I was 62 years young when this story happened. I only had a few years to retirement and my motto at the time was to keep my head down, don't make waves for the next couple of years and then retire. I was more than ready to leave the mind numbingly stupid corporate world. Don't get me wrong. The corporate world was just the way I made my money. On weekends and holidays I was a footloose and carefree guy. I had always enjoyed life and tried to have as much fun and enjoyment as the law allowed. I may have had a few insecurities (dick size) but no real angst. I was married and now, due to health issues on my wife's part, was in a sexless marriage. I sort of had her permission to seek sexual fulfillment elsewhere as long as I was ultra-discreet. I always loved my wife for saying that and hoped I would say the same thing if circumstances were reversed. But I told her I wouldn't cheat. After all the health problems were not her fault. And she was very upset and embarrassed by them.
Then there was Sonya. Sonya was a couple years older than me and real close to her own retirement. She could have been a model back in the day. She is 5ft 8, olive skin (she's of Greek heritage) still mostly dark hair and, even though in her 60s, still has an hour glass figure. I have no idea what her measurements are but my guess was that she is still a size 4 or 6. In addition she was and still is a gym rat. She works out at least 5 times a week for over an hour each time.
She also wore form fitting workout clothes to work that got all the guys horny and all the women jealous. At the same time she was no dummy and no shrinking violet. Sometime in her 20s she went to work as an executive assistant (i.e. secretary) to our division's Sr. VP. It was an OK paying gig and I am sure it was her stunning looks that got her noticed and put to the top of the list when it came time to fill that position. Well, that plus her sharp mind and engaging personality.
Sonya also knew deep down wanted more than being a secretary. But she got married young and only had one semester in community college. She dreamed of the finer things in life but knew she would never have them on a secretary's salary. Still, she dreamed of top flight restaurants, vintage wines, and exclusive vacations. Her dream was to spend winters in the Caribbean Islands and autumns in Europe. These dreams would eventually come true for her. She also would come to shop at exclusive boutiques in New York City. In the summer she spent her weekends on Martha's Vineyard.
If she wanted to she could have fucked her way up the corporate ladder and gotten those things. She more than had the looks for it. Her boss on more than a couple of occasions made overtures to that effect to her. While she got a charge out of titillating but ultimately frustrating her boss she never once screwed him or so she said. She didn't want to be known as the girl who slept her way to the top. To the best of my knowledge she never did despite multiple older executives hitting on her at company functions in a futile attempt to get into her form fitting pants. She later told me she would chuckled to herself thinking of these older guys beating off in the showers picturing her naked her while their wives were oblivious to their husbands' sexual frustration.
However Sonya also was clever. She knew that there was no future in the company if she actually fucked one or more of the executives. If she did that, they would have the power over her. She was gaining political power just by tantalizing them. Each of them thought they had a chance with her but in reality, there was no way any of them would get in her pants. Still, she had to do something. She just turned 40 and had not attained the things she wanted.
Sonya met her "knight in shining armor" at a business cocktail reception she planned on behalf of her boss. She planned all of the social functions and meticulously worked out the details. He was the senior partner of the law firm that provided legal services to our firm. He had about 60 attorneys reporting to him but he was the one who called the shots. He ruled the company with an iron fist and always got what he demanded. She knew who he was and found him to be an attractive guy. He was 63 at this time and she had just turned 40. She thought he was a cute older guy. The more she flirted with him, the more certain he was guy to which she would hitch her star. She dressed especially provocatively that night for him. She wore a form fitting tan dress that accentuated her well rounded ass that was extra tight around the top so her perky breasts were outlined. She started giving him those sly innocent looks, made sure his drink was never empty and laughed at every joke he told and hung on every word he said.
And the rest, as they say, is history. They went to dinner the next night at a very exclusive Manhattan restaurant. Within a year he divorced his wife of 35 years and she left her boring but very steady computer tech husband of 10 years. Soon after the two of them were married. She stayed on at my company and eventually made it to middle management with people like me. She made there because of her ability. She never got to senior management most likely because she wouldn't fuck or blow any of the executives. At least that was the scuttle butt at the time. I always admired that about her. Plus they grew tired of being rebuffed by her. So she was relegated to middle management with the likes of me.
As the years went by we were peers and worked on many projects. We had lunches together, worked late together and nothing sexual ever happened. We had a very pleasant but very professional relationship. It had been like this for years and neither of us thought twice about it. Though casual conversations I knew she was lived a much more upscale like that me. She vacationed all over the world and her husband owned condos in the Amalfi Coast, Paris and Rome. And that's not to mention the rental they did each February in Key West Florida. I knew this because of the photos she shared with me and my colleagues. Plus she was always going to dinner at 4 and 5 star restaurants always wore designer clothes. I didn't think anything of it and thought of her as my colleague. I don't begrudge anyone for being rich.
Then we both got out on a project from hell. It required that we spend a lot of time together.
Then one day around 6:30 she said
"Oh hell I have to get home or HE will be mad"
We laughed and made small talk and then I said
"Ok, I am getting tired myself. Let's call it a day and pick it up in the morning"
Then I added
"If you want, I can write you a note for the teacher"
She laughed and went on her way and over the next few weeks we worked hard and got the GD project done. Everyone on our management was happy with the result; on time and under budget.
She then suggested
"Let's have a celebration lunch! We both worked hard and I am sure I can find a way to get our lunch declared as a business expense."
Lunch on the company's dime is always a good idea. So we went to a restaurant that probably was an upgrade for me but a down grade for her. We had a standard "business lunch" meaning we only discussed work. After we paid the bill and were walking towards our cars I joked with her
"We put in a lot hours on this project. Hope you didn't get in trouble at home for staying out so late"
She just rolled her eyes and laughed while saying
"Oh, you don't know the half of it"
She then elaborated what a control freak her husband had been for the 20 plus years they have been married. We talked in the parking lot for another 15 minutes until we realized we both had been away from the office for a couple of hours. We were having so much fun we agreed to meet for celebratory cocktail after work and pick up the conversation where left off. Sure enough at 5:15 we met at the local bar and started right where we left off.
By the time we were halfway through our first drink, a look of relief came over her eyes. Not just because we got our project done in time and under budget. It downed on me that this had to be the first time she opened up to anyone about her marriage. Apparently he was controlling about everything in her life. That beautiful young trophy wife was his and had to control her so that she wouldn't get away from him. He wanted to know how many times a week she went to the gym. He monitored how much she ate, how much she drank and how much money she spent. By the time she finished her talking I was floored. Here she was, a beautiful, intelligent and strong woman who was now controlled by some 80 something old geezer. I didn't know what to say.
"Hey if you want to talk again tomorrow, just say so." I said to her in all sincerity. We had always gotten along great over the years as coworkers but our relationship, up to that point, was strictly. I never thought she'd take me up on the offer.
"I'd like that a lot" she replied without hesitation.
So the next day when we met for lunch she opened up even more. She told me how exciting it was when she first met him. She left her husband because they both fell out of love and they were in a roommate or marriage of convenience situation. They slept in separate bedrooms and led separate lives. According to her, he was a boring, unexciting type who rarely showed excitement and rarely smiled. Plus she knew he had multiple affairs over the years.
Then, when she met her current husband, everything changed. Her new guy was a man with prestige, power and wealth. Like her he was a gym rat who had a body that could have passed for being 20 younger. He had given her every material thing she ever wanted but never could get. And yeah, in the beginning she really did love him.
I then asked if she was still in love with him and all she could do was give me a vague
"In once sense yes, in another no. It's complicated."
As lunch ended we agreed to talk more the next day as we both had afternoon meetings to get to. As we were leaving I studied Sonya's body closely. Even though we worked in different departments I knew her for almost 30 years and we worked on several projects together I never let the totality of her physical beauty hit me. And now that there was a hint of vulnerability. I now saw her in a different light.
Still, I tried to temper my expectations. I knew all too well how she used to intentionally cock tease those executives in her early days and still did so on occasions just for laughs. And I certainly was no high powered executive. Physically, while you couldn't call me fat, I was a good 30 pounds over my playing weight.
"You're reading too much into this" I told myself. "She's a good person. Maybe she's just looking to vent. Let it stay at that."
Over the next few weeks we spoke on a more regular basis. Several times a day. We stopped with the lunches and office visits because neither of us wanted to deal with office gossips. We pretty much spoke exclusively on our office phones (with the door closed) and occasionally on our cell phones.
