03

Ch 1.

I am a 50 years old, 6'1", 192 lbs. I divorced my wife 6 years ago. And no, I do not have children.

As a senior executive in a large company that produces a variety of medical products, I make good money.

After being married for close to 20 years, with the last 5 of these entangled in nonstop arguments and fighting, I like my life the way it is right now. No more headaches...

Occasionally I get bored being by myself, but then I can visit one of my friends and have fun together in a bar or occasional restaurant.

Over the years I have had occasional flings, but nothing serious. They usually lasted for weeks or months.

Lately our workplace got good publicity on line and several big name companies offered to buy our products.

The 7 of us on the board decided to expand our team.

We hired 20 new employees. Some were 'stolen' from our competitors, others joined us because they were interested in working for a company with good prospects, other ones for the generous money & benefits and few others were chosen after graduating successfully from top universities.

Each one of the new employees was assigned to shadow a veteran employee. The tutoring was supposed to be one on one for at least 6 months.

The one who became my trainee was Lora. She was in her 20s who just graduated from Stanford.

She was originally from the upper mid west and was dressed very conservatively. About 5'6" and 135 lbs. Long blond hair framed her pretty face.

On our first few days together, she was most of the time listening to my explanations and hardly talked.

But whenever she did speak, it became apparent that she was smart and highly motivated to excel in her new job.

After few days it became a burden to be formal with her, so one time I decided to joke with her and see if I could break the invisible barrier between us.

One day we were discussing 2 new products that were intended to improve men and women resistance to age related dementia. As usual, she was 'too' serious.

I couldn't resist and said to her, "Lora, you know, women in general are much smarter and more sophisticated than men. We may be stronger but we are very simple and naive. Nowadays, when most women do not depend on men strength or money, why the hell marry one?!..."

Of course, my question was provocative and more of a joke, but I wanted to find out what's hiding behind her always-so-serious façade...

She stared at me and for the first time I saw her cute smile, "I agree with you. We women do not NEED to get married in order to succeed in business or life. In fact, we can even have children by artificial insemination, and we can entertain ourselves much better with our girlfriends... I think that most women still remember their childhood fantasies about a prince that will take them to a magic life of safety and adventures and having it all and... everlasting perfect life. Personally I do not see the need to ever get married and suffer..."

"Girl, I like your ideas. And since I realize for the first time that you can talk about other subjects than work, how about being less formal from now on... Unless we are at work with other employees, you'll stop calling me Mr Gibson and use my first name, Sean. OK?..."

Her smile broadened, "I am new around here and I didn't know enough about you to talk about anything BUT work..."

"Lora, knowing you for only few days, it is my opinion that you are going to do very well! You are highly motivated and hard worker - The 2 most important qualities that will help you achieve any goal you strive for at work. I just wish that you and I be less serious and be able to feel comfortable to talk about other things in life, not only work..."

"Sean, unless I know more about you and you about me, it may be difficult to be sure what subjects have to be off the table..."

"I agree. So tell me about yourself."

"I am 25, raised in Iowa with 3 older brothers and then got accepted to business school at Stanford. I have a boyfriend, who I have seen last time about a month ago, because he is in his third year of medical school in New York. For now I live in an apartment with my cat name Oreo... And what about you?"

"I am exactly twice your age. 'Happily divorced' for several years... without children. I graduated from Duke many years ago and work for this company almost 20 years now. I love to travel, photography, certain sports, Scorsese and Tarantino movies as well as good books. Do you have hobbies?"

"I love to travel too. I visited some of the national parks and several major cities, but I never left this country..."

"Lora, working with us will give you multiple opportunities to travel in America and abroad for conferences, meet our colleagues and visit our factories abroad."

She chuckled, "You make it sound so tempting."

"I didn't know if part of my job was to teach you how to relax and smile more... I really liked to hear that beyond work you have other 'things' in life... By the way, our annual company party is a week from now. I am not sure if you were notified about it or not, but you should come!"

Hesitant, "Sean, I am new in town and at work. I do not know anybody and I am not sure how to dress... I am afraid to be very uncomfortable there... Can I have a raincheck?..."

"Lora, I'll pick you up and bring you with me to the party. It's not formal at all, although you should dress nicely.

I'll introduce you to people you might find interesting or important for your climbing up the ladder. You'll have good food, alcoholic beverages... Trust me, you'll enjoy it much more than sitting with Oreo in front of your TV..."

Lora blushing, "But I told you, even if I agree to go, I am not sure what to wear..."

"My secretary, Jean is about your age and she attended these parties four times already. She has good taste and will suggest to you what will look nice on you. Now if she decides that you need new clothes, shoes, cosmetics or jewelry, she'll take you shopping. Don't worry about the cost. We'll take it from our professional account or I'll lend you the money and you'll give it back to me once you start getting higher salary. I want to be proud of you during the party and money the the least problem. OK?..."

Lora's face reached a crimson color, "Sean, you are a great instructor at work. Why are you trying so hard to help me?..."

Jokingly, "Look Lora, the truth is that I hate you! I hate opinionated young blond women! However, I would be more appreciated among my other colleagues if I succeed in making you a very good employee and a team player, so I force myself to pretend that I care about you..."

Smiling now, "Sean, you are such a lousy liar... I can see that you DO like me, but I am not sure why... Well, if you insist, introduce me to Jean and I'll try my best to not embarrass you at the party..."

I called Jean, explained to her the assignment of helping Lora prepare for the party and then left Lora to go to a board meeting. The meeting took about an hour.

I came back and noticed the two ladies chatting comfortably and laughing.

Once they saw me, the chatter stopped. Lora stood up and waited for me.

I looked at Jean, "Didn't you tell Lora that every time she sees me she has to salute me? Did you remind her that I appreciate employees who address me as 'His Royal Heinie'... Sorry, I meant 'his Royal Highness'?..."

Both girls laughed and Jean almost fell from her chair. "Sean is such a pretender... He likes to show off as a tough person or even a jerk boss, but trust me, he is a very soft teddy bear..."

Lora joined me and together we walked toward our working area.

"Sean, Jean helped me a lot already. Both of us will do some shopping together this weekend for the party using professional account. More importantly, she divulged that you were voted the best boss in this company for several years in a row! In fact everybody here loves to work for you and with you..."

"Lora, one of the things I forgot to mention to you yet, is not to take what everybody says too seriously. I was voted as the best boss, because I bribed the head of our union using company money, then I kissed his ass and promised to write a recommendation letter to his daughter that I never met..."

Now laughing loudly, "Sean, you are amazing! How much trouble you go to in order to belittle yourself... You know, until now I really admired your skills and knowledge as well as your patience with a novice like me, but I begin to like you..."

Pleading, "Lora, please, Jean was joking... I am gay and a misogynist... The only reason I want to help you as much as I can is to make sure that you succeed ASAP and then leave Jean and me as soon as possible!"

Lora sighing, "Sean, you'll continue to be my great work instructor, but from now on I'll be in charge of making sure that you start appreciate yourself..."

We both chuckled.

After that day Lora and I felt much more comfortable together. When work permitted we were talking about travelling and smiling much more than before.

On Friday, the day before the party, I asked Lora if Jean helped her enough to prepare her for the party.

"Jean is a treasure! She helped me select my attire, including dress, shoes, makeup and a simple necklace. But more importantly, she told me all the gossip about the real jerks I need to avoid, jealous women who are simple bitches, who are the important ones who make decisions about promotions, etc. For some reason your name always appeared at the top of the nice and important guys... By the way, do you need a shoeshine?..."

"Girl, if you are planning to brown-nose me, it's too late! I notified Jean that since I caught her giving you too many company gossip secrets, both of you are about to get a pink slip in the party..."

"Sean, when I joined the company I vowed to be serious for at least one year in order to fit in. You are a wonderful teacher, but you also make me laugh... I am concerned that I'll forget about my vow..."

"That will be wonderful! Yes I want you to learn how to be a good and successful employee, but I definitely want you to enjoy doing it and have fun in your life too. Please don't sacrifice your amazing years as a young girl just to be a better employee! First of all, as I mentioned before - You are already doing better than expected... Well, I'll stop here, before giving you too many compliments..."

Lora looked straight at me and smiled. "Like every woman, I like being complimented, but you gave me so many today already... Before I leave I wanted to let you know that I totally disagree with you and absolutely agree with Jean - You really are a sweet teddy bear..."

"Lora, give me your address and I'll pick you up tomorrow at 7:30 pm."

Saturday at 7:32 pm I rang the door. Lora opened it and let me in.

She looked G O R G E O U S!!!

Her long blond hair was tied in pony tail style. the beautiful face had a touch of make up and light mascara. Faint red lipstick decorated her pouty lips and a simple silver necklace rested below her neck. No earrings. Her dress was a midi style black, showing a glimpse of cleavage. Her 3" heels black shoes matched her dress perfectly.

I stared at her with awe, "Lady, I am here to meet Lora. Can you please call her..."

Her lips spread slightly, revealing her perfect teeth, "Thank you Sir. You look very handsome too! Shall we go?"

I drove my BMW silently, every now and then peeking sideway to glance at my attractive 'date'.

'Oh, being young and so pretty...'

From my side angle her cleavage was alluring and my dick, that haven't seen action in quite some time, started to wake up...

'Geez Louise... Stop being a pervert moron! You are probably her father's age!!!...'

At the parking lot there were already 20 cars with multiple young guys navigating the cars to the marked spaces.

I opened the door for Lora and she stepped out graciously.

I led her inside.

Several colleagues and friends came smiling to chat with me. I introduced Lora as our new company asset. She smiled pleasantly at everybody. Then I saw my best friend Paul in the crowd. We approached him.

"Sean! No wonder that I hardly see you lately... How can I compete with your pretty new girlfriend?!..."

"Lora this is Paul. He used to be my friend, but now he is just an old fart. We still keep him in the company, because his lady bribed each one of us on the board to let him stay and pretend to work. She was afraid that if we fire him, she will have to deal with his wild manner at home all day long 24/7..."

As I was saying it, Paul's wife, a 60 years old distinguished white haired woman came smiling at me.

She kissed my cheek, "Sean, I haven't seen you for almost a month! You don't like my cooking anymore? I am just kidding, I know that you can't tolerate Paul... That's OK, lately I don't like him either..."

"Lora, this is Lizzy, who chose Paul over me years ago. I was so devastated that I almost jumped from the Empire State building, but I saw how dirty it was down on the street, that I stopped myself..."

Lizzy laughed, "Lora, you are new here. I want to warn you that Sean and Paul are primitive men. While we women are smart and appreciate literature and poetry, these creatures like football and war..."

Lora, feeling more relaxed now, "And we women love shopping and too much gossip..."

"Touché!" said Lizzy and hugged Lora. "Come with me and I'll introduce you to two important company executives. They are good friends of mine and they can help make your ascent faster..."

Darling Lizzy... I liked her a lot. She immediately guessed her role with Lora and nonchalantly took charge of business.

I was chatting with Paul and another friend for fifteen minutes and then I moved to look for Lora.

She was sitting with Lizzy, both with cocktail glasses in their hands, talking to Ralph, the company president.

Lora saw me approaching and stood up. She gazed at Ralph, "Thank you guys. It was a pleasure to meet you. I'll join Sean now."

Lora took my hand and led me to a quiet area, "I was so scared to be in the party as a young inexperienced employee, but your company people are so nice to me..."

I embraced her, "They just want your money dear..."

Lora laughed, "Can't be serious for once?"

"Lora dear, we can be serious tomorrow at work. Now we are in a party. Let's go and get a drink. What would you like?"

"The cocktail they gave me before was very tasty. Is it possible to have another one?"

I hesitated. Unbeknown to many employees, the cocktail has high percentage of alcohol... Well, she won't need to work on Sunday, so why not?!...

I brought her another glass of the 'tasty stuff' and grabbed gin and tonic for myself.

Lora chugged the drink, finishing it in less than 10 minutes...

"Lora, be careful, this cocktail has more alcohol than you think!"

"Sean, don't worry about me. It's very tasty and I feel excellent. Let's go on the balcony and get some fresh air. It's nice outside."

We moved to the round balcony. The yard was illuminated with many colorful light, showing tall Jacaranda trees, rare bushes, a small rose garden and a Greek type fountain.

"It is so beautiful here..." Lora whispered and leaned her head on my shoulder.

I hugged her waist and we stayed like that for a couple of minutes, hypnotized by the multicolor show.

"Well girl, are you interested to intermingle with the employees in the party or you are tired and wish to go home?"

"I am tired of talking to people in the airless hall. You can take me home or to any breathable place with a nice view..."

We said 'hello' and 'thank you' to friends and several executives and went to look for my car.

While driving to Lora's house, we passed a tall hill with a nice view of the city lights. I stopped there.

I opened the windows, "Lora, you wanted a breathable place with a nice view... What do you think?"

"I like it a lot... Thank you for bringing me here. It's a very romantic place... "

She leaned backwards, glanced at me and whispered, "Sean, please kiss me..."

I hugged her, avoided her lips and said, "Lora, I like you. Actually I like you a lot... But age wise you can be my daughter. If I kiss you now, it may interfere with our work together. And more importantly, You drank too much alcohol. I do not want you to hate me tomorrow for taking advantage of you being under the influence... I'll take you home now."

Lora stared at me for a long time, sighed and closed her eyes. She said nothing.

Twenty minutes later we arrived to her home.

"Lora, are you OK to climb the stairs to your apartment on the third floor or you need help?"

"I may enjoy your help if you are interested in coffee or a nightcap..."

I kissed Lora on her forehead, opened the door on her side and watched her going up.

I waited until I saw the lights in her window and then drove back home.

The clock showed midnight before I fell asleep... What is going on here?... Was Lora too tipsy to think right? Am I falling for a too-young beautiful girl?!...

Ch 2.

Monday morning I had a conference call between 7:00 and 8:30 am.

When the meeting was over I went to the coffee area.

Lora sat there at a corner table, sipping her morning tea.

She saw me and stood up. "I wasn't sure when you'd be finished, otherwise I would have brought the coffee to your office..."

"Lora, that's OK. Did you sleep well after the party?"

Smiling, "I guess I drank too much... On Sunday I had a big headache, but I am all right now."

"Girl, you'll get used to our parties... In the meantime, be careful when you drink our alcoholic drinks... Many who are in charge of the cocktails are habitual alcoholics..."

Lora chuckled, "I'll be more aware of it next time... Anyway, thank you for helping me meet all these important people. Most of them were really nice to me, something I did not expect from 'big wigs'..."

"Well, Lizzy mentioned to certain people that your brain and work attitude are better than anybody else in the party... I think that you being young and pretty did help too..."

Blushing, "Sean, I mean it! In the university they warned us that juniors go through hell before they get some respect. And thank you for the compliment. I do not think that I am a Vogue model, but even if I were, I'd expect other women to bash me, which did not happen, at least not that I noticed..."

"Lora, don't be naive. In this party everybody knows me. Nobody will dare say or even hint anything that may be perceived as negative about a person who is with me. However, jealousy may still raise it's ugly head later, so try to be nice to others, even if you know that they are wrong... or jerks..."

Whispering, "Sean, how lucky I am to learn from the best tutor, smartest guy and nicest man around..."

Laughing loud, "Lora, you don't know me yet. You saw me at work and in the party for a short time. Remember Jean said that I am a 'pretender'?... Give it time before you're sure about somebody else's character..."

"As you say Sir..."

The rest of the day went very well.

Lora and I saw 2 new customers, who were happy with Lora's demonstration of our products, with few additional remarks from me. They promised to go back to their board, vote on it and arranged another meeting for next week to sign a potential contract.

I was elated! I expected a much tougher discussion with probable need to make some changes that would have cost our company extra money before accepting our proposal...

When the customers left, I kissed Lora on her cheek. "Lora, you were perfect! I am afraid that 3 months from now you'd be the boss and I'll have to retire..."

"Sean, you are so cute when you are silly... Without your clever comments during my talk, they wouldn't even think of contracting with us! You saved my butt and I appreciate it..."

"Oh, shut up... You did very well and that's final! By the way, once the contract is signed, we both are going to get a bonus."