Jonathan Kolb took great pride in his wife's appearance. He was one of those people who not only didn't resent other men looking at his wife, he derived genuine pleasure from the idea that others would envy him for being in the company of such a woman. After all, he would think to himself, Megan has chosen to be with me and not them. He was also proud of her success at work, where she was part of the development team at BetterWorld, a leading charitable organization.
When they first met in college, Megan had been quiet and somewhat withdrawn and that, combined with her obvious intelligence, often gave the impression of being standoffish and a bit of a snob. But Jonathan, a popular student athlete on campus with an outgoing personality, had always seen through that. When they first started dating, he helped to draw her out and make her more comfortable in large groups of people. With his natural athleticism, he sparked a greater interest on Megan's part in exercise and physical activity, and over the eight that years that they'd been together, she'd slim down to her current 130 pounds, working hard to keep her 36-25-35 inch figure in shape.
Jon was now a senior art director at an important advertising agency, and as such he understood how to persuade people to do things, and he knew that sex sells. And although his wife often seemed bashful about acknowledging her beauty, Jon would point out that her good looks, and especially her 34DD cup breasts, were undoubtedly factors in her landing a job as a fundraiser at a non-profit. Trained as an accountant, she had grown bored with working all day with numbers. She wanted to help make things better in the future, and when she learned of the position at BetterWorld that combined finance and public relations, she jumped at the chance. Over time Megan grew more comfortable with the idea that she needed to "turn on the charm" when convincing prospective donors to contribute and began to discover that she enjoyed the interaction with people and the attention that her good looks invariably garnered.
Now, for any nonprofit, the single most important aspect of anyone's job is to bring in the money needed to support the various goals of the organization. And Megan Kolb was very good at her job. So, when the development team assembled in early January to plan an event to kick off that year's fundraising campaign, and the CEO Scott Marston suggested a costume party to be held around the time of Mardi Gras, Megan knew that she along with the rest of her team were expected to take the lead in making the event a memorable one.
"Well, I can't say I have a lot to add to Scott's idea," she confided to Kayla, one of her colleagues on the development team and best friend at work, after the CEO left the room. "You know, I've never actually even been to one myself."
"You haven't?" her friend said, somewhat surprised that someone as attractive as Megan had never attended a costume party, at least during her college years. "Never dressed up as sexy nurse or naughty school girl? It's a great way to be a little creative, and it's amazing how differently people treat you when you're in a costume. I think you'll love it."
"Don't get me wrong. I understand Scott's logic in getting the donors and the Trustees together for a celebration, and I can see why the whole idea of dressing up could get them to think and act in ways they don't normally behave. I'd just prefer to limit my role to going around and encouraging them to sign the big checks!" she said with a smile.
"And that's what we'll all be doing," Kayla nodded. "But I would think," she said, pointedly looking up and down the shapely blonde's body, "that with the right costume, you'll find it a whole lot easier to persuade them to sign those checks."
"Now you're sounding just like Jon," she replied, then paused. "So, is that what you're going to do?"
"Absolutely," her friend nodded. "I think that's the whole point of a costume party. It gives you the chance to dress in a way you would never dare to otherwise, especially at work, "she added with a chuckle. "I'm already thinking of wearing this dress I bought when Patrick and I went on our first cruise right after we were married. It has a thigh-high slit and it's practically backless. I just have to make up some lame explanation of who I'm dressed as."
Sydney, the young assistant on the development team, had been sitting on the other side of Kayla and eavesdropping on their conversation. "Sounds like Jessica Rabbit," she chimed in.
"The cartoon character, right?" Kayla asked, turning slowly to face Syd. "I remember my parents showing us that movie when we were kids. That's not a bad idea." She paused, and then asked the assistant, "And how about you, are you okay about dressing up?"
"Can't wait," the young woman exclaimed. "We did stuff like that at our sorority all the time," she added. "In fact, I think I've got a devil's costume packed away somewhere that I could wear."
"And you know," Kayla continued, "I could probably find an inexpensive red wig somewhere and," gesturing discreetly to her B-cup breasts, "some sort of push-up bra to accentuate these little puppies."
At first Megan had been somewhat disconcerted by the entire conversation, but the matter-of-fact manner in which her two colleagues discussed possible costumes was having the effect of getting her excited about the entire enterprise.
"Yeah, and I'll have to make sure I exercise a little more often," Sydney said with a laugh. "My devil outfit is really just a tight jumpsuit with a tail on the backside and a pitchfork, but it's kind of clingy, if you know what I mean."
"Not the sort of thing we'd normally wear to work," Kayla added, making the comment as much for Megan's sake as Sydney's. "But as long as you're comfortable with it, you should definitely go for it." Then, turning to her friend, she continued, "You know, we could really have some fun with the whole thing." She paused, and then added, "So let's see, what we can come up with for you?"
"Well, if partners and spouses are invited, I'm guessing Jon will have some ideas," she said with a faraway smile. On multiple occasions, she had noticed the pleasure Jon took in having her wearing some slightly revealing outfit when they were out in public, and she realized that this could very well be one of those situations.
Kayla nodded. "I'm sure they'll be included. Scott likes to foster the idea that we're all one big happy family." Then, having been in a number of social situations with Jon and Megan and observed her husband's reaction when people commented on the blonde's looks, she added, "And you should definitely tell your hubby to text me so we can consult on costumes. After all, he's the creative one in your house," she teased her friend.
"I guess you're right," Megan conceded. "Plus, I'll make him come up with some sort of matching costumes. There's no way I'm doing this alone!"
"Don't worry about flying solo on this," Kayla reassured her. "Syd, Eric and I will be right by your side."