What Would You Do?
PREAMBLE:
I sat in my boss's office with the most stunned look you could Imagine on my face as my boss, Carol King, expectantly stared at me, waiting for my answer.
"But Carol, I am a happily married woman. I can't do that," I protested.
"Look, Tina. If you don't, I'll be forced to lay off half our staff. Now, I'd do it myself if I could. But he specifically asked for you."
"Surely... There has to be a better way, Carol."
"No Tina, there's not. I did it myself the first two years he demanded it. Then, last year, he specifically asked for Sally. And this year, he asked for you."
"But she's single, and I'm married."
"So am I Tina. And very happily, I might add. But I just couldn't bear to lay off so many loyal, hard-working people," Carol proclaimed, then paused to take a deep cleansing breath. "And I don't regret it, Tina. I know it seems insane, but he's not that bad in bed, and it was over in less than two hours. Honestly, the hardest part of the whole thing was kissing him. And don't get me wrong. He's not a bad kisser. It was just so intimate and personal and the one thing that made me feel truly guilty."
"I don't know Carol. How long do I have to think about this?" I asked.
"Well, he wants an answer by five today, and it's a little after four," she replied, tapping her watch.
"But why me? Why does he want me?"
"Look..." she sighed. "Don't let this go to your head, Tina. But you're hot! Hell, to be honest, I want a copy of the tape you two will be making!"
"It's being recorded?" I gasped.
"Yes. But it's for your protection. Just in case he tries to back out of signing the contract. Plus, we have a record of what he's demanding of us," Carol assured me.
"So, will I get let go if I refuse?"
"I don't have to answer that. But then, if I don't let you go and word gets out that you could have saved everyone's job that does get let go, you won't be very popular around here."
No shit Sherlock, I thought. But cheating is cheating, and agreeing to go to a motel room with one of the firm's customers, regardless of how important he was, is cheating.
"Oh, all right. I'll do it," I said before my guilt outweighed the thought of so many of my friends, coworkers, and possibly myself losing our jobs.
Then I stood, contract in hand, more than ready to leave.
"Hold on, Tina," Carol said, then opened a folder and handed me another legal form with a pen.
"What's this?" I asked.
"It's an NDA. And you need to sign it. I can't have you airing my most important clients dirty laundry," she stated.
Being a legal secretary, I knew what a non-disclosure agreement was for. And, all things considered, I wasn't surprised Carol wanted to cover her ass.
"Fine, whatever," I grumbled as I signed it, then handed her the document.
Carol raised her finger in a hold-on gesture. Then she opened her bottom desk drawer, pulled out a large brown paper bag, and handed it to me.
"And what's this?" I impatiently asked.
"It's the outfit he wants you to wear on your date," she replied. "Go ahead. Open it," Carol said with a sheepish cringe.
I opened the bag, took out an envelope, and read the note. It was the address and room number of a fancy downtown hotel, and said I must be there by 5:30. But, what really caught my attention were the instructions.
"You must wear the enclosed garments, and only these garments; no bra or panties. And you must leave your wedding ring on."
I put the letter on her desk and proceeded to pull out a white blouse, a short black skirt, black seamed lace top stockings with a matching lace garter, and a pair of black patent leather platform pumps with six-inch stiletto heels. Everything was my size, and I rolled my eyes at Carol, sure she had a hand in planning all this, as I stuffed the expensive high-end garments back in the bag.
~~~
I called my husband, Bryan, and told him one of our biggest clients had a problem and that I'd be working late. Then I told him I'd be eating at the office, so he was on his own for dinner and said I should be home by ten.
Next, because I wouldn't have time to change after work, I went to the ladies room and put on the outfit Mr. Downs required his whores to wear. And yes, I felt like a whore! Then, on my way back to my desk, I stopped by Sally's cubicle and asked if we could talk privately.
When she saw how I dressed, Sally knew what I wanted to discuss. Yet, she was reluctant to say much, and I assumed she, too, had signed an NDA. However, Sally did assure me there would be no rough sex and said it would more than likely be quick. Then, as I was about to leave, she added. "Oh, and just in case you're worried about it. He doesn't want anal!"
After my awkward chat with Sally, I had a few minutes to kill. So, to keep my mind off what I was about to do, I sat at my desk, dressed like a slut, and began to clean up a few things. But as I was putting papers in files and the files back in their respective drawers, I couldn't help but notice how wet I felt.
I was mortified. How on earth could a good, proper, honest, and faithful woman get turned on by the thought of having sex with one of the firm's clients? This can't be happening to me. Can it?
Yet my biggest fear was that Mr. Downs was black. And no, I'm not prejudiced. It's just that Bryan has always been plenty big enough for me. And yes, I know it's a stereotype. But what if Matt is hung like a horse? I'm not even sure I could take something like that.
But before I could dwell on the what-ifs too long, it was time for me to go. I stood to leave, and terrible guilt tore at my guts as I took one last look at the photo of Bryan on my cubical wall.
I knew then. I would never be the same.
The Date:
I stuffed my clothes and the contract into my satchel and slung it over my shoulder. But as I made my way through the office, I couldn't help but notice everyone gawking at me like I was some sort of circus clown. I certainly felt like one, and it really upset me because I prided myself on dressing very conservatively at work, and I'd never dressed unprofessionally... EVER!
According to Google, it was a fifteen-minute drive. I prayed I wouldn't get stuck in traffic as I pulled out of the parking garage and headed to the fancy motel for my "date" with Mr. Downs. A multitude of emotions flowed through me as I parked with ten minutes to spare. And much to my chagrin, "horny" was on top of the list. Closely followed by guilt.
"I'm so sorry, Bryan," I said into the cosmos as I got out of the car, knowing that I was about to whore myself out to keep my job and, more importantly, save half the staff from losing theirs.
I nervously walked into the hotel lobby, and the desk clerk gave me a snooty, side-eyed glance, but he didn't say a word as I made my way to the elevator. I pushed the eleventh-floor button and felt my stomach fall out as the elevator lurched upward. Then my head began to spin as my guts twisted with guilt about cheating on my husband, and what if I get caught? Oh God! Please don't let me get caught, I thought.
I knew Carol and Sally would cover for me if I needed an alibi. Yet, when the elevator door opened, every instinct I had was screaming at me to ride it back down and drive home. But that wasn't going to happen, and I knew it.
Butterflies flooded my stomach as I stepped off the elevator and walked until I found room eleven-fourteen; his room The room I was about to choose over my marriage. Not that I really had a choice.
I knocked softly, and the door opened immediately. "Oh my. I'm so glad to see you. I was afraid you wouldn't come," Mr. Downs said with a sincere disarming tone.
I swallowed hard as I looked this tall, good-looking, well-built man in the eye. He was at least twenty years my senior with a distinguished smattering of Gray shining through his short, neatly trimmed, jet-black hair. But what really caught my eye was his perfectly tailored, expensive Italian suit. If Bryan wanted a suit like that, it would have cost at least six months of our combined salaries!
Still, I had to admit Matt did look good in it, and I was sure there were plenty of much younger gold diggers vying for his attention.
But, for some reason, he wanted me, and here I was, nearing thirty. Oh, I was sure Mr. Downs thoroughly vetted me and knew I'd never bore any children. Though Bryan and I had been talking about it just before Carol convinced me to become a whore for her.
Then Matt, the man I was about to cheat on my husband with, brought me into his arms for an uncomfortable embrace before he led me into the motel sweet and offered me a drink. I nodded, thinking a drink or three was just what I needed to get through this. Then I sat my satchel on a beautiful vintage roll-top desk and prayed that nothing would go wrong and Mr. Downs would sign the contract.
"Carol told me you drink Jim Beam, but I think you'll agree this whisky puts Jim to shame. Here, try three fingers of Pappy Van Winkle's 23-year-old, straight bourbon whisky," Matt said as he handed me a tumbler of the golden liquid with no ice.