One of those DAYS, I thought. My carefully constructed "to do" list had barely been touched. I had a nice, fat, assignment dropped on me right before lunch.
"It's urgent, Maureen. That means today."
Yeah I know, dumbass, I thought. Of all people, Sean had the ability to irritate me by just being near me. The fact that his recent promotion elevated him above my level seemed to make him gloat around me. I didn't report to him directly, but as an officer of the company, I had no choice but to drop what I was doing when he gave me an assignment. I wouldn't put it past him to fake the urgency of this, I muttered.
He could have just emailed it to me like anyone else would have. But, no, he walked over to my desk right before lunch to deliver the assignment personally.
There was no love lost between us. We were both competitive, intelligent managers who were leaders in our respective groups. Lately, our paths crossed more often, as we were asked to lead larger projects. This led to us occasionally competing for the same resources, and unfortunately for me, Sean often got what he asked for.
"I told Henderson that it would be done today."
Great, I thought. The CEO never forgot a due date and accepted no excuses, short of your own death, for not completing an assignment.
"Got it, thanks."
My sweet smile was as fake as it could be. I didn't even attempt to hide the look on my face.
He leaned in, speaking directly into my ear.
"You know I mean business, right? I expect your usual 'perfection'," he spat.
With that, he was gone.
At two o'clock that afternoon, I received a call from HR. Now what, I mumbled.
"Hello, this is Maureen Conley speaking."
"Maureen, sorry for the last minute notice but Michael wants you to join him and his staff for an urgent meeting this afternoon. They're waiting for you at Castlebrook. I'll have Debbie arrange a car in 10 minutes for you."
A forced, 'thanks', was all I could muster. I hung up and took a quick look at my hair and makeup. A fresh swipe of cherry-red lipstick made a big difference as I smiled to myself.
'Might as well make the best of it,' I thought. 'I'm sure there will be cocktails.'
As the driver dropped me at Castlebrook, I stood up straight and walked in in my usual professional manner. Often the only female at staff meetings, I was used to having the men stand up when I entered the room. My chair was always pulled out for me. I rather enjoyed wearing something a little sexier when I knew I was to attend a staff meeting, although today I was wearing a navy suit with a skirt and light gray blouse. I wore simple pearl earrings and pumps. Not necessarily sexy, but definitely professional.
I opened the door to the conference room. The large oak table in the center of the room was surrounded by twenty or so high-backed chairs. It was straight out of a movie; with pitchers of water, leather notebooks, and fresh flowers in crystal vases.
I glanced for my boss, who strangely wasn't there. Neither was his boss. I then noticed that no one stood up with I arrived.
There was no empty seat either. Odd, I thought.
The lights dimmed. I felt my heartbeat quicken as I stood there, wondering what to do. I felt beads of sweat trickle down between my breasts.
"Hello," I offered, as calmly as I could.
Not a word.
I heard what sounded like music. At a staff meeting, I wondered? I noticed the men's ties were loose, and most had their jackets off. Kind of an informal staff meeting I guess?
As I moved toward the table, my purse and my briefcase were taken from me. In the same moment, arms lifted me up off the floor. In disbelief, I heard the music get louder and I heard someone say, "Let's get this show started!"
Show?? What show?? Get what started??
I was set on top of that huge table. I couldn't get free since the arms were still holding me down. I was pushed to the very end of the table, where the CEO usually sat. Instead, it was Sean sitting there.
I blinked hard. WTF was Sean doing there in the CEO's place?
He enjoyed my obvious discomfort. "Bring that bitch here," he barked. I tried to force myself to stay where I was on the table, but it was no use.
"Sean, what the hell is going on here? What are you doing?"
That wicked smile of his.
He said nothing, but pulled me by my legs closer to him. My skirt was pushed up on my legs, and he forced my legs on either side of him. I was pinned in place, inches from him. I was sure he could smell my sweat and sense my discomfort.
One of them men holding me on the table asked Sean if he was ready.
"Oh yeahhhh," he said. Now I felt fear. Before it was confusing and unsettling, not knowing what was happening. But now, looking onto Sean's eyes, seeing the signs of alcohol and smelling the scent of a cigar, I realized that I had been brought to a male-only celebration of sorts. Sean was sitting at the head of the table for a reason.
"Take off her blouse."
My jacket was taken, as was my silky blouse. I was bright red with embarrassment as the men undressed me. The whole time, Sean never broke eye contact, thoroughly enjoying my predicament. I felt a strong sexual undertone from him that I had never felt before. I only saw him as a hostile coworker of sorts, an immature guy who made decisions based primarily on his ego, not necessarily for the good of the company.
