She felt Larry before she saw him, his big warm hands sliding over her arms to massage her shoulders through her white silk blouse. Vicky gasped and spun her office chair around to face him. She was getting a little tired of this! Larry smiled innocently, pulling his hands away and stepping back. The office junior was just out of college and looked every bit the handsome frat boy, even in his suit and tie. "Watch your hands, Larry!" she snapped at him, rolling her big brown eyes. Really, sneaking up on her at her desk to give her a back rub! Did the foolish boy want to get fired?
"I'm sorry, I just can't help myself, Miss Franklin!" he said. "You're the prettiest woman in the office, and you always look so fantastic!" His bright hazel eyes took a short round trip from her head to her toes and back. She'd worn a black pencil skirt along with her blouse, with black hose on her shapely legs and pumps to match. She wore her long, dark hair up, as usual. Pretty standard office fair, in her opinion.
"You realize that I have the power to fire you, right?" she scowled up at the sandy-haired young man. "And it is Mrs. Franklin, Larry, not Miss," she added sternly. "I've been married for fourteen years. You were probably in elementary school when I walked down the aisle! Pick on a woman your own age, will you?"
"Women my age aren't worth my time," he shrugged before leaning over the corner of her desk. "You wouldn't fire me would you, just because I'm madly in love with you?" His eyes sparkled, the boy did like to play with her!
"I swear to God, Larry!" she had to laugh. She should have known this would happen, the boy had flirted with her the day she hired him. It was flattering, she admitted to herself. How often did a woman in her late thirties and two children get hit on by hunky guys in their early twenties? "If you didn't do such a good job around here, I would send you packing!"
"See, you're warming up to me already!" he winked. "First it's compliments, then it's drinks after work, then all of a sudden you're calling my cellphone on a Saturday night begging to come over to my place!"
"You're dreaming, Larry! I'm a happily married woman, I'll have you know!" she said emphatically. Perhaps too emphatically. Randy, her husband, was a few years older and looked it. Acted it too. It seemed like one day a few years ago her once energetic and attentive husband had turned into a tired, cranky, and balding sixty-year-old man overnight.
"Does he treat you like a princess, Vicky?" Larry persisted. "A beautiful woman like you... Well, it's Friday. Come out with me after work and I'll show you how a woman should be treated!"
"Okay, I've really had enough of this! Get back to work!" she ordered. He was really taking things too far now! She turned away from the young man, grumbling to herself as she faced her computer screen. Randy certainly wasn't taking her anywhere that evening, she knew. But then again, Larry didn't have two kids to deal with. It wasn't fair.
"Sorry, Mrs. Franklin," Larry said with a chuckle. "I actually came to tell you that my meeting with the boss is done. She wants to see you now."
"Ugh! You couldn't have told me sooner?" she pushed the chair back and shrugged into the black jacket that matched her skirt.
"I could have, but would that have been any fun?" he laughed and strode off to his own desk, unconcerned. Vicky straightened her hair before striding down the short hallway to Sarah Haverson's office. When she'd graduated college, Vicky had hired on with a promising new company, Haverson Accessories. She was start-up's first employee. Over the years, she'd grown quite close to Sarah, and had helped the woman build her business to the point where it thrived and Vicky supervised dozens. She slipped into the office, Sarah always kept the door open.
"You wanted to see me?" she asked.
"I did. Close the door," the woman said, her words quick and clipped. She was older than Vicky, and whip-slender where Vicky was curvaceous. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a bun. A long narrow nose dominated the woman's deeply tanned face. She was more handsome than beautiful, and ran religiously every day to keep her body lean. Vicky though maybe she worked out a bit too much. She stood behind her desk, resting her bony fists on the desktop, glaring.
"Sure, Sarah," Vicky eased the door behind her closed. She took a seat and smoothed her skirt. "Is something wrong?"
"I know you've been working day and night to finalize that deal with Marvin and Hiassen's Department Stores," she began, and shook her head.
"They passed?" Vicky said incredulously. She'd been romancing the executives of the high-end regional chain for weeks now, and they were finally coming around. What had gone wrong?
"They faxed me over a signed agreement this morning," Sarah suddenly smiled. Her thin lips stretched over the even rows of her flat white teeth. "Well done."
"Oh you scared the shit out of me!" Vicky laughed. Sarah did like to play her tricks! Vicky sighed, not realizing just how tense her boss's little ruse had made her. Well done indeed! They had been all set to pass on the offer, at first. Now Haverson would have its purses and jewelry in dozens more stores across three states. Things certainly were looking up!
"It's all thanks to you, Victoria," Sarah came around the desk and bent to give the younger woman a tight hug. It was like hugging a fencepost! Vicky clapped her boss on the back, grinning for all she was worth. Vicky may have gotten a degree in business management, but the older woman had really been her teacher. It was only things to the business savvy she'd passed on to Vicky that she'd been able to make the deal.
"I thought I saw something in their faces when they turned us down the first time. I couldn't let it go!" she explained.
"Your instincts were dead right," Sarah nodded as she hopped onto the edge of the desk. "I don't have to tell you, this is going to be huge. My only regret is that I can't give you part ownership of the company. As you know, my husband," she sneered at the word, "owns half, and I'll be damned if I give him a higher share than I have!"
"Oh, that's all right, Sarah," Vicky nodded. The woman was full of spite for her domineering husband. Vicky had often asked why they stayed together. She claimed it was to not give the bastard the satisfaction of a divorce!
"But don't think I'm leaving you empty-handed! Take next week off, paid of course. You've earned a break," she nodded briskly. Vicky smiled, a week to herself wouldn't be so bad, with her own husband at work and the kids in school. "Plus a ten thousand dollar bonus, here's the check if you want to sign it!"
"You're kidding?" Vicky gasped. "That's too generous!" She took the check in trembling hands. She could do a lot around the house with this!
"Not really, we'll pull that much extra revenue in every month once they get our product on their shelves. Also, you'll need to sign this as well," she handed Vicky another paper.
"What's this?" Vicky pulled her reading glasses from her pocket.
"Your promotion. We'll have to hire more people as our business expands. Time for Haverson Accessories to have a Vice President, I think. Go ahead and sign, Vicky. There's a raise in it too!" she grinned.
"Sarah, you're the best!" Vicky gushed. She was barely able to scrawl her name onto the page. Her eyes started to water. People at the office may call the blonde businesswoman a bitch or a maneater, but she always repaid loyalty.
"Only because I've got good people with me," she nodded. She took the form when Vicky returned it and set it behind her on the desk. "I do need a favor out of you," she said carefully.
"Anything, you know that! You don't even need to ask!"
"Well," Sarah coughed and crossed her long legs. She smoothed her gray pant-suit before continuing. "You know, of course, about Craig, my boy toy?"
"Yes, you've mentioned him before," Vicky blushed. Sarah had confided in her about her lovers, a string of them, actually, a few years ago. All younger, some of them much younger.
"Oh don't give me that look! You've complained to me about your Randy more than once! You're an executive now, don't you think you deserve a stud who actually tries to please you?" Sarah smirked.
"I don't think I could bring myself to cheat on Randy," Vicky said softly. "Not that I'm judging you, of course! What you and Terry have, or don't have, well, it's not my place to comment!"
"Suit yourself," Sarah shook her head. "Anyway, he's also my personal trainer. I need you to pick him up at his gym at six tonight and take him to the Holiday Inn at the airport. I'll be waiting for you two there. It's just a precaution, you see, in case my husband hired a gumshoe."
"Do you really think he would?" Vicky asked. She'd only read stories about private detectives, it seemed so exotic that a real-life detective might be stalking her boss. She smiled. "Of course I'll pick him up for you, Sarah. You can count on me."
"I knew I could! You're one of the very few people I trust, Vicky." Sarah drew a small card from her jacket pocket. "This is the gym's address. He should be in the lobby waiting for you."
"How will I recognize him?" Vicky asked as she took the card.
"He'll be the huge hunk of a man with dark hair and covered in muscles. He'll probably also have a dopey grin on his face. He usually does. He's about twenty-five, so don't tease him too much!"
"You do like them young and dumb!" Vicky laughed.
"Oh you know I do! Now," she checked her watch. "It's almost five already. Wrap it up and get on out of here, Miss Vice President!"
"I'm on it, Sarah. Oh, and thanks again!" Vicky said before dashing back to her own desk. What an interesting afternoon this was turning out to be!
***
"Franklin residence," Randy intoned as he picked up the house phone. He always sounded so utterly bored.
"It's me, honey," Vicky sighed. "Can't you see that on the caller ID?"
