9 comments/ 86192 views/ 16 favorites Working the Cubicles Ch. 01 By: Tom_Lym em>Hey everyone! Feel free to tell me what you thought of first part of this novella I'm working on -- I read them all and greatly appreciate and constructive feedback you can give me. DFTBA. -T. Rachel was late for her interview. Actually, that wasn't quite true - she was about to be late for her interview. Rachel was experiencing that frantic stage of tardiness that comes after the adrenaline floods your body - the fear that makes your heart beat like a bongo drum and your carefully manicured nails an irresistible target of nibbling (if you're into that kind of thing). The fear the perpetually tardy experience before that awful sensation of pessimistic resignation sets in. There was still hope, however, for the young girl frantically tearing her apartment over - about five minutes of it. Maybe ten. Quickly glancing at the time on her smartphone, the petite, professionally (she hoped) clad blond strode around her slightly cluttered (but increasingly messy) apartment - repeatedly checking the same places again and again (just in case her keys had suddenly appeared in the five seconds since she had last checked) in a manner that was more than a little obsessive-compulsive. Rachel kept catching herself glancing at the reflective surfaces in her tiny apartment as she strode briskly around it - as her running internal monologue got a little strange. If a woman has a perfect hair day but nobody witnesses it, did it really happen? She suppressed a giggle that threatened to sound a little - well, very - crazy and settled instead for a self-amused grimace that actually looked distinctly unpleasant. Her eyes scanned over the organized chaos of her recently inhabited home again and again as her stomach made fists. Purse, no. Pockets, no. Nightstand, no. Fuuuuuuuck! Nobody ever, ever wants to show up late for their interview. Some people do - and most people would call them the gainfully unemployed - but for people who need a job and the money for their seemingly perpetually angry Asian landlord - arriving on time was required. Especially when they need the money - and boy, did Rachel ever need the money. The last of her once seemingly impressive savings (a few thousand dollars) had been exhausted completing her rather sudden move. Rachel had frantically spent the last week alternating between unpacking, applying for jobs and trying to adjust to her unusual situation. The unusual situation being that she was truly on her own, in a strange place, for the first time in her life. The unusual situation being that she actually needed to impress a complete stranger enough to offer her a job. The unusual situation being that this somewhat crappy-sounding corporate gig was all that was standing between her and whimpering back home with her tail tucked between her legs. And she didn't want to go back to her hometown. Not now. Not yet. ... Maybe not ever. It's a long story. Rachel began to feel tears of frustration welling up in her beautiful blue eyes and she willed them away with arguable success. After clawing through her purse for the umpteenth time however, she compromised with her biology; if she couldn't find her keys in the next minute, she would cry. Goddamned it. Where were they? The problem wasn't that she had lost them - the problem was that they had been misplaced from the place she had placed them. The hell was this Dr. Seuss monologue shit? She was losing it. Rachel sat down in frustration and buried her face in her hands. Her long blond hair shrouded her face as her chin quivered. Her petite figure shook with emotion as she sat on her couch for a moment - trying to think. Working the Cubicles Ch. 01 Stu saddled up behind her and Rachel felt his hot breathe caress her ear and she shivered as a result. She noticed his breathing grow heavier as his seemingly sizeable erection bumped and grew against her ass as he pressed against her from behind. Both of his hands had slithered around over her body and under her shirt - caressing her breasts, tracing over her stomach and touching her in ways she had not been touched in far too long. Rachel closed her eyes and whimpered as this happened - waves of fear and uncertainty and disgust coursing through her while sparks of pleasure and lust followed the wandering hands and fingers as they played over her body and dipped  progressively lower over her stomach - teasingly advancing and retreating from her skirt line. She tried to shift away - to create some distance between them - but was pinned between Stu and the heavy conference table. Rachel's last desperate defense was to try in a lackluster fashion to pull Stu's hands away as they finally slipped under the waistband of her skirt and then her underwear - she gasped as it happened and desperately tried to grab his hand - primarily out of reflex and habit. Stu's response was to aggressively grab her wrist with one of his hands and control the other by pinning it to her body with his surprisingly powerful arm as his other hand moved unimpeded towards the cleft of her legs. Time seemed to slow as her new boss's fingers travelled over her neatly trimmed pubic section, taking a moment to caress and rub it and causing bolts of sensation to run through her. Two of his fingers distinctly separated from the rest - she trembled violently then at the sensation - and travelled lower as he gently rubbed Rachel's labia and around her clit - causing her body to involuntarily buck at the bolt of sensation it caused - she gasped even as her brow furrowed in consternation. He somehow managed to strike a seemingly perfect balance between rough and gentle, soft and hard as he continued to rub her counter-clockwise in exactly the right way. She could feel herself responding, despite herself. "Jesus!" she whimpered as she felt her unwanted orgasm growing deep inside her. "Stop" she said, as the purely animal lust began to burn. She tried to move her arms again but it was clear that there was no way to free herself. What was worse was that it felt like what strength she did have had completely abandoned her. Scumbag body; deadlift car to save endangered baby - fail to prevent unwanted employer fingerbanging. Rachel couldn't help but give a desperate giggle as the absurd thought occurred to her - though it sounded more like a sob. "Shhh", her boss panted in her ear as she tried to struggle. In response Stu began increasing the speed at which he was rubbing her until her body began involuntarily twitching back towards his crotch - arching against it again and again. He pressed himself against her ass and that's how they carried on for another minute - both of them panting and gasping and struggling in the empty conference room. Despite herself - despite trying to hold back the dam of sensation; despite trying to will herself to stop experiencing - cold turkey, full-stop - the pleasure being forced upon her - Rachel came. She came hard. Her body shuddered violently as the dam cracked and burst and her hands and feet clenched involuntarily as waves of built-up energy pulsed through her body. The muscles of her abdomen twitched uncontrollably as her damned boss continued to rub her at the same agonizingly enjoyable rhythm. Wetness flooded her netheregions and lubricated his fingers, making the orgasm even more intense. The pulsing orgasm riding through her body and mind was starting to take up a distinctly sharp edge and was becoming painful. Finally, thankfully, he stopped and withdrew his hands. Rachel collapsed onto the table - completely drained as her body continued to be wracked with aftershocks. A minute passed before she collected herself. When she did - she finally noticed Stu standing behind her, unbuckling his belt. A bolt of terror ran through her at her vulnerable and precarious position. 'Not like this', a strangely accented voice from the past came to mind. 'Not like this' There was no laughter this time, however, at the strange alleyways her mind seem to wander down during emergencies - only horror at what was coming. "No - you can't", she said - desperately as she tried to raise herself up. Stu pushed her back down over the table with ease. The sound of his zipper seemed strangely loud in the empty room. "We have an agreement, so-" said Stu, somewhat harshly. The handle of the conference door jiggled in a familiar fashion as Don opened the door - then he was standing in the doorway but facing backwards - talking towards somebody out of sight and sounded like he was just wrapping up a conversation. Stu cursed silently as he flew into motion - deftly zipping up his pants and re-buckling his belt as he motioned her to sit down in the chair she had recently vacated and he moved around the large conference table to sit across from her - all in the space of the few seconds. Rachel had been hoping somebody would come to help her - and now that her call had been answered and somebody had arrived and she couldn't help but feel like a guilty accomplice. Both Stu and Rachel were busy trying to smooth their clothes and she couldn't help but notice Stu lift his hips up and dip his hands into his pants to adjust himself. Ew. She gave him a disgusted look and he grinned at her in response. For her part - Rachel busied herself smoothing her clothes and adjusted her distinctly soggy underwear. Dear lord, this was embarrassing. She was still a little sweaty but the trembles that had coursed through her body had been blasted away by the ridiculous jolt of adrenaline that the jiggling of that damn doorknob had provided. The training video continued playing unnoticed in the background as Stu assumed his usual bored expression. For her part - Rachel just looked down at the conference table. Don closed the door and entered the room with a stack of papers. "So," he said, cheerfully "how's everything going in here?" Working the Cubicles Ch. 02 There was a dead silence as Don, the representative of the human resources department and the person originally in charge of hiring Rachel, entered the conference room with a loud click of the door. Rachel was somewhere between mortified and horrified as she quickly tried to smooth her rumpled skirt. Her straight blond hair was long enough to serve as a shroud, keeping Don from directly seeing her and vice versa as she tried to gather herself in the few brief seconds she had. The only person who could see Rachel's face clearly was Stu, the man who had just traded Rachel the questionable gift of corporate employment in exchange for the violation of her body and mind. He was sitting directly across from her and settling into a position of feigned boredom. Tremors from the recent orgasm he had inflicted on her with his hands still skittered through Rachel's body. Her full lips trembled now and again as she tried to maintain a hold of herself. She could feel the moist heat between her legs and pinched herself very hard as Don casually strolled in to join them. Rachel was sitting at the conference table in a hunched, awkward way that screamed 'guilty' to the discriminating eye. Stu had seen similar body language in a hundred court rooms and a thousand times outside of this room. Usually there was blood in the water that signalled him to strike. This situation was different. He had already struck. As a result, the young woman, whose professional mystique had been completely shattered by the ease and speed in which Stu had managed to bulldoze through her objections and into her panties, looked like she had been caught elbow-deep in the cookie jar with crumbs on her face. Stu, as surprised as he was by the unexpected entrance of Don, reacted with a natural ease due to a deeply ingrained and internalized philosophy that had served him well throughout his life and career. The best defense is a good offense. "Nice of you to finally join us, Don" Stu said, with a hint of genuine annoyance. For just a fraction of a moment, Don's eyebrows furrowed at the comment. Most people wouldn't have noticed it or understood what the flicker of expression represented, but Don genuinely did not like Stu or his comments. Don, in response, faked a good-natured smile and rolled with the punch. "Sorry, sorry," Don apologized, "I had to grab the introductory package for Rachel and got side tracked." Don crossed the room and put down his stack of paperwork at the end of the table between Rachel and Stu after taking a moment to turn the still-running but completely ignored training video off in the background. "Nobody ever really pays attention to these things anyways," he explained in an almost apologetic manner, as if Rachel or Stu cared in any way about the boring scenarios involving the bad attractive actors. The people that actually needed to heed the common sense espoused were usually those least likely to watch it. "It's really more of a CYA training requirement", said Don, passingly, as he took a seat at the end of the table between Rachel and Stu and cleared his throat noisily. "Sorry for my rude interruption. Where were you two?" A pregnant pause. Rachel and Stu met each other's eyes for a brief moment before she glanced downwards with a troubled, guilty look and Stu leapt into action. "Well, Rachel-" said Stu, turning Don's attention towards her and forcing her into motion. She raised her crystal blue eyes briefly to meet his before lowering them towards the table once again. "-was just introducing herself," continued Stu conversationally. Stu tried not to swear out loud as he saw Rachel turtling up. Her odd behaviour was likely going to lead to some uncomfortable questions sooner rather than later. Rachel's knuckles were white as her nails bit into the palm of her hand. "Did you know she was a cheerleader back in her home town?" said Stu. His bold faced lie was delivered surprisingly smoothly. Rachel raised her eyebrows slightly at both her, frankly, unwanted inclusion in this conversation as well as the surprisingly accurate guess Stu made. She glanced over to Don for a full moment to gauge his reaction to Stu's claim on her behalf. "Is that right?" said Don, impressed and leaning towards her and somehow managing to not notice anything amiss thus far. "I should have guessed. Rachel, you definitely have a positive and outgoing personality. Why didn't you include this on your resume?" Stu tensed a little despite his poker face -- either Rachel would play along or this would go bad very quickly. "I guess I thought that nobody at an office like this would care about the fact that I shook pompoms and baked cookies", said Rachel as she finally raised her gaze and made eye contact for the first time since Don had entered the room. She even had enough sauce to include a little self-deprecating shrug. She pinned a few loose strands of hair behind her ear in a practised motion. Her cheeks were still noticeably blush and her breathing was still a little ragged, but that could be argued down to nervousness. "On the contrary, Rachel" said Don, excited at the opportunity to compliment and stroke the ego of the beautiful new employee. "It shows that you were interested in extracurricular activities while in school. That shows initiative and dedication. You should definitely consider updating your resume with the information." Rachel nodded in quiet acknowledgement and lowered her head again -- seemingly trying to disappear into her seat. "So as I was telling you, Rachel," said Stu in feigned continuation of a previous conversation while giving her a very direct look. "Now that I've decided to take you under my wing, there are some pretty big perks that come with this position. I'm occasionally required to travel as required by the company and as my personal assistant; you may or may not need to accompany me". Rachel swallowed noiselessly and looked directly at Stu for the first time since he had turned her body against her - searching his calm features with uncertainty. "As well, the position comes with full benefits - which Don can tell you about after I'm gone". Don nodded while the corners of Stu's twitched in a smile. Rachel perked up in her chair with a flicker of genuine interest as Stu continued selling her on the position. "Most importantly, you will gain invaluable experiences working directly under me" said Stu with a straight face. It took everything Rachel had not to cringe and let her face catch fire with Don watching her so closely. She struggled to focus on calming her breathing and tried to focus on the bridge of Stu's nose as he continued, "While it may sometimes feel like you're getting bent over backwards by the requirements of the job on occasion; rest assured that those of us working with you are working long hours to keep a leg up on the competition" Silence. Dead silence. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Stu concluded with just the faintest hint of a smile. Then he winked at her. Rachel felt like dying, right then. If an airliner had smashed into the building at that moment, Rachel would have calmly lit a cigarette on the flaming corpses of these gentlemen and cheerfully embraced nonexistence. As it was, after that last little bit, Rachel wasn't sure if there was any part of her pale lithe body that wasn't burning in embarrassment. Not knowing how else to vent her outrage and shame and anger at the entirely unfair situation, Rachel finally lashed out by kicking Stu solidly in the shin under the table. Stu did not react. There was only a slight tightening of his eyes. "I... I think I'm ready for this," Rachel said, grimacing. "Excellent," said Stu. "I'll leave you in Don's capable hands and get back to the important project I was working on." "Rachel," said Stu, addressing her seriously for a moment as he stood up and extended his hand over the table towards her. "It's been a sincere pleasure. I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow and working with you." With a surprisingly dazzling smile and what appeared to be a slight limp in his step, Stu shook Rachel's limp, sweaty hand and promptly left the room. He retreated back to his office and the movie that had undoubtedly finished streaming. Some part of Rachel was still operating in a mechanical semblance of normality as she sat back down and turned towards Don. "So," said Don after a moment. He then finished explaining what each of the documents indicated and required. "Any questions?" Don asked. _____ _____ _____ Rachel entered her car a little overwhelmed by the familiarity and the small comfort it gave her. She promptly dumped the stacked folder of papers she had been given in the back, cluttering her otherwise clean car. She turned the key in the ignition and blankly stared out across the parking lot for a short eternity as the car idled. Rachel had arrived in quite a rush this morning and was now leaving in a strange daze. A lot can happen in two hours. Her whole life had changed -- for better and for worse. She was giddy and euphoric about getting the job -- but she was also trembling with nervous dread at the prospect of simply returning here -- to this place. She hadn't even showed up for her first day yet and she already wanted to quit. Ironically, now, the only thing worse than being unemployed is being employed. Unfortunately, it wasn't really an option for the usual reasons -- no money, no other job, no other prospects. Rachel, staring numbly at her steering wheel, gulped noisily as the ugly realization hit her somewhere around her uterus at full force. She was out of choices. Rachel had to pick up groceries before she returned home -- Dogdog was waiting for her to bring home the (artificially flavoured) bacon. She also had to fill up her car since the tank was getting pretty low. After picking up groceries for the week her bank account would start drooping dangerously low. If she avoided any unnecessary purchases -- she should get her first paycheque just in time to- Rachel, finally, burst out in tears and buried her face in her hands. _____ _____ _____ I did what I had to. The thought kept echoing inside Rachel as she soaked in her tub. She was trying to make sense of the clutter in her mind. Namely everything that had brought her to this point. Her toes wiggled joyfully and Rachel was more than happy to simply sink into the luxurious heat of the clean bath water, surrounded by candles in the darkened bathroom. The comfort made her feel almost human again. Ahhh, her brain sighed as she relaxed her head on the folded towel at the end of the tub. The young blonde's mind wandered as her body tried its best to keep from cooking. Her pale body had turned a scarlet red a long time ago but she shivered despite the heat as memories of the day's events bubbled to the surface. She lazily brushed her thin, muscular arm with a bar of soap before sinking it into the hot water again and closed her eyes. It had been a big day of firsts. Rachel's hands glided slowly over her body -- over her breasts -- cupping and sizing them up with her hands as she looked down at them in an almost thoughtful manner. Was Stu really attracted to her? Rachel had always felt scrawny compared to other women. Occasionally she had even fantasized about what it would be like to get implants -- to accentuate her womanly curves. She had always had more a lean swimmer's body and it bugged her, a little. Rachel's mind wandered back to the conference room. Frozen by Stu's offer and overpowered. She remembered the first smell she had gotten of him -- the first delicious whiff when he had initially introduced himself. First impressions were important, after all. Rachel remembered how Stu had buried his nose in the nape of her hair after he had ensnared her and his skilled fingers played between her legs. She tried to imagine what it would have been like to fight him off and she could feel her heartbeat increasing and her muscles tensing as she pictured it. How she could have hit and kicked and yelled and screamed like a banshee until Don or somebody else came running in through the door - restraining Stu with ease before police somehow magically appeared afterwards -- taking her side and immediately imprisoning the sick bastard. That's not what had happened, though. Not even close. She had frozen -- again. Stu hadn't been particularly violent with her -- he hadn't actually hit her or explicitly threatened her, after all -- but there had been a slightly wild look in his eyes when he had moved towards her. The look a big dumb animal might have moving in for an easy meal. It's hard to think clearly when a person is looking at you like that. There had been a sense of barely contained restraint in his grasp when the fingers of his hand had dug into her fleshly bottom - something primal transferred through his touch that had cowed something deep inside of her. That she was the source of this lust -- the realization that she could even be a source of such crazed passion. The tips of Rachel's fingers drifted over her nipples and idly played with them. Despite herself, Rachel started imagining what might have happened if Don hadn't entered the room when he had -- if he hadn't saved her from Stu. How her boss might have roughly tangled his hand in her hair after he had bent her over the conference table and arching her painfully back towards him. She remembered the dread she had felt in the pit of her stomach when she had heard him unbuckling his belt and the ominous rasp of his zipper being pulled down. Rachel remembered how she had laid panting, her heartbeat thundering in her ears, overwhelmed. In the tub Rachel's hand slowly traced down over her toned abdomen and idly she began teasing and pinching the inside of her thighs where she was especially sensitive. Her palm nudged against the cleft between her legs and her pelvis rolled in an almost imperceptible fashion. She played with her nipple as dark fantasies rolled over her. Candle light flickered around her. "What are you doing?" gasped Rachel as she glanced over her shoulder. Her body was still humming with the energy of her recent orgasm as Stu stepped out his pants behind her and kicked them out of the way. He roughly pulled her skirt up over her hips and exposed her from the waist down. She tried to stand up, outraged, but he easily kept her pinned to the table. His erection bobbed menacingly. "Stop it! Stop this right now!" she ordered in a panicked whisper. "Or what?" he replied, quietly. Before she could respond he pulled off her black panties and flung them behind him. Stu then picked her up and turned her around so that she faced him, making her painfully aware of just how much larger he was then her and lifted her, without any apparent effort, onto the waist-high conference table before crouching between her legs which was where he hungrily buried his face. Rachel's body shuddered as she felt him trace his mouth hungrily over the throbbing, pulsing lips of her wet sex. At first she tried to push his head away but as his tongue roughly circled in a maddening rhythm over her engorged clitoris, her resolve and strength both withered and failed. Rachel's abdomen was clenching and twitching in rhythm to Stu's assault on her netheregions and her legs gave a feeble little kick. He suddenly penetrated her with his index finger and followed it with another before curling them inside of her, causing a wicked jolt of ecstasy to rush through her. Rachel's nimble hands tangled and pulled at his hair, roughly, as pleasure pulsed through her. Rachel tried to force Stu's hungry mouth away from her, trying desperately to push him away and actually tearing a few hairs out in what must have been a painful manner. Stu's only response was to increase the speed at which he was fucking her with his fingers while his mouth sucked on her as his tongue lapped against her lips. Her resolve died indignantly and her grip on his thick head of hair weakened as she was introduced to a new plateau of pleasure. Rachel had had orgasms before but had rarely enjoyed them consecutively and never with this sheer intensity. She would have had more luck trying to stop a volcanic eruption with a bottle of water. Rachel gave a strangled cry as her pelvis desperately tried to decide whether to move her away from Stu or towards him. It felt like every muscle in her body was both contracting and relaxing as Stu withdrew his fingers and replaced them by thrusting his tongue deep inside of her. Rachel tried to move away from this new intrusion but Stu's fingers dug into her thighs and locked her into position. She was worried she wasn't getting enough oxygen as she felt incredibly light-headed and realized she was hyperventilating had been for several minutes. Stu's tongue tirelessly worked inside of her. The muscles in her body were beginning to painfully cramp as the unrelenting orgasm continued. His ministrations were actually beginning to hurt a little but it was like she couldn't get enough. Ecstasy had never been so addictive. Rachel's spirit broke and she cried and begged and screamed again and again to no effect. Black stars were starting to creep into the peripheral of her vision before Stu finally, thankfully, stopped. She collapsed onto the table -- completely drained and exhausted and generally resembling a quivering ball of what used to be a person as Stu dragged her to the edge of the table and his thick, bobbing erection dripped against her leg. Rachel was filled with exhausted resignation as Stu's hands pinned her into position and he worked himself between her legs. She made eye contact with him for a moment and tried pleading with him with her eyes to stop before he went too far. Silence filled the conference room as Stu pushed the head of his erection between Rachel's quivering entrance and then paused -- looking her in the eye for a moment. Rachel dared to hope before Stu, watching her face the whole time, roughly thrust inside of her. Rachel gasped and whimpered as she was completely and utterly stuffed. It felt like she had just fisted herself. Fortunately she was incredibly lubricated but there was still quite a noticeable difference between the two fingers she had been introduced to and... this. Rachel, with gritted teeth, tried to slow or stop Stu by putting her hands on his thighs but was completely ignored. Stu's placed her feet against her shoulders and painfully folded her over on the edge of the conference table as he arched his pelvis against hers. Rachel clenched her eyes to escape the heated look of animalistic lust on Stu's face and tried to adjust. Each time the stretched feeling between her legs began to feel tolerable, Stu found a way to arch a little further inside of her or thrust at a slightly different angle. He tried to kiss her but she roughly turned her face away from him. Rachel had never been treated her so roughly before. In her previous (albeit limited) experiences, the boys had always treated her tenderly -- they were respectful and cautiously afraid of hurting her (and so was she -- for that matter). Inevitably, after a few minutes of awkward thrusting that resulted in a slight tingling pressure building in her netheregions -- they pulled out and finished. After making a sticky mess on her stomach that was more than a little nasty -- they rolled over. For a time, she had thought the slight build-up she had experienced had been an orgasm and had excitedly shared the experience with her girlfriends. Working the Cubicles Ch. 02 It was not, as she had learned today. Not even close. Stu had not taken her rejection or her mild act of resistance well. In response, he had pulled back with a displeased look on his face and began slamming into her. Pleasure became intertwined with pain as Stu's pace quickened and he fucked her furiously. He forced himself deeper inside of her and when Rachel tried to roll over, to escape the vicious onslaught, Stu kept her from escaping. His breathing quickened and she felt him swell inside of her as he reached a feverish rhythm. There was only a fraction of a moment between one thrust and the next. Rachel could feel her body gripping him as it somehow managed to sense what was coming and she experienced a minor orgasm -- clenching her muscles around him. Rachel's body was clenched so hard around the sizeable invader that she was actually aware of his pulse. Stu growled and closed his eyes as he shuddered on top of her - reaching his peak. She could feel his erection madly spasm inside of her as - Rachel's breathing had slowed to a crawl and she whimpered in the back of her throat as her third self-ministered orgasm of the evening rolled through her, leaving her feeling finally drained and satisfied. Her breathing resumed -- a little harsh and ragged as she lay trembling in the water. She floated silently in the aftermath as she tried, and failed, to deal with the implications of what had just happened - guilt and shame flooding through her. Rachel raised the traitorous hand in front of her face before letting it fall back into the water. Disgusting, she thought to herself as she closed her eyes again. _____ _____ _____ Thank you for the comments! I appreciate them more than I can express. Next chapter might not be out until after exams are over -- though I'll try and see if I can get part three done before November's through.. Have a great day and let me know what you thought of the story. -T. Working the Cubicles Ch. 03 This is the one chapter of the story that is conspicuously missing sexy times in favour of storytelling. The future chapters will (I hope) more than make up for this. Enjoy! ___ ___ ___ Rachel was tragically late for her first day of work. Fortunately her boss, none the wiser, arrived even later. Rachel had suffered from a horrible restlessness during the night. Nervous tension filled her belly and her being and she was unable to silence or ignore the endless inner chatter. Rachel's pale limber legs squeezed the blankets closer before kicking them away. Feeling vaguely feverish, Rachel caught herself trying to check temperature of her forehead with the back of her hand several times just in case. As night became morning, Rachel wasn't sure if she had actually managed to get any sleep. Squirming and stirring endlessly, she couldn't seem to stay still long enough for sleep to come. Rachel repeatedly glanced at the glowing numbers on the alarm clock patiently ticking away the minutes and hours next to her bed. The strange noises of a new city served to nudge Rachel awake from the brink of a light restless sleep again and again and she eventually punched her poor pillow in frustration before she resigned herself to patiently stare at her new slightly discoloured ceiling. The night sky slowly became light sky and Rachel struggled out from a deepening pit of resignation as the sun rose and her alarm clock started beeping at her. So this was the working world. Now that it was time to get up, Rachel wanted nothing more than to sleep. Stupid brain, scumbag body. Rachel groaned as she mustered up what little willpower remained and sat up, cocooned in an eclectic mix of bed sheets and comforters. Naked except for a pair of frilly pink panties touting a cartoon kitten on the front, Rachel sat hunched over on the mattress for a minute fighting to open her seemingly weighted eyelids. The first of what was sure to be many jaw-cracking yawns rolled through her, opening her eyes to the darkened interior of her cluttered apartment. Rachel shook her head roughly and sending her hair fanning out around her as she stepped out of the blankets. She had never been much of a morning person. Dogdog, Rachel's snoring dachshund roommate, had slept like a stone through the alarm clock, the strange city noises and the semi-frequent sounds of Rachel awkwardly shifting around on the squeaky springs of her bed all night. Rising to a lurching shamble, Rachel prepared hot instant coffee with too much milk and sugar while she looked for the matching piece to her underwear on the floor. Slowly, as the hot caffeine soaked into her bones, Rachel began to feel less tired and more human. Realization dawned on Rachel, staring around at her crummy apartment, that she wanted nothing more than to leave. Aside from applying for jobs and fetching groceries, Rachel had spent an ungodly amount of time in this small place. Last night was clearly an indication that she needed to catch up on some much neglected exercise. What the hell, she thought, blearily draining the mug. What's the worst that could happen? Her job didn't start for a few long hours and Rachel's bed had become a black hole she would never return from if she went back to it. Besides, she thought as she covered her yawn with a fist, some fresh air would do her some good as she realized that she actually had a park in mind she wanted to visit. Getting dressed, Rachel reached for Dogdog's leash which made the lightest possible distinctive jingle. With this, Dogdog immediately rose from his prone, snoring position with a series of chipper, yipping barks. Silencing Dogdog, Rachel was repaid with slimy kisses as she stooped down to clip on his leash. Rachel was painfully aware of the dark places that tongue had travelled and his rancid morning doggy breath almost made her gag. Wiping off her face with her sleeve, the two of them walked out into the great unknown. Immediately after closing the door behind her, Rachel felt a great weight lift from her chest as she breathed deeply of the crisp morning air. Rachel felt invigorated as she set a brisk pace leading her dog to a small park she had driven past once or twice before while trying to find her apartment. The day was just getting started but it already looked it was going to be a cloudless, beautiful day. Rachel, like other corporate workhorses, would be passively denied the enjoyment of near perfect sunny days like today appeared to be. She would, however, also sheltered from drab, depressing weather as well. She absently chewed her lip as she mulled the idea over. Rachel felt conflicted about the realization of what work really represented even as her and her pup entered the empty local dog park and she struggled for a moment with the squirming Dogdog to unclip his leash. Dogdog was happy enough to smell everything and hose all the things with pee. Catching sight of large black squirrels wandering away from the safety of their trees, Dogdog successfully managed to come close to catching exactly none of them even as he terrified and warned them away with his frenzied barking. The squirrels chittered what were probably obscenities at Dogdog and he responded in kind. Rachel was content to enjoy the morning solitude as her puppy played and though she was standing upright, she found her eyelids drooping closed when the distant but growing sound of crunching footsteps forced her to, with an effort, open them again. The footsteps belonged to a man walking a dog towards her. A stocky pitbull was trying to pull the stranger in a beeline towards Rachel and Dogdog. Eyeing the pitbull with suspicion, Rachel called to Dogdog and was somewhat grateful when he listened to her without rebelliously dawdling in an adolescent manner as he sometimes did. Rachel stooped to clip his leash back on and discreetly crossed her fingers behind her back while looking up at the clear blue sky as the stranger and the dog approached. Don't be ugly, old or creepy. Please don't be ugly, old or creepy. "Morning" greeted the surprisingly handsome stranger with a friendly wave as Rachel decided, giving a cheerful wave in response that a neighbourly conversation couldn't hurt. Both of the dogs were on a collision course anyways. "Hi." Rachel responded simply with a healthy caution as she eyed and tried to assess the duo. Rachel, reserved and distant as she tried to appear, found her resolve cracking as her gaze was drawn back again and again to the stranger's eyes. They were a rich warm dark brown color that only served to highlight the effortless smile that seemed to follow him at all times. Though she tried to keep her glances discreet, Rachel caught herself running her eyes up and down the stranger in a somewhat, admittedly, lecherous fashion. No sane person walks their dog at this hour, thought Rachel with a tweak of suspicion. After a slight pause, Rachel performed some mental gymnastics and firmly rejected the thought. "Does... she bite?" Rachel asked politely, struggling a little to keep the excited Dogdog from tackling the squat bulldog. As fat as Dogdog was, Rachel was instantly reminded that his stubby little body was surprisingly strong when his interest was stoked. Rachel had to use both hands for a moment to keep her pup in check. The stranger accomplished the same with his own straining, larger, more muscular dog with one hand calmly resting in his pocket. Bastard, she thought. "Aw, she's really nice," responded the stranger in a pleasant baritone. "She's been around children and people since she was tiny and hasn't ever bitten anyone". Rachel had noticed that the pitbull was wearing a bright floppy pink bow which lent the squat, reportedly dangerous breed of dog a particularly harmless (if somewhat ridiculous) look. Finally, Rachel relented and allowed the leash she was holding to go slack enough to give Dogdog the distance required to introduce himself to the bulldog in the typical canine fashion; by jamming his sensitive nose into a dark smelly place and inhaling deeply. Rachel always winced a little on the rare occasions Dogdog met another dog. There was something terribly unappealing about the canine introduction; they left little to the imagination. Soon enough the dogs were happily frolicking together and Rachel kept an idle eye on Dogdog, chiding him to keep him from jumping about while trying to ensure he didn't accidentally hogtie her with his leash while she talked to her new acquaintance. "Interesting fashion choice" said Rachel, a little cheekily, glancing pointedly at the floppy pink bow of the bulldog. "It's an icebreaker," replied the smooth-headed, broad-shouldered stranger with a good-natured grin. Not many men could make baldness attractive, but the stranger carried himself with such confidence that it hardly seemed to matter. He was cute, too, in a scruffy kind of way. Rachel idly wondered what he thought of her own appearance and suddenly wished she had spent a little more time preparing before she left the apartment. "What's her name?" Rachel asked after a moment, genuinely curious. "Lady," the man responded mid-yawn before apologizing. He looked tired. Well, they had that much in common. Rachel gave a sympathetic yawn and they both chuckled. "Late night?" she asked. "Ah, yeah. I didn't get much sleep" the man responded as he cracked his neck, loosening it. Though Rachel usually hated the sound of anyone cracking any part of their body, she caught herself staring like a horny schoolgirl at the spot the strong muscles of the stranger's back connected to his neck as he rotated it around. Damn. Rachel gave herself a little shake as she tried to keep her own mind on track. Her grin was more than a little mischievous, however, as she began speaking before her brain had been given the chance to advise her on the content. "Late night alone or late night with someone?" she wondered out loud. Rachel tried not to wince as the words left her mouth and desperately wanted to take them back. Stupid. Stupid! The stranger gave her a mildly surprised look, obviously taken aback by the candid question, before laughing and responding. "Alone, sadly" yawned the man into his hand. "Sometimes insomnia hits me" he explained. Rachel fought to keep her own yawn in check as he continued. Her pale blue eyes watered involuntarily as he continued. "After about two hours of lying around in bed and staring a hole through the ceiling I figured 'well, no sleep tonight' and decided to be productive instead. About halfway through my first movie and second load of laundry I passed out on the couch". "Hmm," Rachel trying to sound like she was deeply considering what he had just told her. Mostly she was just tired and trying to buy time to respond. "That's actually not a bad idea. I couldn't get to sleep last night myself either," as she considered his words. "That sucks," he said empathetically before asking "any particular reason?" The question caused Rachel's tiredly wandering mind to immediately flash to her recent molestation in the board room and she closed her eyes, wincing as the embarrassing scenes and thoughts that had been keeping her up all night once again came out to play. A long moment passed. "Yeah, a few come to mind" Rachel muttered, staring down at the happy dogs. The answer was entirely vague but the stranger nodded in an understanding way without pursuing the matter, which was nice. There was nothing worse than someone pressuring you to talk about something you didn't really want to talk about. Strangely enough, it was the complete lack of insistence to talk or follow up the purposefully vague reply that led Rachel to follow up and talk about it. "I was just... interviewed for a new job and I'm not sure how well I'm going to get along with my... new boss", she said with a nervous swallow. Rachel felt uncharacteristically exposed tiptoeing around the truth of the matter and a feather of panic welled up inside of her, as if the stranger would immediately understand exactly what would happen and judge her harshly for it. The stranger considered her words and- "What do you do?" Rachel blurted out, before he could respond. Smooth. "I'm a student" the man said after taking a moment to shift gears with a little self-deprecating shrug. "This is my last semester and then I can actually start making some decent money". "Money's always nice" replied Rachel, tucking a rebellious strand of hair behind her ear. A pang of jealousy ran through her, blunting the edge of her smile. Rachel's parents hadn't been able to send her to College or University and while her marks had been fairly decent, she had never taken school seriously enough to qualify for any scholarships or loans. More importantly, Rachel had no idea what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. Rachel found herself hypnotized by the stranger's mouth as he talked. She smiled as she fantasized a little about what she would do if he tried to kiss her right then. Granted, Rachel would probably slap him and run away, but there was a part of her that thought that aside from that part it might be nice. She wondered if he was a good kisser. Rachel gave her head a little shake again. Was she going crazy? What was wrong with her? "What are you going to school for?" asked Rachel. If he says he's Majoring in Philosophy I'm going home, she thought. "A lawyer" he said, cheerfully, with that same good natured grin. Rachel's eyes immediately went flat and her features became coldly expressionless. Fucking lawyers. The stranger seemed to notice her reaction and raised an eyebrow with a question on his lips. This happened several moments after Dogdog had caught a whiff of a fat old orange tabby cat casually strolling by in the background. Dogdog's ears had laid back across his skull and his body froze and tensed, unnoticed by Rachel who was otherwise preoccupied. The cat stopped moving when it looked at the portly glaring dog and realized that it had been spotted. Had this timeless encounter taken place in a sandy deserted area of the old West, a tumbleweed might have blown by. An old battered plastic bag fluttered by instead. Howling furiously and tearing loose from Rachel's inattentive grip just as the man was about to ask Rachel a question, Dogdog charged at his hated enemy with a series of howling barks. Rachel, surprised by the noise and the violent jerk on the leash which was torn from her inattentive grip, lost a few precious fractions of a second as her brain shifted gears and tried to understand what had just happened. Dogdog sprinted past her and the stranger both with his leash trailing in the grass behind him. Large black squirrels scattered to the safety of their trees as the two grossly overweight predators flew past them. The stranger, with eyes wide in surprise and mouth comically agape, watched the situation unfold. "Dogdog! Stop! Sit!" Rachel began shouting at her pet and took steps in his direction, unsure of how seriously to take the situation. Should she run? Could she even catch him? Why wasn't he listening? Moments turned to seconds and the gap between owner and pet widened. Glancing at Rachel and quickly making a decision, the stranger clumsily handed her the reigns to the leash of his placidly lounging bulldog who was contently sniffing and snuffing Rachel's shoes. "Uh, hold this," said the man as he flew after her pet just as the cat and Dogdog rounded some foliage and disappeared out of sight, still barking furiously. The stranger ran at an incredible pace and likewise went out of sight in pursuit. Rachel couldn't believe how quickly everything had happened. "COME BACK YOU DUMB DOG!" Rachel yelled after the trio, in a last desperate attempt to avoid the inevitable chase. Wincing and gritting her teeth in frustration after she glanced at the time (or lack thereof) on her phone, Rachel made sure to tightly secure Lady's leash to her hand before flicking it as she began jogging after the others. The obedient dog followed at a comfortable waddling trot. Off in the distance and out of sight, in the general direction she had seen Dogdog and the stranger running, came the sound of squealing tires and a blaring car horn. Then silence. "Oh, no" Rachel whispered, horrified. A dozen different scenarios flickered through her mind – all of them terrible. "Nonono!" Tears threatened Rachel's eyes as she sped in the direction of the sound. Long moments passed before the stranger jogged back into view, cheeks puffing, with her disobedient pup clasped firmly to his chest. Dogdog, healthy and unscathed, was gleefully squirming and trying to kiss the stranger. Relief washed through Rachel in an awesome wave as she ran towards the two. The stranger carefully put Dogdog down as they approached one another and Rachel, somewhat uncharacteristically, barrelled into him with a hug. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Rachel squee'd as she threw her arms around the stranger and squeezed him hard enough under the ribs to elicit a small grunt. The stranger seemed taken aback, but not entirely unhappy about Rachel's reaction. His strong arms closed around her automatically and he awkwardly patted her back in response. He smelled like fresh sweat and dog hair and the combination was intoxicating (in a gross kind of way) to Rachel. Dogdog danced happily between them. Lady was content to sit and drool, watching the scene play out. "Hey... there there, it was no problem," said the stranger awkwardly as they separated and Rachel carefully handed him the leash to his own dog, suspiciously eyeing the placid bulldog as if she might leap away at any moment. "Lady's run away more than a few times herself and it's always a pain getting her to come back. I figured I would save you the trouble" explained the stranger with an endearingly casual shrug, like he chased down runaway dogs through parks, side streets and traffic all the time. "I'm so sorry," Rachel said, trying to apologize "it's just that he's never run away like that before and I wasn't expecting it and-" The stranger held up a hand, interrupting her midsentence. "Really, it's okay. Everything worked out". Rachel's face was solemn. "This was the nicest thing anyone has done for me in this town. How can I make it up to you?" Something flickered through the stranger's brown eyes as he looked at her, and Rachel considered with a pained, embarrassed wince about how her offer might be interpreted by a perverted, opportunistic member of the opposite gender. Goddamned it, but she didn't mean it like that. "You don't have to make it up to me" offered the man graciously after a moment. "I insist!" she exclaimed as she handed him the reigns to his bulldog, glaring at him. "Well then, I guess I have no choice," he chuckled. "Exactly" said Rachel primly. "I demand that you let me take you out for coffee sometime". "Look, here's my number" she said as she began fishing for and writing down her number on a cannibalized piece of gum packaging before he could respond. "Call me anytime" she concluded. "Uh... sure?" said the man with a beaming smile reserved for people being given the keys to their dream car as she held out the battered piece of cardboard. His fingers touched hers as his strong fingers closed on the piece of paper Rachel held out but refused to release. "Wait," said Rachel, her piercing blue eyes gazing directly into his, causing him to falter a little. "What's your name?" she asked softly. "Greg" said the stranger with a mock flourish before he carefully folded and stuffed the piece of paper into his wallet. Working the Cubicles Ch. 03 "Nice to meet you, Greg. I'm Rachel" she said, offering her hand. Greg's hand encompassed hers and Rachel noted the casual strength in his hands as he shook it delicately. Rachel glanced again at the time on her phone again and her good cheer almost evaporated. She was probably going to be late, but not nearly as late as she could have been had she been chasing Dogdog through unfamiliar neighbourhoods by herself. "I'm sorry to cut and run like this after introducing myself, but I'm going to be late for my first day of work unless I leave right now", Rachel explained apologetically. "Not a problem Rachel," Greg said before he made Rachel shiver with the strangest sense of deja-vu. "Nobody wants to show up late for their first day of work". "Good luck!" he said as he began walking away. "Thanks again, Greg!" said Rachel, calling after him. He casually waved backwards without responding and Rachel smiled, grateful that she had met somebody so understanding as she turned to leave, giving Dogdog's collar a slight jerk that went completely unnoticed as Rachel began moving quickly for home. The things she might do to that man. First things first, though. If she hurried she might not be late for work. ___ ___ ___ Hey everyone! I just wanted to apologize for the long delay between chapters. I've been working furiously to complete Rachel's story since exams finished and I will be uploading the remaining chapters on a weekly basis throughout the rest of January. Many thanks to the readers, especially those that took the time to leave comments or write a message. You're the best!