The best part about Grant's job was that he never had to answer to anyone. Occasionally he had to cater to the whims of his co-workers, especially the office director, Miriam. For the most part, though, he was left alone. Grant spent the better part of the day servicing vehicles and repairing electronic equipment for an oil exploration company.
Grant's supervisor was Lauryn, and while Grant certainly liked her from a distance, she was awkward to be around in person. She had only come out to visit twice, and each time she was distant and strange. Grant was relieved to see her go.
Lauryn also had strange body language, probably from being nearly six feet tall. Grant was still four inches taller than her. She tended to get a lot of stares any time she went out in public.
Grant was puttering around in the basement of the company high-rise when Scott Halpern, the sales rep, came in. Grant greeted him in accordance with respect to the diversity and inclusion seminars he attended: "Hey, fag. What's up?"
Scott chuckled and wandered in. "You're gonna love this, man."
Grant tossed his steel casing aside and sighed. "I hate when you get all cryptic."
"Just heard from Miriam," Scott went on. "Lauryn is coming out."
Grant balled up his fists and pressed them to his forehead. "Fuck me! What did I do to deserve this?"
"I knew you'd like that," Scott remarked. "What's better is that Miriam is heading out to the SIC trade show in Vegas. You're going to be the one to have to take her out and show her around."
"Aw, come on, man," Grant whined. "I swear to Christ, she's duller than dishwater."
"Come on, bro," Scott goaded. "Show her what Calgary's got to offer."
Grant sputtered. "I'll give you three hundred dollars to take her off my hands."
"You don't have three hundred dollars!" Scott guffawed.
"Yeah, I can't cut that kind of bread without checking in with the
real
boss," Grant chuckled. "All right, we'll think of something to do with her."
Scott gave Grant a playful slap on the shoulder. "At least the spring is here. Imagine touring her around if it's minus thirty."
Grant smiled, then Scott took off upstairs. Grant puttered around in the garage for a while, then went over to his computer. He decided he should pick out some decent entertainment venues. The bright side of a night on the town was it got him away from the wife for a bit.
After a few clicks on his map app, Grant settled on a particular venue he needed an excuse to visit. He just hoped he could rope Lauryn into it.
Lauryn showed up that Thursday, and was busy for most of the day in virtual meetings. Grant was trying his best to stay busy just so Lauryn would not barge in and find him screwing the pooch.
Eventually Lauryn made it down, popping into the basement complex and standing over by the door, as if waiting to be noticed rather than issuing a greeting. Grant looked up from his data logger and smiled. "Hey, Lauryn!" He got up and walked over to her. Grant held out his arms, while Lauryn held her arms tight to her sides. Grant went in for a stiff hug.
"Hey, why don't I show you what I'm up to?" Grant led her over and showed her the data logger he was programming for an automated system. He walked her through the wiring and the code that he wrote.
Lauryn nodded and seemed to follow along. "Grant, how have you been finding the position so far?"
Grant made a mock face of anguish. "I swear, I get more people asking me to do stuff than anyone else here! What is it with these engineers and their inability to solve simple problems?"
Lauryn smiled. "They have bigger problems."
"They're all so God damned autistic," Grant muttered.
"You're not supposed to say stuff like that," Lauryn lectured.
Grant looked at her as his eye twitched. "You know what I mean!" He tossed his screwdriver aside and sighed. "Hey, are going out to dinner?"
"Um, I can't tonight," Lauryn replied. "Hey, we have a spare hotel room next to mine. Are you spending the night in town?"
Grant was a bit shocked by that. What was she trying to set up? "Nah. My wife is expecting me home tonight. We'll see what happens tomorrow."
Lauryn was trying to play with her hair, although she had it cut so short she could barely hold any in her fingers. It was all Grant could do to try to yell at her that guys like long hair. "What do you have in mind for me?"
"Eh, nothing too special," Grant said casually. "We'll hit the Lions for steak, then we'll check out Gigi's."
Lauryn smiled and shrugged. "Okay. Sounds fun." She headed out, while Grant sighed with relief. He promised he would try to get her to carry a bit of the weight in a conversation.
Grant picked Lauryn up the next night in his car, then got her on the highway. Lauryn seemed impressed with the interior. "Are we paying you too much. Grant?"
Grant chuckled as he kept his focus on the road. Lauryn was wearing a tight pair of jeans and a bit of cleavage with her white t-shirt. There was something sexy about her tonight, like maybe she was finally ready to cut loose. "The wife is making decent money now that she graduated. We were finally able to get a new car, and we splurged a little."
Grant felt mischievous, so he subtly flicked a switch that turned on the massage function. Lauryn's stiff face relaxed, then absolutely melted with delight. Lauryn gripped the side of the seat as she squirmed. She made small squeaks of joy as well. "Oh, Grant," she moaned.
Grant stared forward, mouth agape. "Uh...had enough?"
Lauryn nodded, so Grant flipped the switch back. Lauryn straightened out her hair as she sat up. "Whoa! I just...That was something."
They pulled into Lions and got inside. They were seated right away. "That's what I love about this place," Grant told her. "Casual dining, big portions, and gorgeous waitresses!" Grant leaned back in his chair as he eyeballed the tiny-waisted server's ass doing a cute wiggle.
Lauryn sighed hard. "I'm your boss, you know. This is sexist behaviour."
Grant straightened up. "Whoa, hey! Hang on. First off, anything I say off company property can't be held against me. Second, admiring the human form is perfectly natural."
"It can be demeaning," Lauryn scolded him.
Grant stuck his tongue under his upper lip and leaned in. "You're acting a bit strange," he noted analytically. "Why do you seriously mind me checking out these ladies?"
Lauryn bunched up her lips. "I just...don't appreciate that kind of thing when I'm in your company."
Grant leaned in farther. "What's going on? Did that husband give you some trouble lately?"
"No!" Lauryn's eyes went wide.
Grant got a smug look of satisfaction on his face. "Bingo. Tell me what's wrong."
A server came over to take orders. "I'll take rum and coke." He looked at Lauryn, who looked rankled. "Water for her." The server left.
"Rob has just...not been all that attentive is all," Lauryn surrendered. "I think he's done with me."
Grant chuckled. "Oh, hell, that happens in any marriage. It's not all hot steamy fucking all the time, you know."
"Grant!" Lauryn looked nonplussed.
"Oh, loosen up, girl," Grant chided. "Come on--let's talk like adults here for once. Are you rockin' his world enough?"
Lauryn fiddled with some fluff on her jeans. "I just...don't know if he likes me like that anymore."
"I know what that's like," Grant responded. "Look at me--I work out four times a week, and I cut out the sugar and some of the red meat from my diet. You think she cares? No. I'm six four and two hundred and ten pounds. You would think she would be a little interested. She's
done
with me is what it is." He leaned back on his chair. " I know exactly what you mean. They get tired of us guys after a bit. You think that it's the men that get that way all the time, but no. We at least like fucking someone."
Lauryn looked frustrated, and the two of them paused as their server brought over the drinks. The server seemed to be doting on Grant longer than necessary. Grant smiled widely as she walked away.
"What's that all about?" Lauryn looked the server over herself as she departed.
"Hey, the girls love me," Grant said with an impish grin.
"They're just looking for a bigger tip," Lauryn replied icily.
"Yeah, and she's gonna get one," Grant chortled. Lauryn's mouth hung open, mostly in shock but somewhat amused as well.
"When's the last time you two did it?" Grant asked as he took a swig of his drink.
Lauryn sighed and hesitated for a long time. "Six months, maybe?"
Grant sputtered. "Pah. Try a year." He took a good look at Lauryn. She was in her forties, but had a great body still. The height made her look long and lean. He looked down as her v-cut shirt was showing a side of her breast.
"It's just hard to approach him is all," Lauryn muttered.