Tying a double Windsor knot used to be a challenge for Dan, but it had long become second nature to him. Standing in front of his apartment's bathroom mirror, he effortlessly finished with his tie while thinking back to that eventful evening a few weeks ago.
His mind all too often drifted to what had happened in his apartment's living room on the couch. Thoughts of that event had started to consume a lot of his work hours and had even begun to seep into his dreams at night.
The act of having sex with Sarah in front of someone had been such a turn-on for both of them. They'd talked about doing it in the past and even did some role-playing with the topic, but the real thing had felt like opening Pandora's box.
The fact that their watcher had been Dan's roommate, Lester, had led to some thought-provoking revelations about themselves. Dan didn't care for Lester, but he couldn't help but find the thought of him seeing Sarah incredibly erotic; someone so utterly beneath them seeing her, touching her -- fuck, even cumming on her...
Sarah and Dan had briefly discussed what had happened that night and the next morning, but it centered on how crazy things had gotten and reassuring one another that they were okay and that their marriage was still solid.
With Dan landing the new client at work and leading that project, while Sarah was busy back at home balancing her own work-life/mom-life with the kids, their life had quickly forced his fantasy to take a backseat. He yearned to talk to Sarah about it, but their conversations always consisted of daily updates without getting much deeper.
However, he was determined to talk to her about it this weekend. Heading back to Middleton tonight for the first time in what seemed like forever, Dan would finally be able to spend some time with Sarah and the kids.
Finishing with his tie, Dan undid his belt and lowered his zipper quickly to go pee.
"What the fuck, man." Dan looked down in disgust at the toilet.
Sprayed across the seat and onto the floor was a copious amount of urine. Even before Dan was domesticated by Sarah, he was never this bad.
Since that night in the living room, Dan's tolerance for Lester had continued to degrade. His roommate had put on a good act when they first met, but his true colors were slowly beginning to show.
"I'm not fucking cleaning this again." Dan relieved himself straight into the toilet without hitting the seat.
As he finished and was washing his hands, he heard his cell phone ring from the bedroom. He quickly ran over and saw that it was Sarah. He smiled and quickly accepted the call.
"Hey, baby! What's up?" Dan said as he began to look himself over in the bedroom mirror.
"Well, I just wanted to call and say I love you and to have a great day at work," Sarah said. "And I can't wait for you to finally come home tonight. I'm going to make use of that package you sent me."
Dan smiled. Last week he had ordered a black silk robe that ended mid-thigh for Sarah. He got the notification that it had arrived the night before.
"Oh, I can't wait to see you model it." Dan smiled. "I have lots of plans for you and that robe."
"Then hurry up and get home, big boy. I can't wait to --"
"Shit! Sorry, Dan, I have to take care of something here; text me updates on your way home, okay?" Sarah said.
"You got it, honey. I love you and I'll see you soon." Dan finished looking himself over, satisfied that he was ready to take on the day.
"I love you, too, boo." Sarah mimicked a kissing noise. "Bye."
"Bye, Sarah."
Dan grabbed his bag and headed to the kitchen to get his lunch. He looked sideways at the pile of Lester's dishes in the sink.
I think I liked it better when he would just leave those in his room
.
Ignoring the dishes for now, he grabbed his lunch from the fridge, put it in his bag and headed out the door.
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As soon as Lester heard the apartment door shut, he sprang into action.
He opened the messaging app on his phone and typed "Go time" to Ned, one of his DnD and WoW buddies who did whatever Lester needed him to.
Today, that involved making Ned take the day off from his board game store and helping Lester with the next part of his plan.
Checking his watch, Lester waited impatiently for Ned to arrive. He didn't invite people into his domain. Not ever. But sometimes new opportunities require evolution.
Lester heard a limp knock rattle gently on the door. He rolled his eyes and opened it.
"Come in, I need to get going," Lester said, annoyed. He took a second to glance over Ned. Disgust flashed across his face.
Lester looked and behaved the way he did by choice. Ned was the opposite; life just seemed to happen to him. Sure, he was more outgoing and friendly than Lester, but he looked like the ultimate man baby.
Ned was around his height and sported the quintessential dad body. He was probably close to his own age, but Lester didn't know for sure. He had never bothered nor cared to ask.
Today he was wearing baggy cargo shorts and an oversized, faded t-shirt that read 'The Cake Is a Lie!' His eyebrows were just as bushy and unkept as his beard and his face was framed by thick, horn-rimmed glasses. He was also failing at masking the bald spot starting on the top of his head.
His shoulders were perennially hunched and his short neck gave him the appearance of a turtle staring down an 18-wheeler truck, unable to do anything but stare back as the headlights got closer.
"T-thanks for asking me to help Lester," Ned said excitedly. "I won't let you down."
"Of course you won't, Ned, a monkey could do this." Lester waved him to follow as the smile disappeared from Ned's face. Lester led Ned down the hallway to his bedroom.
"In the next 20 minutes the junk guys will be here. They are to take everything on the floor and the bed. Don't let them touch the chair or desk - got it?"
Lester eyed Ned.
Ned gulped, "Got it."
The floor of the bedroom was covered in filth. Dirty clothes and dishes piled everywhere. There were only a few spots open on the floor between the door, computer, and closet. It seemed like Lester had recently thrown more objects and clothing on the floor - almost like a dumping ground for unwanted things.
"Is there a problem, Ned?" Lester asked with a pointed look on his face.
"N-no, no problem. I just didn't know why I was coming here." Ned replied.
Lester had no intention of letting Ned in on his plans. He liked to keep his business and his social life completely separate. Still, he did feel the need to brag to Ned to ensure word got back to his group. "This is all for a woman, Ned."
Ned's eyes grew at the mention of a woman. This was a detail Lester had never shared before as members of their group were not usually in position to boast about the opposite sex.
"Now, they need to hurry up and clear all this shit out as fast as possible. At noon some house cleaners are coming to tackle this room and the rest of the apartment." Lester began to walk back to the door. "Make sure the guys take the bed and mattress, too. Another one and some furniture is coming that I'll need you to assemble."
Lester put on his shoes. "Oh, and all this furniture in the living room goes as well. Nothing stays. Got it?"
"Got it, Lester." Ned paused. "Is she hot?"
Lester smiled. "A total smoke show."
Ned gleamed "The guys won't believe this, I can't wait to hear what they say."
"Do a good job today, Ned, and maybe I'll show you a picture." Lester left to attend to his busy day.
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"Dan, I just got off the phone with Marcus at the Lincoln Group," Walt shared as he paced back and forth in his office."They love the direction we're taking them in and they're confident we'll be able to deliver on our promises."
Walt stopped, looking at Dan, and smiled. "Great work son, you really outdid yourself."
"Thanks, Walt." Dan said, "It was really a group effort here. You've built a great team, and they pulled this all together just as much as I did."
Walt moved behind his desk and sat down "They are a great bunch, you're right about that. But none of them are willing to step up and lead an unknown account like you did, Dan. You're really the missing piece to the puzzle. I just wish we'd found you sooner..."
"Well, I'm glad to be here now. If there is anything else you need -- aside from the Lincoln Group -- just let me know. I'm eager to contribute." Dan said.
"No, you focus on them for now. I need this one to go well." Walt eyed the closed door. "Dan, can I tell you something in confidence? It stays here in this office."
"Yes, of course. I can be discreet." Dan was unsure what was coming next, but he didn't like the direction this conversation was heading. It was great that Walt would trust him with something like this, though.
"Some of our other clients haven't been overly enthusiastic with the work that has been delivered lately." Walt made a gesture with his open palms as if laying bare all his secrets to Dan. "A few of the other team members have dropped the ball, and it's hurt us."
Walt leaned forward, "I really need this project to go well." He removed his glasses and looked Dan right in the eyes, "The Lincoln Group can mean a lot of repeat business if we get this just right, followed by a lot of referrals to other firms. In our industry, one both lives and dies by those referrals."
Dan paused and thought about this revelation. It seems like Walt was looking at the Lincoln Group as a golden goose while some of their employees and -- by extension -- other clients were faltering. His gut twisted at that news.
Dan tapped down his emotions and smiled warmly, "I'll make sure this project exceeds their expectations, Walt. You don't have to worry about it."
He leaned back slightly in his chair, "And you also don't need to worry about me. I won't say anything about the other projects. My job is to make sure we shine with the Lincoln Group so you can keep an eye on other issues."
