Somewhere in the back of her mind, Chrissy Newman had always known that she had, on some level, used her attractiveness to gain an advantage in her professional life. She would never freely admit it to herself, let alone anyone else, but deep down she knew that being young and flirtatious had helped her greatly in building her business.
At only 27-years-old she had managed to build her successful boutique marketing agency into a legitimately profitable enterprise, thanks in most part to her business savvy, but with some timely assistance from a little extra leg here and there or the occasional seductive glance. Things were going well -- the money was good and she was starting to enjoy the fruits of her labour, the finer things in life -- a flashy little sports car and a pricey condo with a waterfront view to start.
But then the recession hit. The economy went in the toilet and her clients cut way back on their marketing expenses. And no matter how much she wiggled her ass, signing new accounts was getting harder and harder. Prospects were drying up fast, but it was not until one of her best customers told her that they were considering cutting their quarterly spend with them by 50 percent that Chrissy started becoming desperate.
Almost immediately she began a full scale sales assault on the vice president of marketing of her big client. She knew that if they slashed their budget that significantly that she would be in serious trouble. Repeated emails and phone calls went unanswered and had her fearing the worst. Luckily for her, after almost two torturous weeks, she finally received the long awaited phone call from Mr. Steven Perry.
Her good fortune continued when he informed her that he would be in town for a few meetings at the end of the week and could squeeze in a dinner meeting with her. A face-to-face meeting was even better than she had hoped for. Rather than pleading her case on the phone or via email, in her desperate state she would have no problem resorting to her flirtatious ways to convince him to pull back on the proposed budget cut. They set the dinner for the restaurant in the five-star hotel he would be staying at during his brief stop in town.
When the day finally arrived, Chrissy took the afternoon off work and gave herself ample time to prepare for the meeting. She started with a manicure and pedicure at her favourite spa and then a quick stop at the Victoria's Secret across the street to pick up the most flattering push-up bra she could find. Then she headed home for the final touches and to put the whole package together.
She put on the black lace bra and matching panties and admired its handiwork in her bedroom mirror. Victoria sure knew what she was doing -- her breasts looked fantastic and the plunging front showcased an incredible amount of cleavage. She added a pair of sheer black stockings and then wrapped a black corduroy pencil skirt around her waist, which created a fabulously sleek and sexy silhouette. A pair of four inch red stilettos finished off her lower half and then she began the finishing touches on the upper.
Grinning to herself at how her outfit was coming together, she selected a vibrant red French cuff shirt that stretched to conform to her shapely body. She purposely only did up a few of the bottom buttons, allowing her new favourite bra to do its magic and show off her accentuated 34Cs. It was not too much of a leap of faith to assume that most any man would appreciate the view, even an older, married man such as Steven.
Finishing off her look for the meeting, she applied a nominal amount of liner and shadow to her sparkling eyes, a light sweep of blush to her near perfect complexion and then painted her thin, kissable lips a soft cotton-candy pink. To complete the look she ran her fingers loosely through her blonde-brown hair and shook out her natural curls, letting the tight, super-shiny corkscrew curls tumble down onto her shoulders.
She was ready.
Chrissy knew that her meticulous preparations were having the desired effect right from the start of the dinner meeting. She arrived a few minutes late -- on purpose -- so she could watch his eyes as his gaze followed her as she walked into the restaurant. As she made her way towards the table, he immediately rose to greet her. They shook hands and he closed in for a kiss on the cheek, which she gladly accepted, taking the opportunity to press her bosom against his chest ever so slightly. Just a little taste, she thought to herself.
"Hi." Steven said softly as he pulled away from their brief embrace, his breath warm against her cheek. "Chrissy, you look wonderful."
Not that she needed the confirmation, but hearing him validate her assumption that he had been checking her out as walked in made her smile to herself. Her confidence in being able to manipulate the situation to her advantage was already growing.
"Aw, thanks Steven." She replied in the sweetest, most genuine voice she could muster. "So do you."
It was only a half lie, she figured. He was by no means a classically handsome man, but it was not as if he was hideous. She guessed that he was in his late forties, and she found him a little too tanned for her liking, but his olive complexion did seem to work for him, as he complimented it adequately against his white linen dress shirt and blue pin-striped suit. The crow's feet wrinkles around his dark brown eyes showed his age, as did the salt and pepper grey throughout his close-shaven hair.
The pair engaged in some typical small talk as they had a glass of wine and she could definitely feel his stare lingering on her throughout their conversation. Once their meals came they began to talk a little business as they ate and she could sense her position strengthening by the minute as he continually glanced back at her as if hoping for eye contact. By the time dessert arrived, they were finally into the specifics of their meeting.
Chrissy offered up her best sales pitch as to why his company had to resist the urge to cut their marketing costs, and their spend with her in particular. She was articulate, well-informed and on point throughout and, of course, threw in plenty of flirting and subtle innuendo the whole time. After awhile it seemed as though she was truly swaying his decision in her favour. When the meal concluded and the waitress brought the cheque, she jumped at his suggestion to head up to his room to look over some numbers.
They arrived at his suite on the twentieth floor and they entered an elegant room with a beautiful view of the cityscape. He turned on some music and made his way to the mini bar, offering her a drink. It was at that moment that the light bulb finally flicked on and it occurred to her that he might think they were up there for more than going over some financials. Her speculation quickly began to appear accurate as he handed her a glass of wine and began to speak.
"I know things are tough for you right now," he said with a knowing smile that insinuated much more than his words. "And I'll be honest, you have made some compelling arguments for us to reconsider cutting our budget."
She nodded as he continued.
"I really do feel like we work well together," he added as he removed his suit jacket and tossed it on the desk chair. "Don't you?"
"Yes, of course." She agreed, her stomach in knots as the uncertainty of the situation continued.
"Good," he replied, loosening his tie as he paced around the room. "And I think that if we move forward with our current expenditures, we should work even more closely with one another."
"Oh..." she said softly, looking down as his not so subtle insinuation sunk in.
"I would very much like to develop our working relationship," he continued, raising his eyebrows as he saw the realization in her eyes. "Do you think that would be something we could do if we renew our contract with you at the current level?"
She stayed silent for a moment as he continued to stride around the room. Her face went flush red and she began to tremble slightly. She took a deep breath.
"I suppose." She whispered as he circled around her, surprising herself with her words.
All of a sudden she felt Steven move in close behind her, his body tight against hers. She could feel his hot breath through her hair as he spoke.
"I do like to mix business with pleasure Chrissy." He whispered as he pressed his nose in the bed of curls behind her ear.
