Susie Awaened

********************

Author's Note: This is a bit longer than most of my work as I have tried to develop a full life cycle of attraction growing into sex, so if you prefer the slower build-up(as opposed to an awful lot of my more quick' n' dirty work) then this one might be for you. Also, she is a real person (along with her crazy husband) and I did have impure thoughts about her incredible ass when she was my boss, but otherwise it's all fiction.

Thanks to my awesome editor Bonniebrea, who, among other things, kept great track of my balls.

********************

"What the fuck is wrong with you?! This falls under your department and I'll be God damned if I'm going to have my people mess with it one more God damn time! Now fucking fix it!"

Pete stormed out of the cubicle and off to parts unknown, angrier than I had ever seen him in the two years I had worked with the company. In his path of attempted devastation were me (it was my cubicle) and my manager, Susie, the target of his unreasonable and unprofessional tantrum. And who also happened to be his wife.

The turf war had been brewing for days and it finally came to a head in my cube. It was some annoying technical issue that could have been fixed here or there, and both managers insisted it wasn't their responsibility. I thought I had left such behavior behind when I reached middle school. It had started as a disagreement, escalated quickly into an argument, and at some point had transformed into a screaming match fuelled by Pete's flair for the dramatic, Susie's refusal to budge from her position, and apparently a whole boatload of issues on the home front because they got downright personal and nasty. It was a slow motion train wreck from which I could not escape. I had heard that Pete had the capacity to go completely ape shit, but I had never seen it up close and personal like that.

Susie had stood her ground with a rigid back and an iron will, but after Pete left she deflated into my guest chair, letting go of the tension and collecting herself. Though a small woman, or perhaps because of it, Susie was tough as nails in the office and she had been steadfastly defiant against Pete's tirade. She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes for a moment as she tried to shrug off some of his hurtful words. I felt sorry for the woman; nobody should have to deal with that nonsense at work, let alone from a spouse. I remained silent, as I had for the past ten minutes, but at least I had a little bit of entertainment. It was casual Friday and Susie had worn her miniskirt. Yes, I am a pig. Sorry.

Pete was around fifty, grey bearded and fatherly if stern and occasionally insane. Susie was at least ten years his junior and still had a fair amount of youthful beauty. She was a small woman with short black hair and deep brown eyes. She also had fabulous legs and I enjoyed her short denim skirt every time she wore it. Her ass was spectacular as well, and I don't have to put a 'for her age' qualifier on it. There were some lines across her pretty face and not much volume to fill out her sweater, but she was a leg-and-ass man's dream. And a damn good boss.

"I'm sorry you had to hear all that, Tim." she finally said. She looked up at me with tired eyes and a resigned smile on her face.

"No, I'm sorry you had to hear all that. He was way out of line."

"He gets that way. How much time will it take you to fix the problem from our side?"

"A couple of hours. I can get it in for tomorrow night's processing if you want it." She leaned in close and spoke quietly but with a passionate edge to her normally dry and professional voice.

"If you fix that fucking thing I'll fire you. It's a ten minute fix on his side and I will not budge on this." She softened the threat with a smile and a wink, clearly serious only about not giving in to Pete.

"Susie, please forgive me if this is out of line, but you kick ass." She smiled and rose, patted me on the shoulder and left. And yes, I leaned back to watch her tight little ass wiggle away until she turned the corner.

Over the next few weeks I started to notice some changes. I've always worked better later in the day so I routinely stayed late to get serious work done, and I noticed that Susie started to keep similar hours. Scuttlebutt had it that Pete was coming in at O-dark-thirty in the morning so it was pretty obvious that they were doing their best to avoid each other at home. Tensions rose in the office any time they had to be in the same room so some of us lower level workers felt very much in the middle of it all.

Work started to pile up, and since I was a single guy and hoping to climb the company ladder I poured extra hours into the place. Fortunately the office building had a small gym on the ground floor and that helped me keep my sanity when putting in 14 hour days. One day I had come in before dawn and had skipped my lunch hour, working straight through until after 6 PM. I was beat, but there was more to do. I needed a break.

I changed into my workout clothes and put in an energetic hour on the machines, took a quick shower, slipped into something more comfortable, and went back upstairs. By then it was well after 7:00 and I expected the place to be empty. I strode into the cubicle farm, invigorated and refreshed, prepared to spend another hour or two slaying the dragon of the day. I settled in to my chair and woke up my computer, cracked my knuckles and said something to the computer that I would regret about three seconds later.

"Bend over, bitch! I'm gonna fuck you rotten!"

"What!?"

"Holy shit -- Susie?"

"That's a little bit beyond 'inappropriate,' Tim." she snapped from the next cubicle.

I was terrified. Adrenaline flooded my veins, setting my muscles on fire and dipping my skin in ice water. I sat there dumbstruck as she came around the cubicle maze and entered my den. Still in her daily business suit, she set her hands on her hips and arched an eyebrow high. Her face was grim and disapproving.

"Explain yourself."

"I am so sorry, Susie. I thought I was alone in here." Her withering gaze didn't flinch.

"And what exactly are you talking about?"

"Um...well, I've been here since 6 AM and I was feeling pretty beat, so I went down to the gym and got in a furious little workout to recharge the batteries, and when I got back up here I was just....enthusiastic, I guess. Seriously, I would never have said that if I thought there was another person around. That was completely inappropriate and I am very sorry to have offended you." She let me stew in guilt for a few moments more, boring in on me with those flashing eyes. I figured that if looks could kill I'd be a pile of ash.

"HA! Gotcha!" she laughed, a smile breaking across her face. She dropped her little frame in my guest chair and relaxed. "I was just playing with you." Her smile was playful and kind, but the weariness in her eyes was hard to ignore.

"That was mean, Susie. I just about shit myself."

"Don't shit yourself. That will wind up on your performance review. Why the hell have you been here since 6 AM?" I rattled off a long list of projects I had in process and I won't bore you with those details, but the end result was that she was mighty impressed.

"Are you looking for a raise or something?"

"A raise, a promotion, a trophy, a medal, a parade -- whatever I can get." She laughed at that.

"Reviews are in three months and I'll see what I can do for you then. Don't hold your breath on the parade though. But that's enough overtime for one day. Nothing on that list is so critical that you need to burn any more midnight oil. You are done for the evening. This place is doo damn depressing to spend another minute here. Get out."

I still have no idea where the next line came from, but it just flopped out of my mouth before I could really evaluate the wisdom of it.

"The only thing more depressing would be to have to go to dinner alone. Come have dinner with me and I'll tell you all about that promotion I deserve."

I saw it on her face immediately -- I had fucked up. I had just asked my married boss out to dinner. I didn't mean it that way, I swear, I was just feeling a bit giddy after being let off the hook when I thought I was busted. I had miscalculated badly and I was about to stammer my way out of it when Susie took care of it for me.

"Why not?" It was a reserved, tired tone, not an excited 'throw caution to the wind' tone. I still felt nervous as hell as I shut down the computer and we got ready to leave. I needed to be on my toes and not get too casual with the boss. I dialed up my game face and prepared myself for an evening on my toes. We wound up at an Applebee's knockoff just around the corner and ordered. Susie pretty quickly let her hair down.

"If I wasn't driving I'd have a Margarita or four. Are you a drinker?"

"I think I am one of those terrible binge drinkers you hear about on the news. If I am going to drink I tend to tie one on pretty good, but otherwise I don't really have a casual drink here and there." That wasn't particularly true, but after I let that binge drinker comment out I figured I should do a little damage control. "If I am going to do a thing I like to hit it hard and do it right."

"I like that about you. You've been a real asset to the team and I appreciate your hard work. I think your raise request is a slam dunk."

"I like to hear that. Maybe I'll get rip-roaring drunk this weekend to celebrate."

"Don't hurt yourself," she said with a smile, patting my hand quickly in a very non-suggestive way. Well, I'm sure it was non-suggestive from her point o view, but of course it suggested a few things to me.

We chatted easily through the meal, avoiding any talk of Pete and their issues. We did have a few laughs at the expense of some of our coworkers, but mostly we were good and the meal passed quickly. After the bill was paid I walked her to her car and she left. I took a deep breath and finally allowed myself to relax. That hadn't been nearly as bad as I expected, but I had still remained vigilant the whole time and it had been slightly draining. I was proud of myself that the meal had been completely professional. I drove home with the intention of slaughtering a few beers, but exhaustion took me pretty quickly after I got there.

The next couple of weeks were uneventful. Pete and Susie continued to work strange hours, him coming in early and her staying late. She found her way into my cubicle more often than before but it was never weird or inappropriate. Unfortunately, more time in my guest chair meant more opportunity for shit to hit the fan in front of me again. It happened shortly before 4:00 on a Thursday afternoon. Susie had been in my cubicle no more than 60 seconds when Pete stormed in.

"Your office. Now." Then he was gone. Susie's face darkened considerably and her jaw clenched but she didn't budge. She just went on with our discussion.

"The name field on this form needs to be conditionally expanded to handle abnormally long names. I need you to scan the database and get us some statistics on any names that exceed the allotted space on the current forms and then look into methods to get those names displayed correctly. Bring me your research and your suggestions when you are ready. I'd rather not have to design a whole new form but if that is the path of least resistance then we might as well..."

"Right fucking now!" Pete had returned and was in such a rage I was afraid he intended violence. Not that I was worried for myself -- I'm six-feet one of hard, lean gym rat and I could have pounded that old coot into a pile of bloody mush -- but Susie was a petite little flower and might have been in some danger if he really came off the hook. But there was some steel in that magnolia.

"Pete, I am busy. Fuck off." She turned back to me and went on, while Pete just about blew a gasket behind her. He stared at us for a few moments and then disappeared. Susie and I finished quickly and she sat back in the guest chair, marshaling her energy for the meeting to come.

"Anything I can do?"

"Call 911 if you hear a gunshot."

"Seriously, he looked that angry. I truly am concerned for your safety."

"No, I'd be the one shooting him. And I don't have a gun, so don't worry about it. I've lived with his tough-guy routine for years and I'm not concerned. I used to take his shit at home but never -- never," and she punctuated the word with a finger stabbing down onto the desk, "at work. SO...now I'm going to go do half a dozen things I don't really need to do, just to make him stew in it." And she left, visibly squaring her shoulders as if preparing for a fight, which I suppose she was. The next half hour was a nervous one as I waited for something to erupt between them, and sure enough, just before 5:00 the gasoline and the match got together.

I heard the door slam first, and I got up for a trip to the water fountain, the long way around that took me past her door and through the rest of our team's area. Most of my coworkers are early birds and get to work before 7:00 AM so they can scatter by 4:00. Our little corner was deserted aside from me and the Rock'em Sock'em robots in Susie's office. I admit it, I eavesdropped.

It started on a work issue, though Pete's demeanor was somewhere between drill sergeant and raving lunatic. Susie started out in a low, dry tone and countered his hysterics with logic. For a while. After about ten minutes it was nonstop screeching and bellowing and it had nothing to do with business and I figured it was time I bugged out. I went back to my cubicle and put my headphones on, though I kept the MP3 player turned all the way down. Sure enough, the door flew open a few minutes later and Pete stomped out, tossing a growled "Fuck you, cunt!" over his shoulder. I was mildly surprised not to see blood on his white shirt as he passed my cube.

I kept my head down and made it look like I was working. I could hear Pete slamming things around his office, presumably packing up for the day with an extra helping of wrath to make it noisier. Then he huffed down the hall and into the elevator, stomping and fuming audibly. It was a hell of a show, fit for any pre-school aged child or raving psychopath. A few minutes later Susie showed up.

"You were here for that?" Her severe tone and stony face made it clear that a succinct answer was required.

"Yes."

"Do me a favor. Write up what you saw and heard in an e-mail and save it." And she left. Wow. That was a move to document abuse and alert HR, a paper trail of evidence to be used against Pete. I did as she asked and conveniently left out some of the choice phrases I heard her fling at her husband. Once finished, I went back to my work, but I have to admit I was still a bit dazed and was really only picking at it. Around 5:30 she came back, coat on and briefcase in hand.

"Pack up. Lets go."

"Um, OK." I shut down the PC and grabbed my coat. "Where to?"

"Margaritas. Lots of them. Move it." She was angry as hell and spoke in a staccato attack that brooked no argument. This was the seriously-pissed-off-do-not-fuck-with-me Susie and her dark eyes were absolutely flashing with intensity. I moved my ass quick. We went to the same place as last time and she quickly ordered a pitcher of margaritas and shots of tequila. She didn't say a word to me until the shots arrived.

"Listen, you heard something I would have preferred you not hear this afternoon and I'm...well I don't know if I am angry at you or not. Probably not. Hell, I've got enough anger from THAT asshole to last me a lifetime so I might just be projecting. Alright, it's not your fault, but either way you are in it now so you are stuck with it. Now here's the important part; not a fucking word about this at the office, you hear me? I will not have my personal issues the subject of water cooler gossip, at least no more than that son of a bitch has already made it that way. Not one fucking word. Say it." She stuck her finger in my face like a weapon. I'm not one to get pushed around, but at 24, in my first job out of college, with a spitfire powerhouse like Susie aiming her senior manager powers at me on the end of her finger, I folded right quick. I didn't want to be anywhere near this woman's bad side.

"Not one fucking word. Yes ma'am."

"Good. Now drink up." She downed her shot in a flash and I followed right behind her. "I'm getting drunk tonight and your job is to make sure I don't wind up in a hospital or in jail. Now where the hell are my margaritas?"

Susie was angry and snappish for the next hour until half a pitcher had disappeared down her throat. A nonstop tirade of venom poured out of her mouth, all aimed at Pete. I learned things I really shouldn't have known, but I guess I'm a bit of a voyeur at heart so I ate it up and encouraged her to tell me more. The view into Susie's life was far more intimate than an employee should have with their boss, but after the 'not one fucking word' speech she never acted like my boss. She was just a very angry woman who could no longer suppress her rage. Once her bile ran dry she seemed to deflate like the Incredible Hulk turning back into Dr. Banner. She sat back, took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully, as if blowing away the last of her anger. Then she actually smiled, a wistful, exhausted thing that really showed the relief she felt at getting all that off her chest.

"I cannot believe I just did that to you. You must think I am completely crazy."

"Not at all. You had an awful lot of steam in there and you needed to let it out. Hell, you might have popped if you kept that in any longer."

"Yeah, you aren't kidding. Still, I feel like I imposed on you and I apologize."

"No worries. I'm not one to say no to a pretty lady who needs an ear to bend."

"Pretty lady?" She sent an eyebrow arching upward.

"You heard me." I looked her right in the eye with my best charming smile. I figured if we were off the reservation then we might as well be off the reservation. And while I meant that primarily as a general compliment to bolster her attitude, I didn't mind if she took it to be a flirtation. I planted the seed and then I watched to see if it would grow.

"I already promised you the raise."

"OK, new rule. You got to wag your finger in my face with rules so now it's my turn." I leaned over and stuck my finger in her face just as she had done to me. "In here, you are not my boss. You are just Susie and I am just Tim. You hear me?" She tried to maintain a stern face, but the alcohol brought out the giggles and she burst into laughter instead.

"Yes sir!" she exclaimed, raising her glass for a toast. I clinked mine to hers and we drank deeply, the mood suddenly much lighter than it had been.

We continued to drink, eventually ordering some munchies to thin out the alcohol. I was still young and not too far removed from my college days so my tolerance was pretty high. But Susie, high powered as she may be, was a petite little thing and the booze hit her hard. After the pitcher I switched to water but she had a few more drinks and she was feeling no pain. We did flirt a little bit that evening, but for the most part we kept it rated PG and just told stories about our past or gossiped about people in the office. The pyrotechnics in her office never came up again.

The clock leaped forward as it often does when you are having fun, and all too soon it was time to go home.

"OK, I quit drinking a couple hours ago so I'm OK to drive. You, young lady, are not. Do you want me to drop you off or do you want a cab?"

"Oh, Pete would shit all over himself if he saw someone from work dropping me off drunk. I am half tempted to do that just to piss him off." She sighed deeply, letting go of the idea. "But I'll be taking a cab. I already asked the bartender to call one for me on my last trip to the ladies room."