Author's note: this story came about after discovering that my husband had been having an affair with a woman who shares the same name as my main character. We're still together though, thanks to a wonderful marriage counselor who suggested that I deal with my anger by writing about it. I'm not sure if this is what she meant, but I do feel a lot better now. ;-)
***
"Stephanie, could you come into my office, please?"
The tired voice of Nancy Blanchard, CEO of Blanchard Enterprises, came over the intercom, startling Stephanie out of her reverie. She'd been daydreaming about George again, fantasizing about the contents of the e mail he'd written her earlier. Her fingers played idly over her breast, the nipple still hard beneath her clothing. Her blouse was filmy, almost transparent, worn especially because of the August heat, as well as for her rendezvous with George later. In fact, her entire outfit today was probably pushing the limits of professionalism befitting her position as the CEO's executive secretary.
Stephanie had been working for Nancy for three years, the last six months of which she'd also been sleeping with Nancy's husband. There had been an instant attraction between the two of them ever since she met George at a company picnic. He was handsome and rich - everything she could want in a man - and she'd made it her personal mission to seduce him before the year was over. Their first sexual encounter, in an empty bedroom at the Blanchards' Christmas party, had been, quite simply, amazing. Things had progressed to the point where she couldn't get through the day without thinking of him. She had even begun talking about siphoning some money out of Blanchard Enterprises so the two of them could run off together, escape to another part of the country entirely.
She couldn't help regarding her boss with a certain measure of pity, almost condescension. Poor Nancy. She just didn't get it. No matter how smart, rich, or powerful a woman got, men invariably went for someone younger, blonder, with a better body. The fact was, men were evolutionarily programmed to favor youth, health, and beauty. Stephanie knew this; she'd heard it once on TV, on the Nature channel.
Nancy was on the phone when she came in, engaged in a heated argument with someone, George no doubt. "I'll be off in a second, help yourself to some coffee," She waved toward the sleek little personal coffee maker on her credenza. Stephanie poured the coffee for both of them, then added cream and sugar to her cup. Nancy always took hers black. This was one of their daily rituals, sharing a cup of afternoon coffee. Some pathetic attempt at female bonding, Steph guessed. Yeah, if you only knew the extent of it, she thought. We're both sleeping with the same man, you can't get much more bonded than that.
"Can you believe this?" Nancy slammed down the phone with a sigh. "George tells me he's got a last-minute meeting with the client tonight. And I was hoping to having a quiet evening in with him."
Stephanie rolled her eyes, feigning sympathy. Clearly, Nancy had no idea George's mystery "client" was her very own secretary.
"Well, enough about George. Might as well not even bother trying to finish up before five now. How are things going with you?"
"Oh, great." Absolutely wonderful, as a matter of fact. While you're working late, your husband will be meeting me in a hotel, and giving me the attention he's not giving you.
"Glad to hear it. Listen, the Riverfront office called earlier. Apparently on top of everything else I've forgotten to courier a couple of files over to them for their quarterly meeting this afternoon. Listen, if I let you take off early, would you mind dropping it off on your way home? It's a very important delivery."
"No problem." The afternoon was starting to look better and better. Not only would she be meeting George, but she'd also be able to start their tryst earlier. Stephanie wondered how Nancy would feel if she realized she'd just given her secretary an extra hour of fuck-time with her husband.
"Thanks." Nancy smiled brightly as she handed over a thick brown accordion file. "I knew I can count on you. You know how much I value people I can trust."
Feeling quite smug and self-important, Stephanie walked the short trip from the corporate building to her little red convertible in the parking lot So what if she didn't have an executive parking space. Hey, she had the executive's husband, and hopefully soon a good chunk of the executive's money as well.
Anticipating an evening with George always made her feel heady, and she could barely concentrate on following Nancy's written directions. She had never been to the Riverfront building. She hadn't even known there was a Riverfront office. It was very warm in the car, and she cranked the air conditioning up to its maximum. She longed to put the top down, but didn't want the wind to ruin her hair right before her date. The combination of the heat and the excitement were making her extremely giddy.
The Riverfront district was unfamiliar to her. In her distracted state she missed her destination on the first pass, and had to circle round. Before she spotted it. It was a nondescript concrete building that blended in with a lot of other nondescript concrete buildings. As she parked the car an uncontrollable fit of giggling overcame her and she had to put her head down on the steering wheel to let it pass. George was going to love this story.
The hot, sticky air assaulted her as soon as she opened the door from the air conditioned car. As she stepped out onto the sidewalk she swayed on her feet, suddenly lightheaded. Something, perhaps it really was the heat, was certainly making her woozy. Clutching the file against her body, she staggered up the front walk, nearly tripping over her tight skirt.
The interior of the building was only a slight improvement on outside. She managed to make it into the lobby without falling on her face. The security guard, boyishly handsome in his blue uniform, gave her a big smile as she tottered to his desk. She would have flirted with him if her head wasn't reeling so badly.
"I'm Stephanie Rogers. I'm delivering a file from Nancy Blanchard." Her words slurred. Was he smirking at her? God, he must think she was drunk.
"Right. Yes, we've been expecting you, Ms. Rogers. Come with me, please."
She followed the guard down a dimly lit hallway, wobbling a little. He caught her eye, gave her another smirking grin, and put his arm out for her to take. She sagged against him, grateful for his support. Her face flushed with embarrassment. He *did* think she was drunk. She certainly felt drunk. Maybe she should find the restroom, get a drink of water, splash some cold water on her face. Why was it so hot in here?
The guard let her into a room at the far end of the hall. It looked to be some kind of meeting room, unfurnished except for a small table near the center and number of folding chairs stacked against the wall. The floor was covered with a generic sort of carpet. Definitely not as posh as the main building. A group of men were standing at the far end of the room. Were they waiting for her files? She couldn't understand why they weren't sitting down. It was getting so hard to think.
"Ms. Blanchard's delivery is here," the guard announced to the room. With that, he plucked the file out of her hands and tossed it into the corner.
Confused, Stephanie whirled around, nearly losing her balance. Didn't Nancy tell her this was a very important delivery? If only her brain would focus. The nasty thought hit her: had she been drugged? The coffee? It had to be the cream, or the sugar. Oh God, Nancy. With her last coherent thought she realized that the file wasn't the important delivery. She was.
The security guard pushed her into the room and shut the door behind him. The men began advancing on her. From somewhere back by the wall a voice called out, "Take off her clothes!" Other voices joined in, and soon the room was a rowdy, chanting sea of voices. It was hard to tell how many there were. Strong arms pinned her hands behind her back, and she struggled weakly in their grip as another pair of hands started unbuttoning her blouse and pulling it free of her skirt. The voices cheered at the sight of her bra, a sheer, lacy thing she'd worn just for the purpose of meeting George later. She had a brief glimpse of her captured blouse being waved up in the air like a victory banner before it disappeared from view.