Isabelle Frost smiled as she stretched out; her newest pair of Christian Louboutins glinting as the sunlight hit the stiletto tip. Only 2 years ago, she couldn't have even afforded one pair of these shoes. Now, she owned several. Her wardrobe had also morphed, becoming more sophisticated, sexier. Not that it mattered.
The long-legged blonde looked at her huge office, feeling positively decadent as she thought about how she was going to decorate it. She'd only had it a little while and the place was only slightly smaller than her old apartment. With a near-unlimited expense account, she was going to indulge.
Some might have called Isabelle's ascent to power luck. Or Serendipity. Yes, she'd been in the right place at the right time, but there was no luck to it. She knew where Bob Reynolds had lunch every day, she had studied his routine. She knew he liked attractive women, but after doing some diligent research, she knew that he was also impressed with women who were savvy. Having graduated at the top of her class, Isabelle was savvy indeed.
She approached him at the bar, told him she had always enjoyed the campaigns he had worked on and rattled off several by name. She also told Bob ... "Mr. Reynolds" at the time ... if she was ever lucky enough to work for a man like him, she'd consider herself lucky. Then she walked away with a slight sway to her hips and let him watch her legs in the short skirt, real stockings and high-heeled shoes she had worn especially for that meeting.
She went back to the Palermo a few days later and he approached her. Mr. Reynolds told her a Junior Executive wasn't working out and if she was willing to put in the hours and do the grunt work ... he hadn't even finished when she accepted.
Isabelle worked like a dog, but she kept her eyes and ears open. Rumors abounded about her sleeping with Mr. Reynolds, as they had lunch together twice a week and Isabelle did dress in a slightly-provocative manner at work.
Bob Reynolds put an end to the first rumor. "She picks my brain constantly and she listens, something a few more of you could learn to do," He told his staff, letting them know the talk was to end. As for the second, at 5'10" and with a 36-22-35 figure, most anything Isabelle wore tended to look sexy on her. She was also putting her smarts to use again. Men noticed an attractive woman in the room and listened when she talked, when they found out how on the ball she was, they were equally impressed. There were a lot of men who found smart women very sexy. Why not? Isabelle also liked smart, intelligent sexy women and all of her college friends had been like that.
In 10 years, Isabelle made herself invaluable to Reynolds-Cushing and she put her mind to work in other ways. Isabelle wanted to go somewhere, she was fiercely competitive, a great asset in the business world. Isabelle was assertive; she saw what she wanted and went after it. She also held on to her stock options and after 10 years, she knew what many didn't ... Isabelle owned a large chunk of the company. When Bob announced he was taking early retirement, Isabelle seized the opportunity to speak her mind. She went into his office and closed the door.
"Before you go to the partners and discuss looking for your replacement, I'm going to say it. I want your job. I can be pushy and fight for it ... I own 25% of the company at least ... but I'd like your recommendation, Bob." She sat on the edge of his desk and crossed her long legs, her skirt rode up. He always looked and she didn't mind, if he'd been 10 years younger, she might have done more than flirt. When they'd first met, he'd been distinguished and he was still a handsome man at 60.
"You don't need to fight Isabelle, I can't think of anyone more suited for my chair than you," Bob smiled, patting her knee. "My only concern is, what about Trevor?"
Isabelle sighed. She hadn't really considered Trevor, her boyfriend of the past 5 years and a highly successful Chemical Engineer. When they'd met, he made more money than she did; now her salary was at least 30 thousand higher. He hadn't been handling it well ... their relationship and their sex life was suffering, to say the least.
"I'll ... we'll deal with that. Bob, I want the job, very much," Isabelle said.
Within 3 months, the job was hers and Bob was on an around-the-world Cruise. She was ready to pack up and move into his office, when Carla, her pretty, young secretary, dropped a huge bomb on her.
"Ms. Frost, you've been a terrific boss and I'm really happy you got the promotion, but ... I don't want to come along with you," Carla told her, brushing an auburn curl from her face. "I've been working hard enough as it is, my boyfriend and I want to talk marriage and I don't want to add more hours to my schedule."
"You realize it would be a lot more money?" Isabelle told her.
"Yes, but a lot less Tim," Carla said. "I want a future with him. I'm sorry, Isabelle. Good luck."
Isabelle grimaced. Miss Hathaway had retired at the same time as Bob, so she couldn't use his secretary. She called Carla back in.
"Carla, do you know of anyone who might be able to pick up quickly the way we do things around here, someone available right away?"
"Sure, my friend Kathleen's' registered with a Temp Agency and I'd be glad to show her the ropes. It'd be nice to see more of her and I think she'd fit in great until we can hire someone to work full-time. Want me to call her for an Interview?"
Isabelle waved her hand. "No need, if you trust her, just call the Agency and have her here at 9 AM tomorrow. Tell them to make sure she's dressed nicely, you know the drill. Thanks Carla, you're a lifesaver."
Isabelle went home that night a bit relieved. Feeling happy, she'd splurged on some lovely new lingerie, but found Trevor was out shooting pool with some friends. He wasn't home by 11, so she turned in, barely hearing him come in at 1. She could smell the alcohol, but figured he needed to blow off steam and decided to let it go for now.
Kathleen showed up at 8:55 the next morning and Carla gave her a big hug, then introduced her to Isabelle. Isabelle liked the 26-year old brunette right away, she actually found similar qualities to herself, Kathleen asked a lot of questions, dressed for success and worked hard. She even made great coffee and cheered Isabelle up a number of times during the day with her pleasant nature and beautiful smile.
Kathleen was always smiling and everyone liked her. Never once did she say anything unpleasant, she pitched in wherever needed and within 2 weeks, Carla was able to move on to her new position and let Kathleen assist Isabelle unfettered. The blue-eyed brunette even took to bringing Isabelle an extra-lunch, telling her new boss that the cafeteria food was awful and Isabelle needed to eat better. They made a habit of eating their lunches together every day and often, it was the nicest part of her day.
Things were still not good at home with Trevor. Her lingerie collection expanded, her sexual encounters did not. Kathleen rarely talked about her boyfriend, if she had one, Isabelle noticed. One afternoon, she brought it up.
"Nope, haven't had a boyfriend in a long time," Kathleen smiled, eating some roast beef, then dipping the next bite into some horseradish. "Most men can't keep up with me. You?"
"Exactly the same as you. I have a boyfriend, we live together, but we might as well live in separate apartments. I think he's threatened by the fact I make almost double his income now. We don't have a sex life anymore ... oh, why am I telling you all this?"
"Because we're becoming friends and I'll listen, okay? Listen Isabelle, if a man can't handle your success, that's his issue. You're a beautiful woman and you have money, sounds pretty good to me, boss-lady!" Kathleen giggled.
"You know, you're right! Thanks Kathleen," Isabelle smiled, sipping her coffee.
"Anytime."
6 months had gone by before Isabelle realized she'd done nothing about hiring a permanent replacement for Carla. Why hadn't she? She needed someone, she couldn't keep using Kathleen and the Temp Agency forever.
Well, something had to change. She called Kathleen into her office.
