Mixing Pleasure with Business

She was not fooled. "Quick thinking, Mr. Norwood," she chuckled. "There may be times when it makes sense for me to play the obedient secretary, but I like 'partner' better."

"Me too. Now let's pick the right picture of you to send him. It can't be overtly slutty, but it should exude sex appeal."

We sat down at my computer and went through all the pictures I had taken before to use to entice the General. Most were way too suggestive, but we found one of her sitting on the edge of a desk, showing lots of leg, and gesturing with eye glasses extended to the side in one hand. The angle showed the pronounced cones of her breasts straining against the tight knit of her dress. She was the epitome of the sexy business woman.

I sent the email at about three o'clock. By five o'clock we had our answer. Clarence would be happy to see Laura tomorrow at eleven am.

"He may try to take you to lunch," I said. "What are you going to say?"

Laura put on her sweetest expression. "Oh I'm so sorry Clarence, but I'm totally booked today. You are so nice to ask me out. I really should be the one asking you. You are the customer, and I'm sure you have lots of questions about this product line. Would it be okay if I called you and made a date for some time later this week?"

"Perfect!" I exclaimed. "You are a natural actress."

"Thank you, boss. What should I wear tomorrow?"

"Wear the same dress as you had on in the picture. It obviously did the job."

"I'm going to need more outfits like that. Most of what I bought is way too sexy for a professional business woman."

"Yea, I've noticed that. Like what you have on today."

She stood and twirled for me. Her short black skirt was ultra-tight, and her peasant blouse ballooned out on either side of deep cleavage. Four inch heels accented her curves.

"You like?" she teased.

"I'd hate to think what would happen if you had to bend over to pick up a pencil off the floor in that skirt."

"You mean like this?" Laura lobbed a pencil on the carpet in front of me. With a twinkle in her eye she sauntered over and bent from the waist to reach the pencil. The little skirt rode half way up her thighs, uncovering the tops of her stockings. She kept her legs straight and held the position, an open invitation for me to fondle her ass.

"How are we ever going to get any work done in this office," I lamented as I reached for her.

Chapter 34

Laura's meeting with Clarence went off just as we had planned it. She described him as practically drooling before she left. I called him the next day and said Laura and I would like to take him to dinner to discuss products and services we had to offer that could benefit his company. He had not expected that I would be coming along on his date with Laura, and I detected disappointment in his voice. Never-the-less, he accepted, and we arranged to meet on Friday evening in the lounge of a fancy hotel.

"How far do you want me to go with this guy?" asked Laura as we were driving to the hotel. She was wearing a new cocktail dress with a slit up one side that extended midway up her thigh, and she was looked gorgeous.

"Clarence is not the decision maker. But we need him to get us appointments with the key people. He will want to make sure we have something credible to offer, so he won't look bad to his own people, but beyond that he could care less. We've got to motivate him to want to see us more. That means you tease him and lead him on, but there's no need to ball him...unless of course you want to."

"Well, he is a bit nerdy, but young and virile, and so very eager..."

I laughed. She was obviously goading me and hoping for a reaction. "You are such a slut. I'm going to have to spank you later."

"Oh goodie!"

The look she gave me caused a definite bulge in my pants and made me almost miss the entrance to the hotel. I turned the car keys over to the valet parking attendant, who seemed transfixed by Laura's legs as she exited the Mercedes. Escorting her into the hotel was good for my ego.

Clarence had already gotten a booth in the lounge and was nursing a martini. He stood as we walked up. "Good evening," he said. "I arrived a little early and staked out a place for us. If I had known what you like to drink I would have had waiting for you."

"Oh Clarence, you are so sweet." Laura started pouring it on from the get go. "I would like a drink just like yours."

He waived at the waiter. "What about you Jack?"

"The same," I said, bristling a bit at the way he was acting like the host. I had thought I was the one who had invited him. We slid into the booth, Laura and I on one side and Clarence on the other. He made sure he was sitting opposite Laura, probably hoping to feel her foot on his leg. I was beginning to regret setting this up.

Our drinks arrived quickly, improving my attitude and lubricating the small talk about the weather, the nice hotel, the sorry state of the economy, and so forth. Clarence directed all his comments to Laura, who encouraged him with giggles and big smiles. At one point he asked her if she was married. She said 'no', and he said he wasn't either.

When I couldn't take it anymore I interrupted. "Clarence, Laura and I appreciate your coming tonight to give us the opportunity to tell you about breadth of products and services our principals can offer you. I know how busy you are. It has taken me a long time to get this appointment."

He beamed at Laura. "Well, you can thank your lovely partner. She has made quite an impression. But let's not spoil a good time with business talk. I have your brochures and know what you are selling. Oh, here's our waiter. Ready for another round?"

Christ, he was continuing to brush me off! He could have at least heard me out. I was about to push it when I felt Laura pinch my leg. She was signaling me to back off and let her handle Clarence. So I kept quiet and let them chatter away at each other. The martinis kept coming. I ordered a plate of antipasto and some fried cheese. After that was gone, I ordered some meatballs that were advertised as the specialty of the house. Clarence was enjoying himself immensely.

"Look there," he said. "A dance band is setting up. Why don't we just stay here and eat this delicious bar food for dinner. Then we can dance. Do you like dancing Laura?"

"Oh yes," she exclaimed. "I love it!" There was another pinch on my leg. "But right now I must go to the ladies room. Be right back...."

I let her out of the booth, and then sat back down directly opposite Clarence. This was my chance to confront him. "Clarence, I really need you to introduce me to your department heads. Can you do that?"

"I'd like to Jack, but those guys are awfully busy. I have to have something very special to interrupt them."

"My products are special, as I could prove to you if you'd let me."

"We'll see," he said. "But right now I have to go to the head."

That was a neat way to end our conversation. I was left by myself in the booth, very frustrated at the way things were going. In a few moments, Laura returned and took Clarence's seat.

"Where did our friend go?" she asked.

"He's your friend, not mine. I can't get him to agree to anything. All he wants to do is play with you."

"Let me work on him. Here he comes."

The band started playing as Clarence returned. His face lit up like a teenage boy in love. "Great music," he bellowed. His hand reached out toward Laura. "May I have this dance?"

"Delighted," she tittered, and they were gone.

The dance area was dark, and the music was slow. Hotel lounges cater to romantic trysts. Those luxurious bedrooms are only an elevator ride away. Several couples were already on the floor when Clarence and Laura, hand in hand, joined them. All I could do was watch and squirm as he took her in his arms. She unhesitatingly fit her body to his as they glided across the floor, talking and laughing. I was instantly, insanely jealous.

Forcing myself to remain calm, I tried to assess the situation. The three martinis made it difficult for me to be rational. Obviously I had under estimated Clarence. He was the one in control of the situation, not me. He was a young man on the make, and his sights were set on Laura.

There was a break in the music, giving couples a natural point to stop dancing and return to their tables. However, Clarence remained, holding Laura's hands until the music started again. When they came together and began rocking to the music, Laura's hand went to the back of his neck, and her long fingernails slithered in his hair, no doubt sending arousing tingles down his spine. I couldn't take anymore.

"Excuse me, can a cut in?" I had tapped on his shoulder, fighting to keep the tone of my voice light.

"Of course," he replied gallantly. "I'll go order us more food and drink."

I pulled Laura in close. "What's going on?" I asked.

She leaned back and looked up at me coquettishly. "I've got him going good. There's a steel rod in his pants. He asked me to go to the beach with him this weekend."

"What did you say?"

"I said I did not think it was a good idea to mix pleasure with business."

"And he said?"

"He said something to the effect that pleasure should come first, and then maybe business would follow."

"That bastard! He wants his cake and to eat it too. This is not working out the way I planned. We were supposed to be in control, not him. How did you leave it?"

"Fortunately you cut in at that point, and I didn't have to say anything. But I'm not going anywhere with him without you."

"Damn straight! It's time to end this charade. When we go back to the table I want you to tell him you are not feeling well and have to go home. Take a cab back to our office and wait for me there. I'll have one more drink with Clarence and wind things up."

Chapter 35

Clarence was gracious about Laura's leaving, offering to drive her home. He seemed surprised when she adamantly declined. I think he believed she was attracted to him and had faked the illness in order to get away from me so they could get together. After she left he pumped me for information about her.

"She is very attractive," he said. "Is she seeing anybody?"

I decided to be blunt. "Clarence, Laura and I are partners, and not just in a business sense."

"Oh."

"Oh yes. She wanted you to have a good time tonight, but it's all part of business entertainment. We both want you to give us a chance to sell your company."

"I see."

I wasn't sure he believed me. Laura had done too good a job of making him feel special. "I hope you do," I said. "Let's call it a night. I'll pay the bill on the way out."

We parted on friendly terms, with him still thinking he could make time with Laura if he could get me out of the picture. Men can be so egotistical, and women can be so good at playing them. I was going to make sure Laura didn't return any of his calls.

On the drive back to the farm Laura tried to allay my jealousy and sooth my frustration. "Don't feel bad, Jack. It was only a game. Probably I went too far in leading him on. He thought he could get me independent of any business deals. We need to be more subtle in the future."

"It's tricky," I agreed. "Arrangements like we had with the General may be hard to come by."

She put her hand on my leg. "The General was a friend of yours. Our three-way was natural. Can you even imagine a three-way with someone like Clarence?"

I had been thinking along the same lines. It was not an appealing prospect. "I like the idea of three-ways with people like Faith better."

Laura laughed and squeezed her fingers. "That's what I thought. We'll have to find bi-sexual female customers that we can seduce together."

"An extremely limited marketplace", I chuckled.

That night I held her close. Our love-making was intense, but devoid of any theatrics. She reaffirmed her love for me in a hundred ways, and by morning I had forgotten about Clarence and the future marketing strategy for our business. All I cared about was Laura, and being with her.

In the office the rest of the week we handled inquiries and made plans for our joint visits to my principals. Clarence called once and asked for Laura, but I told him she was not available. When he suggested setting up a meeting for us to make a presentation, I put him off, saying we were very busy and would contact him later. I no longer cared about selling his company anything.

The more I worked with Laura the more I respected her intelligence and abilities. At times I even forgot about her sex appeal as we focused on the task at hand. But after work she was always up for playing and turning me on. Her affinity for acting and role playing made every night exciting and different. I encouraged her to buy costumes, and she delighted in teasing me as a nurse, a policewoman, a school teacher, a French maid, and other objects of male fantasies. And of course she was Sheila, the captured barbarian queen.

I was and still am a lucky man, and I know it. Two years have passed, with Laura and I sharing everything. Our committed relationship still allows the occasional moinage a toix, mostly involving another woman, but sometimes a man, and sometimes we have parties that turn into real orgies. But they are always with like-minded friends, not strangers like Clarence who try to take control.

It turned out that in addition to being easy on the eyes, Laura has a real knack for technical sales, and our partnership has flourished. We entertain a lot and are known for giving our customers a good time. Mixing pleasure with business works for us, but only when we both feel good about it. Our relationship always comes first.

The End