Chapter 2
I stared blankly at the whiteboard wall as if it was an endless void. Sticky notes and a million different little multicolored dry erase notes, arrows and acronyms and examples tried to span that vast space. Usually, it would all make sense to me. My mind would take the mess and organize it, and then from that mess I'd translate it onto my computer, ironing out all the bumps and bugs so that the proposed project would flow and be user friendly. But my head couldn't come down from the clouds, or rather up from the depths of the hell, I felt I was in.
Gwen was on the other side of the glass conference table, leaning on it with her hands and talking fast and technical with Scary Carrie. My eyes drifted to Gwen's blouse, one of the top buttons was undone and I could see the slope of her cleavage. It was hard not to look. There was evidence of lace, purple by the looks, that denoted her bra holding those amazing breasts. I had to readjust in my seat, trying to be discreet, but because the conference table was glass it was hard to be inconspicuous.
Scary Carrie had her hands in the air, a red Expo marker in one hand and the cap placed on her middle finger on the other hand. The woman had earned her nickname, and unlike some people, she owned it. She'd even gotten some stickers printed up and slapped them on her laptop and other accessories that declared "Property of Scary Carrie. Don't make me go King on your ass." She had a short bob of dyed white hair and shocking pink eyeshadow that made her grey eyes pop. Her figure was slim but with curves like rolling hills that swayed in all the right ways when she was rushing down the stairs. She refused to take the elevator, saying she had to stay in shape and going to the gym wasn't her thing. Her black sweater and black jeans fit nicely and though they were fairly simple, they had the air of sophistication like some aristocrat.
I watched the two bicker over the placement of buttons, how they would lead a customer/user through the experience to get them to the end goal of the site we were working on. It didn't really matter ultimately what the details were, it was always the same. Get the user to become a paying customer. Everything had to work towards that one goal. And then from there, make sure that they were happy with the experience and could get where they needed to go, to give the client more of their money.
Next to me, Jami had their headphones on, a large pair of neon green Bose, their laptop open and clicking around other sites at lightning speed, checking out the competition and other examples that we were trying to emulate. Their hair was cut tom-boyish short and was a deep nut brown that had a natural shine to it that most of the girls at the company envied. They tapped at their little gold nose ring, a little tick they had when they were deep in thought. I wasn't sure if they were actually listening to something or just keeping their headphones on to stay out of the conversation. They wore an old acid washed jean jacket, shredded up pink jeans and a t-shirt with some sort of pop-tart cat throwing up a rainbow. Jami always pushed the bounds of the dress code.
I sat back and looked up at the ceiling, hands scratching at my head as I tried to pull myself up out of this horrible funk. But how was I supposed to do that? My marriage was all but over. I couldn't shake the feeling, the thoughts, that it had all just come crashing down. But that didn't seem right either. I hadn't talked to Julie about any of this. Maybe, if I just went up to her and sat down and had a heart to heart we could work it all out. Maybe she'd understand and tell Devon to take a hike.
But then the vision of her being pounded into our bed. Screaming bloody murder as she was forced to have orgasm after orgasm. That look in her eyes of lust and desire and complete and utter surrender was undeniable. She was lost in this world we'd stepped into. One conversation wasn't going to end it.
A sharp whistle made me jump and nearly fall back in my chair. I grabbed hold of the table and kept myself from tumbling over and looked at Gwen, standing with her arms under her breasts and giving me a raised eyebrow. "Earth to Tom. Did you hear my question?"
I leaned forward and pushed my laptop away from me so I could rest my elbows on the table. "Nope." There was no point in trying to fake it. I hadn't heard a thing they were saying.
Gwen sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with a very loud and over the top sigh. "Well, I guess I can't blame you. I think we've just hit a wall." She turned on her heel to look at the whiteboard. Her skirt was defining her posterior really well.
I put my face in my hands. I needed to stop objectifying my Team Lead and get laid or something. My brain was already fogging over again with that obstructing feeling men got when they had a buildup of arousal that they hadn't been able to release. My little snap off this morning hadn't been enough, it seemed.
"Okay." Gwen turned back, hands on her hips. "Let's take a break. Go... I don't know, get some more coffee and a snack. Take a walk. Do something to get our minds off this for a while and come back in twenty." She looked at her smartwatch. "Yeah. Twenty. Shoo, shoo." She waved her hands at us.
Jami looked up from their laptop and reached for their large boba that was sitting on the table. They weren't going anywhere, it seemed. Though, they did migrate away from looking at websites to starting up some online game that I couldn't for the life of me figure out.
I pushed myself up and headed for the glass door. Every conference room was essentially a glass box, putting everyone on display except for the one whiteboard wall where they could project powerpoints, videos, or write all over. I pushed out into the hall, hearing Gwen muttering something about changing... something. Probably still going over the project, even though she'd told us to take a break. The woman was a machine and hardly ever stopped. But damn if she wasn't good at her job and friendly to boot.
The break room was bustling with people grabbing their lunches from the fridges, getting snacks from the machines or the free ones that were put out. There was a slow hum of noise and chatter that helped keep my brain in a state of static. I grabbed another cup of coffee, probably my seventh of the day, and robotically walked out of the room towards my office. I stirred the coffee absently as I walked.
My phone buzzed. I stopped in the hall and gave a quick look around. The hall was empty. I pulled up the message from Julie.
Thought you deserved a treat.
Below the message was a selfie of Julie in a bathroom, one of her feet propped up on the countertop. She'd removed her pants and her pink, low cut thong was clinging to her pussy. Clearly defined and the smooth indent of her slit enticing.
I stared. I wanted to be titillated. Aroused. And yes, my dick did jump. How could it not? My wife was attractive. And I loved her. Fuck, did I love her. But all I could think as I stared at her flashing her panties was, did she show Devon first? Did she show him more?
I locked the phone and shoved it in my pocket and marched to my office door, wanting to just shut myself away for the twenty or so minutes I had before I had to go back into that stupid fish tank and go over which page should go where for... what was even the site for? Some energy drink or wellness product. Maybe an MLM or something. I couldn't remember. Probably not a good sign. Maybe I should just go home. At least Julie wouldn't be there and I could...
I pushed open the office door and stepped in.