The Executive Christmas Party
Cale Hickok
Neither Marla nor I had ever been to the Executive Christmas Party which was an invitation only party at my company. My seventh Corporate Headquarters Christmas Party would be next weekend. Still to get an invitation to the Executive Christmas Party after less than seven years at Bigsby Applewright was a real accomplishment.
Marla and I had graduated from State U. and married right after graduation/. Our parents thought it was about time as we had been living together for over two years. Marla had worked three years, right up to Chrissy's birth. After that, she became a stay-at-home mom. James had come along two years later, and Alvin had come just a few months ago. Marla had worked hard after each pregnancy, going to gym in the evenings after I got home from work. We were able to finance this lifestyle, including our five-bedroom house, because living costs were low in Bigsby Applewright's hometown, and I was a rising junior executive.
Almost every hometown employee and many of the out-of-town employees, who were mostly involved in Sales, Advertising, or Marketing, came to one of the Company Christmas Parties. Because of the number of employees, the Christmas parties were divided up into one for the Corporate Headquarters and one for each of the five plants. The parties for the plants were usually held in the warehouses. The Corporate Headquarters Christmas Party was held at the largest hotel in town. The Executive Christmas Party was a different matter altogether. It was held at the palatial home of H. Ron Applewright, Chairman of the Board and CEO, and a descendant of one of the founders of the company. The general rule was that invitations were only given to members of the executive cadre, which didn't include junior executives, such as me unless they were in line to be promoted out of the 'junior' cadre.
Of course, Marla had to have a new dress. I could never understand why the less material in a woman's dress, the more expensive it was. She selected a maroon, stretch satin, V-neck with side slit. It was like someone had cut a panel out of the back because except for a strap connecting the shoulders there was no back, the void extending below where panty hose would have been had she worn them. She couldn't wear a bra because of the depth of the V-neck, and she couldn't wear panties because of how high the side slit extended. The backless portion of the dress highlighted her buttocks, the V-neck showed off her 34C's, and the side slit highlighted her well-toned legs. The stretch satin conformed precisely to her curves. At least we saved the cost of a matching lingerie set.
The mansion was set back a couple of hundred yards from the main entrance gate in the wrought iron fence. Security checked our invitations at the gate. There were two porte cocheres, red and yellow striped sawhorses indicated that admittance was only allowed at one. I drove up to that one which was serviced by valet parking. We entered a small anteroom, where we again showed our invitation and were issued name tags, mine indicated my Bigsby Applewright position.
Through the anteroom was a huge ballroom, I joked with Marla that our whole house would fit in it. Before we could even get our first drink, we had to go through a receiving line which included the Executive Vice-President and Chief Administrative Officer and his wife, the President and COO and his wife, and H. Ron Applewright, who had been divorced for several years. The first four shook our hands and exchanged meaningless pleasantries, such as 'Happy you could make it!' Although H. Ron briefly touched my hand, he was much more interested in the portion of Marla's bust exposed by her new dress than in any of my attributes. He did tell her that she was sure to be 'the belle of the ball because she was the prettiest lady there' and 'be sure to save a dance or two for me.'
We had barely sat down with our first drinks when H. Ron appeared and asked for the dance that he claimed Marla had promised him.' The five dances that he did with her included a slow number in which he apparently was trying to verify whether or not she had any underwear on by moving his hand across parts of her body covered by her dress. Next, he took her to one of the three bars, procured them a drink each and then they vanished through double doors partially obscured by the bar. I didn't know what was going on. I decided to follow them and see what was happening, but I was stopped by a man standing nearby who informed me that that part of the house was private, that is no admittance for the likes of me. I returned to my table. I knew who most of the executives at the party were but had never spoken to most of them. My boss was there, and I chatted briefly with him and even had one dance with his wife, but I spent most of the next hour drinking and waiting for the reappearance of my wife or the big man. Still, I kept thinking what the hell were they doing.
They finally showed up at the same bar as before and stood there briefly chatting and sipping their new drinks. I went over and Marla seemed glad to see me.
She exclaimed, "Ronnie was showing me around the house. It has a marvelous history. There is a story about almost every room, and there are a lot of them."
H. Ron told her she shouldn't be neglecting me and added that he would be by again to steal another dance or two with her. She seemed excited to hear about that.
Marla
I had met Cale just after the start of our sophomore years. For some reason, I just liked the way he talked to me. I really enjoyed the sound of his voice as well as what he was saying. He was very capable when we made love, and I was soon treating his apartment as my second home. It was only a matter of time until it became my first home although it was a little cramped with his two roommates and only two bedrooms. He didn't really formally propose to me on bended knee, it was just sort of understood between us that we would get married as soon as we graduated.
I worked a few years, long enough for us to get a little bit ahead and moved into a starter home. He knocked me up almost as soon as we started trying to become parents. Even though he was making very good money we decided after Alvin that three children was enough, and we wanted more quality time as a couple. Our joy in coupling had never diminished and with three children we still couldn't get enough of each other. My girlfriends thought it was amazing that after being together almost ten years, we still held hands and 'did the dirty' nine or ten times most weeks.
Then came the Executive Christmas Party. It was apparently a big deal to get an invitation since Cale was only a junior executive managing a section of account management workers. Receiving an invitation to the party was an indication that he was destined for bigger and better things. I was proud of my husband and also proud that I was already within an inch or two of my pre-pregnancy shape, even though three months before the party I was still carrying Alvin inside my belly. I thought it would be nice to get a dress that provided proof I was back in shape, although I was thinking more of the wives at the Company Christmas Pary, rather than anybody at the Executive Christmas Party.
I was excited just driving up the driveway to the CEO's mansion. Going through the reception line, it was thrilling to meet the men that actually ran a company made up of thousands of workers. Ronnie was a very big man, quite attractive and debonair for an older man. He started flirting with me as soon as I met him saying that I would be the belle of the ball and save a dance or two from him. Even our brief encounter in the reception line was exciting because he had a very sexy voice. I knew I would have a good evening, largely because of the dress that Cale had bought me.
The ballroom was massive. I was amazed at how elegant the massive room with intricately carved moldings, huge chandeliers, and a polished dance floor. A band was playing, alcohol was flowing, and I knew it was going to be a fantastic evening.