Valentine's Day - Bah, Humbug! As far as he was concerned, it wasn't a real holiday. It was invented just to sell Hallmark greeting cards and to make unattached people feel less than complete. He had honored the tradition while he was married but now he didn't feel it was necessary to keep up the illusion. Besides, he didn't have a lady friend he wanted to impress.
He turned into the parking lot of the office complex and found a space near the door between two huge SUV's. He shut off his engine and let out a huge sigh, then sat back in his seat and thought about what he was about to do.
He had interviewed for this job the second week of December and was offered the position just before Christmas. He knew he had the education and the skills but the real question was whether or not he could take orders from a woman after having worked on his own for so long. There were 12 employees of this firm, including him, and only 2 of them were men - Jim Thompson, the owner, and himself.
Finally deciding that it was now or never, he got out of the car and walked to the front door. The reception desk was to his right behind a partial wall.
"Good morning, I'm Pete Peterson. I'm reporting for work."
"Good morning, Mr. Peterson, we've been expecting you. Please come in thru the door on your left."
When he stepped thru the door, he found himself in another hallway. Kyla, the receptionist, was waiting for him.
"The office is really a series of small offices connected by hallways, sort of like a beehive. You'll get used to it pretty quickly. Follow me and I'll show you to your office. We have it all ready for you."
I'd follow that ass anywhere, he thought, as she wiggled her way down the hall. Maybe this won't be so bad. Turn right here, then left, then right again and hey, they even had my name on the nameplate! Not too shabby.
"As you can see, this is your office. The coffee room is just a few doors down and the restrooms are across the hall from the coffee room. If you'd like to hang your coat up, I'll show you the coffee room, and then take you to Jim. He'll want to speak to you first."
He smiled politely, he hoped, and removed his coat. He found an old-fashioned coat rack just inside his door.
"I brought my lunch today. Is there a refrigerator in the coffee room?"
"Yes. Bring it along. It's just a few steps down the hall."
When he stepped into the coffee room, he stopped and stared. On the walls, each employee's names was pasted in red ribbon. A space was marked for each of them with some of the spaces already sporting small hearts. Valentine's Day in spades! He suppressed a groan as he put his lunch in the fridge.
"We are really separated from the rest of the world here so Jim lets us go a little wild at times. This year we have decided to hold a Valentine's Day Decorating Contest. Jim has even offered to be the judge and award $100 to the winner. You can have a space if you'd like since you're an employee now."
"I think I'll pass, thank you. Valentine's Day is not really my idea of a holiday."
"That's ok, Jim doesn't like it much either. Here's a coffeepot, a microwave, various utensils in the drawers and cabinets, and that's the supply closet. Jim will tell you about that. Ok, if you'll follow me, we'll go thru the maze again and find Jim's office."
He followed her thru another series of lefts and rights. She stopped and knocked politely on Jim's office door, then announced him.
"Jim, Pete Peterson is here."
"Good morning, Pete, please come in. Thank you, Kyla. I presume she's given you the mini-tour?"
"Yes she did. I've seen my office, the coffee room, the restrooms, and now your office. I didn't have any chicken feed to drop on the floor as a trail so I hope you have a map of this maze."
"Ha ha, it's a maze, all right. The builder didn't expect his project to expand as much as it has so we've added on and added on and now we have this. It'll take you a day or two to get used to it, but it's really not that bad. Your office is on one side of the coffee room and Stacy Bright's office is on the other side. Stacy is one of my tax managers and she'll be your direct boss. I think you'll like each other."
"Kyla said you would explain something about the supply closet in the coffee room, almost like it was a secret. What's the deal?"
"No secret. It's an emergency supply closet. Come on, we'll take a walk and I'll show you, then I'll introduce you to Stacy."
He continued to talk as the walked back to the coffee room.
"We occasionally get lots of snow here, mostly because of the open field across the highway from us. It blows in and stacks up against the buildings. Usually at least once a year, some of us get trapped here in a snowstorm. We keep food in the cabinets, as you'll see, and other storm related things in the closet. Here, take a look."
On the top shelf of the closet were candles and matches. The next shelf held pillows, followed by blankets. On the bottom were several round balls tied closed. He recognized them as blow up mattresses, the kind he had at home for guests.
"Looks like survival gear, all right. I've got a mattress like those at home. They're really pretty comfortable when they're fully inflated."
"Exactly. In these cabinets, below the sink, you'll find space heaters in case the power goes out. They're kerosene so don't close your door if you use one of them. The fumes are dangerous. We haven't had to use them since I bought them because most of our power lines are underground. The upper cabinets contain a variety of canned soups and other foods so you won't starve but in a real emergency, you can always break into the vending machines."
"I suppose Kyla explained about the Valentine's Day contest. The only rule is that you can't use any commercial products like Hallmark cards. Everything has to be hand made except for pictures of your significant other. Are you going to join the contest, Pete?"
"I'd rather not, if I have the choice, Jim. I don't have a significant other and I'm not very good at decorating. It would really be a waste of time and effort, I think."
"That's ok, participation isn't mandatory. In that case, maybe you could help me with the judging since you don't really know any of the other employees yet. Come on, then, and I'll introduce you to Stacy, your new boss."
After only a few steps, Jim turned into an office with Pete following right behind.
"Stacy, I'd like you to meet Pete Peterson. Pete will be your tax specialist this season. I'm sorry you haven't met before now but I'm sure you'll work things out. Pete, this is Stacy Bright, my tax manager. She's been with me for nearly 11 years now. You can ask her anything and I'm sure she'll give you the right answer."
She walked out from behind her desk and extended her hand. Wow, even her eyes were smiling, he noted. When he took her hand in his he felt a mild electric shock. Not the kind you get from static electricity, but the emotional kind. They held hands slightly longer than was necessary. With a sigh, he released her hand and was glad to see that she seemed to have the same kind of reaction.
"I have a couple of things to do right now, Pete, but I'll be with you in about 10 minutes and get you started. From your resume, I don't think you'll have any trouble with our system. See you shortly."
"Thank you, Ms. Bright."
"Stacy, please, we don't stand on ceremony here, Pete."
"Ok, Stacy it is. Thank you."
Jim walked him back to his own office and chatted with him for a moment to insure he was comfortable. Then he was alone. His small office held a desk, his chair, a visitor's chair, the coat rack, and a waist basket.
The walls were plain, with a photo of a sailing ship on one wall and a golf course on the other. There was no window. So this is my prison, he thought. Not too bad but a window would have been nice. Stacy arrived a few minutes later and they started to review their proprietary tax system.
Pete found it to be simple and fairly straightforward. In less than an hour, he was quite comfortable with the system and completely uncomfortable in Stacy's presence. She looked great, she smelled fantastic, and she was smart. What a dynamite combination. He hoped to see more of her but not sitting next to him or he didn't think he could concentrate on his work. It was all he could do to keep his hands to himself this past hour.
"Are you going to get into our little contest, Pete?"
"I don't think so, Stacy. As I told Jim, I don't have a significant other and I'm not very good at decorating. Jim said it wasn't mandatory so I think I'll just observe."
"That's too bad. We could use a male influence in that room, don't you think? Anyway, I think you'll be much too busy to really decorate a space that could win the prize. For now, I'll give you this folder of practice returns so you can get used to the navigation of the system. We should have some real work for you tomorrow. I'll see you later, Pete."
"Thanks, Stacy."
He began to wonder if she was challenging him to decorate a space or if she was just making conversation. He would have to consider this for awhile. He surely didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with this boss.
The week rushed by in a flash. He and Stacy had warmed to each other quickly. They each realized that exposure to the other was detrimental to their work but they couldn't keep away from each other for very long. Several times that day, Stacy stopped by to make sure he was doing ok and each time his cock got hard and he remained behind his desk. When they ate lunch at the same time on the second day, he almost touched her.
On the third day, she touched him and that electric shock was stronger than the first time. He saw her eyes glaze over as she was touching him and he thought she was feeling the same sensations.
On the fourth day, he touched her and she nearly fainted. His touch was so gentle she could scarcely breathe. The color rose in her face as the effect of his touch went straight to her pussy. When she returned to her office, she felt moisture in her panties and realized the effect he was having on her.