The following day, wanting to get plenty of work done early to clear away a backlog, Miriam left home before seven and got to work early. As she went through the empty office she was pleased that she had the office to herself only to find a message from Gabrielle already on her desk.
Miriam,
Bob wants to see you as soon as possible -
Gabrielle
She dropped her bag on her desk and immediately went to the Managing Director's suite.
"What's the excitement about this morning?" she asked Gabrielle when she arrived at her desk.
"VIP's," Gabrielle replied succinctly. She waved her arm toward the door dramatically. "Better go see for yourself. He wants you in there."
Miriam knocked on the door and went in without awaiting an answer. As she entered Seagram's office the four male occupants stood respectfully.
"Ah, Miriam," Seagram began. "Thanks for coming in." He introduced the men. Richard was tall, dark and good looking in a plain sort of way. Paul was fair, shorter and stocky but obviously a fit man who looked after himself. The last man, Matt, was a big negro, tall and broad, and wonderfully handsome.
Seagram indicated a chair. Miriam perched silently on its edge wondering why she was involved in this meeting at all. None of the conversation involved her in any way. The project, she knew, had been handled by Ian Peacocke. Why wasn't he here? Her thoughts were returned to the present by Seagram's voice...
" ... so while they are here I want you to liaise directly with them. You are to be my interface. If there is anything that they need or desire, I expect that you will provide it for them. Anything at all! I have explained your skills and abilities to them and, believe me, I am fully confident in your ability to satisfy them. Okay?"
The shock hit her in the face like a punch from a heavyweight boxer. The hide of the man! "
...anything they need or desire... ...provide it for them... ...anything at all... ...explained your skills and abilities... ...satisfy them...
" What did Bob think she was - his private whore? Calm down, she told herself. You may be reading more into this than there really is. This is probably some innocent business get together.
"Fine by me, Bob," she replied with a well disguised smile. "When do we start?"
"Tonight," he replied simply. "However, it will be intensive time because these gentlemen will be on a flight out at six tomorrow morning. You're to pick them up at the Regent at six thirty tonight. There's a table booked at The Outrigger. You know where it is?" Miriam nodded. "Take the Rockdale file off my desk. I suggest you cancel the rest of your day, take it home and be very familiar with it by tonight. This contract is in your hands, Miriam, and any decisions you make will be binding. You'll be acting with my full authority and confidence on this one. Clear enough?"
Perfectly clear, Bob." Miriam smiled, then stood and took the appropriate file from his desk. She spun around to face them holding out her hand. "Gentlemen... until tonight then."
They stood, took her hand in turns and watched her as she left. As she closed the door behind herself, she smiled at Gabrielle. Thank goodness I was wrong she told herself. An indignant outburst in there would have blown the whole thing for Bob and, as a consequence, for her.
"Good luck!" Gabrielle wished her cheerfully as she walked out the door.
Miriam got her secretary to cancel all of her appointments for the day and went home with the file. As she drove home she thought about the job in front of her but slowly her mind drifted. The weather was beautiful, warm but not too hot and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Too nice a day to be working. She chastened herself for the thought and put the weather behind her. There were important things to think about. She was going to barricade herself into the study and work. But all of that changed appreciably when she arrived home. There were no lights working. She went to the refrigerator. It had power. Oh, well, at least there was power to the house and, whatever the problem, it wasn't serious enough to have turned off the fridge and freezer. She went around to the side of the house and checked the power box. The circuit breakers were all up and in place. Not knowing what to do next she rang Roger.
"I can't come home now," he told her. "I've got meetings on starting in about twenty minutes and going for the rest of the day. You'll have to call Phil Ferguson and get him over. By the way, how come you're at home? I thought you went to work early to get things done?"
Miriam explained what had happened. "Don't rush home. I'll arrange for David to stay over at Richard's house tonight. And don't wait up for me," she added. "Bob seems to think it will be a long night of negotiations."
"He's obviously got a lot of confidence in you. Sounds like a great opportunity. Good luck and have fun. I'll see you in the morning if not before."
Having no lights in the house was a real bummer, she thought. She rang the electrician next. Phil was a friend and she knew he would come over as soon as he could but he still couldn't make it before three. Damn! she thought looking at her watch. It was nine twenty.
She went into the bedroom where the weather popped back into her head. Why not have the bast of both worlds? She had six hours alone so she could enjoy the sun and work at the same time. She stripped off her clothes and slipped into her G-string bikini. Surveying herself in the mirror she decided that it was a good thing that Roger was not coming home. She chuckled to herself... He'd never get back to work! She picked up the file, a bottle of sun screen and some coffee from the kitchen and settled at the table by the pool. For more than four hours she worked - uninterrupted until the phone rang.
It was Gabrielle. Bob was sending a courier over with the contracts for the Rockdale project. If all went well, Gabrielle told her, Bob thought that she could expect to conclude the deal over dinner. Several minutes later the door bell rang. She wrapped her sarong around her hips and set off for the door. Miriam's shock was immense when she came face to face with one of the warehouse staff. She recognised him and instantly wondered if he had been one of the men who had fucked her and begun her rise to the top of the corporate tree.
"Well, fancy meeting you here," he smiled at her staring at her tits barely concealed by the brief bikini top. "You must be Mrs Porter. "I'm Steve. We all wondered what had happened to you. Rumour has it that you got yourself a promotion."
"That's right."
"This is for you." He handed her the envelope he had brought. "It's a shame you had to move upstairs, really. We all miss you in the warehouse. The boys were hoping for a repeat session."
"That's unlikely," she replied tersely.
"I see." He looked disappointed. "Too good for us now, are you?" There was no apparent malice in his voice and she felt for him. Who knew what sort of life others lived. Anyway, she hated being thought of as a snob.
"Not at all," she smiled, "and to prove it I'm inviting you in for a cup of coffee. If you've got time that is. I was just going to make one for myself." She stepped aside and allowed him to pass her.
"Nice place," he commented as she led him into the kitchen. Not that he had noticed much. His eyes had been fixed to her hips and arse as they swayed under the thin sarong.
"Thank you," she replied moving over to the sink. Miriam picked up the electric jug and, as she began to fill it, she felt his hands on her hips.
"What about a proper thank you?" he asked quietly as he ground his hardening cock between the cheeks of her arse. His mouth was right up next to her ear. She could feel his hot breath on her cheek.
I don't need this, she thought. I'll just put him off gently. "Look, I'm kind of busy right now preparing for a very important meeting tonight. Thanks for the offer, Steve, but what you have in mind would distract me from my purpose."