There was a note on my desk when I came back from lunch. My boss, Victoria, wanted to see me. I was sure she needed me to work on a project for her. So, after checking my voice mail to make sure there weren't any additional messages from her, I grabbed my notebook and pen and headed into her office.
"What's up, boss?" I asked as I took a seat across from her.
"I have a big favor to ask. We have service technicians coming in from all over the country and one from Mexico. They will be here tomorrow to train on the new model. After the Tech Director takes them to dinner, we need someone to take them out and keep them occupied. You know, like to a bar to play darts or something. Several of the guys asked for you specifically." She rattled off a few names and I understood why I was asked. I talk to these guys on the phone on at least a weekly basis and most of the time the conversation is more flirting than work.
"Sure, Victoria, that shouldn't be a problem. When they come in tomorrow for the training, I will try to figure out who wants to go and what they want to do." Doing favors for her was not a stretch. I really appreciated her as a boss; she is a smart woman who takes care of her employees without constantly looking over our shoulders.
The next morning I debated what to wear since I had a few errands after work, I wouldn't have time to change before picking the techs up at their hotel for a little bit of fun. I wasn't sure what we would be doing, so I chose something comfortable and cute. The type of tops I tend to wear have a v-neck showing a little bit of my over ample cleavage. I chose a favorite, bright pink with a silver buckle under the deep cut neckline and a pair of my comfortable trouser jeans. Without specifically thinking about it, I chose a somewhat lacy black bra and matching hi cut, black lace panties. Shoes...hmmm...what to wear, I thought as I stood in my closet. Settling on a pair of low-heeled black leather boots, I climbed into the shower and tried to think of options for the guys on where to go. After a nice, hot shower, I applied my makeup and styled my hair, dressed and left for work.
On the short drive in to the office, I thought back to my last conversation with Ron late last week. He told me he was coming in for the training and was looking forward to meeting me. We have flirted quite a bit off and on for the last year since I transferred into this department. I knew how to charm these guys, most of who didn't think a woman knew her way around a machine. His voice was sexy, but I knew from our discussions that he was old enough to be my father. Chris, Mel and several of the other guys I knew were coming in were also at least 15 to 20 years older than me so I was in a quandary deciding where to entertain the guys.
I settled into my chair with my morning caffeine fix, a large icy fountain diet drink...I can't start my day without it. Emails to answer, phone calls to return, service bulletins to update; it was business as usual until about nine that morning.
The Tech Director, Gary, brought the techs around to meet everyone they worked with. I was finally going to be able to put faces to the voices I have chatted with at least weekly. They stopped by my desk and luckily I was between phone calls. I rose to introduce myself and shake their hands. Mel took my hand and shook it firmly, telling me it was nice to finally meet. Ron took my hand and kissed my fingers, with a mischievous glint in his eye. I made my way through the group, all of them pretty much fitting the mental image I had formed of them through our conversations. None of them was what I would consider overly sexy, but they were all nice looking in their own ways. I was right though, all were old enough to be my father. Oh well, I was sure we would find something that we all could agree would be a good way to kill and evening.
During lunch I talked with several of the guys and discussed plans for the evening. Gary was taking them to a very popular steak house in town for dinner and I was to pick up whoever wanted to go out about 7:00 that evening at their hotel. I gave a couple of them, Ron included, my cell number in case any change to the plans occurred. Since I drove a large SUV, I knew I would be able to chauffeur at least four of them. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful; my job is nothing if not predictable. I left the office a little before five and headed out to run my errands.
At twenty till seven, my cell phone vibrated on my hip. Since I didn't know what the plan was for the evening, I didn't want to drag a purse around and have to keep up with it. Chris was calling to let me know that he and several of the guys were having a beer in the bar lobby while they waited on me. The background noise sounded a little rowdy. All I could think was Victoria may owe me big after this.
I pulled into the hotel parking lot fifteen minutes later. After putting the car in park and setting the emergency brake, I took a quick second to check my hair and face. Not one to normally wear lipstick, I pulled a tinted lip balm out of my pocket and gave my mouth a quick smear. I really wasn't trying to impress anyone, but I had to admit the touch of color really did make my face a little brighter. I locked the truck and walked into the hotel.
Standard hotel lobby furniture in shades of burgundy and beige greeted me. The requisite paneled oak front desk stood to the right, flanked by two horribly outdated and dusty fake ficus trees. The lobby bar was straight ahead, a restaurant/bar combo filled with the typical business travelers; men who must have had suits on earlier but now the ties were undone and the coats were hanging haphazardly on the backs of their stools and the loafers had lost a little of the shine applied that morning. The group I was looking for was different, all about the jeans, pullovers and tennis shoes. I found them at the far end of the bar, laughing at something funny just said...more than likely a dirty joke if I knew this crowd. I walked up to them and all the laughter stopped suddenly. Oh my, were they afraid to offend me? Wow.
After a quick minute or two of discussion and the finishing of their beers, we decided to go shoot pool. I haven't played in several years and I warned them all I was lousy at it, but I was game if they were. Only three of the guys wanted to tag along, Ron, Chris and Mitchell, the guy from Mexico. We loaded into my truck and headed over to a sports bar I knew was close to the hotel. We walked in and the place was wall to wall. Apparently, I had chosen a popular place with the out of town suits like I had seen at the hotel. The guys quickly vetoed the location. I remembered a pool hall nearby that I used to spend way too much time and money in years ago and asked the guys if they wanted to give it a go. They all agreed and we made the short drive to Shooters.
