Always Be Closing:

All weekend I was on top of the world. Paul and I agreed on a deal, and he said he was going to pitch it to his board for final approval. It felt like life was finally heading the right direction.

When I returned to the office Monday I stopped by Kelsey's office to give her an update.

"It's not final, but I think we're in!" I exclaimed as I walked into Kelsey's office and closed the door behind me.

"He agreed?"

"Yup. He's taking it to the board and suggesting that they switch to BizTel."

"Wow! Christine! This is huge! Great work!" Kelsey exclaimed as she lightly clapped her hands together.

I sat down in a chair across from Kelsey and sighed.

"Feels great, Kelsey." I said.

"You've really impressed me with this deal." Kelsey said as she leaned back in her chair, "I think you're really going to like the money too."

The money, right...

"How much are we talking about?"

Kelsey pulled out a calculator and pressed some buttons.

"Well, it depends what deal they take, but you're paid annually. So..."

Kelsey continued to type numbers on the calculator.

"Worse case..."

Kelsey slammed the equal sign.

"$70,000 a year?" Kelsey said.

My jaw hit the floor.

$70,000 a year?! On top of my salary? On top of other commissions?!

I was freaking out inside.

"But... We're not done yet." Kelsey said, bursting my bubble, "The end of deals this size drag on and on. It's not over until it's signed."

"No, I know..."

"And that includes my original ultimatum. If I haven't seen improvement in your numbers by the end of the quarter I've got to let you go. Even if this deal isn't finished."

I gave Kelsey a confused look, "But... I've worked so hard on getting us this far..."

"I know, Christine. I appreciate that, but I'm already getting a lot of pressure to let you go. If there's no improvement, I can't keep defending you. Make sure this deal closes by the end of the quarter."

I did the math in my head.

End of the quarter was in 8 weeks... No way was it going to take Paul 8 weeks to get his board to sign off...

"No, I get it. That's like two months from now. Shouldn't be a problem..." I said.

Little did I know, those would be famous last words. Four weeks passed and I hadn't heard from Paul. It wasn't like I wasn't trying either. I'd call him and email him multiple times a week. Each time I'd get the same answer - "Working on it, give me more time."

Paul hadn't even reached out to me to meet up for lunch. I wondered if maybe he was just using me and now he was bored. Maybe he never intended on signing a deal with BizTel and he knew I was desperate and willing to jerk him off and suck his dick.

I'd gone from relaxed and feeling on top of the world to crashing down to earth, wondering if I was going to be able to keep my job. I started visiting as many customers and potential customers as I could. I needed to improve my numbers just in case this deal with Paul and Cornerstone fell through. I was barely in the office, going all over town to meet with people. I'd close a couple sales, but nothing major. Nothing to make a dent and show real improvement.

Then one night while I was sitting on my couch, stressing that I had 3.5 weeks left to close this deal, I got a call.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hi. Christine?" said Paul's voice.

"Yeah! Hey Paul! What's going on?"

Please call to tell me this deal is closed.

"I need to talk to you." his tone was somber, almost defeated.

"Okay..." my tone now matched his.

"Can you come over to the house?" he asked.

"Uh... Yeah. Give me a few minutes. Can you send me your address?" I asked nervously.

"Sure. I'll text it to you after this call.

"Okay, sounds good. I'll leave here in 30 minutes or so." I said and hung up the phone.

I was already anxious and stressed out. Now I was a wreck. My hands trembled. I could barely think straight.

I called my mom and asked her to come keep an eye on my son while I took care of a last minute work thing.

I went into my tiny bedroom and quickly picked out an outfit. I stripped off my pajamas and put on a lacy red thong and matching bra. I put on some yoga pants that hugged my ass tightly, showing off all my curves. I then put on a white long sleeve shirt and a gray hoodie. Not exactly professional attire, but it was nearly 10pm, how professional could this meeting be?

After my mom arrived, I left the house and drove 30 minutes to Paul's house in the suburbs. His neighborhood was built into some hills that overlooked the city. Every house was on a huge lot with tons of privacy. Every house was gorgeous, but Paul's especially stood out. It was a modern style house with lots of square features and large windows. I parked my car at the end of his long driveway. As I got out of my car I looked around for signs of his wife.

Did she know I was here? Did he want her to know?

I didn't see any other cars, but I figured they could be in the garage. I slowly approached the front door and rang the doorbell. I waited anxiously, hoping his wife wouldn't answer and wonder why a woman was ringing the doorbell at 10:30pm.

No one answered.

I walked around the side of the house, through an open gate. The side yard was huge, beautifully landscaped. I turned the corner and snuck into the backyard. This yard was even bigger. The yard transitioned to a huge deck with stunning views of the city.

"Hi there." I heard a voice say from the darkness.

I was startled, scared someone had caught me or that maybe I was at the wrong house. When I turned toward the voice I saw Paul sitting under a gazebo, his face illuminated by the fire burning in a gas fire pit.

"Oh my god, you scared me!" I shouted.

Paul smiled.

"Come have a seat." Paul said, gesturing to an empty couch on the other side of the fire pit.

I sat down on the couch, anxiously awaiting the reason he called me out here late at night.

"I need another drink. Would you like anything? Wine?" Paul asked as he got up from his seat.

"Uh... Yeah, wine sounds great."

Why don't you tell me why I'm here, asshole.

Paul walked into the house through a side door, leaving me alone with my thoughts for a while.

While the silence of the night was interrupted only by the crackling sound of the fire. My head was a symphony of thoughts. Each one racing through my head.

Did he bring me out here to apologize for the deal being dead?

Did he just want me to jerk him off or suck his dick?

Was he going to try to fuck me now that we were on his home turf?

Was this some fucked up way of telling me the deal went through?

Suddenly Paul returned from the house with a glass of scotch in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. He set down the glass of wine in front of me and returned to his seat.

"This month has been crazy..." Paul said with a sigh.

"Oh yeah? Is that why I haven't heard much from you?" I asked as I took a sip from my wine glass.

"Part of it." he said, sipping his drink.

"Well... Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Paul looked off at the city in silence. The wait for him to answer me was excruciating. I know it was less than a minute before he said something, but it felt like hours.

"It's over." Paul said, looking at the ground to avoid eye contact with me.

His words pierced me like a thousand knives. I felt my stomach sink as the reality of the situation played in my head. I was going to get fired. I was going to have to go back to some other job waiting tables or working at a grocery store or a fast food place.

"What..." I said, "What do you mean it's over?"

"Everything. It's all over. I talked to the board today. They knew all about it. Everything." Paul said in an increasingly manic tone.

"Wait... Everything? Like what?" I asked, trying to make sense of what he was trying to tell me.

"They knew about everything. BizTel, our get-togethers, the hotels, everything. They even had pictures."

I was stunned.

"I couldn't even get a word out. As soon as I started my pitch they told me to stop and then they showed me everything they had."

I couldn't believe what Paul was telling me.

"What? How? Why did they have all this?" I asked, confused.

Paul shrugged.

"Who knows. Deal is off though. Board shot it down before I could even get into it." Paul said.

I sat there silently, processing what he was telling me.

"I just... I can't believe it... It's over?"

Paul just nodded his head.

I couldn't believe what he was saying. All the effort I had put in. All the

favors

I did for him. All of it was for not.

"Like... What did they say? Why did any of it matter? Did they not even read the offer we put on the table?" I asked as I moved from denial to anger.

Paul nodded, "Not a word."

I shook my head in disbelief, "I can't believe them. What the fuck?"

Paul shrugged again.

"So why did any of our meetups matter?" I sniped back. I wanted answers.

Paul sighed, "They said I couldn't be impartial. That anything I had to say was irrelevant."

"Well, is there someone else who can present the deal to them? Can I? What about one of your developers?"

Paul shook his head.

"You know... I made Cornerstone what it is. I designed these systems. How could they think I was just going to piss all that away because I was fucking around with some sales girl?"

Sales girl?! How dare you call me some sales girl.

I could feel my blood start to boil, but I refrained from saying anything I was certainly going to regret later.

"Then to make things worse, my wife left me just before you and I started talking."

Well that explains a lot.

"Oh my god, I'm sorry to hear that Paul. Are you okay?"

"Working through it. It's been a rough couple of months. I guess that's why I agreed to everything. I was just desperate for some companionship."

Fuck. This guy was just using me as a substitute for his wife.

I felt gross.

"Well... I guess I should be honest with you too." I said.

Paul looked at me and cocked his head curiously.

"Paul... I'm actually a terrible salesperson. I'm on my last chance."

Paul grew even more curious, "Well, you can't be that bad, you got me to agree to switch to BizTel."

"Sure... With the lure of sex."

"Well, that was just a perk. You did bring up some legitimate points. You made very compelling arguments." Paul retorted.

"Well, I appreciate that." I said, lifting my wine glass to Paul and taking a sip.

"I'm still on my last chance though. I really need this deal to go through or I'm going to get fired."

Paul was caught off guard by my admission and sat there silently. The tables had turned.

I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes.

"Paul, if I lose this job..."

I paused as tears began running down my cheeks.

"If I lose this job I don't know how I'm going to be able to provide for my son."

Paul continued to sit there, completely frozen. I could tell this was making him uncomfortable.

"I..." Paul said, stunned, "I... Don't know what to say."

I wiped the tears off my cheeks.

"Don't give up. Please. I'm begging you. I need this job." I pleaded, "Is there any other option?"

Paul leaned back in his chair and began thinking about the options.

"I could try again, perhaps, but I don't think they're going to listen to me." Paul said.

"Just try, please. Please do not give up on this deal yet." I pleaded.

Paul signed.

"I'll try. I promise."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." I said, wiping the tears from my face once again.

Paul sat there looking off in the distance, contemplating the situation we were both in. I wasn't sure what else to say, so I sat there in silence, sipping my glass of wine.

Then I had an idea.

"I'm still serious about having sex if we close this deal." I said.

Paul snickered.

"If you want... We could..." my voice trailed off.

Paul gave me a look, "This is exactly how I got into this problem."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I just figured maybe you could use a reminder." I teased.

"I could use a reminder, but I

shouldn't

get a reminder." Paul joked.

"I get that. I also know it's not like you can dig yourself into a deeper hole." I said jokingly.

Paul shook his head and took another drink. I decided to push things further so I got up and walked over to the couch Paul was sitting on. I sat close to him and put my hand on his thigh.

"Come on, Paul. It's been a few weeks. Let me remind you of the fun we've had." I whispered, "Let me show you what it'll be like when we close this deal."

I could see Paul tense up as he thought through the decision in front of him. It looked like Paul was about to explode as he mulled over where to mess around with me or shoot me down. I knew Paul was a little nerdy. I know he was dedicated to his work and probably wasn't picking up many girls. I figured the last time he got off was when he came on my face in the shower.

"Fine..." he sighed, "You win."

Paul took one last gulp of his scotch and got up off the couch. He held his hand out and helped me up off the couch. Then he held my hand like a gentleman as he led me into the house and through several hallways.

We arrived at a large heavy metal door. Paul opened it and I could see it was some kind of bedroom. It was his bedroom. On the right was an oversized bed with white sheets and a black comforter. The bed was still made up, looking immaculate. The rest of the furnishings were beautiful, a large night stand on either side of the bed, a huge fluffy rug that ran under the bed, matching artwork on all the walls.

Paul led me through the bedroom and into the bathroom around the corner. The bathroom had a large floor to ceiling window at one end. In front of the window was a large bathtub - big enough for two people to fit comfortably. Next to the window was a huge walk-in shower lined in stylish black tiles. It was big enough a small family could have lived in it. There were showerheads coming down from the ceiling and all along the walls.

"Wow, this house is amazing." I said as I soaked in my surroundings.

"Thank you, I don't have much of an eye for design, so I let my wife pick out most of it. She's really good with that kind of stuff." he explained.

"No kidding."

I kept looking all over the massive bathroom, noticing all the discord, all the little details. All the talk about his wife kind of killed the mood. Up to this point I'd done a good job compartmentalizing the fact Paul had a wife. I suddenly felt uncomfortable being at Paul's house. I'd been cheated on before, I know what that feels like. I could imagine the betrayal she would feel if she knew I was here in her bathroom with Paul about to fool around.

Paul stood there awkwardly, not sure what to do to move things forward. I knew I was going to have to make the first move, but I didn't want to. I just wanted to leave. Suddenly my mind shifted to how I could get out of the situation.

I decided to fake a text from my mom about my son. I told Paul I needed to rush home. As a parent, he completely understood.

I did give him a kiss on my way out the door. I hoped it would motivate him to try again to convince his board.

I didn't bother Paul the rest of the week. Partly because I was afraid of receiving more bad news. Partly because I knew he probably needed a couple of days to figure out a plan.

When I walked into the office on Monday morning I sent him a text.

Me:

Lunch today? Just to catch up. No strings.

I then left to do more customer visits. When I didn't get a response by 11am I figured lunch was out of the question. Then as I left a customer around 11:45am I felt my phone buzz.

Paul:

Sure. Johnson Street at 12:15?

Me:

Sounds good!

Just in case, I looked at what hotels were around. That way if Paul did want to go further we didn't have to do it in his car.

I was a few minutes late to Johnson Street. Paul beat me there and had already grabbed our table in the back corner.

"Hey there." I said with a smile.

"Hey! How's your day?"

Paul sounded much happier today than he did when I left his house.

"I'm slammed. I'm stressing every minute about this deal. I'm going out to every customer I can think of trying to get them to buy more or switch. I'm barely in the office anymore." I explained.

"That sounds stressful." Paul said, "But I think I have some good news."

"You do? What is it?" I asked excitedly.

"The board has agreed to meet with me again. To discuss your proposal."

"They did?!" I said while barely able to contain myself.

"They did, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. It doesn't mean anything. They could blow it all off again." Paul warned.

I scoffed, "Well, I've definitely learned not to assume anything in this process."

"I do have a way I think you can help." Paul said.

"You do? What's that?"

"Present to the board. I think it'll defuse the situation a little. Maybe they'll listen and then I can take it from there." he explained.

These people know I've been sneaking off in hotels with you. Now you want me to present in front of them?

I thought to myself.

"I... I can't do that. These people aren't going to take me seriously. They probably think I'm some huge slut."

"Look, if you want to close this deal you need to figure out how to make this work." Paul explained.

"But..." I said, but I couldn't think of anything else to say, "Okay, fine. When do I need to do this?"

He was right, if me doing this presentation meant saving this deal and therefore my job, I needed to do it.

"Friday." Paul said.

"Friday... Okay... I think I can handle that..."

Having a day made it seem real, finite. Anxiety instantly flooded my body.

"It's going to be alright. Just pretend you and I are talking. Forget all the stuff they may know about you."

"Sure, but I haven't had their dicks in my mouth." I joked.

"Well, I'm pretty sure not all of my board has a dick." Paul retorted.

Oh, great, so some of the board are women! Even better... A bunch of women who probably hate the fact I'm using my pussy to influence men.

"You know what I mean, Paul." I said, rolling my eyes.

"I think hearing the reasons from someone else, who they feel isn't being influenced will help them see the reasons we need to make this change," he explained.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Think of it this way. When all this started, how desperate would you have been to have

this

meeting?"

That was exactly what I needed to hear.

You're right." I said, nodding my head, "Thank you for setting this up."

Paul and I had lunch and a few drinks. We didn't say much else about the deal, just how we've been. I tried to steer the conversation away from his wife. After the other night I was pretty sure Paul was doing the same. She didn't come up once.

"Hey, so I'm sorry about the other night." I said as I signed the receipt for our meal.

"I realized afterward how awkward things must have been for you." I chuckled, "It's okay."

"Well... I'd like to make it up to you." I said, biting my lower lip.

"Oh yeah?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Mhm..."

"What did you have in mind?"

I used my foot to rub his leg under the table. I suggestively raised my eyebrows.

Come on, Paul. You're smart. You know how I want to make it up to you.

"Well... There's a place just down the street. Want to meet me there?" I asked.

Paul hesitated so I raised my foot even higher, this time gently pressing it against his crotch. I could feel his dick getting hard through his slacks.

"Come on..." I whispered and leaned in closer, "You know you want to taste my wet pussy again."

Paul continued to hesitate.