Kim made her way to the buffet table and asked her former co-worker Melanie "Why is it that at every funeral, the sandwiches have no crusts? We never see that anywhere else."
Melanie smiled and said "You obviously don't have children... Don't you know that kids's sandwiches can never have crusts?"
"And how many kids do you see here today?"
"All of us my dear, all of us. We've just said goodbye to someone we care about so we're back to kid state... if only for a day."
The two of them made their way to a table with a bunch of people Kim had worked with previously. She'd left that location to go work in another city two years ago yet, with most of them, it was as if she'd never left. They made small talk for a while. Then, Kim figured she should go mingle with other people, including her former bosses.
As she made her way through the crowds, talking to this person and that person, she could see Trevor talking to people and once in a while, making eye contact with her and smiling. Trevor had been a boss, two levels above here when she'd worked here.
It was another half an hour before they ended up talking. By then, his wife Charlene was with him and Kim was happy she'd get to see them both.
"Hello Kim! Long time no see!" Charlene gushed as she pulled her into a hug.
Trevor then gave her a hug too and said "nice to see you, thanks for coming."
"John was a big part of our company and I just had to be here to say goodbye. I'm not the only one who came from other locations. And besides, I thought I'd come spend a few days to see friends."
Before they could say anything else, someone came to get Trevor. As he was one of the higher ranking company people there, it wasn't surprising. Charlene pulled on her arm and said "Why don't we go for a walk in the gardens, it's a beautiful day."
As they made their way out of the building and towards the gardens, Charlene gestured to Trevor to show where they were going. Once out there, Charlene asked about Kim's job and co-workers. She talked about this and that for a while.
Kim had the impression that Charlene had an ulterior motive but didn't want to ask. Eventually, her hunch proved right. Charlene wanted to gossip.
"So, tell me Kim, have you managed to find yourself a new guy out there?"
"No. I'm just not all that interested in a relationship right now."
"Can't say I blame you after what happened here."
And there it was... Kim had wondered how long it would take for someone to bring that up. Two and a half years ago, her then boyfriend had taken pictures of her, naked, compromising pictures of her. He had circulated them after breaking up with her. He'd told everyone that she was a real slut in bed and eventually had been fired for it. Though she'd kept her head up and not hidden, Kim had requested and been awarded a transfer to get away from the bunch of employees who had seen the pictures.
"I learned a good lesson. No more work relationships."
"Can't blame you."
"Charlene, I don't really want to talk much about that. How about you tell me how your beautiful kids are doing."
Charlene talked about her daughter for a while.
"What about Jeff? How's he doing? I heard from Trevor that he'd gotten a bad concussion. Is he doing any better?"
"Oh, that's been tough. It's not a quick recovery, that's for sure. But he is getting better. In fact, he's finally well enough to travel so he's gone to spend the weekend with his grandparents. He took the bus this morning and got there just after lunch. He texted me that he got there and that his grandma greeted him with home-made cookies at the bus depot."
The thought of such a nice gesture made Kim smile. Charlene continued "It's been tough on our family too, constantly having to take him to appointments, putting up with his mood swings, feeling bad for him when he's feeling sick or relapsing and generally helping him get through this. It's part of why I was so glad to see you here. I'd like your help with something."
"Sure! Anything!"
Kim figured she'd be asked to maybe spend an afternoon with their daughter whom she'd met several times before and really liked.
"Trevor's been so nice through all this. I'd like to give him a special gift."
So.... not their daughter... Maybe Charlene wanted help shopping for an electronic gizmo for her hubby?
"I know you said earlier that you've learned your lesson and don't want any work-related relationships but I'm hoping you'll make a small exception."
What? What was this woman talking about? But before Kim could ask, Charlene saw her reaction and continued.
"Please hear me out and keep an open mind."
Kim nodded. Partly because she was curious but mostly because she didn't want to be rude.
"I've seen the pictures your ex circulated."
Seriously? This woman wants to bring that up again after she asked her to change the subject?
"In one of them, you were tied up to the bed and seemed to have a smile."
Oh, good grief! Kim was now seriously thinking of not being so polite and just walking away.
"Please, please, I know you're upset with this but hear me out."
Crossing her arms, Kim took a step back but stopped short of tapping her foot. She was not impressed at all.
"Trevor, he's had this fantasy about tying me up and dominating me in bed. But I just can't. But those pictures show me that you're up for it so I'd like to hire you."
Was this woman for real? She wanted to hire her? What did she think she was, a prostitute? She opened her mouth to talk but Charlene help up her hand to stop her.
"Please Kim, give me a chance to explain. That didn't sound good. Believe me, I don't think you're a slut or anything like that. In fact, I admire you and admire that you can be that open. There are events in my past that just stop me from being that open. But I'd like for my husband to have that one fantasy come true. When I saw you here today, I thought that you'd be the perfect person for this. Trevor likes you. He's told me that he finds you attractive. He'd never cheat on me, we love each other too much for that but if I told him that one afternoon with you was my gift to him, he would. He deserves this gift, Kim. He's been so good to me and for me. Please help me give this gift to him."
Kim couldn't believe her ears. This woman was seriously asking her to sleep with her husband! But then there was worse... Her body was reacting and screaming "Yes!" If she'd been alone, she would have had quite the loud and nasty argument with herself.
Charlene continued: "Please Kim, it's one afternoon. I'll pay you if you want me to. All I want is for you to make one of his fantasies come true. Please think about it but don't say anything to him, I'd want it to be a surprise. Now, please say something."
"No."
"Kim, I'm sorry if I insulted you. I didn't mean to. Please consider this."
"Why don't you just hire a pro?"
"He'd never go for that. And as I said before, I think you're amazing and I admire you. Trevor likes you. You're probably the only person in the world he'd trust enough and like enough to do this with."
"So you saw those pictures of me and thought 'the slut will do it'?"
"Kim, I swear, we never thought of you as a slut, never. Those pictures we saw, they didn't make us think any less of you. In fact, both of us admired the fact that you were that open and comfortable with yourself and confident. And you kept your head high, something we also admired. We trust you. I trust you. And I know Trevor trusts you too. It's a one-time thing. No strings and we never talk about it again, I promise."
"What do you want exactly?"
"I'd like for you to come to our house tomorrow and spend the afternoon with Trevor, having sex. I'd like to tie you up and leave you there as an offering for him. And I'd like for you to make his fantasy come true. He's a good lover, I promise. He will not hurt you, he's not into pain. He needs this. And I want to give it to him."
"So why don't you let him tie you up?"
"I can't. I don't want to spill the details but I just can't do it. Please Kim."
"I'll think about it."
"Please Kim, it would mean the world to both of us."
"Time to change the subject... Hey Trevor!"
And with that, they were joined by the man she was being asked to service. 'Cause that's what it was. As they made small talk, Kim couldn't stop thinking about what Charlene had asked her. Eventually, They said their goodbyes and Kim walked towards her rental car. Then, Charlene ran to her and handed her a piece of paper with her phone number on it. "Text me your answer tonight."
Kim got into her rental car and just sat there. Could she really do it?
Then, a conversation between her body and her brain started. Her body was screaming "Yeah!!! Come on girl, you haven't had any sex in months and you've always thought Trevor was sexy!"
"But he's married!"
"Dummy, his wife wants you to do it! So that's no excuse!"