicken when she came out. She was wearing one of Carla's old white tee shirts and a pair of blue sweats. She wasn't wearing any makeup and her damp hair was up in a tight ponytail. She looked amazing and I couldn't help tell her so. 

"Thanks," she smiled. "I could do with some makeup." 




Saving the Company Ch. 03



"Nonsense!" I snapped, causing her smile to widen. 

"Is dinner ready?" she asked. "I'm famished." 

"Yes, it is," I smiled. "What would you like to drink with it?" 

"Just water for now," she said, and then looked at me meaningfully and added, "Thanks for offering the shower. It helped." I shrugged. 

"I hope you like dinner," I said. "It's my mother's recipe." 

We sat down and I served the chicken. Bethany took her first taste and her expression turned to one of surprise. 

"This is very good!" she said. 

"Don't sound so shocked," I said with a frown. She grinned. 

The rest of the meal went smoothly. I was surprised to find that we ate almost all the chicken I cooked. We must have both been very hungry. 

"I have some ice cream for dessert," I offered. Bethany groaned. 

"I can't even think of eating another thing!" she cried. 

"Me neither," I smiled. "Let's go sit on the couch." We moved to the living room. There were two couches. I kicked off my shoes and laid down on the longer one. 

"Getting comfy?" Bethany asked. 

"Join me?" I asked in reply lifting my arm in welcome. Bethany hesitated, but then shrugged and joined me. We spooned and I smiled. 

"You smell wonderful," I said as I gave her a squeeze. "Let's take a little nap." She just snuggled closer. It wasn't long before we both fell asleep. It was still early, but we both needed the rest. The music and good food helped. 

"Joe, it's late," I heard Bethany say as she gently shook me awake. I looked at my watch and frowned. 

"I'll say!" I agreed. "It's nearly three o'clock in the morning." 

"So much for our little nap," Bethany sighed, and then asked, "I don't suppose you are willing to give me a ride home now?" 

"Wouldn't you rather climb into bed and sleep?" I asked. 

"Like you'd let me sleep," she said sarcastically. 

"Eventually," I smiled. She shook her head and went to the bathroom to freshen up. I went into the bathroom in my room to do the same. 

"Joe?" I heard her call. 

"In here!" I yelled back. 

"There you are," she said and then noticed the hot tub. "Nice tub." 

"I like it," I replied. "Care to soak with me?" 

"I don't think so," she replied, but I heard her hesitation. 

"Okay," I sighed leading her out of the bathroom. I then added playfully, "In that case, I guess the bed will have to do." 

"What!" she cried, but I had already pushed her onto the bed. I jumped in afterward and started kissing her. She was too busy laughing to fight at first. By the time her laughter stopped, she was kissing me back. 

"We aren't going to do this again!" she insisted, but she didn't push me away. 

"Of course we are," I said. "We've both been dreaming about doing this again since the last time." 

"You're wrong!" Bethany insisted. My lips moved down to her neck and continued to kiss. "I'm serious!" 

"Bethany, tell me you don't feel more alive this minute then you have in the three months since we were first together and I'll give you a ride home right now?" I asked. Bethany looked at me and then sighed loudly. 

"I can't," she finally said, admitting the truth. 

"Then just let go and enjoy yourself!" I said. 

"I shouldn't," she argued, but my hand was already under the tee shirt she was wearing. I caressed her breasts and she bit her bottom lip. 

"But you will," I smiled. 

"Just for tonight," she finally gave in. My lips found hers and we kissed deeply. 

Once she committed, Bethany was every bit as amorous as she was that first night. We both shed our clothes without thought or hesitation. I let my lips travel down her body. I gently tasted her nipples before continuing lower. Bethany gasped when my kisses reached her inner thigh and groaned even louder a moment later. 

She tasted delicious! I continued until her fingers were tangled in my hair, holding my mouth where it needed to be for her to cum in intense pleasure. 

"Oh yes!" Bethany cried as her body shook. I didn't stop using my tongue until she was done. 

"You sir, are depraved!" she giggled once as I moved up and lay next to her. 

"You have no idea," I replied with a wink. 

"Oh, I think I do," she grinned in return as she reached out and took my cock in her hand. I felt her other hand caress my balls. 

"Stop teasing me!" I laughed. 

"I guess I should return the favor," Bethany smiled and began to lower mouth toward my cock, but I surprised us both when I pulled her to me and kissed her instead. Our tongues danced for a few moments. 

"I can't wait any longer," I moaned when we finally broke apart. "First, I want to...no, I need to..." 

"Me too!" Bethany cried as she lay on her back and pulled me between her legs. The head of my cock touch her fiery center and we both moaned. I pushed in. Bethany bit her top lip this time and wrapped her legs around my waist. It felt so good to once again be inside of her! 

"Deeper!" she cried. "I've been thinking about doing this again for months!" 

"I thought earlier you said that you didn't dream about me?" I asked. She grabbed my ass and pulled me deep. 

"I lied!" she cried as our pelvises bumped. I slowly started working myself in and out of her. Bethany groaned and added, "You make me feel so good!" 

"You? I didn't think two people could fit together so perfectly!" I moaned as I started using long, deep strokes. Bethany's legs squeezed me tighter and tighter as she neared her second orgasm. 

"Come on!" she half order and half begged. "I want to feel your cum deep inside me again!" I was moving quickly now. I leaned forward and gently bit her nipple. Bethany gasped and I applied more pressure. 

"Yes!" she cried as she came for the second time. I smiled briefly as I watched her before losing control and joining her. We both shuddered for a few moments. I rolled off of her afterward. We lay looking at each other. 

"What now?" Bethany grinned as she fought to catch her breath. 

"Well, you do owe me, but first I think we should try the hot tub," I said as I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. I turned on the water and made sure it was the right temperature. I returned to the bedroom to find Bethany lying there looking amazingly sexy and relaxed. 

"Come here," she said and I moved to the side of the bed. She turned on her side facing me and took my cock into her hand. She pulled me closer until her mouth could reach my balls. I groaned as her tongue snaked out. I stood there taking as much as I could before pulling away. 

"Where are you going?" Bethany teased. 

"Well, one of two things was going to happen if I didn't pull away right then. Either I was going to cum and probably fall on the floor, ruining the rest of our night, or I was going to get in bed and forget about the hot tub. I really don't feel like cleaning up the water spill," I sighed. "You still want to try the hot tub or should I just shut it?" 

"Let's go," she said, getting out of bed. Bethany looked like a goddess! I was unable to resist. I pulled her to me and our naked bodies touched as we kissed once again. 

We were both throwing off a lot of heat and my hand drifted down her back to her ass. My cock was rubbing against her stomach so I reached down between us with my free hand and moved it between her legs. She was very wet already. 

Bethany lifted one leg and wrapped it around me, giving me better access to her pussy. I groaned and slipped into her once again. She wrapped her arms around my neck. 

"What about the hot tub?" she asked with a sexy grin. 

"I'll clean up the mess later," I replied causing her to laugh. 

I used both hands to lift Bethany. She raised her other leg and also wrapped it around my waist. I was holding her up as she slowly sank down the entire length of my cock. It wasn't the most comfortable position, but I was too horny to stop now. At least I was able to move us so that her back was against a wall. That helped. 

"Don't you think we're a little old for this type of craziness?" Bethany said, but she was groaning as I moved back and forth. 

"Speak for yourself, grandma!" I teased. 

"You bastard!" she whispered in my ear hotly. "You'll pay for that!" 

"Promises, promises!" I laughed. Bethany went after my ear with her teeth and tongue. I'd always known my ears were sensitive, but not that sensitive! I started driving up into her as the combination of her tongue at my ear and her pussy on my cock drove me wild. 

"I'm going to cum!" I finally cried. 

"That's it, Grandpa! Fill me with your cum if you're up to it!" Bethany cried. I was too close to even bother grinning. 

"Oh, I'm up to it!" I growled as I slammed poor Bethany against the wall and came again. She grunted as she continued to focus on my ear. I could feel her orgasm take her. 

Bethany's hot fluid washed over my cock and down my thighs as her legs dropped to the floor. We stayed there, leaning into each other and the wall as we regained control of ourselves. 

"The hot tub is probably overflowing by now," Bethany said between pants. 

"Damn!" I returned and forced myself away from the wall and toward the bathroom. Bethany was laughing behind me. 

I walked into the bathroom expecting to see a flood by now, but instead saw that the water wasn't much higher than normal. I looked carefully and saw that the hidden drains the guy who sold it to me told me about were actually working. I'd never tested them before. 

"How bad?" Bethany called from the bedroom. 

"Not bad at all," I replied. "The emergency drains worked perfectly." 

"All that worry for nothing," Bethany added as she entered the room. 

"Who was worried?" I grinned. Bethany laughed for a moment, but then frowned. 

"I think I'm going to have a nasty bump on my head from you banging me against the wall that last time," she said as she gingerly used one hand to probe the back of her head. 

"Serves you right for calling me grandpa," I replied. 

"I wasn't the one who had you pinned against the wall!" she snapped, but I could tell she wasn't really angry. "Besides, you called me grandma first!" 

"We did go at it a little crazily," I sighed. 

"Like we were twenty again," she grinned and then winced in pain. 

"Maybe," I shrugged. "But I never went at it like that when I was twenty." 

"Me neither," she mumbled, and then changed the subject. "Maybe we should just go to bed?" 

"And not use the hot tub?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. "We're going to be achy enough tomorrow as it is." 

"Okay," she sighed. "My body could probably use the soak." 

We climbed into the tub and both sank to our necks in the water. I turned on the jets and we moved around until we were both comfortable. It was a big tub, but in the end we were lying next to each other. I took Bethany's hand in mine. After a while she rolled toward me. Her face was sweat covered. 

"This feels amazing!" she said with a smile. 

"You look amazing," I replied. 

"You're crazy!" she said. "I'm an old lady." 

"Weren't you the one who said that you were comfortable with your age the last time we were together?" I asked. 

"That was before my daughter got pregnant again," she groaned. "And before Brad returned and started giving me so much to do. I'm tired all the time now." 

"And you love it," I said knowingly. "All of it, both Brad overworking you and Jennie's pregnancy." Bethany looked at me and laughed. 

"So then why am I feeling so old?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"It could be because your birthday is next week," I grinned. 

"How did you know that!" she cried, but I ignored her question and asked one of my own. 

"So, twenty-nine again?" I teased. 

"I'd settle for thirty-nine again," she snorted. 

"You look amazing no matter how old you are or feel," I said. 

"You said that already," she smiled, and then laughed and added, "But that doesn't mean you shouldn't be reward for it!" 

Her hand slipped under the water and caressed my balls. I leaned forward and kissed her, allowing my own hand to slowly massage her thigh. We stayed in the hot tub for quite a while. 

"That feels great!" she sighed as my hands continued to rub her thigh. 

"Come on," I said suddenly and stood. I held out my hand and Bethany frowned in curiosity. She hesitated a moment longer before standing and taking my hand. We left the tub and I used a towel to dry her. 

"What exactly are we doing?" she asked. I just smiled and led her back to my bedroom. I pointed toward the bed and started drying myself. She lay down and looked up at me as I used the towel to dry my hair. 

"Roll over onto your stomach," I said once I was done. Bethany shrugged and moved. I sat next to her and started gently rubbing her back. 

"Oh! That feels nice," she sighed. I smiled and continued to knead her muscles. I think she expected that I was only going to massage her back for a few minutes, but she was wrong. 

I took my time and started applying more pressure as she relaxed. My hands traveled up and down her spine. I worked out to the edges and back again. I shifted to her shoulders and neck once her back was relaxed enough. I moved slowly until I could feel the muscles there loosen as well. 

Bethany draped her arms over her head when I started on them. I smiled as I watched her. She was so relaxed that she almost forgot to swallow. I took one of her hands in mine and kneaded it. 

"That was wonderful," Bethany said when I finished with her second hand. 

"I'm not done yet. Roll over," I replied. I moved back to her shoulders and started rubbing them again. I moved to her arms and then to her chest. I didn't focus on her breasts, but on the muscles underneath them. Bethany sighed again. 

"You're relaxing muscles I didn't even know I had!" she groaned. I kept switching hands and rested one while the other worked on Bethany's muscles, occasionally using both. 

I moved down her body to the front of her thighs. They took a while to loosen up before I moved to her shins. I didn't stay there long before shifting to her feet. Bethany moaned again. 

"Roll over once more," I ordered. Bethany didn't even bother replying. She simply did as I said. I started at her feet again and then drifted to her calves. "Wow! You're calves are tight as hell!" 

"That's from the heels I wear," she mumbled. I spent quite a while on them, working at unknotting the muscles there. I skipped her thighs and moved to her lower back and hips. She groaned when I started kneading the muscles in her ass. I used a slow, deep motion. 

"I'd offer to give myself to you in payment if you hadn't already had your way with me tonight twice," she groaned. She really enjoyed having her ass massaged. I chuckled gently. 

"Spread you legs a little," I said. Bethany did so without a word. I straddled her calves and gently started rubbing her thighs. I let my hand drifting to the sensitive area on the insides. Bethany gasped. I smiled when I smelled her musk a moment later. I continued for a couple more minutes before lifting her ass slightly. 

"Oh yeah!" Bethany cried when I rubbed her most private spot. "I don't care what happened earlier! I want you inside of me right now!" 

"Soon," I smiled and leaned forward and tasted her once again. Her pussy was almost steaming. I continued to rub her thighs, but I wasn't sure it mattered anymore. Bethany was arching her back and giving me full access. 

"I'm going to cum again!" she finally cried. I smiled and drove my tongue as deeply as it would go. Bethany all but screamed as she came. I continued to use my tongue until she was completely done with her orgasm. She lay spent under me. 

I moved up her body and pushed my cock into her soaked pussy with one smooth thrust. She gasped into the pillow and tried to lift her hips higher to give me better access, but I was slamming into her so hard that it made it all but impossible. I grabbed her hips as my own became a blur. 

"Oh my God!" Bethany cried as she started shaking in orgasm again. I continued to slam in and out of her and she didn't stop cumming. 

"That's some orgasm," I said, half to myself. 

"I can't stop!" Bethany gasped out as she continued to shudder. 

"Good!" I growled. Her orgasm stretched out and I tried to make it last as long as humanly possible. I was pretty sure she must have had more than one because it continued for quite a while, but I couldn't tell where one ended and the next started. 

"Please stop! I can't take anymore!" Bethany yelled. 

"Sure you can," I insisted. 

My balls were slapping her clit with every stroke. Bethany was now sobbing from the pleasure. Her pussy suddenly seemed to clench around my cock. It wasn't the first time, but it certainly was the strongest. It was almost painful to break free, but I didn't want to stop riding her. 

"Cum in me!" she nearly begged. I grunted and slammed into her one last time. 

"You wish is my command!" I cried as I had the best orgasm in my life. 

"Oh yes! Thank you!" Bethany sobbed as my cum leapt from me and into her. We finished and I could hear her gasping for air, but it still took me a couple of moments to roll off of her. I was that spent. 

"I don't have any words to describe how that felt," I said after a while. 

"For a moment, I thought I was going to die and I didn't care," Bethany said, describing her thoughts on what happened. "That's never happened to me before." 

"Shush," I smiled. "Close you eyes and we'll talk later." Bethany nodded in agreement. Her eyes were already shut. I looked at her for a few minutes and sighed. The truth was hard to face, but even I had to admit it eventually. 

I was in love and there was no hope for it. 

********** 

I woke up and stretched. I found myself smiling as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I looked around and saw that Bethany was already awake and out of bed. I stumbled about half awake and threw on some clothes. 

She was on the couch holding a pillow. The television was on, but she seemed oblivious. 

"Good morning," I said with a smile. 

"Good morning," she replied, but it didn't sound like she was having a particular good one. 

"What do you want to do today?" I asked. 

"I should be getting home," she sighed. I looked at her and shook my head. 

"Absolutely not," I said. 

"I can go home if I want," Bethany insisted. 

"You could," I said in agreement. "But do you really want to?" I moved next to her and kissed her before she could reply. It lasted a long time and despite Bethany's words, she returned it. I smiled to myself. She didn't really want to leave. It was just her head getting in the way. 

"Joe, please," she said. I looked at her and saw that she was serious. I lost my smile for the first time since I woke up. 

"Bethany," I sighed. "Last night was incredible! You can't tell me it meant nothing to you?" 

"It meant a lot," she replied. "But that doesn't make it any less of a mistake." 

"Are you telling me you're sorry it happened?" I asked in amazement. She ignored my question. 

"What will Brad say if he finds out?" she asked instead. 

"He'd be happy for us," I replied. Bethany looked at me and frowned. 

"How can you be so sure?" she asked. 

"Two reasons actually," I replied. "First, I had to give him a reason why I missed our weekly golf outing." 

"You told him what you were doing yesterday?" 

"Of course, I didn't see any reason to lie," I said with a shrug. "Besides, it was Brad's idea that I enlist your daughter's help." 

"He didn't!" Bethany said in shock. 

"He did," I sighed. "But you're daughter came and found me before I could seek her out anyway." 

"That sounds like Jennie," Bethany said, shaking her head. "Was it last Tuesday when she visited?" 

"Yes," I replied. "It was actually pretty funny." 

"What was?" 

"Well, I had Sally inform me when Jennie and Molly arrived. I was still trying to figure out how to approach Jennie when she knocked on my door," I grinned. 




Saving the Company Ch. 03



"Sally knows!" Bethany groaned. "That means everyone in the company thinks..." 

"Probably," I agreed. 

"This is ridiculous!" Bethany finally sighed. 

"I agree," I said. "Since everybody knows, why try and deny it or keep it a secret?" 

"Because you work for my boss!" Bethany snapped. The words sounded hallow. She couldn't still be using our working together as a reason to keep us apart? Could she? At this point that would be crazy. 

"And he's doing his best to help us get together!" I argued, trying to figure out how last night turned into this morning. I was too old to be in this much pain over a woman! 

"I think you should take me home," Bethany said again. 

"Bethany," I said, using my hand to move her chin gently until she was looking at me once more. "I've fallen in love with you." 

She had to return my love. No two people shared the type of night we had without there being love involved. Did they? 

"Take me home!" Bethany cried, her denial of my love plain to see on her face. It was not the reaction I hoped for considering she was the first woman since my ex-wife that made me feel this way. I really was unlucky in love. 

"So, last night meant nothing to you?" I asked one more time. 

"I already answered that question. Now are you going to take me home or do I call a cab?" she snapped. I looked at her carefully and watched as her eyes darted around the room. The truth suddenly hit me. 

I kept telling everyone that I would just be patient until she saw the truth. The problem was she already knew it. I loved her and deep in her heart I thought she loved me. I'd finally met someone more afraid of love than me. Her denial of that love physically hurt! 

"Fine," I said coldly. "Get your clothes." I had enough. I wasn't going to beg her to stay with me! It wasn't like I was short of company if I wanted it. 

The trip to her house went by in complete and total silence. I couldn't remember being so angry in my entire life, not even when my ex-wife left me. We arrived at Bethany's house in record time. I frowned as I realized that I couldn't remember much of the drive over. 

"Joe..." Bethany began. 

"Yes?" I interrupted. My anger was barely suppressed and it surprised me more than it did her, but that surprise did nothing to lesson it. 

"Thanks for dinner and the ride," she said. "Thanks for everything." I grunted. Bethany stepped out of the car and shut the door. I hit the gas before she had time to turn away. I noticed her through the rearview mirror. She was looking at my car as I drove away. 

"You finally got what you wanted," I growled. "I hope it makes you happy." 

********** 

Sally frowned. She knew something had happened between Joe and Sally, and that it wasn't good. Joe had stomped into the office early. He spent five minutes and then stomped out. 

It should have surprised Sally when Bethany walked out of the office a few minutes after she arrived as well, but it didn't. Sally didn't know what was going on and she found that extremely frustrating. She was tempted to call Bethany's daughter Jennie to find out if she knew what was going on. 

Brad walked in late, which was an oddity for him. Cherie had set up a doctor's appointment for him to have his heart checked. It was silly because Brad's heart was as sound as a man half his age, but it was just another of Cherie's little reminders that he was getting old. She did that when she was mad at him. Maybe he shouldn't have spent the last few Sundays at the office. 

The management meeting was supposed to start in a couple of minutes. He ran to his office and dropped off his coat. He was surprised to see that Bethany had left his status folder on his desk instead of bringing it to the meeting. 

'Oh, well,' he thought. 'She must have heard about my part in trying to get her and Joe together and decided to show her displeasure. The women I care about are going to be the death of me yet!' 

He walked to the conference room. The door was open, but he saw that only Karl and Judy were present. He walked in with a frown. 

"Have we heard from Joe or Bethany?" he asked. 

"I haven't heard anything," Judy said with a frown. 

"Me neither," Karl shrugged uncaringly. 

"It's not like either of them to be late," Judy said in a worried tone. 

'Unless of course they are together and decided to take a long weekend,' Brad thought to himself hopefully, however it didn't sound right. He called the reception area. 

"Sally, any word from Joe or Bethany?" 

"They were both in earlier and left," Sally replied, and then added carefully, "Separately. Neither looked particularly happy." 

"Thank you," Brad said and hung up. "I guess we should get started without them." 

"Sounds good to me," Karl said jovially. Brad frowned. Karl was enjoying their absence far too obviously. 

Brad opened his folder and groaned at what he saw. The minutes from the last status meeting were there, but on top of them was an envelop with his name printed on it. It was clearly in Bethany's handwriting. Brad was afraid of this. He removed the envelope and opened it, reading it carefully. 

"Is everything okay?" Judy asked. 

"It seems that Bethany has resigned," Brad replied in a monotone. 

"Oh no!" Judy said. Karl shrugged. He didn't see what the big deal was. Bethany was just a glorified secretary anyway. 

"I can have my secretary call and get a temp in for this afternoon if you'd like?" he offered and then wondered why Brad turned red and Judy gave him an odd look. 

Brad let out a long breath. Now wasn't the time to let Karl's stupidity get the better of him. He reached for the copy of the minutes that Bethany had obviously placed in his folder this morning before she quit. Underneath he found another envelop facing down. He flipped it over and once again saw his name. This time it was written in Joe's handwriting. He was stunned. Brad opened it and read it carefully. 

"What is it Brad?" Judy asked. 

"Joe's resigned as well," he replied. His heart was strong, but a day like this was almost too much anyway. 

"You're joking?" Judy asked in disbelief. 

"I wish I were," Brad replied. 

"This is horrible news for the company," Judy groaned. 

"No it's not," Karl said, sounding happy and truly satisfied. He didn't know what brought on Joe's resignation, but it probably only saved him a couple of months of employment anyway. He smiled as he added to Brad, "I was planning on firing him when you made me the CEO anyway." 

Judy was looking at him oddly again. This time she was also shaking her head, but Karl didn't care. Her time would come soon enough as well. She should never have sided with Joe on so many issues. 

"Karl?" Brad said, getting the COO's attention. 

"Yes?" Karl asked. 

"You're fired." 

"What?" Karl said. Brad couldn't be serious! 

"I was willing to put up with you for Bradley's sake, but with Bethany and Joe gone this company has far too many problems to let you continue to coast. I can't afford to keep you no matter how close you are to Bradley," Brad sighed. 

Judy watched the disbelief dawn on Karl's face. If he were smart, he'd get up and simply walk out, but Karl could never be accused of being that. She watched and waited for the explosion. She noticed that Brad had already dismissed Karl from him mind. He was taking the loss of Joe and Bethany badly, but who could blame him? She wasn't exactly ecstatic over what happened. What could possibly have happened for both of them to quit? 

"You need me old man!" Karl finally snapped. "I'm the only one that can save this company! You all but destroyed it by coming out of retirement! That's probably why Joe and Bethany quit in the first place!" 

Judy's eye grew bigger at Karl words. The most frightening part was that he actually believed them. 

"Get out!" Brad growled, barely controlling himself. 

"I'm not going anywhere!" Karl replied stubbornly. 

"Oh yes you are!" 

Judy reached for the phone and called security. 



Saving the Company Ch. 04



"What a day," I mumbled from the back seat of the police car. It was the first time I was ever in one. The narrow legroom, bulletproof glass and handleless doors were enough to make anyone claustrophobic. Add to that the fact that I was hung over and still a little hazy as to why I was here, and it was unpleasant to say the least.

'Can it get any worse?' I asked myself silently.

A couple days ago I was as happy as I could ever remember being. I had a damn near perfect job and reasonably good health. The best part was that I finally found a woman who I loved enough to chance getting serious with even after the fiasco of my first marriage. 

She was a couple years younger than me, but older than I would have expected considering the average age of the women I dated normally. It surprised me when I first realized that I didn't care. Bethany was intelligent, attractive and definitely the best partner I ever had.

She loved me too. I knew that. Yet it turned out that her love wasn't strong enough to get past her fear of relationships. All day, as I proceeded to drink myself into a stupor, I found myself wondering why? Was it simply that she didn't feel the love as strongly as I did? Or was it because her ex-husband had hurt her worse than my ex-wife hurt me? Certainly, the fact that he had left her damn near penniless and with a child had to be part of it. Yet, that happened decades ago. 

Bethany had overcome it and done well for herself. She raised a fine daughter who was now married and had a child of her own with another on the way. She was self-sufficient and nothing I could do would take that away from her. There was no reason for her to pull back from me like she was other than fear. How do you fight that?

So, all because of a woman who spurned my love, I woke up this morning, went into work and resigned from the best job of my life. It was stupid and I knew it, but I couldn't continue to work at the same place she did. I also couldn't force her to leave. She had committed a large part of her life to the company and it would just be too cruel to take that away from her no matter how mad and hurt I was feeling.

"We're here," the police officer driving the car said as he parked. I waited impatiently as his partner got out of the car and opened my door.

"Thanks," I said, feeling much better out in the cool night air. I never realized just how claustrophobic I could feel. I think it was the fact that I had no control of the doors rather than the cramped space. I looked around and frowned.

"This isn't the police station. It's a hospital," I said in surprise. The policemen nodded, but refused to comment.

"Please follow me," one of them said, leading me in. I followed numbly wondering what was really going on. I should have asked more questions when they arrived at my house, but I was too groggy to think straight.

I spent most of the elevator ride up with my thoughts split between trying to figure out what this was all about, and deciding who I should contact in order to gain the services of a good criminal attorney if need be. I knew a couple good corporate lawyers, but this was different.

"No use overreacting," I told myself. The stony faced policemen didn't comment. 

"In here," one of them said as we exited the elevator. He was pointing toward a waiting room. I saw that there was another pair of policemen at the door. I walked past them and was stunned to see the room empty except for Bethany.

"What's going on?" I asked her, my tone stony. I was not ready to face her after the day I had.

"I have no idea," she replied curtly. 

"I guess we wait," I shrugged. Bethany nodded in agreement. We sat there for ten minutes in silence. I couldn't think of anything to say to her. She looked worn out. I'm sure I looked worse.

The entrance of a rather small, elderly woman interrupted my thoughts. Her hair was white and her skin pale, but she was well dressed and wore some rather expensive jewelry.

"That will be all gentlemen," she said to the policemen. "Thank you." The officers nodded and left. My eyebrows rose. This lady had to have quite a lot of political power. I turned back toward Bethany and saw that she recognized the woman. Her shocked expression made that obvious.

"Cherie, what's wrong?" Bethany asked. "Is it Brad? Is he okay?"

I looked at the woman once more. So, this was Brad's wife. She was smaller than I expected, but the intenseness of her gaze made her seem bigger. She looked irate as hell.

"Why should you care?" Cherie spat back. "Either of you!"

"What do you mean?" I asked in surprise. "Is something wrong with Brad?"

"Is something wrong?" she asked sarcastically, and then added in a tone that damn near dripped with it, "No, I always stand in hospital waiting rooms for no apparent reason."

"Please," I said. "Is Brad going to be okay?"

"Cherie! Please!" Bethany added. Cherie looked at the concern on both of our faces and calmed slightly.

"Yes, no thanks to you two," she replied. "He's recovering from an operation."

"What happened?" Bethany asked.

"Well, he's not a young man you know," Cherie replied, not really answering.

"Was it his heart?" I asked, not able to believe it possible, but wanting verification. Brad was the fittest seventy-two year old I'd ever met.

"It could have been, considering that two of the people he cares most about abandoned him," she replied acidly.

"Abandoned him?" I asked. "What are you talking about?"

"What? You didn't leave a written resignation on his desk this morning?" she asked me, her voice once again dripping in sarcasm. 

"Yes, but that had nothing to do with abandoning Brad," I said with a frown. "I just thought it would make it easier. I didn't want to hurt anyone."

"You didn't even have the decency to do it face to face!" Cherie snapped.

"You quit?" Bethany asked in amazement. I shrugged and she continued, "But you loved that job! I'm sure Brad planned on making you CEO eventually."

"Brad already offered him the job," Cherie said succinctly. "It was my understanding that they were just waiting for the right moment to announce it."

"Brad made you the CEO and you resigned!" Bethany cried as she stood and faced me. She was obviously angry. "How could you? Brad was willing to rely on you to take care of his company and you threw it in his face! What about the employees? Those people need you!"

"And what about you?" Cherie asked Bethany, cutting through her rant. "Wasn't your resignation also on his desk? Again, not even enough common courtesy to face him. You were his right hand for over two decades!" All the anger in Bethany melted away and she fell back into her chair.

"I can't believe you resigned," I sighed. "You love that company like it was a second child." Bethany looked at me and shrugged. I found myself wondering if she did it to be with me, but if she had, why hadn't she told me?

"What exactly is going on?" Cherie asked. "Why did both of you resign on the same day?" She waited, but neither of us answered. I tried to meet Bethany's eyes, but she refused to look at me. I sighed to myself. Bethany didn't quit to be with me, she quit to avoid me. I wondered how she rationalized it considering her whole argument to keep us apart revolved around us working together.

"Brad told me about you two, but I just didn't believe him until right now," Cherie said, interrupting my thoughts. "Don't you both think you're a little old to be letting your personal lives interfere with work?"

"Yes," I said glumly. "That's why I resigned."

"Me too," Bethany added.

"So, my husband ends up in a hospital because you two are too..." Cherie began, but then she stopped herself and shook her head.

"Cherie, what's really wrong with Brad?" I asked into the silence that followed. The woman looked at me carefully before answering.

"Well, after you left Brad had no choice but to fire Karl," she said. I frowned and then nodded slowly. It made sense in away.

"He couldn't afford to keep someone as inept as Karl on considering," I sighed. Cherie nodded.

"So, what happened afterward?" Bethany asked.

"Well, Karl refused to go quietly," Cherie continued. "From what I understand it quickly devolved into a shoving match between Brad and Karl."

"That little shit!" I growled.

"Quite," Cherie said, nodding once in agreement before continuing with what happened. "There is a disagreement on who threw the first punch that I'm sure the lawyers will have fun figuring out, but the end result was that Brad broke his hand rather badly."

"And Karl?" I asked. I found myself trying to remember where the little shit lived.

"He has a broken jaw," Cherie said with a cold smile. "That's what Brad broke his hand on."

"Wasn't security called?" Bethany asked.

"Certainly, but they arrived too late to protect my fool headed husband!" Cherie said. "Over seventy and getting in a fist fight! The three of your deserve each other."

"So, Brad will be okay?" Bethany asked, knowing it was true, but just needing to hear it again.

"Eventually," Cherie replied. "He'll have pins in his hand for a while, but the doctor says that despite his age he should regain full use of it."

"How is Brad's mood?" I asked.

"Mood?" Cherie asked in surprise. "Why, he's irate." 

"At us?" Bethany asked glumly.

"Of course," Cherie replied, but then frowned and added, "Although all he keeps whining about is how this is going to affect his golf game."

I couldn't help it. Brad wasn't hurt that badly and he was going to be fine. I was so relieved that I laughed. Bethany met my gaze. She shared my relief and a moment later, my laughter. We both loved that old man.

"Can we see him?" Bethany asked once we calmed. 

"I'm sorry, but no," she sighed, sounding truly sad.

"Cherie, I know you're mad at us..." Bethany began, but Cherie cut her off.

"It's not me," she said sadly. "I told you, he's mad as a hell with you two. You both really hurt him. He specifically told me that he didn't want to see either of you." Bethany and I looked at each other, not sure what to say or do.

"So, what's he going to do with the company?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Who knows?" Cherie shrugged. "He told me that tomorrow we'd be leaving for a two-week long vacation. He'll make up his mind after that."

"But who is going to run it while he's gone? Judy?" Bethany asked.

"No," Cherie replied. "Our son Bradley is going to step in for the two weeks we'll be gone."

"I thought he was at school?" I frowned.

"He is, but he's coming back at his father's request," Cherie sighed. "My son isn't happy about it, but he's willing to miss a couple of weeks of classes until we return."

"Oh," I said, trying to hide my concern. Two weeks were a very short time, but with Karl, Bethany and me gone and Brad off, I felt bad for young Bradley. The clients would hear about what was going on, not to mention the employees. That place was going to be a zoo.

"Maybe I could go back for the two weeks," Bethany began, obviously having the same concerns as me.

"I could as well," I put in. "Brad treated me very well. I probably shouldn't have resigned without giving any notice anyway. I just thought..."

"No, you didn't!" Cherie interjected. I shook my head. She was right and I deserved her condemnation.

"Cherie, I really am sorry," I sighed. "Just let me go back and put things in order. It's the least I can do for Brad."

"It's too late for that now," Cherie sighed. "Brad is so mad that I'm certain he won't accept your offer."

"Well, then," I said sadly. "What can we do to help?"

"Nothing," Cherie shrugged. "I probably shouldn't have had you two brought here, but I was just so angry at you for what you did."

"Cherie, I'm sorry," Bethany said, close to tears. "You know how I feel about Brad." The elderly woman shrugged.

"Perhaps I'll be able to convince him to talk to you in a few months. The best thing is to let it go for now," she replied. Bethany and I nodded numbly.

* * *

"Oh, this is maddening!" I snapped. It was Wednesday and I was already going stir crazy at home. The worse part was that I spent half my time thinking about my situation with Bethany and the other half remembering what I was supposed to be doing back at the office.

"I need to get out of the house for a while," I said to myself with a loud sigh.

I was tempted to stop by Bethany's house, but what would I say when I got there? I certainly wasn't going to beg her to reconsider and anything I said would sound just like that. So instead, I found myself parked in front of the office. I walked in, not really sure why I was there or if I'd even be let in.

"Hello, Joe!" Sally said in surprise. "What brings you here?"

"I have to clean out my desk," I said with a shrug.

"Sorry to hear you decided to leave us," Sally added.

"Me too," I mumbled under my breath as I made my way to my old office. At least they hadn't emptied it yet.

I looked around and sighed sadly. I left in such a state that I hadn't even bothered to take my favorite picture of my daughter's family. I started to pack up my personal belongings. It was damn near painful, which was silly considering I was only with the company less than a year.

"Joe!"

I turned at the exclamation and saw Judy standing at the doorway with a surprised look on her face.

"Hello Judy," I smiled. "How are you doing?"

"How am I doing?" she asked, her tone turning sarcastic. "Let's just say that if I were a man I'd punch you in the nose!"

"Why? What's wrong?" I asked. Judy was normally so calm, but she didn't seem so now.

"Well, for starters, I have no idea why Brian Halton is sitting in my office. He arrived ten minutes ago to say you and he had a meeting scheduled," she said. 

Brian was subcontractor we used occasionally. I was interested in using him for some special projects I had in mind if he were willing to discuss a discounted rate. I was also interested in actually hiring him eventually if he did well on those projects. He was a good technician and knew it, but he wasn't a very good businessman. We'd both benefit from the relationship.

"This morning I received a call from the president of Votine. He says that you promised them a free upgrade the last time you met," Judy continued.

"I promised him a trial version of the new module," I said with a shake of my head.

"Well," Judy snapped. "He seems to think otherwise."

"No he doesn't," I sighed. "He's just trying to see what he can get with all the craziness going on around here." 

"Are you serious?" she asked is disbelief. I nodded.

"I was sort of hoping he would refuse the upgrade. He's not the type of client I like doing business with," I said, but then shrugged and added, "But he is one of our bigger clients, so I hate to lose the income. That's why I promised him a free trial version."

"That bastard!" Judy snapped. I nodded in agreement.

"What else?" I asked.

"Well, I'm not sure anyone's done any real work in the last two days," she sighed. "I'm worried about deadline slippage on some of the key projects."

"Has Bradley talked to the employees?" I asked.

"He hasn't even arrived yet!" Judy nearly growled. "He couldn't get a flight until Tuesday afternoon. There was some sort of trouble and he didn't arrive in town until about six this morning."

"Where is he now?"

"Sleeping," she sighed. "It turns out that he's not particularly comfortable flying and he didn't sleep all night. He was exhausted."

I rubbed my hands through my hair and fought back a groan. I regretted my decision to come back to pick up my stuff. It was painful to see how badly things were going.

"Is there anything I can do?" I heard myself ask.

"Yes," Judy said succinctly. That surprised me. I really didn't expect her to accept any help from me.

"Name it," I said, meeting her gaze.

"Well, for starters, can you tell me what I'm supposed to do with Brian?" she asked. I started to explain, but Judy threw her hands up after five minutes and said, "Look, it will take you less time to talk directly to him then to explain it to me. Let's go." I followed her to her office and greeted Brian.

"I'm happy to see you Joe," he said. "But I heard you resigned."

"Yes," I said, fighting back a sigh. "I did, but it was for personal reasons."

"Sorry to hear about that," he replied.

"Thanks," I said, and then changed the subject. "I still think this company has a lot to offer. We also have an over abundance of work in some key area where your expertise would come in handy. Are you interested?"

Brian smiled and nodded. We spent the next half hour haggling at the details. I was able to talk him into a discount, although it was not as deep of one as I hoped. Oh well, that was Brad's problem when he returned.

"When do you want me to start?" Brian asked.

"Well, I would say immediately, but someone in upper management will need to okay the deal," I frowned and then looked to Judy and added, "Think you can get Bradley to agree to this tomorrow when he's in or should we wait for his father to return?"

"I'll deal with the in-house politics," Judy sighed. "Brian, you can start immediately. I'll have an updated contract drawn up and sent to you."

We finished up the meeting and escorted Brian to the elevator. The doors had barely closed when Judy looked at me and said, "Follow me." I smiled as I did. She looked like a woman on a mission.

We made our way back to her office. She stopped by Sally's desk and asked her to set up a staff meeting for three o'clock. I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, someone needs to talk to the staff," she sighed, sounding determined but also a bit overwhelmed. I nodded. We made our way back to her office.

"I want call the president of Votine," she said with a smile. It was not pleasant. "I think we need to clear up a few things." I nodded once again.

"Jeff won't be happy to hear my voice," I let her know. "We really didn't get along all that well."

"Good!" she snapped, causing me to laugh.

The conversation with Jeff went about as expected. It only took about fifteen minutes to back him off. I finished the conversation by letting him know that in the future I'd be available for any discussion on issues that arose while I was employed with the company.

"Thank you," Judy said once she hung up the phone. "I enjoyed that."

"Your welcome," I smiled. "Is there anything else I can do?"

"Plenty," she sighed. "But I think I've taken enough of your time and I have to prepare what I'm going to say to the employees."

"Why don't you have Sally order us in a couple of sandwiches for a late lunch and I'll go over what I would say if I were in your shoes. You can use it or not," I offered. Judy hesitated.

"Thanks," she finally said, sounding relieved. "I appreciate it. I'm not sure where this meeting is going to go."

"Oh, it won't be that bad," I grinned.

"I prefer talking to potential clients and my own staff, thank you," she sighed. "Your people are tougher. I'm never sure where their questions are going to lead."

"Some of them do have a unique viewpoint," I laughed.

Judy had Sally order the sandwiches. We were already deep in discussing the staff meeting when they arrived. We ate and continued.

"So, tell me what's going on in my old area?" I asked once we finished planning how to approach the staff meeting.

"I guess implementations is going okay," she said, not sounding all that confident.

"Who is heading up the area?" I asked.

"Well, Helen seems to be stepping forward," Judy replied. I shook my head.

"She always was one to step up when needed, but in this case it's a mistake," I sighed. "Helen is great at her job, but she's not someone I'd put in charge of people. She doesn't like doing it and isn't very good at it."




Saving the Company Ch. 04



"Who would you have put in charge?" Judy asked. I scratched my head.

"Well, I was planning on putting Clark in my place if I became CEO," I sighed. "He's got the right mentality and he's good with people. Of course, that was with me still around as a safety net."

"And without you around?" she asked. I pursed my lips briefly.

"I'd still give it to Clark. He's earned it," I said with a shrug. "I'm sure he'll grow into the role quickly enough."

"And how do I break the news to Helen?" Judy asked.

"Don't worry about that," I said. "She'll be more relieved than upset."

"Are you sure?" Judy asked in surprise.

"Trust me," I smiled.

"I did once, and see where it got me?" she snapped, surprising us both. She quickly added, "Sorry about that. I haven't slept well the last two nights."

"Judy..." I began, but she cut me off.

"I've got to go to the staff meeting," she interjected. "Wish me luck."

"You'll do fine," I said. "Just stay positive, keep it simple and be honest."

"Sure, easy for you to say," she grumbled.

"I'll be in my office clearing it out if you want to stop by after you're done," I said. Judy nodded and left. I rubbed my eyes and sighed.

I walked back to my old office and continued to pack my stuff. It killed me not to be in the staff meeting, but it wasn't my place. A half hour later Judy was at my door.

"So, how was it?" I asked.

"Better than I feared," she shrugged. "But then again, that's not saying much."

"Well, I'm just about done here. Call me if you need anything," I said, trying to hide my sadness.

"Actually, people heard you're around and a couple of them have questions for you. Would you mind hanging around for a little while longer?"

"Okay," I shrugged.

Three hours later I was still in my old office. I must have given half a dozen people my home email address and phone number to use if they had any further questions. The last person to visit was Helen. As I expected, she was relieved that Judy put Clark temporarily in charge of my old area. She did have a question on a project she was working on. I sat next to her and clarified some definitions as we reviewed the specification together.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Yes," the short woman replied. "Just one more thing."

"What?" I asked.

"This!" she snapped and punched me in the arm with all the strength her small frame had.

"Hey!" I snapped, rubbing my arm. It really didn't hurt much, but I was surprised, even considering that it was hotheaded Helen who hit me.

"You dirt, rotten, son of a bitch!" she growled. "You convinced me to leave a good job to join you here! And not just me!"

She proceeded to rant at me for another five minutes. I learned long ago not to interrupt her when she was really angry. This time it wasn't easy. Helen normally didn't hold much back, but she was really letting me have it. Her anger was never directed specifically at me before. It was an interesting experience.

The worse part was that she was right. I had convinced her and the others from my old company to come join me. At the time I thought it was a great opportunity for them all. It still had the potential to be, but I could no longer guarantee it.

Helen eventually wound down. She then stormed out, refusing to give me a chance to say anything. I sighed. Maybe I'd wait a couple of days and call her. She definitely needed time to calm down.

"Well, that must have been fun," Judy said from my doorway. "I could hear her all the way in my office."

"She was right," I sighed.

"I know," Judy replied with a shake of her head. "Oh well, that's business."

"I'm going to leave now," I said into the silence that followed.

"Thanks again for staying today and answering questions," Judy replied. I nodded.

* * *

I woke up three thirty in the morning wide-awake. An hour later I found myself at my computer sending my third or fourth email. Each of them contained clarifications and ideas I had on some of the problems I discussed the day before with former employees.

I finished sending the last email and sighed as I stared at my computer monitor. Thoughts of Bethany started to pop into my mind, but I forced them down. I rubbed my hand across my face and realized that I needed a shave. A shower wouldn't hurt either.

I took a nice long, hot shower and let the water sooth the tension I was feeling. I needed to face the reality of what I'd done. I was unemployed once again. I wasn't a young man and finding a job at my level wasn't easy, especially if you didn't want to move.

"Oh, well," I said with a shake of my head. "It is what it is."

Once again thoughts of Bethany invaded my consciousness. I had a sudden flash of her laughing while wrapping a little girl's hair during her granddaughter's party. I caught myself smiling. A number of other memories came to mind, but the one that I was unable to shake was of her gasping out in orgasm our last night together.

"Oh hell!" I snapped to myself. "This isn't helping." 

I finished showering, brushed my teeth and was half done shaving when I heard the doorbell ring. I frowned. It was barely six in the morning. I wondered who would be at my door this early?

I wrapped my towel around my waist and used another to wipe the shaving cream from my face as I went toward the door. I'm sure I looked odd with half of my face clean shaved, but so be it. I was pretty sure that anyone showing up this early couldn't care less how I looked. No one knocked on your door at six in the morning unless something was wrong. I threw open the door in concern.

"Hello," Bethany said, but she was obviously startled to see me wrapped in a towel. I thought I saw a moment of desire flash in her eyes, but it was either imagined or quickly controlled.

"Hello," I replied in a monotone, swinging the door wide. I turned and made my way back to the bathroom without another word. I heard the front door shut and wondered briefly if she had entered or left. I refused to think about it as I reapplied shaving cream to half my face.

"I think we made a mistake by resigning," Bethany said as she stood at the bathroom door.

"No shit!" I said sarcastically. "Did you figure that one out all by yourself?"

"How long are you going to act like this?" Bethany asked with a sigh.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Please," she snapped in reply, and then took a deep breath and added, "Cherie was right. We both need to grow up."

I looked at Bethany through the mirror as I shaved. She saw me watching her. We remained silent until I was done. I washed the remaining soap from my face and used a towel to dry it.

"Yes, she was," I finally agreed. After all, I was acting like a fool. "I'm sorry."

"Me too," Bethany said, her eyes looking off into the distance.

"So, what brings you here?" I asked.

"Why don't you get dressed and we'll talk?" she asked. I nodded. I was curious, but it could wait. Whatever Bethany wanted to talk about, it obviously was not about us.

I took my time getting dressed. I needed to get control of myself before I went out and faced Bethany again. I didn't want any more childish outbursts on my part. I even took the time to dry my hair before exiting my bedroom.

"Wow!" I said as I entered the living room. "Something smells delicious!"

"I took the liberty of cooking us breakfast. I hope you don't mind," Bethany smiled. 

"Not if it tastes half as good as it smells," I replied. Bethany's smile turned into a gentle laugh. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to remain in control. It would be easier if she weren't so damn beautiful!

We sat down and enjoyed the tasty omelets she made in silence. I don't think either one of us felt particularly comfortable in each other's company, but here we were.

"Oh my," Bethany said once she was done. "That was good! I didn't realize how hungry I was."

"When's the last time you ate?" I asked. Bethany frowned and then shrugged. I shook my head, but let the subject drop.

"I guess you're wondering why I'm here?" she asked.

"That's a pretty fair assumption," I said carefully.

"Well," she began tentatively. "Like I said before, I think we made a mistake quitting."

"And?" I prompted. Bethany hesitated a moment longer.

"Look, I know Brad," she sighed. "He's not one to get angry easily, but he's very slow to forgive once he does."

"Bethany, please just say whatever is on your mind," I said, standing and taking the plates to the sink.

"Well, I was thinking about a hostile take over," she smirked.

"What?" I said in disbelief, and then shook my head and added, "Are you crazy? First of all we're talking about Brad's company here. I respect and like him too much to do something like that! Besides, you can't take over a privately owned company hostilely!"

"I didn't mean literally!" she said. "I would never do something like that to Brad either."

"I doubt we could even if we wanted to and the company was publicly owned. Brad is the one person I would not like to go against," I sighed. "I think we'd be lucky to get away with the clothes on our backs."

"You're right!" Bethany laughed.

"So, what did you mean?" I asked, turning back to the dishes. I began washing them.

"It's simple really," she said. "When I said a hostile take over, I meant of our old jobs, not the company." I turned from the sink and frowned as I looked at her.

"You want to demand our jobs back?" I asked incredulously.

"No, that would never work with Brad," she answered. "What I want to do it go to work and just start doing my old job."

"And this would help how?" I asked.

"Well, Brad's not due back for a week and a half," she shrugged. "Best case, he comes back and let's things alone when he sees us doing our normal work. We keep our jobs and go on from there."

"And worse case he calls security and has us escorted out," I said with a shake of my head. Bethany shrugged.

"Yes, but at least we will have given him the two weeks notice we should have to begin with," she replied. 

"Actually, I probably should have given more considering my position," I sighed, and then looked at Bethany and added, "You too."

"I know," she replied, obviously as disappointed in herself as much as I was in myself. "What were we thinking?"

"We weren't," I said with a shrug.

"So, are you interested in joining me in my little hostile take over attempt?" Bethany said, avoiding discussion on what caused us to leave.

"Minimally, we'll need young Bradley's buy in. Probably Judy as well," I said, thinking aloud.

"I think between us, we could convince them," Bethany said. I thought back to my visit the day prior.

"I think Judy would go along, but Bradley?" I asked with a disbelieving look. Bethany shrugged.

"We'll talk to Judy first and then all three of us with confront young Bradley," she said. "Remember, he doesn't really want to run the company anyway. He also knows what it means to his father. I think we can convince him."

"You're an optimist," I said, causing her to smile. I finished the dishes and dried my hands on the dishtowel.

"Well?" she asked, growing impatient.

"We need to talk about us," I said. Bethany pursed her lips.

"Why?" she asked.

"You seem to have forgotten that I love you," I said with a shake of my head.

"I haven't forgotten," she sighed. "I was just hoping you fell out of love with me since that night."

"My emotions aren't that flexible," I replied. Bethany's hands went to her temples.

"Look," she nearly groaned. "What does this have to do with our jobs? Can't we forget about it until..."

"When?" I interjected. "When would be a good time to address us?"

Bethany looked at me in silence. She didn't have an answer to my question and I knew it. She'd have to face her fears in order to answer that question.

"Bethany, do you love me?" I asked. She looked up and met my gaze. She was chewing on her bottom lip.

"It's just us here," I said softly. "You can say it. I already know."

"You're awful confident," she said, avoiding the issue. I wasn't going to let her get away with it.

"Bethany, answer my question," I insisted. "Either that or leave and take your crazy plan with you."

"If you already know, what do you want me to say it?" she asked, still stalling.

"Because you need to hear yourself say it," I replied.

"That's silly!" she snapped, looking away. I gently took her shoulders and forced her to meet my gaze.

"Bethany, we love each other whether you say it or not," I said softly. "Saying it won't change anything, but I'd like to hear the words." We were very close to each other. I desperately wanted to kiss her, but it would be the wrong thing to do.

"Joe, I do love you," she finally said. I smiled and gave her a quick kiss.

"I knew it!" I laughed. "But it's nice to hear."

"Like you said," she said carefully. "It doesn't change anything."

"Nonsense!" I grinned. "It changes everything."

"You said..." she began, but I interrupted.

"Loving me doesn't mean you have to be with me," I interjected. "But if you love me, that means you know you should be."

"That's ridiculous!" She snapped. "We're not kids! We both know that isn't necessarily true. It wasn't for my first love. I married him and look what happened!"

"Bethany, I'm not your ex-husband," I replied, no longer smiling. "We belong together and we both know it. You're afraid. I get that. I'm afraid too."

"You are?" she asked in disbelief.

"Of course," I shrugged. "Love is a scary thing, especially for people our age." We both fell silent.

"So, where do we go from here?" Bethany asked.

"Why? To work of course!" I smiled. Now wasn't the time to push her any further, but the time would come.

"Are you serious?" she asked.

"It's a crazy plan that can't possible work, but it's better than sitting home! Besides, the two weeks will make me feel better even if Brad fires us when he comes back."

"It's still a little early to go into the office," Bethany said with a frown. I was tempted to suggest something else we could do, but again, now wasn't the time to push her.

"Let's see if we can catch Judy at home," I suggested. She nodded.

"What makes you so sure she'll accept my plan?" Bethany asked.

"I'm not," I shrugged. "But yesterday I went into the office to pick up my stuff. I ended up staying the day and helping out at her request." I proceeded to tell Bethany about my day at the office.

"I wish I'd had the guts to do that!" she said.

"Um, I hope you're prepared. Some of the people were a little ticked off," I warned. Bethany looked at me and shrugged. There really wasn't anything to say.

* * *

"Are you ready?" I asked once we parked in the office lot.

"I can't believe that Judy went for it so quickly," Bethany sighed.

"Her? What about Bradley?" I asked in disbelief. 

"Are we really going to do this?" Bethany asked nervously.

"It was your idea," I smiled.

"Don't remind me!" she snapped. I laughed and pulled her into a quick kiss.

"Let's go," I said, leaving the car before she could comment on my action. We went into the building, up the elevator and entered the office.

"Good morning Sally," I said.

"It's good to have you both back," she replied. Bethany and I exchanged a look. That was quick. The rumor mill was open early today.

"It's nice to be back," Bethany smiled.

"By the way," Sally added with a smirk. "Early June is a beautiful time to get married."

"Is it now?" I grinned, covering for Bethany's shock. 

"Well, yes," Sally replied. "Of course, it doesn't hurt that I have the first week in June for the company pool." Bethany and I moved past Sally without a word.

"Oh boy!" Bethany said once we were past Sally. "A company pool on us!"

"I wonder if there are any times left available?" I teased. Bethany shook her head.

"You're loving this!" she said. "It's not like we'd ever get married anyway."

"Of course we'll get married," I insisted. "That's what people who are in love do."

"Joe..." she began, but I cut her off.

"Later," I said. "We'll talk later. Now it's time to kick out whoever took over our offices."

No one was in either of our offices. Mine was just like I left it the day before. I wondered if it made sense to bring back my personal stuff. "Maybe tomorrow," I said to myself. The first thing I did, was gather everyone from my area for an impromptu status meeting.

"Look, I'm guessing most of you already know what's going on," I said once everyone was in the conference room. There were some frowns, but most of the people nodded. I shrugged. Those who didn't know would have to touch base with the others. I had no intention of going into details now.

"The bottom line is that I'm back until Brad senior returns. After that, we'll see," I added.

"That's mighty big of you," someone mumbled from the back. I sighed and ignored the comment.

"I want a full status report from each of you," I said. "I hear rumors that we're falling behind of one or two of the projects."

I could tell from a couple of people's expressions which projects were having difficulties. This was going to be an interesting day.

"I should also warn you that a couple of you will be getting more work dumped on you," I continued. There were groans. I smiled. "It shouldn't be too bad. Brian Halton will be helping out a lot more in the near future."

"When did that happen?" Helen asked.

"I met with him yesterday and worked out the details," I replied.

"Where is the new work coming from?" a woman named Claire asked.

"Actually, we have a couple of new clients coming on early next month, but that's not what I was talking about," I replied.

"Then what work are you talking about?" Clark asked.

"Yours," I smiled. "I'm shifting the bulk of your projects to other people. You are going to take over some of my responsibilities."

"That's not fair," Helen said, surprising me, until she clarified. "What if you stay? Is it really worth disrupting everything considering? Is it fair to Clark?"

"Yes, it is," I smiled. "I was going to do this anyway."

"Really?" Clark asked in surprise. I smiled and nodded.

"You've earned it," I said honestly. Clark smiled. There were a couple of unhappy faces, but the bulk of the people were happy for him.

"What's his new title?" Helen asked.

"It doesn't matter," Clark said quickly. "Let's wait until Brad gets back and see what happens."

"I don't see why?" I put in. "I already had Brad's buy in to promote you at the end of the month anyway. He won't have a problem with you now being an assistant director for the Implementation area," I replied.

I had actually planned on making Clark as assistant vice-president, but officially I was still only a director. I was supposed to be moved up to vice-president for a while before taking over for Brad, but who knew now.

"Thank you," Clark said, still sounding like he didn't quite accept it.

"Don't thank me yet," I grinned. "The title I can give you. The responsibility too, but we'll have to wait for Brad to return before we talk money." This caused some laughter as I intended. 

I had a good idea what Clark's raise was going to be, but I hadn't finalized it with Brad yet before the whole fiasco occurred. Besides, it might change depending on Brad. The position I gave Clark was the lowest of the ones he could possibly end up with once Brad returned.

The rest of the status meeting took longer than usual, but not that much longer. The morning flew by. I joined Bradley, Judy and Bethany for lunch in his office as planned.

"How is your day going?" I asked the three of them to start the conversation going after we greeted each other.

"Much better than the last three days," Judy smiled. "I was actually able to work with my own people on some sales issues."

"And you?" I prompted Bethany.




Saving the Company Ch. 04



"Okay," she frowned. "Brad senior had me working closely with the finance area since he returned. I touched base with them and the area is pretty status quo. I should be caught up on my other work by the end of the week, but I'm a little worried about Karl's old area. There is some sort of conflict going on there."

"Judy was just telling me that before lunch," Bradley sighed. "Karl's leaving seems to have started an in-house war between people in his area."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," Bradley said, scratching behind his ear briefly. "Karl relied pretty heavily on two of his employees. Tim and Sara-Jane are as close to assistants as Karl had."

"Karl wasn't one to make friends with his employees, but he was close to Tim. The three of us occasionally went out to dinner," Bradley continued.

"According to Karl, Sara-Jane is very competent, but doesn't really mesh very well with the rest of the area. He always talked about firing her, but she was just too damn good to let go."

"And now that he's gone these two are having a turf war?" I asked knowingly. I didn't know Karl's area very well. He didn't like me around his people. 

"Exactly," Bradley answered, but Bethany frowned.

"I think there is more to it," she said carefully. "I haven't heard anything specific, but there are rumblings. Tim is doing things that seem to be upsetting more than one person in the area."

"Like what?" Judy asked.

"Well, he's changed a whole bunch of priorities," Bethany answered.

"That may be reasonable," I shrugged. "Different people see different things as important."

"Yes, but too many of his changes are moving resource from key clients," Bethany replied. "From what I've heard, that's when Sara-Jane started arguing with him. It's going to come to a head very quickly if we don't head it off."

"I could handle it," Bradley said carefully, but then sighed and shook his head. "But I'm not sure I should."

"Why?" Judy asked.

"Well, first of all, it's Karl's area," he replied. "He was a friend of mine for years."

"Was?" Bethany asked.

"Of course," Bradley snorted. "I don't stay friends with people who get in fights with my father."

"I'm sorry," I put in. I didn't like Karl and never had, but Bradley did. I didn't understand the reason, but I was old enough to feel bad when someone I knew lost a good friend. They were so hard to come by.

"Thanks," Bradley shrugged, but then changed the subject. "The point is that my opinion's of both Tim and Sara-Jane are colored by my talks with Karl. I'm not sure I can be fully objective."

"Then let Joe handle it," Judy said. Bradley frowned and turned to me.

"Don't you already have enough on your plate?" he asked.

"Well, actually, I just promoted Clark. I can dump most of my current responsibilities on him as long as I'm available to help," I answered.

"Planning for when father gets back?" Bradley smiled. I shrugged. There was a good chance Clark would get the entire area dumped on him soon. If I could help smooth the way, then so be it.

"I think it's a good idea," Bethany put in, getting us back on topic.

"Me too," Bradley said, and then grinning added, "It will give me time to catch up on my class work."

"Three thousand miles seems like an awfully long way to go just for a quiet place to study," Judy laughed.

"Oh, I don't plan on just studying," Bradley said. He was talking to Judy and something in his tone caught my attention. I glanced at Bethany and she nodded ever so slightly. I shook my head, but kept silent.

"What else do you plan on doing?" Judy asked.

"Well, I was thinking about visiting some of my favorite restaurants in the area," he replied. "Care to join me for dinner?"

"Sure," Judy replied offhandedly. She obviously wasn't getting the picture because she turned toward Bethany and I and asked, "What about you two? Why don't you two join us?"

"Judy dear," Bethany smiled. "He's not asking you to meet to go over some work issues. He's just asking you to dinner."

"What do..." Judy began, but then froze as the truth hit her. She blushed furiously and finally said, "Oh my! I didn't realize."

"Do you want to change your answer now?" Bradley asked, offering her an out. Judy looked at Bradley in dumbstruck silence. 

"Well," I smiled. "Are you going to answer the poor man?"

"Yes," Judy finally said. "I would like to go out to dinner with you." They both were smiling rather broadly. Bethany and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes, fighting back our laughter. Judy noticed.

"Don't you two dare!" she snapped. "Or shall be talk about your little issue?"

"It's almost resolved," I answered.

"No, it isn't," Bethany insisted. Judy looked at us and shook her head.

"I think we'd better get back to addressing work issues," she said.

"Agreed," I sighed, and then turned to Bradley and added, "I don't have a problem reviewing Karl's old area, but I have to know what kind of limitations I have."

"What do you mean?" Bradley frowned.

"Well, I pretty much overstepping myself by promoting Clark, but he deserved it and I was pretty confident that your father would do the same thing once he returned," I replied. "But I have no idea what your father plans for Karl's area. Or should I say areas? He was in charges of both product development and customer support. In either case, I don't want to do anything that may disrupt your father's plans."

"Such as?" Bradley asked.

"Well for starters, reorganizing it, reprioritizing the work and shifting resources," I answered. "I may even find it necessary to shift some people between my old area and Karl's."

"Don't forget the possibility of actually having to fire someone. This battle between Sara-Jane and Tim is pretty bad," Bethany put in. Bradley looked at each of us.

"They're right," Judy sighed when his eyes met hers.

"You know," Bradley began slowly. "I had a lot of time to think about my tenure here as CEO since I left. It didn't take long to realize that I didn't do a particularly good job. I'd like to think part of it was inexperience, but I'm not really sure that's true."

"It was the bulk of the problem," I offered.

"That and you relied on Karl too much," Bethany put in.

"And not enough on Bethany," Judy added. The two women exchanged a smile.

"Whatever the reason," Bradley smiled sadly. "I don't feel comfortable running this company anymore."

"I came back for this two weeks because my parents asked me to and they seldom ask anything of me," he continued. "But, the truth is that Joe was supposed to take my father's place in less than a year."

"That's highly unlikely now," I said somberly.

"You may be right," Bradley shrugged. "But you're still a far better fit for the role then me."

"That still doesn't give me the right to make changes that your father will have to cope with when he returns," I argued.

"No, it doesn't," Bradley said. "But what does, at least in my opinion, is the fact that you're here and father isn't. There are decisions that have to be made while he's gone and you're simply the best qualified to handle them." 

"Joe, stop arguing and do the job," Bethany put in when she saw me open my mouth. I looked around the room and saw all three smiling.

"Okay," I finally sighed, and then turned to Bradley and added, "Thank you. I'll try not to change too much until your father returns. It's only a little over a week."

"Do what needs to be done," Bradley replied. He was putting an awful lot of trust in me considering. I would do my best to make him feel good about it later.

"Do you need anything?" Judy asked.

"Well, yes," I replied after thinking a moment. "I could use someone who knows the people is Karl's area. I'll be meeting with them, but a little prep would make me feel better."

"Sounds like a job for Bethany," Judy shrugged.

"Done," Bradley said before Bethany or I could open our mouths. "Actually, it probably makes sense for you two to work together on this issue. That is if Bethany has the time?"

"I can make time if it will help," Bethany said after a moment.

"It will help," I admitted.

"Well then, why don't you two go meet somewhere? I'd like to have a brief conversation with Judy alone."

"What for?" Judy asked.

"Well, we still haven't decided on which restaurant we are going to visit tonight," he replied with a smile. "And then there's tomorrow night to think about." Bethany and I quickly made our exit.

"It's nice to see Bradley finally ask her out. He's liked her for years," Bethany said as we walked to my office.

"Why didn't he ask her out earlier?" I said, not really putting much thought into it.

"Well, unlike some men I know," Bethany said pointedly. "Bradley doesn't believe in dating people who work for him."

"You don't work for me," I frowned.

"Then Bradley didn't just agree to make me your assistant for the next week or so?" she asked. My frown deepened.

"He told us to work together," I replied.

"So then," Bethany smiled. "You think he meant that I should make the decisions on what's to be done with Karl's area?"

"You get to help make those decisions."

"That's called assisting," Bethany said triumphantly.

"Fine, you win," I sighed before looking at her pointedly and adding, "But then again, you quit on Monday and didn't come and tell me. So that whole 'we can't be together because we work together' is pretty obviously just an excuse."

"Why don't we focus on work," she sighed, no longer seeming so triumphant. "This is a conversation for another place."

"Certainly," I replied. I wasn't in the mood to talk about it either. There was a lot to do. 

We were barely in my office two minutes when someone came for Bethany. She was needed. Bethany returned twenty minutes later to find me in conference with Clark. We were going over his new responsibilities. An hour later I searched her out and found her in a meeting with a couple of people from the finance area. This went on until after the normal office hours ended.

"I'm pooped," Bethany sighed as she plopped down in a chair across my desk.

"It has been a busy day hasn't it?" I smiled.

"Yes, and we still need to plan on how to handle Karl' old area," she groaned.

"Well, I'm hungry, so why don't we discuss it over dinner?" I asked. Bethany looked at me carefully.

"This is not something we should do in a restaurant," she said. "We'll need to go over a lot of things and probably need to take notes."

"Your place or mine?" I grinned.

"I don't think so," Bethany said with a shake of her head.

"Oh, relax!" I laughed. "We both need food and you're right, we can't really have this meeting in a restaurant." Bethany frowned, but then sighed and nodded.

"Meet me at my place in an hour," she said. "And bring something to eat. I'm too tired to cook."

"Does Chinese sound good?" I asked as I stood and grabbed my stuff. Bethany stood as well.

"That's fine," she shrugged. "I'd like some ribs."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather do this at my place?" I asked, unable to resist. I was tired and needed a laugh. 

"Why?" she asked.

"Well, for one thing, I have the hot tub," I teased. The look she gave me was priceless. We left my office and made our way down the hall.

"Unlike Bradley and Judy's dinner, ours will be a working meal," Bethany said succinctly.

"Of course," I replied as we arrived at the turn off to her office. She started walking away from me. I couldn't resist calling after her, "But then again, there is always after dinner."

"Don't count on it!" she called back. I couldn't help it. I laughed again.

* * *

We ate dinner and planned how to address the issue with Karl's old area. He actually had two main areas of responsibility. One was product development and the other support. Each of them had sub areas. 

For instance, product development could be broken down into upgrades and research and development for the next generation of the product. You needed to stay focused on both of those if you planned on being around for a while.

The support area was the same. There were problems reported by the clients that needed to be addressed under the contract and then there were requests for changes by these same clients that fell outside of the contract.

"We'll meet with the staff and let them know I'm temporarily taking responsibility for the area first thing in the morning. After that, I'll start reviewing priorities and contracts," I summarized. "That will give you the day to finish catching up on your normal work and me the weekend to digest what you've told me about the people. Monday we start meeting with the staff individually."

"I should be able to work in drawing up an organization chart with the changes we've talked about," Bethany said, and then quickly added before I could interrupt, "I know it's still very rough but it will help to see it on paper. You've got some major changes planned."

"The company's gotten bigger over the years," I shrugged. "It needs to restructure if it's going to keep doing that."

"I'm not disagreeing," Bethany said, and then smiled and added, "I can't wait until Brad gets back and sees what you've done!"

"Actually," I sighed. "I don't plan on making any changes in the next week. I've thought it over and I think the best approach is to write up a plan and hand it off to Brad when he returns."

"Chicken!" she teased. I rolled my eyes, causing her to laugh.

"It's not like Brad and I haven't spoken about the need already," I said. "He agrees in concept, but wasn't comfortable with some of my ideas. I think it's more a matter of style and preference."

"I get your point," Bethany said more seriously. "I guess it makes sense to wait."

"I'm glad you agree," I replied, and then changed the subject by asking, "Can you find the time to also touch base with Sally?"

"Sally?" Bethany frowned.

"Well, she's the queen of the rumor mill and right now that's all we have," I shrugged. "We'll get to the bottom of what's going on with the interviews next week, but Sally may know something that will help prepare us."

"Okay," Bethany sighed. "But you'll owe me one."

"Why?" I asked.

"Sally didn't become the 'queen of the rumor mill' by being shy and unassuming. She'll be asking pointed questions about us and hinting about an early June wedding all during our conversation," Bethany grimaced.

"What? You don't like June weddings?" I asked with a grin.

"Sure, just as long as it's not mine!" Bethany snapped.

"So, what months do you like for a wedding?" I asked, and then quickly added, "I know! I know! You're never getting married again. But if you were, what month would you choose?"

"You're mad!" Bethany snapped, leaving my question unanswered.

"Obviously," I shrugged. "Why else would I quit a perfect good job and then go back to work behind the boss's back?" Bethany shook her head.

"It's getting late. You should be going," she said. "We're going to have a long day tomorrow."

"I don't think so," I replied.

"What?" Bethany asked in surprise.

"I said, I don't think I should be going."

"I know what you said!" Bethany snapped. "But why?"

"Because it's time," I said, no longer laughing or smiling.

"Time for what?"

"Time for us to talk," I said carefully. 

"And if I don't want to?" Bethany asked.

"Oh, you want to," I said, reading her expression. "You're just afraid."

"Fine," Bethany said succinctly. She was obviously getting angry. "If you want to talk, then lets talk."

"Bethany, cut it out," I sighed. "Getting angry won't make this any easier. Actually, it will probably only make it worse." Bethany looked at me and then let out one long slow breath.

"You may be right," she admitted grudgingly. "So, where do you want to start?"

"Oh, that easy," I replied, surprising her. "I love you."

"And I love you," Bethany said with some difficulty, but she did say it with out my prompting this time. I smiled.

"So then, what are you afraid of?" I asked.

"Too many things to list," she replied with a shake of her head.

"Try," I insisted. Bethany proceeded to list quite a number of things. I waited until she was done before saying, "Look, I think that all boils down you being afraid of losing your freedom."

"Yes, but that's not all," she replied.

"I know," I sighed. "You're also petrified of me breaking your heart." Bethany looked at me, but remained silent. Neither one of us spoke for a whole.

"Let's go sit in the living room," she finally said. "This isn't the type of thing that should be discussed at a kitchen table."

"Actually, I think it's more of a bedroom type of conversation," I joked poorly. Bethany didn't even bother to respond. She just shook her head and led me to the living room. I thought I saw a brief smile flit across her face, but I couldn't be sure.

"You do know that there is nothing you can say to alleviate my fears?" she said once we were both seated. She made sure it was on opposite couches.

"Yes and no," I shrugged. "The first fear seems a bit irrational to me. You've been an independent woman for years. There is nothing I could do that could take that away from you."

"During my marriage..." Bethany began, but I cut her off.

"Bethany, I know you were hurt badly by your first husband, but..." I interjected. She interrupted before I could finish my thought.

"And I know you're not him," she insisted. "But that doesn't mean the same thing won't happen!"

"I disagree," I said with a shrug. "But let's say for a moment that I am just like your ex and that I'd try to find a way of taking away your freedom."

"Okay," Bethany said with a frown. She didn't know where I was going with the conversation. She was a bright lady, but she was so afraid that she couldn't think clearly.

"Bethany, no matter what I did to try and dominate you, it simply wouldn't work."

"It might," she insisted.

"No it wouldn't," I argued. "Actually, it couldn't. You're not the same woman who married your ex-husband. You'd never allow yourself to fall into that trap again."

"How can you be so sure?" she asked. I smiled sadly. She wasn't afraid of me taking control. Bethany was actually afraid of her allowing me to do it.

"Bethany, you have a career, a home and investments of your own that would always give you the freedom to leave if you wanted. You aren't an out of work, untrained mother with a baby and no savings," I explained. Bethany looked at me and smiled tentatively. I nodded slowly.

"But there is still the second issue," she said after a moment.

"Of course," I shrugged. "It's a possibility that everyone who falls in love is forced to accept. I'm just as afraid of you breaking my heart as you are of me breaking yours."

"That's not possible!" Bethany insisted. "If it were then you wouldn't be trying so hard to get us together."

"Of course I would," I replied, surprising her. "The difference between you and I is that I've already accepted that we really do love each other."

"So?" she frowned.

"Bethany, if we're already in love, than it's already too late. We can either be with each other or break each other's hearts. There is no middle ground."

"But it will only get worse the more time we spend together," she sighed. I shook my head.

"You think it can get worse?" I asked in amazement. "Worse than both of us walking out of jobs we love? Worse than the feelings we felt after I dropped you off on Sunday?"

"Yes, worse!" she cried. She was crying now. I hate it when women cry.

"But Bethany, the only way it can get worse is if we get closer. If we get closer, why would we break up?"

"I don't know!" she cried.

I made to move to her couch and take her in my arms, but she held up her hand and forestalled me. I could see her fight to regain control of herself. She wiped her tears and then looked at me.




Saving the Company Ch. 04



"Joe, I need to calm down and think about this rationally," she said in a forcibly controlled voice. "I know I've been pushing you away and avoiding the issue, but this isn't the same thing. I just need some time."

I looked at her and frowned. My instincts were to pick her up, carry her to her bedroom and try to make all her worries go away, but I knew that solution was what I needed to feel better, not Bethany. She needed time. The only problem was that the time she wanted was away from me. I was frightened at what she might decide without me present.

"Okay," I sighed, but then added, "Just remember we are talking about love here. You can't just use your brain. You've got to listen to your heart too."

"I'll see you in the morning," she said, standing and leading me to the front door. I wasn't sure she even heard my last statement.

"Bethany," I said, forcing her to look at me as she held the door open.

"Yes?" she asked. I leaned toward her and gave her a kiss.

"Just remember that I love you," I said just before turning and leaving. It was very difficult to do. 

* * *

"Well, so far so good," Bradley said with a smile. It was Friday night and he and Judy were enjoying their second night out. There was a bottle of wine on the table already half finished. 

"Surprisingly so," Judy agreed, taking a sip from her glass.

"You still seemed surprised that everything is working out," Bradley observed.

"It's still too early to tell," she replied, but then shrugged and added, "But it does look good."

"You sound like my father," Bradley laughed. "I've never seen him so pessimistic before!"

"He's just still mad at Joe and Bethany," Judy smiled.

"Yes, but sometimes I think it's more that he's afraid that mother's little plan will actually work," Bradley said, sipping from his own glass. They were already done with their meal and were waiting on dessert.

"Isn't that the goal?" she asked with a frown. "To get Joe to take over the company and have him and Bethany work out their issues? Those two are meant to be together."

"Well, yes," Bradley agreed. "But then Father has to retire again. He won't like that!"

"But your mother will," Judy grinned, but then her face grew serious as she added, "I still can't believe it!"

"What?" Bradley asked. "That we're even attempting this silliness? Or, that it seems to be working?"

"Both!" Judy replied. "I can't believe that your father agreed to it and that you actually came out here to help out. I also can't believe that Joe and Bethany haven't seen through it yet!"

"As to the former," Bradley shrugged. "I wasn't lying yesterday. My parents seldom do ask me for anything. It seemed important to them."

"You're a good son," she smiled.

"Actually, I'm not all that good of one," Bradley argued. "I also agreed because I wanted to see you again." Judy shook her head in disbelief, but then avoided the subject. She was still coming to grips with the fact that Bradley was actually interested in her. All that time working together and she had no idea!

"I expected one of them to realize the truth by now," Judy said, turning the focus of the conversation back to Joe and Bethany. "How can they possibly think your father would leave the company in such a state?"

"They're distracted," Bradley shrugged. "First, they're still fighting through whatever relationship issues that caused them to quit in the first place. Second, they came back on their own. We didn't have to follow mother's initial plan and call them in."

"I always thought that was the weak link of the plan. Joe and Bethany are just too smart to fall for it," Judy said.

"I'm not so sure," Bradley frowned. "You'd be amazed at what people will accept when they want to. Point in fact, Bethany's silly little 'hostile takeover' plan."

"That was ridiculous wasn't it?" Judy laughed.

"Please!" Bradley said, joining her in her laughter and refilling their wine glasses.

"Still, I keep expecting them to figure it out any minute," Judy said once they stopped.

"They might, but then again, there's that third little distraction," Bradley smiled. "They're buried trying to figure out what to do with Karl's area."

"I know," Judy smiled. "Did you see them today? They are both dynamos when it comes to diving in and addressing issues."

"Not only that, but they really do work well together," Bradley smiled. "It was a great play on your part suggesting Bethany when Joe asked for someone to help."

"Thanks," Judy said, but then added, "But you know, I'm not sure I made the suggestion because of the plan or because it simply made sense. She is the right person for the job."

"Yes, she is," Bradley said, losing his smile.

"What?" she asked, reading his expression.

"It's nothing really," he replied, but then continued. "Just remind me that I owe Bethany an apology once everything calms down."

"What for?"

Bradley looked at Judy carefully. He knew that he was already half in love with her and had been for years. The other half could easily follow. He didn't want to do or say anything that would scare her off, but he was who he was and she needed to know him if they really had a chance.

"Judy, what do you really think of me?" he asked, not really changing the subject. He was just trying to ease into the answer.

"What do you mean?" Judy asked, slightly embarrassed for some reason.

"I want you to be honest and tell me what you really think about me. The good and the bad."

Judy met his gaze and opened her mouth ready to avoid the issue when the dessert arrived. She remained silent until the waiter left. She could feel Bradley's eyes on her the entire time. He really wanted an honest answer. The smart thing to do was to follow her first instinct and change the subject, but something in his expression stopped her.

"Bradley," she began carefully. She was blushing. "I think you're handsome and smart."

"But..." Bradley prompted, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"There are no buts," Judy replied with a shrug, causing Bradley to smile warmly. 

"That's kind of you to say, but of course there are," he said. "I'm not particularly ambitious and never really have been. In fact, at times I'm down right lazy."

"I don't agree," Judy argued. "I mean about being lazy. I've never thought of you as that."

"But you agree that I'm not ambitious," he smiled. She didn't want to say anything to hurt his feelings, but she wouldn't lie either.

"There is nothing wrong with not being ambitious," she said. "First of all, you've never really had the need."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked with a frown.

"Bradley, your parents are reasonably well off and have been your entire life," Judy replied. "You've gotten just about every thing you've ever wanted. That doesn't provide a strong need for you to be particularly ambitious."

"Oh great!" Bradley groaned. "You're calling me a spoiled brat!"

"Absolutely not," Judy argued. "Spoiled, yes, but a brat, no."

"There's a difference?" he asked sarcastically.

"Definitely," Judy replied in a tone that left no room for argument.

"So, I'm not ambitious and I am spoiled," he sighed. "Anything else?"

"Well, yes," Judy said in annoyance with a shake of her head. "You could do with a little more self confidence."

"Ouch!" Bradley said, no longer looking at Judy. He wouldn't be asking her out again. It was probably pretty pointless anyway.

"Bradley," Judy said. She grabbed his hand across the table when he didn't respond. He finally looked up at her. "You aren't your father and you don't have to be."

"Yes, but everyone likes him," Bradley argued.

"Certainly, he's outgoing and charismatic," Judy replied. "But no more than you could be if you wanted."

"What?" he asked in surprise.

"Bradley, I wasn't kidding before," Judy answered. "You are handsome and smart. You also have a good sense of humor when you choose to show it."

"But I'll never be like my father," he said glumly. Judy looked at him in surprise. 

"Don't you think it's about time that you stopped using him as a measuring stick? You're almost forty. Besides, your father is not perfect either."

"He makes mother happy," he replied.

"Maybe, maybe not," Judy shrugged. "But keep in mind, I'm not your mother."

"Are you saying you don't want to marry a man like my father?" he asked in amazement.

"Are you crazy?" Judy snorted. "I don't know if I'll ever get married, but it certainly wouldn't be to a workaholic like him!"

"But he's..." Bradley began.

"He's a good man, but he's not what I look for in a man," Judy interrupted.

"So then, what do you look for?" he asked.

"Well," Judy said, saying the first thing that came to mind. "Someone who will be there for me. Someone I could grow old with. A man who wants to settle down and have a family including a house, a yard, two or three kids and a couple of pets."

"Anything else?" Bradley smiled.

"Yes," Judy grinned. "I want to find a man who will be home for dinner every might and likes to stay in bed on Saturday instead of going out and playing golf with the boys. I want someone who wants to play an active role in my life and the lives of our children."

"I don't want a man who works twenty four hours a day and has no time for vacations. I want someone who wants to see the country. I love the outdoors."

"Anything else?" Bradley asked again. This time he was grinning.

"Yes, one more thing," Judy replied, sounding serious. "I want a man who loves me for who I am." Bradley stopped grinning, but didn't lose his smile.

"That's pretty specific," he said. Judy shook her head once and blushed again. She was as surprised at what she said as Bradley.

"What does this all have to do with Bethany?" she asked, returning to the original issue.

"Oh," Bradley said, remembering his earlier point. "Only that I've always been jealous of her relationship with father. She was always the daughter he never had and honestly, she's a lot more like him then me."

"Bradley," Judy said. "Your father cares for Bethany a lot, but that will never interfere with his feelings for you."

"I know that now," Bradley replied, but then shook his head and added, "Actually, I think I always knew it, but it took my time away from them both to realize it."

They fell silent for a while and ate their desserts. Neither knew what to say and both were deep in thought. The check came and Bradley paid it.

"Thank you for dinner, again," Judy said as they exited the restaurant.

"No, thank you," Bradley said with a smile.

"So, where are we going tomorrow?" Judy joked as they made their way to Bradley's car.

"I have to eat dinner with my parents tomorrow," Brad frowned. "Father is getting a little stir crazy at home."

"I'm surprised that they didn't really go on vacation," Judy shrugged.

"I think father expected to have to be back in the office before now," Bradley grinned. "I think mother finally got him to agree to go away next week."

"Your poor father," Judy laughed.

"Hey, why don't you come to dinner with me tomorrow?" Bradley offered quickly.

"No, thank you!" Judy cried. "I'm still not sure how smart it is for me to be dating the boss's son. What would your father say?"

"His exact words were, 'It's about time!'," Bradley laughed.

"You told him?" Judy said in disbelief as they got in his car and drove off.

"Are you crazy?" Bradley asked. "He's been calling me three times a day to see what's going on in the office. He makes me give a blow by blow description of any conversation I have with either Joe or Bethany."

"And you just had to tell him about our dinner plans!" Judy snapped.

"Well, they did come up during a conversation with Joe and Bethany," Bradley shrugged. Judy shook her head, but eventually shrugged.

"I guess it makes sense in the long run," she mumbled. "I'm not one to keep secrets."

"Good," Bradley smiled. They fell silent for the short trip to Judy's condo. Bradley got out of the car and escorted her to her front door when they arrived.

"Are you sure you won't reconsider dinner tomorrow?" he asked.

"No thank you!" Judy said succinctly as she opened the door to her place.

"Well, then," Bradley said, somewhat out of character for him. "How about breakfast?"

"What?" Judy said looking at him in disbelief. Bradley smiled and pulled her toward him. He kissed her soundly on the lips. Judy's surprise only lasted a moment, but she was stunned by the strength of her response to his obvious desire.

'So much for his needing more confidence!' she thought to herself as she opened her mouth slightly. Bradley took the invitation and brushed her lips with his tongue. Judy moaned softly.

"You know," Bradley said as he broke the kiss. "You never asked me what I was looking for in a woman." Judy blinked twice to try and regain control of her emotions. It was a long time since a man kissed her like that.

"What?" she asked. Bradley smiled.

"Why, you of course," he replied and kissed her again. Judy felt herself melt in his arms. The rational part of her faded into the background until she felt one of his hands caress her breasts.

"We can't do this..." she began. She was going to say 'out here', but she stopped herself when she realize that they were both now in her condo. She didn't remember moving inside!

"Why not?" Bradley argued, thinking she was simply saying that they couldn't do this at all. "I know it's only our second date, but we've known each other for years."

"Okay," Judy gave in with a smile. She had no intention of passing up this chance. She had always liked Bradley. Besides, his kiss had lit a fire inside if her that only one thing could quench.

"Really?" Bradley asked in surprise.

"I'm going to hold you to the breakfast part," Judy replied, taking him by the hand and leading him to her bedroom. She smiled when she saw the stunned look in his eyes.

In her youth Judy wasn't exactly 'easy', but then again she wasn't a prude either. It was only later after a failed engagement and that last fiasco with a live-in boyfriend that she stopped dating. It just wasn't worth the pain.

That was almost two years ago and with the exception of one guy she met while drunk and on a business trip over a year ago, she hadn't been with anybody since. It was silly really, but with the problems at work and her past experience it just didn't seem worth it. She was too busy reacting to what life threw at her.

She still remembered her last birthday. She had turned thirty-five and it hit her badly. It was the day she woke up and really reviewed her life. It was also the day that she decided to stop being such a defensive bitch to Joe and start doing the right thing for the company instead of backing that jerk Karl.

She never regretted her decision, not even after Joe and Bethany both quit. Not even their departure would turn her back into that unhappy person she was before. She refused to allow it. Over the last few months she lost the weight she gained over time and took up some of her old college hobbies like hiking. She felt good about herself again. For the first time in a long time, it felt good to be alive!

"Come here," she said to Bradley seductively. She was sitting on her bed. He was standing by the door. "Unless you want to leave?"

"I'd have to be gay or dead to leave now!" Bradley joked. Judy raised an eyebrow when he didn't move.

"Which is it?" she teased with a grin.

"Neither," he smiled. "I'm just memorizing this moment."

"I've got a camera if you want to use it?" she offered. Bradley raised an eyebrow. Judy wasn't quite what he expected, but that was okay.

"You're a bit wilder then I expected," he said as he finally made his way over. 

"You have no idea," Judy smiled. She wasn't always like this, but she was in the mood to be a little crazy for the first time in a long time. A lot of the reason had to do with the man in front of her. It was a while since someone as handsome as Bradley showed real interest in her. Oh, there were plenty of men who wanted to bed her, but that was different. "Shall I get the camera?"

"Maybe another time," Bradley said, amazed that he meant it. He was normally pretty conservative. Judy had a way of bypassing it with a look.

She stopped him from joining her on the bed. He frowned until she directed him to stand in front of her. Judy bit her bottom lip in anticipation as she unbuckled his pants. 

"Very nice!" she smiled when she released his cock from his pants. Bradley grinned. He knew his dick wasn't particularly thick, but it was pretty long. In either case, Judy seemed pleased.

She took the head in her mouth and playfully bit down on it. It wasn't really hard, but it wasn't something you could ignore either.

"Easy! Or this is going to be a shorter night then I think either of us would like," Bradley said, a little nervously. Judy looked up. Her blond hair was framing her face. 

"Don't worry," she smiled seductively. "I'm not going to hurt him." Bradley couldn't help himself. He moaned. Judy's smile grew and she went back to his cock.

Bradley reached down and caressed her breasts as she tongued his dick. Judy unbuttoned her top and removed it and her bra without letting his cock slip from her mouth.

She looked up and smiled lustfully at him once she was done. She reached for his hands and moved them back to her breasts. It quickly became obvious to Bradley that her nipples were extremely sensitive. He playfully pinched then and his cock popped from her mouth.

"Oh yes!" she cried. "That's nice!"

"I want you!" Bradley nearly growled, surprising himself.

"And you'll have me," Judy smiled. "Eventually."

"Tease!" he snapped with a grin.

"Maybe," Judy shrugged. "But it's been a very long time for me and I want this to be perfect!"

She then proceeded to take Bradley's cock back into her mouth, only this time she didn't stop at the head. She slowly slid the entire length into her mouth and down her throat. Her gaze locked with Bradley's the entire time.

"Oh shit!" he cried when he felt her tongue touch his balls. He groaned and came. Judy pulled back slightly, but she didn't break contact with Bradley's cock. She drank his cum down.

"Tasty!" she said, wiping her mouth once he was done.

"My turn!" Bradley actually growled. He lifted her small frame and tossed her onto the bed face first. Judy didn't get upset. She simply took off her skirt and underwear and then got on her hands and knees.

"You want me like this?" she asked. Bradley blushed but nodded in agreement.

"If you don't mind," he said, mesmerized by her soft curves and sexy position. Judy looked back over her shoulder and smiled. 

Bradley mostly used only the missionary position with a woman, but he was as horny as he could ever remember being and he had a feeling that he could do anything he wanted with Judy. She'd let him know if she didn't like something. It was the freest and most real he ever felt with a woman.

"I'm going to make your beg me to stop!" he growled, bending forward and spreading her thighs.

"I sincerely hope so!" Judy grinned.

Bradley could see the wetness glisten from the soft blond thatch of hair between her legs. He leaned forward and tasted Judy for the first time. They both groaned in satisfaction. He used his tongue to bath her pussy and Judy loved every minute of it!

"Oh yes! You have a wicked tongue!" she cried. Bradley tried to drive it deeper into her pussy, but it was impossible. He could reach her clit, but it was at an odd angle, mostly because Judy kept arching her back. 

He moved without realizing what he was doing. Suddenly he was lying on his back under her. Judy's thighs were on either side of his head and he now had full access to her clit.

"Move up!" Judy cried after a while as she moved off of him. She was panting wantonly. Bradley wanted desperately to make love to her, but she wasn't ready yet. He did as he was directed and Judy climbed back onto his face. This time she sat up and held onto the bed's backboard. Bradley could see the swells of her breasts as she squeezed his head hard between her legs.




Saving the Company Ch. 04



Judy reached down with one hand and took hold of the back of his head. She pulled his face against her hard. Bradley made his tongue rigid and Judy started moving her pussy back and forth over it.

"I'm going to cum!" she cried, reaching down with both hands this time and pulled his head as hard against her pussy as she could. Bradley thrust his tongue deep for a minute before pulling it back and gently nibbling on Judy clit. That sent her over the edge.

"Oh yes!" she cried as she released his head and grabbed hold of the headboard once more. Her thighs started shaking uncontrollable and Bradley's face was awash in her fluids. He loved every moment of it!

"That was amazing," he said once Judy moved off of him. She flopped down on the bed next to him.

"You're telling me?" she asked in disbelief. "I haven't cum that hard...well, ever!"

"The night is young," Bradley grinned. "Let's see if we can top it!"

"Are you crazy?" Judy asked with a laugh.

"About you, most definitely!" he replied. Judy leaned over and kissed him. Her hair fell around both of their faces, separating them from the rest of the world for a time.

"Bradley, I want to feel you inside of me," Judy eventually said.

"I thought you'd never ask!" he smiled. She shook her head, but smiled as well. Bradley rolled on top of her and kissed her once again. Judy could feel his hard cock pressing against her.

"Do it! I can't wait any longer!" she cried. Bradley smiled and entered her. He wasn't particularly thick so he slipped in easily, but he still had another inch or so when he bumped into her cervix causing her to gasp, "Oh yes!"

Bradley started pumping in and out of her always stopping just before hitting her cervix again. This went on for a long time until they were both gasping.

"I'm going to cum again!" Bradley gasped as he obviously neared his second orgasm. Judy wrapped her legs around him and squeezed, causing Bradley to groan.

"Do it!" she cried, using both hands to grab his ass and pull him deep. Bradley tried not to push all the way in and hurt her, but Judy would have none of it! She cried, "I want it all!" and then lifted her hips off the bed and met his thrust. She came hard!

"Holy shit!" Bradley cried. "I think I've pushed past the entrance to your cervix!" Judy was too busy thrashing under him to answer. Bradley wouldn't have heard if she had anyway. His blood was pounding in his ears as he thrust one last time and came as deep in her as he had ever cum in a woman! This sent Judy over the edge again. They ground their hips together until neither one of them had anything left.

"Bradley, you need to get off of me," Judy gasped once they were both done. "I can't breath!"

"Sorry!" Bradley replied, rolling off of her. "I've never felt so totally drained in my entire life!"

"Too drained for another go?" Judy asked as she rested her head on his arm. The two cuddled.

"Give me a few minutes and we'll see," Bradley smiled. The two fell silent as they recouped.

"Judy?" Bradley asked hesitantly after a while.

"Yes?" she asked in reply. Her voice sounded somewhat dreamy as if she was half asleep.

"Is it too early to ask you to marry me?" he inquired. This woke Judy fully. She leaned off of Bradley's shoulder and looked into his eyes. It only took a single look to see that he was serious.

"A little," she finally replied. "Wait until this thing with Joe and Bethany works itself out one way or the other and then ask me again."

"Okay," Bradley said, not sounding all that happy. "It would probably be smarter anyway. My father and mother have had enough excitement for now."

"I agree," Judy said, snuggling into his shoulder once again. "Bradley?"

"Yes?"

"I don't want you to worry too much," she said, squeezing him with the arm she had draped over his chest. "I do plan on saying yes the next time you ask."

"That's nice to know," Bradley grinned widely. "Now you asked me if I'd be ready for another go before?"

"Are you?" Judy smiled warmly.

"Let's find out," Bradley laughed gently as he moved Judy onto his chest. She rested her thighs on either side of his hips and used her hands to prop herself up. Bradley reached down and slipped the head of his hardening cock back into Judy. She groaned.

"We do have to remember to thank Joe and Bethany after this is all over, no matter what happens!" she said between gritted teeth.

"Agreed," Bradley said and then took hold of her hips and thrust up into her. They both instantly forgot about Joe and Bethany. 

They were too tired in the morning to actually go out for breakfast, but they enjoyed a nice quite lunch together just before Bradley left for his parents.

"I'll see you in a couple of hours," Bradley said, half laughing at himself. He was acting like a teenager. He guessed that love did that to a person.

"I'll be waiting," Judy smiled.

"And what will you do while I'm gone?" he asked, unwilling to leave. Maybe he could call his parents and cancel.

"Well, I'm planning a surprise for you," she said, being intentionally vague.

"I could cancel?" Bradley offered.

"Don't be silly!" Judy laughed, and then she smiled seductively and added, "Besides, I need to go out and buy a few things for my surprise."

"I'll be back by eight! Nine the latest!" Bradley promised. Judy laughed and chased him out the door, but not without one more kiss. They might never have broken apart if not for the phone ringing. Judy pushed Bradley out the door and ran for the phone.

"Hello," she said as she picked it up.

"Bethany! What are you doing calling me on a Saturday?" She moved around the room and straitened as they talked.

"You and Joe are working on the weekend?" she asked, not really sounding all that surprised. It was like both Joe and Bethany.

"I don't have the foggiest idea where Bradley is," she lied, answering Bethany question. She couldn't very well tell Joe and Bethany that Bradley was eating at his parents. They were supposed to be out of town.

"Yes, I'll let him know Joe is looking for him if I see him," Judy sighed, and listened to Bethany some more. "Yes, I'll let him know that you are both going home for the day and will be back in the office in the morning."

"You know, they have weekends for a reason," Judy said with a shake of her head. "Well, to relax and let the tension of the busy week to flow away, at least for a little while."

"Bethany, what's wrong?" Judy asked, hearing the hesitation in the older woman's voice. "Of course I have time to talk."

"Why don't you meet me at the mall? We'll do some shopping and have dinner. That will help relax you. We can talk then," Judy said, smiling to herself. She was going to the mall to visit a high-end lingerie store she hadn't been to in years. It was part of the surprise for Bradley. Maybe she could convince Bethany to get something to wear for Joe. 

Obviously something was happening. Bethany sounded like she desperately needed someone to talk to. That could only be about one thing. If Judy was careful, maybe she could help push this whole thing to its conclusion. After all, she didn't want to wait forever for Bradley to ask her to marry him again. She was sort of regretting she postponed it in the first place! 



Saving the Company Ch. 05



"Son of a bitch!"

I was sitting up in bed, suddenly wide-awake as those words left my mouth. The lights were out. I couldn't see anything, but I could hear my heart beating loudly in my chest.

"That old bastard!" I said with a shake of my head. I reached over to the phone by the side of my bed and started dialing. The numbers were lit and the brightness actually hurt my eyes until they adjusted. The phone rang three times before it was picked up.

"Hello?" I heard Bethany ask. She sounded more than a little groggy, but there was also a hint of fear. I quickly looked over at my alarm clock and saw that it was four o'clock in the morning. I silently cursed myself for my stupidity.

"Bethany, I'm so sorry I called this early!" I said as I reached for the light on the night table next to my bed.

"Joe?" she asked tentatively, but then continued before I could answer. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I quickly replied. "Or at least nothing major. I didn't realize the time. I should have waited until the morning to call you."

"Well, I'm up now," Bethany said after a slight pause. "You might as well tell me what's on your mind. I probably won't be able to go back to sleep anyway."

"I really am sorry," I said, pausing a moment longer before explaining the reason for my call. "I was just so angry when I realized that we'd been set up. My first thought was to call you and let you know."

"Pardon?" Bethany asked in confusion.

"Brad set us up," I explained. "He knows exactly what's going on! We've both been so busy with the craziness at work, that we bought into the whole silly thing." I expected to have to explain further, but instead I heard Bethany groan over the line.

"You're right," she said slowly as the truth sunk in. "I accepted at face value that us quitting and his fight with Karl were enough to make Brad go on vacation for two weeks, but that would be so unlike him. It just sounded so plausible coming from Cherie."

"She has to be in on it," I said with a shake of my head.

"Her? What about Bradley junior and Judy? You know that they have to be part of this as well!" Bethany snorted. "Damn! The whole company probably knows and is laughing themselves silly."

"No, I doubt anyone at the company other than Bradley and Judy are involved," I said. "Although some of them might suspect." I suddenly caught myself smiling. The whole thing was asinine, but I couldn't help myself.

"What are we going to do?" Bethany asked, still sounding annoyed.

"I was thinking about toilet papering Brad's front yard and soaping their windows," I joked. "It's been years since I've done that to someone." 

"Joe..." Bethany said, but I cut her off.

"Oh come on, Bethany. There really is nothing we can do," I laughed. "Unless of course you want to quit again?"

"No," Bethany quickly replied, and the added more slowly, "On the positive side, at least it looks like we both won't be looking for work next week."

"Yeah," I said in agreement. "But it still burns me that we got taken."

"Me too," Bethany said. "But there's not a lot we can do about it."

"We could get married and retire to Hawaii?" I offered. "That would show them!" I could almost see Bethany rolling her eyes on the other side of the line.

"Retirement?" Bethany said in disbelief. "We'd be climbing the walls in a matter of days." I noticed that she didn't comment on the getting married part. I decided to let it go for now.

"Please," I laughed. "I quit Monday morning and by Tuesday I was ready to pull my hair out!"

"Hey!" Bethany put in, laughing now too. "I was the one who came up with the ridiculous 'hostile take over of our old jobs' idea!" 

I got out of bed and stretched as we talked. It was Sunday morning and that was normally the one day a week I let myself sleep in, but it wasn't happening today. I went to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee as we spoke for a couple more minutes. We spent most of that time joking.

"So, are you planning on going to the office later?" Bethany eventually asked.

"Nope, it looks like it's going to be a nasty, rainy day," I sighed. "I'll probably just go back to bed and mellow out. Maybe watch a good movie."

"Oh," Bethany said, sounding hesitant. "I was going to suggest we get together later, but I can understand if you want to..."

"I'll be there in twenty minutes!" I interjected. "You pick a good movie."

"Slow down sailor!" Bethany stalled, trying together her thoughts. "How do you know I just don't want to talk about work?"

"I know you," I replied. "You wouldn't have hesitated if it was work you wanted to discuss."

"You're right," Bethany admitted, and then sighed and added pointedly, "Actually, I really don't want to talk about anything right now."

"Oh baby!" I crowed, taking her hint about not wanting to discuss our relationship and twisting it something else entirely. 

Bethany laughed despite herself, but then ignored my comment and continued, "I thought we might just spend some time together." I was tempted to joke again, but I caught myself. This obviously wasn't easy for Bethany.

"That sounds wonderful," I said seriously. "What time is good for you?"

"I'm up now, so why not come over?" she said. "Maybe we can watch that movie you mentioned from the comfort of my couch. It really is a nasty day."

"Okay," I agreed. It was a start. "I'll bring a couple of my favorite DVDs, just in case we decide to be couch potatoes all day today."

"That sounds perfect," Bethany sighed. "I'll throw some breakfast on for us."

"I'll see you in a little bit," I said, hanging up. 

I took a shower, shaved and brushed my teeth as quickly as possible. Afterward, I threw on some comfortable clothes and jumped into my car. I thought about stopping to pick up something, but I decided against it because Bethany had promised breakfast and I wanted to eat it before it became cold. I was hoping for another of her omelets! 

It turned out to be a good decision on my part because I had forgotten the time. It would have been all but impossible to find a store open at five o'clock in the morning. The roads were pretty empty. I only passed a handful of cars on my way to Bethany's.

"Hello again!" I smiled as she opened the door.

"Good morning," Bethany said, leaning forward and giving me a kiss. I hugged her until she broke the kiss and added, "Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes." She was freshly showered and smelled wonderful! It was a fight to make myself let go.

A couple of hours later we lay side by side on the couch watching the credits from one of my favorite movies.

"That was a good choice," Bethany said.

"Thanks," I smiled. "It's your turn to choose."

"I'm too tired to get up and pick," she sighed. "Let's see what's on cable." We found a movie that we both were willing to watch. It was not nearly as good as we hoped. I'm pretty sure we were both asleep before it was halfway done. I certainly did.

***

"Wasn't last night enough?" Judy asked with a smile as Bradley appeared and hugged her from behind, caressing her breasts through the towel she was wrapped in. He also leaned forward and kissed Judy's neck. She was drying her hair in front of the mirror in the bathroom.

"I'll never get enough of you!" Bradley replied, nuzzling her neck.

"Later," Judy promised. "I just showered."

"I know," Bradley said. "And I'm a little disappointed you didn't invite me."

"You were sound asleep," Judy laughed.

"Well, I'm up now," he said suggestively.

"I can feel that!" Judy snorted, taking a moment to reach behind herself and lightly squeeze his cock.

"Tease!"

"Not really," Judy said with a sexy smile as she turned off the hair dryer, stood and faced Bradley. She pulled him into a kiss. They were both panting when they finally broke apart.

"Wow!" Bradley said as Judy smiled. "What do I have to do to get you to drop that towel?"

"Just pull," Judy replied with a sexy smile as she raised her arms over her head. Brad pulled and the towel dropped. Judy's smile grew even larger at Bradley's expression.

"You like what you see?" she asked, already knowing the answer. Bradley lifted her and placed her on the counter in answer. Judy wrapped her arms and legs around him as they kissed once more. Bradley starting leaving a trail of kisses down the length of her body. He paused at her breasts long enough to make both nipples wet and hard before continuing lower.

Judy gasped when his lips brushed her inner thigh. She could feel herself getting excited as he continued to lick her inner thigh for a few moments. She grabbed his head with both hands and tried to force his tongue to her center. Bradley had a firm grip on her thighs and refused to be moved.

"Soon," he promised.

"Now who is the tease?" Judy asked. Bradley laughed softly, but still refused to be rushed. 

He waited until his senses were overwhelmed by her excitement. Judy cried out when he finally let his tongue touch her pussy. She was once again holding his head with both hands, but no longer trying to direct his actions. Bradley already knew what she liked.

It wasn't long before Judy came. Bradley was so busy enjoying the taste of her that he almost didn't catch her when she accidentally slipped from the edge of the counter. They both ended up sprawled across the bathroom floor. They lay in each other's arms laughing until Judy caught her breath.

"Come with me," she said. Judy took Bradley by the hand and led him back to the bedroom. She lay on the bed on one side with her top leg bent. She beckoned Bradley with one finger and a smile that promised him satisfaction. Judy directed him to straddle her leg on the bottom. The other remained bent and out of the way.

"This is different," Bradley smiled. His tone was calm, but Judy could see the excitement in his eyes.

"Just take your time at first," she said. "This is an entirely different angle and will take some getting used to it." Bradley buried his face between her legs once more.

"No need for that!" she half laughed. "I'm still pretty wet from before."

"What makes you think that's why I'm doing this?" Bradley asked. "Maybe I just had to taste you once more!"

"You've tasted me enough!" Judy insisted. "Now come up here. I don't want to wait any longer!"

Bradley went back to straddling her leg. He moved forward until his cock head touched her opening. The first inch went in and she gasped. Bradley bent forward and kissed her. It was much easier to do with her on her side as opposed to her stomach and he still had a great view of her ass. It didn't take him long to work his thin cock into her.

"That feels wonderful!" Judy moaned once he was all the way in. "You can pick up the speed now. I'm ready."

Bradley had only pushed in and out a few times before he groaned and said, "I like this new position!"

"I'll let my sister know," Judy grinned, confusing Bradley. She took pity on him and explained. "She told me about it after her second child. She says it a great way to make love when you're well into your pregnancy."

"What else did she tell you?" Bradley asked.

"She did give some other helpful little hints about making love when you're pregnant," Judy answered with a smile. "But those will just have to wait until we need them." Her words obviously excited Bradley. He slammed into her harder and picked up the pace.

"Hopefully we'll be able to use them soon!" Bradley gasped, surprising Judy. Yet, his words also excited her. She always wanted children. Judy suddenly had a vision of what her and Bradley child might look like. She smiled a moment before Bradley's actions caused her passion to overwhelm her thoughts. 

He was now holding her free leg with one hand and driving into her. His other hand rested on her hip. Judy took it and brought one of his fingers to her mouth. She sucked it in and Bradley looked startled at first, but it was soon obvious that he liked how it felt.

He was soon slamming into her with everything he had. Judy gasped. Bradley was still just a little too long for her! It hurt when he got this excited, but in a good way. Judy came first. Her orgasm was so strong that she pulled his finger from her mouth because she was afraid she'd lose control and bite it! Bradley grabbed hold of her waist with his now free hand and slammed into her one last time. He came so hard that he couldn't see for a few moments.

"I think we could both use a shower now," Judy said.

"You go ahead," Bradley said. "If I go with you we'll never get out of your apartment today."

"Would that be so bad?" Judy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Bradley smiled. "But you do realize that much more of this and I won't be able to go to work tomorrow?"

"That's okay," Judy grinned, and then joked, "Joe and Bethany will cover for us." Bradley frowned at the mention of the couple.

"I was supposed to call him today, wasn't I?" he said, remembering the message Bethany gave Judy for him the day before.

"It didn't sound urgent, but you probably should call," Judy sighed as she stood and made her way to the shower for the second time. Bradley nodded and reached for the phone.

He didn't get an answer at the office. That was surprising enough, but when he got no answer on Joe's cell he lay there and frowned. That wasn't like Joe. He finally got up when he could no longer hear the shower and went into the bathroom. He explained that Joe hadn't answered.

"Well," Judy shrugged, once again wrapped in a towel. "It is a rather ugly day out. Maybe he decided to sleep in?"

"Joe?" Bradley asked in disbelief.

"Even he needs a day off every once in a while!" Judy laughed. Bradley turned the shower back on and regulated it to his liking. Judy noticed that it was far hotter than she enjoyed.

"Do you think maybe he's with Bethany?" Bradley asked.

"Probably," Judy answered. "Although she's still so frightened of relationships that I'm not sure what they're doing."

"So, you don't think they're doing the same as us?" Bradley asked as he climbed into the shower.

"If by 'same as us' you mean having sex, then I'd say no," Judy sighed. "Bethany not ready yet."

"But she does love him, right?" Bradley called from the shower.

"Definitely!" Judy called back, and then said lower so that he couldn't hear, "Probably almost as much as I love you." Her words didn't really surprise her, but they were still odd to hear aloud.

Judy left the bathroom and got dressed. She'd have to use the hair dryer once the bathroom cooled off. Bradley liked a steamy shower. It would have been pointless for her to attempt to do her hair while he was showering. The phone rang as she was just finishing putting on clothes.

"Hello," she said as she answered the phone.

"Hello," Joe's voice replied. He sounded confused. "Is Brad there? I just missed his call." Three lies popped into Judy's head, but she shook her head and decided to tell the truth. It would be easier in the long run.

"He's in the shower," she said, and then because of a rather pregnant pause on Joe's side of the conversion, she added, "He should be out in a few minutes."

"Oh," Joe said, and then added, "Sorry, I just woke up for a pretty dead sleep." That explained his hesitation. Joe might or might not have been shocked at how fast Judy and Bradley's relationship had grown, but he was normally pretty quick on the uptake. He wouldn't have shown his surprise.

"Can I have him call you back?" Judy asked.

"No, that's okay," Joe replied. "It can wait until the morning."

"Okay," Judy said. "We'll see you then."

"Hold on," Joe said and then must have placed the phone against his chest while he talked to someone. Judy couldn't make out the words and didn't bother trying. She could pretty much guess who it was anyway. Joe finally got back on the phone and said, "Bethany would like a word. Do you have the time?"

"Sure," Judy replied. "Bradley seems to be taking his time in the shower." She said it to see if she could get a reaction out of Joe again, but it was a wasted effort.

"See you tomorrow," Joe said.

"Goodbye," Judy replied as she waited for Bethany to take the phone.

"So," Bethany's voice came across the line. "Did you use any of that stuff you bought yesterday?"

"The blue teddy," Judy laughed. "But I don't think it was on long enough for Bradley to even notice the color."

"Men!" Bethany said, laughing along.

"How about you?" Judy asked. "Did you use that green item you picked up?"

"Not yet," Bethany replied hesitantly.

"That's okay," Judy said confidently. "You'll know when it's time."

"I hope so," Bethany said softly, but then her voice became more normal as she added, "I really just wanted to thank you for talking to me last night. It helped."

"Not a problem," Judy said, really meaning it. She always respected Bethany, but after their conversation the day before she found herself thinking that they might actually become friends. They said their goodbyes and Judy hung up. She thought about Bethany for a couple of minutes and suddenly started laughing.

"What so funny?" Bradley asked as he exited the shower. His skin was pink from the hot water and his hair was still dripping. He was wrapped in a towel of his own.

"Remember the conversation yesterday about how Bethany intimidated you?" she asked, referring to their conversation from the day before where they both opened up about themselves. Bradley had discussed his irrational jealousy of Bethany at one point. Thankfully, it sounded like he finally resolved it. Now it was Judy's turn. Bradley nodded and she continued, "I just realized that I was as intimidated by Bethany as you were in my own way."

"Was?" Bradley asked with a tilt of his head.

"Did I tell you that we went out shopping last night because she needed to talk?" Judy asked, waiting until he nodded before going on. "We talked about personal things and it made her more human to me. I've worked with Bethany for years, but until that conversation we were never really friends. I was too intimidated by her professionalism and drive to let myself get too close."

"What exactly did you talk about?" Bradley asked with a frown, changing the subject.

"Men!" Judy said with a roll of her eyes. "Now what kind of confidante would I be if I told you that?" Bradley waited until he realized she wasn't going to say anything else.

"You're really not going to tell me?" he asked in surprise.

"No," she replied with a shrug. "I love you, but that doesn't mean I'm going to break a trust." 

"How about after we're married?"

"Don't hold your breath," Judy replied, not backing down. Bradley continued to look at her. She looked right back.

"Good," he finally said. "That means I can trust you with my secrets."

"What secrets?" Judy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"In time," Bradley smiled.

"Jerk!" Judy snapped, causing him to laugh. She then added, "I know how to get you to tell me whatever secrets you have?"

"How?" Bradley asked in amusement. Judy smiled and walked toward him. Bradley quickly added, "I thought you wanted to get out of here?"

Judy ignored him and dropped to her knees in front of him. He closed his eyes as she pulled his towel loose. She grabbed his cock and left a trail of kisses down the shaft. Judy didn't stop there. Her tongue touched places that shocked and enflamed Bradley! 

Thankfully, he didn't really have any dire secrets. She couldn't force him to tell a secret that didn't exist, although it would be fun to watch her try!

"Are you ready to talk yet?" Judy asked.

"Not on your life!" Bradley replied and then fell back on the bed as she redoubled her efforts. He groaned loudly at what she did next. He couldn't hold off any longer! Bradley's orgasm hit and continued for longer than he thought possible.

It took him a while to regain control of himself. When he finally did, he realized that Judy hadn't stopped what she was doing. He watched her for a few moments. She noticed and met his eyes, smiling seductively. 




Saving the Company Ch. 05



"So, tell me your secrets," Judy demanded.

"I don't have any," Bradley finally admitted as he found himself once again responding to her.

"Sure you don't," Judy said with a roll of her eyes. She then stood and took off her clothes that she had put on only moments earlier. Jody straddled his hips and sank down on his cock. She leaned forward and bit her bottom lip as her nipples brushed back and forth across Bradley's lips. He opened his mouth and let his tongue graze just the very tips. 

'Maybe I'll have to make up some secrets,' he thought to himself. 'Either that or chance dying from pleasure!' Bradley really wasn't sure which he was going to choose in the end. 

Judy looked down at Bradley and smiled. She knew he didn't have any secrets. Bradley wasn't the type. She on the other hand had quite a few, yet most of them revolved around her perversity in sex. Thankfully, every time she shared another one with Bradley he seemed to enjoy it almost as much as she did!

***

I walked out of the bathroom and made my way back to the couch. Bethany was standing next to it and stretching. She had no idea how sexy she looked doing that! It was too much for me to resist. I pulled her into a kiss. Instead of stiffening as I feared she might, she relaxed into the kiss. I'm not sure how we ended up back on the couch but when the kiss finally broke I realized we were both sitting.

"Wow!" Bethany said.

"You're telling me!" I replied, reaching for her again. Bethany pushed my hands away and quickly stood. I sighed.

"Let's get something to eat," she said. I nodded and stood, trying to regain control. It wasn't easy.

We went to a local restaurant for lunch. It was nothing special, but the food was good and we talked about a lot of things. Eventually the conversation turned to work.

"So, do you think we're ready for tomorrow?" Bethany asked. 

"Not quite," I smiled as I once again thought about what I decided to do not long after I realized Brad and the others were playing us.

"What?" she asked, knowing something was up from my expression.

"Well, remember that we were just going to come up with a plan of what Brad should do when he returned?" I asked. Bethany nodded and I continued, "I think instead we'll just make the changes."

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Why shouldn't we?" I shrugged. "If Brad wants to play games, we might as well make it exciting for him."

"What are you planning?" Bethany said, slowly smiling. She knew me pretty well.

"Do you think it's fair to assume that Brad isn't going to fire us when he returns?" I asked.

"Yes, I think that's fair," she said carefully.

"So, if he isn't going to fire us, then I guess he still plans on making me the CEO eventually," I said. 

"I expect so," Bethany said in agreement.

"Well, in that case," I grinned. "I'm going to make all of the changes I've been wanting to for months!"

"All of them?" Bethany asked carefully. She and I already had a rough plan of what I was going to suggest to Brad when he returned. We discussed quite a few more changes than were in that plan. Some were discarded as unrealistic, but others I chose not to include because I didn't think they would fit Brad's style.

"Maybe not all," I finally conceded. "But a lot more than what the currently plan states."

"For instance?" she asked.

"Well, for one thing, I'm going to do a bit more shifting of personal," I smiled. "I want the people I trust and know to get involved in the other areas of the company. I may shift some of them back once I get control, but then again, I may not."

"Who?" Bethany frowned.

"Well, quite a few people actually," I said. "But the most obvious is you."

"Pardon?" Bethany asked in surprise. I laughed.

"Bethany it's time for you to come out from behind the curtain," I said. "You're far more than a personal assistant to Brad and everyone in the place knows it."

"Yes, but..." she began. I cut her off with a loud sigh.

"I'm going to promote you to some position in the next week, so you might as well pick one you like. I don't need an assistant, but I do need help. Pick an area and let's talk about it," I said, and then smiled as I added, "Every position is open for discussion except CEO."

"I'm not qualified for everything!" she snorted.

"I know," I grinned. "But I'm not expecting you to choose being a lead tech or system designer."

"Joe, are you sure?" she asked. "After all, there is our..."

"I'm going to walk out if you bring up our relationship right now as a possible reason not to promote you!" I interrupted. I was serious and she saw it in my face.

"I could take over accounting," she said finally, thinking out loud. "But although I like numbers, I also like working with people."

"You've already got that area organized," I said. "Besides, Brad's been telling me that you and he are working toward Gary taking over accounting."

"You're right," Bethany nodded. "But I'm really not sure what else I'm qualified to do."

"Think about it and let me know," I said. "I'm willing to wait a couple of days."

"Only a couple?" Bethany said in surprise.

"Maybe a couple," I replied pointedly. "We have a lot to do in the next week." Bethany shook her and then changed the subject slightly.

"You wrong about one thing," she said. 

"What?" I asked with as frown.

"You do need an assistant," she smiled. I rolled my eyes.

"We'll deal with that later," I said as I paid the check and stood. "What do you want to do now?"

"Laundry," Bethany answered succinctly. "It's been a crazy week and next week isn't looking any better. I'm going to go home, do laundry and go to sleep early. Someone woke me up in the middle of the night."

"I'll drop you at your place," I said, holding in a sigh. Bethany's answer came too quickly for her not to have had it planned out. 

'I did promise to give her time,' I thought to myself. Besides, I had laundry of my own to deal with and a full night of sleep sounded like a good idea. This week was going to be crazy.

***

"Where are the love birds?" I asked Bethany as I entered her office. She rolled her eyes at my choice of words.

"You just missed them," she replied. "Bradley and Judy are going to see a show tonight." I opened my mouth to speak, but Bethany cut me off and added pointedly, "It is six thirty."

"I wasn't going to say anything about them leaving," I said. "I was just wondering if they took their cell phones with them."

"Let them be for one night," Bethany said with a shake of her head. "You've already made so many changes people are walking around stunned and it's only Tuesday!"

"Fine," I sighed, not really happy, but realizing Bethany was probably right. "What are you doing for dinner?"

"Absolutely nothing," she said firmly. "I'm going home and going to soak in a hot bath and then go to sleep."

"I do have a hot tub," I offered, trying one last time.

"No, thank you," she said. I frowned.

"You are..." I began, but she interrupted me again.

"Yes, I'm still thinking about us and our possible future," she replied quickly. "I still need a little more time."

"Why?" I asked. "You know we're meant to be together."

"Joe," she said with a shake of her head. "We're both so busy these days that it's hard to concentrate on anything else. Lets talk about this at the end of the week."

"Friday?" I pushed, not really all that gently. Instead of being mad, Bethany smiled. That was a good sign.

"Saturday," she replied.

"Saturday morning, early," I said. Bethany paused, but then nodded.

"You just want me to make you another omelet!" she grinned. There was a knock on the door before I could reply. My back was to the door, but Bethany saw who it was immediately.

"What's up Helen?" she asked.

I turned and added, "How do you like your new job?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," the small redhead frowned.

"Tim or Sara-Jane giving you problems?" I asked.

"Neither is happy to have me or any of the other people you transferred in under them, but I pretty much expected that. They'll get over it," Helen shrugged.

"Then what's bothering you?" Bethany asked. Helen paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. That was interesting in itself because normally Helen just said whatever came to mind. She was a great analyst and a good system designer, but she wasn't someone you wanted in front of the clients unless they knew what to expect.

"I can't put my finger on it exactly," she finally said. "It's just a lot of little things. Key paperwork is missing and getting answers to simple questions is so much harder than it should be."

"Why not give it a few days and let's see if it gets any better?" Bethany asked. Helen nodded, but I could also see her frown. I decided to take a different tact.

"While you're here, why don't you tell me your initial thoughts on Tim and Sara-Jane?" I asked. Bethany and I met with them both individually the day before, but I wanted to hear Helen's opinion. Her bluntness sometimes helped me clarify my own thoughts. Besides, her answers might help her to understand what was bothering her.

"It's only been a day and a half," Helen said, but then continued when I waited without comment. "Tim is pretty bad. He's got a big power trip going and he is not thrilled with the changes you're making."

"I figured as much," I sighed, but Helen wasn't done.

"I think he's probably a pretty decent designer based on some of the specs I've seen of his, but he makes my management skill look spectacular."

"Oh, I'm sure yours aren't bad," Bethany put in kindly.

"Actually, Helen is a good workflow manager," I said honestly.

"It's the people part I don't do well with," Helen grinned. "I'm not the most patient person and I don't deal well with overly sensitive people."

"We were talking about Tim," I said pointedly.

"Like I said, it's still too early to be certain," Helen replied. "But from what I saw and what I overheard some of my new coworkers saying, he's pretty much lives by the old 'Squeaky wheel gets the oil.' saying. He's also not good under pressure, especially from clients."

"How about Sara-Jane?" Bethany asked.

"She's much better," Helen replied, however something in her tone wasn't right.

"But?" I prompted. Helen shrugged.

"I don't like her," she said, and then smirking added, "But then again, it's not like I'm best friends with all of my coworkers anyway." I frowned. Helen might not be friends with everyone, but on the other hand, there were very few people she didn't like. She was actually a pretty good judge of character. It was more of an instinctual ability than a thought out one. 

"Talk to me," I said. "You wouldn't have brought up your dislike if it was simply personality." Helen looked at me for a moment before nodding.

"I'm not sure where to start," the slightly built woman sighed. "Sara-Jane tends to favor specific clients, but she does a decent job of balancing."

"That's not so unusual," Bethany offered.

"I know," Helen sighed, and then took a moment to think before adding, "I can't really explain it. She doesn't come across as insecure, but getting information out of her is damn near impossible! It's almost as if..." She stopped speaking suddenly. Something had obviously hit her.

"What is it?" I asked. Helen shook her head and refused to answer at first, so I prompted her again, "Helen, tell me what your thinking."

"Okay, but you're not going to like it," she sighed. "I hope I'm wrong, but the way Sara-Jane is acting reminds me of how Marlin acted toward the end."

"Who is Marlin?" Bethany asked in confusion.

"I hope you're wrong!" I groaned to Helen, ignoring Bethany for the moment. "If you're not, then this could get ugly very quickly."

"Who's Marlin?" Bethany asked again, her confusion turning to annoyance. "What are you two talking about?"

"Marlin was one of the guys involved with embezzling from our old company," I replied, watching Bethany face as what I said sunk in.

"Oh my!" she said with raised eyebrows.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," I sighed. "I don't want Sally the rumor queen to get hold of this! The three of us will just have to keep our eyes open and see if we can find anything else incriminating."

"Um Joe," Bethany said carefully. "It may have nothing to do with anything else, but Barry came by earlier. He was supposed to pull Karl's old computer, save whatever was on it just in case, and then wipe it."

"And?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"He says someone already reformatted the drive," Bethany answered. I groaned again.

"It couldn't have been Karl," Helen put in. "He never made it back to his desk after Brad fired him." The three of us looked at each other.

"It may be premature," I finally sighed. "But I think it's time to bring Gerty in on this."

"Oh no!" Helen cried. "I was afraid you were going to say that?"

"Who's Gerty?" Bethany asked, looking surprised by Helen's reaction.

"She and her partner Tom run a small company that specialized in this type of situation," I explained. "She was involved with the review of what went on at our last company. She's very good." I watched Bethany turn to Helen. I knew what the small redhead was going to say. I also knew that it was true, but we needed Gerty if what we feared was true.

"Probably one of the best in the country. Certainly the best in our area," Helen added, not sounding happy. "She also happens to be one of the most off the wall characters you'll ever meet."

"Gerty is a bit of an oddity, but she's harmless enough," I added.

"Sure!" Helen snorted. "All the guys say that!"

"Well, it's true," I shrugged.

"Oh come on!" Helen cried. "If she were a guy, she'd be up on sexual harassment charges every day!"

"She's not that bad!" I insisted. I liked Gerty, but then seeing Helen expression I sighed and admitted the truth. "Okay, maybe she is that bad, but we need her."

"I know," Helen said with a shake of her head. "I just hope she finally got over wearing those low cut blouses of hers! A woman with breasts like hers doesn't need to flaunt it quite so much!"

"They are rather indecent," I said, and then seeing the expression on both women's faces quickly added, "I meant the blouses!" Bethany frowned and I fought hard not to laugh. I could just picture Gerty and Bethany meeting! Gerty was the biggest flirt I ever met and Bethany was...well Bethany.

"Are you sure we need to get her involved?" Bethany asked.

"If Karl took part in something illegal, then the sooner the better. That's especially true since we're guessing that there is at least one more accomplice still working here."

"If we're not overreacting to shadows," Bethany reminded us. I nodded, but I still had a bad feeling about what was going on.

"I'll give her a call right now," I said. "The sooner she comes and proves to us that we're overacting the better."

"Amen!" Helen agreed. Bethany still didn't look thrilled, but she didn't disagree.

***

"Joe!" I heard someone call from the doorway. It could only be Gerty. No one else would sound so chipper five o'clock in the morning.

"Hello, Gerty," I smiled, taking one more drink of my coffee before standing. Gerty came in and hugged me close. Her large breasts seemed even bigger than I remembered.

"It is so good to see you again!" Gerty smiled. "It's not often I get a chance to visit a handsome, single man near my age who can appreciate my abilities."

"I see your still just as demur as always," Helen said sarcastically with a shake of her head. She and Bethany were the only others in the room.

"You like my blouse? I picked it up in Paris last month?" Gerty grinned. It just barely covered her nipples.

The call the night before with Gerty went well, but I was surprised when she agreed to come the very next morning. Okay, surprised and dismayed. I was exhausted. Bethany and Helen didn't look much better. Gerty's first visit was always when the employees weren't at work. Gerty's team would probably already be out on the floor copying hard drives. They didn't have passwords, but that didn't matter.

"Gerty, this is Bethany," I said in introduction. Gerty looked at Bethany and then back at me before raising one eyebrow.

"I see that I may have been mistaken about you still being single?" she asked me. Gerty never ceased to amaze me.

"I'm not sure," I answered honestly. Gerty frowned and turned back to Bethany.

"You can't possibly be thinking about not marrying him?" Gerty asked.

"Pardon?" Bethany said, obviously stunned.

"Oh dear," Gerty said with a loud sigh. "You're one of those."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bethany asked, her confusion turning to annoyance. 

"Do you have any idea how many women would kill for a man like Joe to look at them the way he looks at you?" Gerty asked, ignoring Bethany question. "If he looked at me that way, I'd..."

"My relationship with Joe is none of your business!" Bethany snapped, interrupting Gerty.

"Of course it is," Gerty insisted. "I was planning on inviting him to dinner tonight and possibly to something even better after dinner. Now I'll have to eat alone."

"Joe is free to do whatever he likes," Bethany replied tartly.

"Very good," Gerty said, and then turned toward me and asked, "Would you care to go out to dinner?" I was pretty much stunned by the whole conversation.

"Aren't you and Tom partners?" I asked, and then quickly added, "I mean more than just business partners."

"Actually," Gerty sighed. "Tom and I broke up a few months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear," I said. "What are you going to do with the company?"

"Why, split it of course," Gerty shrugged. "It should all be finalized next month."

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked.

"But of course," Gerty said, smiling once more. "Now about dinner?"

"Well, I don't have any plans," I said, looking at Bethany. She refused to meet my eyes. "But maybe another time. It's been a crazy week or so."

"Perhaps next week?" Gerty asked.

"Actually, next week may be good," I said. Bethany finally faced me as I added pointedly, "I'll let you know on Saturday." Okay, maybe it was juvenile, but it also felt good. I was tired of waiting.

"Fine," Gerty said. "Let me go check on my people and then we'll meet and go over the plan."

"I'll go with you to make sure your people don't miss a computer somewhere," Helen said.

"You aren't serious about going out with that tramp?" Bethany asked as soon as they were gone.

"Jealous?" I teased. It was definitely the wrong thing to say based on Bethany's reaction.

"I'm sorry I asked!" Bethany snapped and turned to leave. I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back around. Her eyes were flashing angrily, but that was okay because so were mine.

I kissed her hard enough to bruise our lips. She fought at first but I ignored it and thrust my tongue into her mouth. A moment later Bethany stopped fighting and was kissing me back just as passionately. I moved one hand to her breast and squeezed. Bethany moaned into my mouth. I brushed her nipple with my thumb before finally breaking the kiss.

"Bethany, you are the woman for me," I said, still angry. "I've told you it! Everyone in the office knows it and even Gerty's recognized it the first time she saw us together!"

"But she..." Bethany began. I cut her off.

"She's Gerty," I snapped. "She's a flirt and a tease, but she's also a very smart woman. She didn't ask me out because she wants to date me! She asked me out so that you'd have to face the possibility."

"Maybe," Bethany said grudgingly. "But I think she would have been happy if you agreed."

"And I may," I said in annoyance. "If you decide to give up on us."

"I knew it!" Bethany cried angrily.

"Be angry," I sighed, letting my own anger go. "Just be sure to know why you're angry."




Saving the Company Ch. 05



"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You figure out!" I sighed and turned to leave. I stopped just before the door and added, "I love you, but I'm not willing to let it stand at that. I want more. I want you. I want to wake up with you in the morning and go to sleep with you every night."

"Can't we just..." she began, but I cut her off again.

"No, we can't," I said succinctly. "We'll talk on Saturday."

***

"So, how was your night?" Bethany asked Judy as they both stood in front of the coffee pot waiting for the machine to finish brewing. It was Friday and Bethany hadn't slept well the night before at all, but she still forced herself to get up early. This was the last day before Brad returned and there was still so much to do.

"Great!" Judy grinned. "I finally got Bradley to use the camera! I even took a couple pictures of him. Want to see?"

"You are so bad!" Bethany laughed. She also blushed slightly. She didn't think of herself as a prude, but compared to some of the stories Judy told her, Bethany might as well have been a nun! 

Over the last week the two had become good friends. So good in fact, that Bethany was surprised. It helped that they had Bradley and Joe to talk about. Judy was just as in love with Bradley as she was with Joe, but the younger woman seemed to have no problem with the relationship being so serious.

"So, when is the wedding?" Bethany teased her friend.

"Oh, he's going to ask me right after you and Joe finally figure things out," Judy replied seriously.

"Plan on waiting that long, do you?" Bethany asked in reply, trying to keep the mood light.

"Not too long," Judy replied. "After all, you only have one more day to decide."

"I know," Bethany sighed, no longer feeling like joking. "I had problems sleeping last night because I couldn't stop thinking about it."

"Well, that was a waste of time," Judy said with a shake of her head.

"Pardon?" Bethany asked in surprise.

"Bethany, you've already thought about this as much as humanly possible," Judy replied. "It's not about understanding. It's about faith."

"Faith?" Bethany asked, sounding confused.

"Not faith in God," Judy explained. "Faith in Joe. You have to trust him and you haven't trusted a man in so long that it scares you to death."

"I think..." Bethany began, but Judy cut her off.

"You think too much!" she said, smiling to take the sting out of her words. "Don't tell me what you think. Tell me what you feel!" Bethany looked at her friend silently for a moment.

"I love him," she finally sighed.

"Enough to trust him with your heart?" Judy asked.

"Yes! No! Maybe," Bethany said, surprising herself as the tears started to well up in her eyes.

"That's the crux of this," Judy sighed. Bethany confusion and fear were so obvious that Judy almost felt sorry for her friend, but that wouldn't help Bethany face what she had to do. "You have to decide to trust Joe or not."

"I'm trying," Bethany mumbled.

"Trying isn't enough," Judy said unmercifully, but she knew it was for Bethany's own good. "You have to give him your heart and trust him. If you do, he'll give you his. That's no easy feat for Joe."

"I know," Bethany said softly.

"But if you really can't give him your whole heart, then you have to let him go," Judy said sadly.

"I know that too," Bethany replied, even softer. A single tear fell down her cheek.

"There you are!" Helen said as she walked into the kitchen. "Joe's been looking for you. He wants to talk to us ASAP."

"Tell him she'll be there in a minute," Judy said. Helen frowned as she realized she interrupted something. Bethany turned her back toward the redhead. Helen raised an eyebrow pointedly at Judy. She liked Bethany and hoped the woman was okay. They'd worked closely together this past week and it turned out to be a better experience than Helen expected. 

"We're just waiting for our morning coffee," Judy added with a look of her own. Helen nodded in acceptance if not understanding.

"I'll let him know," she said and left. She went back to Joe's office. He was sitting at his desk, thumbing through papers.

"Bethany is getting a cup of coffee. She'll be right in," Helen said.

"Good," Joe said, without even looking up. "I need to talk to you both. I'd like to do it before Gerty drops by this morning."

"She's not done with her investigation already?" Helen asked in surprise.

"No, but she has some preliminary details she wants to share with us," Joe replied. 

Helen sat down at one of the chairs and started jotting down notes while they waited for Bethany. She was working on a new specification template for the product development area. Joe had given her and Bethany the task of reviewing all of the specification templates. The two women spent a few hours the day before meeting with the designers in each area and getting their input. It was interesting. Helen liked the way Bethany kept the conversation moving during the meeting. She didn't let anyone get too bogged done in details. 

They decided that Bethany would handle the business portion of the layout while Helen took care of the technical. They realized after the meetings that all of the different areas couldn't have identical layouts, but they were trying to keep them as uniform as possible. 

"Sorry I took so long," Bethany said as she walked in. "But I bumped into Ms. Hannon in the lobby."

Helen saw Gerty follow Bethany into the room and smiled. The two women did not like each other. That was obvious. Everyone called Gerty by her first name, everyone but Bethany.

"Yes, and Bett was kind enough to escort me here," Gerty replied. Helen saw Bethany flinch slightly at the name. Trust Gerty to find a way of retaliating for Bethany's forced professionalism. Bethany obviously hated the nickname Bett, yet she refused to say anything about Gerty's use of it.

"Good morning," Joe said to both women.

"Sorry about having to meet so early, but this is the only time I have all day. I have a meeting across town in an hour," Gerty said, obviously sounding rushed.

"That's okay Gerty," Joe replied. "Why not just tell us what you've found so far and we can set up a longer meeting next week. I want you to meet Brad anyway. He should be back from vacation."

"Oh good!" Gerty smiled. "I've always wanted to meet him. We go to the same club. He has a very good reputation as a businessman and an equally good one as a golfer. I hope I can get him to play a round with me." As always with Gerty, it sounded like she meant more than just golf. 

"Over Cherie's dead body," Bethany mumbled just loud enough for Helen to hear. The small woman fought hard to suppress a laugh. 

Joe hadn't heard what Bethany said, but he exchanged a look with her and they both smiled. Gerty was something else, but even she would be hard pressed to deal with Cherie. Joe thought that from Bethany expression she was thinking something similar, only in her case, she was probably hoping to witness the encounter.

"So, what have you found out so far?" Joe asked Gerty. "And nothing would be a very satisfactory response."

"Come now, Joe. You don't think I'd come by this early if my people found nothing?" Gerty asked.

"No," Joe sighed. "But I was hoping."

"Well, one of your employee's if having an affair with her brother, while another is wrestling with the fact that he's probably gay. A third is working hard on a novel during lunch, but I wouldn't worry about loosing her. My people say that it's not very good."

"Gerty!" Joe said in exasperation. The big-breasted woman laughed causing her chest to shake enough that her blouse had problems containing everything. Helen shook her head. It was definitely a sight to see. Bethany shook her head and looked away. Joe did his best to do the same, but he was a man after all.

"Okay," Gerty finally said between laughs. "I just love what people will do and say on their computers. You tell them that they're company property and can only be used for company business, but they never listen."

"So, tell me about Sara-Jane and Tim," Joe asked.

"So far, other than staying late one day and logging onto a porn sight, Tim is clean," Gerty replied. "In fact, I'm not even sure he did that on purpose."

"That's good news," Joe replied, and it was. Of course, that didn't help with the fact that Tim was just so inept. Gerty saw his expression and decided to give him a little more information on Tim. It wasn't something she normally did, but she liked Joe and he obviously already knew he had a problem with Tim.

"We don't normally comment on the actual business of our clients, but one of my people suggests that you get someone involved with the Anderson project. Tim is close to making some agreements that you might want to review."

"We're supposed to be meeting on it with him at ten this morning," Bethany sighed. "Helen and I have already reviewed most of his projects. You're going to have to do something about him soon."

"Not me," Joe replied. "You."

"Pardon?" Bethany asked. Joe sighed.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you and Helen about earlier," he said. It should probably wait until Gerty was done, but now seemed like a good time to tell them.

"I've decided to make you the vice president in charge of customer support," he said to Bethany, and then turned to Helen and added, "And you'll be the assistant vice-president under her." The two women looked at each other.

"You're serious," Bethany said with a shake of her head.

"Of course," Joe shrugged. "I told you I was going to promote you. You haven't come up with an area you'd like to run and this is where I need you most."

"It might just work," Bethany said grudgingly. "I can deal with the business people and paperwork while Helen keeps the technical area moving in the right direction."

"That's what I thought," Joe nodded. "I put you together this week to see if you were compatible. You seem to work well as far as I can see. Do either of you have any issues with each other?" Bethany shook her head.

"I think that's a great idea!" she said enthusiastically, but then she looked back at Joe and added, "I do have one question."

"Helen, we'll talk money after Gerty is done," Joe said with as grin.

"Okay, two things," Helen laughed. "Does product development fall under our control?"

"In the long run, no," Joe said. "But for now you'll have to help out. You are the only two I trust to put in place right now. You'll have to put your heads together to help me decide if we need to hire from outside the company or promote someone else."

"I like to promote from within," Bethany frowned.

"Not Tim!" Helen said emphatically.

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Bethany smiled, but then she grew more serious and added, "In fact, we may have to fire him if he doesn't shape up."

"Agreed," Helen sighed, and then she forced herself to ask, "How about Sara-Jane?"

"Not likely," Bethany sighed. "She's good, but I agree with you initial assessment of her. She not particularly likable and I don't trust her."

"That's a good thing," Gerty put in, drawing the other three's attention back to her. "Because it looks very likely that this Sara-Jane has some crooked deals going with a couple of your clients. Kickbacks and such."

"Shit," Joe sighed. He knew it was coming, but he had hoped. "Was Karl involved?"

"In the kickbacks? No," Gerty replied. "However, he was aware of what was going on."

"What?" Joe asked in confusion. "If he knew what didn't he say something?"

"Were they screwing each other?" Helen asked with her normal bluntness. Gerty shook her head.

"Blackmail," Bethany said. It was the only explanation left.

"Exactly," Gerty smiled. "Karl spent half his day in the office working on his privately owned website."

"What kind of website?" Bethany asked.

"About what you'd expect," Gerty shrugged.

"A sex website?" Bethany asked.

"Right again," Gerty laughed. "Some of the stuff is actually pretty good, but then again some of it isn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Helen asked.

"Let's just say that I'm not sure of the ages of some of his models," Gerty replied, no longer laughing. "In one or two cases, I'd be willing to bet a decent amount of money that the models are underage by quite a margin."

"That bastard!" Joe growled. "We have to do something!"

"Already done," Gerty said seriously. "I turned over what I found on his computer to the police last night. Karl should be getting a visit sometime today."

"I thought his hard drive was reformatted?" Bethany asked in confusion.

"It was," Gerty replied. "But whoever did it, and I'm guessing it was Sara-Jane, was in a rush. They did a quick format instead of a full format. It was ridiculously simple for my people to access the data."

"What do we do about Sara-Jane?" Helen asked.

"Why fire her of course," Gerty shrugged. "It will take a while for us to complete our investigation, but we already have enough for her to need a very good lawyer, if it comes to that."

"If it comes to that?" Bethany asked. Gerty didn't answer. Instead she turned toward Joe. He was frowning.

"I think we'll press charges, but I want to talk to Brad first. Our clients are already aware of the changes that are happening. Judy says that some of her sales calls are as well. I don't know if it makes sense to add another lawsuit," he sighed, but then he smiled and added, "Although the news about Karl's blackmail will give us the leverage we need to get him to drop his lawsuit."

"More than that," Gerty smiled.

"Maybe," Joe said, but he nodded in agreement.

"Well, that's all I have as of right now," Gerty said, standing. "Unless of course you want to hear about the guy who orders a lot of women's clothes in his rather large size or the woman whose has fun on one of the more well known dating services?"

"Gerty, I'll set something up with your secretary for next week," Joe sighed. Gerty laughed and said her good byes.

"How do you want to handle this?" Bethany asked Joe once Gerty left.

"Can I be there when you fire Sara-Jane?" Helen asked before Joe answered.

"You really don't like her!" Joe laughed. Helen shrugged. It was the truth.

"Have you talked to Bradley about our promotions?" Bethany asked.

"I told him about it last night," Joe replied. "He didn't have a problem with it, but we should probably meet with him before we let everyone else know."

"We need to tell Judy and Clark as well," Bethany said.

"Actually they're both getting promotions of their own," Joe smiled. "Judy is going to be made a senior vice president and Clark a vice president."

"When?" Bethany asked.

"This morning," Joe replied. "Bradley and I will meet with Judy, after which I will leave them to their mushy youthful behavior and go let Clark know."

"They're not that bad!" Bethany laughed.

"Of course they are," Helen grinned. "But there is nothing wrong with that!"

"Afterward," Joe said, growing serious. "It's probably time to deal with Sara-Jane and then have a staff meeting."

"Makes sense," Bethany sighed. "Just make sure to have security there with you."

"And me!" Helen cried.

"Helen, you know that you can't be part of this," Joe said with a shake of his head.

"Okay," she sighed. "But you don't mind if I hover behind the security guards?"

"Hover away," Joe laughed.

"You shouldn't do this alone," Bethany frowned. "I'll sit in with you. I've done it before as the human resources representative."

"Thanks," Joe replied. Bethany nodded, remembering the lack of sleep from the night before. It was going to be another long day. Yet, instead of feeling tired and stressed, she found herself smiling.

"Okay, now that you've got that settled," Helen grinned. "About my raise." Joe and Bethany exchanged a look. This was going to be interesting.

***

"Okay, I know that by now, all of you have heard that Sara-Jane is no longer with us," I said. The room was packed and there were a lot of concerned faces.

"It's been a crazy couple of weeks, but things should start settling down after today."

"So, we're not going to have layoffs anytime soon?" someone called from the back.

"Layoffs?" I asked in surprise. "Is that what you guys think is going to happen?"

"It's a rumor that going around," the same person said. I looked at Sally.

"I didn't start this one!" she said defensively. This caused quite a few people to laugh.

"Well, there are no planned layoff at this time," I said. "In fact, we are planning to hire a couple of new people in the next month or two." This seemed to satisfy more than just the speaker.

"Why did you fire Sara-Jane?" a woman asked.

"I'm not at liberty to say," I replied, and then quickly added, "But what I can say is that there are a few other changes that need to be announced. I hope these will be greeted positively."

"First off, Judy has been promoted to senior vice president of Sales and Marketing," I said and there was some polite clapping. "Also, I recently promoted Clark to Director of Implementation. This week I restructured the department and that role no longer exists. Instead, he now has the title of vice-president of Implementations." Again, there was polite clapping. So far, the changes I made were really in title only. The next one should be interesting.

"I've also promoted Bethany to vice president of Customer Service with Helen as her assistant vice president," I said. There was a stunned silence for a moment, and then just about every one in the room clapped.

"It's about time!" Sally joked. "She's been half running the company for years already." There was laughter as Bethany blushed. I did notice that Tim didn't look particularly happy, but he was Bethany's problem now.

"What about product development?" someone asked.

"Well, the management team already met on this issue Wednesday," I answered. "There have been changes and a lot more of them will be coming soon. We're shifting the focus quite a bit, but I think you'll like what we're going to do with it."

"To begin with, we are going to focus the next two months on correcting all of the known bugs," I continued. There were smiles on people's faces from both Sales and Marketing and Implementation areas. They were both tired of dealing with the problems left over from product development. Of course, the people from product development didn't look particularly happy.

"After that, we're going to focus on finishing the next release by the end of the year," I added. "Some of you may think that that leaves us plenty of time, but we have quite a list from the Sales and Marking area and the Implementation area that we want to add to the next release."

"Anything interesting?" Simon, one of the lead designers in the product development area asked.

"Oh, there's one or two that you'll find interesting," Judy put in with a grin. "In fact, some of them you and I have had conversations on a couple of times over the years. One particularly comes to mind."

"Not..." Simon began, but Judy cut him off.

"Yes!" she laughed.

"Halleluiah!" Simon cried. I laughed. I didn't know him very well, but Judy had positive things to say about Simon. He was one of the people I had in mind for vice president of Product Development, but I needed to see how he was with people. The next couple of months would tell.

"So, who is going to be in charge of product development?" someone else in the area asked.

"I don't know yet," I answered honestly. "I'll handle it now with help from the rest of the management team, but eventually I do want to put someone in the role."

"One of the new hires?" the same person asked.

"Maybe," I shrugged. "Although all of the management team seems to be in agreement that we'd prefer to promote from within."

"Look, this company is growing. There are going to be plenty of opportunities for career advancement for those of you who have the interest and the ability. For instance, I expect that by the end of the year, Helen will not be the only assistant vice president."




Saving the Company Ch. 05



"You can be sure of that," Judy put in. I smiled. Her first assistant vice president would probably be named in a month or so. There were two possibilities. She was leaning toward one, but wasn't ready to commit yet. 

"Okay, so we've talked about promotions and career opportunities," I said with a smile. "Now let's talk about the current state of the company."

I spent the next half hour telling everyone our current status and the direction I planned to move us over the next couple of years. I took questions for another half hour. I normally didn't like to make the staff meetings long, but this one was too important to rush. I needed them to buy into my vision. That's always the first and most important step in leading. Give your employees a vision they buy into and can commit to.

I thought it went pretty well. The management team came back to my office to meet briefly afterward.

"That went well," Bradley said. He was at the meeting, but refused to have any part in it.

"Thank you," I smiled. "I tried to be as honest as I could."

"I was sold," Clark smiled. "I'm already trying o figure out who should be assistance vice president in my area."

"Take your time. You're still settling into the position," I sighed. "Besides, you've got new people I transferred from product development and customer service to get to know. One of them may be who you're looking for to fill the job." Clark nodded in agreement.

"Let's get together in a couple of hours. After we have a chance to meet with our people," I said. Everyone nodded and left. The next few hours flew by and they were all back in my office almost before I realized it. 

"So, how are people reacting?" I asked.

"Good," Judy said. 

"There is one concern that was brought to my attention," Clark said. "You know, we've all been so busy that we forgot the fact that we're not even sure if Joe and Bethany will still be here next week. Brad is due back on Monday and he may not rehire you both."

"Oh shit!" Helen put in. "I totally forgot about that possibility!"

"Don't worry about it," I said. "Brad already knows what's going on. He'll take Bethany and I back."

"He'd better," Bethany grinned. "Or Cherie will kill him!" Judy and Bradley exchanged a look. Judy shrugged and Bradley nodded.

"So, I guess you two figured it out," Judy grinned.

"Please!" I laughed. "I can't believe it took me as long as it did!"

"Over the weekend, right?" Bradley asked. I nodded and he laughed. "I knew it! You came in on Monday like a madman. You made so many changes I could hardly keep them straight!"

"How did your father take them?" I grinned, knowing that Bradley must have been on the phone with Brad.

"At first he was so crazy that I'm guessing that mother had to threaten him with divorce to keep him from cutting the vacation short!" Bradley laughed. "But eventually he calmed down and listened enough to see what you were doing. Some of the things you occasionally did after that set him off again, but he seems to like what you're doing in general."

"Of course, he doesn't know about the promotions," Bradley added. "I'm leaving that for you to tell him on Monday."

"You're going to lie to him?" Bethany asked in surprise.

"Of course not!" Bradley grinned. "I'm just not going to answer the phone. It will drive him mad!"

"Bradley's pushed back his return to school until the middle of next week so that he can be here to see how his father reacts," Judy smiled.

"Oh, and I suppose it has nothing to do with the fact that you're flying out in that direction for a sales call?" Bethany asked.

"It might," Judy said, laughing.

"Clark, do you ever get the feeling that you're missing something?" Helen asked pointedly.

"Not me," Clark answered with a grin. "I make sure to touch base with Sally at least once a day." This caused the whole group to laugh.

"You know, we are going to have to do something about the 'Queen' of the rumor mill eventually. She's good at what she does, but we can't have her spreading these crazy rumors," I sighed.

"Oh, I've already got that figured out," Bethany smiled. "She's going to be your new assistant."

"What?" I cried in surprise. "Are you crazy?"

"Actually, Sally is probably a good fit," Judy put in, still smiling.

"You're both insane!" I cried.

"Okay, I can see this is going to take a little convincing," Bethany frowned and then turned to Helen and asked, "Can you please go get Sally?" The redhead nodded and left.

"First of all, I do not need an assistant," I snapped. "And second of all, if I did, it wouldn't be Sally."

"Of course it will be," Bethany smiled. "A CEO's assistant needs two important skills out side of intelligence. First she needs to be extremely organized."

"And you can't argue that Sally isn't that," Clark put in, although he didn't look anymore convinced of Bethany choice for my assistant than I was.

"Fine, she's organized," I growled. "But..."

"And the second thing she needs," Bethany said, overriding me. "Is the ability to know the pulse of a company. She needs to be aware of what's going on so that she can keep the CEO informed. You have no idea how many times over the years I've had to sit Brad down and reconnect him with the people under him. Sometimes you high and mighty CEO types lose the forest for the trees."

I wanted to argue the point, but in this area, Bethany was actually more qualified than me. There was no arguing that she was an exceptional assistant. Better than I'd ever met before. If she said that these things were important, then they were. Yet, there were other things that had to be important as well.

"Maybe you're right," I said grudgingly. "But what about loyalty and not letting sensitive details about what I'm working on getting out?"

"If Sally wasn't the loyal type, I wouldn't have picked her," Bethany shrugged. "And she's too smart to spread rumors about those types of things you're worried about. In fact, I know for a fact that she frequently does her best to squelch rumors that shouldn't be spread or are simply untrue." I opened my mouth to argue some more, but Helen returned with Sally.

"Hello Sally," Bethany said, taking the lead.

"Hello," the woman replied.

"Tell me, how do you think the meeting went?" Bethany asked.

"Pretty good," Sally replied. "People like the vision Joe set out for them."

"Any problems we should know about?" Clark asked.

"It's too early to tell," Sally shrugged. "Although I'm betting you'll have some problem with Tim. More than one person mentioned his attitude after the meeting. In fact, I'm guessing he'll be in either this office or Bethany's as soon as he works up the nerve."

"He'd better hope he goes to Bethany," I said with a shake of my head. "First of all he reports to her now."

"And second of all, I don't have the time to deal with someone as inept as him. If he comes to me I'll probably fire him. We've got too many changes going on to let him screw things up!"

"Do me a favor Sally. Make sure he comes to me," Bethany sighed. "I'd like to give him a chance. He's been with the company a lot of years."

"It's your call, but I'd get rid of him," I shrugged. Bethany nodded. She had hoped to deal with Tim on Monday, but he obviously wasn't going to wait. 

"In fact, after we leave here, let him know I want to see him," she told Sally.

"Sure," Sally answered.

"So what are the odds on who takes over product development?" Helen asked, deciding to help Bethany out. 

"Well, again, it's pretty early," Sally laughed. "But right now it's about a thirty-three percent chance that we'll have to hire outside of the company, a thirty-three percent chance that Simon will get it and the final thirty-three percent is that someone else internal will get the job. Actually Helen, you're the next closest to Simon."

"I don't want the job!" Helen frowned. 

"I know," Sally laughed. "And I think that's why you're not the favorite, but some people still think it's likely."

"Well, it's not!" Helen snapped. Sally just shrugged.

"And who is favored to take over Bethany's role as the CEO's assistant?" Judy asked. Sally frowned.

"That's actually a hard one to figure out," she said.

"What's the early money in the pool say?" Clark grinned.

"Well, I'm the favorite by quite a margin," she said. "But I think Bethany picking me in the pool has a lot to do with that."

"You took part in a pool?" I asked Bethany. She shrugged at first, but then answered.

"I'm always willing to bet on a sure thing," she grinned.

"But..." I began, but cut myself short. After all, Sally was right in front of me.

"It's okay," Sally shrugged. "I figured that you wouldn't want me. That's what makes this hard."

"It's not you," I said carefully. "I don't want an assistant at all."

"That's just silly," Sally said bluntly. "You'll need an assistant."

"Is there a pool and odds for that?" I asked, a little sarcastically.

"No," Sally snorted. "That's just common sense. But if you want odds, then I'd say that there is less than one percent change of you not having an assistant by month's end."

"Am I talking to a potential assistant or a bookie?" I grumbled. Sally laughed.

"I'm not a bookie," she answered between laughed. "I don't take a percentage."

"So, you just run the office pool for kicks?" I frowned.

"Sure," she said, slowly stopping her laughter. "That and moral. You'd be amazed how something as simple as a pool for when someone will have a baby affects people."

"Do you want the job?" I asked, surprising myself.

"I'm not sure," she answered, surprising me.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, for starters, I like running the company pools," she grinned. "If I take the job I'll have to hand it off to someone else."

"Who?" Helen asked, obviously curious. 

"Probably Claire," Sally replied. I shook my head.

"Back to your reasons why you're not sure you want the job," I said pointedly. Sally smiled.

"It's a lot of responsibility," she said, but her tone didn't make it seem like she was really worried about that.

"Bull," I said succinctly. Instead of being offended, Sally laughed.

"Okay, I guess the truth is that I'm still not sure if we complement each other," she answered.

"You do," Bethany said.

"What you mean to say is that we should," Sally said. "But sometimes should and do aren't the same."

I looked at Sally carefully. She really wasn't what I expected as an assistant, but I suddenly realized that she was qualified for the job. She was impressing me during the conversation and she already had Bethany's, not to mention the other managers' approval. 

"How about a trial period?" I found myself asking. "You'll take the job for two months and afterward, if we both agree, you'll be promoted. If not, you go back to your old job with no hard feelings."

"A month should be long enough," Sally replied. "We'll probably both figure it out quickly enough."

"Deal," I said, surprising myself. "You'll start on Monday."

"I'll start today," she replied. "I'll need this weekend to get organized. Just let me go back to my desk and get someone to fill in and I'll be back. I'll want to meet with you and Bethany when it's convenient." I watched Sally leave and then turned to the others with a raised eyebrow.

"This should be fun to watch," Judy grinned.

"I'm regretting my decision already," I groaned.

"Enjoy the feeling while it lasts," Bethany put in. "I'm willing to bet she'll be indispensable to you within a week!"

***

Bethany grinned as she made her way back to her office. Sally was going to work out well. Joe would be happy once he got used to her. Bethany barely sat in her chair when Tim walked in. He didn't bother to knock. Bethany took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be fun, but it was part of the new job.

"What can I do for you Tim?" she asked calmly.

"I want to be an assistant vice president," he said without preamble.

"Okay, I'll take it under advisement," Bethany said, hoping to push off a confrontation. She figured it was impossible based on Tim's body language. He was leaning aggressively over her desk. 

"You'll need to do more than that!" Tim snapped.

"Pardon?" Bethany said, feeling a sharp spike of anger. She promised herself that would not loose her temper the first day as a vice president. She could handle Tim without going there.

"Karl is gone and so is Sara-Jane!" he continued. "You're nothing more than a gloried secretary! You need me! I'm the only thing holding this department together!"

"Tim," Bethany said carefully. "I know it's been a couple of difficult weeks for you, so I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked angrily.

"I'm going to give you a chance to leave now and I'll forget what you just said. If you do, I'll set up a meeting for Monday morning and we can discuss your roll in the future of the company."

"You don't seem to understand," Tim said with a roll of his eyes. He was treating her as if Bethany was stupid. It bothered her, but Bethany was confident enough in her intelligence not to let it drive her to do or say something stupid. Tim didn't seem to be able to do the same. "Either you promote me or I leave you with that psycho Helen to handle the department by yourselves!"

"If that's what you think is best," Bethany said smiling sweetly.

"I'm not kidding!" he growled.

"I'm aware of that," Bethany sighed.

"You won't last a month without me to keep things going!" Tim snapped. Bethany took a moment to look at Tim carefully. She was amazed to see that he really thought what he was saying was true. Here she was trying to find a way of saving his job for him and he was threatening her! She started to get angry, but instead found herself fighting against laughing.

"Is everything okay in here?" Sally asked from the doorway. Tim's voice was pretty loud.

"Yes, we're fine," Bethany replied. "Do me a favor and close the door on the way out."

"Sure," Sally said, but then she looked at Tim pointedly and added to Bethany, "Just call me if you need me to do anything, like call security."

"We'll be fine," I smiled. Sally nodded and left, but not without giving Tim one more meaningful look. Tim calmed slightly.

"Tim, this glorified secretary is now in charge of the area," Bethany began in a no nonsense tone of voice. "And since you think you've had enough time to judge me as a boss, then I think it only fair that I give you my initial opinion of you and your work habits."

"You are a solid analyst and a reasonable good system designer. If you left we'd miss you," she continued, confusing Tim by her kind words. That confusion only lasted until Bethany next words. "However, you are a poor manager and rather inept at setting priorities. I doubt you'll ever develop into a manager of any sort, much less an assistant vice president. Although, I'm certain willing to consider it in the future if you find a way of changing my opinion."

"That's your opinion!" Tim said, but he didn't sound as confident as he had before. "I'll just have to talk to someone else!" He suddenly realized that glorified secretary or not, she held his career in her hands. She needed him, but she obviously didn't realize it, and crazy or not, if she fired him, he was out of a job.

"Actually, it's pretty much the opinion of the entire management team," Bethany said serious. "However, mine is the only one that matters in this case. Whether you like it or not, I'm your new boss. Accept it or move on. If it were up to Joe, you'd already be out the door."

"I'll think about it," Tim said obviously warring within himself. 

"Good," Bethany replied. "You're done for the day. Go home and try and figure out what you want. Come back on Monday and let me know."

Tim started to open his mouth, but something in Bethany's expression must have warned him. He stood and made his way toward the door.

"Tim, one more thing," Bethany said as he reached for the knob. "If you do come back I expect you to apologize to Helen and I for your unprofessional words and behavior."

Tim left without a word and only slammed the door enough to rattle the hinges, not rip the door off of them, but it was a close thing. Helen knocked and entered a few moments later.

"Sally says that Tim made an ass out of himself," she began without preamble.

"I expect we'd better start planning on losing him," Bethany sighed. "I gave him a choice, but I doubt he'll last very long even if he comes back on Monday. He seems to have a problem working for a glorified secretary."

"He didn't say that?" Helen asked in amazement.

"That wasn't really half bad. He called you 'psycho' Helen," Bethany grinned. Helen looked at her only long enough to realize she was telling the truth and then burst out laughing.

"I hope he does come back!" she laughed. "I have a couple of project he'll just love!" Helen continued to laugh as she added, "Better yet! Maybe we should transfer him to product development? He'll love all of the bug work they have planned for the next couple of months."

"It wouldn't really be a punishment for Tim. He's so delusional that he'd only end up convincing himself that he was transferred to be groomed for the vice president job there," Bethany replied, joining Helen in her laughter. They were interrupted by the phone. Bethany picked it up and answered.

"Hello," she said, not bothering to give her name since it was an internal call. She listened for a moment before nodding and saying, "Okay, I'll be right there."

"What's up?" Helen asked as Bethany hung up.

"Nothing really," Bethany shrugged. "Sally found someone to cover the phones. She wants to meet with Joe and me now."

"Well then," Helen grinned. "You'd better hop to it! You don't want to keep Sally waiting." Bethany rolled her eyes.

"I'll see you in a little while," Bethany said. "We need to figure out how to handle the possibility of losing Tim. We may need to have someone else shifted into the area. Either that or hire someone new."

"I'll think about it while you're gone," Helen replied, and then changed the subject. "By the way, did Judy talked to you about going out for drinks tonight?"

"Not yet," Bethany frowned.

"She will," Helen replied. "She is trying to get us ladies to go out for a celebratory drink for our promotions."

"That's not very fair to poor Clark," Bethany said.

"She asked him first," Helen replied. "But you know Clark. One of his kids has some sport or another they're playing. Besides, I think he'd rather celebrate with his wife."

"What about Judy? I would think she'll wants to celebrate with Bradley," Bethany asked.

"She probably will later, but she wants to go out for drinks first," Helen shrugged. "You should probably invite Sally while your meeting with Joe and her. She got promoted as well."

Bethany nodded and made her way to Joe's office. Sally was already there. They had started without her. Good! She joined in and an hour later they were still talking when Judy popped her head in.

"Let's go ladies," she grinned. "I'm buying the first round!"

"Where are you going?" Joe asked with a frown.

"For a celebratory drink," Judy said. "Sorry Joe, ladies only. Besides, it's for only those of us who received promotions today. You never did mention any change in your own position."

"Hey that's true!" Sally laughed.

"You do realize that in theory at least, you work for Clark?" Bethany asked with a grin. "After all, a vice president of Implementation is a higher ranking title than Director of Implementation. He's an officer of the company. You're not."

"Have your fun now ladies," Joe smiled. "But next week Brad returns and you'd better hope he decides to promote me as well, otherwise your promotions might be short lived. In fact, as director of implementations, I didn't have the authority to give you those promotions in the first place!"




Saving the Company Ch. 05



"Is he trying to take back our promotions?" Helen asked with a grin as she joined them.

"No, he's just miffed because we aren't inviting him," Judy teased.

"Where's Clark?" Joe asked. "I'm feeling a bit outnumbered." The ladies laughed and exited Joe's office. He watched them go with a smile and stopped Bethany only long enough to say, "I'll see you in the morning." She nodded and quickly followed the others.

They went to a local bar and Judy ordered them a round of drinks. They talked about work for a while and their promotions. Bethany described her encounter with Tim in some detail as she ordered the next round. Sally added her own observations and they all ended up laughing again.

"So, do you guys want to hear what the latest company pool is?" Sally asked.

"I don't know, do we?" Judy asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably not," Sally laughed, but then proceeded to tell them anyway. "It's who is going to get married first, you and Bradley or Joe and Bethany." Judy rolled her eyes while Bethany groaned.

"Bradley and I are waiting for Bethany and Joe to resolve their little issue before making anything formal," Judy said. "Although, at the rate they're going, I make no promises."

"So, what is up with you and Joe?" Helen asked, ordering another round.

"Depends on who you talk to," Bethany sighed, taking another sip of her drink.

"Joe says that I just need to overcome my fear of relationships," she explained. "Judy thinks I need to have faith and trust." Bethany paused with a frown and then remembering, added, "Oh yeah! She also says I need to stop thinking so much!"

"True," Judy shrugged.

"Well, I think you should quit while you're ahead!" Helen put in. She sounded a tad bit drunk already. Her small size probably had something to do with it. That and the fact that she threw down her first two drinks.

"Helen!" Sally cried.

"Okay, okay," Helen said with a roll of her eyes. "Maybe I'm not the best person to talk to at this time. I'm still pretty pissed at my ex!"

"I don't much like my ex either," Sally confided.

"See!" Bethany cried. "The whole idea of marriage is..."

"Not really the issue," Judy interjected. "It's not marriage that's the problem, it's marriage to the wrong man."

"Amen to that!" Sally added. "I said I didn't like my ex, but I love my current husband. He's a good man. I'm lucky to have him."

"And the guy I lived with for a couple of years was a jerk, but Bradley is something different altogether," Judy said. Bethany glanced at her three friends.

"Don't look at me," Helen shrugged. "Every guy I've met so far is a looser! Especially my ex!"

"That's just because you haven't met the right guy yet," Sally said knowingly.

"The question you have to ask yourself," Judy said to Bethany. "Is whether Joe is the right guy for you?"

"He's the only guy for me, but..." Bethany began.

"There can be no buts," Sally said. Judy nodded in agreement. "Either he is or he isn't the right guy for you. It's really that simply."

"But how do you know?" Bethany asked.

"Oh I give up!" Judy snapped, but Sally wasn't so quick to surrender.

"Close your eyes and picture yourself in twenty years," she said.

"I'll be lucking to be alive in twenty years!" Bethany snorted.

"Shush!" Sally snapped. "You're not that old!"

"Okay, I'm picturing it," Bethany said with a loud sigh.

"Describe what you see," Sally demanded.

"I see a large house overlooking a lake," Bethany said. She always liked lakes. "I'm sitting is a brightly colored room facing east. The sun is rising and I'm eating a freshly made omelet."

"What else do you see?" Sally asked. Judy and Helen were watching in silence.

"What do you mean?" Bethany asked, still keeping her eyes closed. Judy and Helen exchanged a look, but Sally kept them quiet with a gesture.

"Look down at the table," Sally said softly. "Tell me what you see."

"I see my omelet," Bethany said with a frown.

"Is that all that's on the table?"

"No," Bethany said. "There is another place setting and another omelet on the table as well." Sally looked at the other women and winked. She was smiling now.

"Whose omelet is it?"

"How should I know?" Bethany asked in annoyance.

"Look over and see who is sitting next to you, silly."

"Oh my!" Bethany said as her eyes snapped open.

"Whoever you saw is the man for you," Sally said confidently.

"I hope it wasn't your ex," Helen said with a snort.

"It wasn't," Bethany said, smiling tentatively.

"Finally!" Judy cried reaching for her drink. She accidentally brushed her breast against the bar and flinched.

"What's wrong?" Bethany asked.

"Nothing," Judy sighed, but when Bethany continued to look at her she added, "My breasts just seem more sensitive lately."

"Um, Judy," Bethany said, remembering the one and only time her own breasts became so sensitive. "This is a bit personal, but are you and Bradley using protection?"

"No," Judy said after a moment's hesitation.

"Isn't that a little risky?" Helen asked.

"Not really," Judy replied. "We both want kids."

"Well, it's probably too early to tell," Bethany sighed. "But there's a good chance you'll both get your wish."

"You mean..." Just said, but then she cut herself off suddenly and faced Sally. "If this hits the company rumor mill I'll kill you!"

"I'm willing to hold off on the pool until you're certain you're really pregnant," Sally smiled.

"And she tells Bradley," Bethany put in. Sally nodded good-naturedly.

"I don't know if I want you to be right or wrong!" Judy cried. "I've know Bradley's parents and all, but I have no idea how they'll react!"

"I wouldn't worry about Brad," Bethany grinned. "But I'm a bit curious as to how Cherie will react myself."

"Thanks!" Judy said sarcastically.

"Just forget it for now," Helen said. "Bethany could be wrong and there is no point in getting your hopes up, or fears for that matter."

"She's right," Sally put in.

"Easy for you all to say!" Judy sighed, putting down her drink. "I guess I'd better stop drinking just in case."

The four spent another half hour talking, but the conversation pretty much relied heavily on Sally and Helen. Judy and Bethany were deep in their own thoughts.

"I've got to go!" Just said suddenly. "I think it's time Bradley asks me to marry him again. I'm not willing to wait any longer for you and Joe to figure things out!"

"I wouldn't worry about that," Bethany smiled. "You go and find Bradley. I need to get ready to visit Joe in the morning."

"Why don't I give you a ride home?" Sally asked Helen. The slightly built woman was the only one who seemed a bit tipsy.

"That's not nec..." Helen began as she tried to stand. She had some difficultly. Helen laughed and added, "I guess maybe it is!"

"You know, my husband has a brother that would be just right for you," Sally said as she took Helen's arm and led her toward the door.

"Is he cute?" Helen asked.

"Why don't you come to my house for dinner on Sunday and see?"

***

"Oh, this is just pointless!" I growled, putting down the book I'd been trying to read for nearly an hour. I looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight. I got up, stretched and decided to at least try and go to sleep. I needed minimally a few hours of sack time before seeing what Bethany had to say in the morning.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth after cleaning up the kitchen. It all didn't take very long. I was about to shut the lights when there was a knock on the front door. I went to it and threw it open. I wasn't really surprised to see Bethany standing there. Who else would be at my front door at midnight?

"Aren't we supposed to be meeting tomorrow morning?" I asked with a shake of my head.

"We agreed to meet Saturday morning," Bethany said, looking at her watch. "It's after midnight, so technically it's Saturday morning."

"In a rush to break the bad news to me?" I asked, holding my breath.

"Not really," she smiled and I let out my breath.

"So, trying to avoid having to make me an omelet?" I joked nervously as I escorted her into my house. Instead of rolling her eyes or laughing, Bethany surprised me by smiling warmly and kissing me.

"Promise me we'll buy a house by a lake when we retire?" she asked.

"Why wait until then?" I asked, not sure why she was asking, but realizing it meant something special to her. "We could always buy a summer home by a lake now."

"I'd like that," Bethany said, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried about why she was crying.

"Absolutely nothing," Bethany smiled, wiping her tears. "Why don't you get us both a drink? We could probably both use it!"

I went to the bar and made two drinks. Slowly the realization that Bethany had really consented to be mine hit me. I downed one of the glasses and refilled it without thought. I then walked to Bethany and handed her the other glass.

"Wait here!" I said, suddenly remembering. Bethany's arriving early had thrown me. I nearly ran into my bedroom to find what I was looking for. I returned with a smile and walked up to Bethany and knelt down on one knee. She blushed happily, obviously aware of what was coming next.

"I think we should make it official," I smiled.

"It's probably a good idea," she agreed.

"Bethany will you consent to be my wife?" I asked holding open a jewelry box with an engagement ring. Bethany ignored the ring for the moment and looked directly into my eyes.

"Yes," she said simply, and it was enough. I stood and kissed her briefly before removing the ring from its box and placing it on her finger.

"It's beautiful!" she said, looking at the ring for the first time. It was rather large, but Bethany thought she could get used to it. "How did you know I would like a pear shaped diamond?"

"The same way I knew the correct size," I replied. Bethany looked up into my eyes and then nodded in understanding.

"Jennie," she said. That was one of the things I loved best about Bethany. She was so damn smart!

"Your daughter was a big help," I smiled. "God knows what you would have ended up with if not for her!"

"You didn't enlist the help of my granddaughter as well?" Bethany asked.

"No," I replied honestly. "I would have if I was sure you were going to say yes, but..."

"I didn't make it easy for you, did I?" Bethany asked with a gentle laugh.

"No, but it was worth it!" I smiled in reply. It was at that moment that I noticed that Bethany was still wearing her coat, so I asked, "Can I take your coat?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Bethany said in exasperation. I frowned in confusion until Bethany removed her coat. I was faced with another thing I loved about Bethany. She had a great body!

"Oh wow!" I said, staring at the green camisole Bethany was wearing. She looked amazing!

"You like it?" Bethany asked with a sexy grin.

"Yes, but I like what's under it more!" I growled, pulling her into a kiss. She kissed me back and I lifted her into my arms.

"I guess it was worth the chance of getting in a car accident and having to explain to the hospital why I was wearing nothing but this under my coat!" she giggled as I carried her to my bedroom.

I placed Bethany on the bed and looked down at her. She lay there sexily and seeing my expression, said, "I'm all yours!"

"Reading my mind already?" I joked.

"Come here," she said, holding out her arms. I moved between her arms and kissed her deeply. This time the kiss lasted minutes, not seconds, and with each passing second the kiss grew more and more passionate until Bethany couldn't take it any longer! She broke our kiss only long enough to say, "I want to feel you inside of me!"

The camisole disappeared. So did my clothes. I lay on top of her within moments. I smiled when our eyes met. She smiled as well as she reached out and directed my cock to her pussy. It was already hot and steamy. Her pussy was ready and so was I. Bethany gasped as she took the entire length of my cock in.

"Oh Joe!" she cried. I leaned forward and kissed her. Bethany grabbed my ass and pulled me deep. It only took a handful of strokes before she locked up in orgasm. I was close, but not quite there yet. I waited until Bethany's orgasm subsided.

She rolled over and moved me onto my back. Bethany climbed between my legs and wrapped her breasts around my cock. Her eyes never left mine as she used her tits to stroke my cock.

"I want you to come on my tits and in my mouth!" Bethany said, surprising me. It was silly really. Bethany was great in bed, but she always acted so prim and proper outside of the bedroom that I forgot how wild she could be.

"Soon!" I gasped out. Bethany opened her mouth wide and let the tip of her tongue touch the head of my cock. That's all it took! I started cumming instantly! She sucked my cock in for the first few jets of cum, but then pulled away and directed the rest onto her breasts. Never once did her eyes break contact with mine, not even when I was done and she started rubbing my cum into her breasts.

"I'm too spent to move," I sighed. "Climb up here and let me return the favor." Bethany smiled and did just that. She placed her thighs on either side of my head and held onto the headboard for support. I drove my tongue up into her and Bethany groaned.

"I love your tongue! It's wicked!" she said. In answer I flicked it against her clit. "Oh yes!"

Bethany rode my face until she came and then tried to move away. I didn't let her. It wasn't long before she neared another orgasm.

"I'm cumming!" she cried. "Again!" I nibbled gently on her clit as she came. Bethany cried out and continued to orgasm for some time. My face was drenched by the time she was finally done!

I moved out from under her, but Bethany remained in the same position. Instead of making her move I got behind her and rubbed my cock between her legs. Bethany spread her legs a little wider, granting me better access to her pussy. 

I pushed in with one stroke. Bethany groaned and fell against the headboard. She didn't look comfortable, so I moved down enough for her to lie on the bed. Her ass was high in the air. I grabbed hold of her hips and started fucking into her as hard as I could. It wasn't long before my balls were slapping her clit.

I looked over Bethany's shoulder and saw her lying with one check against the sheet. Her mouth was slightly open and her tongue kept darting out to wet her lips. Bethany had her eyes closed as she enjoyed what I was doing. I reached over and brushed her lips with one of my fingers. Her eyes snapped open and she sucked my finger into her mouth. I picked up the pace in response.

"I'm going to cum!" I finally cried.

"Yes!" she replied. I started cumming a moment later. Bethany joined me after a couple more strokes. We fell into each other's arms once we were both done.

"That was amazing!" Bethany sighed.

"We can rest a few minutes and go again?" I offered. Bethany shook her head.

"We're going to spend the rest of our lives together. Let's get some sleep and wait for tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me," I smiled. "Although, if we keep this up every night then you take the chance of becoming a widow! I'm not a young man."

"Don't even joke about that!" she snapped. "I have plans for us in ten or twenty years."

"Do they involve a lake house?" I asked, remember her earlier request.

"Yes," she said, smiling once more as she closed her eyes and started to drift off to sleep. "Tomorrow we'll have to talk about your diet and exercise habits." I looked at her and shook my head.

"Not even married yet and you're already trying to change me!" I teased.

"I'm not trying to change you," she yawned. "I just want you to live long enough for us to enjoy our retirement." Bethany cuddled into me and stopped talking. I was pretty sure she was already asleep. 

I was exhausted myself. I took a deep breath, once again memorizing the scent of her. I felt my eyes grow heavy. I hugged Bethany one last time. It felt good to be sleeping next to the woman of my dreams! The best part was that this was only the first of many such nights. I smiled, closed my eyes and drifting off to sleep.

***

I awoke the next morning to the phone ringing.

"Who could be calling at this time of the day?" Bethany groaned, obviously wanting to stay asleep.

"I don't know," I shrugged, and then grinning added, "Normally only you call at this time."

"I've never called you this early in the morning!" Bethany joked back. "I only visit at this time of day." We both laughed.

"Are you going to answer it?" Bethany asked when I didn't reach for the phone.

"No," I replied with a grin. 

"Grow up!" Bethany said with a roll of her eyes and reached for the phone. "Hello, who's this?" I watched as Bethany sat silently listening to whoever was talking on the other side of the line.

"You can't be serious!" she cried suddenly. There was another pause as she listened, and then she added, "Of course we'll be there!" She then hung up the phone and jumped out of bed.

"Let's go!" she cried. "We have to shower and be ready in half an hour!"

"What for!" I grumbled.

"No time to explain now!" Bethany replied. "I'll explain on the way!"

"But..." I began to say, but stopped when I realized that Bethany was already in the bathroom taking a shower. I grabbed my towel and went to the other bathroom. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I was pretty sure it wasn't anything bad. If it were, Bethany would have taken the time to explain.

***

"I leave this place for two weeks and it all goes to hell!" Brad cried angrily.

"Oh stop yelling!" Cherie said with a loud sigh. First her son calls and leaves a message that he won't be in town over the weekend and that he left his cell phone at home, and now they arrive at the office directly from the airport to find it empty. Okay, empty was a bit unfair, but there was no sign of their son, Joe, Judy or Bethany.

"And where is Sally?" Brad growled.

"I'm right here," Sally said with a forced smile as she made her way down the hall.

"Why aren't you at your desk?" Brad snapped.

"I was," Sally sighed. "There have been some changes since you left."

"So who's manning the phones?" he asked.

"Isn't a more important question, where is our son and the others?" Cherie interjected.

"A temp should be arriving in the next few minutes to handle the phones, and your son, Joe, Judy and Bethany will be in at around ten," Sally said, answering both questions. "And before you ask, I don't know where they are or why they're late." This seemed to calm Cherie, but Brad didn't seem any less agitated.

"Tell me what's been going on since I left!" he demanded.

"I think that should wait for Joe and your son to explain," Sally said. The promotions and changes were only part of the story. Helen had come to dinner on Sunday to meet her husband's brother. While she was there she explained about Gerty and what she found. Sally was a little miffed that Joe and Bethany hadn't bothered to tell her this on Friday, but they'd only met for an hour or so and they had a lot to go over.

"Why don't we go out to breakfast and return at ten?" Cherie asked in a tone that wasn't really a question.

"I want to wait here," Brad said stubbornly. Sally groaned to herself as she picture Brad grilling every employee that passed by the lobby.

"Brad, we caught a red eye at your insistence and I'm tired and hungry," Cherie said. "Sally says that Bradley is okay, and in that case we can certainly wait a couple of hours to see what's going on without frightening the employees." Brad looked ready to argue, but he sighed instead and nodded in agreement. They left for a nearby diner.

Of course, they were back precisely at ten. Bradley and the other didn't arrive for another twelve minutes. Sally was counting. During that time Helen took one look at Brad's face and smartly retreated to her office. Clark didn't even bother to take a look. Neither was willing to face Brad and Sally couldn't blame them.




Saving the Company Ch. 05



"There you are!" Brad cried as the four excited the elevator.

"Hi dad! Mom!" Bradley said with a smile. Cherie smiled despite herself. Bradley looked extremely happy.

"Where have you been!" Brad cried.

"Why don't we take this into a conference room?" Joe suggested. "Otherwise we're going to draw a crowd."

"That sounds wonderful!" Sally put in, and then asked Joe, "Do you want me to get the others?"

"Yes," Joe grinned. "Have Clark and Helen come meet us at the conference room. You might as well come too." Sally nodded and disappeared. She arrived with Helen and Clark only a few moments after the others settled in.

"So, now will you tell me what's going on since I left?" Brad asked, sounding a little calmer, but just a little.

"Who wants to start?" Joe asked.

"Why don't you take it?" Bradley grinned.

"Gee thanks!" Joe grumbled.

"Just start talking!" Brad growled in annoyance.

"Calm down dear," Cherie said, still watching her son's face. He was happier than she remembered seeing him in a long time. That was great to see, but there had to be a reason. She knew about his budding relationship with Judy, but it couldn't be the cause of this large of a change. Could it?

"Let's see," Joe began. "Why don't we start with business first? I think it's pretty obvious that Bethany and I figured out what you were up to?"

"Hostile take over of your old jobs! Preposterous!" Brad grumbled, but nodded in understanding. Bethany blushed, but everyone ignored it.

"Since you left I've done some restructuring. First off, the people you see in this room are the new management team," Joe continued.

"New management team?" Brad asked. Joe nodded.

"Judy's been promoted to senior vice president in charge of Sales and Marketing," Joe continued. "I made Clark the vice president of Customer implementation."

"No surprises there," Brad shrugged, but then he asked in curiosity, "What Sally's new role?" 

"Oh, she's going to be my assistant," Joe replied. "Assuming you still plan on making me the new CEO?"

"That's a done deal," Brad said offhandedly, yet it still made Joe smile in relief. "That is, assuming you and Bethany have worked out your differences. And speaking of Bethany, if Sally is going to be your assistant, then what's Bethany going to do?"

"She's the new vice president of Customer support. She has Helen as her assistant vice president to help deal with the technical issues," Joe explained. Brad's eyebrows rose for a moment, but then he nodded.

"Makes sense," he said. "She can handle it easily enough." Bethany smiled and blushed again. Brad confidence in her was so very satisfying.

"What about the other areas?" Brad asked, growing calmer as he finally started hearing about the changes.

"Well, accounting has seen the least amount of changes," Joe replied. "I've started meeting with Gary and he seems knowledgeable enough. I'd like to wait a few more months to be sure, but he'll probably head up the area as you and Bethany planned."

"The new vice president of product development is still up in the air, but we've already changed their focus. We're hoping to promote someone inside the company, but if necessary I can start looking on the market."

"Who's the favorite?" Brad asked Sally, causing a few people in the room to smile.

"Simon," she replied. "He's at about forty percent now." Brad nodded and waved for Joe to continue.

"We've also shifted a bunch of staff between the areas. Sally will get you an org chart after the meeting," Joe said. Sally handed over a document to Brad.

"Way to stay on top of things!" Bethany smiled. 

"It was pretty easy to figure out Brad would need to see an org chart," Sally shrugged, slightly embarrassed.

"Maybe," Joe smiled. "But you had to be thinking ahead to have it ready."

"I don't see Tim or Sara-Jane on this org chart," Brad said suddenly, refocusing the conversation.

"Well, removing Tim may have been a little premature," Bethany began. "After reviewing the area in some detail it became obvious that he's a pretty bad manager. I gave him a choice of continuing to be a designer or finding another job."

"He didn't come in this morning," Sally put in. "He called in sick." Bethany rolled her eyes.

"Then again, maybe not having him on the org chart wasn't premature," she said. "Sally, if he doesn't come in tomorrow we'll need to send him a registered letter letting him know he was let go."

"I'll handle it," Sally said.

"No, you just need to make sure I follow up," Bethany explained. "You'll have enough work without volunteering for more. You only do tasks that Joe assigns you. That and make sure that people follow up with what they tell Joe they're going to do."

"Got it," Sally replied. Joe nodded to himself. He liked Sally's style. She was doing far better than he expected despite the on the job training Bethany was giving her, but he knew he shouldn't be surprised. After all, Bethany had suggested her. Okay, maybe suggested was too weak a word.

"And Sara-Jane?" Brad asked. Everyone fell silent for a moment, but eventually Joe took the lead again.

"We have a meeting with Gerty Hannon tomorrow," Joe said carefully. 

"That hussy!" Cherie cried. 

"I told you so!" Bethany said pointedly to Joe.

"On damn!" Brad snapped, knowing what getting Gerty involved meant. "How bad is it?"

"So far, the worst of it is Sara-Jane and kickbacks," Joe explained. "She was also blackmailing Karl."

"With what?" Brad asked.

"He was working on an underage porn site while on company time," Helen snorted. 

"Bastard!" Brad growled. Bradley just shook his head. 

"He spent at least one night last week in jail," Joe continued. "I'm not sure of the full extent of the charges. I'm sure Gerty will let us know tomorrow."

"Okay, is there anything else I need to know about the company?" Brad asked.

"Not at this time," Joe replied for them all.

"Good, now tell me what's going on with you and Bethany," Brad demanded.

"We're engaged to be married," Joe grinned.

"I'm planning the wedding for early June," Bethany said with a wink at Sally. She then turned to Brad and asked, "If you wouldn't mind, I'd like you to walk me down the aisle? My father's been gone for many years and it's no secret that you've been like a second father to me."

"I'd be honored," Brad said with a smile.

"If he's been a father to you, I guess that makes you my older sister," Bradley grinned. "Sibling rivalry would explain a lot." Brad smiled at his son's teasing. It looked like Bradley and Bethany had finally decided to become friends. It was about time!

"Okay, baby brother," Bethany teased back. "Don't you have some news for your father and mother?"

"You and Judy are engaged!" Cherie guessed excitedly.

"Well, actually," Bradley said nervously. "We're married."

"And there is a chance that I may be pregnant," Judy put in. 

"Oh my!" Cherie said.

"Congratulation," Brad said with a smile. His son wasn't the type of man who fell in and out of love every other day. He loved Judy and they would be good together. The thought of a possible grandchild didn't hurt, especially if it was a boy and they named it Bradley.

"Mom, are you okay?" Bradley asked. Cherie nodded slowly.

"I'm not particularly happy about missing the wedding, but under the circumstances, I guess I understand," Cherie said calmly. "Of course, that's assuming you let me throw the baby shower?"

"Of course," Judy said with a smile. "But keep in mind, I may not even be pregnant."

"Sure you are," Cherie said, looking at what she thought was the early stage of a pregnant woman's glow on Judy's face. "But if not, then so be it. In that case, I'll want to set up a full blown wedding reception for all our friends."

"Okay," Judy said, less enthusiastically.

"Don't worry, we'll keep busy so that you'll have to be pregnant before mother can set up the reception!" Bradley grinned.

"Bradley!" Cherie cried. 

"So, I guess it's time for me to go back into retirement," Brad said glumly, changing the subject.

"No, it's not," Cherie said, and then smiled and added, "You've been happier since you took back over the company. Joe can be the CEO, but you're still the Chairman of the Board. It will be your job to go into the office once or twice a week and drive poor Joe and his management team crazy."

"I don't think that would be fair," Brad said with a frown.

"Fair?" Joe said excitedly. "Are you kidding? I'd love to have you around for a few more years."

"Only once or twice a week!" Cherie cried, making sure her terms were understood.

"What would I do?" Brad asked.

"Well, for starters," Joe smiled. "I have a small list of clients who Sara-Jane made deals with. I don't know all of these clients well enough to figure out who to talk to so that I can get this issue resolved."

"Also, I'm still not sure whether to press charges against Sara-Jane and what to do with the information about Karl that Gerty's going to give me."

"I could use your help too," Bethany said. "I'm new to this type of job and I'll need a mentor. Joe will be my boss and that's fine, but he'll also be my husband. I could use someone to be a sounding board so that I know if and when my personal life is interfering with my professional life."

"He's only to come into the office once or twice a week!" Cherie cried again.

"That's fair," Joe smiled. Brad nodded, but there was something in his expression that caused Cherie to shake her head.

"It is," Brad said with a smile to his wife. "I'm assuming I still get my Saturday morning golf games? I need to show poor Joe here how to golf once my wrist heals."

"We take a week once every two months to travel, and we take a month during the summer," Cherie said with a calculating look.

"Deal," Brad said, bending down and kissing his wife.

"Starting tomorrow," Cherie added. Brad frowned, but then nodded in agreement again.

"It has been a long night," he sighed. "Why don't we go home and get some rest?"

"Bradley, we'll see you and Judy at dinner?" Cherie asked.

"Yes mother," Bradley said after taking a moment to check with Judy. Brad and Cherie left the room.

"Wow!" Clark said once they were gone.

"Mother and father do taking some getting used to," Bradley said with a laugh as he slapped Clark on the back. 

Bethany smiled as she heard Helen and Sally planning Helen's date with Sally's husband's brother as they left. The poor man would never know what hit him! The room quickly emptied until only Joe and Bethany remained.

"You know, everyone keep making fun of your concept of a hostile take over of our old jobs, but no one seems to comment on the fact that it worked," Joe said with a grin.

"True genius is frequently not recognized until years later," Bethany joked back. Joe laughed and pulled her into a quick kiss.

"I guess its time we get back to work," Bethany sighed.

"Yes, but tonight we'll sleep at my place again," Joe said.

"Why?" Bethany asked, not really disagreeing. She was just curious. 

"We still haven't broken in my hot tub correctly."

"You and that damned hot tub!" Bethany sighed. "Tonight we're going to spent so much time in it, that you'll never bring it up again!"

"I can hardly wait!" Joe laughed. "What about tomorrow night?"

"We'll think of something else to do," Bethany smiled sexily. 

Joe's heart skipped a beat. He was not a young man and he'd done poorly in picking his first wife, but he had a feeling that Bethany was going to make up for all those years of loneliness. He couldn't wait to get started!

Bethany saw the look in his eyes and felt his love surround her. At that moment she knew that she made the right choice. Whatever her luck with men in the past, Joe was the one for her. She trusted him implicitly. It should have scared her, but Bethany decided to take Judy's advice and not think about it. Instead, she took a moment to let Joe's love wash over her. It felt amazing!