Women's lib has done nothing for me but double my work, Linda thought as she dropped a child off at school for the second time that morning. Two kids, two schools. Now she turned the car towards her office knowing the men and younger women would already be there tackling their work while hers continued to pile up. God knows her husband was already at work, some vestige of masculine rights always preventing him from taking on these extra jobs. He'd be drinking the coffee she'd brewed him, hers cooling in the cup holder as she wrestled with the morning traffic.
The elevator ride to the sixth floor was spent fixing her appearance in the reflective chrome, taming the stray blond hairs into her bun, smoothing wrinkles from her gray pant suit. There was little she could do for it now but she did her best.
Ah, the life of the single and childless, Linda thought as she passed her assistant, Maura. Perched at her desk, makeup immaculate, deep into the morning's correspondence already, fingers flying on the keyboard. Linda wondered again how she typed with those nails, which were of course perfectly shaped and painted a deep red. If I only had the time, she thought, shaking her head to herself as she stepped into her office.
******
The 34 year old executive quickly settled into her morning's work, alternating between her computer and speakerphone. She only glanced up with a slight smile as her assistant came in with a stack of folders. Maura placed them on the desk and stood watching Linda as she turned her attention back to the screen. The executive's face was scrunched in concentration as she scanned a report, tapping her fingers nervously on the desktop. It took a long moment for Linda to realize her assistant was still there. Looking up in surprise, she met Maura's blue eyes.
Maura waited a long moment before speaking, watching Linda lick her lips nervously, but not look away. "You should stop frowning at the computer, it will give you wrinkles," she said, her eyes scanning Linda's face. Linda blushed, her mouth opening but saying nothing, surprised by her assistant's comment. Fidgeting awkwardly under Maura's attention, she scanned her assistant in turn. The younger woman managed to combine enticing looks with a professional demeanor. She wore a skirt, blouse and jacket as Linda often did, but hers seemed perfectly tailored to draw the eye to her full hips, the curve of her rear, the swell of her breasts. Her black hair was pulled back but strands hung loose around her face in a way that was somehow seductive.
The executive shook her head in surprise, snapping out of her thoughts, and breaking her gaze away from Maura's. Her eyes down at her desk, she muttered, "Well, I suppose that comes with the territory."
"Linda, do not go gentle into that good night," Maura replied, sitting down in the chair facing Linda's desk. "No need to give up yet. Don't let the fucks grind you down."
Linda looked up in surprise, meeting Maura's gaze again, Maura's words matching her mood somehow. "What do you mean?"
"The men, the company, your life. You worry too much about them."
"Do I?" Linda asked, looking slightly amused at her young assistant's sudden bestowal of advice. Her smile faltered though at Maura's knowing look.
"Is this your plan for your life? Housewife by night, corporate monkey by day? Of course not." Maura crossed her legs, sliding her hands down her skirt, eyes traveling all over Linda's face.
"That's not the way it is."
"Good. Come with me after work for a drink then."
Linda looked at her with new attention, wondering what this was all about. "I don't think so, Maura."
"Prove to me you're more than just a housewife. Let Bill deal with the kids for once. We'll leave at five." Maura rose suddenly, tapping the folders on Lisa's desk with a fingernail. "These are the reports for the meeting today." Maura paused, examining her boss again , one eyebrow raised, weighing and measuring with a look. She waited as if daring a response. Linda broke eye contact, looking down at her papers, shuffling them. Maura nodded to herself, turned on he heel, leaving a flustered woman behind.
*******
Near the end of the week, Linda rode the elevator to her office, flushed with a new kind of energy. She was keenly aware of her skirt, fit tighter and shorter than she had worn in many a year, as well as the feel of her bare legs brushing together. Both suggestions Maura had made in their evening talks over drinks, as well as in brief conversations during the day. Linda sometimes chafed at the idea of taking so much advice from Maura, who was after all younger and less experienced. But every bit of advice had made her feel better, broken her out of the doldrums.
Bill was surprised by all the change. It had one been his advice that Linda had followed so unthinkingly when they first met. She had been struck by his commanding presence. But he had gotten older, perhaps forgotten some about her. At least that's what Maura thought. She had told Linda to get him guessing, to surprise him. Her new clothing, her frequent outings with Maura, they certainly had him wondering, his interest piqued. And as Maura had thought, aroused. He had his hands all over her this morning as she dressed. Linda had to admit she liked it.
Linda smiled broadly at Maura as she approached her assistant's desk, walking confidently through the attentive glances of her coworkers. She stopped at the desk, but before even speaking Maura nodded and said curtly, "In your office." Maura stood without hesitation and led the way in. "Close that," she added over her shoulder as Linda followed her in. The door shut, Linda walked over to the chair Maura tapped. Sitting down and crossing her bare legs, she immediately began telling Maura of what Bill had said last night and this morning, laughing.
